Healthy Baked Turkey Meatballs

February 26, 2014February 25, 20147 Comments

This past weekend was a very Italian weekend for me. I went to the Getty Villa.

If you’re in Southern California and haven’t been to the Getty Villa, you should go. I grew up here and had never been. It’s a beautiful museum built to look like a villa you would around Pompeii or Herculanum around 30 AD. It’s seriously beautiful, not to mention the exhibits are awesome.

To add to the Southern Italian-ness of the weekend, Jesse and I also saw Pompeii. While I question the historical accuracy, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s as if Titanic and Gladiator came together to make one ridiculous film.

If there’s one thing Pompeii taught me, it’s that Jon Snow is hot in a skirt. After leaving the theatre, the one thing both Jesse and I had to comment on was Jon Snow‘s abs (because Kit Harington will forever be known as Jon Snow to me).

Image source: Torontosun.com

First we thought, those have to be digitally enhanced or airbrushed. No one can have abs like that. Of course then the conversation transitioned to: how does one get those abs?

I did some research. Basically, if you want abs you have to lose fat and build muscle (no surprises here). Vanity Fair confirmed with an interview by the actors of the movie:

The four-hour workout: two hours of fight training with weapons, an hour of weight lifting, an hour of cardio, and an 1,800-calorie diet “designed specifically for our bodies to be attuned to lose fat and pop out muscles,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje told us.

Great.

So for the rest of us that aren’t working out for four hours a day or consuming a diet “designed specifically for our bodies to be attuned to lose fat and pop out muscles,” we should probably just stick to eating clean and maybe increasing our protein.

I’m not really in the market for Jon Snow abs (yep, that’s what I’m calling them now), but getting fit is always a good idea. So to help you in that direction, I made you dinner:

Healthy Baked Turkey Meatballs

1 lb lean ground turkey (from 1 package in the meat section)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands work together all ingredients and form into golf-ball sized meat balls. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through (note: this might vary depending of the size of your meatballs and your oven).

Serve over cauliflower puree, on spaghetti squash or with your vegetable of choice and enjoy! This recipe will make about 20 meatballs.

This low carb (paleo, gluten-free) meal will get you in the right direction to getting those Jon Snow abs. Or if you’re like me and you just want to be a little bit healthy, to balance out an enormous piece of cake, this meal is great for that too.

Anyone else see Jon Snow’s abs in Pompeii and have their jaw drop?

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

January 14, 2014January 14, 201421 Comments

I’m thinking of changing my blog subtitle to: A blog about balancing health with a constant desire to eat cake.

Because that’s really what it’s about. I love baking and making deliciously fatty food, but I spend the better portion of my life trying to figure out how to be healthy and fit. It seems like the two just don’t go together, but I think I’m making it work and this is a prime example.

It’s not “skinny” anything. It’s Cauliflower Pizza.

I’ve been seeing Cauliflower Pizza crusts all over the internet for a while. Cauliflower is slowly becoming the new Kale. You know, the healthy thing that we all need to be eating all the time. I still eat kale all the time, but I’m seriously enjoying finding new ways to cook with cauliflower. Let’s let this food trend continue!

Cauliflower Pizza

12 oz cauliflower (1 bag from Trader Joe’s), grated
1/2 cup percorino romano cheese, finely grated
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste1/3-1/2 cup pizza/pasta sauce
1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
Toppings: Caramelized Onions, Sausage, Any other toppings

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

In a bowl, mix together grated cauliflower, percorino romano, eggs salt and pepper. Press onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Try to get it as thin as you can so the pizza turns out nice and crisp. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Remove from oven, spread with pasta sauce, then sprinkle with cheese and desired toppings. I used pre-cooked sausage, caramelized onions, and artichokes. Put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until your pizza is nice and crispy and golden!

Allow to cool a few minutes. Then serve and enjoy! This recipe makes one large pizza.

I was a fan of this. But let’s be clear. Just like the two-ingredient paleo pancake DOESN’T actually taste like a pancake, this isn’t REALLY like pizza. That said, it’s still super tasty!

Jesse and I agreed it really does taste like cauliflower and egg, which we were pleased with. I think if I had pressed it more thinly throughout, it would have tasted better because the crispy edges were awesome!

So be sure to press it really thin when you try this!

