Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo

One of my favorite pasta dishes is Fettuccine Alfredo, but I don't like to eat it that often because the sauce is high in calories and fat.  I wanted to try to make a healthier version of my favorite Italian meal so I could add it into my rotation of healthy dinner recipes.

To "health-ify" this meal, I did three things:

1. Added zucchini to the mix
2. Used whole wheat fettuccine
3.  Made my own Alfredo sauce

This recipe was inspired by Eating Well's Fettuccine Alfredo.


Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves 2
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Small Zucchini, sliced into strips
Whole wheat pasta
2 tablespoons white flour
2 tablespoons non-fat sour cream
Pepper to taste
Parsley to taste
Parmesan cheese to desired cheese level

First, start your water boiling for the pasta in a large pot.
In a saucepan, add the chicken broth and peeled whole cloves of garlic.
Let the garlic and broth simmer until the garlic clove is softened, about 15 minutes
When cloves of garlic are almost softened, start cooking the pasta as directions say on package.  Add Zucchini strips at last few minutes of cooking time.

 Remove chicken broth and garlic mixture from stove and pour into a blender

**From what I've read, blending hot liquids is scary and potentially dangerous, so be careful!  I removed the middle piece of the blender lid, and covered it with a kitchen towel.  This allows for more air to flow through.  just don't go sticking your face or hands in there.**

Pour blended mixture back into sauce pan.
Mix together 2 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp water, add mixture to saucepan
Add in the sour cream, and whisk together.  It should be pretty thick.
Add pepper and parsley to taste.

Once pasta is done, remove from stove and strain in colander.

Place pasta and zucchini into a bowl and pour in sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.

 Put it on a plate and serve with roasted broccoli if you want some more green in your life!

Keep Calm and Add Sugar

New Motto for life ^

Decorating an apartment is fun, but a lot of work!  All the rooms seem pretty bare right now, so I've been slowly adding in fun pieces like this cookie jar I found.  I immediately fell in love with it because it just describes my life so well.  For me, sugar cures most ailments. :)

                     Filled with Lindt Balls!






Another fun part of moving into a new place is having visitors!  Especially the kind that bring wine. and candles.

When we first moved in, my friend Shiloh came over with a bottle of Turning Leaf Pinot Nior.  She said she picked it because we were "turning over a new leaf" in our lives.  Personally, I think she picked it because this brand of wine boasts that it has won over 500 awards.  Wow.  And it's only 2 for $12.  She picked a real winner. ;)

I really can't tell the difference between expensive wine and cheap wine.  In fact, research has shown not many people can!

She told me I had to keep the bottle.  So I did.  Here's to turning over a new leaf!

 



Today, I had my friend Shaina over to see the place.  She is so very lovely and even brought a little housewarming gift:  a bottle of Malbec and a beeswax Candle.  Thanks, Shaina!

I took her to my favorite little cafe for some smoothies and a sandwich.  Yum.

Now I'm off to get ready for the Yankee Power Show (CJ's band) tonight! Woohoo!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

How I Learned to Food Shop

I knew living on my own was going to come with new responsibilities.  The thing I was dreading the most was food shopping.  Who has time to spend a few hours each week at the grocery store? Not me!
I had to devise a plan to streamline my food shopping, and to do it under a budget.

CJ and I both love to cook, and eating healthy is important to us.  I did some research to figure out how to buy and make healthy, affordable meals. 

Here's what I did:

1. Get organized.  I'm a huge nerd, so I created a "Meal Planning" Binder.  I found a meal planning template online (I just searched, "meal planners") and printed it out.  The one I found has a space for every meal of every weekday.  It also has a grocery list space at the bottom.  I plan to sit down each week with the binder and plan out all of our meals.  I showed this to a friend of mine and she said, "Wow, I don't know anyone who cares about what they eat as much as you do."  I was thinking to myself, "well, I certainly do, and I can show you their blogs"

source

2.  Look up recipes: About a month before we moved out, I started printing out recipes for the meal planning binder.  To find them, I searched through some on my favorite food blogs, and I also checked Eating Well for healthy recipes.  Eating Well is great, they have lots of articles like "quick chicken dinners" or "dinners for less than $10."  It's really helpful for finding dinner recipes. 

