Link Love #18: My Top 5

Happy New Years Eve!! Wow, I can’t believe the year is over.. it seems like it just began. It’s time to wrap this baby up and look forward to creating new goals [and achieving them!], new experiences, and new memories. I usually use my link love posts to share some of my favorite posts from the blogosphere, but in the spirit of wrapping up this year, I thought I’d share my top 5 most popular posts and my top 5 favorites from this past year.

Most Popular

5. What I Ate Wednesday #4 – 5 Day Slim Down Edition!

That’s a tasty pineapple protein pancake!

I most certainly have some Tone It Up ladies to thank for this being up there in numbers! People seriously want to know about that slim down. It’s no joke.. you need to be really dedicated and if you are, it really works!

4. Spaghetti Squash Kugel

Definitely making this again soon!

Between Passover and all of the Paleo and low carb diets, it’s no wonder this recipe was a hit! And have you ever had kugel? YUM! Give me my kitchen!

3. Recipe Remix: Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Ooh baby! I almost forgot about these.

I love my sweet breakfasts and anyway I can sneak a little veggie in there makes it that much more perfect.

2. Foodie Friday: Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Everything is better with peanut butter!

My first attempt at protein bites and they were a delicious success! I definitely recommend this recipe.

1. Minty Irish Powerballs

The perfect mix of chocolatey, nutty, and minty!

How do you make a protein bite better? Use your homemade nut butter 😉

My Top 5 Recipe Posts

Eggy Quinoa Stuffed Squash
Coconut Flour Pancake Variations
Homemade Cashew Butter
Buddha’s Feast
Chipotle Lime Sweet Potato Tofu Burgers

My Top 5 Life Posts

Hitched
Dealing With Doubt
I’m grateful for…
The “S” Word
Baltimore Bucket List and Big News!

My Top 5 What I Ate Wednesday Posts

#44: Wine in Italy
Quick Honeymoon Update
#45: The Wedding Food
#59: Ten Years Gone
#64: The First Weekend

Food for Thought

Do you have an all-time favorite post from this past year?
Any big plans for NYE?

Top 5 of 2012!

With 2012 being the year of starting the blog, I certainly don’t have quite as many posts as others, but I did my best to share what I could. I’m pleased to say that the recipes that popped up in my top 5 posts from 2012 are some of my personal favorites that I’ve revisited time and time again since posting.

5. Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

You all know I love peanut butter and chocolate, not to mention my love for CalNaturale Svelte, so whenever I’m in the mood for a protein shake, this is my go-to! I’ve also started adding a couple handfuls of spinach because you can never have too many greens!

4. Recipe Remix: Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

I was so pleased with the way these pancakes came out. They’re light and fluffy and so filling!

3. Cinnamon Raisin Overnight Protein Oats & Quinoa.. and Giveaway Winners!

Before I became obsessed with my Sweet Breakfast Scramble, which I recently slimmed down, my favorite breakfast was oatmeal. Overnight oats are always so easy when I know I have a busy morning ahead of me. In the interest of adding a little extra protein, I decided to swap half of the oats with some quinoa and it was a hit!

2. Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Fest and a Giveaway Winner!

I know I get a little pumpkin fever as soon as fall hits and judging by pinterest, everyone else and their moms do too, so it really shouldn’t surprise me that this post was a topper! The souffle is a definite hit when I want to feel like I’m eating a decadent breakfast without the calories.

1. What I Ate Wednesday #4 – 5 Day Slim Down Edition

Top post of 2012? No surprises here! My Tone It Up girls never let me down! 😉

Food for Thought

What was your favorite post and/or recipe of mine from 2012?

Foodie Friday: Roasted Squash Stew with Turkey & Baby Kale

Between the cold weather and feeling a bit under the weather this past week, I’ve been jonesing for some soups and stews to warm me up. As always, I head over to Pinterest and browse my most recent 3000 recipes that I’ve pinned (out of control!) and this baby caught my eye.

Squash stew? Done! I was missing a few of the ingredients from the original recipe so I took a stab at my own version and was rather pleased with the end result.

Roasted Squash Stew with Turkey & Baby Kale

Serves 4
Adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

Ingredients
2 tbsp EVOO, divided
2 small delicata squashes, diced [About 3 cups]
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1/4 lb ground turkey or chicken [I used Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast]
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, not drained [I used Muir Glen Organic Red and Yellow Diced Tomatoes]
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups baby kale or spinach

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss your diced squash on a baking sheet with 1 tbsp EVOO and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Put the sheet in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing a few times.

