Tasty Tuesday: Roasted Veggies

It is Tasty Tuesday with some delicious roasted veggies! It has been a while since I shared an easy and healthy recipe, so I thought I would do just that! I love veggies! I love salads, I eat one almost everyday, sometimes twice a day. Honestly, though, I prefer my veggies cooked, well roasted. It is so easy to do. All you need is your favorite vegetables and some seasoning and a little bit of olive oil. My favorites to roast are zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and sweet bell peppers. I also like to do yellow tomatoes and yellow squash, if I have them. As far as seasoning, anything goes. I always use garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt. Depending on what I am in the mood for, sometimes I will add either chili powder, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, basil, or oregano. Sky is the limit with this one! So on to the prep and cooking instructions!

Prep and Cook Roasted Veggies

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Clean and dry off all your veggies
• Cut up your veggies (I usually cut zucchini into small chunks, the tomatoes in half, and the peppers into about quaterish size pieces.) Keep in mind the veggies will shrink a little, so you don't want to cut them too small)
• Line baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil (makes for easy clean up) 
• Next you want to coat the paper or foil with a little olive oil (You just want enough so that the veggies don't stick, I usually use a spray oil for this)
• Spread the veggies out on the lined pan
• Drizzle a little bit of oil on top of the veggies or use the spray oil (Once again you don't need a lot of oil just enough to help the seasoning stick)
• Then choose your seasonings and sprinkle on top (I don't measure, I just eyeball it. I tend to use a lot of garlic, and very little salt.)
• Once you season them, pop them in the over for about 30-40 minutes or until tender, make sure to gift them a little stir on the pan about half way through. 

When they are done, you can eat them as is, or you can mix them into a pasta or some rice or use them to top off a grilled or baked chicken breast. However, you decide to eat them, they will be delicious! Also, I like to cook a bunch of these in advance for meals. They keep well in the refrigerator for about a week and they reheat pretty well too! 

Before Cooking: Zucchini, cherry tomatoes, sweet bell peppers seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, Italian seasoning, parsley, and chili powder. 

  

After Cooking: I added the roasted veggies to some brown rice. I also added some spinach to mix because I decided I needed some more greens. 

However you like your veggies, just try to get them in daily! I always say try to eat the rainbow every day. If you aren't a veggie lover like me, there are lots of ways to get them into your diet. You just have to hide them in your food. Try mixing them into a fruit smoothie, you won't even taste them. I am going to do a smoothie recipe blog soon! Make salsa, or make a wrap, just cut up the veggies into really small pieces, and you probably won't even notice them while you are eating the wrap. Vegetables and fruit are full of important nutrients your body needs to thrive and feel good, not to mention all of the antioxidants in them. Veggies and fruits help keep you healthy! And in my opinion, they are just delicious! Happy cooking everyone! 

Foodie Friday: Protein Pancake

It's Foodie Friday again!! I love pancakes! However, as delicious as pancakes are, they aren't the most healthy option, but they can be. A protein pancake is a healthy alternative to a regular pancake, and a great way to start your morning! Did you know you starting your day with a protein rich breakfast can help you stay feeling fuller longer? Carbs are fuel for the body, but protein is too. So start your day off right and get a good mix of both! There are so many different variations for protein pancakes, but the one I found and like the best so far, mostly because I can tweak it when I want to, is Joy Bauer's recipe. The serving size is one large pancake, which is exactly what this recipe makes! Now the only thing with protein pancakes, they can are nowhere near as moist as regular pancakes. However, you can cover it with a lid while it is cooking, as Joy Bauer suggests, and this does help. I have gotten used to the texture of this type of pancake, so it actually doesn't bother me that it is a little bit dry. I am more concerned with hoe it tastes anyway, and it is delicious!!

