Pasta with Garlic Breadcrumbs

Pasta with Garlic Breadcrumbs

Recipe: https://lasvegasfoodadventures.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/pasta-with-garlic-breadcrumbs-pasta-con-pangrattato/

I'm always looking for new ways to eat pasta, it is my number one food group after all. I stumbled upon the recipe above and though, "Oh how fancy!" and had to give it a try. Pasta with toasted bread crumbs, parmesan, and garlic? Sounds like a match made in heaven! I substituted whole wheat pasta and whole wheat panko breadcrumbs, and also used only about a tablespoon of oil. 

I took the first bite: Mmm, delicious! I could taste the garlic, parmesan, and the toasty breadcrumbs. This recipe is getting a 5/5, for sure! Then I took the next bite: Alright still pretty good! And then I took a few more: Wow my mouth is getting awfully dry, I need some water with this. A couple more: So I'm not tasting much besides bread crumb anymore. And I'm so thirsty! Aaand a few last bites: Well, I had to drink a glass of water to get through it, and the bread crumbs started getting stuck in my throat while also flying everywhere as I ate....maybe 5/5 is a little generous.

So what I thought would be a winner turned out to be a dud. The first few bites are great, but then you should just stop because all of those bread crumbs really dry you out. It's quite messy as well, and I'm not a messy eater. As you twirl your fork, those bread crumbs really fly! I think it would be better to make another type of pasta and then sprinkle some of these bread crumbs on top. The texture was nice, there was just too much of it.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 2/5

Chocolate Chip Scones

Chocolate Chip Scones

Recipe: http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/05/05/clean-chocolate-chip-scones

This morning I wanted a special treat for breakfast, so I decided to try my hand at making scones. Not just normal, fruity scones, CHOCOLATE CHIP scones. Can you tell I'm a chocoholic? I found a clean eating recipe on Pinterest and figured I'd give it a shot. They were pretty easy to make, although they were a bit smaller than I was imagining they'd turn out. The scone dough itself isn't a sweet one which provided a yummy contrast with the sweet milk chocolate. (I know, still not using dark, but I have to get rid of these chocolate chips on hand!) The only thing I'd recommend is baking these at 400 degrees instead of 425 like the recipe suggests. I baked them at 425 for 17 minutes (the shortest amount of time the recipe said) and they came out very browned and some of the chocolate chips on top had scorched. They still tasted good after I scraped off the burnt chocolate, but scones aren't meant to be as brown as they turned out so next time I'll turn down the temperature and watch them more closely. Otherwise, a tasty recipe to make!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 4/5

Water, water, water!

Whenever you are trying to be healthier, trying to lose weight, or even just trying to exist, water is essential! That is one thing both Sarah and I struggle with. We just always seem to forget about drinking enough water. So, in effort to make water more appealing, we spiced up our water today.

Sarah's water: navel orange slices

Alana's water: lemon, cucumber, and apple

 

Also, just to solidify the obvious importance of water, here's an infograph from: http://www.lifeadvancer.com/why-dehydration-is-making-you-fat-and-sick-infographic

Homemade Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Walnut Pesto

Homemade Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Walnut Pesto

While I was searching the internet for clean recipes to try, I came across the one listed 

above and was so excited. It looked and sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to try it, it looked so easy! Boil some pre-made gnocchi, blend some simple ingredients, saute all together, and presto: a delicious dinner. I instantly ran to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients, but my heart sank when I picked up that package of gnocchi: there were quite a few ingredients that I had no idea what they were. I couldn't use the gnocchi if I wanted to make this meal a clean eating one, and I REALLY wanted to make this meal. What's a gal to do in a situation like this? Put on her chef hat and make her own gnocchi, of course! So there in the grocery store I scoured the internet in search of gnocchi recipes and came up with one that seemed to use the best aspects of all of the recipes I looked at. I won't lie, I was very nervous while making these gnocchis as I had no clue how the dough should look, how long I should knead the dough, or pretty much how the heck one was to make gnocchis, period. But i persevered on. I made the dough, cut them into (not so pretty) pieces, threw them in the water, and said a prayer or two. Once they rose to the top of the pot, I tried one and couldn't believe my taste buds. They tasted like gnocchi! Didn't look so much like them, but I can get over that. I was surprised by how easy it actually turned out to be, and that's coming from someone who didn't know how to make gnocchi at all yesterday. It's a messy task, but well worth it to know what all exactly is in your gnocchi and get delicious, and clean eating, yummy little dumplings.

Here's how to make the gnocchi: peel and slice one big russet potato, and boil until they're easily pierced with a fork. Drain really well, then put in a bowl and mash with a fork until there's no lumps. Take 1 cup of this and mix with 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 egg. Once the dough starts looking really lumpy, dump onto a well floured surface and start kneading until the dough comes together. It'll be a little sticky, but if it's too sticky just keep kneading in flour until it's the right consistency. Then take a small chunk and start rolling into a log on a lightly floured surface. Roll until it's about 3/4 inch in diameter, then cut into half inch pieces (if you want prettier gnocchis, roll on a flour fork to get the pretty grooves.) Then toss in salted boiling water and wait for the gnocchis to float (this takes about 2-3 minutes), then drain. I did my gnocchis in small batches, make sure to not overcrowd the pot. And that's it, you now have beautiful, homemade gnocchis you can brag to your friends about! (Feel free to tell them it was a laborious process, they sure do taste like it 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5 

