Penne Rosa with Shrimp

Let's be honest - I love carbs, so I enjoy making a good pasta dish every once in a while. I love this penne rosa with shrimp recipe because 1) I love shrimp 2) I love pasta and 3) It's super easy to make and doesn't take too much time.

One of the best things about cooking your own meals is you can leave out things you don't like, substitute ingredients, or add in more that the original recipe didn't call for. That being said, I added in the broccoli to give the dish even more substance and nutrients and left out mushrooms because my boyfriend isn't a big fan, but I'm thinking that artichoke hearts or asparagus would be a good substitute as well.

I try to make clean eating/healthier replacements when possible, so I use whole wheat or whole grain pasta instead of regular or white, but again, it's easy to substitute if you prefer the latter. As far as the sauce goes, I just grabbed a jar of pre made vodka sauce this time, but you can opt for a healthier option by combining 1/2 cup marinara sauce (homemade or jar) and 1/3 plain greek yogurt.

Ingredients

1 box whole wheat or whole grain penne
4 cups of fresh spinach
1 head or case of pre-cut broccoli
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled
1 jar vodka sauce (or see healthier replacement above)
1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 pinches red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

- Cook penne pasta as directed on box. Once cooked, drain and add into a large serving bowl
- Steam broccoli for about 5 minutes or until you reach your desired softness, adding to the serving bowl once completed
- In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil over medium heat
- Once heated, add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, moving around constantly to ensure you don't burn the garlic
- Turn heat up a little bit and add in peeled shrimp with the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until the shrimp is pink and cooked all the way through. Salt and pepper to your preference
- Remove shrimp from skillet and place in a large serving bowl. Take skillet off of heat, add in the spinach and cover, letting it wilt for about 2-4 minutes
- Add the spinach to the serving bowl along with the vodka sauce
- Stir thoroughly until incorporated throughout, serve and enjoy!

Friday Favorites - Thanksgiving Edition 11/21/2014

Friday Favorites this week include a trick to keep you from crying for Thanksgiving prep, my favorite Thanksgiving dish with a recipe, and perfect drink pairings for each Thanksgiving dish.

Thanksgiving Prep Tip: Use Olive Oil to Keep from Crying
This tip is good for any day, not just Thanksgiving. If you're like me, I have the role in the family on Thanksgiving day of helping with a lot of the food prep as opposed to the actual cooking. I'm looking forward to trying this new trick to see if it keeps my eyes from watering while I'm slicing the onions. I've also heard that chewing gum while cutting helps as well, which seems to be somewhat true from my experience.

Favorite Thanksgiving Dish: Green Bean Casserole 
I love almost all Thanksgiving sides and dishes, but my favorite definitely has to be the green bean casserole. My mom makes it every year, and it gets devoured by all of our family (and I'll admit that I'm the main culprit). I love green beans to begin with, but green bean casserole is on another level. And it's pretty easy to make too. Here's a recipe for the amazing dish.

Wine, Beer & Booze Pairing for Thanksgiving Dishes

Loving this infographic for the perfect drinks to go with all the goods on Thanksgiving. Even though I'll probably be sticking with my Chardonnay all evening, it's still interesting to see the different options. If you plan on making that yummy green bean casserole above, try pairing it with Viognier.

"All About That Baste" Thanksgiving Parody
 I'm loving this funny parody spin on Meghan Trainor's overplayed, yet highly likable song, "All About That Bass."

Triple Pocket Napkin Fold
I'll be trying out this unique, yet easy fold for the Thanksgiving table setting this year. It's amazing how much a simple napkin fold can add to the sophistication of the table - the small details do count! Click here for the full tutorial. 

Are you celebrating a big Thanksgiving this year? What's your favorite dish on Thanksgiving?

Friday Favorites - Halloween Edition 10/31/2014

Happy Halloween! Even though I won't be doing anything exciting this year for the holiday, I figured I'd share some of my spooky, or not so spooky, favorites, including my favorite Halloween candy, a hilarious video of a mutant, giant spider....dog, a DIY mermaid costume and more.

