Fruit the size of my head

January 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

Hey y’all!  I’ve been a horrible horrible blogger lately- I’ve posted maybe once a week for the last couple of months?  I’m going to try to make more of an effort to post more often, and not just recipes (especially since my school schedule is wonky this semester and I won’t have as much time to put into developing recipes.  Sadface.)

School is back in full force.  This semester is so weird.  I feel like my schedule is all over the place and my commute is right during rush hour so it takes me anywhere from 2-3 hrs to get home some days.  And by the time I do get home sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for that long leaves me exhausted and all I want to do is go straight to bed.

This semester I’m taking Human Anatomy & Physiology, Bionutrition (which is actually a Biochemistry class), and Literature in Nutrition and Food Science. 

I took a Biology class at the local community class this summer to prep for A&P and I’m soooo glad I did!  I feel totally ahead of the game in my science classes and I’m fairly certain that I’m going to do really well in them! 

My literature class I’m also really enjoying.  We’re learning how to do and present research and today we worked with a research librarian in the library.  I got some really helpful information and I’m pumped to get started on my research projects!  We broke up into groups and started talking about our group research project- I ended up in a group with 2 really great girls and I’m really excited about working with them!!

What else??

I’m going to start blogging my weigh-ins again I think.  Maybe not every single week but sometimes.  It’s going pretty well- I’ve lost almost 5 lbs this month so that’s definitely something to celebrate!!

And just for your entertainment…

Fruit the size of my head!

 

431503_685655668936_55502469_33448940_1807593637_n

It’s a Pummelo.  It’s like a grapefruit but a little sweeter.

IMG_5806

Unfortunately it’s got a really thick rind (is that what it’s called?) and inside it’s really only the size of a grapefruit.  And like twice as expensive.  Oh well, it’s still fun to try new things!!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

dcfb33fa1087c7abe7ecac74bdff501e5

Filed Under: school, Weight Loss Tagged With: ,

Barley, tomato, arugula, and spinach salad

January 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

This is my spin on a recipe that was in a recent weight watchers weekly that we receive at meetings.  This is great as a side dish or you can make a meal of it!  You can bump up the nutrition even more by adding some cannellini beans!

 

 

Barley, tomato, arugula, and spinach salad
(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Keywords: sauté salad side vegan vegetarian barley tomatoes arugula spinach

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup pearled barley
  • 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 small onions, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup fresh arugula
  • 1 cup fresh baby spinach
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Bring water to a boil. Add barley and reduce heat to low. Let cook about 30 mins or until barley is tender. (you can also do this in your rice cooker!). Set aside.

Over medium heat, saute onion in a medium skillet until it starts to get tender.

Add tomatoes and garlic and saute until the tomatoes soften.

Add barley and stir until combined.

Stir in arugula and spinach until wilted.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste and remove from heat.

Eat warm or cold- either way it’s delicious!

Powered by Recipage

 

 

IMG_5763

IMG_5768

 

I know what I’m having for lunch today!!

Enjoy!

dcfb33fa1087c7abe7ecac74bdff501e5

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Banana Muffins 2 Ways

January 16, 2012 by 7 Comments

These muffins are seriously amazing!  You could go with the traditional banana nut variety or with the banana chocolate chip variety or you could go half and half.  Any way you go, you can’t go wrong!!

Banana Muffins 2 Ways
(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20-25 min

Keywords: bake dessert snack vegan vegetarian whole wheat pastry flour muffin

 

Ingredients (12 muffins)

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top OR 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray muffin pan lightly with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.

In small bowl combine mashed bananas, sugar, nondairy milk, and vanilla.

Fold in chocolate chips or chopped walnuts.

Divide batter evenly into the muffin pan. You should get 12 muffins.

Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips or chopped walnuts on top of each muffin.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Powered by Recipage

 

IMG_5750

IMG_5757

Mmmmmm

Enjoy!

dcfb33fa1087c7abe7ecac74bdff501e5

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

Crockpot Enchilada Soup

January 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There’s not much better on a chilly day than a nice spicy soup and this definitely hits the spot!  Top with your favorite toppings like cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream, avocado, and cilantro.  So Good!!!

