Detox Day 1 & a Quick Smoothie Recipe

Day one of our detox went smashingly well. I'm proud to say I didn't eat anything with excess sugar all day. This morning I started off with organic turkey sausage links (These are my favorite!) and a peanut butter & banana protein shake. We get them at our local Kroger and they are perfect for adding it a little extra protein to any meal.

This shake is super easy and tasty!  I keep several bananas chopped up and stored in ziplock baggies in our freezer so that they are easily accessible when I'm making my smoothies. 

So here's the smoothie: 

1 frozen banana (apprx. 90 calories)

8 oz of original almond milk (40 calories)

1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter. You can also use almond butter but I was all out. (95 calories)

1 scoop of protein. I use About Time Chocolate Protein Powder.  (103 calories)
and ice! I almost forget ice.

Blend all of these together and feel free to adjust ingredients based on consistency. If it's too thick, add more almond milk. If it's not thick enough, add more peanut/almond butter. This really is so good and it satisfies my milkshake addiction. I LOVE milkshakes but they are so bad for you. A large chocolate milkshake from McDonalds has 880 calories! 220 of those are purely fat calories. Wowzers! This peanut butter/banana shake is about 330 calories and much better for you! 

For dinner tonight, I made potato, shrimp and corn bisque. Yummo! Hopefully I'll get that recipe up on the blog in the next few days. 

Thanks for following me on this journey to better health. And please know, I am not a doctor, a nurse or a dietician...just a girl trying to make better food choices. :) If y'all try my smoothie concoction, let me know if you like it! 

mini spinach frittatas

I haven't shared a recipe on our blog in quite some time and I'm not sure why. It's no secret that I live with an amazing chef. Ok, he's not an actual chef but he's my personal chef and that is all that matters, right? ;) Buie is all the time cooking up something. Since he manages a bookstore, he often (and I DO mean OFTEN) brings home new cookbooks and cooking magazines for new recipes to try. I love it! I don't HATE to cook. In fact, I have a few of my favorite dishes I have somewhat perfected, including my gluten free gumbo, but I step aside when Buie is ready to cook. For instance, right now, I am on my laptop blogging away and where is he? Cooking. This is AFTER he already cooked a delicious flank steak for my parents tonight. His only request is that I keep him company while he cooks. Therefore, here I sit at the breakfast table, blogging and admiring his handiwork. (Please excuse the pictures. I just snapped them with my iPhone. I promise they taste SO much better than they look in these pics!)

Here is a recently discovered recipe that I literally cannot get enough of: mini spinach frittatas. These bite size frittatas are easy to make and have become a staple in our household. They make for a quick breakfast if you are running out the door or a healthy alternative for a snack to tied you over until dinner. If you have kids, these would be great to make to protein to their diet. One serving has 10g of protein.

Recipe by Nancy Statkevicus | Tucson, AZ found at www.tasteofhome.com

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

24 slices pepperoni

• In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Place a pepperoni slice in each of 24 greased miniature muffin cups. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with the cheese mixture.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until completely set. Carefully run a knife around edges of muffin cups to loosen. Serve warm

Nutrition Facts: 3 mini frittatas equals 128 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 50 mg cholesterol, 396 mg sodium, 4 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein.

We ALWAYS double this recipe because they go so quickly in our house. They also freeze nicely. Enjoy! If you end up making them, let me know how you like them. I would be interested to know if kids like them, too. I would think they would since they have the pepperoni on the bottom. Maybe I'll have to let my niece and nephew try some. :)

Zucchini Fries

As y'all probably all know, Pinterest has taken me captive. It has a hold of me and won't let go. I have found a few yummy looking recipes that I pinned. Included in those recipes is this amazing recipe that I just have to share with my blog friends. Zucchini fries...and lemme tell ya, they are amazing!

Here is the recipe I found from Pinterest and I slightly adapted it to make it gluten free for me.

Baked Zucchini Fries

About 1 lb. zucchini

1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs (I used what I had available - Gluten Free Crispy Chicken Coating Mix. You could use any sort of gluten free bread crumbs. )

I added about 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp. garlic salt and 2 tbsp. of Cajun Italian Seasoning we just picked up on our New Orleans trip.

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).

Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.

Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Follow me on Pinterest! :)

Cheesy Bake Pasta

I found this recipe on Pinterest and immediately I had to try it! So let me clarify, this is not MY recipe but I did come up with the name "Cheesy Bake Pasta" because well, frankly it's better than the name it did have. I made this recipe tonight and we both loved it! So here is the yummy cheesy bake pasta! If you try it out, let me know how you like it!

ingredients:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed

2-14 oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes

1 tsp. dried oregano

S&P

1 lb. pasta (tubes)

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed

2/3 c. parmesan

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 min. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add S&P. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss pasta with sauce.Place half of pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish. Cover with half parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

* I used gluten free pasta for mine (obviously) and I didn't have enough of the tube pasta so I threw some gf shells in there. I'm pretty crafty like that! I also used some spinach in mine. It gave it a little extra color and maybe a few extra vitamins. :) Enjoy!

