Vegetarian Enchiladas

We had to do a recipe “make-over” for food science lab and what better choice than something so notoriously unhealthy–enchiladas.  I love making these because you can pretty much use whatever you have on hand and they’re super quick.

Step 1. Chop veggies and throw in a skillet with some garlic infused canola oil. I used 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper and half of a yellow onion.

Step 2. Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, along with a can of black beans

Step 3. Divide the mixture evenly between 6 whole wheat tortillas, sprinkle with shredded cheese and roll tightly. Pour 1/3 jar of enchilada sauce into a baking dish, place the rolled tortillas in the dish, then cover with the remaining sauce and about 1 more cup of the cheese.

Step 4. Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 5-10 to melt the cheese on top.

Ta-da! We made them cheaper by replacing the typical meat with beans, and made them healthier by adding fresh veggies, cutting back on cheese, using the whole wheat tortillas, and ditching the sour cream (I HATE sour cream anyway!!!)

These turned out really good! We got lots of props from everyone in class so it was definitely a success. Can’t go wrong with Mexican food, the only thing we were missing was guac… quite possibly my second favorite condiment (if you can call it that?) of all time behind hot sauce.  Next time.

Thanksgiving 2009

Wowza! We had quite the amazing spread of goodies and while I was pretty bummed that I wasn’t at home (first time ever!!), I had a wonderfully relaxing day with my best friend and her family.

We had turkey AND ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and my homemade cranberry sauce.   I used the basic recipe on the bag, but replace half of the water with orange juice, and substituted agave nectar for the white sugar.  Since agave is sweeter than sugar, you can reduce the amount by almost half which is pretty awesome if you ask me.  It’s got a slightly different taste and I really like it.

I don’t have a picture of dessert (must have been too excited to eat it), but it was the most moist carrot cake I’ve ever tasted and some cranberry apple crisp that was also fabulous.

I drank wine throughout the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed every part of the day.  It’s been so long since my roomie and I have just vegged out like that.  There were numerous naps, cocktails, and card games, and we made sure to get to bed at a decent time so we could wake up to hit the door busters on Black Friday.  Thanksgiving weekend success!

 

Pre-Thanksgiving Appetizers

My roommates parents came into town yesterday and they’re spending the week with us for Thanksgiving!  I love having guests, and if I can’t make it home (first time ever!!!), this is definitely the next best thing.  We had a huge lunch at a restaurant in Fort Collins, so dinner was some light appetizers that we picked up from Whole Foods (more on that later).  We had:

• Salmon/Avocado rolls
• Jumbo shrimp cocktail
• Fresh tortilla chips with salsa and hummus
• Blue cheese and basil stuff mushrooms
• Crackers and a phenomenal cheese ball (blue cheese, olives, walnuts…)

Needless to say, our “light appetizers” turned out to leave us pretty full because everything tasted so good.  But it was so worth it.

I tweeted yesterday that I did major damage at Whole Foods, and that is an understatement.  I finally tried Kombucha:

This was so good!  Tasted like champagne.  And I almost felt like I had a buzz, but a healthy one if that makes sense.  I can’t believe how expensive they are… I may have to experiment with making my own.  We’ll see!

I also replenished the GRASS.  It was quite the investment, but I love this stuff so much it was totally worth it.  I got the chocolate superfood to start with and I may ask for the Amazing Meal for Christmas so I can get some more protein in.  HOW MUCH OF A WEIRDO AM I ASKING FOR AMAZING MEAL FOR CHRISTMAS!? hahaha oh well.  Have a wonderful day!  I’m off to work.

Pumpkin Bread

Love, love, love me some pumpkin!  I found an old recipe on KERF and it turned out fabulous.  I wish the flavors of Fall could last forever…

Recovery Smothie

YUM.  I’m starting to get that weird saliva issue where I feel the need to constantly clear my throat (so annoying in class), cough and drink liquids.  I really, really don’t want to be sick for the next few days because I have a bio exam on Friday, followed by an extremely fun weekend.  In comes the Amazing Grass stash!

This is a combo of:

• banana
• mixed frozen berries
• skim and vanilla soy
• Pomegranate Mango Infusion Amazing Meal

SO energizing!  Love this fruity flavor almost (but not quite) as much as the chocolate.  Happy Wednesday!

Tribute to All Things Chocolate.

The other day I noticed that I was consuming quite a bit of chocolate in one form or another lately… not a bad thing, by any means, because chocolate makes me a happier person, and there are health benefits that come with it’s consumption(which I like to throw out there at all possible opportunities).  Here are some of my current favorites chocolate-themed products.

This is Kashi’s newest addition to the granola bar aisle.  If you know me personally, you would know that I’m a big Kashi fan.  All of their products just taste so real to me.  Not overly sweet, hearty texture, whole almonds…This is my new favorite as it combines coffee, chocolate and almonds (three of my favorite things) all in one bar.

As I said in a previous post, I’m absolutely in love with the Amazing Grass line of products.  I’ve been giving the superFood packets out left and right because I want people to experience the brand.

