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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Grilled Vegetable Platter

Balsamic Grilled Veggies over White Beans


Today's Tidbit:  The Grilled Vegetable Platter.  Many restaurants list this on their menus; it can be gorgeous, delicious & costly, but don't be fooled, it isn't hard to make!  Simply buy some of your favorite Vegetables, marinate them in your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette and then grill them!  Simply check them every couple minutes and flip them over when they start to show the tell tale brown grill marks and have become tender.  

I used Eggplant, Zucchini, Red Bell Peppers, Red Onions and Spinach and served it all on a bed of Balsamic Vinegar soaked White Cannellini Beans to inject some extra Protein into this stand alone dish.  But tasty Grilled Veggies can also be served as a side dish or salad to complement almost any meal.  And it isn't just meant for the summer months only, a simple cast iron Grill Pan can be used in the comfort of your own kitchen (that is how I made mine!)  Don't underestimate the Cast Iron Grill: it is able to impart the dark deep grill marks and infuse a smoky flavor that we love from our outdoor Grills.

Look here if you need some further visual inspiration to try this out, the possibilities are endless!



Balsamic Vinegar soaked White Cannellini Beans
Balsamic Grilled Veggies over White Beans



The Story of What Amy Ate Today:
 
Last year I created the What Amy Ate Today blog to share my personal story of losing over 40 pounds by making simple healthy changes to the way I was eating.  I wanted to show the real life picture of what my daily food choices looked like by simply posting every single thing that I ate every single day; which I did for 9 straight months!   

It all started on May 1, 2012, check out a sample post here:  

   
One Day Last June....

I wanted to show that it is possible to lose weight and be healthy without being on a diet and without starving or depriving yourself of anything.  I make healthy choices whenever I can, but I am a normal person living a real life and I want to enjoy it, so I indulge in special treats regularly too.   
 
It has been a great journey for me, further motivating me to seek out new foods, new recipes and new ways to prepare and eat more healthily and get more Vitamins and Nutrients (and Energy!)  into my day.   I look forward to continuing this journey by highlighting special recipes, new foods and/ or preparations that I discover or create, alongside any helpful Health information or news that I come across through the above "Today's Tidbit".  Thanks for joining me on my journey to better health and better living!


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Peach Carrot Smoothie

Peach Carrot Smoothie

Today's Tidbit:  After reading in a ton of places that eating Yogurt was a great way to stay healthy through the cold & flu season, I started making Smoothies for my family every morning to go with our breakfast.  I am happy to report that since then (the beginning of December) we have had no missed days of school or work.  Sure we have had sniffles here and there, but no fevers, no crazy green boogies and no doctor visits!  I consider this a huge success and am a total convert.  Daily Yogurt Smoothies are now a part of our happier and healthier life!

Below are many of the Smoothies we have tried.  They can be made thicker or thinner (more or less Bananas or Juice), or cooler (more or less Frozen Fruit or ice cubes).  My only constants are the Yogurt of course, 1-2 other Fruits and I always try to get a Vegetable in there too, typically Carrots or Spinach, but also sometimes Pumpkin, Zucchini or Yellow Squash!  Check them out:


Banana Orange Smoothie with Spinach
Blueberry Banana Spinach Smoothie
Cantaloupe Orange Spinach Smoothie
Cantaloupe Pineapple Spinach Smoothie
Cantaloupe Romaine Smoothie
Carrot Creamsicle Smoothie
Chocolate Banana Yellow Squash Smoothie
Double Strawberry Spinach Smoothie
Mango Orange Carrot Smoothie
Orange Mango Strawberry Smoothie
Peach Carrot Smoothie (Recipe below)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie
Pina Colada Smoothie
Pina Colada Spinach Smoothie
Pineapple Orange Zucchini Smoothie
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Raspberry Mango Spinach Smoothie
Raspberry Spinach Smoothie
Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie 
Strawberry Banana Wheat Germ Smoothie
Strawberry Carrot Smoothie 
Strawberry Carrot Wheat Germ Smoothie 
Strawberry Spinach Smoothie 
Tropical Romaine Smoothie 
Tropical Smoothie 
Tropical Spinach Smoothie 