I definitely want to try making this again. Next time I think I’ll do caramelized onions, goat cheese with prosciutto and arugula. Sounds awesome right? This is a good template recipe that you can adapt to fit basically any flavor profile, while staying a little bit healthier.

What would you put on your cauliflower pizza?

2013 Highlights

December 31, 2013December 31, 20136 Comments

I hate to be that person, but I’m going to say it: I can’t believe 2013 is coming to a close. Seriously, where did the year go?

I remember when I was in college, my friend Hazel would laugh at me because I recounted my days through my meals. So in traditional Karla (Foodologie) fashion, let me recount my year by favorite things I made/ate.

In January, I was all sorts of awesome (modest, right?). I made two of my favorite things:

Bourbon Banana Pie

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

Seriously, those are probably my two favorite sweets I made all year. So much so that I made them for Christmas. After January, I had clearly eaten too much pie and biscotti so I felt the need to do a crazy thing: a 30 day paleo challenge.

It was a shit storm, for lack of better words. If you want to relive that (I don’t, but that’s cool), check out these posts:

Paleo Challenge: Day 1
Paleo Challenge: Day 2
Paleo Challenge: Day 3 & 4
Paleo Challenge: Day 5, 6, & 7
Paleo Challenge: Day 8 (Plus 1 Week Thoughts)
Paleo Challenge: Day 9 & 10
Paleo Challenge: Day 11
Paleo Challenge: Day 13 (apparently 12 doesn’t exist?)
Paleo Challenge: Ending Early <— spoiler I quit!
Life After the Paleo Challenge

But after Paleo, I became a semi-normal person again. I tried to make healthy things

Like Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

and Eggplant Rolls to balance out my ridiculous desire to ALWAYS eat cake

This year, I also made awesome blogger friends. Now I can say Allison from Sweet Potato Bites and Samantha from Little Ferraro Kitchen are real life friends, which is cool! Who wants to be real life friends next year?

(photo stolen from Sweet Potato Bites)

This year I also decided food parties were a good idea. So I started with a Fried Chicken and Waffles party.

Because I had never fried chicken and that seemed like a good idea. It was.

Then Allison and I teamed up with Peanut Butter & Co and threw a Peanut Butter Party.

That was all sorts of fun. Next year, I’d like to do a pancake party, a cocktail party and, if we get crazy, a tamale making party, because why not?

Then let’s not forget how in 2013 I became obsessed with protein powders. And it continues because I keep putting protein powder in everything, like these pancakes…

But the highlight of the year for me was our trip to Peru

We hiked, we ate guinea pig, saw llamas, walked everywhere and had a great time. It was amazing. I only wish it could have been longer.

Now that 2013 is almost over, I’m excited for 2014. I hope you’ll follow me along next year as I continue to make sweets and healthy things to cut the guilt. I promise I’ll keep the crossfit talk to a minimum and I’ll keep taking pictures of myself in dressing rooms and sharing those, like this shirt I bought yesterday…

Just kidding! Well, actually, no I’ll probably still do that, but I promise one day I’ll get over that habit.

Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve filled with Champagne, goodies, friends and family! I wish you the best in the New Year and thank you for following my blog in 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Arugula Salad with Lentils and Spiced Butternut Squash

December 27, 2013December 30, 201310 Comments

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a very happy Christmas, ate lots delicious food and spent time with family.

With my family, our holidays revolve around food and this Christmas was no different. We ate tons of tamales

and the only times we weren’t eating were the short walks we took to hang out with the neighbor’s llamas, ponies and donkeys.

No, I’m not back in Peru. People in LA County have pet llamas. But other than llama sighting. We mostly ate.

I don’t know about you, but after Christmas eating, I need vegetables. Well really, I just think I need to eat normal, so that’s what I’m trying to do, but adding a few extra vegetables in there for good measure.

This morning, I finally tried Kodiak Cakes. If you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or Like Foodologie on Facebook, you’ll remember that I won a few boxes of Kodiak Cakes through their 12 days of giveaways. I decided to make some this morning

Along with their red raspberry syrup. Overall, they’re super tasty! What I especially love is that they use all natural ingredients (and not to mention easy! You just add water!).

Then for lunch, I had this amazing salad.

It might not look that magical, but I promise it is. It’s light but hearty enough to be a meal on its own. The mint makes it taste fresh and clean. I’ve been making this salad for years so to be perfectly honestly, I can’t remember where I discovered it. Someone deserves credit, I just can’t remember who.

