Kitchen daze

Days spent in the kitchen are my absolute favorite. My lovely three year old has been boycotting naps and sleeping all together. Yesterday when she refused to nap I told her no gym school today. I punish her and I get punished. I have really learned to love going to the gym. I take all my frustrations out there, lift a little heavier on those rough days. I also like starting my day there, I am happier and more inclined to get things accomplished. 

Last night I knew I wouldn't be getting up and ready for the gym today, my food wheels were turning all night.

I started my morning by throwing my stock pot on. I made my takeout fake out chicken drummers from earlier and saved all the bones. Making stock with bones provides minerals and vitamins you don't find in the store bought kind. I keep a bag in the freezer for all of the vegetable ends to add to my stock. Again, I really like to stretch a dollar. Instead of throwing your onion ends, carrots, celery or peppers away, add them to a gallon bag in your freezer and when you have a chicken carcass (or any animal bone) make a batch of stock. Today was the perfect stock making day, I could let it simmer for hours for a deep flavor.

When the stock is finished cooking, empty into shallow dishes so It cools down quickly. I separated mine and put a container in the freezer for later. I will also make some stock cubes tomorrow (I used my trays for detox cubes today) for simple two tablspoon portions. 

When it was time to make the soup I let H help me in the kitchen. She even cut mushrooms with a butter knife, and guess what? tonight she loved mushrooms. Go figure. She even thanked me for making her dinner tonight. Um I prepare and cook all meals, but apparently it was a souper supper.

For a perfect morning snack we made Honey Peanut Butter greek yogo dip. I'm not really a peanut butter person, but this was pretty tastey. We called it Daddy Dip

I made delicious brunch today too. I know seriously cooking up a storm. Green Eggs (pesto scrambles and smoked Gouda) with Ratatouille mixed veggies, and salami over crispy hash browns and fresh spinach. 

Literally a mouthful. :) oh and topped with avocado

I love eggs.

And I really love cooking. I even washed all the dishes and put them away. When the kitchen was cleaned we went for a little stroll to tire out my lady. All in all it was a pretty good day, filled with lots of yummy eats and only a few tantrums. 

I can't believe how fast she is growing up ;(

Cheers!

-K

Banana Split Cheesecake Smoothie

Banana. Chocolate. Coconut. Cheesecake <-- A few of my favorite things.

The night before I had H, I made a Banana Split Cheesecake. Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. Definitely a decedent dessert, but probably one of my favorites. I also am a huge smoothie snob. I love new flavor combinations, and hate watery powdery mixes some people try to claim as the beloved beverage. Well tonight I hit a home run! Banana Split Cheesecake protein smoothie. Ohhh yesss, amazing. I am drinking as I right this, and am terrified for my last sip. I don't want it to be over.

I dug up this oldie it's terrible quality, banana split cheesecake (the strawberry sauce was on the side) 

My daughter has been three for a total of one week. One week today actually. And a button flipped, she is whiney, clingy and is all about "me".  She also boy cotted nap today, which leads to a miserable afternoon. As soon as I put her to bed, she was out. So I decided to make myself a special treat, I thought I deserved it. 

One frozen banana, 4 strawberries, handful of frozen pineapple, coconut milk, hemp seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, cottage cheese and a half scoop of each vanilla and chocolate protein. Whip it all up in a blender and enjoy. Really enjoy, every single sip. When your done, you don't even feel guilty about finishing a big ol mug of cheesecake. I know I didn't as I drank my last sip, I just wish there was a little more.

When H is in a mood I tend to stay in the kitchen. It's like my comfort blankie. I cleaned, cooked, and prepped.

I love stretching dollars wherever I can. I like getting double uses of of things when possible. 

When I cut up fruit;  I save the skins of citrus to make detox cubes for my morning water. I save the cores from pineapple and freeze them as well. Cores have such great flavor, why toss it in the trash. Anything to add to naturally flavor my water is a plus. 

Some of my more recent chai fresca detox waters. Just add more water throughout the day. 

Top left: lemon, lime, orange, blueberry and pineapple (I let sit overnight and add chai seeds in the am)

Bottom left: pineapple, lemon, lime, mint, pineapple 

Center: blueberry, lemon, pineapple, mint

Top right: raspberry, lemon, lime, mint

Bottom right: cucumber, pineapple, blueberry, lemon, lime

(Bonus shot of my detox cubes one is strawberry - lemon and the other tray lemon-lime)

Cheers!

-k

Sausage salad and chai-sessed

My child has a very healthy appetite, anyone I know can definitely vouch for that. But like any toddler, she goes through phases. One thing I can count on is sausage, right? Wrong! Normally my lady can eat a whole link and a half to her self but she snubbed it strong this go around. When I was cooking, I made extra because of her undying love for sausage. Well what do you know, the time I make extra; she wants none. Thus leaving me with snausages for days. 