What You Will Need

Protein Pancakes(original recipe)

1/2 Cup Quick Cooking Rolled Oats

4 Egg Whites

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon(optional)

To this I also add 2 Tablespoons of ground flax-seed, I also like to add blueberries into the mix, and I like to top the pancake with a banana and just a little bit of all natural maple syrup. Sometimes I will substitute the sugar with honey. I also use 2 whole eggs, instead of 4 egg whites, I just prefer the whole egg. I have also tried mashing the banana up and adding it to the mix, which is also very tastey! Sometimes I substitute orange extract for the vanilla, just depends on what flavor I am going for.

To make this pancake, mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Spray a skillet with some non stick spray or coat the pan with a little bit of butter or oil. Poor the pancake mix onto the skillet and cook over a medium heat, when the top of the pancake stops making those little bubbles, flip it over. It only takes a couple of minutes to cook, when it is golden brown, it is done! Top it with your favorite fruit or eat it as is! I hope you enjoy this heart healthy breakfast!

Happy Friday and happy eating!

Delicious Protein Pancake

Tasty Tuesday: Going Greek

Greek Goddess Salad Dressing and Marinade

Ingredients Label

I do believe it is Tasty Tuesday and I am going Greek! I don't know about you, but I love Greek food. I almost never cook it though, because well, as much as I love to eat it, I never really knew how to make it. So whenever the Greek food craving would strike I'd head out to Kostas or Panos, or some other Greek restaurant to eat. However, this is not the case so much anymore. A while back, I had the pleasure of meeting the maker of Greek Goddess Salad Dressing and Marinade! I had no idea she was the creator of this dressing until she brought in a couple cases of them and started handing them out to us at work as a way of saying thank you for something I cannot discuss here because it would violate laws as it pertains to my job. Anyway, I was so grateful to her for doing this because of my love for Greek food. I still can't really cook Greek food, but when the craving for Greek flavors hits, I take my bottle of Greek Goddess Salad Dressing out of the cupboard and marinate some chicken in it or use a little bit of it on a salad. The picture here is my second bottle, as I finished the one she gave to me because it is so delicious! This dressing is all natural and you can actually read and pronounce all of the ingredients on the label, which is always a plus! Not only is it delicious, I love that it is made locally and that I get to support a local small business when buying it! Remember folks, when possible, it is always better to buy from your local small businesses. We live in a world of super stores a la Walmart and Target and other huge conglomerates, and because of that local businesses and merchants kind of become the underdogs of the retail world. Don't get me wrong, I have a love, well minor obsession for Target, but I am a firm believer in supporting all things local from small businesses and individual merchants to farmers at the different farmers markets we have here in Buffalo. Think of it this way, when supporting local businesses, you are supporting your community! Ok, tangent over! This dressing can be purchased online at the Greek Goddess website, but it is also distributed to and sold at many local stores. I get mine at Wegmans. It retails there for $6.29. If you love the flavors of Greek food, this dressing is a definite must try!! I promise, you won't regret it!   

My favorite way to eat chicken marinated in Greek Goddess Salad Dressing!
I like to cut it up and combine it with spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes for a delicious wrap.

  

Foodie Friday

It's Foodie Friday! Food is amazing! And I think most people would agree with me on that statement! In the last month, I have started on this food journey of sorts. I have been trying to eat more healthy and focus on whole foods that are "clean". While I have my off days, as many people do, I have been pretty successful sticking to this new diet, well I guess lifestyle change is more fitting. It isn't always easy, but I can tell you on the days that I eat well and manage to stick to it for the whole day, I feel great! I feel like I have more energy and I don't feel so weighed down. Don't get me wrong, I have my cravings and I do  end up giving into them sometimes no matter how hard I try to ignore them. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving into them once in a while and I am not going to beat myself up over it. I just tell myself tomorrow is another day! Anyway, I have been loving this so much because I have been trying new things and cooking way more than I ever have before! And I am having fun with it, cooking is fun! Now if you had asked me if I liked to cook when I was 20, it would have been a resounding NO!!! In my thirties, I have come to love it! So I thought, maybe other people might like to try some of the things I have tried. And here begins a new series to this blog, Foodie Friday. I am going to share one recipe a week every Friday, well at least try to anyway. They will range from recipes I have kind of just come up with to recipes that I have found in cookbooks and other sources. If it is a recipe I found, but made changes to, I will include the original recipe, as some people may prefer the original. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I figured I would start it off with something that will give you a good start to your day! It is an easy one and takes all of maybe 10 minutes to make, so it is perfect for those days you feel rushed to get out of the house on time! This is my own recipe and I call it my Banana Bread Oatmeal, mostly because it smells just like banana bread while it is cooking, and it tastes pretty darn good too!

