For Eaters

Aka, my favorite recipes.

I will try anything at least once. I try to be a healthy eater, but I am human (and a woman to boot) and am not adverse to a yummy dessert (hopefully in moderation). I am a carnivore, but love my vegetables and often find myself eating "vegetarian" for days. I am environmental conscious and do my best to eat sustainably and in season. I am a recent college grad and definitely have a tight budget and always look for good deals on those good eats out there. And above all, I love to experiment! I love finding new recipes, seeing something yummy on the Food Network and trying to recreate it, or just throwing some delicious ingredients into a pan or pot and putting together one fantastic meal!

Enjoy, and in the words of the great experimenter Julia Child, "Bon Appetit"!

A Real Dinner
I admit to shamelessly swiping this recipe from a cousin's Facebook page...sort of. A picture describing her traditional Day-After-Christmas lunch inspired me to do a little searching to find the recipe. This is simply perfect for a cold evening when you're in the mood for something downright delicious...and healthy!

• 3 or 4 Portobello mushrooms, stemmed (reserve 1C minced stems)
• 24oz Italian sausage (a mix of hot and sweet is good), or you can sub Turkey sausage if you're watching your figure!
• 1/2C minced onion
• 1/2C minced green bell pepper
• 1/2C minced spinach
• 1/4C minced celery
• A couple cloves worth of minced garlic
• 2Tbsp fresh pesto (I personally like to make my own if I have time)(You can toss in a little extra Parmesan, too)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly rub each mushroom with olive oil.
Cook sausage until browned (about 5mins). Add diced veggies and mushroom stems until soft (about 3 or 4mins). Remove from heat.
Transfer the above mix into a food processor. Add all other ingredients and pulse until everything is finely chopped and begins to blend (about 30secs). Add the egg and stir until well combined.
Divide the filling among the mushroom caps. Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet. You can also throw a few bread crumbs on top (mix with a little egg white first to keep things together).  Bake mushrooms until golden brown on top and the mushrooms are tender (about 15-20mins).
Okay, now I'm hungry!

Sneaky Breakfast
I was in the mood for a smoothie this morning. Lacking a sufficient quantity of good fruit and feeling a little shameful for avoiding my vegetables lately, I threw together a concoction that took me through breakfast and lunch with a burst of good vitamins, incredible energy, and without major cravings. Please bear with the inexactness of this recipe, I quite literally threw things together until it tasted yummy!

• 2 kiwis (skinned)
• A Handful of strawberries
• 1 small/medium banana
• A Handful and a half of baby carrots (might want to coin these first as I wound up with a few chunks at first)
• A small palm (a little more than a Tbsp) of flax seed (preferably milled)
• 1 container of fat-free Yoplait mixed berry yogurt

 Of course there are lots of other things that could go in here. The smoothie was a little tart, and mine originally had far too much flax (I've fixed that issue in the ingredients above), but all in all it was the perfect start to my day. And with a little peanut butter bread at lunch for some good old fashioned carbs and protein, I was set for 5 hours babysitting and my evening spinning class with Lance Armstrong's evil twin!
Enjoy!