Right before Christmas, my mother and I went to see the Boston Pops. The Symphony Halls is located in the back bay area of Boston. Here's a little historical note: the back bay wasn't originally a part of Boston land-wise, it was build using sediment. It's located right near the State House, Boston Common, and the theatre district. Boston is a small city with a lot of history, culture, and goings-on.

The back bay is home to many restaurants ranging from Italian, taquerias, cafes, and sea food. We ate at Lucca Back Bay. Some reasons we chose to eat here were because this restaurant was one of many in the area that offered valet for free if you were seeing a show at the hall, and who doesn't want Italian?

Lucca was an upscale restaurant that offered a mix of modern and classic Italian food. From the bread, to the appetizer, to the salad, to the entree, to the desert, it was delicious. If you ever go to Lucca, bring your appetite.

These were our salads:

This was my mother's ceasar: winter romaine, traditional Caesar dressing, Parmigiano Reggiano, white anchovy, crostini.

 

My delicious green salad had organic winter greens, black grapes, ricotta salata, spiced grape vinaigrette, candied pecans. 

My chicken was exactly what I needed that cold night. Warm, crispy yet moist statler chicken baby carrots, green apple, pearl onions, parsnip, carrot-tops.  All of the flavors lingered together and married so well. The veggies were great alone or with the chicken, however the onions and the chicken made the perfect bite.

Whipped sweet potatoes, pancetta & maple sciroppo, sage were a perfect accompaniment. The sweetness of the maple made these sweet potatoes indulgently sweet. I wanted to order a gallon if it to to go.

Some people believe in magic, I believe in pillsbury dough crusts. If you're not totally geeking out about them with me right now, then you just don't understand the full amazing-ness of them. They're little wraps of dough that can turn your favorite fillings into amazing pillows of snack heaven. They're SO customizable and SO delicious. Are you a plain jane? Ham and cheese is for you. Are you an Italian stallion? Pesto and prosciutto is your saving grace. Are you too Greek for your own good (me), then spinach and feta it up!

I could literally go on about those forever, so I'll stop my rant there and continue with the recipe. For my birthday party in late August, I wanted to make some cool appetizers, and I simultaneously had a craving for the combination of veggies, meat, cheese, and pillsbury crusts. From my cravings sprung out 24 of these creations of mine. 

I had a vision for one Greek-inspired one and two Italian-inspired ones. I planned on making a pastry with spinach and feta, a pastry with tomato, pesto, and mozzarella, and a pastry with prosciutto and goat cheese. If I had to pick a favorite, it would definitely be the prosciutto and goat cheese one. These are all of my ingredients laid out.

This is your golden ticket: pillsbury crescent rolls.

I put these together like an assembly line. It was the loneliest assembly line ever, an assembly line of one, but I got through. First, I laid out the dough in the triangular format it comes out of the container in. This dough comes in one big rolled up square of dough, and perforated lines creates triangles that can be folded and manipulated to your pleasure.

I then put the filling in the middle. If there is a sauce or pesto I put that first, then the meat or veggies, then the cheese. Next, to folded the triangle edges over the filling so it would bake into a little pastry pocket.

Next, I baked them in a preheated oven until ready.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. Spray two large baking sheets with spray/olive oil

3. Separate the 24 crescent triangles from the perforated sheet and lay them on the baking sheets 

4. Place the fillings in the triangles

5. For spinach feta: add spinach and feta in the triangles

6. For goat cheese and prosciutto: add goat cheese and prosciutto in the triangles

7. For tomato and mozzarella: add pesto, one slice of tomato, and one slice of mozzarella to the triangles

8. There should be 8 of each to make 24

9. Fold the rest of the dough triangles over the filling

 10. Once the oven is preheated, bake the pastries for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Make sure cheese is melted and dough is firm. Enjoy!

I had mixed feelings about being totally dependent on cooking for myself due to having a full-service kitchen in my on-campus apartment. As much as I hate the dining hall food and love to cook, this type of self-sufficiency is new to me. However, I've loved my experience these past few weeks. My roommates and I are always trying new recipes that we know from our past or found on Pinterest. I thought I'd help out other students in my situation. Admittedly, these recipes are definitely the type of food I prefer. So, prepare for a lot of spinach and feta.  Here's a list of easy, delicious and healthy recipes to prepare if you're a student!

