***Plant Update***

They are not dead.  I repeat, NOT dead.  

They are thriving!  :-)

My tomato plant has FOUR tomatoes on it!  Little one has declared them to be "smooth" and "greeeeeeen".

There's one...

...and three more!  (Two are bunched together on the right.)

Look at all of the leaves on my strawberry plant!  There are even some little white flowers toward the top of the first picture and I didn't see any strawberries until I went poking around under the big leaves...

FOUR little tiny strawberries!

Stay back, squirrels.  It'll be time to fight.  You best back up.

In other news, you should know that mini blueberry muffins are delicious and have either half or a third of the calories of regular giant ones (depending on the size of your muffin tins).

You should also know that babies toddlers like little muffins.  And capers.  

Okay, so you probably shouldn't feed your baby OR toddler capers because they are super salty... but if you're like me, you might give them random things just to try and see the fantastic expressions they make.  Or awesome yummy noises.  "Mmmmmmmm!" they'll say!  

Dinner tonight was fresh corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, and salmon seasoned with some lemon pepper and garlic powder... and capers for me.  I heart capers.  They make me think of my honeymoon, where they were served with smoked salmon every day for breakfast.  :-)  

Unfortunately, now I know that my toddler likes capers.  Loves may be a better word.  Except she calls them "kini", which I think she mistook for the zucchini that she didn't like at all.   I had to quickly eat them off my plate because she kept asking for "Momma's kini", "have more?"  *sigh*

(Pre-caper picture)

I hope you ate something healthy and delicious this weekend!  

P.S. Sorry about the caper rant!  Do you like capers?

Finding a Balance

Well hello friends!

Remember me?  

Your good buddy who used to cook and blog about it?  

No?  

*sniff*

Well, I've decided to come back and blog more often.  I know I've said that before, but I'm revamping my lifestyle (and that of my hubby and daughter) and want to share some new recipes as I try them out.  Here's the deal... my daughter is 18, almost 19 months old now, and I gained a ton of weight when I was pregnant.  In the past almost 19 months, I've lost about 84 pounds.  How did I do it?  A little bit of Weight Watchers, a whole lot of exercise (Stroller Strides, which is apparently now called Fit4Mom, and TurboFire), and most recently, calorie counting using an app and website called Lose It!  (I may have ditched WW when I discovered that calorie counting worked better for me... to each his own!)

I buckled down with the hubs around Thanksgiving and took off a chunk of weight that I've been struggling to lose forever.  I'm still not quite where I'd like to be, so I'm continuing the journey, just trying to invite more vegetables and grains and healthy things into our lives.  Welcome veggies!  Welcome grains!  It's good to see you!

Trying to balance protein, carbs, and good fats has been a struggle for me, but I think an important one that I need to address for my body.  So, here's what I ate last night... sorry, it's not the best picture!  

Alissa's Mexi-Rice Bowl (570 calories)

1/2 c. Brown Rice
3 oz. Ground Turkey (spiced like taco meat- you could use a seasoning packet, but I make my own)
1/4 c. Scallions
2 T. Salsa
2 T. Sour Cream
4 Grape Tomatoes (chopped)
1/4 c. Black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/8 c. Shredded Cheese (any kind- I used a Mexican blend because it's what I had!)

Now, if you wanted to cut calories even more, you could ditch the cheese or use less rice and add other things like spinach leaves or mushrooms.  Avocado or guacamole would be a yummy addition, and if you really wanted to, you could put it all in a giant burrito shell.  You could ditch the meat entirely if you are vegetarian or use Morningstar crumbles (which I sometimes love).

That's what's great about Mexican food.  It's good any way you eat it.

I also wanted to share some pictures of my new tomato and strawberry plants... now that we have a house *gasp* and it has a deck *gasp*, we have space for things like plants!  :-)

Goals:
1. Don't kill them.
2. Keep other animals away from them so we can eat the fruits!

I added the second goal yesterday when we saw two little red strawberries sitting on the railing of the deck.

Can you see them?

Who took a bite and left it there???

I was happy to see that there was a little red strawberry still in the plant, so I picked it and shared it with my loves at breakfast.  ;-)

First Strawberry Success!!!

