Mediterranean Diet Inspiration

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well"-Virginia Woolf

I'm going to be honest with you all, today was a lazy day. I had leftovers for lunch and some of my produce is verging on over-ripening so I was intent on not wasting it. Basically I had to use avocado, peppers, onions, and tomatoes in everything I made. Luckily, all of those veggies are in line with my Mediterranean inspiration. 

Breakfast:

• Veggie Egg White Scramble
• What you need:
• egg whites
• spinach
• tomatoes
• onions
• avocado 
• bell peppers
• mozzarella cheese 
• How to make:
• Scramble everything together over medium heat 

• Greek Yogurt Parfait 
• 4 oz. Greek yogurt with 4 cup strawberries, 1 tbs pomegranate seeds, and 1 tsp. honey

Lunch:

• Leftovers from Mediterranean Spinach Shrimp Pasta

Dinner:

• Mediterranean Inspired Nachos
• What you need:
• tortilla chips
• cheese
• onions
• avocado
• tomato 
• bell peppers
• How to make:
• Melt cheese over chips with all the toppings

Cheers X

Chicken & Avocado Spaghetti with Garlic Bread

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti"- Sophia Loren 

Growing up in California, I was exposed to some of the freshest produce around, especially avocados. My mom and most of my closest friends were all avocado addicts, but something about them freaked me out... I think they were too green with an odd creamy texture that just threw me. However, during my freshman year of college a friend of mine forced me to eat an avocado. Since then I have become the biggest advocate of avocados. I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate avocados into my diet (smoothies, grilled cheese, etc.) because they are so ridiculously good for you. 

 A couple months ago, I came across a recipe for an avocado pasta that I had to try. With a few minor tweaks and additions avocado pasta is now one of my favorite recipes. You all need to try this, you won't be disappointed. 

And honestly, what Italian inspired meal is complete without garlic bread? 

Avocado Spaghetti:

What You Need: 

• 1/2 pound spaghetti 
• 1.5 ripe avocados 
• 1 spoonful of lemon juice 
• 1 spoonful of lime juice
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 tablespoon of pesto
• 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend
• red pepper flakes for seasoning
• chicken breast 

How to Make:

• Cook your spaghetti until done
• Cook your chicken on medium heat seasoned with garlic and lemon 
• Blend the peeled avocado with the olive oil, garlic, lemon/lime juice, and pesto until smooth

 

• Coat the spaghetti with the avocado mixture and season to taste with cheese and red pepper flakes

Garlic Bread

What You Need:

• French or Italian loaf of bread cut horizontally 
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 4 cloves of diced garlic
• 2 tbsp of parsley
• 1/4 cup of italian cheese blend (I use fontina, parmesan, and mozzarella) 

How to Make:

• soften your butter and mix in the garlic and parsley
• cover your bread in the butter mixture

• preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• cook the bread in the oven for 10 minutes
• sprinkle the cheese over the bread and cook for another 5 minutes (wait for the cheese to start to bubble and the edges of the bread to darken)

• Let it cool, cut it up, and serve 

Enjoy!

Cheers X

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” -Robert Browning

Happy Easter Everyone! I am unfortunately unable to go home for Easter this year, but I am there in spirit with my insanely wonderful family! 

This morning I realized that my bananas were starting to get overripe. That's one of the great things about bananas; they are versatile. Overripe banana's are the key ingredient to one of my favorite recipes- chocolate chip banana nut bread! Anytime someone is having a brunch I recommend banana nut bread since it's delicious and easy to make and keeps well overnight. 

Don't throw out your brown bananas!

 What You Need: 

• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 2-3 bananas (ripe)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2 spoonfuls of brown sugar
• 1 spoonful cinnamon

Ingredients!

How to Make: 

• Beat oil and sugar together
• Add eggs and mashed bananas to the mixture; mix well

I mash bananas in a separate bowl with a fork

• Mix in all dry ingredients (except the cinnamon and brown sugar) 
• Add in milk, vanilla, and honey; mix well 

• Add in nuts and chocolate chips

• Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan
• Top mixture with the brown sugar and cinnamon 

• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour

Enjoy! 

