the millennial who's good at nothing: spinach

THE JUICING DIARIES: Volume 1

January 18, 2016

I may seem hypocritical because I just made a post about how not to resolve to be healthier. However, it's not that. My post says to resolve to be healthier for the right reasons. Most of the reason I eat healthy is because I love trying new foods and seeing how I can make heathy substitutions. That's why I asked for a juicer for Christmas. I got the Bella 13690 High Power Juicer.

image credit: Amazon

I was looking into the Ninja Juicer, but I already have a blender so the combination juicer/blender wouldn't be necessary. I stumbled upon this brand. I loved the price and the brand's dedication to the light and healthy lifestyle. So far, this juicer has worked great: it's extracted lots of juice with minimal pulp. The disassembling, cleaning and reassembling process is simple.

Here are two juices I've experimented with so far. These are great beginner juices because they're tasty and easy to make.

annies homegrown

TURN ONE MEAL INTO TWO WITH ANNIES MAC N CHEESE

January 13, 2016

As a busy college student, Annie's Mac n Cheese is a godsend. There's something about toiling over research papers and planning programming for a student-run radio station and a public relations student group that makes me crave pasta. However, I want to stay as healthy as possible, of course. That's where Annie's comes in. It's organic, nutritious and delicious.

However, part of healthy eating is variety. You can eat fruit your whole life, however you need some form of protein. You can eat PB&J your whole life, but you need vitamins and minerals. That's why I leverage the easy-to-make Annies and mix it with beans, tomatoes, fresh veggies, and protein to stretch one box into at least two meals.

Today I'll show you how I spice up the organic shells & real aged cheddar.

Chicken, spinach, and pasta are some of my favorite things to eat. The other day, I actually had spanakopita for breakfast, a broth bowl with spinach in it for lunch, and spinach and beans topped with scallops for dinner. I may actually turn into spinach.

I combined this pasta with spinach and ground chicken. In a pan, I sauteed the ground chicken with some Mrs. Dash until it browned. I simultaneously had water boiling. When the water came to a boil, I added the pasta. Once the chicken was browned, I added a handful of spinach in the pan and let it wilt. By that time, the pasta was cooked so I combined the cheese mix, milk, and butter as according to the package. After it sit and absorbed, I added the chicken and spinach. Voila!

This will make enough for two meals: one for now, one for later.

Here, I added tomatoes and pinto beans into the Organic Shells & White Cheddar mix.

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dollar store diva

RECIPE: PUMPKIN SPICE STUFFED KIBBEH

October 13, 2015

picture credit

Tis the season for pumpkin spice.. and kibbeh. As you know, I have a special place in my heart for mediterranean food; my diet consists of spinach and feta mostly. So, I thought I'd venture off and try a new mediterranean specialty: kibbeh. Kibbeh is a Levantine dish made of bulgur (cracked wheat), onions, garlick, and whatever else floats your boat. Some choose a savory option, I chose to go down a sweet path this time, in the spirit of fall. This kibbeh dish pairs well with vanilla greek yogurt. Enjoy!

All of the ingredients in a bowl look like I'm making pumpkin bread. It's very promising.

This is the filling: pinto beans, tomatoes, spinach, feta, and olive oil.

Who said pumpkin and spinach can't play together nicely?

Pumpkin Spice Stuffed Kibbeh

Ingredients:

For kibbeh:

1 cup bulgur
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can pumpkin, pureed
2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup water
1 egg

For filling:

1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup pinto beans
1 medium onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Rinse the bulgur

3.Chop the onion

4. Combine drained bulgar, cumin, salt, pumpkin, egg, olive oil, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well

5. Caramelize the onion in a sauté pan

6. Combine the spinach, feta, chickpeas, and pinto beans to the pan after the onion caramelizes

7. Oil a 9 x 13 baking dish and lay the kibbeh mixture on the pan, sparing some

8. Once the filling is done cooking, lay it on top of the kibbeh mixture

9. Layer more kibbeh on top of the filling

10. Bake for 5-7 minutes

11. Enjoy!

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college

EASY COLLEGE RECIPE ROUNDUP

September 23, 2015

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

Who needs Chef Boyardee and Kraft Mac when there's curry?

Tell me your favorite dish you've ever prepared!

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butternut squash

LIFESTYLE: TWO EASY, HEALTHY HOLIDAY SIDE DISHES

December 12, 2014

What side dishes do your family make for the holidays? For me, it's pretty basic, besides a few Brazilian staples mixed in. We have instant mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing, frozen squash, frozen vegetables, rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce, and Brazillian rice to go alongside our turkey. However, because of my wandering eye on pinterest and foodie blogs, I've been craving different side dishes such as sweet potato and butternut squash. Thankfully, I like to cook, so I don't mind whipping up some different side dishes to bring to my Uncle's. It's rude to show up empty handed anyway, right?

Here's a recipe for two healthy and different side dishes to bring to your celebration this holiday. My first recipe is roasted butternut squash!

