Magic Bullet for workplace smoothies

I am growing to LOVE smoothies. Green smoothies, fruit smoothies, post-workout powerhouse smoothies and meal replacement smoothies (all are really meal replacement smoothies in my book!). The problem was that I could only enjoy them  at home. Like many of you, I spend a great deal of time away from home at this place called WORK and I really wanted to enjoy smoothies for lunch or for after a lunchtime workout. So I ordered a Magic Bullet to use in my office for quick, healthy smoothies during the day.

The Magic Bullet has several cups that you can mix your drinks in. Some of the cups are even microwavable and all of the cups are BPA free and dishwasher safe. For $49.99 from Target, you can invest in a blender that can help you stay on track with your nutrition (or off it if you so choose, see recipe book that comes with it)

Going Natural

I am my hair (at times), but other times, I am NOT my hair. My choice to go natural was probably one of the hardest things I’ve chosen to do and it’s not for why you think.

I’ve been wearing my hair short for years now. The difference now is I don’t comb relaxer through it. My go to look was blonde hair that was laid like Little Richard’s and I rocked the heck out of it. No muss, no fuss. Just wet and go. I always got complements and I felt really good about how I looked. There are not very many hairstyles where you can wake up cute!  About 2 years ago, I started hearing more about natural hair, not from anyone in particular, just smatterings of talk on social media, on public transportation and in black magazines especially.  Mostly what I gleaned from it was that natural chicks LOVE talking about “I don’t have a perm”  or “I haven’t had a perm in 3 years”. It was spoken as if it was a badge of honor. I really didn’t understand all the hoopla.

Berries, Berries and more berries in my SOTD

I have read about goji berries and their wonderful health benefits and decided to buy some. Paired with some strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, they would make a super berry anti-oxidant powerhouse smoothie. Here is today’s smoothie of the day (SOTD)

Goji Berry Orange Blast Smoothie

When life gives you tomatoes, make creamy tomato basil soup

I had an awesome haul at the Italian Market on 9th street in Philadelphia last Saturday before my birthday party. I stocked up on meats for the BBQ (for all the carnivores in attendance), fruit for the sangria, herbs for marinades, drinks and guacamole, and tons of veggies for the kabobs, greens, veggie trays, burger toppings, etc. I had such lofty goals, but when you’re at crunch time, some things just don’t go as planned. I bought a ton of beautiful tomatoes to be used for the burgers but I never sliced them. After I assessed the ‘damage’, I had a ton left.

During the week, I tossed some in to my post-workout smoothie of the day (SOTD), ate some on a baguette with mozzarella and basil, but there were still so many left. I wasn’t in the pizza mood and making pizza dough on a work night and waiting for it to rise is a drag, so the only thing left to do was to make soup! I am in love with a great hearty bowl of soup no matter the time of year. I found a great little recipe on Cooking Classy‘s web site and just tweaked it to what I had in my fridge and pantry.

Here is what I did:

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

• 2 1/2 lbs of large tomatoes (not sure of the kind)
• 1/2 lb of Roma tomatoes
• 2 garlic bulbs
• 3 1/2 tsp of EVOO
• 1 yellow onion ( 1 to 1.5 cups chopped)
• (1) 16 oz can of petite diced tomato (I didn’t have crushed)
• (1) 14 oz can of vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup of fresh basil, chopped. More for garnish
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese, for a cheesy topping
• Baguette (out of my freezer & reheated)

Once I gathered all my goodies, I pretty much followed the recipe from Cooking Classy.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put on a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Chop the tops of each bulb of garlic, place on a square of foil and drizzle EVOO on top. Close up the foil to make a little steam packet and place on oven proof pan. I used an old pie tin. Bake for 30 minutes. Set the garlic aside to cool. When the water boils, carefully add the tomatoes. I used a slotted spoon to get them into the pot to lessen the ‘plop’ and the ensuing scalding hot water splash that usually follows. Fill a large bowl with ice and water to prepare and ice bath for the tomatoes when they’re done. When the skin on the tomatoes begin to burst (3-4 minutes) remove them from the pot and place them into the ice bath until cool enough to handle. Peel tomatoes carefully then dice. Set them aside along with the juice.

Pour remaining EVOO into large pot until hot. Add onions and saute for 4-6 minutes until soft. Add peeled and diced tomatoes with the juice to the pot. Add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth salt, pepper, sugar, red pepper flakes and basil to the pot and stir. Time to peel and mince the garlic! Once the aroma has been thoroughly enjoyed, add it to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use an immersion blender * and puree until you’ve reached your desired consistency. I had a few chunky tomato bits here and there and that’s just fine. Add the cream cheese and half and half, stir until melted and mixed.

Serve topped with shredded cheese, chopped basil and grind some fresh black pepper on top & serve with your warm baguette.

*If you don’t have an immersion blender, use your blender and blend in small batches using care so as not to splash or burn yourself.

**Also, to lighten it up, omit the half & half and use almond milk or skim and use fat-free cream cheese. Or, to remove the ‘creamy’ leave both out and enjoy!

Simmering

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup is ready

Reheat Frozen Baguette

We have all done it, settled on a fresh baguette from the bakery section of the market, grabbed a bottle of wine and some good cheese before heading home after a long day. Sometimes you don’t get to eat it or the hubby has plans for dinner out. Well, instead of letting that crusty goodness go south, cut it up into 3 sections and put it in a freeze bag. Squeeze out the air and toss it in the freezer.

When you’re ready to use it, just take out what you need, preheat the oven to 325 degrees, spray the baguette with water and bake on a cookie sheet for 6-10 minutes until warmed through. You can also leave it out on the counter and let it thaw. Depending on how thick it is, it may take some time.

Enjoy!

Cut into equal portions & freeze.

Bringing baked goods to the gym… bad idea? Not for someone’s birthday!!!

I workout with a great lady on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s and as luck would have it, she was away on her birthday. I still wanted to give her a card the next time I saw her, but I also wanted to test drive this cute recipe I saw on Facebook. Betty Crocker has the cutest twist on regular old birthday cake, birthday cake cookies!

They took almost no time to bake. Just a box of yellow cake mix, butter, egg, milk, confetti sprinkles, icing and polka dot nonpareils. They bake in 10 minutes and once cool, a spoon of icing between 2 ‘cookies’ with a sprinkle of polka dot nonpareils around the sides, VOILA!

Post MJ workout Smoothie AKA SOTD

Monday morning SPINNING gets the blood pumping. I didn’t workout yesterday, so I really needed this to set me right. The regulars were in there ready for a sweat-feast as usual and I feed off of their energy. Today’s Michael Jackson playlist was enough to get the party started and trust me, they didn’t stop until they had enough!

No strength-training before class, but I burned 602 calories in 50 minutes. That included our warm-up and cool down and that’s totally on par with a normal class plus a few extra calories to boot. (Yay ME!). Today’s post workout smoothie had to be as kick a$$ as the MJ tunes we jammed to in class.