I usually make pasta sauce for dinner on Sunday, I love homemade sauce. I usually freeze a batch for later. On Monday I had this beautiful mashup of all the weekends' leftovers. It was delicious. I had to top it with some poached eggs, because everything is better with eggs.

Tonight I had Sausage salad. I'm trying to cut back on carbs, not eliminating them just a little more moderation. So instead of tossing this with noodles, I threw in extra veggies and made it a yummy warm salad. 

Chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, sausage, black beans, extra extra kale, avocado, and tomato sauce. This was sooo tasty. I like finding other ways to enjoy sausage besides pasta. Definitely a keeper.

I have been on a chai- craze. I always have it in my water, but a few weeks ago I tried chai pudding. 

My life changed.

In a previous post I wrote a recipe for my first chai pudding. This time, Banana Chocolate cheesecake chai pudding. Yes. 

It's as amazing as it sounds

I blended a banana with cottage cheese, and added it to the warmed coconut oil/cocoa/coconut milk mix. Dumped it over chai seeds and bam, you have pure deliciousness in a jar. I would rather eat a whole bowl of guilt free dessert than a scoop of icecream (which makes me sick anyhow). I left it in the fridge for about three hours, shaking after each hour. It will taste even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. 

This week there was a special on strawberries, two pounds for two dollars. That's pretty good if you ask me. My little one can't have them, but I accepted the challenge to finish a container to myself. What better way than to top with chai pudding. 

(Confession, I made a batch last night and finished it. I had to make a new one today to stop myself from diving into the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the freezer)

Have you tried chai pudding yet? 

If not, do it now! 

Cheers,

-k

Princess fairy butterfly third birthday celebration

My friends and I threw together a last minute birthday celebration for my little lady. Of course the first thing I was thinking about was... The food!

I definetly had sugar covered.

Lucky charm and peep crispy treats. 

After letting them set in the pan I cut them with cookie cutters in the shape of butterflies and flowers. They were a hit with the kids. I totally have eaten a few of the leftovers. But seriously, what better way to eat lucky charms? I'm totally eating one right now :)

Next I prepared a huge batch of mozzarella stuffed turkey balls, with ground sausage, pepperoni and a ton of veggies. Topped with fresh roasted red pepper-tomato sauce.

I had a very large brie wheel, sliced it in half, spread some orange marmalade, chopped mixed apples, pears, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and raisins. I wrapped it in puff pastry and baked for about 45 minutes. I also added some flowers and a butterfly cutout to the Brie.

And lastly my cake. Hadley wanted a butterflies so I made a butterfly cupcake cake, and a giant cupcake for uncle K's birthday.  Tie dye of course. I didn't get pictures of all the finished food but here was some work in progress. 

Ohh and I made drunken chai pudding. I was making the same pudding I made in my last post, but then I ran out of coconut milk. So, after rummaging through the cupboards I decided to make it a Mommy only dessert. Yup- coconut rum, vanilla vodka and a splash of frangelico liqueur soaked chai seeds. It came out good, I call it get drunk and stay healthy. It was really good, you need to like the chai seed texture to enjoy the pudding but I'd say it was a home run dessert. And you don't feel guilty after eating a few cupfuls. 

H was so excited, she had no idea. She had quite a rough week of listening so I told her we cancelled her birthday. When she finally realized people were coming for her "..for mee?" 

Needless to say we pulled of off the perfect day. 

Her outfit was a fun diy project. The vest was a jean jacket that got to small, easy fix flip inside out and cut off the arms. Perfect size vest.

The skirt I made out of all the sentimental baby clothes I couldn't bare to get rid of. I made it just like any of the tulle skirts. All the strips were cut at  completely randomly widths and lengths. 

I have to say a huge thank you to my amazing ladies and framily to help me pull this together. It meant a lot to her that everyone came "just for me" "they all sang Happy Birthday to H". She also is ecstatic for her fishing pole, "daddy gonna show me, he's too big for mine, he just show me" can you say determined and spoiled. 

Needless to say we are entering the age of three as a princess for sure.

Stay crafty.

Cheers

-K 

When there's Nothing to eat

It's almost grocery shopping day, and we are in dire need of stock up goods. But I love a challenge. 

Husband: "there's nothing to eat."

Just because we are out of "snacky foods" doesn't mean there is 'nothing to eat'.

When my husband has to go to work early, and my child actually takes a nap, what do I do? Go to my favorite spot. The kitchen.

First off I cleaned out the shelves, which I don't usually do until I buy all new food and have no room. 

I had roasted a chicken earlier in the week. Planish per my husbands request. He says plain, I add at least salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, onion, and 21 seasoning salute. Plain. 