You can be an overachiever and peel/cut your own butternut squash. However, I'm lazy and just bought the pre-cut version at the store.

No matter what method you choose, make sure you but the squash in the microwave for 5-10 minutes with some water to soften it up.

Next, add your spices (which are listed below), then bake for 20 minutes.

The toppings made the squash taste just like the holidays should - spicy and sweet!

Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients:

1 butternut, about 1 and 1/2 lbs
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tbsp maple syrup

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 375, place a ceramic or glass baking dish in the oven to preheat.
2. If squash is not aready chopped, microwave it in a bowl for 3 minutes to soften. Remove the seeds and skin.
3. Toss the pepper, salt, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg with the butternut squash.
4.Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
5. Mix in the apples and maple syrup.
6. Bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Let cool and enjoy!

My next recipe is guilt-free creamed spinach. It's safe to say that spinach is my favorite vegetable. It's not only nutrient-dense, but it's also versatile and delicious! Runners leave so much on the line and lose so much through exercise, we need all that iron back in us. Cheese is also one of my favorite things, and that's in this recipe, too!

This recipe also requires defrosting, because it calls for frozen spinach.

It defrosted easier than I thought! Look at how dark the color is... mmm so many vitamins and minerals! There goes the health nut showing through in me.

Here's the light and delicious cream forming in a saucepan on low heat. So much potential!

Ta-da!

Low Fat Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup shallots minced
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup fat free milk
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp fresh pepper
salt to taste
4.4 oz Boursin Light

Steps:
1. Defrost the spinach
2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter.
3. Mix in the shallots, cook for 5 minutes
4. Mix in the flour for one more minute.
5. Reduce the heat to low, and slowly add milk, whisking well.
6. Add parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper while mixing well.
7. Add boursin light and mix until smooth.
8. Add spinach and combine well with the sauce, cook for one minute.
9. Adjust if necessary.
10. Enjoy!

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chain

Lifestyle: My First Trip to Supermarket Heaven

December 01, 2014

When it comes to shopping organically, some people get defrayed because of the cost and location of stores. There's supermarkets around every corner, but not Whole Foods to Trader Joes. Some people have certain items that they always buy organically - produce, milk, cheese, whatever - and some items they just pick up at the supermarket. It's great to make an effort to buy some foods organically, however that means making two trips: one to an organic food store, and one to a basic supermarket.

What are some other reasons you (or maybe just me) love Whole Foods? The hot bar, say what? Yes! A pre-made buffet of delicious, wholesome food awaits in the pre-made food section, along with prepackaged sandwiches and salads not far from the bakery. What if all of the wonders (including toiletries) of a regular supermarket, the organic variety of a Whole Foods, the hot buffet bar, the baristas of a Starbucks, and the sandwich makers of a Subway? Well, just go to Wegmans!

Wegmans is a family-owned super-duper-market chain located in Chestnut Hill, Burlington, and Northborough, Massachusetts. I haven't been paid or compensated to do this post, after I took my first visit to the one in Burlington I felt inclined to write about its wonder.

I spent about two hours total there. Yes, most of it was me in awe just standing with my mouth gaping, but the rest of the time was spent checking off my to-do list: my Nutrition & Physical Performance "grocery store" analysis assignment for class, shopping for food for my dorm, and picking out dinner for that night. Being in Wegmans helped with my assignment because the new environment made it more fun, and having the assignment made me realize how much a variety the store had.

The assignment was to make graphs comparing how much fat, calories, sodium, types of fat, ingredients, etc of different types of milk (2%, skim, whole), cereals (high fiber, low fiber), peanut butter (natural, reduced fat), etc. Wegmans is a bit like Forever 21 in the sense that there's not one place for everything. In Forever 21, you can't just find a white cardigan, you can find a clean-cut one in the preppy section, a lace and fringy one in the boho section, and one with a varsity letter one in the sporty section. At Wegmans, you can't just find pepperoni pizza. You can find multigrain crust and vegan cheese pizza in the organic section, square or circle shapes of pepperoni pizza of the brands you love in the supermarket section, or you can find a fresh-baked artisan crust with pepperoni or whatever topping you want in the made-to-order buffet section.

What does this all have to do with healthy eating? One of the principles of heathy eating is variety. If you eat PB&J three meals a day, you'll get sick. I know none of my readers love PB&J THAT much, however variety keeps eating healthy interesting and rewarding. Just meandering the halls of a new grocery store will inspire you. I saw kale and turkey sausage soup that inspired me to make a kale and chicken sausage frittata.

Some people are afraid of trying to buckle down and eat right because they're afraid that it'll be bland. If they took one trip to Wegmans, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or any place of the sort they'd be proven wrong. Yes, eating your fruits and veggies is important, however there's a new slough of superfoods out there just waiting to be experimented with. Kale, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax hemp, spinach, cranberries, almond, acai, are just some. For example, look at these delectable kale and quinoa cakes I gobbled right up when I got home: