Missing Sicily Already!

While I was down in Arizona I stopped at the Penzeys Spices store in Scottsdale. I absolutely LOVE Penzeys because the make truly the best spices I've ever used in my cooking. I'm on somewhat of a budget so I had to be selective of which spices I was going to purchase. As I was walking through the store I spotted the "Sicilian Salad Seasoning" and stopped for a whiff of the mixture. I was instantly in love, it smells like fresh Romano cheese! Of course I added it to my basket. After returning back to Utah I decided to try something yummy with the new found seasoning. This is what I came up with...

Sicilian Style Meatballs! They are clean eating of course. I ate the meatballs with a small side salad but the others in my family partaking in my new recipe are carb lovers and insisted they be served on top of pasta. But here is the recipe for the meatballs.

1 lb lean ground turkey. 1/2 cup brown rice bread crumbs. 5 tsp Sicilian Salad Seasoning. 2 egg whites. 1 tbs garlic seasoning. Mix all ingredients together and roll into meatballs. Pour approximately 2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil into a pan and cook the meatballs on medium, tossing them every couple minutes to brown all sides of the meatballs.

My taste testers loved the meatballs over bowtie pasta (bowtie pasta cooked to al dente then tossed with 2 tbs butter and 3 more tsp of the Sicilian Salad Seasonings). I prefer a lighter carb dinner so I ate them with green veggies. Either way, delicious! Also, if you don't want to order the spices from Penzeys (which you are crazy if you don't at least try their stuff), you can try to put something together yourself. The Sicilian concoction consists of Romano cheese, salt, toasted onion, red bell pepper, tomato, white onion, paprika, Tellicherry black pepper, thyme, rosemary, cayenne and basil.

Lookin Purdy!

I love the look of false lashes. They make me feel super pretty and with a pair of heels, I feel UNSTOPPABLE! So what's cooler than false lashes? Eyelash extensions duh. It's pretty popular these days, I have lots of friends who swear by them. I've heard a couple of drawbacks such as 1)the up keep is expensive and 2)if you decide to stop wearing them your eyelashes are sparse and take awhile to grow back. I've had fake nails before and I figure it's about the same thing, so I jumped in head first (pun intended) into the chair and got 'em done.

What do you think? I love them. So if you're thinking of getting eyelash extensions here are my pros and cons. Pros: Never have to apply eyeliner or mascara. Instantly look like a HOT LADY when you wake up. Less time getting ready in the morning. Cons: Cost. If you have sensitive eyes it's absolute torture getting them attached. Fill in approximately every 3-6 weeks.

Long Time Coming....

