Bento Love

Guys, I'm head over heels for a four dollar lunchbox.

If you haven't heard of a bento box, it is basically just a little lunchbox with dividers based on Japanese Bentos.  This lovely invention has changed the way I look at lunch.

Lately, I want my lunch to be pretty.  And colorful.  I don't just throw a bunch of random stuff in my lunchbox.  With my bento box, I like to have a plan.

So without further ado (because you know I'm all about the ado), here's some examples of my bento creations as of late:

turkey, spinach roll up with guacamole/leftover veggies/strawberries

spaghetti squash with black bean & corn salsa and grilled chicken, broccoli & berries

turkey, cheese, wheat crackers, carrots & hummus and some cherries

spring mix, asparagus, reduced fat feta cheese, hardboiled egg with balsamic vinaigrette/ watermelon/cinnamon Teddy Grahams with strawberry cream cheese for dipping

almond butter and banana on wheat bagel thin/cherries and nectarine slices/cucumber spears (and you know I'll have some hummus on the side)

light chicken salad, wheat crackers/broccoli/mango chunks and half of a pumpkin (Paleo) muffin w/ some strawberry cream cheese

leftover sausage, veggie hash with feta/cherries/chocolate Teddy Grahams and a dark chocolate square

Hopefully I've given you some fun, new lunch ideas.  If anyone has any suggestions for me as to what to add to my bento box lunches ('cause I'm starting to run low on ideas), I would love to read them in the comments section!

Sort of Skinny Cheese Stuffed Taco Burgers

Happy Friday, bloggy readers!  I got a good one for you today.

This recipe is way too good not to share, despite my hastily taken photos ;)

What?  I was hungry (shocking, I know).

I make lunch over at my parents' house for the family often on Sunday afternoons.  My cheese stuffed burgers are usually requested.

I do have a bit of a secret about these decadent burgers.  They are kind of low fat.  I think I'll keep it to myself and just accept the compliments about the burger in all its deliciousness.

So, I took my basic recipe and vamped it up a bit to make a sort of skinny cheese stuffed taco burger.

This burger was inspired by this incredibly unhealthy looking burger that I pinned on Pinterest a while back: Taco Burger.

Sort of Skinny Cheese Stuffed Taco Burgers
makes 6-8 burgers (depending on how big you want them)

For the burgers:
1 lb extra lean ground beef (90-93% lean)
1 lb 85% lean ground beef
2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Lauging Cow cheese wedges (I used the new queso fresco & chipotle flavor)

Mix your two meats together with your hands, add in the taco seasoning and worcestershire sauce and combine.  Patty 6-8 burgers and make them really, really thin.  Cut a cheese wedge in half and sort of roll it in a ball.  Place cheese in the middle of super thin patty and fold the patty all around it (making a little pocket).  Smash it down with your hand to make it the size you want it.  The cheese will stay in tact if you are careful ;)

Fire up your grill; I prefer using gas for these burgers.  Put the grill on medium high heat and cook the burgers to your liking.

For assembly:
light buns (we used the Whitewheat brand)
guacamole (I used the 100 cal packs--1/2 a pack for each burger)
salsa
lettuce
taco chips

Assemble your burger by layering bun bottom, guac, burger, lettuce, salsa, crunched up tortilla chips & bun top.

Sooooo good!

See the cheese?  It's calling your name.

WIAW: Sensible Snacking & Salmon Steak

Happy mid-week, y'all!  Time for What I Ate Wednesday!

Well, Jenn over at Peas and Crayons challenged everyone to focus on sensible snacking for June WIAW posts.

I actually did not know about said challenge until after I took all these pics of my eats, but I think I nailed it.

We all know I'm good at snacking!

Mostly sensibly ;)

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Breakfast, Part 1: Muffin

I actually only ate half of this muffin before 5 a.m. boot camp workout (but I wanted to show you a picture of the full muffin).  It is a Paleo pumpkin-walnut muffin with toasted coconut (leftover from my cupcakes posted Monday).  I slightly modified Tina's recipe from Carrots 'N' Cake (click over there to see it).

