Week 10.....Hot,Hot,Hot!

Seriously, is there anything more funny than monkeys riding dogs???

More summertime festivals in Michigan! As long as I avoid the popcorn and cotton candy it's all good! This was the Stars and Stripes festival in Mt.Clemens. Great music too!

No More Diet Drinks

I've completely given up diet pop and diet teas. It's so easy and so much more affordable to make a jug of green tea, add some fruit and ice and have a nice clean cold drink anytime. Besides all the health benefits from green tea, I also think it tastes better freshly brewed than bottled.

Confetti Quinoa

So I've been on this quinoa kick for a while now and still love it so much. I had a bunch of veggies on hand so I cooked up some quinoa, added some leftover chicken, a can of low sodium black beans, edamame, corn, red pepper, carrots, onion and tomato. All my veggies added were raw, but you could blanch them also before adding.The sauce is real easy and can be combined with a number of different veggies for a flavorful dinner or side dish.


Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt 
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil ( I didn't have any and it was still delish, cilantro would be yummy too)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Stevia (or sugar)
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Whisk all together and add to cooked quinoa and veggies.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Nothing new here...
Had a craving for something sweet so I whipped up a chocolate/peanut butter smoothie:


1/2 frozen banana
tablespoon natural peanut butter
tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa
unsweetened almond milk
non fat plain Greek yogurt
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder  

Healthy Skillet Pasta

I wanted to call this"Skillet lasagna" but I didn't have any lasagna noodles, so we're calling it
"Almost skillet lasagna"

1/2 box of whole wheat pasta (whatever you have on hand, but if using lasagna noodles break into pieces)
cook as directed on box, drain and set aside.


In a large skillet add 1 teaspoon olive oil, onion and garlic. I used 1/2 a medium red onion and two cloves of chopped garlic.


Saute till tender and add veggies. I used 2 small yellow squash diced, 1 cup diced carrots, 1/2 red pepper diced.
saute till tender.


Add 2 tablespoons of basil pesto (store bought or homemade).
1 can of diced tomatos with green chiles (gives a nice kick)
1 Jar of favorite pasta sauce (or homemade)
1/2 container of low fat ricotta cheese, stir well till combined.


Add mozzarella and Parmesan ( I used about 1/2 cup each)


Stir, serve and enjoy!

Happy Journey,


Deb