Back to reality...

Hey everyone!  Wow...what a difference 24 hours makes in Jersey!  Yesterday we were bathed in sunshine and humidity and in the high 80's...and today it's going to barely break 70 and feels like I want to go carve Jack O' lanterns!  But truth be told:  I'll take the gloom over the hum' any day!J

Anyways...I hope you guys had a great Labor day weekend!  We rounded out our weekend with a quick little taste of a few summer classics and two small 'glimmers' to Fall...

Representing summer:  A grilled hot dog & my friends homemade baked beans...check....

And representing Fall:  Sweet potato salad & "college football" pasta salad...

Seriously, is this not the funniest thing you've ever seen???

My friend & I got our significant others their favorite college football teams represented in noodles for Christmas last year.  Cute stocking stuffer, right???  And it made for an even cuter side dish...

Team Clemson representing!

And to round out the day:  A "catch ya later, summer" desserts- Frozen Lemonade pie...

I've made this recipe from the Neely's so many times that I don't even need to refer to their cookbook anymore....it couldn't be simpler!

First up, you mix one tub of whipped topping together with a can of sweetened condensed milk...

There is really no difference in ingredients OR taste in the Fat-Free vs. the regular...so when I know it won't affect the results, I just use the fat free...

And finally, fold in one can of frozen (not defrosted) lemonade concentrate...

Pour into pie crust and freeze until solid.  (about 4 hours)

And even though I LOVE me some homemade graham cracker pie crust (made with the BEST Trader Joe's graham crackers!), I took the easy route and went with one of those premade deals.  Only problem was there was much more filling than there was room in the crust...hehehehehe

Oh well...no one complained and it was still a hit J hahahahhahahaha

Well, after 3 blissful lazy days of summer's last hurrah and a welcome to Fall....the swift realization came that it was back to reality all too soon....

And it was back to reality on the exercise front too!  Here was my week long wrap up:

Monday:  45 minute walk + 1 hour Power yoga class

Tuesday:  30 minutes dance/jog/weights + 45 minute walk 

Wednesday:  35 minute Bethenny yoga + 45 minute walk + a round of 8 pound weights

Friday:  30 minute "Power squad" yoga

Saturday:  1+ hour (TOUGGH) Power yoga class + 45 minute walk + round of weights

Alright, well I hope you guys had a restful weekend and are ready for the (SHORT) week ahead!  Salads were SUPPOSE to be on the menu tonight, but this gloom is callin for something a BIT more cozyJ  Stay tuned and have a good day!

Fall Fun & Football (Guilt-Free!) Food...

All together now.... To Fall?  To FALL! 

CHEERS!

And what better way to welcome Fall then with a toast to health & happiness and a trip to Federici's in Freehold for some of their super delicious pizza... 

...complete with their famous cracker-thin crust.  Always a winner! J Welcome Fall, indeed!

After pizza, we did something that has been VERY out of character for me lately...

That's right:  We went for ice cream.

Jersey Freeze has been featured on many a 'best of'' list/TV shows...and for good reason, they have some of the creamiest & richest custard in ye ole Garden State...

Ask Scott, he thinks their milkshakes are some of the best ever...but my eyes were focused on their list of featured flavors for the evening... 

And to welcome myself back into the world of ice cream, I went with a small cup of cake batter ice cream with rainbow jimmies.... 

Sweet, super creamy, rich & luscious...this certainly isn't a bad 'welcome back', no?  (although I'd be lying if I didn't say it felt oddly bizarre to chow down.  I think it'll be a while before I indulge in ice cream again...it's just so strange right now.  Who knew? J)

The rest of the weekend was spent getting everything properly FALL-ized....from my stock up of Fall soap scents from Bath & Body Works (mmmmm...Creamy Pumpkin!) 

Finding great Fall-appropriate shopping bargains.  My new pretty plaid ('Italy appropriate!'...eeeee!!) purse: originally $25, marked down to $14 and rang up $7!  SCORE!J

Breakin out my "you're never too old for candy apple" flavored lip glossJ ...

And completely festooning my house with all things pumpkins & leaves...

And if that above picture is any indication, the other huge part of this weekend was the return of... 

College Football!  I can't say I was ever much of a football fan, but now that is a TRUE indication that Fall has arrived in our house:  well, I've come around in my fan-domJ

And football's returned just REQUIRED a fun dinner!  After perusing some recipes, I managed to make not only a VERY FUN and FOOTBALL FRIENDLY dinner....but get this:  This one is COMPLETELY GUILT FREE!!!! 