Also, I brainstormed some basic meals and searched for healthy versions online.  For example, I knew we would want to make Fettuccine Alfredo, so I looked for a healthy recipe.

My Favorite food blogs for Dinner Inspiration:
Carrots n Cake
Joy the baker
Bev Cooks
How Sweet it Is

3.  Get a Cook Book:  I bought the cookbook "Poor Girl Gourmet"  by Amy McCoy.  It has tons of yummy and fancy recipes to try.  She also has a lot of advice like "buy meat with skin, and on the bone, it's cheaper" and "buy seasonal vegetables" and she even tells you how to make your own vegetable stock for soups from leftover veggie scraps.  All of her meals cost between $5 and $10 for 4 servings.

4.  Read Some Advice.  Many food blogs have a food shopping section.  I read every one I could find for ideas and tips.  Here are some that I found helpful:

Carrots 'n Cake: Grocery Shopping 101
Yes, I want Cake: Grocery Shopping 101
Peanut Butter Fingers:  Healthy Grocery Shopping on a Budget
Food Enthusiasm: Eating Healthy on a Budget
Trading Up Downtown: Saving at the Grocery Store


5.  Look at flyers and clip coupons.  Figure out what grocery store/s you want to shop at and get their flyer/s.  I look at the website for my grocery store to see the flyer before it even comes out.  This way I can start my meal planning in advance, and do my shopping on Sunday. 

5 mile run for HAWC

I signed up for this race because there was a deal for it online, so I ended up paying only $12 for the registration fee. How can you go wrong?

My 5 mile PR is 43:59 and I had NO PLANS to come anywhere near that time for this race.  I just wanted to have fun with Tracy and enjoy the sunshine. :)

I started my morning off right with a honey wheat bagel and whipped cream cheese, OJ, and some pretty awful coffee. I definitely need to invest in some nice coffee beans.

I picked Tracy up from the train and we headed to Salem around 10:30. We parked, got our bibs, tech-shirts, and ankle chips, and walked around the park.  There were ~200 people doing the race, and a few hundred more doing the walk.  There was music, clowns, and even a Zumba class for people to warm up.  We took some nerdy pictures to kill the time.

Before we knew it, it was time to line up.  Since the race was small, I didn't feel much pressure/nerves at the starting line. 

We just enjoyed the scenic, flat, beach-front course.  I really had a great time running this race.  It's amazing how taking the pressure off of yourself can make you enjoy the race that much more. 

This wasn't my fastest race, but it was one of my favorites.  I hope to do it again next year!

Check out my updated Fitness page
Official Results:
Overall Place: 63
Division Place: 18/30
Bib #: 57
Official Time: 45:34.2
Pace: 9:07

Cinco de Mayo Burritos

Let's make burritos for Cinco de Mayo!  These are quick, easy, and tasty!

This will not be a drinko de mayo for me since I have a 5 mile race tomorrow.  (FYI: doing races really curbs your drinking, remember St. Paddy's Day?)


I was originally going to make black bean burritos, but CJ whines if I feed him dinners without meat so we picked up some ground beef (86/14) and taco seasoning on the way home.

Ingredients:
Wheat Tortillas
Salsa
Sour cream
Ground Beef
Bell pepper
Cheddar
White onion
Black Beans
Brown rice
Taco Seasoning

We combined the beef, onion, seasoning, bell pepper, and black beans in a pan.  Then we heated up some leftover brown rice.  We put the tortillas in the oven to soften up for about 10 minutes.

 Then, we assembled!

After we ate, CJ asked, "Did you plan burritos for dinner since it's Cinco de Mayo?" (He's a clever one)
You better believe I did!

How I Chose a Race

Since last September, I've run 5 road races ranging from 5k's to 5miles and even a 10 mile race.  I'm currently registered for 4 more races, including a 5k, 5 mile, 10k, and a half marathon.  Check out my fitness page for details.  While I'm definitely not an expert, I can share some advice on how to choose the right race.  There are tons of races out there, which is great, but many factors go in to picking the right one for you.
Here are some things that I consider when choosing a race:

 
1. Decide on Distance.  Do I want to do a 5k?  10k? More?  If I want to do a longer race (10 miles or Half)  I make sure I chose one that's far enough away so that I can have adequate time to train.  When I did the Black Cat 10 Mile, I gave myself a little over 2 months to train.  I knew I wanted to do a half marathon, so I chose one in September so that I would have all summer to train.





