Spicy Meatloaf!! Just give it a chance!

Check it out!
I made my very own meatloaf!

Okay, okay, I know meatloaf isn't exactly what comes to mind when you think of tasty delicious wholesome food...it actually makes me think of some greyish nasty square thing with a side of mashed potatoish type mush.

But mine actually turned out!
It looks maybe a 3, but tastes like a ten!

 CLEAN EATING'S SPICY MEATLOAF

Ingredients:

Olive Oil cooking spray
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp chile powder
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
2 1/2 lb extra lean ground sirloin
1 cup organic catsup
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse onion, carrots, celery and garlic until finely chopped, about 10 pulses.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, chile powder, thyme, salt and black pepper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg. Add sirloin to egg and mix thoroughly with

your hands. Add oat mixture and onion mixture and mix with your hands until well combined. Spoon into loaf pan, smoothing top with the back of spoon. Place pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.

Prepare glaze: In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Remove meatloaf from oven and pour half of glaze over top, distributing evenly; reserve remaining half. Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes, until an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in center. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 8 equal pieces and serve with remaining glaze for dipping.

Nutrients per serving (1/8 of meatload and 1 tbsp glaze) Calories 267, Total fat 9g (Sat 3.5g, Mono 3.5g, Poly 1g), Carbs 13g, Fiber 2g, Sugars 2g, Protein 33g, Sodium 385mg, Cholesterol 114mg

Don't discriminate against the ugly foods! They taste just as good, so give em a chance!
~Princess

Falling Off the Face of the Earth

Wow!! I've been completely missing in action for the past week!
Exam week just seems to have that effect on me...
But despite the increase in work and stress, I've managed to keep my healthy eating and training on track! Probably because:

One thing that gives me more time to study is cooking less. Which means making large quantities of food at one time. Like casseroles! But no boring ones of course, or else those will just live at the back of your freezer until the end of time.

Spanakopita Casserole

Clean Eating

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 large bags fresh spinach (9 oz each) or 36 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 4 sheets whole-wheat phyllo dough (13 x 18 inches each; Try: The Fillo Factory)
• Olive oil cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pepper and onion and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add spinach in batches, waiting 2 or 3 minutes between intervals; cover tightly and cook, tossing frequently, for about 15 minutes.
2. Drain spinach mixture in a colander, removing any excess liquid, before placing it in a large bowl; set aside. When spinach mixture is cool, mix in dill, mint and egg white. Then fold in feta until well blended. Set aside.
3. Working quickly, roll phyllo out onto a clean work surface. Carefully cut each sheet lengthwise into approximately 4 3-inch-wide pieces. (TIP: Or cut each sheet in half lengthwise, then half each of the 2 sections again to create 4 equal pieces.) Place 3 or 4 strips across the center of a 1 1/2-qt or 9 x 9-inch casserole dish misted with cooking spray, leaving about 3 to 4 inches of excess hanging over on both ends. The strips should be overlapping slightly. Mist strips with cooking spray. Turn the casserole dish clockwise and place 3 or 4 strips across the original layer, at a 90-degree angle. Mist strips with cooking spray. Continue turning and layering until all strips have been used, about 4 layers in total, misting with cooking spray after each layer.
4. Spoon spinach mixture into center of phyllo-covered dish. Fold phyllo hanging over edges into the center of spinach mixture, covering the top (no spinach should be visible). Mist with cooking spray.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Let casserole sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.  TIP: Phyllo can be cut with a knife, kitchen scissors or a pizza cutter.

Happy Friday!
~Princess

5 Ingredient Clean Pizza

 Last night's dinner was a complete success! Delicious, healthy, and fast enough to throw together so I could have enough time to go watch the new twilight movie... and let me tell you, that movie was as intense as this dinner was tasty.

Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pizza

from Clean Eating

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 oz spinach leaves
• 1 14.5-oz can, no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 whole-wheat thin pizza crust
• 2 fully cooked, all-natural, deli chicken sausages, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
• 3 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)

PANTRY STAPLES:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• Ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium low. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Season with pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Place 1 cup tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer and press out as much liquid as possible. Spread tomatoes onto pizza crust. Top with spinach, sausage and mozzarella. Bake 10 minutes, or until sausage is lightly browned and cheese is melted. Rest pizza on a cutting board for 5 minutes, slice into 6 equal pieces and serve.

Nutrients per 1/6 of pizza: Calories: 230, Total Fat: 8 g, Sat. Fat: 4 g, Carbs: 25 g, Fiber: 5 g, Sugars: 3 g, Protein: 12 g, Sodium: 205 mg, Cholesterol: 25 mg 

Here's mine:

ummm... The burntish bits were on purpose... to celebrate the dark and mysterious movie I was about to see. 

Happy living, 

~Princess

Princess for the win!!!

The new issue of Clean Eating Mag is in!

 I could pretend to be normal and hold in my excitement, but life's too short.

In other news, 

GREEN TEA RICE CAKES?!

not sure whether to be impressed or sceptical...

I'll have my green tea loving boyfriend try them out first. That's what boyfriends are for, to taste test. ;)

Happy living, 

~Princess

Dinner the other night was truly fit for a princess! (It was partially eaten as fingerfood, but hey, princesses can do what they want.) I made an extra big batch, and saved some in my freezer with these cute labels:

Frugal Living

There was no chance I would forget to eat this fabulously delicious dish before it went bad, so freezer labels weren't really necessary...but they were multicoloured! So they were clearly essential :)

3 Cheese Stuffed Shells
With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 Straight from the cover of my fave magazine!

Ingredients:

Sauce
3 C chopped tomatoes
12oz roasted red bell peppers
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 packed cup whole parsley sprigs, roughly chopped

Shells
4 ears corn (or frozen bag)
olive oil cooking spray
30 large whole grain pasta shells


1 1/2 C low-fat ricotta cheese
3 oz goat
2 T fresh mint, chopped
2 T chopped parsley leaved or chives, plus additional for garnish
1 large egg, lightly beaten
fresh ground black pepper
3 oz 2% mozzarella cheese, grated

Instructions:
Prepare sauce: in medium saucepan, combine tomatoes roasted red peppers, rosemary, oregano, rep pepper flakes and black pepper.  Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Transfer to a blender and ass parsley.  Remove plastic center from blender to let steam escape, hold a towel loosely over top to prevent splatter or just let sauce cool completely before blending.  

Prepare shells: Preheat oven to 350F.  Cook shells according to package directions.  In large bowl combine ricotta and goat cheese, mint, parley, egg, and half of the frozen corn (11/2cups).  Season with black pepper.  Spread 1 C sauce on bottom of 9×13 baking dish.  Fill each shell with 1 rounded T ricotta cheese mixture and place in baking dish stuffed side up.  Cover shells with remaining sauce, corn and mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Garnish with parsley.  Enjoy!

Happy Living,
~Princess

My birthday!!!

Yes it is true! I am 19!!

And it is showing to be a wonderful birthday weekend so far.

I recieved some lovely flowers

 ...they're from a boy :)

I also went to go see a movie called "Crazy Stupid Love" with one of my best friends.

HILARIOUS!!! My new favourite.

 I'm also taking this long weekend to get prepped for my busy week ahead... my first full week of school, training, and life all mixed together!
I like to have some ready made meals in my freezer in case I have an extra hectic day, and get home with no time or energy to make a fabulous dinner.

I made some freezer meals based on this Clean Eating Magazine recipe:

Roasted Salmon and Summer Vegetable Feta Farro Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 cup farro
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 small head cauliflower, stemmed and cut into florets
2 medium yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. mustard
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 heads kale, tough stems trimmed, leaves torn into 2-inch pieces, rinsed and dried
8 oz. boneless, skinless salmon fillet
1/2 cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepot on medium-high heat, bring farro and 2 cups water to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Simmer until tender, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain, then spread farro onto a baking sheet and let cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 375.  In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, toss tomatoes, cauliflower, bell peppers, onion and garlic.  In small bowl, whisk mustard, vinegar, oil and black pepper.  Drizzle mustard mixture over top of vegetables and toss to coat.  Cover dish with foil and transfer to lowest oven rack.  Roast for 15 minutes, then remove foil and roast for an additional 15 minutes, until vegetables are soft and tender, yet slightly crunchy.

3. On a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet, spread out kale.  In a separate small baking fish, place salmon.  Bake kale and salmon on top oven rack for 15 minutes, until kale is crisp and salmon is cooked through.  Remove from oven and break salmon into large flakes.

4. Add farro and feta to roasted-tomato cauliflower mixture and stir gently to combine farro with juices from vegetables.  Divide among wide, shallow bowls and top with kale and salmon.

Nutritional Info
Makes 4 servings
349 Calories
11g Fat
42g Carbs
8g Sugar
9g Fiber
25g Protein  



I altered the recipe to fit my frozen meals, but it was more or less the same ingredients!

First the veggies

 Then the grains

 Then the salmon!

