Happy Biggest Loser day all! Biggest Loser is seriously my favorite show of all time ~ watching it is total contentment and total inspiration all in one….LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, but, um, maybe you all already knew that?! 😀
My post is going to be F-A-S-T so I can get back to “The Show”!
Breakfast today was entirely centered around my Mock Iced DIRTY Latte!!!
1 c Decaf Starbuck’s House Blend
1 c Fat Free Milk
2 tsp Midnight MOO Chocolate Syrup
1 c ICE
2 points of deliciousness!!!!
I added an egg for a little filling protein boost (2 pts).
Plus a MOUND of Cantaloupe & Watermelon (1 pt).
I was pretty much starving by mid morning which I sorta knew would happen. So, I whipped up a batch of Mock Kettle Korn – 5 c 94% FF Butter Popcorn with a 1 tsp Agave Drizzle (1 point). Crunchy, salty/sweet and SATISFYING!
Believe it or not, I actually brought stuff to make a GREAT chicken salad with last night’s leftovers, but, I went with what I was CRAVING ~ a lunch just like YESTERDAY!
My absolute FAVORITE TJ’s Frozen Meal of all time ~ it’s natural, it’s spicy, it is ONLY 5 points for the entire bowl.
I admit it looks pretty nasty when it comes out of the container and their tofu is like little sponges.
But, the FLAVOR is AMAZING ~ spicy, sesame, soy, SOBA Noodles…
On top of a HUGE pile of Broccoli Hay (steamed Broccoli Slaw)
When you add the broccoli slaw it makes this 2 CUP bowl FULL and it makes you FEEL like you are getting this HUGE BOWL of PASTA!!!
Topped with Sriracha…..MMMM, I could possibly eat this EVERY DAY!
We had a HEALTHY CHOCOLATE BANANA ICE CREAM SOCIAL today 😀
1/2 frozen banana
1 Tbsp Chocolate Almond Milk
Whipped up in my MINI CHOPPER
Topped with TJ’s Midnight MOO, Mini Dark Chocolate Chips, whipped cream and sprinkles!
The SPRINKLES totally made it ~ this is the BEST ICE CREAM YET (3 pts)
I snacked on a mini Babybel Light cheese on my way home since I knew dinner would be late(1 pt).
I had the BEST package waiting for me when I got home ~ My TWO Ellie Krieger Cookbooks that I got pretty much FREE with my Gift Card from SpringPadIt!
Ummm…Yup, I LOVE them as much as I thought and I literally made myself STARVING for dinner by flipping through ALL the pages while watching Food Network.
I think Food You Crave is going to be my FAVORITE, although, So EASY is pretty awesome too. I got FREE Shipping on Amazon when I ordered both and about $10 off each book at Amazon! 😀
Speaking of Ellie ~ tonight was our Craving Ellie In My Belly (CEiMB) Cooking Night! My first recipe for Fresh Spring Rolls was AWESOME, so I was really excited to try another recipe.
On the Menu ~ SouthWestern Hash!
You start off by par-cooking the potatoes and boiling them for 8 minutes, then, draining and drying them. This works perfect if you are “FRYING” your potatoes in oil 😉
While the potatoes cooked, I chopped up the veggies and drained/rinsed the beans.
After sautéing the onions & peppers, I added the potatoes with the aromatics (garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano).
Then, added the chopped tomatoes and beans. In hindsight, I think I would’ve FRIED the potatoes, peppers and onions together then added the aromatics, tomatoes and beans.
I cooked up some scrambled eggs for The Husband but didn’t want any. After seeing his though, I WANTED some and stole a little. I topped my hash with cilantro and chives.
Then, added ketchup on the hash only (not my eggs like The Husband – WEIRD!)
Overall, I thought this recipe was just OK and probably wouldn’t make it again. It sounded so good and I LOVE potatoes with a South Western Flair.
I think that maybe I’d use Homemade Taco Seasoning and “Fry” the potatoes with the onions & peppers to make it more like hash. My bowl was 6 points.
Dessert was my FAVORITE ChocoLOVE (2 pts for 4 squares).
Get ready for a SUPER COOL GIVEAWAY tomorrow 😀
The Last Chance workout is calling my name ~ I can’t wait to see who goes home!
Night all!
I made the CEiMB recipe over the weekend and thought it was just OK too. Much better with a douse of hot sauce, but the southwestern flare didn’t come through as much as I was hoping it would.
Please share with us what you think of the Ellie Krieger cookbooks. I’ve been eying them, but I’m not sure that my family would like their recipes. Would you consider the food to be ‘friendly’ for picky eaters? Are there photos of each recipe’s finished product? Thanks!
~Katie
Hi Katie,
I will absolutely do that as I make the recipes and use them. If you log into Amazon, they actually let you flip through some of the pages/recipes online. Another option would be the next time are in a book store to check them out 🙂
Personally I think the Foods You Crave is more family friendly and So EASY seems like it would be more challenging to work with a family.
There are not pictures of EVERY recipe, but, probably 1 picture every 2-3 recipes, so not bad. I am a total picture person so I know I NEED pictures to show me how it should look 🙂
Good luck and feel free to ask away – if I can answer anything about the books, I will 🙂
Danica
Your little sundae is so cute!!! You know I’ve only seen the Biggest Loser once and it was only half an episode. I so live under a rock. 🙂
i love broccoli slaw with pasta too – all about the textures. but yes, you MUST steam it. i can’t do raw broccoli stems!
I love Ellie, her recipes are always so straight forward but amazing!
Hooray for breakfast bowls. This is my husbands all time favorite meal! 🙂 I love making them too.
Have a great day Danica!
Oh my… that healthy sundae is nothing short of foodgasmic! Yum!
And I love Ellie Krieger! Her recipes are so fresh and delicious 🙂
That recipe looks fab!
xo
K
Dang. I need a food processor – stat! I need to make more of that banana soft serve.
I have The Food you Crave and LOVE it. She has some great recipes.
I made some of your kettle corn yesterday and LOVED it!!
BL was awful last night…I love Oneil. He reminds me of my dad…not to mention my daddys middle name is oneil!! haha. Anyway, was so sad to see him go!!
You guys must have the best staff lounge/kitchen ever huh? You always seem to have enough time and “space” available to whip up good lunches! Love it! I use to scarf my lunch under a table so patients wouldn’t notice SOMEONE was still in the office- for petes sake it’s lunch time people! lol
🙂 I gotta try those soba noodles! I also need to watch BL- I had to record it due to my Laker’s KICKING BUTT last night! WHoooohooo! 🙂
Ouuu I LOVE Ellie Krieger!!!!! I used to watch her show on Food Network religiously. I wish it was still on there. She has awesome recipes in there, and I love that she includes the nutritional info for each recipe. Your hash looks out of this world!
Yum…. hash looks good and I agree, cooking the onions, bell peppers and potatoes together sounds more delish… I like the recipe because its simple and the ingredients are those that are ALWAYS in my pantry.
Luv coming here for ideas.
Your eggs and hash look so good! Gosh, I shouldn’t read food blogs before lunch when I’m hungry!
HI TJ,
Actually our lounge totally sucks – the lighting is really bad too because they believe in conserving energy so there is like only 1 of the 3 fluorescent light bulbs lit. It’s an evil place that is fully of cheddar bunnies, bunny grahams, mac n cheese and more…..That being said though….It’s not too bad – I usually dump everything in my lunch bag and make it at work 🙂
YUP -the soba noodles are delicious!
Danica
mmmm~ that hash looks TDF. i love the healthy ice cream social! what a fun idea 🙂
Yay for Ellie Krieger! I want to BE her when I grow up:)