Arugula Salad with Lentils and Spiced Butternut Squash

adapted from somewhere I can’t remember…

1/2 butternut squash, diced
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup lentils, dry
6 cups arugula1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
4 oz (or more) goat cheese

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Toss diced butternut squash with paprika, cumin, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at bake for 15 minutes. Toss and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until crispy and cooked through. Please note: this cooking time may vary depending how how big you diced the butternut squash and how intense your oven is, so check it every so often and toss to make sure it doesn’t burn.

While the butternut squash roasts, cook the lentils. Cover in water and boil about 20 minutes (or until tender). Once cooked through, rinse and set aside.

Once the lentils and squash are ready, assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss together arugula, mint, 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Scoop some of the salad on a plate, top with goat cheese, lentils and butternut squash. Serve and enjoy!

Feel free to made adjustments. I love mint so I’m a fan of tons of mint. Don’t love mint? Omit it. Out of goat cheese or hate its guts? Replace it with manchego! If you don’t like manchego, then we just can’t be friends. But if you want to make it vegan and omit the cheese, I’m a-okay with that.

I have a feeling this is going to be salad week for me. Be on the look out for some healthy eats and New Years resolutions in the days to come!

How was your Christmas? What was the best thing you ate?

Banana Protein Pancakes with Persimmon Topping

November 11, 2013February 21, 20149 Comments

I was totally going to start this post apologetically, but then I remembered this article in Huffington Post about the 23 things women should to stop doing. #sorrynotsorry

So instead I’m going to talk about how much I love pancakes, because all of a sudden I’m obsessed. Ok not really, I made them twice. Once pumpkin style and now these guys…

Really what I like about this is how full it keeps me. For someone who often thinks about eating lunch at 11am, these pancakes made me not even think about food until 1pm. Crazy, right? I’m totally pleased.

You should make these. Just saying…

Banana Protein Pancakes with Persimmon Topping

For Pancakes:
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
2 tbsp almond meal
3 tbsp protein powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of ginger
pinch of cinnamon1/2 banana, mashed (about 3 tbsp)
1 egg
4 tbsp milk (or almond milk)*

For Topping:
1 tsp butter
1 persimmon, diced
2 tbsp rum
pinch of ginger
pinch of cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir to combine. Heat a greased skillet over medium heat. Spoon 2 tbsp of batter to form each pancakes. Once the top starts to bubble, flip over and cook an additional minute. Plate and set aside.

Melt 1 tsp butter in a small skillet. Add persimmon and spices cook a few minutes, tossing occasionally. Add rum and stir. The liquid will steam and sizzle. Once it’s mostly evaporated, turn off and pour on top of pancakes. Serve with maple syrup (optional). This recipe makes 4-5 pancakes for 1 person.

*Note: the amount of milk necessary might vary depending on what type of protein powder you use. I used Spiru-tein which has a thickener in it. If you use a different protein powder, you might need less liquid.

Just to throw it out there, this persimmon topping would be totally awesome on the Pumpkin Protein Pancakes I made last week. Just saying… get your antioxidant on with pumpkins and persimmons.

Ok so enough about pancakes…

I go to Peru in two days and I’m totally not ready. So much work has to be done. I haven’t packed. I’m not feeling ready.

This always happens to me. I have mini anxiety attacks anytime I go anywhere. Weird right?

How do you prep for a trip? Also, what’s your favorite pancake combo because I’m always looking for new tasty ways to switch up breakfast!

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

November 6, 201310 Comments

Let me just tell you… these pancakes made my day magical.

I started the day by running with Ms. Allison from Sweet Potato Bites. That lady is faster than me (check out her running page!), so it’s awesome to keep up with her!

After the run, I wanted a good breakfast. For the past few months, I’ve had a smoothie for breakfast pretty much everyday, but today I wanted something warm and Fall-like. And we all know… Fall = Pumpkin.

All season, I’ve been avoiding pumpkin flavored foods, because honestly most of it just tastes fake. I’m probably the only person in the world that doesn’t love the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.

So this morning, in my quest for a warm Fall breakfast, I had a bright idea. Pumpkin pancakes with REAL pumpkin inside and on top.

Pumpkinpalooza in a pancake.

So I started with an amazing stack of pancakes and then topped them with a mixture of pumpkin puree, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon and mace (with some water to thin it out). Seriously delicious. Please try it. But first to make the pancakes…

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

2 tbsp buckwheat flour (spelt or all purpose works too)
2 tbsp almond meal
3 tbsp protein powder (I used Spiru-tein Vanilla Protein)
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of ginger
pinch of mace
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 egg
4 tbsp pumpkin puree (plus extra for topping)
2-3 tbsp almond milk**

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, stir to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix together.

Heat a large skillet and grease (with butter or non-stick spray). Scoop 2 tbsp of batter to form each pancake. Cook until it starts to bubble, then flip and cook an additional minute.

Serve with a mixture of pumpkin, maple syrup and spices or your favorite pancake topping. This recipe makes 4 pancakes.

**The amount of almond milk might vary. Spiru-tein protein powder has some sort of thickening agent in it that makes it thicken up, so if you use a different protein powder you might need less liquid. Try adding a tbsp of liquid first and if you need more to thin out the batter, add more. If your batter is too thin/runny, you’ll get flat pancakes so you want the batter to be a little thick.

I seriously loved these pancakes. The topping reminded me of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin butter. Amazing. But what I really love is that you get all the awesome health benefits of pumpkin, that you definitely don’t get from a Pumpkin Spice Latte (p.s. totally not trying to hate on the PSL! It’s just not for me).

I’m seriously considering making a few batches of these and having them the next few mornings, reheated. If they taste great reheated, I’ll let you know.

So tell me, what’s your favorite way to eat pumpkin this season?

Aside from this healthy version, I love love love this Creamy Pumpkin Pie, but also Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. One day I won’t want to eat sugary things every.single.day…

P.S. 1 week til Peru!!!!

Farm Fresh to You: Get Produced Delivered, Eat More Vegetables

October 2, 20135 Comments

I’m going to be honest. This is not what I had in mind for dinner tonight.

I had a salad for lunch and because I’m all about balance, I’m generally of the belief that if I had a salad for lunch, I’m certainly not having one for dinner. But here I am. Having a salad for dinner after I had one for lunch. I don’t want to be one of those girls. I’m not one of those girls.

Let me tell you the story of this salad, because really it started a few weeks ago.

Several weeks ago, Living Social was running a deal for Farm Fresh to You. It’s like a CSA delivered to your house, but instead of buying in at the beginning of the season, you can just order whenever you want it and pay weekly. So I saw the deal: $15 for a delivery box of vegetables.

If you used to read my blog when I was in grad school, you’ll know that I had a CSA share in Ithaca, NY from the Early Morning Farm and I absolutely loved it. Every week I was so excited to pick up my share at the farmer’s market. I got to try new and exciting vegetables like rhubarb and kohlrabi. For a foodie writing her thesis on Sustainable Food Systems, you can probably imagine how amazing that was for me.

When I left Ithaca, I was sad that I wouldn’t have a CSA share to pick up weekly anymore. CSA shares in Southern California are basically twice as expensive as my share was in Ithaca (I paid about $20 per week back then). So I was bummed. I couldn’t afford to get one. Let’s be honest, healthy living can be expensive. (Remember how I got a second job to pay for Crossfit… omm yeah).

So when I saw this Living Social deal for Farm Fresh to You, I was all over it. Last week, I placed my order and my box arrived today. I had it delivered to my office because I was worried I wouldn’t be home when they delivered it and the heat wave here has been rough. Now let me tell you, during my drive home, I was thinking about all the possible things to have for dinner, completely forgetting the box was in the backseat.

By the time I got home I had pretty much decided I wanted polenta with a poached egg. But then I remembered the box full of vegetables. I unpacked them and saw everything that was inside:

1 head of lettuce
1 honeydew melon
2 delicata squash
1lb potatoes
3 apples
2 oranges
2 pears
1 pack of Berry Kiwi
1/2 lb green beans
1 bunch of carrots

That’s when I remembered: Oh yeah, I used to eat salads all the time because that shit goes bad real fast AND I hate to waste food. There’s no two ways around it, you have to be a voracious vegetable eater if the box is just for you (and that’s the case for me, since I live alone).

And you know what goes bad first? Lettuce. You can wrap it in a paper towel to keep it crisper longer, but let’s be honest, it’s not making it past 4 days. I wish the box included kale instead of lettuce… but alas not reality. So that’s when I knew salad was for dinner.

Instead of that polenta and poached egg dinner I had in mind, I threw together a salad of lettuce, carrot, edamame and a Moringstar Farms Veggie Patty. For dressing, I mixed together some natural peanut butter, hoisin sauce, sriracha and vegetable broth, for a little Asian inspiration (Note: that’s basically how you make the dipping sauce for Vietnamese Spring Rolls).

So you’re probably thinking… good for you! Pat on the back for having a salad! Who gives a crap!?!

Well really the whole point of all this was to tell you one of the top benefits of having one of these produce delivery services (or a CSA share) and why I’m considering getting it again: it forces you to eat more vegetables. And not just that… organic vegetables, even better!

Farm Fresh to You brought my count of vegetables for the day from 4 to 6 (plus 3 servings of fruit). While I probably would have added spinach to my polenta with poached eggs, the box diversified my vegetable intake, because I already had spinach in my smoothie this morning. Even better, different nutrients!

Overall: I was pleased with what was in the box. It had a little too much fruit for my liking, but I love the idea. I think in the future I’ll just choose the vegetable-only box. I’m all for eating more organic vegetables, because with a sweet tooth like mine, I can always use extra vegetables to balance it out (I’ll be completely honest, after the salad I had a spoonful of peanut butter mixed with sweetened condensed milk for dessert… I know… we won’t talk about it anymore).

Oh and just so you know, I was not compensated by Farm Fresh to You. I bought the Living Social deal on my own and these are just my opinions.

Have you tried a produce delivery service? Did you like it?

Life After the Paleo Challenge

September 19, 2013September 20, 201319 Comments

A few months ago, I was frustrated with my body and how I felt. I’m a firm believer in the idea that your diet can affect how you feel about yourself. So I decided I wanted to try to do a 30 Day Paleo Challenge.

Remember that?

Yeah I had a terrible time and ended the challenge after 14 days. It’s funny because I was miserable but that post has become one of the most popular posts on my blog (after Samoas Bars and Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash). Paleo really wasn’t for me, and I came to terms with the fact that I need to listen to my body and NOT force a lifestyle on myself just because it’s popular.

Today, I went to lunch with some co-workers to 118 Degrees. It’s a raw, vegan restaurant. Afterward, another co-worker who didn’t go with us, asked me what I thought. I said it was tasty. He suggested I try a vegan diet for 30 days.

I said no thanks.

I’m not against vegans. As a former vegetarian, I’m ok with meat-free meals. But the real reason I said no is I think I’ve finally figured out what works for me. So I figured I’d go ahead and tell you a little bit about how I figured it out.

Note: this is just what I’ve found works for me. I’m not a nutritionist or advocating you eat the way I do. I’m just sharing what works for me in hopes it’ll help you figure out what works for you.

It’s All About Balance

This is going to sound cheesy, but what works for me is balance. I know you’ve heard it a million times, but really, being able to have everything in moderation keeps me sane. So just to give you a little bit of a breakdown, this is what an average day look like:

Breakfast:

Green Smoothie: 1/2 frozen banana, 5-6 frozen mango chunks, handful of spinach, handful of kale, protein powder, water and ice.

After I did my search for the best protein powder, I bought some Garden of Life Vanilla protein. Then Garden of Life was nice enough to send me some Raw Fit to try, it has more protein and green coffee bean extract and a bunch of other stuff. That stuff is seriously amazing. Flavor-wise, the vanilla raw protein is better tasting, but Raw Fit seriously keeps me full for 4-5 hours. And that’s even after crossfit. I’m amazed. I hate to sound like an ad for Garden of Life, but I’m definitely buying the Raw Fit as soon as I run out.

Lunch:

I rarely ever buy lunch. Honestly, most weeks I eat the exact same thing for lunch everyday, just because I cook once per week and eat leftovers.

When putting together my meals, I try to keep this ratio in mind: 2 parts vegetable, 1 part whole grain, 1 part protein.

So here are some examples of lunches I’ve been having recently:

Tilapia with cumin and paprika, with Quinoa Salad
Kale salad (just kale with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper) with ground turkey cooked in spices with bulgur wheat
Kale salad with rotisserie chicken and rice
Kale salad (can you tell I’m obsessed) with a veggie patty

Honestly, I eat a lot of kale salad because it holds up well and there’s no cooking involved. I can throw it together in the morning, put dressing (really just olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper) on it and it’s not soggy and gross like other salads would be by lunch. Also, I just think it tastes good, which is important. Lunch should be fun, even if it’s healthy.

