Sunday, July 24, 2011

Road Trip

As many of you know (and many more of you don't) we are in the process of moving out of state. Tomorrow we are driving 10 hours to sign for our house, and from there we are taking a two-week long road trip around the U.S. to see our families. It's hard to  eat well while you're on the road so I plan on posting meals we eat throughout the trip, trying to find the best option at the time.

Today I wanted to post a little about the snacks we're bringing with us. We have found that on travel days, it's easier to bring snacks and water with us to eat during the day and then settle for one real "meal" usually at lunch/dinner time. This seems to save time, money, and our sanity.



For tomorrow we have packed unsalted peanuts, organic fuji apples, trail mix, roasted soynuts, and cliff bars. The nuts keep us full with protein, fat, and fiber. The apples are sweet, juicy and refreshing. The trail mix is more of a treat- I love the sweet & salty combination, and the soynuts are protein packed with a lightly salted crunch.



Cliff bars are a decent snack/meal replacement when you know you're not going to be eating for a while or you need an energy boost. They're 70% organic, non GMO, and have 10-12 grams of protein per bar. They tend to have quite a bit of sugar, but if the rest of your day isn't too sugar-y it's not a problem.
Bobble Water Bottle (18.5-Ounce, Lavender )


We also like to keep water bobbles with us in the car. If you haven't discovered these yet: get excited. It's a refillable water bottle with a built in filter. You can refill it anywhere (home tap, restaurant, gas station) and it tastes great! The filter lasts for up to 300 refills and then it can be replaced. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the sport-style cap, so I don't drink out of it all the time but for road trips it rocks! You can find them at many sports stores, department stores, and target. You can also order them in different sizes directly from waterbobble.com.

Wish us luck and I'll try to post as many creative road trip meals as I can.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Appetizers For Any Crowd

What do you do when you want to eat healthy but your friends and family don't share your enthusiasm? You can persuade them that healthy doesn't mean boring by bringing some tasty treats!

First off: Stuffed Mushrooms

You Will Need:
  • Medium sized portabella mushrooms
  • Salsa
  • Diced olives, bell pepper, and onion
  • Black beans
  • Cheese

What To Do: 
  1. Wash and hollow out the mushrooms and place on a baking sheet
  2. Fill with salsa, olives, bell pepper, onions and beans
  3. Sprinkle with cheese
  4. Place under a medium broiler for about 5 minutes
If you look closely you'll see the mushrooms on the right are vegan (made with Daiya mozzarella style shreds) and the mushrooms on the left are made with regular cheese. You can stuff these with any combination of things that would taste amazing. Feta, tomato and spinach is good with seasoning or you could do them like mini pizzas with tomato sauce and toppings. The possibilities are endless!



Second: Spinach Rolls 

My mom used to make a variation of these for gatherings and everyone loved them. They're still one of my favorite snacks.

You Will Need:
  • Tortillas 
  • Hummus 
  • Spinach
  • Toothpicks
  • Lunch meat (optional)



What To Do:
  1. Spread a tablespoon or two of hummus over the tortilla in an even layer; not too thick or it will get messy. I used tomato basil tortillas and roasted red pepper hummus for extra flavor.
  2. Layer the tortilla with spinach, again: not too much.
  3. If you'd like, place a few pieces of lunch meat on top. If you're skipping the meat, double up on spinach.
  4. Carefully roll the tortilla away from you, making it as tight as possible. It helps if you only put the toppings on 3/4 the tortilla so they don't fall out when you roll it up.
  5. Insert toothpicks to hold the roll together, about 1 inch apart.
  6. Carefully cut between the toothpicks, and serve.

Rolling these up is really difficult so it might take a few tries. Once you get the hang of it they're actually pretty - and of course delicious!




Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Almond Joy Muffins

Everyone knows (or should know) that muffins are not an innocent breakfast food. It is exactly the same as eating cake for breakfast and about as nutritiously sound. Hidden underneath that fruit and nut "healthy" appearance is usually tons of empty carbs and fat. Sometimes we just want cake for breakfast so here's a quick easy out-of-the-ordinary and more nutritious muffin.

What You Need:

  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup steel cut oats ("Old fashioned")
  • 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (or substitute)
  • 1 egg (or: 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup egg beaters, 1 tablespoon powdered egg replacement)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup organic milk (or soy, rice, almond)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut (or 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract)
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds (or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
  • 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
What To Do:
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl mix applesauce, egg, milk, vanilla, and other extracts if you're using them. 
  4. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture.
  5. Add chocolate chips and coconut/almonds if you're using them.
  6. Either grease the pan or use muffin liners and spoon mixture evenly into muffin tin. 
  7. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
Please note that these will not rise up to be gigantic topped muffins you're used to. The whole wheat flour and oatmeal make them less fluffy and more dense. If you need fluffy muffins you can use half white flour, half wheat and use quick cooking oats instead of steel cut.


These muffins are way better than your average muffin because they are not only tasty but using whole grains and skipping the oil helps pack in a good amount of protein, fiber, and nutrients so you won't be hungry or tired an hour after you eat.