I don’t want those extras (mostly carrots, celery and onions) to go to waste, so tonight I put the past 2 weeks of celery, carrots and onions together to make a homemade vegetable broth!

My plan is to make some soup this weekend, which I will be needing this broth for, so it was perfect timing.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Ingredients:

• 1 pound celery
• 1 pound carrots
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 16 whole peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

Directions:

Start by washing and chopping your vegetables.

While chopping, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a large stockpan over medium-low heat.  When each veggie is done being chopped, throw it in the pan and let it sizzle a bit.

Celery

Into the pot it goes…

Onion, very roughly chopped

Carrots, both orange and red

Did you know that red carrots are really orange on the inside?

Throw it all into the pot,

along with 3 cloves of galic (make sure you take off the peel),

16 peppercorns, give or take,

and 1 bay leaf.

Now, add 1 gallon of filtered water.

Turn up the heat and bring the water to a boil.  Then, cover and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, your broth will look more like this:

That means you did it right!!

Now, add your salt and soy sauce and any other seasonings you may want to add (taste it here to figure it out) and simmer for another 15-20 minutes so the flavors come out.

I cooked my veggie broth in a strainer pot, so that I could do this at the end instead of pouring the broth into a strainer.

It worked quite nicely.  I was left with a strainer full of veggies and a pot full of homemade broth!!

Discard, compost or blend your leftover veggies into a soup.  Unfortunately, mine went down the drain…

But, I was left with a delicious homemade veggie broth to add to my homemade soup this weekend.

Delicious!  And, very much worth the wait.

It felt great out last night.  A cool breeze was coming off of the water and there were a lot of people out running and walking.  I never see that many people in the mornings!!  I ran for just over an hour and felt great!  Refreshed after my day.

I came home to make a quick dinner.  My first thought was a pita pizza, my next thought was a quesadilla.  Then, I combined them!

A Pizza-Dilla!

Start with a wrap of choice.

Spread half of it with tomato sauce (or tomato paste as I did here).

Then, layer on your cheese and toppings of choice.  I went with pepper and italian seasoning.  The cheese is a blend of cheddar and mozarella.

Drizzle with bbq sauce, if desired.  I love bbq sauce, so this was a no brainer for me.

Fold the wrap in half and grill on the grill or grill pan for a few minutes on each side until the cheese is melted.

Mmmm…a delicious, eat with your hands, quesadilla!  That tastes like pizza.

This could be great as an appetizer too!

What about veggie burgers?!

Quick & Easy Black Bean & Veggie Burgers

Makes about 12 patties

(recipe inspired by Oh She Glows In a Jiffy Burgers)

I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand, so I just added what I did have and I think they cam out pretty good.  Next time, I would season them more!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 3 small carrots
• 2 spring onions (bulb and stalk)
• 1 cubanelle pepper (or pepper of choice)
• 1 stalk of beet greens with stems removed
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1/2 t dried chile pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup curry flavored sunflower seeds (Kaia Foods)
• 2 tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup spelt flour

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Place all of the ingredients (except for the nuts, oats and flour) into a food processor and blend until smooth.  You can leave some chunks if you would like.  It is all personal preference.

After the mixture is blended, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and mix in the seeds, oats and flour until well mixed.  I mixed in the seeds, then oats, then flour in small increments.  Only use as much flour as you need.  My mixture was wet, so I added all 3/4 cups.

Shape the mixture into patties of any size.  This amount will make about 12 normal size patties, but next time I may make them smaller and roll them into balls as salad toppers!

Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes, then flip and bake another 15 minutes or so until patties are cooked, but not too dry.

We served these patties on a toasted whole wheat bun with a little mozarella cheese and a roasted red pepper/artichoke spread.

Along with kale chips and pickles as sides.

They were delicious!

You could also grill these, but you might want to bake them a little first to help them stay together.

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for stuffed patty pan squash on Oh She Glows, so I thought I would give it a shot.  I basically followed Angela’s recipe, but made some modifications for what I had on hand.

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

adapted from Oh She Glows (original recipe here)

Ingredients:

• 4 Patty Pan Squash
• 1 large zucchini
• 2 small carrots
• 1 spring onion, bulb and stalk
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 cups cooked black beluga lentils 
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small jar tomato paste
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter of choice 
• sea salt & pepper to taste 
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• sprinkle parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

Cut the tops off of your squash and the zucchini in half and scoop out the insides.

I sliced my zucchini into smaller pieces so that they would be easier to eat.

Add the squash and zucchini meat, onion bulb and stalk, carrots and garlic to your food processor and blend until smooth.

Let that mixture sit until you have your rice ready.

Add your cooked brown rice and lentils to a pot with the butter and tomato paste.  Warm over medium-low heat until the butter is melted and everything is mixed in.

