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Quinoa and veggie stuffed peppers

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DSC02515Happy Wednesday everyone!

I know I’ve done a poor job of giving updates on my #tfgbridal plan, but if you follow me on Instagram, you at least get more updates.

I’m skipping around a lot, and I still owe you all a post about the food at my Bachelorette party. And the juicing afterwards. But for now, I wanted you all to see what I made for dinner last night.

DSC02517Some recipes I try are great. Some not so much. This was a winner.

Kale, zucchini, quinoa & black bean stuffed peppers.

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Ingredients:

  • 1-2 handfuls baby kale (or regular. just be sure to not include stem)
  • 2 bell peppers (cut lengthwise in half)
  • 1 small zucchini (diced)
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
  • salt + pepper + paprika

Heat oven to 400F. Line cookie sheet with foil, place 4 bell pepper halves on sheet. In a large pan, add olive oil, sautee zucchini until soft. Add kale. Let wilt. Stir. Stir in broth and garlic. Cook for 1-2 mins. Remove from heat. Stir in quinoa, Greek yogurt, black beans. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Spoon mixture into pepper halves. Be generous! Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for about 25 minutes or until peppers are soft. Voilá!

Dessert was homemade almond butter. Didn’t realize making almond butter is so easy. Add almonds to blender, blend at low speed, be patient. And you’ve got almond butter! Nothing added! I will never buy almond butter again!

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As far as the bridal plan goes, my workouts have been as follows:

Monday: 1 hour vinyasa yoga

Tuesday: 2 mi run, .5 mi walk

Wednesday: will be 1 hour vinyasa yoga

I have been pretty good, but it’s hard to be perfect! I will say I got a craving for Swedish Fish last night…and satisfied that craving. Does anyone else get weird candy cravings?

Bon appétit,

That Foodie Girl

Homemade vegetable quiche

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Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Easter.

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Mine was different because I ended up sleeping through the church service I was supposed to go to with my aunt and uncle. Because of my oversleeping mishap, I ended up attending my church by myself. It felt strange, but I’m glad I got to celebrate Easter where I felt was most important. (my fiancé is out of town, too)

After church, I decided it was time to make brunch. Brunch for 1, please. Ok, just to let you know, Easter wasn’t all loneliness. I met up with family later in the afternoon for an Easter get together complete with little babies Easter egg hunting!

This was my very first quiche and I am very proud of it. I loosely followed this recipe, but ended up with my own version.

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I used my new KitchenAid mixer (my pride and joy) to make the dough for the pie crust (use a mixer if you have one!).

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Be sure to use your paddle, not whisk.

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Instead of pastry flour, I used 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup cake flour. I just didn’t have pastry flour on hand and this turned out beautifully.

When blending, be patient. It might look dry, but add tablespoons of cold water one at a time, waiting for each tablespoon of water to blend in. The dough should end up looking like this:

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Roll out the dough, ensuring it’s wider than the pie dish.

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It was difficult to pick up and place in the dish, so I ended up pressing the dough around to try to make it all even. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look that great. Once you’re done with that, pinch the edges to form a new edge. (tip: tuck the dough under along the edge) Then, press the dough into one of your fingers, making the cute zig-zaggy design. Completely professional instructions.

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Use any vegetables you have on hand…it made for a great fridge clean-out. I sautéed chopped red bell pepper and onion and added a few fistfuls of spinach at the end.

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Add the cooked vegetables to your pie…

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Prepare your egg/milk mixture. I used 7 organic cage free eggs and almond milk.

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Whisk it all up…

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And then pour in your egg/milk mixture, stirring to make sure everything is all mixed in. Add a bit of sea salt just for good measure.

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I added a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella on top, but not too much.

Cook for 40-45 minutes. It shouldn’t jiggle when you shake the dish, and it should appear slightly browned on top.

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Voila! You’re done! Allow at least 10 minutes to cool, then serve it up! Makes 8 generous slices.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did…

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

a few friday things

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Notice the new header? Big thank you to my twin brother Travis for designing it! The TFG facelift is still in progress, but this new header is a great start, don’t ya think?

I miss blogging.

Hello world. I am still here, and I know I say I’m going to get back into the blogging habit, but life has been full of a few things:

  • running a business
  • planning a wedding (only 4 months to go!)
  • yoga/running

But mostly the top 2 things on the list. I also got food poisoning last week from chicken I cooked…my fiance was feeling it too. It was a full weekend of feeling horrible, but that has passed and even That Foodie Girl gets good poisoning and doesn’t even want to think about food.

Here are a few images I will leave you with for the weekend:

blueberriesA delicious pre-yoga snack. Cold, ripe blueberries.

quinoa and eggsOne of the most delicious combinations of flavor and texture: quinoa cooked in cream of mushroom soup with diced bell pepper and zucchini. Topped with a fried egg and cracked pepper. This. was. incredible.

central market veggiesVeggies all around. Dallas people– this is at the Lover’s Lane location. You can choose as many fresh vegetables as you want and they’ll stir fry it or toss it into a pasta of your choice. I got the stir fry and it was very tasty.