Ya ya ya, I know! It's been a heck of a long time since my last blog post. So much has been going on and to be frankly honest with you, I'm just too dang tired at the end of my day to blog (yep, my brain is shutting down early, around 9:30pm usually). I'll try to fill you in as much as possible in as short of a post as possible. So I'm back in the states. For the first 3 weeks Kellen and I were getting into a schedule of how our lives would be functioning for the 3 months we would be living in Utah while Mike is gone. The first couple weeks were really hard on me. Not only was I away from my husband, I was trying to get over jet lag, I was also taking care of baby Kellen who was suffering not only from the 8 hour jet lag but a horrible cold bug that lasted 5 days. Then to make matters even worse he started teething just days after he got over his cold. Those molars are BRUTAL. Needless to say I pretty much didn't sleep for 2 weeks. On the fitness front, I started a new lifting program. PHAT Training (power hypertrophy adaptive training). It's a linear periodization in which your incorporating both power lifting and hypertrophy training in your weekly lifting split. Let me tell you, my body is sore every day of the week. I'm doing this program for two reasons, 1) to get stronger and 2)to grow my legs. Well, its working! My legs are getting thicker and my strength has increased in my lower body. So week 3 of being in the states was great. I was finally sleeping and getting into a schedule. Then last week we had to change it for a brief time to go meet my new nephew Braden. We drove down to Arizona with a brief stop in Phoenix to surprise my Aunts, Uncle, and Grand parents! It was great to finally introduce them all to my son Kellen, whom they've only seen pictures. Then the following day we picked up my sister Audra and headed down to Tucson to finally meet my sweet nephew Braden. He is as cute as the pictures. He was so good while we were in Tucson too, one night he even let his mommy Tina sleep for 6 hours. Way to go Braden, keep it up. It was wonderful seeing my brother too. He is so loving to his son Braden. I even made a couple recipes for everyone while I was down in Arizona. After all, clean eating is a lifestyle so it doesn't take a vacation. I did allow myself a little wiggle room for a couple of my favorite cheats, the Sonoran Hot Dog & some Chino Bandido's. Sunday was my 6 year Anniversary with my husband Mike, which is the second time we have had to spend our wedding anniversary apart. Poo. I got a great gift in the mail though, a brand new camera bag! So now we are finally back in Utah again and finally back in my own bed (well, my own bed from high school as I'm staying at my parents house). I think I shall try to make cleaner versions of my favorites from the trip, a healthier Sonoran Hot Dog and my Chino Bandido's Jade Chicken Quesidilla.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ok, so these don't look the prettiest of all gnocchi but they sure taste good. And even my taste tester couldn't stop raving about them! Ingredients: 1 Extra Large Sweet Potato. 1.25 cups oat flour (you can make oat flour by putting your dry oats in a blender). 1 egg. Oregano, basil and salt to taste. Place sweet potato in oven at 400F for about 45 minutes, or until the center is soft (another option is to cook in the microwave). Remove from oven and let cool. Remove skin from the sweet potato and mash the flesh in a large bowl. Add oat flour, whole egg, and seasonings. Mix until just incorporated. Roll dough into long tubes then using a fork (or knife) cut into one inch tubes. Bring a pot of water to boiling and add 5-10 gnocchi at a time allowing to cook for 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to float. Fish them out and place onto plate to cool. I served them with a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese.

The dough.

My taste tester couldn't get enough of them!

Mocha Muffins

Mmm. I love me some Expresso. I'm going to miss going to the Bar in Italy mid day and getting that delicious Expresso after lunch. Or ordering my after dinner finishing touch of Expresso before getting the bill. This morning while Kellen was sleeping I got a little creative with the ingredients hanging around my kitchen and came up with this new, easy, simple and delicious recipe. 1.5 Cup Oats, 12 dates, 1 container Elinas Greek Yogurt (half cup), 1/4 cup cocoa, 2 tbs egg white, 2 Expresso shots, 2 packets Truvia (or 1 tbs raw sugar), 1/4 tsp baking soda, scant salt. Put all in a food processor and blend. I made three large muffins with this recipe. In the oven for 15 min at 375F. But time will vary depending on the pan/tin you use to bake.

Oldie But Goodie #3

Protein Truffles. Mix 1/2 c peanut butter, 3 scoops of vanilla protein powder, 1 1/2 cups of oats and a little water to moisten. Lay wax paper on a cookie pan and spread the mixture thin, refrigerate overnight. Next day roll mixture into small balls and place back into the freezer. While they are setting up again, set up the double broiler and melt the dark chocolate (or if you like milk chocolate). Set up another cookie sheet with wax paper on it while the chocolate is melting. Take the protein balls out of the freezer and start dipping them into the chocolate coating them well then placing onto the newly lined cookie sheet. Let cool.

Oldie But Goodie #2

Buon Giorno Breakfast Cake This is a higher protein, lower carb (and lower sugar) version of a Honey Cake. I had it for breakfast with a little cappuccino. Delicious.   1 1/4 Cup Oat Flour (can make this by putting oats in blender) 1 Cup Almond Flour 1 Cup Soy Flour 2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice 1 Tsp Baking Powder 1 Tsp Baking Soda 3/4 Tsp Salt 2 Cups chopped and peeled Granny Smith Apples 2 Tsp Orange Zest 3/4 Cup Egg Whites 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar 3/4 Cup Honey 3/4 Cup Coconut oil 1/2 Brewed Coffee, cooled     1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all three flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into bowl. Set aside. 2. In large bowl, beat egg whites fast with wisk for one minute, then add brown sugar, honey, coconut oil and coffee until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Fold in apples and zest. Pour batter into tube pan. 3. Bake 1 to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted near center of cake comes out clean. 4. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then loosen from sides and center. Invert on cooling rack, cool completely.