Then, add the veggie mixture to the rice mixture and mix well.  Add italian seasoning (or seasoning of your choice), salt and pepper to taste.  I added about 1 tsp of salt and pepper.

Stuff the squash and zucchini.  I like them to be overflowing!

Then bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the squash is tender.  23 minutes was perfect for this amount!

Let cool for a few minutes before serving and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

We loved these!  They were perfect and the tomato in the rice was awesome.

Glad I have leftovers for lunch today!

Saturday morning we were up early to catch a ferry to the North Fork of Long Island.  If you have never been there, I really recommend it.  Their are quaint towns and lots of vineyards.   Plus, while you are there, you could take a trip across Shelter Island and to the Hamptons for some more fun!

I was feeling like I needed a pick-me-up to get going, so I mixed up a Green Monster Smoothie for the ride.

• 1 banana
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder, vanilla
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1 cup almond milk

This was not my favorite, but I slurped it down anyways…

Once at the ferry I got out my overnight oats that I had mixed up last night.

Last night, I mixed up 1/3 cut oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 4 oz vanilla yogurt, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened dried coconut and 1/2 banana.  It sat in the fridge overnight and was a perfect breakfast for our ferry ride.  It really thickens up overnight which makes the mixture the perfect dish to travel with.

Before eating, I topped it with 1/4 cup Kaia Raisin Cinnamon Granola.

We arrived in Greenport, NY and headed straight to the Greenport Tea Company for some tea!

We split the most delicious Orange Cranberry Scone and I had their Secret Stash Tea – a mixture of vanilla, caramel and white chocolate.  Delicious!

I love when tea shops use gorgeous teacups!

After meeting up with Brant’s parents, aunt and uncle, we spent the afternoon at a few vineyards (full posts to come!) and ended up at Chef Noah’s in Greenport, NY for dinner.

It was a very modern restaurant with a lot to choose from on the menu.  I particularly liked it because they offered a variety of ‘tastes’ and ‘small plates’ along with entrees.  The small plates were a decent size for me to order a few for my meal, and there were a number of veggie options!

(I have to show you Brant’s choices too because they looked so good!)

I started with the Roasted Beet Salad served with local goat cheese from a farm down the street!

Brant started with the Crab Taco’s – how cute are they?!

For my ‘entree’, I ordered 2 more ‘small plates’ – Roasted Asparagus, which was super garlicky…

And, the Carrot Risotto served with the same local goat cheese.

Brant ordered the Lobster Roll which looked amazing!

It was a great dinner.  Good atmosphere, good company and great prices!

After dinner we walked around the dock and stumbled upon this cool piece of artwork standing above the harbor.

The bird is an Osprey which stands on one of the posts from the World Trade Center.  It is pretty cool.

More of the weekend to come…

What a great guy!

What is better on a Friday night than a home cooked meal?!  Sure, going out is nice, but you won’t always get something as delicious as this:

Pesto & Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 2 eggs
• 1 -2 cups almond flour
• Italian seasoning mix (or herbs of choice)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cans diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• homemade Garlic Scrape Pesto (see recipe below)

I pretty much made up this recipe on the spot with what we had on hand.  It isn’t the healthiest version of eggplant parm (for super healthy eggplant parm, you can just bake the eggplant), but I wanted breaded eggplant, so here is my take.  It turned out great!  However, next time I think I would do a few things differently:

1. Use a thicker tomato sauce
2. Cook the eggplant for longer pre-baking
3. Bread the eggplant, then pre-bake it to brown instead of frying (obviously, you need more time for this!)
4. Use more pesto!!

On to the recipe!  I am going to take you through step by step, so bare with me.

Start off by slicing your eggplant, keeping all of the slices the same size.

Set up your dipping stations.  Whisk 2 eggs together and pour onto a plate or low bowl.  Scoop the almond flour onto another plate and mix with herbs of choice.

Dip the eggplant slice by slice into the egg,

then into the almond flour mixture.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and warm 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Then, add the first batch of breaded eggplant and ‘fry’ on each side for 2-3 minutes until browned.

Repeat for the next batch.

Once all of your eggplant is ‘fried’, preheat your oven to 350F.  Then, begin to make up your dish.

Start with a layer of diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce).

Add a layer of eggplant, scoop on some pesto, and add 1/2 of the mozzarella.

Add a little tomato sauce, then repeat the steps adding some pesto and ground pepper to the top.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling, then add a few basil leaves for garnish and broil until slightly browned.  (Make sure you watch it closely while broiling, as it browns fast!)

Once it is out of the oven, let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

We enjoyed our eggplant parm with roasted cauliflower and sugar snap peas.

It took about 60 minutes to make everything, but once in a while, that is definitely worth it!

If you try it out and make any tweaks, let me know.

Garlic Scrape Pesto

• 5 garlic scrapes
• large handful fresh basil
• 1/4 cup toasted almonds
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt

Throw everything into a food processor and blend until smooth.