Favorite Halloween Video - Mutant Giant Spider Dog

I just can't help but laugh every time I watch this video. I do have to say that my reaction would be the same as the poor running and screaming people that were traumatized in the making of this video though.

Favorite Graphic - Most Googled Halloween Costumes for Each State

I thought this was pretty cool, especially since I don't know what half of the costumes are. Note the spider dog costume search in Washington.

Favorite DIY Costume - Lauren Conrad as a Mermaid

Not that I could ever accomplish this perfect of a DIY project, but I love the all the shells and sequins. It's girly and fun, yet still cute and body con. Not to mention, you won't have anyone asking what you're dressed up as. 

Favorite Halloween Candy: Reese's

This is a tough one. I basically like any sweets, but there's something about Reese's on Halloween that you just can't beat. Chocolate & peanut butter, what's better than that?

Favorite Halloween Recipe - Mummy Dogs

These are so effortless, enjoyable and festive, it's a no-brainer if you're having a Halloween get together. Great for kids or adults.

Ingredients:

- Hot dogs/Turkey dogs

- Crescent rolls

- Yellow Mustard

Directions:

- Unroll crescent rolls and cut each perforated piece in half

- Wrap crescent roll around hot dog or turkey dog

- Bake in 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes

- Add two dots of mustard for the eyes!

What's your favorite Halloween candy? Are you dressing up this year? What's your favorite Halloween costume of all time?

Oven Baked Chicken & Veggies

This is one of my favorite dishes to prepare at night and store to bring to lunch at work. It's a simple dish with chicken, peppers and onions and only takes about 30 minutes total time to prep and cook, plus, it's a clean meal with no additives or extra ingredients you can't name. 

The directions below serve three packed lunches for me, but double or triple the ingredients for a larger family or to prep additional meals.

Ingredients 

1 lb boneless chicken strips
3 bell peppers - I chose 2 green and 1 red
1 medium sized onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Lightly coat a 13x9 clear baking dish with cooking spray
- Lay chicken in dish and drizzle with olive oil
- Sprinkle spices on top of chicken and toss around with hands to work into chicken
- Slice peppers and onions and add to dish with chicken
- Bake in oven uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout and veggies are tender

I put my chicken and veggies over a bit of brown rice, but you can make them for dinner and wrap them in tortillas like fajitas or just eat the chicken and veggies by themselves. 

What's your favorite dish to bring to lunch?

Spiralizing Veggies - Zoodles!

I recently bought my own sprializer. Spiralizers are used to cut fruits and vegetables in a thin, spiral-like shape - almost like spaghetti. I had seen a lot of recipes on Pinterest and heard from friends that it was a great substitute for pasta, so I figured I'd give it a try, and boy was I happy.

I'm a carb lover, so pasta is one of my favorites, but this zucchini noodle - or zoodle - substitute was just as great. First of all, I love the fun shape and never ending spirals that I can create. Second, it's super easy and takes just a few minutes to cook! And third, it's calorie count is extremely low, so I don't feel guilty about eating a full plate of "zoodles." Keep reading to see my recipe.

Since I was just making dinner for myself, I used one medium-large sized zucchini, but you can adjust the recipe to reflect however many people you are cooking for.

Ingredients

1-2 medium zucchinis
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Cut the ends off of the zucchini and place into spiralizer.
Use the spiralizer until all zucchini has been put through.
In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add zoodles to pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Plate and add your favorite toppings!

I topped my zoodles dish with organic vodka sauce and grilled chicken, but I'm looking forward to trying different toppings and combinations. This is a great dish for those who are eating clean too! If you're interested in what eating clean means, check out my last post or click here. 

Do you have a spiralizer? Have you ever made zoodles before? What are your favorite spiralizer recipes?

The Easy Guide to Eating Clean

I'm the type of girl who hates diets. I love food and I love eating (and I especially love my carbs), so going through the diet cycle of losing and gaining weight was frustrating and annoying. Last April, I discovered "eating clean." Yes, there are restrictions, but I felt that I had much more freedom than I did on other fad diets, and I felt and looked great! So for Lent this year, I went back to strictly eating clean again.