Here's the half I ate.  The muffins are really dense and not very sweet (which is not a bad thing at all).

 Breakfast, Part 2: Smoothie and More Muffin

I ate the other half of the muffin, smeared with a little Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese, cinnamon coffee with fat free Reddi-wip & a big ole smoothie.  My smoothie contained: 1 cup almond milk, 1 frozen banana, 5 strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder.  It was so filling and delicious ;)

Mid Morning Snack: Bar

I saw this new bar at Target yesterday and decided to give it a try.  It's pretty tasty.  Kind of gummy in texture with big flakes of toasted coconut.  It is dense and filling, so that's a plus.  I think I'll stick with my Luna bars, but it is always good to try new things!

Lunch: Bento Box of Yum 

I've been really into making my own cutie bento box lunches since I found some very inexpensive boxes at a new farmers' market in town.  Today's lunch contained a salad of spring mix lettuce, steamed asparagus, reduced fat feta cheese, hardboiled egg and a little balsamic vinaigrette (added later).  I also had some watermelon (surprise, surprise) and some cinnamon Teddy Grahams with strawberry cream cheese for dipping (a match made in Heaven).

 Afternoon Snack: Fruit & Nuts

Roasted almonds and mandarin oranges made it in my tummy in the late afternoon.  Gotta make it to dinnertime without getting the crankies!

Dinner: Salmon Steak

Dinner was fresh and summer-y.  I was going to grill this salmon steak, but I got out to the grill and realized we were out of propane (Does anyone else think of Hank Hill when they hear the word propane...and propane accessories?).  So, I whipped out the cast iron and made some magic.

Salmon Steaks

serves 2

2 salmon steaks

Marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar (I used roasted garlic flavor)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine ingredients and marinate the salmon steaks for 30 minutes to an hour.  Season the steaks with salt & pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Start with the cast iron skillet on the stovetop, heat to medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Once pan is smokin' hot, put the salmon in.  Cook until each side is seared (about 3 minutes per side), then put in the oven for another 4 minutes or so.

I enjoyed my steak of salmon with an ear of fresh corn and a tiny, yellow potato that I later seasoned with salt and topped with feta.

Dessert: Fro Yo

Probably my second favorite frozen yogurt was on sale this week for half off!  You better believe I grabbed two cartons.  I actually ate 4 spoonfuls of this standing in the kitchen.  It was quite lazy and unhealthy of me and I apologize.

Ok, I don't.  It was quite delicious.

I spent some time after dinner & dessert concocting a new skinny drink to post over at Endless Simmer.  It's a winner, so be on the look out for it!  **Update: my Skinny Mango Coconut Mojito is posted over at Endless Simmer~check it out.

