Curry in a Hurry

I love cooking half homemade meals. One of my favorite weeknight go-to is curry! I simply buy a premix, vegetarian bag and add fresh ingredients then serve over rice. Here's the brand I prefer:

 

 

 

You should start by sautéing vegetables on low heat, like eggplant, onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, etc. in olive oil and spices like garlic salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, essence, parsley, etc. While that is cooking, boil water for your rice. Once they are all complete, mix it all together and enjoy!

 

 

 

Seriously, in less than ten minutes you can have all of this cooked! t was delicious and nutritious. 

Cooking for One

Recently, I've gone through a breakup. I moved out of my exes and in to my own, one bedroom condo. I like my place, but I've found that I'm cooking a LOT less.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE to cook (& eat!). But, now I cook for fun and not for a chore. I no longer feel like I have to have dinner on the table every night or so many nights a week. If I want to have snacks and wine for dinner then I do it.

I still very much so value a nice, family dinner. But, for now, I more so value my independence and the ability to listen to my body. I eat when I'm hungry. I don't eat (or cook) because it is dinner time. This is having such a positive affect on my body weight, feelings and life. Rethink dinner some time!

Help! I'm Addicted to Guacamole!

I love Mexican food. I really love guacamole. Okay, I really just love any use of avocados. Although, guac and avocados pair best with bad Mexican food there are some easier alternatives:

• Guacamole on a breakfast omelet. You can leave out the cheese and potatoes to save carbs/calories. You can add, egg whites, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spinach, mushroom, jalapenos or just about any vegetable your little heart desires.
• Guacamole in a salad. You don't even need a dressing! It is so good with eggs, peppers, and tomatoes.
• Guacamole in pesto! Make your pesto normally and just add guacamole or avocado to it. Serve over spaghetti squash instead of noodles if you want to cut back.
• Guacamole on pizza! I like to make 'salad' pizzas. Let's face it, we all want pizza some time. Why not try to make it a little healthier? Try topping your cheese pizza with salad items next time. It is delicious.

Don't be afraid to try something weird. You might just find a new recipe!

Fish and Veggies

When I'm watching what I eat, my go to meal is fish and veggies! I love to get fresh salmon, bake it and serve it with whatever vegetable I'm feeling that day.

Today, I'm having baked salmon, lemon pepper and olive oil baked eggplant and steamed broccoli with a little butter and cheese. Check it out:

 

 

 

I typically cook these in mass and make containers for work and home for the week. I don't like to get burnt out though, so I usually make a variety of veggies and only enough fish for 2-3 days.

 

For any recipe request, let me know in the comment section below. Happy, healthy eating!

Breakfast for Lunch

I LOVE to have breakfast for lunch. Actually, I love to have breakfast any time. My latest obsession is fried eggs, over easy. Plus, I've been on a low calorie diet and I find breakfast to be a filling, yet a cheap and low-calorie meal. Yesterday, I made this yummy 400 calorie number:

 

It is basically sautéed spinach, tomato and onion, topped with cheese, salsa, avocado and a fried egg. YUMMY!

 

Here's what materials you will need:

• Chopping Knife
• Cutting Board
• Small Skillet
• Non-stick Spray
• Spatula 

Here's the ingredients:

• 1 cup of Spinach
• 1/2 Small Yellow Onion
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Slice of Colby Jack Cheese
• 2 Tlbsp of Salsa (I prefer Mrs. Renfros)
• 1/2 an Avocado
• 1 Egg

All in all this meal takes less than 7 minutes. So let's get started: 

