RECIPE of the WEEK!!

Sauteed KalE

                  

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

BON APPETIT!

if you're gonna cheat... do it right.

I know, I know... it's Valentine's Day! How... sweet. Not only does this mean there is an influx of sappy Facebook statuses and an an overwhelming abundance of red and pink flowers, it ALSO means there WILL be an exorbitant  amount of chocolate. And caramel. And ice cream. And cake. And... well, really anything that's sweet. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO!? It's just not fair. How can anyone be "good" and still enjoy this holiday? It's tricky... but it's doable. Don't count yourself out of the game just yet, guys! Feast your eyes on MY all-time FAVORITE "cheating culprit"...

DARK CHOCOLATE-DRIZZLED POPCORN
So... grab yourself a box of the "Smart Pop" popcorn, and pop a full bag in the microwave. (Make sure you don't burn it!) Lay out wax paper on the counter top or table, and spread the popcorn out in an even, non-clumpy way. Get a half cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer) and put in a heat-resistant, glass bowl. With the stove-top burner on medium heat, place a saucepan with water on the burner. Allow water to heat; this usually takes around 4-5 minutes. Once water is simmering, place glass bowl on top of saucepan, making sure the glass bowl is not touching the simmering water. Heat chocolate chips until melted. DO NOT over-melt the chocolate! It will get chunky and tasted burnt. After the chocolate is melted, removed from the stove, and using a tablespoon, drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn on the wax paper. You can add a pinch of sea salt to the still melted chocolate once it is on the popcorn to give it that sweet and salty taste, but it really just depends on what you like! Let the popcorn stand so the chocolate will set; this usually takes around 15-20 minutes. All that's left is to place it in a big bowl and enjoy! This little snack is EXTREMELY low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium! Enjoy!
*this popcorn is BEST enjoyed while watching "The Proposal". (a little plug for my all-time favorite romantic comedy!)

... and then AFTER you "indulge" (if you can even call it that!), go for a romantic walk with your Sweetie! Doesn't that sound like a perfect evening? A little popcorn, Ryan Reynolds, and a nice brisk walks? Sounds like LOVE to me!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone! :) Love on all of your loved ones.
Bethany

whoops...

Last week was CRAZY! My apologies for only ONE post... I was clearly extremely lame last week. Lame... and busy. What a life!! Moving on...

I wanted to share a few COOL "tips" I learned during my lame, but busy week last week. You might want to grab a piece of paper and a pen to jot this down, because you will NOT want to forget these little nuggets of knowledge. (Or... you could just come back and visit this blog again! Then you won't have to jot/remember anything!)

1. BANANA SOFT SERVE
I know... you are probably thinking, "Ice cream?? why is she tempting me!? I can't have ICE CREAM!" Well, folks, it is your lucky day. This "soft serve" has 3 ingredients: a banana, a tbsp. of cocoa powder, and a tablespoon of almond (or any nut) butter. Now... this little gemstone of a sweet treat isn't going to WOW any of our hard-core ice cream lovers, but it WILL provide that sweet-tooth fix that we all need once in a while. You will feel like you are cheating, without actually cheating! What a concept! Just gather your ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tbsp of cocoa (dark) powder
• 1 tbsp of almond (nut) butter

Now, for the directions!

• cut the ripe banana into 1/2 inch pieces
• place banana pieces into a plastic sandwich bag, and put in the freezer
• allow banana to freeze for 2 hours
• remove banana from freezer, and put all pieces into the food processor
• start food processor, and allow bananas to be whipped (bananas will turn to sort of a frozen, "banana gravel"... just keep scraping the sides of the bowl, and eventually, it will turn into a soft serve consistency
• add the tbsp of cocoa powder and the tbsp of almond butter
• allow the ingredients to be mixed in, but DO NOT OVER MIX (it will change the consistency of your ice cream!)
• ... you can eat and enjoy now. :) and... you're welcome.

