Roasted Beets and Best Dessert EVER!

Hi all - I've been a bit MIA this week, and have been pretty busy! I had great bootcamp workouts Monday and Wednesday and some running and yoga on Tuesday. I am feeling pretty beat up, so I've decided to take the day off from working out and get 90 minute massage after work (and a pedicure at my lunch hour!) I love rest days! I do plan to walk to/from the pedicure and massage to get in some activity:)

The other night I decided I wanted to replicate a dish that I often order at restaurants...the beet and goat cheese salad.

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad:

2 small-medium beets, peeled and chopped

2 tsp EVOO, divided

pinch of rosemary, salt & pepper

1-2 TBS pecans

drizzle of maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups salad greens (I used spinach)

1 oz goat cheese

1. Massage 1 tsp EVOO onto beets, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping half-way through. Beets should be a tiny bit crispy at edges.

2. Coat pecans with the maple syrup and cinnamon and place in the oven with beets when there is approximately 10 minutes left.

3. Drizzle remaining EVOO over salad greens and top with roasted beets, candied pecans and goat cheese.

The flavors were so great in this salad, I hadn't made candied pecans before, and they were delicious!

I decided a couple hours later that I was still hungry and wanted something sweet. I've been seeing late-night oat dishes on blogs and since I had an early morning workout planned the next day, I thought I would give it a try. I stocked up on some Trader Joe's supplies that day and picked up some cinnamon grahams and mini peanut butter cups...which became my inspiration!!!

Cinnamon & Peanut Butter Cup Oats:

2 Cinnamon Graham Crackers

1-2 TBS mini peanut butter cups

1/4 cup dry Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

1. Combine dry oats, water and salt and cook over medium heat until water is absorbed

2. Crush graham crackers

3. Top hot oats with crushed grahams and mini PB cups

4. Devour

These oat were ridiculous! The peanut butter cups melted into the gooey, yummy swirl and it was just an amazing desert...very filling with the oats. Also, this late night desert was great fuel for my early morning workout. I usually have half a bar or a piece of toast in the am, but I didn't need any food...just drank a little coffee and was good to go. This may become routine.

Do you eat before an early morning workout? Do you find it better to eat that morning or the night before? What is your favorite fuel for a workout?

Yummy Salad

I was craving a light and sweet salad for dinner the other night and cam up with a this yummy combination:

2-3 cups Green Leaf Lettuce

1/2 pear, sliced

4-5 sliced strawberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 TBS Balsamic and Fig dressing (found at Whole Foods)

Then I made a side of roasted sweet potatoes and the other half of the pear roasted with the potato. I topped with a drizzle of coconut butter...yum!


The meal was delicious and filling...and satisfied my sweet tooth!

I wanted to add this pretty flower pic to remind me of the nice weather that peaks out from behind the clouds of Seattle every now and then:)

It's been a dreary couple of weeks, and my running plans have suffered...why is it I only feel like running when it's nice out?! I've still been doing other exercises, but I don't feel as good as I do after a run. I did about 20 minutes on the treadmill yesterday and felt pretty good...I hope it's enough to get myself going again! I am planning on some much needed hot yoga tonight...I can't wait to sweat it out at the studio!

I just got my organic delivery so I will post some photos later this week of all the fantastic-looking goods! I have big plans for some yummy dinners with some of the produce! I have to eat it all up in a week because I am off to MEXICO NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!! Can.not.wait.for.sunshine!

How's the weather in your part of the world? Any fun vacations coming up?

Homemade Potato Leak Soup

Sunday night we had some of my boyfriend's family over for dinner. We decided to make a hearty soup to dunk some bread in. We wanted to use up the leeks that came in our CSA box, so we decided on a potato leak soup. I love the texture of a potato based soup after mixing in a blender. The boyfriend has a hard time eating a veggie-based dinner, so we added some sausages to round out the meal.

Ingredients:

3-4 leeks - chopped

1 onion

6-7 Yukon Gold potatoes - chopped

2 T EVOO

4 cups stock

1 T heavy cream (can sub w/ coconut milk)

salt & pepper

1. Saute the onion and chopped leaks in EVOO, stirring frequently for about 5-7 minutes.

2. Add chopped potatoes and saute another 5-7 minutes.

3. Add stock and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 25-30 minutes

4. Blend batches of soup in blender and put back on heat (I used a separate pot since it was about 3 blenders full!)

5. Add cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with crusty hunks of yummy bread!

This soup was delicious and even better warmed up the next day. This recipe made about 7 big servings.

What's your favorite homemade soup? Do you like to dunk hunks of bread in your soup?