I checked the deck railing this afternoon and the two strawberries on the railing are both gone.  Squirrel?  Bird?  I hope you enjoyed them!  You won't be getting any more!

On that note, how do I keep birds and squirrels from getting more?  *Keep in mind that I've never been successful with plants.  Ever.  In my life.

I'm hoping to change that.

Happy cooking, friends!  :-)

How Do You Roll?

Ahh... summer break... I can cook again!  (Not that I haven't been cooking... I just haven't been cooking too many NEW things and/or blogging about them.)  It's actually been kind of nice to have a repetoire of go-to recipes to make. 

I do like to try new things, though. 

I found this particular recipe on Pinterest:

Peanut Butter Rollup

I imagine that you make it in a similar way to making a pizza... except that you don't bake this... and you don't roll up a pizza.  I did say similar, not the same.  I've never made a pizza.  Maybe I should try that sometime!  I did once get a pizza delivered to my house that was still on the pizza pan.  Weird, huh?  Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?

Anyway, these rollups were really good!  I liked them a lot with the jelly, but I would say that if you use jelly you should eat them the same day you make them.  Otherwise the jelly makes everything soggy and starts leaking all over your refrigerator.  Trust me on that one.  They just aren't as good without the jelly, in my opinion, so just keep your timing in mind.  I made them with jelly and then they were fantastic the next morning... but the NEXT morning, they weren't as good.  Does that make sense? 

Why do I feel like I'm rambling tonight?  I think I used the word jelly way too many times!  It's been a long day.  :-)

Happy Father's Day, by the way!  (If you're a Dad, of course).  I made my hubby some waffles from scratch, which I've actually never done before.  I usually use Bisquick for waffles.  I just like how they taste.  These were alright... but just not up to the Bisquick fluffiness standard that I've set for myself. 

Waffles from scratch!

Below are two salads I made this week... the first is a little overloaded in that bowl.  Haha.  I should have done it on a plate for a better picture.

Alissa's Crazy Salad

Alissa's Crazy Salad
Spinach leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms
Broccoli sprouts
Hardboiled egg
Tofu
Cauliflower
Avocado
Ranch-flavored almonds
...with a little drizzle of ranch dressing on top. 

It's actually really good... despite all of the randomness that's in it.  ;-) 

I made this salad tonight:

Alissa's Taco Salad

Alissa's Taco Salad
Blue corn chips
Spinach leaves
Mushrooms
Grated cheddar cheese
Seasoned ground beef
Fresh salsa (YUM!  I discovered it this week... so good.)
...and whatever else you want to add.  I added a dollop of taco sauce, sour cream, and guacamole right on top.  I would have added some black beans and corn if I'd had any in the house.  I looked.  ;-) 

Thank you readers, if you're out there, for sticking with me through 100 posts!  :-)

Until next time...

Smooth and Creamy

I miss Jamba Juice.  :-( 

We went to NYC in July and I've decided that they have the best smoothies.  No ice cream, but good smoothies.  Did you know that this is apparently the only way to get ice cream in NYC?

I'll be perfectly honest.  For National Ice Cream Day (July 17th), I was hoping to find an awesome ice cream shop and get order something amazing.  I wasn't expecting to have to chase down an ice cream truck.  I could do that at home!  Hehe, so we noshed on some Jamba Juice smoothies.  Mmmm... like heaven in a cup.  Too bad there aren't any around my house.  Sad.

So, here are two attempts at smoothies I've made:

 


I'm not going to give you exact measurements because that's not how I made these smoothies.  I just added stuff to them until they tasted yummy.  Real precise!  Haha.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie (On the left!)
Strawberries, hulled
1 banana
1 c. of yogurt (I used a cherry-flavored one)
Dash of skim milk
...and then add ice until it's smooth and creamy enough for you!  You could also add blueberries, raspberries, or any other kind of fruit that you like.  I topped it with a spoonful of lite Cool Whip. 

Mango Pineapple Smoothie (On the right!)
1 mango
1 c. pineapple chunks
Handful of blueberries
1 c. Greek yogurt (I used a honey-flavored one)
Dash of skim milk
Several squirts of honey
...and again, add ice until it's smooth and creamy.  Not terribly difficult.  Pretty tasty!

Have you ever tried making a smoothie?  What do you like to put in it?  I'm open to suggestions!  :-)