2. SHAKE WEIGHT
You thought it was a joke, right!? I did, too. I am guilty. Surprisingly enough, though, this weird, little contraption actually made me sore... and what does soreness mean? That your muscles were working! Which is ALWAYS a good thing. I received a Shake Weight at our office's White Elephant gift exchange at Christmas, and haven't touched the thing since then! This past weekend, I plopped down on the couch, and wanted to enjoy a little Anne of Greene Gables (reeeeally lame, I know... I am an old soul! Don't judge me!) Feeling pretty weird about my lazy Sunday afternoon with virtually zero activity, I wracked my brain for ideas to make my lazy day a little more lively. Then I remembered... the Shake Weight. I grabbed that weird-looking weight and shook away! Now, be forewarned... this is harder than they make it look on TV. I was out of breath just after a few minutes! Come to find out... the Shake Weight is NOT A JOKE! My arms were actually pretty sore the next day. From now on, I vow to Shake Weight every time I watch TV... or maybe just when I watch movies. Or just when I watch Anne of Green Gables. Either way, my arms will be toned!

3. GROCERY LIST
So... I absolutely love to grocery shop. Weird, I know... but absolutely true! I love browsing the aisles and picking out glorious treats. My love for grocery shopping is obviously not an issue, but my METHOD for grocery shopping? Well... it stinks. I usually leave with FAR too many sweets, and forget about the "real food" that actually made me go to the grocery store in the first place! What a dilemma! Good thing I found a solution. The solution? A cool notepad. I was browsing the lovely store of Anthropologie (one of my absolute FAVORITE stores), and found this adorable, magnetic grocery store list. It has everything conveniently listed with a tiny little box next to it, so you can easily check off what you are in need of! With this brainless solution, my Saturday morning shopping trip was both cheaper, more efficient AND more productive! You can find this little notepad at Anthropologie, Francesca's... OR off of this website.

Well, there you have it. My tips of the week! Maybe not as thought-provoking and insightful as you would have liked, but... it is what it is... and trust me! You'll DEFINITELY thank me for the banana soft serve. :)

Enjoy! And have a GREAT week, everyone!
Bethany

Recipe of the WEEK!

Asian Chicken and Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 2T hoisin sauce
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 1 t. fresh ground ginger
• 4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• cooking spray
• 1 t. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
•  4 c. packaged coleslaw (cabbage)
• 1t dark sesame oil
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/5 t. black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat broiler
2. Combine first 3 ingredients; spread evenly over both sides of chicken. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until done.
3. While chicken cooks, heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes. Add coleslaw; saute 1 minute or until coleslaw begins to wilt.
4. Place coleslaw mixture in a medium bowl. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Serve coleslaw mixture with chicken.

BON APPETIT!

the importance of WATER in your life.

H20!

You can ALWAYS drink more water, right? Pretty much... yes! Most of the general population seems to know that consuming water is extremely beneficial to one's health, and some people even equate increased water consumption with weight loss. Why is that, and what are some good facts to know about water and what it does for you?

Water is your body's principal element, making up about 60 percent of your body weight. Absolutely ever system in your body needs and totally depends on water. Water aids in weight loss for multiple reasons. First of all, proper hydration aids in boosting your metabolism, allowing your body to more easily carry out standard functions. Secondly, when you are consuming enough water, your body can tell the difference between actual hunger and the need for fluids. Finally, water flushes toxins out of vital organs and also carries nutrients to your cells, allowing you to get the best nutritional value of the food you are consuming!

The effects that lack of water, or dehydration, can have on your body are endless. Dehydration can occur due to the loss of water through perspiration, bowel and urine movements and even just from sweat! With that said, the water must be replenished and restored in the body by consuming foods and beverages that are high in water content. For some reason, people generally associate "drinking enough water" with the 8 by 8 theory; 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water. This is just NOT a good rule to follow. If you are exercising, dieting, have an active lifestyle, live in a hot or humid climate, are run down with a sickness, have a specific illness or health condition, and/or are pregnant or breastfeeding... you NEED more water than the "Average Joe"! Your body will give you very clear (pun intended!) signs to flag you when you need to be drinking more water; example, if your urine is a dark or moderate yellow, your body WANTS MORE WATER! A good rule of thumb, although a little crude, to keep is... if you're peeing white, you're peeing right! Colorless or light urine throughout the day is optimal, and is a perfect clue to know that your body is well-hydrated!

Drinking TOO much water is possible, but EXTREMELY and incredibly rare. Marathon runners and endurance-minded athletes are at a higher risk for this almost non-existent condition called hyponatremia. Overall, concern for the over-consumption of water isn't a valid or worthwhile fear to have.

so... in conclusion... DRINK MORE WATER. :)