While your squash is roasting, heat a large pot over medium heat with the remaining 1 tbsp EVOO. Once heated, add your diced onion and saute until translucent. Add the ground turkey to the pot and season with salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Once the turkey is completely cooked through, add the minced garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the can of tomatoes and chicken stock.

By this time, your squash should be just about finished roasting. Remove from the oven and add 3/4 of the roasted squash to the pot. Smash the remaining 1/4 squash until smooth and add to the pot. This is used as a thickener in the soup. Make sure everything is well incorporated and finally stir in the baby kale until wilted. Adjust any seasonings to taste and feel free to add more stock or water if you want the soup to be thinner.

This soup is great with a scoop of quinoa mixed in or with some crunchy roasted chick peas on top!

Nutritional Information
Per serving

198 Calories  /  8g Fat  /  26g Carbs  /  15g Fiber  /  7g Sugar  /  11g Protein

Just My Imagination Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Joanna Murnan for winning a pair of custom hammered metal earrings from Just My Imagination!

Joanna Murnan said :
The triples are adorable in the mixed metals – very cute!

Please email me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com within the next 48 hours with your mailing address as well as which pair of hoops you want and in what metal; silver, gold, or mixed! And don’t forget, it may be too late for holiday shopping, but it’s never too late to treat yourself to some new one-of-a-kind jewels 😉

Roasted Squash & Chick Pea Baby Kale Salad

Have you entered my Just My Imagination giveaway yet? Only 2 more days!

I am an absolute squash fiend; winter squash in particular. Butternut squash is currently my favorite, but I’ve recently found out about so many more kinds to try! Over the weekend I finally got my hands on delicata. I’d say in terms of flavor, it compares to acorn squash, but it’s so much easier to prepare which instantly wins me over. Not to mention you can eat the skin which also makes it great for salads.

I don’t know about you, but during this time of year, along with some fun new desserts, I’m always looking for an equally fun and tasty salad to bring to holiday gatherings. And nine times out of ten, mine include squash!

Roasted Squash & Chick Pea Baby Kale Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
6 cups baby kale greens
1/3 cup raisins, craisins, or dried cherries
1 medium delicata squash; sliced
1 can chick peas; drained, rinsed, & thoroughly dried
3 tsp coconut oil; divided
3/4 tsp salt; divided
3/4 tsp ground black pepper; divided
1 tsp McCormick Fiesta Citrus Seasoning

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place sliced squash on one baking sheet and coat with 2 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Place chick peas on another baking sheet with the remaining 1 tsp coconut oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 black pepper, and 1 tsp fiesta citrus seasoning. Bake squash and chick peas for about an hour, flipping the squash 1 or 2 times and tossing the chick peas around. When finished, the squash should be golden around the edges and the chick peas should be nice and crunchy! Let cool completely.

While the squash and chick peas are cooling, place all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. After everything has cooled, throw kale, squash, chick peas, and raisins (or other dried fruit) in a large bowl and toss with about 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Make sure everything is equally coated. Drizzle the last bit of dressing over top of the salad and top with a little freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

To make it into a more substantial meal, throw 4oz of your favorite protein on top!

Nutritional Information
Per serving, for 4 servings

218 Calories  /  6g Fat  /  35g Carbs  /  8g Fiber  /  12g Sugar  /  8g Protein

Food for Thought

What is your favorite holiday salad to share?

What I Ate Wednesday #5 – My Favorite Sensible Dessert

Another week, another What I Ate Wednesday post! But this one has a recipe.. check it out!

Recently my eats have been looking rather similar on the day-to-day front. And I’m perfectly ok with that! Breakfast is looking something like this..

A Tone It Up pineapple protein pancake (and dare I say, I’ve totally mastered the flip!), topped with a drizzle of maple syrup, a couple diced up strawberries, some blueberries, some unsweetened shredded coconut, and a little extra sprinkling of cinnamon. Along side of that, I have the Bombshell Spell, which is a deliciously wonderful way of getting a little shot of apple cider vinegar into your life. These recipes come directly from the Tone It Up Beach Babe plan that you get when you purchase their membership plan, and are a part of the 5 Day Slim Down that I did last week. Since mastering the pancake, I’ve been craving it like no other. I could seriously eat it everyday.. sometimes twice a day!

Snack #1 is 1/2 grapefruit sprinkled with Stevia or Truvia and some coffee with almond milk.

For lunch, I’m loving some teriyaki marinated tofu with homemade pineapple salsa all wrapped in collard greens. It’s a relatively new-to-me idea to use the collard greens as wraps, but it’s wonderful!