Whenever I make a chicken, I like to finish it off by making a stock. Homemade stock is filled with nutrients from the bones. When I interned in an upscale hotel we used to make this amazing stock; first rub the dried chicken carcass with tomato paste, and toss in the oven at 425. I'm not really sure how long I let this cook, maybe 45 minutes. You can slow cook it if you start in the morning, but I got a late start to chicken stock so high heat it was. Once that is done, add the whole bird, innards, celery, carrots, onions and garlic to a stock pot. Fill with cold water and set on the stove. I cooked at a simmer for about four hours. Again- if I got an early start I would have kept it on the stove longer. It still has great flavor.  (I'm going to use it to make fresh tomato sauce and chicken parm meatballs)

Once I got the stock started, I cut up some fresh fruit. I like waiting until it is really ripe before cutting up. I had cantelope and pineapple today, both were pretty juicy and delicious. 

I also have a confession. I want to take the skin off the pineapple in one piece; I don't know why, but I do. I tried today and failed. I had a lot of flesh I had to fillet off the skin; but hey practice makes perfect, right?

I read somewhere recently that the seeds of a cantelope are super nutritious. Today I decided to dry them up, toss them with a little cinnamon and nutmeg, and bake for fifteen minutes. I pulsed them a few times in a food processor and I am going to add them to our next smoothie. (I've been off my smoothie game for a few days due to the bitter cold) 

That's mid "cimmonim" yell. She gets really excited for cinnamon haha.

Next up was dinner prep.  Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes with rollover chicken, peppers, shallots, corn, beans and garlic over fresh spinach, roasted beets. Topped with low fat sour cream and light Mexican cheese. When your eating food that's good for you it's okay to overflow your plate.  :)

Simmering Mexican chicken mixture, before digging in, and rainbow on a plate. It wasn't the prettiest of meals, but it had so many bright colors and tasted amazing

Drumroll please...

Dessert. Something I don't make a lot of. When I make it, I eat it. I try to stay on the right eating path. And this... Pure, guilt-free, deliciousness in a jar.

Banana Chocolate Chai Pudding

First blend together a banana and about a cup of unsweetened coconut milk. 

To a hot pan add a teaspoon of coconut oil, cocoa powder, a sprinkle of coconut sugar and a drizzle of maple agave, (about a teaspoon of sweetener combined.) add cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and the banana-coconut milk mixture. Heat until warm. You don't need to boil, just heat until combined.

Add four tablespoons of chai seeds to the bottom of a jar and top with the warm mixture. Shake every 30-40 minutes  until thick. Mine was refrigerated for about three hours. I bet it would be even better over night, but it didn't make it that long.

We topped ours with coconut oats, cinnamon, coconut sugar, mini m&ms, and whipped cream. Soooo good. Next time I just know to make way, way more. 

H didn't like it, she looooooved it. 

Cheers,

-K

Sweet Potatoes- every which way

2015 is about change; Since I started going to the gym, I have tried eating a little healthier. Believe me, I love food. Like really enjoy everything, especially comfort food. As soon as I finish a meal, I'm already thinking about what is coming next. I've tried to lower my carb and sugar intake. I don't like the word diet, mostly because I can not commit to cutting something out of my life completley. I call it eating in moderation. 

One way to help, is switching one or two meal starches a week with a baked sweet potato. When I'm making them I wrap 3-4 potatoes, individually in a sheet of aluminum foil. Make one or two slits in the top of the potato, and bake for about an hour at 450 degrees. Sweet potatoes are extremely nutritionally beneficial. SP are low in calories and high in fiber; they improve digestion, increase energy, sharpen vision, lead to a healthier immune system, and so much more. The best part about them, they are naturally sweet and extremely versatile. 

If I make H a meal over pasta, I'll just take the toppings and put them over my roasted orange beauty. 

I obviously still eat grains and starch, I just try to limit them, and try to keep it to whole grains (find the yellow label). 

Start by switching half of your grains to whole grains. Every little change counts. If you haven't tried a sweet potato before, do it. Roast in in aluminum foil, naked. They produce their own "honey" it's rather delicious and I promise the more you eat them, the more you will love them. When I make them I always make extra for an easy, go to meal starter

Sweet potato with roasted beets, ham, fresh spinach and Sriracha BBQ

Sweet potato with mixed veggies and Asian inspired Tuna Salad (broccoli, snap peas, carrots, shallots, celery, peanut sauce, ginger) 

Sweet and Savory SP- sweet: with apples, onions, turkey sausage

Savory: kale, beans, chicken sausage 

Topped with goat cheese

Try it now, roast up a few beauties and let your imagination get the best of you.

What's your best sweet potato combination? 

Cheers!

-k