Last April, I picked up Tosca Reno's book, The Eat Clean Diet, to get started. In simple terms, it's all about eating all natural food, eating small portions all throughout the day and pairing complex carbs with proteins. Your body doesn't want to run on preservatives, additives and artificial flavors, so simply feed it the right natural ingredients, and I promise you'll feel great!

I recommend purchasing a book like Reno's to begin or at least doing lots of research online. She gives you a lot of background about what foods are good and why and gives you tips to remember along the journey. But like I said, in simple terms, eating clean means eating foods that are in their whole form without any odd ingredients that you don't recognize or can't pronounce.

In order to do this, you have to become label obsessed at first. But the good thing is, instead of looking at the calories, fat or carbs on the label, you're looking at the ingredients. I was surprised to find that some of my favorite foods that I thought were "clean" weren't at all. For example, most peanut butters have added salts and sugars, so I switched to an all natural peanut butter. Even ketchup has added sugar! Whole Food Markets will become your best friends.

Here are some examples of foods that I was eating before that I switched out for clean foods:

White Potatoes -> Sweet Potatoes

White Rice -> Brown Rice or Quinoa 

Instant Oatmeal -> Steel Cut Oats

Peanut Butter -> All Natural Peanut Butter or Almond Butter

White Bread -> Whole Wheat Bread

White Pasta -> Whole Wheat Pasta

In summary:

• Only eat whole foods - no additives, artificial flavoring, etc.
• Check the label - always check the food label to see what ingredients are in the food. You may be surprised with what you find.
• Try to pair complex carbs (like whole wheat bread or brown rice) with proteins (like chicken or almonds)
• Drink lots of water! At least 8 glasses a day.
• Schedule your meals - This makes it a lot easier at the grocery store and so you won't stray away from your plan.
• Try to avoid sugars and sodium as much as possible.
• Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day.

Remember it may be hard to change your ways at first, but I promise you, it's worth it. Even if you eat clean during the week and save your weekends for indulging, that's making progress! I'll be posting recipes here on my blog (like the maple salmon pictured above), but you can find tons of supplemental information and fun recipes to try on Pinterest too!

Have you ever tried eating strictly clean? What are your favorite clean recipes?

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cups

Valentine's Day is known for it's sugary reputation, so I couldn't help but make these light yet delicious dark chocolate strawberry cups suggested on the Tone It Up website. I recently posted my version of their protein pancakes a few weeks ago. Check it out here. 

These desserts are perfect for a party or just a dinner for two, like I did for my boyfriend and I for a Valentine's Day treat last week. They're low maintenance and not to heavy after dinner. 

Ingredients

2 cups dark chocolate chips
6-10 cupcake liners
1-2 cups fresh strawberries
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

- Place chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute until melted

- Put cupcake liners in cupcake tin and spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray

- Spoon melted chocolate into liners and be sure to coat the full cup, including sides

- Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes

- Check to make sure that the entire liner is coated in chocolate; touch-up missed spots and refrigerate again if necessary

- When ready to serve, take cups out of refrigerators and remove liners

- Slice fresh strawberries and place inside of chocolate cups

- Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings or crushed nuts as an extra garnish!

Easy & Healthy Protein Pancakes

I've recently joined the Tone It Up team! You may have seen the wonderful Karena and Katrina on their show, Toned Up, on Bravo lately - the season finale is tonight. Tone It Up is a health/fitness community that provides workouts, recipes and support from other ladies all around the world!

I'm part of the "Members Only Group" because I purchased the nutrition plan that also comes with exclusive recipes and meal plans. I'm currently doing the 7 Day Slim Down to kick start my journey and one of the recipes for breakfast is the Perfect Fit Protein Pancake. Perfect Fit is a type of protein supplement with the Tone It Up brand, but I just use a soy protein that I got at the grocery store. 

I was a little skeptical when I saw the ingredients for this because they sounded a bit out of the ordinary, but it came out tasting great with some all natural maple syrup on top and fresh strawberries on the side. It's a great light breakfast or snack after a workout. Check out the recipe below and let me know what you think!

