My Inspiration

Pinterest. Can we talk about this please?

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that I can find and pin all these different ideas, from clothes and boots to food and excercise tips to home decor and craft projects, all in one place. But let me throw a number out there for you- 2,351. That would be the number of pins that I have. And that should tell you something- I spend way too much time on Pinterest.

It has been a huge help and inspiration for me on my journey though. My board about healthy eating has been a lifesaver! It's saved me from food boredom [every weekend when Joel and I go to the store, I have at least one new recipe I want to try out] and it's also saved me from falling out of my routine of eating better. Without the new ideas, helpful tips, and great recipes for healthy foods that I've found through Pinterest, I never would have been able to get where I am with my weight loss.

That's why I love it so much! I mean I basically planned my wedding on there, found a million different DIY projects that should keep me going through, oh I don't know, just about every house I live in for the rest of my life, and have a place where I can put all the cute penguin stuff I find, go back and look at it and saw "awwww!!" a million times over.

But I told you I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. Let's discuss that.

I cannot go one day on there without pinning another cupcake, brownie, pie, crumble, cake [you catch my drift] recipe. Then I sit there on the weekends going hmmmm I want to bake something. I have all these recipes. But I can't possibly make one. Think of all the calories. But they look so good. It's just one batch of cupcakes.

No. It. Is. Torture.

Ahhhhh!!

It's an eternal struggle I love the site for everything it brings together and then let's you store all in one place. And then again I hate it for bringing me all these delicious baked goods that I can't allow myself to bake because I would undoubtedly weigh a million pounds after consuming them [and never be able to fit into all those adorable clothes I just pinned onto my Fashionable Finds board].

So here I am, inviting you to torment yourself with me! You can follow me on Pinterest, my name is just Lindsay Frye or you can just follow my healthy eating board so you don't have to suffer through all the internal battles about whether or not to make those birthday cake cinnamon rolls that I pinned this morning. Just throwing it out there!

Oh and before you go, just so you can understand the dichotomy of my boards, here's a few screenshots for you! Hope to see some of you on there soon!

Thursday Thoughts [my apologies]

First apology- Sorry that the blog has been quiet lately. I have been super busy auditioning, and getting some new Zumba classes going; and then there's my life... Working 55-60 hours a week plus working out and finding time to hang out with friends and Joel... Yea you could say that's a little busy in and of itself.

Second apology- Sorry I haven't been diligently taking pictures of my food! I have actually made some healthy meals lately [along with some not so healthy desserts], but I have been too lazy to go step by step and get all the pictures. I will be better! I swear!

Third apology- I'm sorry to my diet. Though I exercise diligently, I have not been as diligent when it comes to my diet, and I know that nice looking abs [which are my next goal] are in large part a result of good eating. So shame on me. And that bag of white chocolate chips that I polished off last night... Whoops did I just say that out loud? At least I'm holding myself accountable? Right?

Ok, enough with the apologies. I think I've covered all my bases. I know you have all missed my wittiness [ha] and snarky comments, so no fear, they will return!

Tomorrow we're going to talk about my insane love/hate relationship with Pinterest. Mostly about how I love it. Well, the inspiration I get from it, not so much how much time I waste on it... Anywho! Stay tuned!

Oh and see, these are just examples of how bad I have been to my diet- chocolate chip shortcake with cool whip, and you guessed it, more homemade peanut butter...

Potato Skins [Minus the Guilt!]

And you may ask, how exactly do I do that?  This is how: Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins.  They are the perfect side dish to any meal, and in all honesty I could eat these on their own they are just that good.

Joel is responsible for these masterpieces, not me so all credit goes to him!  He followed the recipe to a T from the link above.  So this is basically just a share a recipe and some pretty pictures of the results on this one. 

And I reiterate, this is the perfect side dish.  So much healthier than the alternative, and in my opinion, so much better flavors.  But it is indeed true that I love the Mexican pallet of flavors, so as always, just my opinion on the matter!

Enjoy!

Sunday Brunch: Egg Sandwiches

Who wants a healthy version of the classic egg and sausage sandwich?  I did this morning, so that's exactly what I made!  I'll go through, step by step and show you how I cut down on the calories along the way!

Let's start off with some reduced fat sausage and shape into patties.  Pop them down in a hot skillet with just a little drizzle of olive oil.  Now while you're cooking your patties, don't let them burn on the bottom like I did while trying to take the perfect picture of your patties cooking in the pan...

They were still good! I just got a little distracted trying to adjust the lighting on my shots and well.. this happened. Any who.