That about does it for today (food wise anyways).

~~~~~

A little update on that stupid Runners' World running streak challenge.  I crapped out after 5 days!  It's hard to run back to back like that!  Well, I can't feel too bad about it.  I'm still getting my fitness on and trying to sneak some runs in there ;)

Oh, well.  Nobody's perfect ;)

Have a lovely rest of the week!

Want more?  Check out some more What I Ate Wednesday posts:

WIAW #1

WIAW #2

WIAW #3

WIAW #4

WIAW #5

WIAW #6

WIAW #7 

WIAW #8 (last week's)

Mocha Coconut Frappuccino Ice Cream Cupcakes

I’m okay with the fact that these cupcakes are lopsided.

I don’t mind that they are not perfect.

I’m okay with the reality that I went to exercise class with a streak of coffee ice cream down my arm.  No biggie.

It is really alright that I went to the store specifically for a homemade cupcake recipe I carefully concocted only to come home and realize that I was out of cocoa.

It’s actually pretty wonderful, because using a cake mix as a starter is always welcome in my book.

It’s cool, because life is not perfect.  So my cupcakes might not look perfect, but they sure do taste it!

So, you know what happened that inspired this recipe?  Happy hour happened.  I’m not even talking alcoholic happy hour.  I’m talking about that blessed week or two in May when from 3-5 at Starbucks, frappuccinos were half off.  I don’t usually buy fraps, because they are kind of pricey.  Especially when you add extra money for soy milk and extra espresso…

Ok, so I had the mocha coconut frappuccino more than once and have been craving that flavor ever since.

And what could be better than ice cream cake based on a coffee drink?  Ice cream cupcakes based on said drink!  Cupcakes are portion control in a cute little package ;)

Mocha Coconut Frappuccino Ice Cream Cupcakes

makes 6 cupcakes

You will need coffee flavored ice cream or frozen yogurt for the middle of the cupcakes.  I used Haagen-Dazs coffee flavored frozen yogurt.  Soften it on the counter before scooping it into the cupcakes.

for cupcakes:

1 cup devil's food cake mix (I used sugar free)

1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

1/4 cup liquid egg substitute

1/4 cup toasted sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray 6 muffin tins with non-stick spray.  Mix these ingredients together and scoop into muffin tins.  Bake for 20 minutes.

for coconut buttercream frosting:

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (aaah! I was out of butter, too & used margarine.)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp coconut extract

2-3 Tbsp milk

1/2 cup toasted, sweenened flake coconut for topping

Combine all except coconut.  Smear onto ice cream filled cupcakes & top with coconut flakes.

Assembly: Cut each cupcake in half horizontally, add coffee flavored ice cream or froyo in the middle.  Frost with frosting & top with coconut.  Store in the freezer.

I toasted my coconut in a skillet I sprayed with non-stick spray over medium heat until brown.  Easy peasy.

See, I don't even care that this is the world's worst picture that defies all picture editing.  I just had to show you the ice cream in the middle!

Have a great day, y'all & embrace those imperfections ('cuz sometimes they're delicious)!

BLT with Baked Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes are popping up all over town.  Well, in the stores and farmers' markets, anyways.

As much as I love a good fried green tomato, I bread and bake mine & it is way healthier ;)

So this is a hardcore BLBGT (bacon, lettuce & baked green tomato sandwich) and is not a "healthy" sandwich, per se...but it's a nice treat to have a big ole sandwich like this occasionally.

BLT with Fried Baked Green Tomatoes

serves 4

1 package bacon, cooked

2 green tomatoes

bibb lettuce

texas toast (or regular bread)

seasoned bread crumbs (I used Italian flavor)

panko bread crumbs

liquid egg substitute

salt & pepper

Slice your tomatoes.

Salt & pepper those little pretties.

Get some shallow bowls ready, one with some liquid egg and one with a panko/breadcrumb mixture.

Dip the tomato slices in the liquid egg, then in the breadcrumbs.

Bake on 425 for about 15 minutes, flip 'em over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Assemble your sandwiches with toast, cooked bacon, lettuce and baked green tomatoes.  Add some mayo on there if you like ;)

Speaking of yummy things, I posted this week about the best turkey burger of my life over on Endless Simmer.  Click on the link below the picture to get the recipe!

Spinach & Feta Turkey Burger

Have a great weekend!

WIAW: Just Shy of a Bucket of Tea

Do you know what time it is??

It's time for:

source

Yay!  So exciting.  

Ok, so I find posting pictures of food that I ate exciting.  It's the little things, folks.

Breakfast, Take 1: Cottage Cheese

I grabbed these individual cottage cheese cups at the store this week & decided to have one before this morning's 5 a.m. boot camp.  I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but I wasn't feeling it.  I ate half the cup and tossed the rest.  Maybe I just wasn't in a cottage cheese mood?

Well, after some super intense strength training (ouch) and core work (ouch, again), breakfast redeemed itself.

Breakfast, Take 2: Waffle w/ AB & Mini Smoothie 

I had one of these super yummified (What?  It's a word.) Van's lite waffles toasted, then smeared with almond butter, some coffee & a lil' smoothie.  My smoothie had half of a frozen banana, 4 frozen strawberries, 4 or 5 frozen peach slices, 1 cup almond milk and half a scoop of vanilla protein powder.

Then a few hours later it was one of my favorite times of the day!

Snack time!

Oh, fun fact for you.  I used to have a Garfield wristwatch and instead of the hours, it split the days into breakfast, snacks, lunch & dinner.  I wish I could find that thing!  I'd still rock it.

I tried to open my eyes alot in this picture to look less tired.  I'm not sure it worked.

 Mid Morning Snack: Fruit & Nuts

I had a super shiny Jazz apple (tasted nothing like jazz, though) and some almonds.  I forgot to bring my knife to work (Whoa~what a weird thing to say!  Sounds like I work in a sketchy part of town.) and had to eat my apple whole, instead of slicing it (which is my preference).

Lunch: Salad

It probably looks like I eat alot of salads for lunch.  I kind of do during the hotter months of the year.  If I had started WIAW in the fall or winter, you would have seen a bunch of soups for lunch!

Anyways, this was my lunch salad today & it contained: spring mix, raw broccoli, 2 tomato slices, leftover BBQ from the weekend, banana peppers and guacamole.  Pretty yummy and tangy ;)

No time for an afternoon snack today, but I did manage to swing by and get a black tea from the Starbucks.  I ordered the closest size to bucket-sized that I could get.

trenta unsweetened black tea with 3 Splendas (aka-perfection in a plastic cup)

Before I get to dinner stuff, have you guys heard about the Runners' World challenge?  It is a runner streak challenge where you run 1 mile everyday from Memorial Day to Independence day (which turns out to be 38 days).  I'm not a runner, so I don't know why I'm so excited about it!  I do love a challenge, though ;)

So, I did my mile on Memorial Day and today (I write this post on Tuesday, in case you didn't know) I'm ready to hit the treadmill (too hot to do it outside, today) for my mile.

It's never too late to join in!

* * * * *

Whew!  Ok, now that mile 2 is conquered:  it's dinner time!

Dinner: Chicken, Pasta & Veggies

I felt the need for some pasta tonight.  So I topped this whole wheat rotini pasta with some roasted butternut squash, roasted asparagus and leftover grilled chicken. 

A Laughing Cow Swiss cheese wedge brought it all together.

Dessert: Booze & A Cookie Bar

Well, not much of either of those things.  I did finish the night off with a cookie bar leftover from this weekend (oooh, I am big on leftovers today!) and a lite Mike's ;)

I used this Pioneer Woman recipe with a few modifications to make these bars.  Everyone seemed to like them.

Want more?  Check out some more What I Ate Wednesday posts:

WIAW #1

WIAW #2

WIAW #3

WIAW #4

WIAW #5

WIAW #6

WIAW #7 (last week's)

Banana Pudding Protein Milkshake

Oh, Lord have mercy.

I’m going to say something crazy, here.

This protein shake is literally better than any banana pudding I have tried in my life.  I don’t think you realize how much banana pudding I may have consumed, so let me just say: I’m from the South and I have attended many, many church potlucks.  ‘Nuff said.

Sorry, Mema, this trumps your banana pudding.  Sorry everyone else.  It’s just the truth.

I don’t even know what else to tell you.  If you make it, you will get it.

Banana Pudding Protein Milkshake

Makes 1 big shake or 2 minis

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp sugar free, fat free banana pudding mix

1/3 cup frozen Cool Whip

8 mini Nila Wafers (or 4 regular sized ones)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 frozen banana (freeze without the peel)

Fat free Reddi Whip for topping

Blend all this stuff up.  Top with Reddi Whip, a crushed cookie, banana slices and a cherry.

One big shake is perfect post-workout!

Oh my!

This is a really thick shake.  You may have to ditch the straw and dig in with a spoon.

Happy Monday, everyone!