Peach Carrot Smoothie


Peach Carrot Smoothie Recipe:

Into Blender put:

1 handful of Baby Carrots
1 Large peeled Banana
1 cup All Natural Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt
1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup Frozen Peach Slices

Blend until smooth (1-2 minutes in the case of my Blender!) Enjoy :)





The Story of What Amy Ate Today:
 
Last year I created the What Amy Ate Today blog to share my personal story of losing over 40 pounds by making simple healthy changes to the way I was eating.  I wanted to show the real life picture of what my daily food choices looked like by simply posting every single thing that I ate every single day; which I did for 9 straight months!   

It all started on May 1, 2012, check out a sample post here:  
 
One Day Last June....
I wanted to show that it is possible to lose weight and be healthy without being on a diet and without starving or depriving yourself of anything.  I make healthy choices whenever I can, but I am a normal person living a real life and I want to enjoy it, so I indulge in special treats regularly too.   
 
It has been a great journey for me, further motivating me to seek out new foods, new recipes and new ways to prepare and eat more healthily and get more Vitamins and Nutrients (and Energy!)  into my day.   I look forward to continuing this journey by highlighting special recipes, new foods and/ or preparations that I discover or create, alongside any helpful Health information or news that I come across through the above "Today's Tidbit".  Thanks for joining me on my journey to better health and better living!






Saturday, May 11, 2013

Farro with Walnuts for Breakfast


Trader Joe's 10 Minute Farro!

Today's Tidbit:   Farro!  What?  Yes, Farro.  One of the many trendy and exotic sounding ancient whole grains that I can never seem to find at the local grocery store  I had just about given up on finding it until I was wandering down the aisle at Trader Joe's last week and my eye caught view of this bag, pictured above.
 
Check it out here:  10 Minute Farro!

I can fall in love with almost anything that is healthy and cooks up in 10 minutes; I grabbed a bag!

My husband seemed a little skeptical when he saw me cooking it up and I explained that it was just like any other grain (Pasta, Couscous, Rice etc.) and could be eaten with Fish, Meat, Veggies, or tossed in Salads.  I was really excited to give it a try (no I had never even tasted it before!)

A mere 10+ minutes later it sat fully cooked and ready to go in my large Pyrex cooling and waiting to be put into the fridge, so it would be ready to be throw into all sorts of meals throughout the week.

Now Oatmeal & Shredded Wheat have long been my easy go-to breakfasts of choice; they are super filling and keep me going until lunch, but every now and then a girl needs something different!    Meanwhile I do so love my morning Walnuts, Milk and Cinnamon topping, so I just decided to swap out my Oatmeal for the Farro and simply prepare it the same way I always do.  Verdict:  YUM!  Super chewy and slightly nutty flavor were a fantastic complement to the Walnuts, Milk and Cinnamon.  I could have just as easily thrown in my Flaxseed to boot, I'll be trying that next!


Farro with Walnuts, Milk & Cinnamon for Breakfast


Farro with Walnuts, Milk & Cinnamon for Breakfast/ Close up


So how did I do it?  Simple!  I measured out 3/4 cup of the already cooked Farro in my fridge, which was plain minus a tiny bit of EVOO that I had mixed with it after cooking, while still warm, to keep it from sticking together.  I added 3/4 cup Fat Free Milk and heated in microwave for a minute and another minute (stirring in between).  Added 2 tbsp Plain Chopped Walnuts & a couple shakes of Pure Ground Cinnamon.  Delicious!


For more info on Farro and several recipe ideas, check this out:
More info on Farro & Recipes/ Huffington Post 






The Story of What Amy Ate Today:
 
Last year I created the What Amy Ate Today blog to share my personal story of losing over 40 pounds by making simple healthy changes to the way I was eating.  I wanted to show the real life picture of what my daily food choices looked like by simply posting every single thing that I ate every single day; which I did for 9 straight months!   

