WIAW: White Bean Veggie Burgers

source

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

It's been a great week!  I'm enjoying this last bit of summer weather while dreaming of new fall boots and all the lovely things to come.

This week I decided to dust off My Fitness Pal app on my phone and count some calories.  I hope you see a difference from last week.

Mostly, I just need to stop eating so many treats, you feel?

Ok, let's go!

Breakfast: Spinach Omelet, Toast & Strawberries

The day started off right with 1/3 cup of egg whites, 1/2 cup of frozen spinach (cooked) with a little reduced fat cheddar on top.  Strawberries, wheat toast and pumpkin spiced coffee on the side.  Yum!
You like my new red table?  I guess you can't make the assumption that it is cute based on this picture, but it is.  Trust me.  When we finally get the kitchen remodel complete, I'll do some before and after pics.

Morning Snack: Nectarine & Almonds

For snack, I very shoddily cut up a nectarine and had a 100 calorie pack of almonds.  I really don't care much for natural almonds, I've decided.  I much rather prefer the salted and roasted kind.

Lunch: Leftover Healthy "Alfredo" Pasta with Chicken

Lunch was leftovers from the previous night.  I portioned out exactly 4 servings of the dinner and quickly put the leftover portions in containers in the fridge.  That way I can't go back for more bites!  I know myself ;)
Ok, so in the mix is whole wheat rotini pasta, frozen spinach, my healthy alfredo sauce and grilled chicken.  Pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.

Ok, so I have gotten so used to having sweets after both lunch and dinner (naughty!) that I've decided to replace most sweets with tea.  That way it gives me a little pick me up and completes my meals.

I had 2 mugs of green tea after I got back to the office.

This is how I feel when I drink alot of tea.

If you guys are on Facebook, check out the Bitstrip comics.  You can design your own avatar (doesn't that look exactly like me-LOL-I'm kidding) and there are a bunch of premade comics you can post.  Fun!

Afternoon Snack: PB2 & Graham Crackers

Ok, so I'm totally obsessed with eating peanut butter toast before I go workout.  I do it almost every day.  I did NOT do it Monday...but Tuesday (the day I take pics for WIAW) I was jonesing.
So, I found an alternative that is fewer calories.  Graham cracker squares with powdered peanut butter.
Powdered peanut butter is in no way nearly as delicious as regular PB, but the calories are like 3x or more lower (I'm not good at math).
You used to only be able to buy PB2 online, but I saw it at my Kroger the other day!  You mix the powdered PB with water to make a paste.  I added cinnamon to mine.

A pretty decent snack.
Then I prepped dinner to put in the fridge before heading to my boot camp workout.  It was a killer workout, indeed.

Dinner: White Bean Burger, Roasted Veggies

For dinner, I went totally veggie and roasted some cauliflower and green beans in the oven (for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees) and made some yummy burgers (I ate mine bunless, but you could add a bun if you like).

White Bean Veggie Burgers
makes 6 patties

1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained + rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained + rinsed
1/3 cup liquid egg whites
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 ear corn, cooked & cut from the cob
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed

Add the beans and chickpeas to a food processor with the egg, garlic, panko, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is just combined but also a bit coarse. Remove it and place it in a large bowl, then stir and mash in the corn and spinach. Form the mixture into 6 even patties.

Heat a large griddle and spray with non-stick cooking oil. Cook the patties (in batches, if necessary) on both sides until they are golden and warmed through, about 5 to 6 minutes total. Make sure to be gentle when flipping them, and make sure that both sides are brown and crispy.

recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is blog

After dinner, I had plenty of calories left to have a lovely sugar cone with 1/2 cup of frozen yogurt!  Yay!

I did drink some sleepy time tea later in the evening, but did not take a picture.

I'll leave you with a super sweet picture of Bizzy!

Check out my (healthy) buffalo chicken dip over at Endless Simmer today!!!  Perfect for football or any type of gathering!

Have a great rest of the week!

Grilling Tutorial: 10 Steps to a Perfect Pork Butt

I posted this super fun grilling tutorial over on Endless Simmer last week & thought it deserved a share over here on my own blog!

I followed my boyfriend's step-by-step process in creating the most flavorful, juicy pork butt and documented it.  And you know what?  Grilling is not that intimidating, after all!

