My cousin was in town this past weekend and I wanted to cook for her as much as possible. It was great having her finally visit me at school before I graduate, but it was even more sad to see her go! Here are some things I made for her & more. The key to cooking for me is to make it fast and easy. I don't have a lot of patience/time, but I aim to make sure things taste good.
Breakfast:
Here I made my cousin nutella stuffed banana pancakes, drizzled honey instead of syrup and strawberries and bananas on the side. I always make sure to have loads of fruit readily available for snacking and adding to sides of dishes. Served with a cup of milk. If you're not making the pancakes from scratch I recommend using fiber one box brand. This may sound unhealthy with the nutella, but it's not! I just spread a thin amount of nutella on each layer of pancakes to get the sweetness I desire. You could also do the same with peanut butter.
I love, love, love eggs! I usually eat eggs at least 3-5 times a week for any meal/snack. I used to eat whole eggs, and then I tried egg beaters which I really didn't like. Last week, I bought egg whites and I absolutely love them. Here I sauteed spinach and then added egg whites and mango salsa and wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla. Egg yolks are high in fats and cholesterol so it's good to eat it in moderation. I sometimes use one whole egg and add egg whites to keep it balanced. Egg whites provide a great amount of protein with low calories, so I've been eating just egg whites recently.
After eggs, I LOVE cereal. I could easily eat 2-3 cups of cereal in one sitting, but in order to maintain portion control, I first cut up fruit and fill up my bowl at least half way. Then I add cereal on top and add milk. I usually eat Special K almond or Special K yogurt cereal or in this picture I have organic cinnamon crisps I bought from whole foods. This morning I also added a teaspoon of ground flax seed to it as well. I plan on doing a informational post on flax seed soon.
Lunch/Dinner:
Here for dinner I had a mahi mahi burger from whole foods. I ate it on whole wheat bread with mustard on one side and pineapple mango salsa on the other. Even though mustard with pineapple mango salsa may sound gross, I love mixing flavors because it makes a somewhat plain meal exciting!
Shrimp is probably the easiest "meat" to cook. It sautes in about 3-5 minutes on the stove top and you can season it however you like to your taste. As usual, I loaded up on veggies first and let them simmer for a bit, then I added the shrimp. In a separate pot I had 3/4 cup multigrain pasta boiling in hot water. Once the pasta is tender, I drain it and toss it in with the shrimp and veggies and it's ready to go! I spiced the shrimp well so once everything was mixed there was no need for pasta sauce which can add unnecessary calories to food. Sometimes when I'm craving something saucy, I just add 2 tablespoons of pasta sauce.
I made chicken shawerma the first night my cousin was here. I had hummus and pretzel crisps on the side as well as my favorite strawberry salad to start, which we actually ate after because we were so hungry. I had sauted onions and green bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and homemade cucumber sauce for the shawerma wrap. I again used whole wheat tortilla wraps. The chicken should be seasoned and can be grilled on a George Foreman grill or on a stove top.
Here was another easy pasta dish I made. I had shrimp with baby tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. Again I saute the veggies first, then add the shrimp and saute till cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Once the pasta is tender I add it to the shrimp and veggies. I topped it with freshly grated parmesan cheese and had yogurt on the side. I eat a lot of plain yogurt with most meals because it's great for your skin and it can even act as a sauce if you mix it up.
Here is a chicken tikka wrap from Maiwand kabob. If you live in the DMV area, I highly suggest you go try this ASAP if you already haven't. I had to make sure my cousin tried this while she was in town, it is the best chicken wrap I've ever had. I have a tradition of getting frozen yogurt after eating Maiwand, so that is exactly what my cousin and I did. Maiwand and Froyo makes me the happiest girl alive!
Snacks:
Apple cinnamon oatmeal with cut up strawberries. I always make oatmeal using milk because it obviously tastes better than water and I never cut short or watch how much milk I drink. When something is good for me, I don't ration the amount I eat of it. I drink fat free skim milk, but when I'm home my mom buys 2% which I'm okay with too.
Tuesdays are my long days, I leave my place around 9 and don't get back till 4:30, so in order to stick to my 3 hour eating, I took with me one of my pre-made nut mixes I showed in my previous post here: How to Eat Healthy I also brought an activia yogurt cup and a fuji apple for the next 3 hour eating time.
One thing I ALWAYS carry with me everywhere is my Pink water bottle. I drink as much water as I can throughout the day to stay hydrated and it's good for your skin. A trick to encourage you to drink water is to add flavoring water mix packets by companies like crystal light or propel. I drink plain water with all meals but to drink water throughout the day I use the packets. I refill this water bottle about 3-4 times a day and it's 32 oz which is 4 cups. It's recommended to drink 8 cups of water a day so by refilling this bad boy 3-4 times a day I'm getting double that. It's a great size and comes in many cute styles from Victoria's Secret, you can purchase it here: Pink Water Bottles
Hope this helps give you ideas on ways to eat healthy and still eat yummy!
-Hulu
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