And finally, my sweet baby cousin Pierce. He was looking at himself on my phone.

pierceHave a great weekend!

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

 

Our Christmas Eve

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Hi everyone! I wish I had more time to blog, but my excuse this time is that I was spending quality time with my family. And I had my fiancé here with us for our first Christmas together!

Let’s start with Christmas Eve.

DSC01545We spent the day running errands, last minute wrapping and baking, etc. We headed to church for the 5pm service and got back in time for a glass of champagne before dinner. The gifts began to multiply under the tree as the night went on.

DSC01548My sister and me after church on Christmas Eve. Please note the leaning angel…

This year I cooked Christmas Eve dinner, minus the turkey. My dad prepared the turkey. And I made sure to snap a photo of each dish.

DSC01583Side dishes included roasted asparagus,

DSC01560roasted sweet potatoes and onions,

DSC01558roasted brussels (are you starting to see a pattern?)

DSC01559quinoa broccoli bake,

DSC01579and a side salad of arugula, cucumber, honeycrisp apple & sliced almonds with balsamic.

DSC01561All in all, it was a pretty tasty meal. I decided to keep it mostly healthy this year with lots of vegetables and greens. Next time, I think I can try out some new recipes and get a little more creative. But for the time I spent, I’d say this meal turned out pretty well.

Do you eat out for Christmas Eve or cook at home?

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

anniversary dinner, crab apples and prosecco

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My fiancé and I got to celebrate our 6th anniversary a week late, but better late than never, right? We didn’t feel like getting dressed up and going out, so we opted for a cozy night in. We ordered a prosciutto and parm pizza from Fireside Pies with a (heaping) side of caesar salad. The pizza had wayyy too much prosciutto, but the caesar salad was the real focal point for us. It was delicious.

Props to Fireside for their generous portions of fresh ingredients. The caesar came with freshly grated parmesan…to die for. I found a chunk of fresh parmesan in my salad and gladly ate it atop a piece of crust.

The other focal point was trying this Santa Margherita prosecco. I love their white wine, so this was a treat. It was dry with a hint of sweet. That description came out of the mouth of Ryan.

The plan was to watch Dexter (how romantic), but unfortunately we found out that my AT&T plan didn’t have Showtime. Breaking Amish it was. And it’s so hard not to watch that show when it comes on. TLC, people.

Wondering about the crab apple portion of the headline of this post? Here ya go:

They look like cherries, but they’re hard like apples. Baby apples! I couldn’t resist taking a photo…buying…not so much. I do want to eventually try one. Found them at Whole Foods.

And finally, my training update.

This was yesterday’s morning run. It’s been so nice in the mornings—temperatures in the low 60′s!! Awesome. And the training schedule has gotten a bit ramped up with more mileage during the week.

Yesterday: 4 mi, 45 mins (did it in 43:18). Slow, easy breezy run.

Saturday: 7 mi run on the treadmill. It was pouring rain all day, so I forced myself to run on the treadmill. Ran it in 1hour2mins. Record time for me! 1.5 episodes of Revenge helped me get through those miles.

Friday: rest!

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

Fall time grocery haul

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Topping my list of things I’m most excited about for fall would be honeycrisp apples. And I know I’m a food blogging cliché, but I’m ok with that. Honeycrisp apples dipped in almond butter. Nowwww we’re talking. As you can see, my neighborhood is looking pretty green and the temperatures are in the high 90′s. Hard to feel like fall when that’s the case! Soon enough.

Another great part about fall is the pumpkins! Especially cute mini ones! I had never seen a white mini pumpkin, so you bet I spent too much on these at Whole Foods, but they make me happy.

It was time to get stocked up on the essentials at Whole Foods. And since it was a lazy Sunday, I enjoyed strolling each aisle and deciding to try some new things. I took a long time finding a cereal with low sugar and high fiber. These wheat squares have 0 sugar, and this morning I paired it with almond milk, sliced bananas and strawberries. It needed a little sweetening.

One of my other “new” items was this Elmo soup. Laugh it up, go ahead. But there’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of alphabet soup on a cool day. I’m waiting for that cool day to comfort myself but I seriously looked everywhere for alphabet soup. (I am 2 years old). It was on the bottom shelf. Perfect reach! For a 2 year old.

This combo sounded incredible..and it was. I don’t feel an ounce of bad about myself when I eat a square of dark chocolate. I read about food bloggers trying to fight chocolate cravings, but why not give in? There are worse things!! (like ice cream…that happened on Friday…and Saturday).