2. Find Friends!  My first thought is usually: who can I convince to run this race with me?  I've only ran one race by myself, and even though I did OK, my nerves were out of control! It's nice to have a friend to run with you, or just to go with you and cheer you on.  Before I register for a race, I see if anyone else wants to do it with me.  It makes a huge difference in how much I enjoy the race.

3. Research the Race.  What does the race benefit?  Does the registration money go to a foundation or charity?  I'm more likely to sign up for a race if the money is going towards a charity I care about, like the Scott Procopio Gold Star run.  This race honors Scott Procopio who was from my home town of Saugus. Scott was on his second deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, having previously served in Fallujah in 2005. He was killed in action as a result of a roadside bomb on the morning of April 2, 2006 in Ramadi Iraq.  There is now a memorial scholarship fund in his name.

 



 4. Pick one with Perks.  What do I get out of this race (besides endorphins)? I look to see if you get a t-shirt (or tech shirt), a medal, a beer, food, anything.  These are all silly little things, but I want to get the most out of my money, and they serve as great mementos to remember the race.

 5. Location, Location, Location.  Do I know the area?  I look for a race that's close by, easy to get to, and familiar.  I'm more likely to sign up for a race that's close to home.  I feel more comfortable, and I have that "home court" advantage if I'm familiar with the course.  Also, it's helpful if the race website provides an elevation chart.  If I'm not familiar with the area, an elevation chart can help you decide if the course is too hilly for you, or if you'll just have to train on more hills.  I also like to find out how I'm going to get there, whether or not there's parking nearby, or it's its accessible by public transportation.

6. Cost.  How much am I willing to pay?  I try to keep cost in mind when signing up for a race.  The B.A.A races are expensive, but they are very organized, you get a tech shirt, medal, and a little goodie bag with snacks, so for me, it's worth it.  I also try to think about what goes into the cost,  if they shut down roads, supply food, gels, Gatorade and water, all of that stuff costs money, especially if it's a big race.

7. Date and Time.  When does the race take place, and what time does it start?  I'll definitely think twice about signing up for any winter races in the future.  Also, the start time of the race is very important.  If it starts at 7 am, I have to give myself enough time to wake up, eat, and get there.

Again, I'm not saying I'm an expert at races/running/anything, I just want to share what goes in to my personal race selection.

Happy Racing!

Pretzel Bites and Homemade Honey Mustard

Look what I made!

like my sea foam green nail polish? me too.

Since our dollar store pizza pan is a little on the small side, we had some leftover dough from the pizza we made a few days ago.
I wasn't sure what to do with it, so we just stuck it in the fridge for the meantime.

Should I make dinner rolls? Nah
Microscopic Calzones? Nope
Extra Small Pizzas? Eh, No thanks.

And then it came to me (via google search):  Pretzel Bites!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (leftover wheat)
1 Egg White
Salt
Baking soda



Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Roll out dough and slice it into 1 inch wide strips
Boil water, I used a large deep skillet.  Sprinkle in some baking soda
Roll the strips into ropes and cut into bite size pieces

 Once the water is boiling, drop in the dough pieces for about 30 seconds

Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them on a paper towel
Brush them with egg whites

Salt the heck out of them
Bake for 15-18 minutes

I also whipped up some honey mustard by mixing some honey into some mustard.  Genius, I know.

Perfection

Roasted Chickpeas

I just realized my last three recipes on here have been covered in cheese, so here's a quick little cheese-free recipe to keep things balanced.

If you haven't tried roasted chickpeas, you are really missing out!

Maybe it's just me, but I love chickpeas.  I love them in salads, I love them in hummus, and I even ate a bowl of chickpeas and cottage cheese one time and called it dinner.  I have a seriously addiction to these things.

When roasted, these little buggers might be the best side dish ever.

We made them to go with our roast chicken last night, and we couldn't stop sneaking little bites of them before the chicken was ready!

Directions:
Empty can of chickpeas into colander to rinse
Dry the chickpeas on a paper towel  Remove and discard any of the skins that come lose.
Transfer to roasting pan and coat with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings that you like.  We added some garlic salt as well.
Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy!