Affianced!

On July 16th, 2011, Ian asked me to marry him! I have the ring to prove it! I was up in Rhode Island to visit him for his birthday (he was there for some training), and we had a fancy smancy dinner planned for Saturday night. Before we went to dinner, we drove around some and looked at all the gorgeous mansions/castles. We still had some time left, so we pulled off at an overlook and sat on a bench with a wonderful view of the rocky beach below us and the sun about to set. Ian said he was going to go back to the car to get the camera, and when he came back I knew something was up because he was acting funny! It took him a little while, but he got up the nerve and asked me if I would be his forever! I don't know why he was so nervous -- did he think I would say no!?! Afterwards, we celebrated at a local restaurant with some delicious food and a half bottle of champagne. I know that I am so happy, and I can't wait to spend my forever with Ian.

Here's the last picture of us before being engaged! (It was very windy, hence the crazy hair.)

Although we probably won't even be able to set a date until Christmas or so, we are hoping to tie the knot sometime in spring or early summer 2013. I know it's a long way out, but unfortunately with Ian being in the Navy and me being in graduate school, it's the earliest that we will actually be able to live together. And you know, married people tend to want to live together.

As for now, Ian and I are staying occupied by work and by looking into different aspects of the wedding. We have some ideas for what we want for most parts of the wedding. We're trying to do this on a budget. It's strange, though, because to us, the budget we have set is a lot of money, but it's still just over half of what the average wedding costs in the United States! It might not be the easiest to pull off a wedding for what we want to, but we are going to do it.

We're just so excited, both for the wedding and for everything that comes afterwards!

The blog is back!

So after a very busy summer and a deployment for Ian, I think we're ready to get this blog going again. And I've decided to post things about life, and not just food. And by life I mean that I'll probably be posting about running and crafts. Not that I've talked to Ian about it, but he'll know soon. I love you, Ian!

Thunder Road Marathon Finish
December 12, 2009

I've run two marathons so far: the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon and the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon. Both times, I had some issues with my iliotibial band during training and in the race. Usually switching to a new pair of shoes helped; however, when I was training for the second marathon, nothing helped. I used Brooks Ravenna shoes for both training/marathons, and I swore by them. I don't even know how many pairs I've gone through in the past few years.

Shamrock Marathon (~mile 13)
March 20, 2011

Earlier this year, though, I read "Born to Run" and decided to try out some Vibram FiveFingers. I made my way to REI (the only store in the area that carried them and actually had them in stock), and decided on the Bikila model.

My Vibram FiveFingers (Bikila model)

The salesperson warned me to start out slow, and I had read all of the warnings on the internet, so I did. I alternated "normal" shoes with my VFFs. I did a short walk in them first. No pain. I ran a mile or so. No pain. I ran 3 miles. No pain. I ran 5 miles. No pain. To be honest, I was hoping for some pain; you know, that "I worked out so now I'm sore" pain? I love it! So I was disappointed when I didn't feel it.

To date, I think the longest I've gone in my VFFs is 5 miles. I absolutely LOVE them, though! Like I mentioned, I had a lot of ITB pain during my training for both of the marathons (and between, and after), but once I started wearing the VFFs, there was no more ITB pain for me. Afterwards, my feet do feel like they've been pounded a bit, but it is way better than ITB pain.

I had a Groupon for some running shoes that was about to expire, so I got a pair of Brooks Ghost (they didn't have VFFs in that store). They felt okay in the store, but when I tried to run with them, it was painful! I don't think I even got 0.1 mile before I had to turn around. Every part of my leg below my knee ached.

Admittedly, I'll sometimes have some "pain" in my calfs, and recently in my arch. The calf "pain" isn't really what I would consider pain, but rather more of a "stretching" feeling the next day, particularly on steps. The arch pain is like a cramp that happens when I'm running.

Even with this little bit of calf/arch discomfort, I'm so happy with my VFFs, and Ian even decided to get a pair (he got the male Bikila model). Ian and I started half marathon training yesterday, and I'm going to see if I can do all of my training/race in VFFs.

Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a new spin on Chicken and Dumplings.  It’s baked chicken breast stuffed with Havarti cheese and breaded with crumbed pretzels. The dumplings are made with whole wheat pancake mix.

Ingredients for two servings:

1 Large chicken boneless skinless chicken breast 
1 cup whole grain pancake mix 
1 ounce Havarti cheese 
1/2 cup mini pretzels (I like the unsalted ones) 
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions for chicken: 
1. Trim the chicken breast and cut in half widthwise. Butterfly the two halves and place 1/2 once of cheese inside. 
2. Place the chicken in a baking pan and sprinkle with crumbled pretzels. 
3. Bake at 375° for approximately 30mins or until done.

Directions for dumplings: 
1. Combined the pancake mix and milk in a bowl and knead until a stiff dough is formed. 
2. Make golf ball sized dumplings out of the dough.
3. Place the balls into salted boiling water and cook for about 20min flipping then halfway through.

Roasted vegetable wrap with feta and rice with baked potato strips

The other night, I decided to recreate my favorite meal, with some modification of course, from The Mad Hatter, a bakery in Durham. I took the pictures, which is why they aren't very good. Ian's much better at taking the pictures!!! Regarding the nutritional ratio, it's a little heavy on the carb (I tend to do that) and fat sides, but a little light on the protein. You could add chicken to make it a little more balanced.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a yellow squash
1/2 of a zucchini
1/8 of a white onion
1/4 of a green pepper
1 serving of white rice (I like Dynasty for its flavor and consistency)
1 serving of tomato and basil feta cheese
1 medium red potato
1 wheat wrap

Directions:
1. Begin cooking the rice - this probably will take the longest.
2. Cut up the potato into thin slices. Toss in a Ziploc bag with a little oil and paprika.
3. Cut up the vegetables into slices and roast the vegetables and potatoes at 450°F until they are done. I used a cookie sheet for the vegetables and a pizza pan with holes for the potatoes.
4. Place the rice on top of the wrap, layer with the cheese and the roasted vegetables.

Nutritional Information for 1 serving:
432.8 calories
11.63 g fat
25 mg cholesterol
757 mg sodium
62 g carbohydrates
9 g sugars
8 g fiber
13 g protein

Tropical Grilled Chicken and Rice

Here is a fresh and healthy spin on the old chicken and rice.

 
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
2 4 oz. Thin sliced chicken breasts
1 Lime
1 Mango
1 Kiwi
1 Peach
4-5 Medium strawberries
1/4 cup  Fresh cilantro
1/2 cup Whole grain brown rice
1/4 cup Reduced fat feta cheese

Directions:
1. Start cooking the rice as the package directs. I would advise starting this well in advance of the chicken as it will take about 45-50min.
2. Wash, peel, and cut the mango, peach, kiwi, and strawberries into ~1/4” cubes.
3. Dice the cilantro and combined with the fruit and juice from the lime.
4. Grill the chicken.
5. Spoon the salsa on top of the chicken and rice.
6. Sprinkle with feta

Nutritional information (for one servings):
390 calories
6 g fat
75 mg cholesterol
237 mg sodim
52.9 g carbohydrates
6 g sugar
4 g fiber
30.8 g protein

Flatbread Personal Pizzas

We decided to make easy and fast pizzas – much healthier and much more filling than you would find in the frozen section of the grocery store!

Ingredients (for 2 personal pizzas):

1 package of Fabulous Flats Tandoori Naan (contains 2 flatbreads)
1/4 cup Ragu Pizza Sauce
3/4 cup low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
2 slices of Hillshire Farm Hearty Slices Chicken
1/2 cup frozen pepper and onion stir-fry vegetable mix
You may want to add some garlic powder or use a salty cheese like parmesan to add some more flavor.

Directions:
1. Warm up the peppers and onions. We really didn’t need to take a picture of this, and we probably could have used a bigger pan, but Ian wanted to do it in his little pan and take a picture!
2. Spread about half of the sauce on each flatbread.
3. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of cheese over each flatbread.
4. Place small pieces of chicken on the flatbreads (1 slice per pizza).
5. Sprinkle about 1/8 cup of the cheese on each flatbread, over the chicken.
6. Place warmed vegetables on the flatbreads.
7. Bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Nutritional information (for one flatbread pizza):
466 calories
16 g fat
48 mg cholesterol
1378 mg sodim
62 g carbohydrates
6 g sugar
8 g fiber
28 g protein 

Microwave potato chips with carrots and onion dip

We wanted a quick and easy snack, and what’s better than potato chips? Regular potato chips that you buy are always too greasy and too salty, so we decided to make our own!



Ingredients:
1 potato
Salt and pepper
Olive oil spray
1 container of plain Greek yogurt
~1/2 packet of Hidden Valley Garden Green Onion Dip Mix
Baby carrots

Directions:
1. Slice about 1/3 of the (washed) potato as thin as you can.
2. Lay the potato slices in a single layer on a piece of parchment paper that has been spritzed with olive oil.
3. Spray the tops of the potato slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place parchment paper with potatoes in microwave, but turn off the rotating function.
5. Microwave on high for about 4-5 minutes, until the chips are crispy and brown.  You may need to rearrange them halfway through for even cooking.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 with the rest of the potato.
7. To make the dip, mix about half the packet (do this slowly and taste until you feel like it’s the right amount) with the Greek yogurt. It is best to let it sit for a few minutes to develop the flavors.
8. Serve the chips with the baby carrots and the dip.