Happy long weekend everyone!
~Princess

Sweeeeet Potato

I've got a new favourite food! It's sweet potato!
Not only does it taste great, but eating it makes you feel like a nutrition celebrity, considering all the health benefits:

Note: You can read this next bit, or just skip to the yummy looking pictures/recipe ideas :)

-1 cup baked sweet potato contains 769% Of the Daily recommended intake of Vitamin A
-more potassium than a banana
- it also provides Vitamin C, Manganese, dietary fibre, and Vitamin B6.
-low in sodium, very low in fat and cholesterol

And now for the show! Sweet potato recipes for whatever the mood!

Feeling sweet? 
Sweet potato brownies (clean eating)

Feeling foreign?

Sweet potato falafel (101 Cookbooks)

Feeling traditional?
Coconut Cardamom sweet potatoes (Clean Eating)

Feeling adventurous?
Sweet potato pecan burger (Cooking light)

Feeling indulgent?
Sweet potato cinnamon buns (Healthy food for living)

Feeling... like you want waffles?
Sweet potato waffles (Wellsphere)

Oh, plus interesting fact:

Purple sweet potatoes DO exist. I knew it!

Happy living,
~Princess

I'm so excited, I got my new Clean Eating !!!!

No, I am not a normal 18 year old, but I never claimed to be!

The first thing I made was the Beefy zucchini rolls with fresh marinara and sweet potato wedges. It tasted so good! But it wasn't exactly...how do you say... nice to look at? I didn't cook the zucchini slices long enough for them to soften, so it was hard to roll them. I was too hungry to wait the extra five minutes! So I'll just show you the nice picture from the magazine, and pretend I made this one!

They did taste delicious though!

I truly love this magazine, this is a bit of a sneak peek inside it:

That last one is a healthy raspberry and brie flatbread! Who would have thought of that? Brilliant I say!

Happy living,
~Princess

I be a blogger!!!

Well I've finally done it! I've become a blogger! Well...maybe not quite. You can't call yourself a runner after you've run your first mile... but at least I've got the ball rolling!

I always spend my time reading blogs about baking, cooking, health, exercise, etc, and have always wanted to start my own. Hallelujah, I finally have! Hopefully this will be the start of a wonderful blogging pastime. In the future I will think back to this day and wonder aloud, "remember that fantastic Saturday morning when you stared your blog?! What an awesome day that was!!"  :P

So what shall my first post be about? hmmm... how about something that I absolutely adore?! Making dinner from my Clean Eating magazine!

Last night I made the most amazing guacamole fettucine. The recipe is straight from the July 2011 copy of the magazine. For those who haven't encountered Clean Eating before, it is a fantastic collection of healthful, simple, and tasty recipes, and is published every month. The magazine also has a website. The recipe is not vegetarian but can easily be adapted for a vegetarian diet with the omission of the beef strips, or substituting in sauteed tofu.

In fact, I used PC Blue menu meatless beef strips for mine. My family cringes at the mention of anything 'fake meat' like, but I enjoy it! Sorry mom!

However, this was the only change I made in the entire recipe.

Guacamole Fettuccine with Sautéed Beef Strips

• 8 oz whole-wheat fettucine
• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ lb sirloin beef, trimmed of visible fat and cut into ½ inch thick strips
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/3 lb Roma tomatoes, chopped
• ¼ cup minced cilantro for garnish, optional

Instructions:

One:  Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Prepare fettucine according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.
Two: In a large bowl, add avocado and mash into a smooth cream using a fork. Stir in lime juice, yogurt and salt. Set aside.
Three: In a large nonstick skillet on medium heat, sauté beef for 2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 5 more minutes or until strips are cooked through, turning occasionally. Drain beef and garlic in a fine-mesh strainer, then transfer to bowl with avocado mixture.  Add fettucine and toss.
Four: Divide fettucine mixture among 4 plates, then top each with a quarter of tomatoes and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Nutrients per 2-cup serving:  Calories: 365, total Fat: 10 g, Sat. Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.5 g, Carbs: 50 g, Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 3.5 g, Protein: 22 g, Sodium: 168 mg, Cholesterol: 30 mg

 It was so delicious!! I made a bit extra, and packed it up in serving size containers to freeze for a busy night when time to make dinner is a luxury I don't have. I downloaded these cute freezer labels from www.marthastewart.com to stick on my frozen dinners:

get the cute freezer labels HERE


I might have downloaded them because they will help keep me organized, or I may have done it because they are my favorite colour, green. Either way, I like them :)

Happy living,
~Princess