Banana Bread Oatmeal

1 Banana (mashed or sliced)

1/4 -1/2 cup quick oats (Depends on how hungry you are!)

3/4 cup milk or water (either one works, milk makes it a little more creamy though and water is the healthier option) 

About 1 Tbsp honey (I usually just squeeze a dollop into the pot)

About 1 Tbsp Cinnamon (The amount of this will vary, depending on how much you like cinnamon, I prefer more some days and other days less)

Raisins (I only add these when I want it really sweet)

In a medium sauce pan, over low heat, combine the oats, milk/water, and banana. Stir occasionally. As it starts to thicken, stir in the honey and cinnamon until well combined. If you notice that your oatmeal is too thick, add a little more milk or water until it is the consistency you prefer. Once it is fully heated, pour into a bowl. Add some raisins as a topper, if you'd like, and enjoy!

Banana Bread Oatmeal

I love this oatmeal! It is so satisfying and the best part is the banana and honey act as a sweetener, so you don't need to add any brown sugar or other sugars to it. This recipe is also heart healthy, so for any of you trying to stick to a heart healthy diet, this is a good one for you! This is also vegetarian and vegan friendly, so for all my veggie friends out there, this is a good one for you too!

If you find yourself wondering what is so healthy about this breakfast, then I will tell you! However, before I tell you, I will add a disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist or a doctor, so don't take my word as gold here. Do your own research on these things too! The oats by themselves are a good source of soluble fiber that can actually help lower cholesterol. The fiber content of the oats actually helps to slow down digestion and can help to stabilize blood glucose levels, which is why eating oatmeal in the morning is so great. It will keep you feeling fuller longer. Now add to that a banana, which has virtually no saturated fats or cholesterol and is another good source of fiber, further adding to that staying fuller longer feeling. Bananas are generally know as a good source of potassium, but did you know they are also and good source of Vitamin C? Why, hello antioxidants, yes I will enjoy you today!! Bananas are also a really good source of Vitamin B6, which helps metabolize amino acids, glucose, and lipids. Essentially, a banana is a good helper in breaking down the proteins, sugars(carbs), and fats that you ingest into, well the things you need to fuel your body and make it run, so to speak. Now there are a lot are arguments out there about why cow's milk is bad for you and why dairy products in general are bad for you, however, I love milk! It is a good way to get in some Vitamin D, and living in Buffalo, where we don't always get a lot of sunlight, I will gladly have a glass of milk to get in that Vitamin D. Honey is a natural sweetener, which in my opinion is better than using other sugars or artificial sugar substitutes. Just make sure you are using 100% raw honey, because if you aren't more than likely you aren't eating real honey. Honey is great because it is a carbohydrate made up of Fructose, Glucose, Sucrose, and Maltose. These are basically fuel for your body, making honey a natural energy booster. This is kind of perfect when used in the morning with breakfast, because it will help you wake up and get going! And what is so great about cinnamon? Well, cinnamon has been shown to help lower blood glucose levels, so if you are considered pre-diabetic and you are trying your hardest to stave of diabetes, then adding cinnamon to your diet might help, this is not a guarantee, but it is worth trying. Feeling bloated? Cinnamon can help with that too. Cinnamon is also known to be a great antioxidant. Cinnamon can also help boost your metabolism. It has a tendency to act as a natural blood thinner, therefore increasing blood circulation. Increased blow flow could mean a boost to your metabolism, which in turn could help with weight loss. I could go on with the science of it all mostly because it fascinates the hell out of me, but others may find it boring to read, so I will end this here. Now what are you waiting for? Go enjoy a delicious breakfast!