The next best thing since Jelly

Ever try to invent something? And I mean invent something that is truly unique and there is nothing of its kind out there already? If you have ever seen ABC's The Shark Tank (coming back in March!), you know how tough it is. I think it is dang near impossible! 

Unless you so happened to be the inventor of this.

Or this. 

Or this.  

Ok, so it can be done. But let me tell you my ventures in inventing..


A few years ago, I thought I had a genius idea that would revolutionize the lives of elementary school moms across the world. As I was supposed to be studying at the library one night, it was all I could think of. I thought I had truly created something unique. I was pumped. Here's how silly little me thought I was going to make the big bucks one day:  

The Problem: The Jelly part of the PB+J. 

The PB part of the PB+J equation is typically effortless for most creators of this straightforward meal. Smooth and easy spreadin', whether using crunchy PB or regular. It is on in a few seconds and you are left with half of a beautiful sandwich, hopeful for the J that is shortly to come. 

J, on the other hand, can give you a sticky run for your money. Personally, I have wars with my J. I either end up tearing holes in the slice or am left with a chunky, runny, ugly mess on the other half of what should be a classic delicacy. (I hear you...this is all before the days of squeezable bottles, and pre-mixed PB&J, mind you) (OH and YUCK to the pre-mixed kind, btw!). 

The Solution: Sliced Jelly! Sliced cheese work great for your turkey sandwich so I figured, 'why not sliced jelly?!' Convenient, quick and most importantly mess-less. I thought it was was a goldmine if I could figure out how to execute the 'minor' details. 

An eager Google search to see if there was anything of it's kind out and I learned in seconds that there was a patent pending for my very idea. A group of students from OU it said. (sssssssss!) My ship instantly sank. It was back to the lame-o studying for me. (I have not researched the jelly slice issue again until now and I could not find anything. Hmm....maybe I DO have a chance!:))

I was not trying to invent something revolutionary like my sliced jelly or make the big bucks  when I did this particular stunt a few weeks ago, but when I saw this face plate....I immediately thought, "I shoulda done that!!" Again, a lost opportunity where I was sooo...closee...

Check out what I mean.

Their snack plate:

These lil' guys/gals will run ya $15/ea and are re-useable.

My snack plate: 

These lil' critters are free but for one-time use only. Dang it, 

their idea wins. ;)

Maybe I should have taken this one all the way to the top a little sooner. :) 

Don't judge a recipe by it's...name?

I really have no intentions of turning my blog into a cooking/recipe/food blog (I will strive to keep it as random and themeless as it currently is ;p), however, we have had some tasty treats lately and hoarding these delightful delicacies would just be wrong of me. So for now, I will embrace the Julia Childs deep within me (and trust me...it's way on in there) and blog about food if I'm feelin' it. 

While flipping through an Eating Well magazine (great website as well, fyi) in an office yesterday, I found this recipe and decided it was a great choice for dinner last night. After we both licked our plates clean, it was officially decided that the meal was...(all you former middle school cheerleaders, chant it with me now): a-w-e-so-me! I mean it, this dish was dang gooood and it passed my 4 major recipe 'must-haves:'  

1) Healthy

2) EASY/not requiring I purchase a lot of non-frequntly used & expensive ingredients 

3) Scrumptious, duh!

4) Filling. Satisfying a 26 year old, growin' boy's tummy is a challenge! 


Let me tell you that our dinner last night gets a huge CHECK next to #'s 1-4 above and it was delicious.

"What is the recipe you speak of, Courtni??" Well, I am glad you asked, anonymous blogger. The super-foods recipe I am excited to share is (drumroll please)...."Black Bean, Edamame and Wheat Berry Salad!!!" Wait. Your mouth isn't watering? What's wrong?! Ok, I will be real honest with you - the title did not sound appealing to me, either. In fact, this was my immediate, Joey-from- Friends eating Rachel's trifle thought process: "What's not to like? Black beans...good. Edamame...goooood. Wheat berries....what tha!?!" 


I honestly had never heard of wheat berries and even more honestly, they did not sound good to me. If you are feeling the same way, keep reading because there is hope. While I am sure the recipe is wonderful as-is, I lied to you a smidgen. The Gresham house actually ate "Black Bean, Edamame and Pasta Salad" last night, as wheat berries were not to be found on my grocery trip in the arctic cold (this is true! I really did want to try them but after de-frosting in my car, I lost my will to venture to another store to find some). 

So, on the fly, I decided to sub Dreamfields "Rotini" pasta in for the wheat berries. I know, I know... wheat berries are one of the main ingredients...don't hate me for being a rule-breaker. Sometimes you gotta improvise and I think Dreamfields was a great choice - check out the nutritional facts on this amazing pasta :) I was very pleased with this switch-a-roo and Justin and I LOVED the meal. Also, I think the pasta version satisfied requirement #4 listed above more than the called-for wheat berries would have. So in this case, full tummies = happy tummies! =)

Without further adieu, below is the recipe and it can also be found here.

Black Bean, Edamame, and Wheat Berry (or PASTA) Salad


4 cups water
1/2 cup dry wheat berries (or your choice pasta)
1/2 of a 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained (low-sodium kind)
1 cup frozen, shelled, edamame, thawed
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. pompeian red wine vinegar
3 tbsp pompeian olivextra plus 
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine water and wheat berries in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 55 minutes or until wheat berries are just tender.


2. Place in a fine mesh strainer and run under cold water to cool quickly, drain well.


3. Combine the wheat berries with the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours in advance.

Remarks

Wheat berries are unprocessed wheat kernels and are sold in major supermarkets and health food stores.

Some additional notes: 

-Obviously, if you sub in pasta for wheat berries, cook the pasta according to package and combine with ingredients above.

-I used slightly less water than called for - about 2 1/2 cups. 

-I grilled 2 chicken breasts and sliced up to serve alongside pasta = YUM and ups the protein count!

-We enjoyed fresh broccoli with this meal, as well, and it was delicious! If you need a little flavor, sprinkle some cheese on top of your broccoli.

I.heart.PB&J.

I saw this recipe for PB&J heart cookies on MarthaStewart.com and had to share. If you are following my previous post on healthy snacking, you can make a few substitutions to the ingredients below but let's be real honest with each other...these treats will be tastiest when left in their original state. Butter, sugar and all. It's ok to make exceptions for a sweet valentines PB&J, right!? ;) I think yes. Life is short :)

How cute would these be in your kiddo's (or husbands:)) lunch?!

Recipe: 

Makes about 2 dozen 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1/3 cup raspberry jam, stirred to loosen

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, then egg. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until dough forms. If dough is sticky, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Press into 1 3/4-inch rounds. Press hearts into centers using your fingertips. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and reshape hearts using your fingertips or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill indentation of each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon jam to form a heart. Bake until cookies are firm, 6 to 7 minutes more.

Visual Guide to Snacking!

What is your favorite meal of the day? I think I will say dinner is mine. Though, when I really stop and think about it, I usually get more excited about my 'snack' times of the day than I do at the traditional meal times. Twice a day this happens. Once in the morning after breakfast and once after lunch and I get hunger pangs that tell me I should devour an entire pan of Ghiradelli double chocolate brownies by myself (my usual craving and yes, I really think if put to the challenge I could do it. An entire 9x13 pan, no doubt). 

Since that would not be a good idea in regards to my health or contentment of my husband (seeing me grow my own 'fat baby,' would not be attractive to him), I have to choose my snacks wisely. Sometimes this is a difficult task! 

Our 3 main meals are usually planned out and prepared to be balanced (for the most part), so these random non-meal times of the day we find ourselves hungry can be challenging. Typically we want something fast and not too filling before our next meal, so a healthy choice not always the most appealing or efficient option. Our mind and tummy want to tell us that a Snickers (or pan of brownies) is quick and will do the trick! 

To help with our snacking habits (yes....they are habits!), I found this "Visual Guide" to healthy snacking online and thought I would share a few of the healthy, low calorie options with you!

15-20 raw almonds = 139 calories and oh-so-good for you

Raw baby carrots = 60 calories

 Raw celery & hummus = 108 calories

Grapes = 148 calories

Apple = 96 calories. Spice it up by peeling, slicing and sprinkling with a dash of cinnamon. bake in the oven until tender. YUM!

Cherry tomatoes = 27 calories 

Here are a few other suggestions for you to try if you are bored with baby carrots and apples :) 

I LOVE Kim's Magic Pop with a little bit of Nutella or natural peanut butter. 

They are also great with different spreads or cheeses! 

AdvoCare SNACK BAR and MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKE. Really, both of these are

the bomb.com in taste and nutritional value. Check them out here.

Or you do it my style and try a combination of everything listed above. Justin loved it.

See....snacking healthy can be FUN! ;)

Happy Snacking!!

Guest Blogger: Makenzie!

1 month down, 11 to go on your 2011 goals - yipeeee!!!! The crowds are still lookin pretty thick at the gym (even today, believe it or not), so I think most are still going strong. For most, though, exercising is only have the battle. FOOD choices still remain your biggest enemy! 

My friend, Makenzie, who is an awesome CPT, nutritionist and fellow AdvoCare distributor was generous enough to bestow some of her nutritional expertise upon us, today! She is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about healthy food choices and I thought it was great information we can all benefit from. 


Enjoy what she has to say and thanks for sharing, Makenzie!!

EAT MORE OFTEN AND LOSE THE FAT??

What if we all stopped counting our calories and focused more on the actual foods we were eating. You could very well lose 10% of that unwanted fat in 2 short weeks if you ate the RIGHT foods! We would all love to do that right?

Did you know: You can create a very efficient metabolism for yourself by eating the right foods. 

What are the "RIGHT" foods anyways? Think fresh and pure. Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, good fats, and whole grains. Tasteful, colorful, and filling! 

Our Enemy= SUGAR! And guess what, processed foods have a lot of sugar, not to mention all of the harmful chemicals mixed in that may have very harmful lasting effects. 

So, we want to stay away from sugar, processed foods, AND BAD fats!

Bad Fat vs. Good Fat

Bad fats include hydrogenated oils, canola oil, margarine, and butter substitutes! Good fats include raw nuts, avocado, whole eggs, olive oil, and real butter. These "good" fats are going to help with transport of all the nutrients in your body, which will help build a more efficient metabolism. 

GREAT NEWS: We should be eating often in order to keep blood sugar levels stable and maintain a healthy metabolism. It's all about making healthy eating choices!

Email Makenzie Fitzgerald, Nutritionist and CPT, for meal planning, grocery guides, and more healthy eating ideas for you and your family. 

Makfitz.insideout@gmail.com

Insideoutfitnut.com

24 Day Challenge

In keeping with the goal theme, I thought I would mention something for all the weight-loss/health goal setters out there. And I knowwww you're out there ;)


So, I have mentioned it before but I will say again. Justin and I LOVE, love, love working for AdvoCare. Actually calling it work is just not fair...because it's just not work. We consider it a joy to sell the best nutritional supplements in the country and help people achieve their health, fitness and financial goals. It's awesome and sooo rewarding in so many ways! 


AdvoCare offers a product bundle called the "24 Day Challenge" and it is truly an incredible way to jumpstart your health and nutritional goals for 2011. Right now, the 24 Day Challenge is on sale for $22 off the original price, which is a great deal :) 


We have started several people on the challenge over the past few weeks and have seen amazing results: Matt lost 8 lbs and Lexy lost a dress size - both in their first 10 days. I'm not kiddin' around, people, the stuff works :) 


So, if you're wondering what in the world the 24 Day Challenge is, here is a basic overview: 

Days 1-10 Cleanse Phase
The first ten days are about cleansing your body of toxins and preparing for optimal nutrient absorption, and you may enjoy weight loss as well!*

• Herbal Cleanse-Citrus: helps to cleanse and detoxify your body.*
• OmegaPlex^®: essential fatty acids for increased overall wellness.*
• AdvoCare Spark^®: nutritionally-advanced energy*

Days 11-24 Max Phase
Give your body the best tools you need to achieve your next weight management goal during days 11-24!*

• Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS^®): Your choice of Max C+ (appetite control), Max E+ (energy), or Max 3 – for weight management, appetite control and overall wellness.*
• Meal Replacement Shake - Chocolate: Complete nutrition in a great-tasting shake!
• AdvoCare Spark^®: nutritionally advanced energy*

Each 24-Day Challenge includes:

• One box of Meal Replacement Shakes - Chocolate
• One box of Herbal Cleanse - Citrus
• One bottle of OmegaPlex^®
• One box of AdvoCare Spark^® - Mandarin Orange
• One box of AdvoCare Spark^® - Fruit Punch
• Your choice of one box of MNS^® Max 3, C, or E

To learn more information or order the 24 Day Challenge, visit  www.advocates4champions.com. 

Let me know if you have any questions!!