Dinner:

Ok I wish this was my dinner all the time but yeah right.

Especially now that it’s been hot, the last thing I want to do is cook, but I’ve been trying. Either way, the fact that breakfast and lunch were so healthy makes me feel better about eating a banana with peanut butter and ice cream for dinner. Not that I recommend that, but baby steps right?

But I’ve been working on it. Recently I’ve made:

Vanilla coconut protein pancakes

Grilled Pizza and grilled corn

Grilled Tilapia

Now that it gets cooler, I’ll concentrate on making more stews (which I’m a huge fan of). Like:

Caldo de Pollo

Coconut Curry

In a Nutshell…

Overall, I feel better about life. And honestly, making sure I go to Crossfit at least 3 times a week really helps.

But in terms of diet, I’ve found a few key things:

1. More protein early in the day helps keep me fuller longer. Raw Fit has 28g of protein per serving. That’s a lot. I’m thinking of trying two scoops of the raw protein when I run out of Raw Fit to see how that tastes/feels (that would be 32g of protein, woah! too much?).

2. Whole grains help keep me full and satisfied. I still try not to eat too much bread, because that’s processed but I’ve been having of whole grains like quinoa, bulgur, and barley. But even then, I usually only have about 1/2 cup at a time. Moderation is key.

3. I like eating a lot of vegetables. If I concentrate on having 4-5 servings of vegetables per day, I feel great and usually end up eating pretty healthy.

4. Snacks aren’t essential and actually discouraged. I can’t really snack. Once I start, I have a hard time stopping the consumption process until I’m full. I’d rather just eat meals. Might not work for everyone but works for me.

5. Nothing is off limits. I’m more likely to eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full when I don’t feel like I can’t have a certain food. On the Paleo challenge, I remember I was constantly thinking about what I could eat. Lately, I just haven’t found myself worrying about that, which is great. I mean, let’s be honest, as a foodie, I constantly think of food, but now it’s things I want to make, as opposed to thinks I want to eat. That said, I am conscious to not over eat certain things. I always want to eat 3 pieces of cake and 4 slices of pizza, but I stop myself because I can always have more later when I’m hungry if I still want it. So while I can have everything, that doesn’t mean stuff my face to the point of feeling ill. I’m definitely guilty of doing that at times, but I’m trying to keep it under wraps.

In retrospect, I’m still glad I tried Paleo for a few weeks (despite how miserable it was). I still think if you haven’t found what works for you, you should definitely give it a try, because it could be amazing for you.

I just found that lots of vegetables with some grain and protein is the best strategy for me. No labels, just real food. Overall, I try to eat well 70-80 percent of the time. That helps keep me happy and healthy.

The other 20-30 percent of the time involves things like this…

Oh wait, that was only true when I lived in Italy. Now it looks more like this…

Because Bacon = ‘Merika!

I’m sure I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to eat less of that stuff, but I guess that’s the lifelong struggle of a sugar addict?

Have you figured out what works for you? Do you love paleo? Is a vegetarian or vegan diet what keeps you happy or healthy? Are you still figuring it out? Tell me where you’re at!

Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancakes

September 12, 2013July 26, 201528 Comments

Brunch is totally mainstream these days, but I don’t think that was always true. In the past ten years, we’ve become very familiar with brunch, sort of akin to how “googling” something or someone is totally normal.

I love brunch, the wonderful marriage of breakfast and lunch that often involves a tasty libation. I’m totally on-board. What I wish would gain great popularity is Brinner. I have no idea if that’s actually a term, but let’s go with it.

Brinner, the happy marriage of breakfast and dinner. AKA Breakfast for Dinner. It should most definitely be a thing.

But you should probably know I have this thing where I think breakfast should be healthy. It’s the first meal of the day and you should probably start it off on the right foot. For me, it’s usually a smoothie with banana, mango, spinach, kale and protein powder. I drink it on my way to work, and it keeps me full for a long time without feeling sluggish.

So if we’re having breakfast for dinner, that doesn’t mean we have to go crazy and eat tons of bacon, pancakes and eggs drenched in maple syrup. That’s ok sometimes, but for days like today, let’s keep it light and full of protein.