While those are cooking take some sandwich or bagel thins [I used sandwich thins] that are only 100 calories [!!!] and put just a little bit of shed's spread, or I can't believe it's not butter, whatever your poison is, on the inside and lay them out on a baking sheet.

Put those in the oven at 350 to get them warm and crispy.

When the sausage is done and the thins are in the oven, I sauteed some mushroom slices to add on the sandwich. Just because, they are yummy!

Golden, mushroom, perfection. They add a very nice touch to the typical egg and sausage sandwich. 

Check on your thins, if they are looking nice and golden, add a little cheese and flip on the broiler- but be warned! Once the broiler is on it takes less than 2 minutes for them to be done- yup, you guessed right, again I learned my lesson the hard way.

But that's what you have me for! I'm not afraid to share my culinary missteps along with my victories, so that way you know what to expect along the way!

Ok, now the best part. Your scrambled eggs.  I love scrambled eggs, and I will say that I am somewhat of an expert, only because I learned from the master.  Yup, you guessed right it's my dad. But seriously, come eat my scrambled eggs and tell me they're not the best you've ever eaten. I dare you.  Now I will teach you how to cook them the right way- My way!

Melt just a little bit of butter in your pan over medium heat.  When the pan is nice and hot add in 3 eggs.

This is important- Do not scramble your eggs before putting them in the pan, just trust me, it will taste better this way!  Let the eggs start to cook, don't start scrambling them with your spatula yet.  Season them with a little salt and pepper and add your choice of cheese.  Today I used monterey jack, basically because that's what we had.

Ok, now you can start breaking the yokes of your eggs and mixing it up- but just a little bit.  The key is, the less you stir up your eggs the better they will be!

When your eggs look like this, they are done and if you've followed my advice, they will be magnificent!

Ok, so all your components are ready, let's start layering that sandwich. Eggs first.

Then your mushrooms.

Sausage last.

And your sandwich is complete.  You now have a delicious, homemade, lower calorie version of the classic egg and sausage sandwich.  It is very good stuff. 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

I was not joking when I said there is nothing healthy about this dessert.  But... I took some amazing photos.  I knew you would want to see them regardless of the calorie count. 

Oh and there's a cute dog anecdote, and who doesn't love a good dog anecdote.

Sadly the famous peach and blueberry pie did not make an appearance this last weekend thanks to rock hard peaches at 3 different stores.  But I must say, that plan B was certainly delicious.

Not to mention, I love getting the chance to use my parents' kitchen.  There's so much room!  Compared to my little apartment kitchen it was amazing.  All of the nice appliances and fixtures... ah, one day.  Oh and check out the bowl that I put my shortcake in, it is so pretty.  My parents got them in New York while there.  Needless to say I was like, where are mine?  I wanted to steal them and take them home with me.

What you'll need:
Big carton of strawberries
Sugar
Bisquick mix [follow the recipe for shortcake on the box]
One lemon
Carton heavy whipping cream
Vanilla
Powdered Sugar

Let's get out those beautiful strawberries, wash them, and slice them.

Mix your strawberries with a half cup sugar.  Then zest the lemon into the strawberry and sugar mixture, and juice half of your lemon in as well.  It's amazing the effect that lemon has on the strawberries.  It just brightens the flavor so much, it's delicious, you just have to put it in there even if you don't think it's a necessity.  Because it's really not, but it makes such an amazing enhancement to the strawberries, just trust me, you'll be wowed!

And now with your hands all lemony, you should have some fun with your poor dog whose nose is millions of times more sensitive than ours.  My dad decided to put his hands up to his nose and see what kind of face he would make, because Flash is known for his funny faces, and well here are the results..

Hahaha, I love the snarl.  Poor puppy, but not really my mom spoils him like none other. You'll often hear the refrain in our house about Flash being the "third and favorite child".  [It's so true]

When you're done torturing your pets, pop your strawberry mixture in the fridge to marinate. 

Then prepare your shortcakes.  I followed the recipe on the Bisquick box, it worked wonderfully, they came out perfect.

After you mix all the ingredients together, divide batter to make 6 shortcakes on the pan, then pop into the oven.

When they come out of the oven they will be golden brown beauties that you will want to consume on the spot.  But if you're like me, you have to wait because you prepared them several hours early... wha wah waaaaah.