Ingredients (serving size: 1 pancake)

4 teaspoons protein powder
1/2 banana, mashed
1/2 tablespoon almond milk
1/4 cup egg whites
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

- Mash banana and mix with almond milk until combined
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix throughly
- Spray skillet or pan with cooking spray and slowly pour batter into pan
- Wait for 3-5 minutes, check the bottom of the pancake, then flip and cook for a few more minutes until it's cooked all the way through and both sides are golden brown

Super Bowl XLVIII Recap

My family decided to have a small Super Bowl party for some of our close friends and neighbors to root on the Denver Broncos. Despite their epic loss, the party was fun, the halftime show was good, there was great food, and I won a little extra money on the side playing a game my family calls football pool (I'll explain that later).

I've always been a Denver Broncos fan since I was little, so I was ecstatic that they had won the American Football Conference (AFC) and were going to Super Bowl XLVIII to battle the Seattle Seahawks. The boys had a great season, and I was pretty confident that they would pull out the win at the Super Bowl, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. The Seahawks crushed the Broncos, 43-8. Although I'm still a bit sad about it, I'll still stick by my Bronco's side. 

The other best parts of the Super Bowl besides the game are the commercials and the half time show. Bruno Mars was the main half time performer alongside The Red Hot Chili Peppers. A lot of people weren't too excited about that, and most people said there's no way he could top last year's performer, Beyonce. I thought he did a great job though. Bruno is a great performer, dancer and singer, so I loved the half time show. I also loved his super skinny tie and metallic blazer. The little Red Hot Chili Peppers performance wasn't so bad either. You can check out the full performance below.

As far as the commercials went, I didn't think they were really that funny this year. There were only a few that stood out to me: a heartwarming, tear-jerking Budweiser commercial featuring a puppy and a clydesdale and a funny Dannon Oikos commercial featuring John Stamos and a little Full House reunion. Check them out both below.

Last, with a party comes lots of great food. Everyone who came brought an appetizer with them and my family covered the main dishes and desserts. One of my favorite appetizers were homemade pizza roll-ups. Click here for a similar recipe. My parents made some delicious filet mignon sliders, and I made my famous peanut butter bars. They're easy to make and really addicting to eat. Stay tuned for a recipe post later this week.

So back to what football pool is. It's a game that has no strategy, it's all just luck. There are 100 squares that people can buy - we made two posters this year, one was $1 per square and the other was $3 per square. Once all the squares are filled in, you label 0-9 at the top and the left side in a random order. You split up the pot for each quarter, so $20 each (for the $1 board) and $20 for overtime, just in case. After the first quarter, you match the numbers to see who's box it lands on. For example, after the first quarter the score was 8-0, Seahawks, so you find the 8 at the top and the 0 on the left side and see which box they land on, which was the box with my name on it! So I walked away with $20. Sort of hard to understand, but it's a fun game to play with everyone.

What did you do for the Super Bowl? Did you have any favorite commercials? 

3 Ingredient Maple Salmon

I grew up in Clearwater, FL surrounded by the ocean and I've always loved seafood. One of my favorite types of fish is salmon. Not only is it delicious, but also really healthy for you! It contains omega-3 fatty acids which are great for your heart and your brain by lowering your cholesterol and improving memory, among tons of other benefits.

The great thing about this maple salmon recipe is that it's super easy and great for beginner cooks - it's very low maintenance and only has three ingredients! It's also a meal that can be cooked for one person or a whole family. The ingredients below reflect a single serving size, but just multiply the ingredients to reflect how many people you'll be cooking for.

This meal is also clean, which means that I used all fresh and natural ingredients - no preservatives or additives - so you can eat well and still enjoy your meal!

I had my salmon over a bed of brown rice and quinoa with a side of asparagus and avocado. I would love to hear your experience if you decide to try this maple salmon. Also let me know if you try adding anything else into the ingredients. Have fun and enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

5 - 7 ounces of salmon

Directions

 - Put salmon in a bowl or dish and pour the maple syrup and soy sauce over top the piece of salmon.

 - Work salmon into marinade and place covered in refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning once.

 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 - Place salmon into a baking dish (I like to put aluminum foil on the bottom to avoid a mess), and pour the remaining marinade over top of the fish.

 - Bake uncovered in oven for about 20 minutes or until the fish is flaky.