 

Crockpot Enchilada Soup
(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 6-8 hrs

Keywords: slow-cooker soup/stew vegan vegetarian fire roasted tomatoes Mexican

 

Ingredients (4 large servings)

  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 t cumin
  • 2 t chili powder
  • 1/2 t cayenne
  • 28 oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 2 big handfuls of tortilla chips, crushed (this will be added at the end to thicken the soup and add a fantastic flavor)

    •  

    Instructions

    Add all ingredients except tortilla chips into crockpot.

    Let cook on low for at least 6 hours.

    Add crushed tortilla chips and stir well- this will not only thicken the soup more but it will add more of an enchilada flavor as the crushed chips melt into the hot soup.

    Let cook for another hour.

    Ladle into bowls and top with your favorite toppings- cheese, more crushed tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream, etc…

    Powered by Recipage

     

     

    IMG_5729

     

    Enjoy!

    dcfb33fa1087c7abe7ecac74bdff501e5

    Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , ,

    Foodie Penpals, Part 2

    January 11, 2012 by 7 Comments

    First of all I have to apologize to my foodie penpal, Kristen for not having posted this sooner.  I’m so sorry Kristen!!  I tend to become the laziest person on the planet during school breaks.  I’ve literally done nothing but watch trashy TV shows the past couple of weeks and hang out on the sofa.  The lack of a proper routine makes me so lazy and I apologize!!

    Anyway on to my foodie penpal!

    Kristen lives in Japan and she sent me some Japanese goodies!  Because of the shipping distance I didn’t get the package until the day that foodie penpal posts were due to go up.  It was totally worth the wait though because Kristen sent me some awesome goodies!!

    Here’s what I got…

    A postcard from Okinawa, Japan- it’s where she lives.  It’s absolutely gorgeous!

    IMG_5690

    The spicy…

    I told Kristen how much I loved spicy stuff and she totally hooked me up!

    Hot sauce!!  Kristen was also kind enough to label everything for me since it was all in Japanese.  This stuff is hottttt!!

    IMG_5694IMG_5695

     

    A spicy seasoning.  This stuff is absolutely amazing!  I am almost out of it already so I need to figure out how to get more!  I’ve sprinkled it on kale chips, oven fries, and beans so far.  Love this stuff!!!

    IMG_5696IMG_5697

    The sweet…

    IMG_5700

     

    These little guys looked a lot like goldfish crackers, but they were filled with CHOCOLATE!!  Can’t go wrong there- they were so delicious!!!

    IMG_5703IMG_5704

    Pocky!  I’ve had pocky before but never the strawberry flavor- delish!

    IMG_5705IMG_5706

    That dark chocolate with Chili was amazing too- the perfect amount of spicyness with the dark chocolate.  mmmmm!

    The savory…

    IMG_5708

    Veggie chipssss!

    Such a cute package!

    IMG_5719

    IMG_5715IMG_5716

    Sweet potato chips!

    IMG_5709IMG_5710

    My absolute favorite thing in the package (actually it’s a tie between this and the spicy seasoning).  Habanero chips!!  These things were so amazing!!  I’m not going to lie I devoured this entire bag in one sitting.  Spicy, crunchy, salty.  All of my favorite things!  I wouldn’t mind too much if you wanted to send me more of these!

    IMG_5717IMG_5718

     

    I absolutely can’t say how much I loved my foodie penpal package this month- thank you so so much Kristen!!!!!  Sorry again that I was such an awful slacker about posting!

    Check out what I sent my penpal here.

    Want to get involved with foodie penpals?!  Check out Lindsay’s blog to find out how!

     

    Have a great day y’all!!

    dcfb33fa1087c7abe7ecac74bdff501e5

    Filed Under: Foodie Penpals Tagged With: , ,
    « Previous Page
    Next Page »