New Years Boot Camp

I've talked before about how much I loved the boot camp I did last summer with SassyFit! They are offering a 6 sessions (2x per week for 3 weeks) of booty-kicking workouts starting on Monday...I'm super excited! I been working out, but I can't wait to get back to the boot camp style workout...I LOVE it! Plus I talked a friend into signing up, so it will be extra fun working out with her! The 6-week program also includes a giftcard to a local coffee shop across the street...score! I am planning to blog about my experience and maybe include a sweaty photo after each workout;)

The only thing that worries me is getting to the class by 6 am...yikes! However, I did get up at 6:15 for 30 minutes on the treadmill and I am very proud of myself! I took the day off from working out last night (felt weird), and I am meeting friend at happy hour after work, so I am proud that I managed to fit in my workout this morning. It was a little tough getting into it, and I did a lot more walking than normal, but I'm glad I did it!

More good eats:

Vegetable Stir Fry over Quinoa:

Broccolini
Portabella
Plum Tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Quinoa


I started the quinoa according to package directions.


I boiled the broccolini for a bit and fried the cut up portabella first (fired until soft, about 5-7 min). Then I added the boiled broccolini, and after a couple minutes the tomatoes...fried until tomatoes were softened.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 medium sweet potato cut into strips
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute (best seasoning EVER!)


Combined all ingredients and baked on a baking sheet at 400 for 30 min or until crispy. Shook them up half way through.





Cleaning up a Messy Kitchen...



who am I kidding, I posted this because I though my arms looks fab!!! (could be the lighting and camera angle...or yoga?, but I'll take it!)









Excited about meeting my goal to cook new and interesting meals all week!

This weekend I am planning on running 3 miles and yoga on Saturday. Then I am meeting the girls to see It's Complicated, followed by sushi! I love hanging with the girls!

Sunday, I am volunteering at UW from 10-2 (I'm an advisor for my sorority there.) I may or may not squeeze in an am run. Then I have yoga plans at 4. Finally, I am going to make another weekly menu and get the groceries I will need for the week...and cook another lovely meal of course!

Getting the Veggies in!

I've been experimenting with vegetarian meals lately. Ideally I would like to include at least one vegetarian dinner per week. There are tons of great recipes around blogland, so I decided to try out a stuffed squash. I chose an acorn squash and paired it with roasted beets! So delish!

1 acorn squash
diced mushrooms
diced peppers
diced onions
mozzarella (I used goat moz!)


Quinoa (optional)


I intended to use quinoa, but forgot!





Saute veggies in olive oil. Bake the squash and fill with sauteed veggies, top with cheese and put under the broiler until cheese melts.

The beets were roasted in olive oil, salt & pepper

I don't remember the exact temp or time for baking the squash, but it was around 350 degrees for 45 minutes (ish). Until its soft...

I absolutely love beets, especially roasted. They are so flavorful when roasted...they almost seem caramelized with yuminess! After I took this photo, my boyfriend informed me that he had made a beet sauce to drizzle over the meal (he has been experimenting with sauces!).



He sauteed the beets before roasting them in the oven. With the juices in the saute pan, he added some water and a little sugar and reduced. Pretty easy, and very delicious!









This meal kept me full the rest of the night...though we did eat at about 9 pm! We've been eating real late recently because we are trying to prioritize working out after I get back from work this week...plus there were some additional errands involved. I was glad that I ate a veggie dish so late rather than a heavier pasta or meat dish...plus I felt great in the am!

On a side note...anyone try GloBars yet? They're insanely delish...I recommend ordering at least two boxes...I especially love the special variety packs and the Heaven bar:) Happy ordering!

New Years Resolution No. 1

Have fun with new recipes and experiment with foods and ingredients I wouldn't normally cook with.

To follow through with my first New Years goal, I will make a menu plan for dinners for the week from various cookbooks and Clean Eating magazine. (and also play with my new Nikon D5000!!!)

I found a few great recipes using citrus in each dish from Clean Eating. We made shrimp and orange skewers with a spinach-orange rice pilaf and citrus spinach salad.

Blood Orange Salad

Salad:
1 Cup Spinach
Sections of 1/2 blood orange

Dressing:
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 blood orange
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from blood orange
salt & pepper

This salad was absolutely delicious. It was very light and would make a great summer salad. I will definitely be making this again and maybe experimenting with different citrus fruits.

Orange and Shrimp Skewer with Brown Rice Pilaf

Marinate for shrimp:
2 cloves garlic
salt
Juice from 1-2 oranges
Orange zest
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Skewers:
4 jumbo shrimp with 4 orange quarters

Rice Pilaf:
1/2 cup brown rice
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup spinach & Zest from 1 orange

The recipe called for brown basmati, but I substituted long grain brown. I sauteed the uncooked rice in the olive oil for a few minutes then added the broth, brought to a boil and reduced heat, covered and let simmer for 45 minutes. Once the rice was finished, I removed from heat and added the spinach and zest, re-covered for a bit to let the spinach wilt and serve.

For the shrimp, add marinate and shrimp to a ziplock bag and refrigerate for an hour. I added equal parts of shrimp and oranges to the skewers and stuck under the broiler for a few minutes on each side until they were cooked through.

This meal was pretty amazing and I really liked the citrus theme in each dish...I think I will be making this again in the future!