• Chop your yellow onion into small squares
• Once the onion is chopped, spray the small skillet with non-stick spray, heat to medium-low and add onions
• While they are cooking, wash your cup of spinach and then add it to the onions
• While they are both cooking, dice your tomato into small squares and then add it to the skillet
• Once everything is cooked, plate and set aside
• Wipe the pan clean, then spray it again with non-stick spray and turn the heat to high
• Crack your egg in the skillet, but be careful not to bust the yolk. Use your spatula to poke around the yolk (not the actual yolk), so that the other liquids evenly distribute and thoroughly cook.
• After the egg is white and "solid" looking, flip it and reduce the heat to low. Cook like this for roughly 90 more second and then serve.
• While your back side of the egg is cooking, add the slice of cheese to your plated spinach, onion and tomatoes. Microwave for 15-30 seconds to reheat the meal and melt the cheese.
• Top this mixture with your 2 tablespoons of salsa and 1/2 avocado. I spoon both straight on to the plate.
• By now, your fried egg should be perfectly cooked. Add it to the top of your masterpiece and enjoy!

To make this meal even more low calorie just cut out the cheese and avocado. If one egg will not fill you up, try removing the cheese and adding an additional egg and more spinach.

What's your favorite way to eat fried eggs, over easy? I love to put them on breakfast tacos or crab cakes!

Simple Shrimp Recipe

One of my favorite go-to healthy recipes is sautéed shrimp, onion, zucchini and squash in a lemon pepper seasoning. This entire recipe takes less than 15 minutes to cooks, hardly contains any calories and is roughly $20 for 4+ servings.

Here's the ingredients:

• Lemon Pepper Seasoning (or 1 Lemon and Black Pepper)
• 1lb Shrimp ( I prefer gulf shrimp already pealed and deveined)
• 2 Zucchinis
• 2 Yellow Squash
• 1 Onion
• Olive Oil (or Butter)

Utensils:

• 1 Cutting Board
• 1 Knife
• 1 Frying Pan
• 1 Spatula (or Large Spoon)

Here's the prep work:

• Chop all three vegetables (Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Onions)
• I dice my onion into small squares, but you could easily cut into large, long strips.
• I cut the Zucchini and Squash like you cut Cucumbers (small circles). Sometimes, I even cut those circles into smaller semi-circles. I leave the skin on.
• (Optional) I sometimes cut my shrimp into three pieces, since I buy large, gulf shrimp. See photo below for reference of shrimp and vegetable cuts.

Cook:

• In a Medium Skillet, drizzle with olive oil to lubricate the pan and add your chopped onion. Cook this covered on low and stir periodically.
• After 2 minutes, add your Squash and Zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes, but this time turn it up to Medium heat. Cook this uncovered and stir periodically.
• Next, add your shrimp and coat the entire dish with your lemon pepper seasoning. Continue cooking uncovered until the shrimp are pink/done.

Here's a photo of the finished product:

Great meal that reheats nicely the next day.

If you prefer to bake, you can easily toss all vegetable ingredients and olive oil into a pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. After 10 minutes, add your shrimp and seasoning and bake into cooked, roughly 8 more minutes.

Shaking Things Up

I've always been told that in order to blog properly you need to have a focus. This blog has been like me: all over the place. I've decided to dedicate this blog completely to recipes and food. 

I've had a tough time finding recipes that fit my pescatarian diet so I decided to create a blog for others like me. In this blog, I plan to write ways to add meat to these meals, because my boyfriend is definitely not a pescatarian. And, I'm sure you're friends aren't all pescatariants either.

For those of  you that don't know what a pescatarian is:  Pescatarian = Vegetarian + Seafood. Not to be confused with the religion, "Presbyterian".

I became a pescatarian in April 2008. The reason I chose to be pescatarian vs. vegetarian is because I grew up on the sea and absolutely love seafood. There is no way that I could give it up or cheese. Plus, my dad is a boat captain. I could NEVER give up free seafood caught by my old man.

I became a pescatarian after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" in college. This book changed my views on food, health and animal rights; which immediately changed my palate.

Even if you're not into the pescatarian diet, I hope you enjoy this blog and find some yummy, new recipes.

My other blog is dedicated to inspiring myself and others. To follow it, please visit: http://marissadeslatte.wordpress.com/

I plan to post at least once a week to both. Enjoy!