This was so delicious that I wanted to eat it by the spoonful, but instead I spread it onto some bread.

You can use any pesto you want, but I suggest you give this one a try!

For a weekend away, I was able to keep my healthy eating style with everything that I brought from home plus a lot of fruit and veggies that we all picked up.  I ate smoothies, salads, veggie burgers, grilled veggies, corn on the cob, more salad, super charge me cookies, etc.  I feel great after a weekend away!

But, back to reality today!

It was a HOT one in Boston today…they say it hit 100°F in some areas.  Yowzers!  To cool off a bit, I started my day with a smoothie, of course.

Chocolate Mango Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• 3/4 scoop Vega protein powder
• 1 tsp maca
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup filtered water

Absolutely delicious and very refreshing!!

I kept lunch fairly simple as well, mostly due to the lack of fresh produce in our fridge after a weekend away (we picked up our CSA tonight!).

Whole Wheat Wrap with Lettuce, Hummus and Avocado

And, yogurt with fresh blueberries.

Aren’t simple foods the best?!

Mid-afternoon, I snacked on a granola bar that I had picked up at Starbucks last week.

I loved it!  Simple ingredients and raw…

We tried to keep dinner very simple due to the heat.

Cabbage and Apple Coleslaw

This is a very easy recipe.  I used the grater on my food processor to chop everything up, which made it simple!

• 1 head of green cabbage
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 2 small apples, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins, chopped
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 8 oz thick greek yogurt (I used Trader Joe’s Honey Greek Yogurt – full fat)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme

Mix the yogurt, vinegar, oil and thyme until thinned out (use a little extra olive oil if need be), then toss the dressing with the cabbage, carrots, apple, raisins and sunflower seeds.

I spiralized a beet to serve on top of my salad.

Served with cheesy bread.

Simple, cold dinners on hot nights are definitely the way to go!  This was delicious!  We both loved it.

Have a great (cool) evening.

When on vacation with a group it is sometimes hard to always eat what you want.  Not everyone has the same tastes, you don’t want to spend a lot, etc.

In order to keep from stressing too much about that, I just make sure to bring my own snacks and healthy additions to meals and desserts.  It is much easier to bring food along when you are going on a road trip, but it is definitely still possible to throw some simple things into your suitcase on a plane.

Before the weekend, I made a trip to Trader Joe’s to pick up some simple and healthy snacks.

I picked up bananas, almond milk, and a few packets of protein powder to make quick, simple, satisfying and healthy smoothies.  These can be made for a quick meal or for a mid-day snack.

I packed my small Magic Bullet, too!  I just got this blender, but I plan to take it with me regularly on trips now, including on a plane.  It does not take up a lot of room and you could pack protein powders in the cup itself to save room.

Yogurt, bananas and granola can always be eaten for a meal or snack.

Hummus, avocados and crackers (and I will be sure to pick up some veggies when we get down there) for me to bring out to snack on when the bags of chips and other snacks come out.  Hummus and avocados can also be added to salad or veggies to make a meal!

Another simple and easy thing to bring is pre-cooked rice and beans!  Trader Joe’s has a great variety, my favorite being the Black Beluga Lentils and the Brown Rice.  These pre-cooked packets can be heated on the stove or microwave in a couple of minutes and make the perfect addition to any meal.

Other snack items include dried fruit, trail mix, granola bars and peanut butter packets that you can pack and bring anywhere with you.

I also made sure to make some healthier homemade muffins and cookies.

Carrot Banana Muffins (see recipe here)

Blueberry Muffins (see recipe here)

Super Charge Me Cookies (see recipe here)

By bringing my own snacks, I can piece together simple meals if need be.  I feel better about myself and my body feels better when I continue to eat as I normally do.  I want to feel good while on vacation, so a little planning beforehand is well worth the effort.  Plus, once you get into this routine, it takes no extra time to prepare at all!

Yes, this may seem like a lot, and it is because we are taking our car, which means a cooler is available.  If you are flying somewhere, pack some granola bars, dried fruit and protein powder packs in your suitcase for snacks and hit up a grocery store for fruits and veggies once you arrive at your destination.

I also always pack my resistance bands and exercise clothes.

The bands are easy to use for 10-20 minutes each morning for a quick workout along with pushups and situps.  While walking and/or running is a perfect way to explore a new area and a great way to squeeze in some exercise!

Working out and eating well while traveling can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be!  All you need is a little prep and your vacation can be all that you want it to be.

Happy traveling!

Once I was up, I knew I had to start the morning off on the right foot, so I made Brant and I a treat for breakfast – Pancakes!  Not just any pancakes, though.  These were souped up Banana Almond Oatmeal Pancakes.  And, they were yummy.