Weekend Review & a Recipe

This past weekend was simply grand. Friday night I snuggled on the couch with my B and watch endless episodes of our favorite, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." - Haven't seen it? You should! Funny show! Hil-ar-ious! Saturday morning I had some last minute company come see me, which meant last minute cleaning FRENZY! It was my aunt & uncle from Louisiana. They got the grand tour of the Buie Estate (ha!) and then they took me to lunch. The rest of my Saturday was filled with cleaning and preparing for more company later than evening. Six of our dear friends came over Saturday night to grill out, eat and hang out. We had the best time! We are lovin' this Spring weather and hope to grill out more often! I am truly blessed with the greatest friends here in Arkansas.

Saturday night I made a strawberry trifle that everyone seemed to love and I thought I would share it with my blogger friends as well, so here goes. This is my sister-in-law's recipe - I must give credit where credit is due. :)

image found here

Strawberry Trifle:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
1 1/2 cups water
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 angelfood cake (I use a gluten free yellow cake mix)
1 container Cool Whip, thawed (I use fat free)
2 quarts stawberries, sliced (or other fruit/berries of choice)

Mix milk & water, add pudding mix & blend well, refrigerate for about 5 minutes
Fold cool whip into pudding mixture
In large bowl (or trifle bowl), layber crumbled cake, pudding mixture, then fruit. Repeat layers. Serve immediately or stick in fridge until ready to serve.

**If you like banana pudding you can also substitute the cake for nilla wafers and the strawberries for bananas. Make it your own!

YUM! You'll be addicted!

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Weekend Review (Part 2): Easter Lunch

So, We were just a little bit proud of ourselves Sunday night after everyone had left and the house was quiet...well, as quiet as it can be with FIVE animals (one of whom is a very talkative beagle). Anyway, we did it. We cooked our first full Easter meal for nine people! And it was delicious! Okay, so it really wasn't that big of a deal because we cook for people all the time but this time it was special because we cooked for B's parents AND my parents. I don't think we've all been in the same room since our wedding almost two years ago. Crazy! Anyway, it was so fun to hang out, eat and laugh and just enjoy each other's company. The food wasn't too bad either, if I must say so myself. :)
I was going to go with ALL Pioneer Woman recipes, but at the last minute B decide he wanted to grill a beef tenderloin on the grill. (I think he felt left out.) ;) So the Pot Roast got replaced by a scrumptious beef tenderloin. I'll have to blog the recipe soon. It was amazing!
Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Whiskey-Glazed Carrots

My mother-in-law brought green beans with bacon on top! Yum! Everyone else had Hawaiian rolls. I decided not to make any gluten free rolls for me this time. For dessert we had a strawberry trifle that is my sister-in-law's recipes, and brownies and lemon bars that my mom made! I was stuffed!

I hope your Easter was wonderful! This one will definitely be one we won't quickly forget. Everyone voted that they want us to have Easter at our house EVERY year. ;) I'd be okay with that.

The Pioneer Woman on GMA!

The Pioneer Woman on Good Morning America: Check it out!

Here's a link to her pot roast that she made this morning on GMA.

Remember when I met her? That was fun! :)

King Cake Catastrophe!

First of all, happy Mardi Gras (a little late)! If you are not familar with the celebration of Mardi Gras, read about it here. Don't have a clue what a King Cake is?- click here to know more than you could have ever needed to know!

Being from Louisiana, I have always enjoyed the interesting tradition of Mardi Gras. In high school, my friends and I would always share a King Cake during the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. It was fun to see who would find the little plastic baby inside. Whoever found the baby would have to buy the King Cake for next year. On Ash Wednesday we would always talk about what we were giving up for Lent. It was usually something we LOVED like cokes or chocolate.

The older I get, the more I find the religious aspect of Mardi Gras and Lent interesting. Even though, I was not raised Catholic nor am I Catholic now, Lent it still a significant part of a Christian's life and I have tried to make it a part of mine. (more on this later...)

But the fun part of Mardi Gras is and probably always will be the King Cakes! The cinnamon flavor goodness dripping with purple, green and yellow icing sprinkled with suger! Oh, so good! Well, I haven't had one in THREE years, since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This year I was determind to make a gluten free King Cake, so I searched on line and found this- a yummy sounding recipe for a gluten free King Cake. So of course, I tried it. I tried and tried and tried. I literally tried it three times and failed everytime. I followed the instructions perfectly but each time my dough would turn out crumbly, waaay too crumbly to even roll out. So I gave up. So with GF flour ALL OVER my kitchen and ALL over me, I hrew in the towel and enjoyed another Mardi Gras without a King Cake. :( When B got home, he said it looked like the kitchen had exploded but of course, he helped clean up. What a great guy.