Taste 5/5 

Comments: next time I'd like to try using whole wheat flour and flavoring the Gnocchi dough with spices

Baked Chicken w/ Sweet Potato Asparagus Saute

Baked Chicken w/ Sweet Potato Asparagus Saute

I had a pack of chicken thighs left over from a big freezer meal prep session, so I thought I'd use it. I lightly salted the chicken and and baked it in the oven. During which I mixed together a little sauce I basted the chicken a couple times and then poured the remainder all over for the last 5 minutes. The veggies, I sauteed onion with some extra virgin olive oil, then threw in the sweet potatoes and asparagus. I hit it with some balsamic vinegar then let covered it and let it cook on medium heat. I then put in the roma tomatoes, put another dash of balsamic vinegar and topped with some honey and pepper. This was to mimic the mixture for the chicken. 

Chicken basting mixture (just an fyi I do everything to taste and hardly measure anything):

olive oil

balsamic vinegar (just a splash)

honey (a tbsp or two)

pepper

salt

chicken broth (about 1/4 cup)

Alana's Review:

Ease: 4/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Comment: So I definitely enjoyed this one, I liked the chicken, and I liked the veg. mix, but I think I would add maybe another vegetable to the mix, and the chicken I think  I would use a couple more spices. It was good, very traditional, and I prefer it to be a little zestier!

Faux Spaghetti aka Faux-s'ghetti

Faux Spaghetti aka Faux-s'ghetti

I LOVE pasta. Italian food is my favorite food, I could eat it every day (and there have been plenty of periods in my life where I have). I always buy whole wheat pasta because it has way more nutrition than normal pasta, but I still want a healthier choice. Cue the spaghetti squash: the fun to eat, nutritious, perfect spaghetti alternative. If you're unfamiliar with it, which you should change ASAP because it's delicious, it's a type of squash that shreds into thin spaghetti-like strings when cooked. Usually I eat it as a side dish with butter and parsley, but I wanted to make it the star of my meal so I decided to treat it like real spaghetti and fill it with meat sauce. Wowza. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it came out fantastic! The squash has a nice little crunch and an oh-so-slightly sweet flavor that tastes delicious with the meat sauce. Dare I say, it was even better than the real stuff! (Sounds crazy, I know, but I'm totally serious.)  Here's how I made it: I cut the squash in half and put the flesh side down in a glass baking dish, filled the dish with 1 inch of water, and microwaved for 18 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on the size of your squash,  mine was small). It's done when a fork easily pierces the flesh. While that's going,  I browned about 1/4 pound ground beef, drained, then added about 2 cups of pasta sauce (I used an all natural kind from a jar, but I'll use homemade next time.) Let the sauce heat through then spoon into the squash half, and done! Seriously, it's that easy. And seriously delicious.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: Sprinkle on a little parmesan cheese and parsley at the end to finish it off. For an even healthier version, sub ground turkey for the ground beef.

Orange Garlic Salad w/ Steak and Croutons // Leftovers & Fruit Salad

Leftovers: Balsamic Chicken & Cheddar Broccoli Quinoa //  Fruit Salad, lunch

I'm posting mine first because it's super boring (but still amazingly delicious) and I don't want to follow the tough act below. =). I set aside some of last night's dinner for lunch today. I ate that with the pictured fruit. It looks like a lot, but I had planned to eat half at lunch, half later. But the raspberries were a little on the wrong side of ripe, so I had to throw those out.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comment: Leftovers are the best!

Orange Garlic Salad w/ Steak and Croutons 

There are only two types of salad I like: Caesar salad and dry salad. I've never been a sauce gal, I hate condiments, dressings, and everything of the like. Recently though I've been trying hard to branch out and try new sauces, like the lemon garlic aioli I made with the fish tacos. Well today I made a salad dressing. And not just any dressing, I made a vinaigrette!  (I HATE vinegar with a passion, can't stand the taste). With that in mind, this vinaigrette is lighter on the vinegar so you may need to add more than I did. 

Description: romaine salad with steak bites, croutons, and orange garlic vinaigrette. Recipe: 1/4 cup orange juice (I used fresh squeezed ), 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 tsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp orange zest, 2 tsp dried parsley, 1 tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper. 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

I thought the vinaigrette came out fantastic,  it had a light orange taste with a hint of garlic and a nice bite from the vinegar.  And you can never go wrong with steak, mine was a ribeye from my boyfriend's uncle's cattle farm, can't get fresher than that!

Successes & Failures

Some days it's easy to cook and eat healthy and then some days it's a real challenge. The best thing that we did while preparing to take on clean eating is deciding that this isn't a diet but a lifestyle change.

So, the fact that we both totally stunk it up for breakfast isn't a discouragement for the rest of the day or for tomorrow, it's just a reason to try harder on the next meal. We're still learning and are still human. Sometimes our failures are on accident and then some are delicious decisions.

However, personally, since eating clean, whenever I eat poorly I pay for it right after and feel sick until I drink a couple glasses of water. That tells me that 1. The new eating habits are making a difference & 2. That the old food MUST be pretty bad for your body!

So, just a note for those working on eating healthy: though the title suggests breakfast was a failure... it's really not, it's okay to mess up! Expecting perfection immediately is a great way to sabotage yourself!! That meal is over, on to the next!!

See you at lunch time!
Alana