This bar is NO exception. The dense and chewy inside is packed with greens and nuts, and the outside is coated with a thick layer of organic dark chocolate.  The best of both worlds!  I’ll be picking up more of these the next time I make it to Whole Foods.  Even though the price is steeper than some of my other favorites, you really do get a big nutritional bang for your buck.  They are also much bigger than most bars with the same caloric value.

This is another FNCE find.  I picked up a few sample packs at the Sunkist booth and am quite impressed.  They remind me of Raisinets (movie theater favorite), but with a richer taste.  They’re packed with antioxidants, and this single serving pack is the perfect portion-size.

The roommate and I have been using this stuff in everything. It was used in my super-food smoothie, iced coffee, a bowl of oats (StarbucksVIA/chocolate/PB), and of course by the glass for a late-night snack.  It’s really creamy and delicious!

What are some of your favorite chocolate products?

Meals outside the house, pt. 2

Jess and I had the pleasure of eating dinner with my brother’s girlfriend, Julie, last weekend.  She flew into Boulder to wedding dress shop/visit with one of her best friends, who is getting married next summer!! We met up at The Med, a wonderful restaurant downtown that everyone should check out!

The salad selection was fabulous, so I went with the above hummus platter, or as it’s worded on the menu, Campioncino.  There’s a trio of hummus, tabbouleh, and baba ghanouj, plus a small greek-ish salad and the best pita bread ever! I would definitely order this again.  Here’s Jessica’s salad:

This was the “special salad” of the day, so it’s not on the menu.  It had pom seeds, beets, goat cheese, and seared tuna (can’t remember the other things).  Another winner… both of these salads had great homemade vinaigrette dressings as well–a true sign of a quality restaurant!  Definitely try this place out!!

TGIF.  Stay tuned for a post devoted to all things chocolate that I’ve been loving lately.  Have a great day!

 

Meals outside the house

So I’ve been eating out a little too much lately… I know it’s expensive and not as healthy as cooking my own meals, but I can’t help that trying new restaurants is quite possibly my favorite hobby.  Throw in the fact that there are tons of amazing places to eat in Colorado and there’s no way I can resist!! Here are some things I’ve ordered lately:

I apologize for the poor picture quality (outside seating), but this was a salad served in mini pumpkin!  It was SO delicious… Not sure if you’ve ever tried goose before, but this had smoked goose breast and it was probably the best meat I have ever had.  So tender and flavorful.  This also had dried cherries, baked apples, candied walnuts, peppers, frisee greens and a honey/maple vinaigrette.  Fabulous dish!

The restaurant is called Marlowes and is on the 16th street mall in Denver. If anyone tries this place, I highly recommend the house wheat beer on tap.  Colorado has some awesome beer, but Jess and I both agreed that this was the best we’ve had yet.  Great atmosphere too…

These are cilantro-lime shrimp tacos from a great brewery in Longmont called the Pumphouse.  The waitress recommended these, and let’s just say I gave her a really good tip.  The black bean/corn side dish was an awesome topping and it had a good amount of heat and flavor.

Remember the last time I visited the Pumphouse?  They also have great salads with tons of unique, house-made dressings to pick from, and wonderful cocktails.

This may look like a pretty ordinary salad, but check it out:

Salad perfection.

Reason #1 why FNCE rocks

The GRASS guys hooked me up! This stuff is my current obsession by the way…  Forget about coffee (which I’ve been drinking way too much of lately).  The concept of this is so genius.  Who wouldn’t want to start their day with all of this nutrition in one super cute shaker cup?

For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with the Amazing Grass line, the products boast the following:

• Certified organic
• Raw
• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• Soy-free
• Dairy-free
• Alkalinity (for increased energy and stamina)
• Loads of vitamins and minerals

There’s also a line of powder that has protein added to it (Amazing Meal), which is perfect for smoothies.  It’s low in sugar and still has all of the great fruit/veggie kick.

I feel like I’m doing my body a giant favor by drinking this every morning.  Check out the website for more information about flavors and pricing, but let me tell you that everything I’ve tried thus far has been fantastic.  If you’re a little hesitant to try to it, go with the sample pack.

Wonderful product!

A great-tasting superfood SMOOTHIE

YUM.  Just made this fabulous smoothie and thought it was so good, I had to share it right away.  I’ve been using this chocolate silk in a bunch of different ways and decided that I really like it!  It’s a good way to get some chocolate along with all of the benefits of soy milk.  In addition to smoothies, think oatmeal, iced coffee… you get the idea.

These are the approximate proportions (estimation only):

• 1 cup chocolate silk (isoflavones, omega-3, flavor)
• 1/2 cup organic skim (protein, calcium, vitamins A &D)
• 1 banana (sweetness and potassium)
• 1 cup mixed frozen berries (vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (vitamin A, beta-carotene)
• 1 scoop almond butter (healthy fat, vitamin E, protein)

Enjoy!