I'm determined, even more determined now, to have one next year - even if I have to order a pre-made one online and have it shipped to me. I will eat King Cake next year! Until then, I will enjoy Mardi Gras will a glass of lactose free milk and a gluten free cookie. :)

Did you celebrate Mardi Gras? Are you giving anything up for Lent this year?

Yummy Gumbo!

For the Super Bowl last night I made this gumbo and I posted this mobile upload on Twitter and Facebook while it was simmering... I had several people ask for the recipe so I thought I would post it on our blog.

Ok, don't get stressed out by the ingredient list. It's a lot of items but all of these items makes one of the best gumbo recipes I've ever tasted - and I'm from Louisiana!

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used the olive oil my friend Alicia brought me back from Italy. Yum! I realize you might not have Italian pure olive oil laying around so canola oil works good too!)

1/2 cup gluten free sweet rice flour or rice flour (this is obviously the part that makes this dish gluten free)

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped Bell pepper

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 pound peeled, chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned - I use canned, much easier!)

2 minced cloves garlic

10 ounce package sliced frozen okra

5 cups gluten-free chicken stock (fresh or canned - I use fresh from the chicken I boiled for the gumbo)

1 pound sliced gluten-free andouille sausage (I use spicy New Orleans style sausage- yummy)

1 pound cooked, shredded chicken breast

*You can add more sausage and/or chicken depending on how meaty you like your gumbo. This also applies to the veggies. Also, feel free to add whatever kind of meat you want to this gumbo: I also like crawfish, shrimp or even alligator - yes, I said alligator. Remember, I'm from Louisiana!

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme

3 bay leaves (remove before serving)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 cups freshly cooked rice (I like white rice with gumbo - it's fluffier)

Parsley for garnish

Tabasco Sauce (optional - but if you're my husband this is NOT at all optional)

Okay, now that you have gathered all of these ingredients, let's get started.

To make the roux-combine the oil and flour in a heavy stockpot. Over medium heat, whisk continually until the mixture turns a deep caramel color. There is nothing magical about making a roux. Stir continually and remove from heat as soon as the mixture turns a caramel color. (Just be patient with this process - it WILL turn a pretty caramel color - just keep stirring.)

Add chopped onions, celery, bell pepper and green onions and return to medium heat. Stir until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Put the okra in a heavy skillet and stir, over medium heat until not "ropey", about 15 minutes. (The ropes are clean strings of natural mucilage which make okra an excellent thickener.) Remove from heat.

Add the stock, sausage, shredded chicken, chopped tomatoes, okra, seasonings and garlic to the pot. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

I then transfer the gumbo from the pot into my crock pot and let it simmer for another hour or so. It makes all the seasonings mix and mingle together just right!

Serve with rice and enjoy! :)

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Well, it was a fun nights of long lines, McDonalds dinner, new cookbooks, new friends, LOTS of photos and celebrity stalking! Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, came to Little Rock! (Click here to find out who the heck I am talking about..) I grabbed my cookbook and five more cookbooks for Christmas presents and headed to Walmart on Cantrell to meet up with friends. Little did we know every woman in Arkansas would also be there! We had a blast though! Here are a few pics from the night!

me with Marlboro Man - Ree's cowboy husband :)

Yes, Pioneer Woman is probably most known for her Southern cowboy cooking and her super easy step by step recipes but I first fell in love with her for her photography. Take a look at her work on her flickr page.

Gluten Free Heaven

Good Morning!

My husband and I are trying to watch our weight recently. I have lost six pounds in the last two weeks, I might add! yay! We give ourselves one free day a week to eat yummy snacks, but during the week we eat a strict diet of grilled meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc. Yesterday was our free day and yes, we pigged out! We are back on it today! I had fruit and nuts this morning with a harty protein shake, but I can't stop thinking about these gluten free brownies that I made last week!

As many you know, I have Celiac Disease, which means I can't eat any gluten. When Betty Crocker came out with these gluten free baking mixes, I was soooo excited! I ran to the store immediately and picked up some. Let me just tell you, they are yummy! I tried the brownies first and I shared with my husband- he couldn't tell a difference between gluten free ones and real ones!

If you are gluten intolerant or even if you're in the mood for a yummy treat, head over to your local store (I found mine at Kroger) and buy a package of these mixes! You'll be glad you did!

If you want to "mix" it up a bit, then go to Betty Crocker's gluten free page. There you'll find all sorts of recipes using these mixes! I can't wait to try the gluten free cookie-brownie bars! I mean, what could be better than cookies and brownies at the SAME TIME!

Enjoy!