You, yes you, can create a perfect pork butt (or any other type of large meat) with just 10 easy steps!  Try it out and impress your friends for the upcoming July 4th holiday.

(I believe this technique would work well with a pork shoulder or a beef brisket, as well.)

Step 1: Buy a butt

Look for a butt for however many guests you are feeding.   I think ours was 8 lbs and it fed approximately 15  people.  You want some fat on the butt, but not a huge sheet of fat, because then it will be super greasy tasting.

Step 2: Make a rub

We made a rub using this recipe.  It tenderized the meat and gave it amazing flavor.

You can even make a shaker out of a mason jar!

Step 3: Make an injection

An injection keeps the meat moist throughout the long cook time.  We used this recipe here, featuring apple juice!

You can find injectors in lots of stores, in a variety of sizes and materials.  We like this stainless steel one found on Amazon.

Step 4: Prep your butt the night before

To prep the butt, you squirt some spicy mustard all over the meat and put a healthy amount of rub on all surfaces of the meat, rubbing it in slightly.

Then, inject the meat in several different places with the injection recipe.

Wrap it in foil twice and put it in a plastic bag (to safeguard against any leaks) overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 5: Light your coals, set up your grill

Fill a chimney starter with coals and newspaper and light it up.  Get those coals smoking and then put them on one side of your grill.  On the other side of your grill, you should have a drip pan filled with 2 cups of water.

Optional—you can also add foil packs of soaked wood chips into the coal side, periodically, throughout the grilling process.

Step 6: Mind your temperature

Try to keep your grill temp at around 225 – 250F degrees.  To maintain the heat, you can adjust the chimney stack thingy on your grill (to make it cooler) or add more hot coals (to make it hotter).  You’ll most likely have to add more coals at least three times to keep a steady temperature.

Step 7: Make a mop sauce & baste the butt

A mop sauce adds additional moisture to your pork as it cooks.  So you have a double whammy, the internal moisture from the injection plus the mop sauce basting the outside of the meat.  Can’t go wrong with that!

Here’s our recipe for mop sauce:

1 cup of apple juice

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together and baste the pork butt with a grilling mop about once an hour.

Step 8: Make your own BBQ sauce

Store bought BBQ sauce is okay, but making your own sauce really seals the deal and adds your own unique, fresh flavors to the meat.

We used an award-winning recipe, found here (except that we omitted the apricot preserves).  Highly recommended if you like a tangy hint of sweetness followed by a kick of heat.

Step 9: Check your internal temperature

The internal temperature for pork is 200 degrees.  Use a meat thermometer, like this digital one, for accuracy.

Almost there!

Cook time varies by the size of your butt.  Ours cooked for 8 hours before it reached 200F degrees.

We placed the meat fat side up, so it basted the meat throughout the entire cook time.  We did not flip or rotate the meat.  It needed to do its own thing.

Step 10: Wrap your butt & give it a rest

Once your butt is within 5 degrees of 200, remove it from the grill (careful!  It’s hot!) and wrap in aluminum foil to rest for about an hour.  This will keep the meat very juicy and enhance all the flavors.

Check out that smoke ring!

After, that, shred your meat with a fork and serve.

And bask in the glow of your grilling victory!  Also, you may commence with the butt jokes.

Have a safe & fun Forth of July, everyone!

Endless Simmer Recipes from Me!

Hey, y'al!  If you read this blog regularly, you probably know that I've been blogging on the foodie site Endless Simmer for about 7 months.

I love coming up with creative recipes to post.  Usually on my own blog, I post healthier recipes that I eat in my daily life...but on ES, I am all about the splurge-y recipes ;)

So, I thought I'd give you a round up of all the recipes I've posted to date.  Scroll through and enjoy.  If you want to see the recipes, click on the name below each picture.

Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Smackaroons: Coconut Crème Kiss Filled Macaroons

Chunky Rosemary-Infused Hummus

Strawberry Snickerdoodles

Homemade Doritos Crunch Wrap

Spinach & Feta-Jalapeño Dip Turkey Burger

Mango Coconut Mojito

Crispy French Toast Strawberry Shortcake

1-Minute Sea Salt Chocolate Cherry Cake

Hawaiian Pizza Sliders

Grilled Rosemary Chicken and Potato Skewers

Cherry Berry Chiller

Stuffed PayDay Cookies

Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salsa

Attack of the Oreo…Cocktails!