When you are ready to eat your shortcakes, prepare your whipped cream. Start off by putting the heavy whipping cream and 1 Tbs vanilla into your parents' amazing stand mixer [that you would sneak out of the house if you could, but you're pretty sure they would notice...] and get that whipping.  When soft peaks start to form add in 3 Tbs of powdered sugar. 

I promise it won't be overly sweet, because you definitely don't need something uber sweet in a dessert like this.  It's the perfect balance of sweet and creamy for this dessert.

Layer everything together and enjoy your sweet, strawberry dessert!

Thursday thoughts [A place for my ramblings]

As stated in the title of this post there will be ramblings. Read at your own risk.

I know I said this yesterday but I have a serious self control problem when it comes to my homemade peanut butter. I once again sat there eating it with a spoon last night. Must. Stop.

But I can't stop making it... There is no other peanut butter in the world that compares. I know, I know, you're saying enough with the peanut butter already. Ok, moving on if I must...

Here's something funny for you. I went to Houston this last weekend to visit my family and they crack me up.

This picture needs no explanation, only a caption- like father, like son. Haha, I love them. In their defense we did get up rather early that morning to go check out the car show, so the mid-afternoon nap was called for.

Speaking of Houston, they have HEB there. I love HEB. And seriously, what is wrong with the DFW area that we have none??? I am officially starting a petition for one in Lewisville. This is a must have. Especially considering this-

Latin quinoa salad and penne caprese pasta salad that I got from there. It. Was. Heaven. Especially the quinoa. I love quinoa and this was a special breed of awesome! With corn, tomatoes, avocados, and just all around deliciousness- well lets just say I've been dreaming about it since!

Oh don't worry, I know you all want to make it just as much as I do. And when I figure out how, you all will be the first to know! [Well, after Joel and I because I can almost guarantee you that by the time I post it, we will already have demolished it]

Another speaking of, food this time. [Well, I'm pretty much always speaking of food, but moving on...] When we visited my parents we were amazingly lucky to get to eat some of the delicious Salen's hot dogs that they brought back from none other than Buffalo, NY.

These things are so awesome, seriously, the steak of the hot dog world. There is no other time you will hear me talk about hot dogs, I normally don't eat them, they're not healthy. But for Salen's I will make an exception. And I know you're all wondering where's the picture of these beauties? Well my stomach got ahead of me and before I realized it, I had finished my plate and not taken a single picture.

Slap on the wrist for me- bad food blogger!

Since my dad's birthday was this week we were going to make him a peach and blueberry pie. My mom's specialty. But unfortunately, after 3 stores, and nothing but rock hard peaches, and really expensive blueberries, we had to ditch that plan and come up with a plan B.

Enter strawberry shortcakes. Homemade. All the way.

And I will leave you with that teaser about tomorrows post. And be warned, there is nothing healthy about this dessert. Unless you count the strawberries [that were marinated in sugar to get them all nice, saucy, and gooey].

You've been warned! See you tomorrow!

Squashing the Snack Monster

My downfall.... Snacking. Dun dun duuuuuuuunnn... Yup, this is my constant problem, to this day, when I start snacking, I can't stop. So part of the solution is to eat healthier snacks, the other is self control. [still working on that one...]

To start this story you must learn about my recent addiction, love, obsession, call it what you will.  Four words: Home. Made. Peanut. Butter.  It is ah-mazing. I have made a batch of this stuff every week for the last 3 weeks, because yes we do eat it all. And by we I mean me. With a spoon. Every night. It is that good. What's that you say? That sounds like it must be difficult? Nope, not even. It takes 5 minutes and 16 oz. of honey roasted peanuts. 

All you do is put your peanuts in the food processor and process them for 5 minutes. Easy peasy. And the results, omg, the results are delicious. If you don't sit there eating it with a spoon like me, well don't tell me because obviously you have better self control, and well as previously addressed, that's my problem!

Ok, so back to healthy snacks.  I found this recipe for peanut butter granola on Pinterest [my love/hate relationship with which is a whole other story] and just HAD to make it using my ah-mazing home made peanut butter. So here we go!

1. Add your 2 Tbs peanut butter and 2 Tbs honey into a sauce pan.

3. Get them nice and melty- yummmm :)

4. While it's hot mix in 1/4 tsp each of vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Then add in 1 cup of rolled oats.

5.  Mix it up, evenly coating the oats.  Then spread on a baking sheet.

6. Stick them in the oven at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

And you have an amazing, delicious, healthy snack! [That is so much better for you than sitting there eating that homemade peanut butter with a spoon- because I guarantee you it is soooooo hard to stop!!]

Enjoy!