Cheers X

Veggie Omelet

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."- John Gunther

After a week of classes and working, I take my weekends seriously (which luckily start on Friday). I am skilled beyond your wildest imagination at lazying around for hours. However, when I do finally drag myself from my delightful cloud of a bed, I love to make a big hearty breakfast. 

One of my favorite breakfasts is an omelet stuffed with vegetables and cheese served with a fruit and yogurt parfait and seasoned breakfast potatoes. I honestly love to cook- whether it is just for myself or for others, and I think breakfast is a great meal to share with a bunch of people, but this recipe is just as easy when made for one than when made for five.

Veggie Omelet, Potatoes, Yogurt Parfait, Blueberry Muffin

Omelet:

• egg whites
• milk
• cheddar cheese
• onion
• bell peppers
• avocado
• vegetable oil

Vegetables I used

Dice your veggies

Use a small amount of vegetable oil to crisp your veggies, cook over medium heat for two minutes.

Egg Whites forming the omelet

Put veggies and cheese inside the egg and cook another minute

Potatoes:

• Russet Potato 
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• tabasco
• salt 
• pepper
• vegetable oil  

Cut potato into quarters
Fill a glass pan 1/2 way with water and put potato quarters inside
Microwave for 4 minutes

Cut potato into bite size pieces  

Place in a pan with oil and butter
Season potato to taste

Cook until brown and crispy 

Yogurt Parfait:

• plain vanilla greek yogurt
• berries (raspberries & blueberries are my favorite) 
• granola
• honey 

Layer yogurt, granola, and berries. Drizzle with honey. 

Enjoy!  

Happy Easter All! X

Chicken Fajitas

"We all eat. It would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly."- Anna Thomas

I recently spent a week in beautiful Cancun. I went on Spring Break with some of my best friends and we were lucky enough to stay in a gorgeous time share (honestly, how many college kids get three rooms for 5 girls where everyone gets their own bed?). Major thank you to my beautiful friend who let us all come along. 

The view from our suite

Flowers & sunrise on the resort

 Anyway, we had a great time and made plenty of great memories...despite the Barra Libres (or perhaps because of the barra libres).

 However, once we got back to school I realized just how much I missed the food- especially since we actually ate guacamole with every single meal.

In all honesty, I eat mexican food at least once a week. When I learned I was going to school on the East Coast (where the mexican food isn't exactly up to California standards),  I decided to learn how to make one of my favorite mexican dishes--Chicken Fajitas! And now, I am going to share that recipe with you!

Chicken Fajitas

What you need (serves 2-3):

• 3 pieces of chicken breast
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/4 onion
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 3 tbsp limes juice 
• 6 flour tortillas

Optional:

• shredded cheese
• guacamole
• sour cream
• black/refried beans 
• salsa

How to Make:

• Marinate your chicken in 1/4 cup of olive oil, crushed garlic, and the lime juice (30 minutes)

• Chop up your onions and bell peppers into thin strips while the chicken is marinating

Cut into 1/2 inch strips

• Use 1/8 cup of oil on a medium sized pan over medium heat. Beware of the sizzling oil! 
• cook your chicken until completely white in the center (approx. 10 minutes)
• Wrap your tortillas in foil and place in your oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F

• In a separate pan, use the remaining olive oil over medium high heat and cook your peppers and onions (approx. 4 minutes) 

• Move your vegetables into the skillet with the chicken and toss the ingredients for two minutes
• Serve the chicken vegetable medley with whatever optional ingredients you enjoy 

Cheese, always cheese

• Wrap everything in a tortilla

Enjoy! Especially if you serve with a pitcher of margaritas! 

Also, I love to cook while blasting music, and today I started listening to a new group that I cannot get enough of. One of my good friends recommends music for me pretty regularly, and he is great at it. He emailed me a couple weeks ago about a band called The Oh Hello's and they are fantastic. I love having friends that totally get my musical tastes. Check them out and see if you're as into them as I am.

Cheers X