Chicken: It's what's for dinner

Tonight, I am making one of Justin's favorite meals for dinner: Italian Chicken. I just had to share the recipe because it could quite possibly be one of the easiest meals to make...ever, and it is so delicious. It is great if you need to whip up something in a hurry and also has a nice presentation :) 




Italian Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 tomatoes, quartered (I like to use Roma tomatoes)

1 pkg fresh mushrooms

1 bottle of italian dressing (I like to use zesty)

1 pkg Lipton dry onion soup mix

1/2 tsp oregano

2 bay leaves

Place chicken, tomatoes & mushrooms in 9x13 pan. Combine dressing, soup mix and oregano. Pour sauce over chicken and lay bay leaves on top. Bake 1 hour at 350 or until chicken is fully cooked. 

Pretty much a fail-proof recipe....my kinda cookin'!! :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Well, I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We had a great one with family, friends, a decent amount of food and lots of Christmas decorating. On our way to lunch with Justin's family on Thanksgiving day, we talked about how we felt more in the "holiday" spirit than ever this year. I think it is because it was 40 something degrees outside, I was holding a pumpkin pie, we had a big 'ole pot of green beans seatbelted in the backseat, Christmas music was on the radio and every building we passed along the way had Christmas decorations up already. We just felt so dang jolly. Hope you felt some of that, too. 

Pumpkin Pie. Handmade sign....not so much handmade pie.:) 

This was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and I just really could not be more thankful for Justin and our wonderfully supportive families. Thanksgiving will always be a special holiday for us as two years ago, Justin asked me to be his girlfriend AT his parents house. On Thanksgiving day....in front of most of his family. (So, we had just started dating and as soon as I arrived at his house, he greeted me at the front door asking if he could introduce me as his girlfriend rather than "Courtni, his special friend." I said yes :) and the rest is history). This year, he had no pressure - we are legit :) We enjoyed a great meal at The Greshams, watched some Cowboys football and helped our cute nieces make a gingerbread village. 

After lunch, we headed over to my parents house for more Thanksgiving festivities! After dinner, more pumpkin pie and watching the Ags bring home the big W in Austin (whoop!) at my parents house, I began to suffer from some MAJOR Black Friday shopping decision-making anxiety. After scattering out all the newspaper ads and looking at all of the once-in-a-lifetime  "door-buster, early bird" specials that were going to be happening at freakish hours of the morning (night?!), I really started to freak out about where I should go and what I was going to get. This was weird, not because I had trouble making a decision (I'm fairly awful at being decisive), but odd because only hours before I vowed to never shop on Black Friday, that those "doorbuster" people were nutso and told myself there was really nothing that I had my eyes set on to purchase. BUT because of Facebook and it's incredible way of making you aware of what every person you know is doing and a fear that I might miss out on getting all of my Christmas shopping done for $100...I felt I just had to go. I begged Justin to go, but he hates shopping with a burning passion so pair that with losing sleep and that's just not a person I'd probably like to be around. After trying to convince several other family members to go with me, I decided that sleep is a pretty good thing and I would skip out on the madness...this year. I did wake up to be at Hobby Lobby (my first and true shopping love) at 8:00, though, and bought a bunch of stuff NOT on sale. I was probably the only person that day that bought things full-price. Hey...when ya need paint....ya just do what ya gotta do :)


All in all, it was a wonderful day and I am just so grateful for the amazing people in my life and how truly blessed we are. I am reading a book now called "Lord, Change my Attitude" (it is really good, fyi) and the day before Thanksgiving I read this quote in it that I really loved. I'll end my Thanksgiving blog re-cap with it - enjoy! 


‎"Thankfulness is the attitude that perfectly displaces my sinful tendancy to complain and thereby release joy and blessing into my life."

Pumpkin Pie - In a cup!

I realize this is my second post regarding something that is pumpkin and slightly unhealthy but I just simply feel this must be shared and not kept to myself. Last night we had dinner with some great friends of ours, Ben and Kara, and just had such a fun time with them. They made some awesome brownies for dessert, which would have been just fine by themselves for me (I am slightly obsessive when it comes to eating brownies....it's a problem), but they asked if we wanted to try some pumpkin pie liqueur....to which we obviously said yes. OMG...glad we did! We might be behind times in just now trying this but...wow. It is AWESOME, people!!! You have to try it. Served on the rocks, it is the perfect holiday drink and literally tastes JUST like pumpkin pie. Nothing could have gotten me in the Thanksgiving mood more than that drink. Truly, I was thankful for this treat. 