Awesome, right???  Who says football/sports snacks have to be loaded with fat & calories??  Try out these recipes the next time the big game is on...you & your waist line will thank me!

And dinner all come together with the help of one handy kitchen tool:  The food processor... 

First up was a recipe I stumbled on in my Weight Watchers cookbook:  Chickpea cakes.  I figured we needed something a little more 'hearty' to hold us over, and the protein in the chickpeas just hit the spot.  In the processor you whirl up:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup cornmeal 

Mix until smooth, scoop mixture into bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  (meanwhile, you can work on your OTHER dish...see belowJ)

Once the mixture has been chilled, roll into about 10 small cakes & coat both sides in MORE cornmeal. (mix will be super sticky...but they will firm up, trust me!) 

Finally, cook chickpea cakes on a skillet spritzed with olive oil and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Spritz the tops of the cakes with a bit more olive oil and flip over to finish off cooking for another 4-5 minutes.   

Topped off with a little salsa and WALLAH!  Crispy, creamy chickpea cakes with a little ZIP from the SAL-SA!  These were awesome!  And if you think these aren't "guy food", guess again...Scott polished off the other EIGHT of these babies!  They were that good! 

But I must say: TOP HONORS OF AWESOMENESS for the evening went to our OTHER dish... 

Bethenny's Guilt Free Spinach Artichoke Dip!!!  This tastes like the most decadent and delicious spinach artichoke you've ever tasted, but with a 1/2 of the fat and NONE of the fake, nasty ingredients from other low/non-fat recipes. 

Guilt Free Spinach Artichoke Dip

Adapted from The Skinnygirl Dish 

Serves 6

• 1 bag frozen artichokes (9 oz), defrosted & drained VERY well
• 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted & drained VERY well
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta
• 8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Blend all ingredients in a bowl with a food processor or immersion blender.
2. Serve cold OR pour mixture into a oven-proof pan, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Allow dip to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Serve!

How easy and fantastic is that?????????  And believe me...it is as fantastic as it is simple!  You could fake ANYONE out with this dip...no one would EVER know it was guilt-free! 

In fact, I loved it so much that I'm whipping it up today for our little Labor Day get together.  And if you need some last minute picnic ideas, here are a few to try out:

Goat Cheese-Filled Watermelon Cups

Frozen Pina Colada Cups

Frozen Strawberry Pie

Triple Onion Burgers

Couscous Salad

Pesto Potato Salad

Grilled Creamed Corn

And one dish I will be making today:  Sweet Potato Salad

Alright, well I hope you guys are enjoying one last lazy day of this long weekend!  Kick your feet up, enjoy your day and I'll see you tomorrowJ

The REAL San Francisco Treat...

Happy Friday, everyone!  Everyone ready and excited for the loooong (non-hurricane induced) weekend??  I know I amJ

Sooooo....like I said, not EVERY day can be a pancake & sausage lunch dayJ  So here's what I packed for yesterday:

I have LIVED off these Thomas's Bagel Thins for the past few months...

As much as I LOVED my Tina's bagels, I still couldn't justify a 450 calorie breakfast more than MAYBE twice a week.  A couple teaspoons of whipped cream cheese (my favorite) on these thins and they clocked in under 250.  Not too shabby in the bagel departmentJ

And along with finally feeling better, yesterday I woke up and just CRAVED healthy foods (THANK GOD!!!  I was scaring myself with my cravings for neon orange mac & cheeseJ)  So I packed up this baby for lunch....

Arugula, cucumbers, chickpeas & scallions (with TJ's Low Fat Parmesan Ranch Dressing)...I was just so happy TO BE HAPPY to have this for lunch!  Just a WEEK ago???  No buenos!J Hopefully next week I'm not singing another tune...cause who knows!

And to round up my snacks:  Cantaloupe and some leftover couscous salad (it ALWAYS tastes better after it's refrigerated overnightJ)

As for dinner...well, good thing I got my veggies in for the day with my lunch because there wasn't too many in sight last nightJ  For our main course:  I took a suggestion from Kristin and made some GRILLED Grilled Cheese.  Yes, as in ON THE GRILL!  Cool, right??  It's just one of those things that's sorta staring you directly in the face and you never think of!

