What I've been eating lately...

In an effort to eat healthier and try new things (and maybe possibly shed some pre-wedding weight), I've been changing my eating habits. These are the things I've been obsessed with lately…

Homemade Banana Frozen Yogurt

You guys- best dessert/breakfast/snack ever. Well, maybe not ever. But still. Pretty damn good.

Puree a banana or two in your Magic Bullet/food processor/blender (or, mash one really, really well with a fork and call it a day.) Stir it into some delicious organic vanilla yogurt, and add a splash of vanilla extract. Plop it into your ice cream maker, or freeze in a long flat plastic container. Either way, it turns out pretty much the same.
When you're having a dessert craving, put a scoop or two in a bowl, add some chocolate syrup, sprinkles, strawberries, pineapple, whipped cream, or a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg, and Ta Da! Dessert!
Conversely, add some to your morning breakfast smoothie, or have a bowl of it sprinkled with granola, or add more fruit to the top, and Ta Da! Breakfast!

Fake-a-Dilla

Do you have those mornings when you realize you're supposed to leave NOW and you still haven't eaten, or you come in late from work and you're starved but don't have the energy to cook, or you want a savory snack but don't want to succumb to the cheese and crackers? Enter: the Fake-a-Dilla.

This hardly counts as a recipe, but I'll give it to you anyway. Take one of your "Smart Delicious Tortillas" and spread a Queso Fresco and Chipotle cheese wedge on it. Fold it in half. Eat it. 

Calories: 85 (50 for the tortilla, 35 for the cheese wedge). Fat: 3.5 grams. 7 grams protein, 7 grams fiber. Talk about a miracle food!

I've been making a delicious protein shake using these (words you don't usually hear in the same sentence- delicious and protein shake). The Aria brand protein powder, the almond milk, and the chia seeds I buy at Trader Joe's, and the flaxseed I picked up at Christmas Tree Shop for $2, believe it or not. I mill the flaxseeds first in my coffee bean grinder to a fine powder, and add a tablespoon to the shake, along with a tablespoon of chia seeds and a scoop of protein powder. I put in about ¾ cup of almond milk, some frozen berries, and some baby spinach, and Boom! Delicious breakfast/lunch/dinner. I sometimes add the banana frozen yogurt to this as well, which makes it taste even better. So much health in one shake.

I swear to you, I feel like a new person! I've cut out all deli meat and processed meat, fancy coffee drinks, and a lot of my processed food intake, and added more fruits and veggies to my diet. Oh, and did I mention tons of water? I think drinking it in this makes it taste so much better ;)

My Valentine's present from Shmeeguel

Do you have any healthy eating tips or recipes for me? I'd love to hear them!

xoxo, Kate

Are you sick of looking at my hands? Let's have some cake instead.

I am. That's for sure. So let's sit down and have some yummy lemon cake and some tea. What's that? You don't you have any lemon cake? I have a fantastic recipe that you can have. 
      Shmeegs requested it for his birthday in December. By the way, Shmeegs is my boyfriend. He also goes by Handsome, Sweetie, Smelly, and Miguel. When he started working for a pool company a couple years ago, I came up with "Miguel my Little Pool Boy." My vision of a hot exotic man in a Speedo fanning me with palm fronds and fetching me fruity drinks has not come to fruition, but I live in hope. Anyway, Miguel degenerated to Shmeegs, with I suppose is a Jewish/Mexican mixture of Shlomo and Miguel. And Shmeegs requested a real lemon, tart lemon, birthday cake. 
     I used The Barefoot Contessa's yogurt lemon cake recipe, but made a few changes. I used organic vanilla whole-milk yogurt instead of plain, and I think that was for the better. The finished cake was pleasantly yogurty but I think using plain would've been too much. I also subbed ½ cup of the plain flour for whole wheat flour, and instead of vegetable oil I used high-quality olive oil. You bake the cake and then make a lemon syrup to brush over the cake, and then make a lemon glaze to pour over that. YUM! I served vanilla ice cream and a simple crushed raspberry sauce on the side (just frozen raspberries defrosted in the microwave with some sugar and then crushed with the back of a spoon). 

Preheat your oven to 350- this bad boy is gone- TODAY we're getting double ovens!

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.

Lemon zest, sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and eggs.

Whisk whisk whisk!

Add dry ingredients to the wet

I wanted to eat it all.

Before baking.

My lemons!

Finished! 

With some Brigham's Ice Cream and crushed raspberries on the side

That's all that was left!

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used ½ cup of whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used organic vanilla)
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.


xoxo, Kate