Sweet & Tangy Hawaiian Burgers and Yam Chips

We had a hankering for some good old burgers today. We ended up making a couple of Hawaiian-themed burgers

Ingredients (for 2 burgers):
1/2 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1/2 packet Hawaiian Seasoning (McCormick)
Pineapple rings (keep the juice)
2 King’s Hawaiian Sandwich Rolls
1 yam

Directions for burgers:
1. Mix ground beef, seasoning, and 1 pineapple ring cut into chunks. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes to develop the flavor.
2. Separate the beef into 2 patties and cook on the George Foreman grill until done.
3. Cook the pineapples on a grill pan ~1 minute each side.

3. Lightly grill the Hawaiian bread bun until toasty.
4. Assemble the burger!!!

Directions for yam chips:
5. Wash the yam, quarter it, and cut thin slices.
6. We cooked the yam chips on a griddle because Ian just moved and hasn’t gotten all of the kitchen equipment yet. The griddle worked fine, though, turned up to 400°F. Coat the griddle lightly with olive oil and cook the yams in a single layer.
7. Sprinkle chips with salt, pepper, and oil, and flip when the first side has browned.
8. Brown the other side and they’re ready to eat!

Nutritional Information (for 1 burger and 1/2 of the chips):
545 calories
10.5 g fat
105 mg cholesterol
317 mg sodium
73 g carbohydrates
41 g sugar
6.4 g fiber
40.2 g protein

Grilled Chicken and Cheddar Panini

So I came across a panino grilling pan at the Navy Exchange a few days ago and bought it on pure impulse. This is the result of my first venture into panini using only ingredients I found in the fridge.



Ingredients (for 2 panini):
1 4-oz thin sliced chicken breast
1 dash of roasted pepper and garlic seasoning
2 whole grain deli flat buns (real Italian bread might be better here)
1 slice of reduced fat cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Trim chicken and sprinkle with seasoning
2. Preheat the pan and weight over Med-High heat.



3. Cook chicken until done (with thin chicken breast filets this does not take very long at all, so be careful!)
4. Set chicken aside and clean pan.



5. Preheat the pan and weight again to Low to Med heat.
6. While the pan is reheating, slice the cooked chicken into very thin strips.
7. Place bun bottoms in the pan and then layer on the chicken, cheese, and bun tops.
8. Place weight on top and cook for 2-3 min.
9. Remove the weight, flip sandwiches, replace weight, and cook an additional 2-3 min.
10. Remove the panini from the pan, slice in half and enjoy!

This goes great with a nice salad with fresh cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette  dressing, oh and a cold beer!

Nutritional Information (for 2 panini):
370 calories
7 g fat
80 mg cholesterol
490 mg sodium
38 g carbohydrates
6 g sugar
10 g fiber
42 g protein

Easy Baked Chicken Mozzarella

We found an alternative to breading and frying chicken that tastes great and we love!

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

2 4-oz. thin chicken breasts

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. pepper

1 cup Ragu spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

4 oz. Barilla Plus Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti

Directions:

1. Trim chicken.

2. Put pepper and flour in a gallon Ziploc bag. Add chicken and shake.

3. Cook chicken in a non-stick skillet with a mist of olive oil until browned on both sides.

4. Put chicken in a baking pan, add some sauce and a thin layer of cheese. Add the rest of the sauce on top.

5. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

6. Place on top of cooked spaghetti!

We really enjoy this meal, and the flour coating on the chicken gives it a bit of texture, making breaded or fried chicken unnecessary.

Nutritional Information (for 1 serving of chicken and pasta):

489.8 calories

13.08 g fat

72.2 mg cholesterol

765.6 mg sodium

53.86 g carbohydrates

10 g sugar

7 g fiber

41.63 g protein

Ian's Blueberry Greek Yogurt French Toast Bagel Sandwich (with strawberries)

So if you can't already tell, Ian likes to name recipes with every single ingredient he uses! We've been wanting to make some French Toast, and per Ian's style we added a little twist!

Ingredients:

2 plain bagels

2 eggs

3/4 cup organic skim milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. honey

1 container of Chobani Greek Yogurt (Blueberry)

Strawberries quartered and sprinkled with one packet of Splenda

Directions:

1. Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and honey. Pour in a dish for soaking.

2. Cut bagels in half. We tried removing the crust on one bagel, but we think it makes it too soggy. We recommend keeping the crust on. Put the bagels in the milk mixture and let soak for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

3. Cook in a non-stick pan over medium heat until browned.

4. Finish cooking them through in an oven on a cooling rack (on top of a cookie sheet) at 375°C for about 5 minutes.

5. Put the bagel bottom on a plate, spread half of the Chobani yogurt, and top with the other bagel half.

6. Add strawberries to the plate.

This meal was delicious, even though it was a little messy!

