If you have teenagers...girl ones....

Just thought I would share this helpful picture.  We need to work together to make them stop!

For all you wanna be wino's....

The below chart breaks down the mystery of wine.  If there was a one page "wine for dummies" this is it!

Here's to the weekend!

You guys never get sick of cocktail recipes, do you?  Good, me neither.  Folks in the midwest,  this one is for you…clearly the only thing to do in weather like this is drink heavily spiked coffee. 

 Listen to your inner voices!!

“The Blizzard” (from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey or rum
• 1/2 ounce hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico
• 1/2 ounce Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s
• Hot coffee
• Dollop of Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

Directions

1. In a glass coffee mug, stir together whiskey, hazelnut liqueur, and Irish cream; top with coffee. Garnish cocktail with whipped cream and serve immediately.

Now....below is the picture of said delicious drink!  The voices will love it!

A dip to love....without all that nasty guilt!

Yummmm......


I think Pinterest is an amazing place to find recipes and ideas. However, I have had quite a few unsuccessful attempts at making a Pinterest recipe. I prefer to use recipes that get good reviews on websites or that have already been tried out by my friends or family. So I wanted to share a yummy snack recipe with you! Nic and I had this while watching the Bachelor a couple weeks ago and we LOVED IT! It uses lots of veggies and low fat ingredients so I did not feel too guilty snacking on it. I will for sure be making this in the summer when I am actually poolside! Try it out yourself!
Skinny Poolside Dip

1 red pepper, 2 jalapenos (unseeded) or seeded if you love it spicy, 1 can of corn, 1/2 can diced olives, 16 oz fat-free cream cheese (softened), and 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dip seasoning mix. Mix ingredients together. Serve with crackers or raw veggies.

See pic below and try not to make it!

Pizza...cheesy and gooey...with a cauliflower crust!

Ok...

I know.  Pizza with a cauliflower crust??  Can it be possible?  It is...and it's good!

Try it.  That's all I can tell you.  It's that good.

Healthy + Gluten Free Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust

 

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: Eating Bird Food

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• ½ head cauliflower (about 2 cups riced)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
2. Prep a cookie sheet or pizza stone. You can grease the cookie sheet or use parchment paper. (I used a pizza stone, which doesn’t require any prep if it’s seasoned.)
3. Remove the stems and leaves from your cauliflower and chop the florets into chunks. Add to a food processor and pulse just until the texture is similar to rice. If you don’t have a food processor or Vitamix, you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater or chop it.
4. Sauté cauliflower “rice” in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook until translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes. (You can use the microwave for this as well. Just place cauliflower in an uncovered microwave-safe bowl and cook for 8 minutes.)
5. In a bowl combine the cooked cauliflower with all remaining ingredients.
6. Spread dough out evenly over parchment paper (or stone) – about ¼ to ⅓ of an inch thick. The pizza should be about 9-10 inches in diameter.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden, crispy on the edges and cooked through the middle.
8. Remove the crust from the oven.
9. Top with pizza sauce and toppings. Be careful not to add too many heavy toppings as you don’t want to weigh down the crust.
10. Broil the pizza for 5 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted. Allow the pizza to cool for 2-3 minutes then cut and serve immediately.

Just top the pizza with whatever you like...I used prosciutto and fresh mozzarella.  I also roasted some fresh yellow squash and mushrooms (bella).  Whatever you use, make sure you roast it first as you only cook the pizza after putting on the toppings for about 5 minutes.

Make sure you don't over load the crust-as it's not your typical dough crust!

Enjoy, knowing you are only eating a quarter of the calories in normal crust.  And it's gluten free!!!  So yes, pizza CAN BE healthy! If you cut this crust into 8 slices, each piece of crust (without toppings) has only 50 calories, 2 carbs and 5 grams of protein! There’s no need to feel guilty about eating a few slices, several times a week!

Workout Wednesday!!! Most popular workout songs for Jan

Hi ya'll....

So, your on the treadmill with your ipod in hand and as you start to pedal (or glide, or walk, or whatever you do at the gym!) you push play and out comes the same boring music that you have been listening to for the last 6 months because you either don't have time...or....you don't know what to add to that ole playlist.

Below are the top tracks for January for working out....

Try them out and let me know your thoughts!

• Die Young -- Keha
• Scream & Shout -- will.i.am
• Thrift Shop -- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
• Don't You Worry Child -- Swedish House Mafia
• Sweet Nothing -- Calvin Harris
• I Cry -- Flo Rida
• Clique -- Kanye West
• Titanium -- David Guetta
• Gangnam Style -- Psy
• Locked Out Of Heaven -- Bruno Mars
• Till I Collapse -- Eminem
• Diamonds -- Rihanna
• Ni**as In Paris -- Jay-Z
• Bangarang -- Skrillex
• Beauty And A Beat -- Justin Bieber
• One More Night -- Maroon 5
• Good Feeling -- Flo Rida
• Call Me Maybe -- Carly Rae Jepsen
• We Found Love -- Rihanna
• Stronger -- Kanye West

Comfort food...WITHOUT CARBS!

Hi everyone!

Hope the weekend was great!  My weekend went as fast as always...(insert drumroll here)...filled with kids events and basically playing bus to my 14 year old budding society princess.

I did get to try a new recipe on Saturday night, which turned out amazing!  I absolutely love, love, love macaroni and cheese and have been looking for a healthy alternative (other than the 2% kraft boxed variety) and I found it on a great website that I frequent OFTEN called Skinnytaste.

Below is the recipe....believe me it absolutely rocked!  I loved it, my kids loved it, my husband loved it and it heated up great!  Basically, there are no carbs in the dish-which is amazing!  It's cheesy and gooey and I would rate it a 10.

I used two spaghetti squashes and it seemed to be the right amount.

Enjoy (and seriously try this!)

Baked Spaghetti Squash and CheeseSkinnytaste.com 
Servings: 7  • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 165 • Fat: 8 g • Protein: 10 g • Carb: 16 g • Fiber: 2 g • Sugar: 6.5 g
Sodium: 278.5 mg (without salt)
 

Ingredients: 

• 5 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (from about 2 small)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup flour (use 2 tbsp corn starch for gf)
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarian)
• 8 oz Sargento 2% reduced fat mild cheddar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cups (about 4 oz) baby spinach
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place squash on a baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 1 hour. Separate the strands of squash with a fork and place in a medium bowl; discard shells. Maintain the oven temperature.

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in flour. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring continually 3 - 4 minutes.

Add milk and chicken broth and continue whisking, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil and becomes smooth and thick, about 2 minutes stirring; season with salt and pepper.

Once it becomes thick, remove from heat, add cheddar cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked spaghetti squash and baby spinach, pour into a baking dish and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bakeuntil bubbly and golden 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 7 cups.

And here is a picture....makes me want to make it again!!