Now, all that aside, what is more beautiful than a stack of pancakes?

Well… a stack of these pancakes…

Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancakes

2 tbsp spelt flour
2 tbsp almond meal
3 tbsp protein powder (I used Garden of Life Raw Vanilla Protein)
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp chia seeds
1 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 egg
2-4 tbsp almond milk

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add wet ingredients (start with 2 tbsp of almond milk and add more accordingly. Every protein powder is different so to avoid getting batter that’s too thin, adjust accordingly) and stir together.

Heat a pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 2 tbsp of batter to form each pancake. Cook a few minutes. Once it starts to bubble on top, flip and cook an additional minute or two.

You’ll get exactly 4 pancakes if you measure (and use a spatula to scrape the bowl). Serve with you toppings of choice.

I served it with some extra coconut and a maple syrup/yogurt combo (2-3 tbsp greek yogurt + 1 tbsp maple syrup + water to thin it out). Deeeelish.

Nutrition-wise, they’re not too bad either.

There’s almost 30 grams of protein in there! Note: these stats are only for the pancakes, not any of the toppings. The fat comes mostly from the almond meal and coconut. But don’t be scared of fat! It does a body good.

Ok so please tell me you’re going to help me make Brinner a thing and tell everyone about these protein pancakes. Yes!

Do you ever do breakfast for dinner? What’s your favorite Brinner item?

The Perks of Living Alone and a Plum-Almond Tart in a Buckwheat Spelt Crust

August 28, 20138 Comments

Living alone can be absolutely fantastic. Sometimes I think I’m borderline hermit, because there’s nothing I love more than crawling into my batcave and not talking to a single person. A lot of people ask me if I get lonely living alone. Honestly, some days… YES (especially when I hear a noise on my patio, even though I’m 99.9% sure it’s the fat black cat that likes to hang out).

But then other days, I cherish the fact that I’m independent. So in case you’re wondering, here are some of the perks of living alone:

1. Permanent No-Pants Party. Pants are over-rated. When you live alone, you can walk around with no pants. There’s no one to hide from or be judged by. It’s just you and your thighs, hanging out.

2. The peanut butter jar is yours and only yours.

You can dip your fingers in peanut butter, eat huge bowls of ice cream, have handfuls of chocolate chips, and pretend like calories don’t matter, because if no one saw you consume it, it didn’t happen. Ok so I’m kidding, but really you can have ridiculous eating habits and no one will judge you. Jesse saw me devour a banana with almond butter one day and was completely horrified. I keep it private now. (Note: the obvious exception to this is the awesome roommate who goes to the store to get half moon cookies and coconut popswith you at midnight… looking at you Christina!)

3. You’re the Queen of the Remote. This is pretty much self-explanatory. You decide what’s on TV… I’ve watched the same 2 episodes of Catfish like 5 times… When Jesse comes over and I turn it on, he comments on how we already saw that one… Oh yeah…

4. You can fart if you want to. Totally not lady-like, but let’s be honest, everyone farts. It just happens. When you live alone, you don’t have to worry about anyone else hearing you, because no one is around. You can keep up lady-like appearances in public when you know you can let loose at home.

5. You can hog the kitchen and bake whenever you want.

I’ve been lucky and have generally had roommates who are cool with me dominating the kitchen. Only one roommate was not ok with it (there’s a reason I live alone now…). But the best part of living alone, for me, is being able to spend hours with baking experiments, like this plum-almond tart.

I’m going to be totally up front and honest with you. I have mixed feelings with this recipe so I decided not to share my recipe. I’m going to try again until I get it to taste awesome. I wanted to love this tart, because it has all the makings an an awesome blog post: healthy alternatives, unique non-wheat flour, no added refined sugar (does maple syrup count? It’s still sugar).

The crust is made of buckwheat and spelt flours.

Honestly, this crust tastes a little too “healthy” for my liking, and the texture is a little too crumbly, not flakey. The filling on the other hand, I liked. Moist but nutty and slightly “healthy” tasting. It involves almond meal and maple syrup. And the plums. Divine.

Ok so at this point, I’ve told you why living alone is great and why it’s not so great. I’ve also told you why this tart was awesome and also not so awesome.

Do you live alone? Do you love it? Hate it? Do you have roommates/friends/partners you live with? What’s best?

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