The one they served us was called Fulton's Harvest and they said you can find at your local liquor store for around $11. 


So, if this 80 degree weather isn't quite putting you in the Turkey Day spirits just yet, go pick yourself up a bottle and just tryyyyy to not be happy. I dare you. 


Oh yea...don't drink and drive.  ;)

60 Calorie Cupcakes!

While watching The Biggest Loser we had on DVR last night, I saw the greatest recipe for healthy cupcakes! I figured since I recently got your tastebuds inflamed with the Pumpkin Poppers , I should mention there ARE healthy ways to prepare even the sweetest of treats for the sweet-tooth out there :)


This recipe is from Chef Curtis Stone, who taught the Biggest Loser contestants how to make low-calorie vanilla cupcakes with a raspberry frosting - and did not use sugar! (you can substitute a different fruit if you prefer). I found the recipe here, but you should also check out Curtis' website as he has some tasty looking recipes!


Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes about 14 cupcakes
Ingredients

• 5 organic egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the raspberry frosting

• 1 cup nonfat cream cheese, at room temp
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• Fresh raspberries to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and using a handheld mixer whip the whites on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until the whites begin to lighten up and hold their shape.
3. Increase speed to high and whip in the salt and honey until the whites hold a soft peak, then add the vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the yogurt.
5. In a separate medium mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder and mix well.
6. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg whites a little at a time, gently folding them in with a rubber spatula.
7. Once fully incorporated, scoop the batter into cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes or until they have colored and gently spring back when pushed with a finger.
9. Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes at room temp.
10. While the cupcakes are baking, puree the raspberries in a blender until smooth.
11. Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepot and cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until the puree reduces slightly.
12. Cool completely.
13. Place the cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl and fold the puree into the cream cheese until fully mixed.
14. Once cupcakes are cool, spread a little of the berry frosting over the cupcakes, garnish each with one raspberry and serve.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 60
Total Fat 0g
Sat Fat g 0g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 190mg
Total Carb 10g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugar 4g
Protein 5g

Pumpkin Poppers and Palm Trees

Two treats I am excited about today: 


1. Pumpkin Poppers from Einstein Bros Bagels.


When I checked our mail after work yesterday, we received a coupon for a free bagel from Einstein Bros Bagels (PS - I think their website is cute!). Since AdvoCare, we do not eat anything other than our breakfast shake in the morning, so this coupon did not appeal to me. However, what kept me from chunking it, was a pretty fall-ish little picture of what EBB deemed to be the bagel that is "Perfectly In Season" aka "Pumpkin Poppers." Boy, as soon as I saw it, my tastebuds started screaming at me to head to Einstein Bros immediately. This is quite odd because 1) I have only been to EBB once in my life and really do not care for bagels all that much and 2) I'm not even 100% sure that I just loooove the taste of pumpkin flavored foods. (I know, I heard the gasp in so many of you out there regarding those to points! I'm just speaking the truth, people.) Those two things alone have to tell me that gosh, am I a sucker for creative marketing and alliteration or what?!? Good job, marketing department of EBB. Anyhow, our apartment is within walking distance to an EBB so I immediately headed over so I could try out the scam EBB I knew was trying to pull on me with this snack (they just couldn't be as good as my mind was telling me they were). Unfortunately (or fortunately), Einstein closes early in the afternoon and I was unable to try them out. But, since I have been thinking about them since that moment rest assured that if I am near one today, I will include a full review of this seasonal bread-y treat tomorrow :)

This is not the ad I saw, but the only pic I could find of

this little bite-sized treat :)

2. Palm Trees in October, you say? 

Yep, I said it. And I am thrilled to say that 20 days from now, instead of dressing up in our Halloween finest to celebrate in the DFW, Justin and I will be trick-or-treating in our bikinis and speedos on the beach (jk, but no...really)!! Our destination is Puerto Vallarta with some other couples and everything has just fallen into place. Rather quickly, too, which makes it even more exciting! Though it feels like we were just in Mexico, we could not be more pumped for a little get-away and are thankful for some incredible friends that have completely hooked us up with essentially every aspect of the trip. Can't wait! :)

I guess this is in case you forgot what the beach looks like?

Happy Thursday!!! 

Oh...and bloggers, keep sending me your links!:) Thanks!