Foodie Friday: Southwestern Black Bean Salad

There are some nights where s’mores, wine, and popcorn are dinner. Last night was one of those nights and I have no complaints. I met up with the Tone It Up girls again for a bonfire night. The fire took a little while to get started, but in the meantime, the wine kept us quite happy. And once we got the fire roaring, the s’mores were flowing!

Confession: This wasn’t our fire. We stole someone else’s for the picture. #firefail

This was our real fire! Yay us!

YUMMMMM!

I’ve been seriously craving some s’mores recently with all of the posts about s’mores cookies, ice cream, etc. so this was way past due! And there may or may not have been a second.. with banana. If only I could say this cured the craving. I think now I just want more! But it’s all about balanace, right? So that’s why I have a super healthy salad post today. Chococolate, marshmallows, and black beans.. why not?

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Make 8 side servings

Ingredients
– 1 can reduced sodium black beans; drained & rinsed
– 1 cup edamame
– 1 cup corn [I used Trader Joe’s Frozen Roasted Corn]
– 3 roma tomatoes; diced
– 1/2 lime; juiced
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
– Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and fold together until thoroughly mixed. Serve as a side, on a salad, as a dip, etc. and enjoy!

Nutritional Information
Per 1/2 cup serving

111 Calories  /  2g Fat  /  18g Carbs  /  5g Fiber  /  4g Sugar  /  6g Protein

I don’t know how strange it is, but it certainly is good!

Food for Thought

Have you had banana s’mores before?
What’s your favorite s’mores combo?

What I Ate Wednesday #51: Pinterest is My BFF

I really do have entirely too many recipes pinned and sometimes I get into a kick where I want to make everything! Unfortunately, most of the time I have high hopes and it just doesn’t pan out. This past week, however, I’ve been making, baking, and devouring! It’s been fun.. especially the devouring part 😉

For Lunches – Kale, Edamame, and Quinoa Salad from Ambitious Kitchen.

Kale, Edamame, & Quinoa Salad – Ambitious Kitchen

Kale, Edamame, & Quinoa Salad – Ambitious Kitchen

I pinned this recipe forever ago. Seriously, my board says it was pinned 43 weeks ago. That’s almost 11 months ago and I still had yet to make it! It looked like a perfect, summery salad so I added the ingredients to my shopping list and had this salad for lunch for two days. I added beets and feta on day one and left out the mango because it wasn’t ripe yet. Day two had the mango and beets, no feta. Either way, it was dynamite! A definite repeat.

For Dinner – Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad from Bev Cooks.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad – Bev Cooks

As good as it looks. Actually, it’s better than it looks. The recipe says that it serves 4 and after consulting with Bev, herself, it was noted that is for a side serving. I added some sweet potato to the mix and doubled up my side for dinner! Best of all, I had 2 side servings leftover which I’m turning into lunches by topping a bunch of swiss chard with it and adding a few extra things like tomato and mango. Another success!

For Snacks – Paleo Bread from Elana’s Pantry. Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Fudge from Ingredients of a Fit Chick.

Paleo Bread – Elana’s Pantry

I saw this bread in Gina’s post last week and was very intrigued by it. I’ve never made paleo bread before but the idea of bread out of almond flour sounded wonderful! I thought I had all of the ingredients but ended up having to sub half of the almond flour for brown rice flour when I ran out but it still came out great! I think I could have taken it out of the oven a couple minutes earlier since it is a little bit dry, but I guess that just means I have to smother it with peanut butter, right? 😉 [The other half of that broken piece in the middle didn’t last much longer than this picture!]

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Fudge – Ingredients of a Fit Chick

My sweet tooth has been out of control lately and when I saw this sweet treat a couple weeks ago, I knew it would come in handy! I love having snacks like this at my fingertips for when the cravings hit. Let’s see how long they last!

I have also found one of my most favorite salads at a restaurant ever. Most of the time when I order a salad, I’m disappointed by the size. I understand not everyone eats salads out of mixing bowls, but apparently at Looney’s, they are all for it! The picture doesn’t do the size of this salad any justice. Nathan’s friend told me if I couldn’t finish it, he would be happy to help. He must not know me very well..

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken – Looney’s Pub

If you ever find yourself at Looney’s Pub, the Greek salad topped with grilled chicken is highly recommended!

Food for Thought

How often do you go back through the recipes you’ve pinned to make something new?

Are you a “normal-sized” salad eater or do you go for the mixing bowl?

Spring Time Asparagus Succotash

Finally it’s starting to feel like spring around here! I have definitely had more than my fill of winter and I’m ready to break out the sandals. And as much as I love a good roasted vegetable, I also think it’s time to start breaking out some lighter side dishes.

Asparagus is in season and I’m loving it but I always do the same thing; steam or roast. I wanted to change it up a bit and add a pop of color to the table!

Serves 4

Ingredients
– 1 lb asparagus
– 1 red bell pepper
– 1/2 red onion
– 1/2 cup corn
– 1/2 cup shelled edamame
– 2 cloves garlic; minced
– 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes; halved
– 1 small avocado; diced
– 1 lime; juiced
– 1/2 tsp paprika
– 1/2 tsp chili powder
– Salt & pepper to taste
– EVOO

Directions
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Chop bell pepper, onion, and asparagus into large pieces, drizzle your pan with EVOO and add the chopped vegetables. Saute about 5-7 minutes until tender.