This is the most exciting product I picked up yesterday. I was so excited to see that my favorite kombucha (brewed in Austin, Texas!) Buddha’s Brew is now sold at my Whole Foods on Lemmon! I got 2 bottles of honeydew and let me tell you this kombucha is a TREAT.

For all you kombucha skeptics, you could hardly taste the vinegar aspect and you certainly didn’t notice any of those “cultured strands” you may be afraid of. It’s very sweet and tastes divine. My only problem with this particular flavor is that they added organic cane juice. I’d rather just have the kombucha + real fruit juice. But it’s so tasty, I don’t mind too much.

And to catch you up on my training:

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Ran 7 miles in 1:12!!! I was so proud of myself and I definitely felt it in my knees and ankles later that night.

Sunday: Rest Day

Today: I will be running 3 miles…most likely on the treadmill since it’s blazing hot out

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

A hearty breakfast

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This morning I woke up sore and starving. Welcome to training day #4.

Enter large first meal. I don’t usually wake up hungry, but this morning I was craving vegetables and protein.

See? There are veggies under there. I sautéed zucchini and orange bell pepper in coconut oil with a bit of sea salt and cracked pepper. 2 fried eggs on top for protein. Side of Seeduction toast (from WF) with a smear of Earth Balance.

Holy moly this red plum was the BEST fruit I’ve had all summer long. WF only had about 5 left and I snagged 3 of those. I don’t think I’ve ever had a red plum before but this thing was perfectly ripe, tart, juicy with a touch of sweetness.

This breakfast was the perfect balance. I could eat it again today.

So back to training. Last night I was very sore. Today is cross training day and I will be going to yoga in place of the elliptical. I hope yoga counts as cross training. It’s going to be a lovely stretch and sweat session.

What do you usually crave first thing in the morning? Sweet or savory? I usually have an internal battle every morning trying to decide what I want.

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

Whole Foods shopping cart

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Before I show you what was in my little shopping cart at Whole Foods, you must watch this video.

Ok, now that you’ve been enlightened, you will never look at the WF parking lot the same way.

I am very interested in what people buy at the grocery store. Even the checkout lady will ask me what I’m going to make with certain ingredients. I think it’d be interesting to see what everyone buys. So here’s my latest shopping load full of summer staples.

Yes this is for ONE girl. It’ll last me about a week if I cook every meal at home. From the left we have my produce. Summer produce is the best. Bananas (huge), nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, sweet potatoes, Texas heirloom tomatoes, avocado and zucchini. I find that when I fill my fridge with the good stuff, I only eat fresh produce.

Continuing, we have chicken and turkey, and these whole grain sandwich thins that make things a whole lot easier.

I ended up making a sandwich right after I got home, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Moving across my WF loot, I also picked up some plain Voskos. My favorite Greek yogurt for delicious berry and oat bowls in the morning. A dozen eggs because eggs are great on just about everything, cranberry juice and coco water.

And my packaged items. I love this Near East couscous, so I decided to get the WF brand lemon & herb flavored as well. I love treating it like rice and adding grilled veggies and sometimes an egg too. And the Stubb’s BBQ sauce, honey pecan. I’ve never tried this kind, but I can’t wait to marinate and grill chicken with it.

Finally, my favorite almond butter. Mmmm.

After leaving WF hungrier than ever, I put together this little (big) lunch:

Fresh produce special of the day. Turkey, spinach, heirloom tomato, avocado. Side of fresh nectarine slices. It was heavenly.

There’s nothing quite like fresh avocado.

What would you make with all those groceries? Today’s lunch was a HUGE salad.

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes

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These little babies were quite a hit at our 4th of July get-together if I do say so myself.

Meet the gluten free strawberry cupcakes, made from scratch. No gelatin, no box cake mix. Just pure goodness. Recipe came from A Dash of Sass. I added a pinch of baking soda, substituted rice flour for self-rising flour and nixed the red food coloring.

It was a great way to use the giant bin of fresh strawberries I bought on sale at Whole Foods!

For the 4th of July, we headed to the Belmont Hotel to hang out with friends. This was our view:

Great view, great weather, great company.

I even got to celebrate with Ryan despite his exhaustion due to being overworked as an investment banker.

So he took a nap and represented his patriotism while doing so. (and wearing 2 pairs of Ray Bans). haha.

What did you do to celebrate?

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl

A perfect Saturday morning treat

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You know it’s going to be a good weekend when your Saturday morning begins like this. At 11am. Sun is shining, coffee is brewing, and it’s time for waffles and a side of peanut butter of course.

Please excuse the missing bites out of this waffle..I was hungry. I was missing the maple syrup (new apartment…oops!), so I made my own healthier version of a sweet beginning. Waffle + plain Greek yogurt + blueberries + drizzle of honey. Oh and an occasional dip in the PB jar. It was so good and kept me full.

How did YOU begin your weekend?

Bon Appétit,

That Foodie Girl