Creamy Garlic and Herb Peas

There's really not a lot that is attractive about the little green peas that you used to feed to the dog or throw at your brother. However, these little guys are filled with antioxidants, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Green peas are a great source of heart-healthy fiber and folate, energy generating vitamin B-1, and bone building vitamin K. They are also full of the immune supporting antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc, as well as the anti-inflammatory nutrients of omega-3 fatty acids.

Here's a recipe that hopefully makes them easier to take in!

Creamy Garlic and Herb Peas

2 cups frozen green peas
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 wedge Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb
Salt & pepper to taste

Sautee onions until tender then add frozen peas.

In 1/2 cup of water, bring peas to a boil in small sauce pan. It's best to use as little water as possible and cook until the peas are done to your satisfaction. Do not thaw peas first. Do not overcook or peas will be mushy.

Drain any water that is left and add Laughing Cow wedge. Reduce heat to low and stir until cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper (you'll need it).

I won't judge you if you want to add an extra wedge of cheese :)

Okra and Tomatoes

When I told my mom I was making okra and tomatoes, she instantly said, "gross!" After a second, I realized that she thought I would be making fried, breaded okra with tomatoes because, well, that's how we make okra in the South. While, I do love me some fried okra dipped in heaps of ketchup, I also love unfried, unbreaded okra in heaps of stewed tomatoes.



Okra is full of fiber, vitamins A, C, and B6, large amounts of calcium, zinc, riboflavin, folic acid, and iron. It's also low in calories and fat free! There's really no reason to ignore this vegetable.

Okra and Tomatoes

1 bag frozen chopped okra
1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 can stewed tomatoes, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian spice blend
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper
1/8 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

In a slow cooker, add all ingredients and cook on low for 2-4 hours. Stir occasionally. Serve over brown rice.

You can also cook this on the stove top in a large pot until onions and okra are tender.

Interval Training

Have your workouts become monotonous? Do you feel like you're doing the same thing and not seeing results? Well, that's how I've felt for awhile. Lately, I've started adding high intensity intervals (sometimes just intervals minus the high intensity) and it seems to make the workout go by quicker. Also, after the workouts, I feel like I've worked a lot harder than if I was doing my normal 30-60 min run at my turtle-like speed. Seriously ya'll, I think a turtle could beat me! God gave me endurance, but he missed me when he handed out speediness.

High Intensity Interval Workouts (HIIT) make a lot of sense. Think about a car. A car gets better gas mileage when it's on a highway, going at the same speed for a long period of time--meaning it's probably not working as hard if it was in stop-and-go traffic for that amount of time. Now, think about your body. Your body has to work harder, thus burning more calories when it has to work hard, then slow down, then work hard again. Think about your heart rate as you think about the speed of your car. When you speed up your car, it burns more fuel, just as your body burns more calories when it speeds up it's heart rate.

I do most of HIIT training on the treadmill. I like to use the incline to do intervals, as well as doing sprint intervals. This really seems to get my heart rate pumping! WebMD has some great interval workouts that you can check out by clicking this link.

Roasted Squash and Tomatoes

Yellow squash seems to be fervent this summer. After a few trips to mom's house, I had ended up with about 5 small squash. Looking in my fridge I had some grape tomatoes that were on their last leg and a half of an onion. Together with some spices and cheese, I put together a beautiful summer meal! You could use this as a side dish or a main dish, whatever your little squash loving heart desires.

Roasted Squash and Tomatoes

4 small squash (or about 4 cups sliced)
1/2 medium onion
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Lemon Pepper, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
Salt, to taste to taste
Old Bay seasoning, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice squash and onion (I like to leave my onion slices in big chunks). Cut grape tomatoes into halves.

In a baking dish or pan, spray cooking spray and layer vegetables. Coat vegetables with cooking spray and sprinkle with a generous amount of seasoning. Shake the vegetables around. Place the pan of vegetables in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Take the pan out, sprinkle cheese on vegetables and cook 3-5 more minutes until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Pinto Corn Chili

It's not soup. It's now stew. It's not really chili. We'll go with chili.

I, being the frugal person that I am, always check out the Manager's Special bin at Kroger. Why not? There's no shame in wanting to save a little cash money. My favorite finds are always the dented canned foods, which reminds me of the movie Big Daddy where Adam Sandler makes his new found son throw cans on the floor to purposely dent them.
You can get good canned items for roughly 50 cents!Somewhere along the way I ended up with a can of Luck's Mixed Beans with Pinto and Great Northern Beans and a can of corn from the Manager's Special bin. Checking out what I had in my pantry and fridge, I came up with the concoction below that turned out to be very delicious and hearty!



Pinto Corn Chili

1 can Luck's Mixed Beans with Pinto and Great Northern
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
2 links Johnsonville Chipotle Monterrey Jack Chicken Sausage
1/2 cup frozen spinach (you can also use fresh)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Red pepper to taste

In a large pot, mix beans, corn, spianch and diced tomatoes. Add spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

Slice the the chicken sausage into rounds and add to mixture.

Cover and let simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Serve in bowls with cheese or sour cream...or neither...whatever you like!

Make this dish vegetarian by using Morningstar Sausage links and meat free Pinto Beans.

When To Buy Organic

Organic. We hear this word getting thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? Organic food is food that is produced without pesticides and chemical fertilizers, does not contain genetically modified organisms, and is not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

These days, the average American can hardly afford to keep food on the table, let alone buy all of their produce from the organic section of the grocery store. While the benefits of a diet high in fruits and vegetables far outweighs the risk of chemical and pesticide exposure from non-organic produce, there are some produce items that are higher in such chemicals and we are able to determine which ones are worth the little extra cash.

When buying produce, I always stress buying local. Buying from your local Farmer's Market is a win/win for everyone. You benefit from fresh fruits and vegetables. The farmer's benefit from your purchase and the environment benefits from not having the produce shipped thousands of miles across the country. Also, produce is usually cheaper at the Farmer's Market, which is always a plus. You can find your local Farmer's Market at www.localharvest.org.

The following fruits and vegetables have the highest amount of pesticides and are recommended to buy organic:

1) Apples
2) Celery
3) Strawberries
4) Peaches
5) Spinach
6) Nectarines
7) Grapes
8) Sweet bell peppers
9) Potatoes
10) Blueberries
11) Lettuce
12) Kale/collard greens

You can get the full list here.

Bourbon

A conversation with my good friend Ryan (check out his blog, a Gentleman's Journal) prompted me to write this post. Since living in Kentucky, I've grown to like, ok love, Bourbon. Yes, it should always be capitalized. It's a proper noun.

Mom and me at the Woodford Reserve Distillery

While those native Kentuckians may shoot me down for watering down my Bourbon, I've come to find a way that it goes down smoothly in the form of a nice cocktail without adding any calories to an already low calorie whiskey.

Here's the calorie counts of whiskey, in general:
1 fl oz 86 proof = 69 calories
1 shot 86 proof = 105 calories
1 fl oz 94 proof = 76 calories
1 shot 94 proof = 115 calories

Bourbon Lime Cocktail:
Pour 1 shot (or more) Bourbon over ice, add water and lime juice. Voila!

Essentially a cocktail for 105-115 calories!



How do you like your Bourbon or whiskey?