Add the corn, edamame, and lime juice and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and seasonings to the pan and mix until evenly coated.

Remove from heat and add the tomatoes and avocado. Mix gently to get everything incorporated, but be sure not to mash the avocado! Squeeze a little more lime juice on top for serving.

Nutritional Stats
Per serving

144 Calories  /  8g Fat  /  15g Carbs  /  6g Sugar  /  6g Fiber  /  7g Protein

Food for Thought

How do your meals change with the seasons? Do you prefer one method of cooking over another in the warmer weather?

A Valentine’s Date

Every year for Valentine’s Day, Nathan and I try to figure out something special that we can do for dinner. Years ago, that entailed dressing up and going out to a nice restaurant. We’ve since learned that everyone and their mom goes out to a nice restaurant for Valentine’s Day making for crowded restaurants and a long wait for food. Sounds extra special, right? 😉

Nowadays you’ll find us scouring the grocery store for a fun protein to play with. Typically Nathan is in charge of preparing the majority of dinner and I handle dessert. One year we had filet mignon in a mushroom green pepper sauce with roasted fingerlings followed by blackberry cobbler and chocolate raspberry truffles. Another year we did a pan-seared whole duck with a cherry glaze, duck-fat pan-fried potatoes, and asparagus.. you get the idea.

As I was brainstorming for this years menu, I thought it would be really fun to experiment with homemade dim sum. Not only is it delicious, but it would be a great activity to do together! So, of course, I ran on over to Pinterest and found a bunch of recipes we can try.. for when we’re feeling brave 🙂

Dim Sum Valentine’s Date

Sweet and Spicy Soy-Glazed Edamame – Shared Appetite

This is a quick and easy recipe and you can munch on these bad boys while you’re making everything else!

Wonton Soup – Martha Stewart

Wonton soup. It’s just a staple.

Mango, Avocado, and Cucumber Spring Rolls – Cupcakes and Kale

A fun twist on a typical app. The mango will give it a slightly sweet flavor and the avocado will make it nice and creamy.

Asian Shrimp Dumplings – Dashing Dish

Dumplings or pot stickers are such an easy thing to do when you have wonton wrappers. Not to mention, I love this low cal option!

Pork, Ginger & Mushroom Shumai – What’s Cookin, Chicago?

A little bit more time consuming than the pot stickers above, but well worth the effort. These steamed dumplings are always full of flavor and this recipe looks to be on point!

Char Siu Bao (Barbecue Pork Steamed Buns) – Mike and Molly’s House

This would be the ultimate. If we’re feeling brave enough, I’d love to make everything from start to finish. The barbecue pork, the yeast dough.. homemade pork buns would take the cake.

Mango Pudding – Eating Well

You can’t skip dessert on Valentine’s Day. This mango pudding would be the perfect way to end the meal.

And, of course, don’t forget to pick up your favorite sake, some Tsingtao and have a wonderful date night! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Food for Thought

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? Are you going out to dinner or staying in?

What I Ate Wednesday #22 – Election Day Eats

The day after a presidential election is always a good day. Whether you’re please with the result or not, I think we’re all glad the ads are over!

All politics aside, the day after election day means it’s time for another WIAW!

[Breakfast]
Poor, poor planning on my part of not requesting an absentee ballot, not changing my voting place to right down the street from where I live now as opposed to down the street from my parents house, and not attempting to vote early resulted in an early morning for this gal. Knowing this, I planned accordingly. Cinnamon overnight oats adapted from my Overnight Oats & Quinoa recipe made me quite happy while I was waiting in line to vote.

[Lunch]
Trader Joe’s has some awesome boxed soups. If you haven’t tried them yet, I’d highly recommend you get on it! I added some edamame and nutritional yeast* to my tomato and roasted red pepper soup. Delicious and full of protein!

[Dinner]
Thai red curry chicken with roasted broccoli, sweet potato, red onion, and turnip. I’ve become a big fan of Sharwood’s sauces and since finding a reasonably priced bag o’ garam masala, I’ve been looking forward to breaking out the Thai red curry. I’m happy to have leftovers 🙂

[Snacks]
A (not pictured) grapefruit in the morning and Gnu Espresso Chip Bar in the afternoon are added to the list. But the snack to top them all is my current favorite (clean eating) dessert. Vanilla greek yogurt with mini chocolate chips and peanut fluff (peanut flour*, stevia, & water). This has been satisfying my night time sweet tooth and has a good amount of protein to make it a great snack for after workouts. Sometimes when I need a little crunch, I top it with a few bunnies 😉

*I get my peanut flour and nutritional yeast from iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 for $5 off of your first order.

Look out Friday! I have a delicious treat coming for ya that I can’t wait to share.

And big thanks to FitSugar for sharing my Pumpkin Protein Souffle with Cream Cheese Filling & Frosting!

Food for Thought

Did you stay up all night watching the election results roll in or did you find out this morning?

I zonked out at 11, but woke up at 2am and checked twitter to find out. Because really, where else do you go to learn about current events?! 😉