I followed the recipe exactly from Fitsugar (see recipe here).  Her recipe makes 12 smaller pancakes, but I like my pancakes thick and filling, so I made the pancakes twice as thick.

I am not a big pancake or waffle eater because I always find that they keep me full for about 10 minutes…there is not much substance or protein in a plain pancake, so it makes sense.  However, two of these pancakes with toppings kept me pretty full for the majority of the morning.  It must have been the oatmeal.

They were fluffy, but dense, so if you like light and fluffy pancakes, these definitely aren’t for you.  I topped my pancakes with a little greek yogurt, banana, chopped almonds and maple sugar.

Next time I would add more banana and cinnamon to the batter!

For lunch, I wanted to do something with the cabbage from our CSA, so I searched for a recipe.  I found the perfect recipe for Japanese Pizza on 101cookbooks.com (see recipe here).  I love pizza and this seemed like a really easy and healthy alternative.

I made sure to wash and dry my cabbage thoroughly, since it came straight from the farm.

The recipe called for shredded cabbage, but I was too impatient to chop it all, so I threw it in my food processor.  It was more grated than shredded, but it worked!

I doubled the recipe to make individual pizza’s for Brant and I, which was a perfect amount (I only ate 1/2 of one).  Once the ingredients are all mixed together, you cook the pizza in a pan on the stove.

Flipping the pizza was easier than I thought.  After cooking the pizza for 4-5 minutes on one side, it was time to flip.  I slid the pizza out onto a plate, put another plate on top and flipped!  Then, slide back into the pan to continue to cook.

Once done, I garnished with almonds and cut it up on the cutting board.

Then, served with a few dipping sauces…guacamole hummus and tomato paste.

It was really, really good!  The pizza itself did not have too much flavor, but it is so basic that you could add anything that your heart desires.  The dippers provided more than enough flavor for me, but I like plain things.

For a lunch dessert, I broke open some chocolate bars that I bought yesterday.  Endangered Species chocolate started selling some new organic dark chocolate, so I picked up one in each flavor.

How good do they sound?!  Of course, I tried a little of each.

It was tough to pick a favorite, but I really liked the Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans and Maca!

Have a great Saturday!

I woke up feeling super groggy and with a pounding headache yesterday.  UGH!  I think it was going to bed so much later than normal…and eating dinner so much later.  Nothing a little juice can’t fix!

I swear – fresh squeezed juice helps every time.  It is loaded with antioxidants and helps to give you that boost that you sometimes need in the morning (without drinking coffee!).

In my juice:

• 2 huge carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 apple
• 1-inch piece of ginger
• 1 tsp spirulina stirred in at the end

I chugged my juice and it helped so much.  I felt alive after drinking it!

What is spirulina?

Spirulina is a blue-green algae.  It is 70% complete protein, containing all of the essential amino acids that our bodies need in a perfect balance.  It also contains a high concentration of nutrients and is easily absorbed into the bloodstream, which makes it a great mix-in for smoothies or juices!

After my juice, we sat down to breakfast on the porch!  That is one of my favorite things about spring and summer.  I love eating on the porch!  While everyone else munched on pancakes and bacon that Brant whipped up, I made up a big bowl of Greek yogurt, chia seeds, museli, banana, granola, cacao nibs and a drizzle of honey.

On the side, I had some juicy watermelon.

The perfect summer day breakfast if you ask me (tied with a smoothie, of course!).

We spent the day walking around downtown and stopped for lunch at B. Good where I got a big Hatchback salad with spinach, arugula, almonds, dried apples, dried cherries and balsamic vinaigrette on the side.  I snagged a few of Brant’s ‘baked’ fries as well.

Then, hit up Emack & Bolio’s for some black raspberry ice cream.

Nothing is better than walking around the city on a warm day with ice cream!

Once home, I headed out for a quick run before dinner.  I needed a pick me up since I was feeling super tired.  I ran for 30 minutes…it just felt great to get out there, even though Castle Island was packed with people.

Post-run snack:

Coconut water and a slice of multigrain with almond butter and apples to hold me over until another late dinner of Mexican!!

We hit up Border Cafe in Harvard Square to show our guests the area.  The place was packed!  I ordered a Sangria which I sipped throughout the meal.

For dinner, I chose the Vegetarian Fajitas with no rice and extra black beans.  Check out my spread!

I made up a plate with one cup of the black beans, all of the veggies and the salsa and guacamole.  I skipped the cheese and white tortillas.  I always forget how much I love mexican until I have it again!

After dinner, we hit up an outdoor bar in Harvard Square – Tory Row.

It was a cute place with the doors and windows opening to a patio.  Lots of hightop tables and very minimal decorations.

I ordered the Lillet Spritzer which was a white dessert wine with seltzer water and a squeeze of lemon.  It was very refreshing on a warm night!

Another long day!  Good thing it’s a Monday holiday today.