Nutrition Information (one bagel sandwich and strawberries):

404 calories

3.25 g fat

108.15 mg cholesterol

570 mg sodium

71.56 g carbohydrates

17.06 g sugar

4 g fiber

21.54 g protein (!!)

Chicken kabobs and cucumber salad

I attempted to cook Ian a meal for when he came back from his trip to Virginia, so I started off easy with chicken kabobs and a cucumber salad. This meal was fairly easy to make and quick - the cucumber salad can be made in advance, and all of the vegetables/chicken can be cut up early too!

Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:

1/2 red onion

1 green pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts in chunks

2 small red potatoes

1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)

1/2 cup water

2 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

1. Soak the bamboo skewers preferably overnight, but at least for a few hours.

2. Marinate the chicken in the soy sauce, water, and garlic for at least 4 hours.

3. Cut up the vegetables into chunks and add alternating with the chicken. Make sure the potatoes are thin enough so they can cook through.

4. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes on one side, flip, and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1/2 red onion

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Dill weed

Directions:

1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and remove seeds.

2. Cut the cucumber into thin slices.

3. Cut the onion into strips.

4. Put the cucumber and onion into a collander, toss with 1 tbsp. of salt, and let sit for 20 minutes.

5. Rinse well with cold water.

6. Add vinegar and dill.

7. Toss to mix well.

8. Refrigerate until you are ready to eat!

Farmer's Market Special Medallions

So while we *may* not have purchased everything at the Farmer's Market (ok, we only got the asparagus there), you can purchase most of these ingredients to create a clean, delicious, and fresh snack or appetizer!

Ingredients
1 plain bagel cut into oblong medallion slices (Ian's words)
About 2 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into slices
3 small Roma tomatoes cut into slices
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Asparagus spears
Fresh basil (or dried)

First, we cut the bagel into oval-shaped thin slices and put them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they were crispy. We would have used a whole wheat bagel but the store didn't have any fresh ones. The plain bagel tasted great though.

We then pan seared some asparagus after coating them with some Crisco Olive Oil spray, and sprinkling on some salt and pepper.

We cut some Roma tomatoes and mozzarella cheese into oblong slices.

We made a balsamic reduction sauce by heating balsamic vinegar on medium (use twice as much as you want in the end) while whisking in a small sauce pan. Once it starts boiling, keep a close eye on it because it will reduce quickly!

We layered the mozzarella cheese, a tomato slice, and asparagus on the bagel medallions and drizzled some of the balsamic reduction on top. Ideally, we would have included some fresh basil cut into strips, but the grocery store didn't have any so we sprinkled a bit of dried basil on top.

Banana, Blueberry Yogurt, and Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins (Ian's extended title)

Ian made these today while I was at work - and they're delicious. I had two for dessert! You may want to add less sugar, or some more baking powder to lighten up the muffins a bit.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned aats
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 mashed ripe bananas (approximately 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp melted butter
1 6-oz. container of Chobani Blueberry Yogurt (0% fat)
1 large egg
1/4 cup egg whites (because we only had one egg... two eggs could be used!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 oz chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a muffin tin with Bakers Joy.
2. Mix eggs and butter in one bowl.
3. Mix banana and yogurt in another bowl.
4. Mix eggs/butter and banana/yogurt with an electric mixer.
5. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and slowly add the wet ingredients while mixing.
6. Put 1/4 cup of mix in each muffin cup.
7. Put approximately three chocolate chips on top of the batter, which will sink to the bottom after baking.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the middle of the oven.
9. Place muffins on a cooling rack and refrigerate when cool.

Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1 muffin
135.2 calories
2.68 g fat
22.3 mg cholesterol
34.23 mg sodium
24.94 g carbohydrates
14.77 g sugar
0.55 g fiber
3.89 g protein

Veggie Cupcakes

A few weeks ago, I got the book, "Hello Cupcake," which has fun ways to decorate cupcakes. I decided to try a few of the ideas that they suggested, so I started by making the "Peas and Carrots" and "Mashed Potatoes" cupcakes. I also used a cupcake recipe that they had listed in the book that tasted delicious, but was a little bit dry.

To decorate these cupcakes, we dyed some store-bought icing (regular, not whipped) green and spread it evenly over the cupcake. I picked the green Runts out of the box (2 boxes of runts had enough green for 6 cupcakes) and quartered some orange Starburst.  We stuck them on randomly, and they held well! For the mashed potatoes, Ian made a mound of icing on each cupcake and put an indentation in the top to hold the "gravy." I cut a yellow Starburst in half through the center to make a thin pat of butter, which we placed at a slant in the mound. To make the gravy, I heated up some sugar free caramel sauce, drizzled a bit in the center over the butter, and tilted the cupcake to get some drips. Be careful though - if there's too much sauce in the drips, the caramel will run off of the cupcake!

I took these cupcakes into work and everyone loved them! They're fun and easy to make!