1. Low Calorie Crock Pot Chicken Chili

2. Low Carb Easy Mediterranean Chicken Bake

3. Chicken Pesto Greek Style Pizza

4. Crock Pot Chicken Caesar Wraps

5. Curried Chickpeas with Spinach 

6. Spinach Feta Grilled Cheese

7. Ramen Vegetable Stir Fry

8. Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

9. Ali's Thai Chicken Curry 

On Mother's Day, across many households, it's a tradition that the kids and husband make breakfast for Mom. Sometimes, she even gets breakfast in bed. I've made frittatas in the past, so I figured why not repeat the tradition. So, on the Saturday night before Mother's Day, I was up at midnight making this frittata. Best daughter award, am I right?

I just got back from school that day, and I wanted to eat some nutrient-dense veggies to cleanse myself of all of the dining hall food and midnight pizza orders. After my recent trip to Trader Joes, I had recently acquired heirloom tomatoes, spinach, kale, mushrooms, and broccoli. 

Like the other frittata recipes, I chopped up all of my veggies and put them in a medium sized skillet on medium heat, with some EVOO of course.

After my fillers were nice and wilted, I added the eggs to make the body. Since the all of the veggies took up a lot of room, I decided to use eight eggs instead of the six. I also added feta cheese to the mix. I think veggies and feta go wonderfully together.

Again, Jackie was no help, but she sure was cute!

Into the oven it went!

This cooked for 10-12 minutes. After, came out this delicious, bubbling creation!

Everything blended together so perfectly. 

I've always called frittata's an egg pizza, but sometimes I think of it more as an egg salad. Not like the sandwiches, but a hot salad with eggs, cheese, veggies, and meats. Anyone else?

Jackie wanted some... and she eventually got some.

We had turkey bacon and greek yogurt almond poppyseed bread as our sides!

1. Minute Brown Rice

The brand Minute makes little brown rice cups that are ready in only one minute! Pair this with a low-fat cheese stick and some sliced red peppers to balance it out with vegetables and protein. Brown rice cups over pudding cups, right? Here are the nutrition facts:

As you can see, they are low on fat, sugar, and sodium, however, they have 5g of protein, which is pretty decent. That's definitely more than white rice. 230 calories is almost halfway to 500, fill up the other 270 with your peppers and cheese stick, and maybe some green tea. 500 is a decent-sized meal on the go. Note how small the ingredient list it! Another great thing about these cups is that they're already pretty flavorful, so no need to add condiments or butter.

2. Annie's Homegrown Mac 'n' Cheese

You guys probably saw this coming. Annie's brand is more of an all-natural, non-GMO, grass-fed, earthy-crunchy company. The more natural food the body intakes, the healthier! My favorite product of theirs is their white cheddar mac 'n' cheese cup. Here are the nutrition facts:

I would pair this snack with a nice, crisp apple. An apple and mac 'n' cheese, it brings you back to childhood, huh?

If you're ever worried about fitting in your veggies, grab a Bolthouse farms drink. Just like all the microwaveable meals, these juices are made to make our lives easier. These drinks were made for those who don't have time to juice their own produce, like those meals are made for those who don't have time to cook their own meals.

That's how I'm "healthy in a pinch" as you would say! It's not as rewarding as savoring your food you slaved over a hot skillet or juicer for, but it'll do the trick. These are all reasonably priced, GMO-free, natural, healthy, and delicious.

I was not paid or sponsored by any of these companies, all opinions are my own.

both recipes were a huge hit!

Big picture: Sunbelt lowfat granola cereal. Top: Trader Joe's "Better'n Peanut Butter. Middle: Splenda. Bottom: Domino Light Brown Sugar

Left, the mix right after adding the simple syrup. Drain at this point if you want. Right, the mixture spread on a tin foiled lined baking pan.

Ta-da! The finished product. Share these with friends or hog them all for yourself - either way healthy snacking is happy living!

Listen:

Melrose Diner - The Wonder Years

Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia

Better Than You (feat. Rita Ora)  - Conor Maynard