My absolute favorite afternoon snack is my new Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake, and the past few times I’ve made it, I put 1 cup of spinach in. You don’t even taste it and you get that little bit of extra veggie.

For dinner, I mixed it up a bit. This delicious bulgar wheat salad with asian slaw and chicken really hit the spot! I found a recipe awhile back for Asian Quinoa Salad, but when I found myself at the store looking for quinoa that wasn’t there, I grabbed the bulgar wheat and went to town! Other than being a wheat product as compared to a grain, bulgar wheat has many of the same nutritional aspects as quinoa. It’s high in protein, low in calories, and low in fat as well! It also has a little bite to it that I really enjoy. Please excuse the not-so-lovely picture..

And now onto my favorite sensible dessert. I’ve pretty much made it every night for the past couple weeks.

Apple Pie Parfait

1 serving

Ingredients
1 apple – I prefer fuji
1/4 cup fat free vanilla greek yogurt
Cinnamon
Walden’s Sugar-Free, Calorie-Free Chocolate Syrup

Directions
Chop up apple into bite size pieces and toss with a little cinnamon. Put the apple in a glass and top with half of the yogurt, a little sprinkle of cinnamon, and a drizzle of the chocolate syrup. Repeat for the other half of the apple and yogurt, and devour!

If you really want to get fancy, throw some dark chocolate chips in there or even a little unsweetened shredded coconut.

I really love this as an after workout dessert because the yogurt gives me a little bit of protein, but it’s not too heavy before bed.

Speak Up!

What’s your favorite sensible dessert?

What I Ate Wednesday #4 – 5 Day Slim Down Edition!

Tone It Up has become a way of life for me and when this month’s WIAW theme of Sensible Snacking, I knew I wanted to share a regular day’s worth of eats. This week I’m doing the 5 day slim down, which essentially is a way to give your body a break from processed foods and helps you slim down. I’ve done it a couple times before and I love it! It’s not too intense and I feel so refreshed when I finish.

This week’s pictures are through the eyes of Instagram.. enjoy!

Breakfast

Tone It Up pineapple protein pancake with slice strawberry, some blueberries, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a little drizzle of maple syrup, and some unsweetened shredded coconut. Hello heaven! You wouldn’t believe this delicious pancake is so healthy and loaded with protein!

Mid-Morning Snack

My usual snack in the morning is 1/2 grapefruit sprinkled with stevia or truvia while I’m sipping away on my coffee with almond milk. Talk about sensible snacking.. grapefruits are so good for you! In fact, the lovely ladies at Tone It Up wrote an entire post about them!

Lunch

The slim down plan includes recipes for tons of delicious collard green wraps, but seeing as how I ran out of collard greens, I decided to make my wrap into a kale salad. So delicious!

To combat the bitterness of raw kale, I always try to marinate the greens overnight with a touch of EVOO, vinegar (white wine, balsamic, ACV all work!), lemon juice, salt, and pepper. This helps to soften the kale and gives it great flavor for your salad!

I topped my marinated kale with a fresh pineapple and red pepper salsa, and a homemade teriyaki turkey burger.

Mid-Afternoon Snack

A cup of almond milk and a Tone It Up bounce back smoothie. This smoothie tastes much better than it looks! Another example of sensible snacking, this smoothie, filled with tons of raw fruits and veggies, really fills you up and isn’t heavy at all.

Dinner

More turkey burgers! Nathan and I went to Sam’s club on Sunday and really loaded up on ground turkey so Sunday night I went to town! I made about 20 burgers.. half teriyaki and half herb.

I had 2 small herb turkey burgers topped with some delicious mango habanero salsa with a side of roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes. I roasted the veggies with coconut oil, which is rather new to me, but reading all about the benefits, I knew I had to try it. Kasey, Ms. PowerCakes, herself, uses coconut oil all the time and you just can’t argue with those results!

Dessert

One thing I love about the 5 day slim down is that it offers you a nice little dessert. I was just sticking to a piece of fruit, but after reading Kasey’s post on what to eat before bed, I’ve been adding 1/4 cup of fat free cottage cheese or vanilla greek yogurt to my dessert. And while this may look rather indulgent for a before-bed snack, I’ll assure you that the delicious chocolate syrup seen here is Walden Farms Sugar-Free, Calorie-Free Chocolate Syrup, as seen here, gifted by my foodie penpal last month! That stuff hits the spot!

I enjoyed my delicious yogurt with a drizzling of chocolate syrup, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and a kiwi on the side. A wonderful way to end the day!

And all of this on a “diet?” Well, that’s what is so wonderful about Tone It Up. It keeps me full and satisfied, and never bloated! I couldn’t ask for much more!