And we got a little help for our sandwiches with a little San Francisco treat.

Nope, not this one...

But THIS ONE!!!!!  Honest to goodness San Francisco sourdough straight from Boudin Bakery on Fisherman's Wharf.  Isn't it a beaut??

OK, OK...more like straight from the freezerJ  But a 1/2 day of defrosting on the counter and it was as good as new! 

I picked up some of my favorite melty cheese from TJ's...

Which I had to attack with my cheese slicer...(what happened to the pre-sliced Fontina, TJ's??)

A little layer on the sourdough...

And besides fontina, what's a grilled cheeses best friend??  Why balsamic glazed onions, of course! 

The buttery cheese and the tangy onions just make MAGIC, I tell ya!  I know...odd, right?  But just oh-so-delicious!

We capped em off, tossed em on the grill for 5 minutes, flipping em mid-way and Wallah!  Grilled Grilled Cheese!

Complete with the lovely grill char and some SWEET grill marks!  Who doesn't love a good grill mark???

Soooo good!  Tangy, crusty sourdough + gooey, buttery Fontina + sweet & saucy balsamic onions + kiss of the grill = Awesome.  And how can you beat dinner in under 15 minutes??

We served up our sandwiches with a side of these...

These took forever and a day to crisp up (or maybe it was just that the couscous had COMPLETELY worn off and I was STARVING by the time I got home!!!), but they were at least worth the wait.  Yum!

And despite the fact that it was a GORGEOUS, breezy night last night....I sadly must admit that the only walking that got accomplished last night was from me walking from the dining room table to the couch!  Penny was NOT pleased with me!  I PASSED OUT!  Good night, world! J

Well, I have to get some energy for tonight as the ladies & I are heading out to ring in September proper with our second annual "Welcome to Fall" (part 1 of potentially many!) night!  CHEERS TO THAT!!!!  Hope you guys have a GREAT Friday!J

 

What are your plans for this Labor day weekend??

Pancakes & Pork Chops...

So one thing I don't seem to mind doing these days is treating myself to a little bit more of a heartier lunch that I know will keep me full until dinner.  True, the rest of the week I pretty much LIVE on Swedish Meatball Lean Cuisines (my blessed savior these last few months!)...but once a week, I like to get a little wild & crazyJ  So once the seed of heading to PJ's Pancake House in Princeton was planted, I had been counting the days till 'lunch day' arrived!

And yesterday was the day.

And even though their menu isn't as extensive as, say,  the Country Pancake House in Ridgewood, they had enough options to make you swoon with carb-o-licious happiness!

OK, OK...and options, be damned.  I was pretty much a totally loser.  While "Corn Belt, Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter pancakes and Coconut topped French Toast" all shouted out from the menu...nothing sounded quite so delicious as good, ole fashioned BUTTERMILK pancakes!  (my lunch companion went a little more 'crazy' and ordered up some chocolate chip babiesJ)

These are some of the best, best pancakes around.  Super light, fluffy and flavorful...I think I said about 8 times "I. AM. HAPPY!"  Plus PJ's is smack dab in the middle of Princeton University-country, so the place has a great, cozy college vibe feel to it.  So yummy & cozy.

Dinner might not seem quite AS interesting....mainly because it is an EXACT replica of a dinner we had over a year ago...   

...but still delicious none the less!  Parmesan pork chops & "Green Harvest Couscous salad"...

First up:  Scott's side of the dinner...pan seared pork chops coated in a breadcrumb & Parmesan mix.  3 ingredients & super flavorful!

And for my addition:  The very green couscous...

Loaded up with:

• 2 cups cooked & cooled couscous
• Chopped arugula
• 1 diced cucumber
• 3 diced scallions
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• And the best part....

If you're gonna have Feta cheese, or if you've never tried it before, this is the way to go!  I loveee the addition of the herbs to just give it that extra little kick of flavor!

So a great, relatively healthy dinner complete with a walk in the park to polish off the nightJ. 

Hope you guys have a great day!  I can't believe it's THURSDAY already....oh yeah...AND SEPTEMBER!  Don't forget SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Time to start breaking out all of my apple/spice/maple syrup/butternut squash/pumpkin/cozy recipes! wohoooooooo!  Staples said it best: It's the most wonderful timeeee of the YEAR!!!!!J

What's your favorite season and why??  Let's hear it!