It all started on May 1, 2012, check out a sample post here:  

 
One Day Last June....

I wanted to show that it is possible to lose weight and be healthy without being on a diet and without starving or depriving yourself of anything.  I make healthy choices whenever I can, but I am a normal person living a real life and I want to enjoy it, so I indulge in special treats regularly too.   
 
It has been a great journey for me, further motivating me to seek out new foods, new recipes and new ways to prepare and eat more healthily and get more Vitamins and Nutrients (and Energy!)  into my day.   I look forward to continuing this journey by highlighting special recipes, new foods and/ or preparations that I discover or create, alongside any helpful Health information or news that I come across through the above "Today's Tidbit".  Thanks for joining me on my journey to better health and better living!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Salmon Tacos

Super Healthy & Super Delicious Salmon Tacos!

Today's Tidbit:  YUM!  I think I may have discovered the perfect guilt-free, yet indulgent, filling and super delicious dinner:  Salmon Tacos!

The ingredients are so varied and decadent you don't even need cheese!  There is the creamy element (Avocado, Salon, White Beans), the fresh element (Lime juice, Cilantro, Scallions), the smoky element (gas stove charred Corn Tortilla), and a hit of spicy heat from the Chili Pepper Sauce.  And it is filling because of the Whole Grains in Tortillas, Fiber of the Beans and Good Fats in the Salmon.  Every single bite is worth savoring.  I'm ready to eat this again for dinner tonight!

The small Corn Tortillas I used are a measly 55 Calories each, with less than a gram of Fat, 1g Protein, 1.5g Fiber, 11g Carbs and only 5mg Sodium each!

Super Healthy & Super Delicious Salmon Tacos!


Super Yummy, Super Health Salmon Taco Recipe:

Ingredients (recipe is for one person, double if for 2 pp, etc)

3 Corn Tortillas - slightly charred on gas stove 30 seconds each side (don't burn your fingers - use Tongs!)
3 tbsp White Beans (drained/ rinsed if you are using canned)
1 Fillet of Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, sprayed with Canola oil and seasoned with Salt, Bake at 350 for 12 minutes
3 wedges of Lime
3 tbsp freshly cut Cilantro
3 tsp chopped Scallions
1/2 Avocado, chopped
3 tsp No Sodium Chili Pepper Sauce (if you can't find this, you can sub any hot sauce, just keep in mind that most hot sauces are high in Sodium)

Once Salmon is cooked and all the other ingredients are prepared and ready to go, assemble Taco by topping each Corn Tortilla with:

 1 tbsp White Beans
 1/3 of the Salmon
 squeezed juice from 1 Lime wedge
 1 tbsp Cilantro
 1 tsp Scallions
 1/3 of the Halved Avocado
 drizzle 1 tsp of hot sauce on top of everything, more or less depending on how hot you like it!

Close up Taco, eat and enjoy! 


The Story of What Amy Ate Today:

Last year I created the What Amy Ate Today blog to share my personal story of losing over 40 pounds by making simple healthy changes to the way I was eating.  I wanted to show the real life picture of what my daily food choices looked like by simply posting every single thing I ate every single day; which I did for 9 months!   

It all started on May 1, 2012....  I wanted to show that it is possible to lose weight and be healthy without being on a 'diet' and without starving or depriving yourself of anything.  I make healthy choices whenever I can, but I am a normal person living a real life and I want to enjoy it!  So I indulge in special treats regularly too.  

This has been a great journey for me, further motivating me to seek out new foods, new recipes and new ways to get more Vitamins and Nutrients (and Energy!) into my day.  I look forward to continuing this journey by highlighting special recipes, new foods and/ or preparations that I discover or create, alongside any helpful Health information or news that I come across.  Thanks for joining me on my journey to better health and better living!