Coconut Shrimp Meatball on Crostini with Fruit Salsa

Bourbon & Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes

Healthy Lobster Mac and Cheese

Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich…on a Stick

Shrimp Poboy Pizza

Weeknight “Gumbo”

Zombie Head Brownie Bites

Easy Zombie Brain Cheese Ball

Rustic Mushroom Tart

Creamy Veggie & Bean Soup with Homemade Rustic Rosemary Bread

Update: This posted yesterday :) 

Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Turkey Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Chicken Breast and Bacon-Wrapped Lamb Meatloaf

What I Ate Wednesday & Some News

It's time for another installment of What I Ate Wednesday~Veggie Edition ;)
If you missed last week's post, here it is: WIAW #1

source

This challenge comes from Peas and Crayons blog.

Breakfast Part #1: Butterscotch Breakfast Bread

I had a piece of whole wheat butterscotch breakfast bread with a smear of almond butter before 5 a.m. bootcamp (which totally kicked my butt today, by the way). This is a little recipe I came up with last week.  It's almost perfect.  I think I'll have to share it with you soon!  Baby the Cat photo bombed my breakfast pic again this week ;)

 Breakfast Part #2: Veggie Omelet, Bacon, Iced Coffee

Gotta get my protein on after all that strength training & cardio.  I know this omelet looks messy, but it was quite yummy.  I sauteed about a cup (or more) of fresh spinach until in cooked down, threw some diced tomatoes on top, then added a sprinkle shredded Parmesan and 1 egg and 1 egg white.  I also had 2 pieces of microwave bacon.  Oh, and iced coffee of course.  I brewed up some of Dunkin Donuts strawberry shortcake coffee (sounds gross, but makes a great iced coffee) and let it cool, then added ice, Equal and almond milk.  Drinking from mason jars is classy, in case you didn't know.

Mid-Morning Snack: Banana

After talking on the banana phone, I peeled and ate this fruit for a snack.  Yes, I am crazy for posting this pic on the internet.  Take me as I am, ya'll.

Oh, and please note that this is the first time in a while I haven't worn work out clothes to the office.  Just sayin'.

 Lunch: Salad with Veggies & Protein

After running some errands at lunch, I was back at the office to eat my salad.  This bowl contains romaine lettuce, matchstick carrots, diced tomato, sliced cucumber and a leftover piece of stuffed chicken (stuffed with cheese wedge, ham and spinach) from last night.  No hummus dressing today.  I finished the last of the Caesar dressing.

You know how some days you just crave a salad?  Today was not that day for me.  The salad was good, but I felt sort of eh about it.  I did manage to shove all those veggies in my face, despite my ambivalence. 

Oh, after lunch I needed some black tea and dark chocolate eggs.  It was a need, people.

Yes, I had two.  Don't judge.  I had to keep up my strength for all the paper shuffling ahead of me (note: everyday I'm shuffling).

Dinner: Quinoa, Smoked Salmon, Brussels

Things were kind of crazy busy this afternoon, and I did not have time for a snack.  Needless to say, by the time dinner rolled around I was star-ving.  A true hungry monster ;)  Luckily, dinner came together in about 20 minutes.  I cooked some quinoa in the rice cooker, roasted some brussels sprouts, then tossed in some smoked salmon and goat cheese.  Super healthy and yummy in my tummy!

Dessert: Giant Frozen Oreo

Ok, not really.  It's a chocolate graham cracker with fat free cool whip that I tossed in the freezer about 2 hours before consuming.  It seriously tasted like a giant frozen Oreo, though.

Now that I've bombarded you with my day of eating, I thought I'd let you know that I am now a contributing  writer at a totally awesome food blog called Endless Simmer.

They will be featuring some of my original recipes each week.  Check out my first post here:

Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon and Goat Cheese Quesadilla (not a typo!).

Also, I fixed the comments on the blog by randomly clicking stuff (that's also how I play video games), so I can now respond to comments!  Hooray :)

Have a nice rest of the week!