What I Ate Wednesday #115: Happy Hannuka!

Or Chanukah.. Chanukkah.. Hanukkah? I don’t know, you choose your favorite. Regardless of how it’s spelled, last night it began and I had fun making a traditional-style dinner and lighting the menorah. It was actually the first time using our new menorah that we got as an engagement gift!

But before we get to our Hannuka dinner, there was a lot more food!

[Pre-Workout & Breakfast]

Skoop bites, oatmeal, and nut butters. All day, everyday.

[Mid-Morning Snack]

I was running out the door but wanted a little snack so I decided to give this chia energy drink from Mamma Chia a try. I received 4 flavors to try as part of a FitFluential campaign and the blackberry sounded the best to me. I loved that it wasn’t overly sweet at all. If it were just based on flavor, I’d definitely get it again; unfortunately, as I’m not a big fan of chia pudding because of the texture, this drink didn’t quite do it for me. I’m thinking it would be pretty tasty added to a smoothie though! More on this later.. wheels are turning!

[Lunch]

I was pretty hungry when I got home, despite a couple samples I tried at the grocery store, so I grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and threw ’em all in a bowl. Butternut squash soup with smokey chicken wing chili and toasted pine nuts on top.

[Afternoon Snack]

I think I was craving a crunch after soup for lunch so I attacked that bag of sugar snap peas! A celery stalk also made its way into the almond butter too 😉

[Dinner]

If you know the Hannuka story, you know that there is a lot of frying going on [oh hey, 8 days of oil!] I opted for a healthier option with crispy baked chicken tenders, regular & sweet potato latkes [made with a fraction of the oil!], crockpot applesauce, and some leftover brussels. It was awesome. Even husband-approved and he’s picky when it comes to baked tenders! Not to mention I’d never made latkes or applesauce before. Success!

[Evening Snack]
I’m on a cottage cheese kick lately [you’re welcome for sparing you that picture.] I mixed in a little NuStevia cocoa syrup and cinnamon. Delish.

Food for Thought

What holiday do you celebrate?
What’s your favorite holiday meal?

Apartment Hunting and Another Quiet Weekend

Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend. We kept it quiet; Nathan’s been fighting some sort of sickness basically since we got back from Baltimore so we both took it as a chance to catch up on some rest. That said, Friday I was out and about for the majority of the day getting work done on the car and looking for a new apartment! Our lease is up at the end of January and we’re ready for something new. Friday was a total bust as far as the apartment search was concerned, unfortunately, but I did find a pretty fantastic ginger molasses cookie so that helped to make up for it.

I decided that both Saturday and Sunday were going to be good days to rest. No gym time for this gal over the weekend! Sometimes when you just don’t feel like going, you need to accept that you’ll be better off cozying up on the couch with a nice, warm breakfast.

Besides, I had to make sure I was prepared for Truve’s holiday party last night! There were snacks and booze and lots of fun people. And after being away for 2 weeks, it was nice to be able to see everyone again.

Fo realz, if you’re in the bay area, you should absolutely check out Truve. I’ll even give you a pass for a free week of classes! There’s every type of class you could think of and all of the trainers are awesome. So no excuses!

Oh! And I think we found a place to live.. not bad for only starting to look on Friday, huh? Keep your fingers crossed for us. Hopefully we’ll have more good news later this week 🙂 And with that, we’re back to the daily grind!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Smokey chicken wing chili
Monday – Grilled chicken, smashed potatoes, and eggplant caponata
Tuesday – Crispy baked chicken tenders, latkes, and crockpot applesauce [happy first night of Hannuka!]
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Kung pao chicken
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Out!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite holiday meal?

What I Ate Wednesday #25 – Healthy Holiday Recipes

Have you entered my Hail Merry Macaroon giveaway? Only 2 more days!

I can’t lie, my meals have been pretty less-than-interesting over the last week. I’m a creature of habit and when I do a lot of food prep on Sundays, I tend to eat a lot of the same meals during the week. But I’ve been having fun in the kitchen and am happy to be sharing a couple healthy Hannuka recipes just in time for the holiday!

[Breakfast]
Like I said, creature of habit. I’m still going strong in my Sweet Breakfast Scramble obsession!

[Lunch]
Tone It Up‘s Carrot & Pumpkin Soup and a Jamie Eason turkey meatloaf muffin. This was seriously the easiest lunch and so delicious. I didn’t mind having it almost everyday.. in fact, I enjoyed it!

[Dinner]
Sushi! It was a nice night for a date so we hit up a happy hour for a glass of wine (or beer) and some delicious sushi.  I didn’t snap pictures of the edamame and pork shumai but they were delicious, as always. Salmon and avocado wrapped in cucumber is also always a great choice, but my treat roll was the crab stick, cucumber, and avocado topped with more avocado, salmon, tuna, and a little eel sauce. SO yum! Nathan got pork yakisoba and it was equally as wonderful. If you’re in Baltimore and looking for good sushi, I highly recommend Naname Cafe!

[Snacks] not pictured
Apple, Madagascar Vanilla KIND Bar, and 1/2 of a blueberry ricotta muffin. I love having 1/2 muffin in the afternoon to help hold me over.. so tasty!

Onto the fun stuff!

I’m so glad we’re sharing healthy holiday recipes because I just tested a few for Hannuka!

Sweet Potato & Zucchini Latkes

Makes 18 latkes

Ingredients
1/2 cup zucchini, shredded and drained
2 cups sweet potato, shredded
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp coconut flour* [I use Bob’s Red Mill, but you can sub other flour if you don’t have coconut!]
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp xylitol* + extra for sprinkling [You can sub regular sugar or other sugar substitutes]
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, shape into 18 equal balls, and flatten into pancakes. Bake about 1 hour, flipping half way through.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with a little extra xylitol and cinnamon and enjoy!

Nutritional Stats
Per pancake without toppings

21 Calories  /  0g Fat  /  4g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  0g Sugar  /  1g Protein

Baked Sufganiyot

Makes 12 minis

If you’re not familiar with sufganiyot, they are jelly-filled donuts that are a staple during Hannuka. But of course jelly-filled donuts are not exactly on the healthy treats list, so I wanted to create a more figure-friendly way to enjoy these tasty treats.

Ingredients
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg white
1/4 cup xylitol* + extra for sprinkling [You can sub regular sugar or other sugar substitutes]
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk [I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk]
4 tbsp your favorite jam [I used blackberry preserves]
~1/2 – 1 tbsp agave nectar*
~1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients from flour through milk until just incorporated.

Fill each muffin tin with about 1/2 tbsp of mix to just cover the bottom. Place about 1 tsp of jam in the middle of each “donut” and then top with the rest of the mix. Bake for about 12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (minus the jam!), turning half way through.

Remove from the oven and let cool about 5-10 minutes. Drizzle with agave nectar and sprinkle with cinnamon and xylitol. Enjoy guilt-free!

Nutritional Stats
Per mini “donut”

52 Calories  /  0g Fat  /  14g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  5g Sugar  /  1g Protein

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Food for Thought

What are some of your favorite holiday recipes? Do you go towards the healthy options or the unhealthy treats?