Roasted Potatoes + Red Onions = Two Variations.

Last summer, I was on a roasted veggies kick. The other day I was talking to my friend, Tori, about blogging recipes. She mentioned how the roasted veggies I made always looked good, so I decided to make something simple - roasted potatoes + red onions.  When I say simple, I really mean it. The most difficult task you're going to encounter is waiting until the potatoes cool down so you don't burn the roof of your mouth.

I tested out two recipes. Feel free to follow them or branch out + change up the spices.

Roasted Cinnamon Ginger Potatoes w// Red Onion
Ingredients:
1 lb potatoes, cut into chunks [only had organic Russet + they worked well]
1/4 lb red onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of each: cinnamon, ground ginger, pepper, + salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Traditional-ish Roasted Potatoes w// Red Onion
Ingredients:

1 lb potatoes, cut into chunks

1/4 lb red onion, sliced

1/2 teaspoon of each: pepper, rosemary leaves [crushed], sage, salt + thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil

Tools:

Aluminum foil

Baking dish [9" x 13" is a good size]

Clean hands

Spoon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Line your baking dish with aluminum foil [super easy cleanup + helps transport from tray to serving dish]. 

Place potatoes + onion slices in baking dish, then add olive oil. As evenly as possible, sprinkle the spices on top. 

With clean hands, mix//coat the potatoes + onions in oil//spices. Trust me, this is the way to go - just like I said last week, referring to grandma's meatball mixing technique - your hands are one of the greatest tools in the kitchen.

When you're done, wash your hands, ya filthy animal.

Put potatoes into the oven + set the timer for 30 minutes. Stir [with a spoon, not your hands] after 15 minutes. Shut the oven off. Remove potatoes, stir, then place the dish back into the oven for another 15 minutes [yes, while the oven is off - you read that correctly]. Remove from the oven + serve.

I am a lazy human when it comes to scrubbing dishes, so the aluminum foil is my BFF. Plus, If I'm transporting into a bowl, all I do is wait for the aluminum foil to cool, pick up the corners + dump into the bowl. 

Out of the two recipes concocted, the cinnamon ginger is my favorite. Next batch, I'm going to double the onions, because they're the first to disappear from the dish. 

Not Your Average Salad.

As I posted earlier, I received a case of yogurt from the wonderful people over at Chobani. They took note on Twitter that I enjoy creating delicious treats with their yogurt, so they hooked me up with a case now, and will send a case out for the giveaway I'm holding. Pretty awesome, huh? Because there are a few giveaways already lined up, it'll be sometime in April. If you haven't seen the giveaway going on now, you can find it here.


I was thinking about making a parfait, but I was really in the mood for a salad. I'm picky about the dressings I use on my salads, so I decided to try using some 0% Plain instead. I remember a friend of mine who would make avocado and tomato sandwiches with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. I was also craving tomato and mozzarella when I opened the fridge, so this is what I pulled out for experimentation: romaine lettuce mix, cucumber, avocado, tomato, mozzarella, basil and 0% Plain. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was insanely delicious! Savory, filling, and just under 180 calories.

The goods.

Not Your Average Salad (serves 3)

3 cups bagged salad of your choice (Romaine is a staple in my fridge)

1 6 oz container of Chobani 0% Plain yogurt

1 medium avocado, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 cup cucumber slices, halved

15 grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

3 basil leaves

1 reduced fat mozzarella cheese stick, cut into 1/4" slices

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Prep time = 7 minutes. 179 calories per serving, if you use correct measurements.

First, grab out three bowls. Put lettuce, avocado chunks, cucumber slices, tomatoes, into the bowl.

Put 0% Plain onto each salad. Rip up one basil leaf per bowl and sprinkle on top of yogurt. Add mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Serve your hungry family! Thats it. It looks so good, right?

This looks insanely delicious, and it is!

I think when presenting the salad, you should leave it how it is in the photos shown above. Thats just my humble opinion. I'm just a sucker for quality food presentation. Before you dig in, take a minute to mix everything up. 

I ate this by itself, but pairing this with soup and some crusty bread would be delicious! 

Fresh Juice = Best Juice!

On Tuesday, I stopped by my mom's house to hang out for a bit. She is also participating in the 5K at the Bronx Zoo, so I showed her my snazzy jacket and pants that I snagged at Old Navy. While I was over there, I decided to make some fresh juice. I completed a juice fast about a year ago, and it was amazing. I was thinking about starting another one, but I don't think that would be a good idea, now that I am training for the 5K. I lost my health insurance when I lost my job, so if anything happened to me, I would be in trouble. I don't want to take any risks right now. I am eating healthy (for the most part), and adding juice once or twice a day is good for the moment.


Here are pictures and recipes of some of the juices I concocted!


First, what I did was slice up this ginormous beet. I wanted to show the readers the actual size of the beets before I used them, just to give an idea of what I used. With that said, when making juice, just go with the flow. Make juices in tiny batches first, because if you don't like it, its less to waste. Even when I make a juice that I don't like, I just dilute it with water, hold my nose, and drink it. 


Sidenote: I drink all of my juices diluted with water. Some of these contain a lot of sugar, plus I like to make my batches last longer. I add the water when I am ready to drink the juice.

Beets aplenty!

Ingredients for the first juice.

Juice 01. Carrot Apple Beet Celery Juice:

3 medium sized carrots

1 macoun apple, sliced

1 celery stalk

2 beet chunks (1/3 of a large beet)

Makes about ten ounces of juice, depending on the size of your produce.

Something important I learned from a friend, many moons ago: when juicing, alternate the fruits/vegetables you put into the juicer. For example: Put a carrot in, then an apple slice, a beet slice, a celery stalk, etc. If you are using garlic or ginger, ALWAYS put that in before something substantial, like a carrot or apple slice. I usually put those ingredients in second or third.

I love how fresh juice looks.

Ingredients for the second juice.

Juice 02. Carrot Apple Beet Celery Clementine Ginger Juice

3 medium/large carrots (sliced in half to fit in juicer)

1 granny smith apple, sliced

4 beet chunks (2/3 of a large beet)

2 celery stalks

Makes about sixteen ounces of juice, depending on the size of your produce.

Ingredients for a double batch of  the third juice.

Juice 03: Lucky Number Seven (Double Batch)

1 yam

1 pear

1 granny smith apple

3 celery stalks

1 kiwi, peeled

1 lemon, peeled

1 ginger chunk, thumb size

Makes about twenty-two ounces of juice, depending on the size of your produce.

The half batch of Lucky Number Seven yielded ~13 ounces.

Ingredients for juice 04.

Juice 04: Orange Carrot Ginger

3 Oranges, peeled

3 medium/large arrots

1 ginger chunk, thumb size

Ingredients for juice 05.

Juice 05. Carrot Beet Celery Garlic Ginger

6 medium/large carrots

1 beet

2 celery stalks

1 chunk ginger, thumb sized
1 clove garlic, peeled

After I finished, I poured the juice into plastic water bottles and labeled them. Ideally, I would have stored these in glass - mason jars would be fantastic, as they double as glasses. Before drinking, shake or stir your juice. Juices are best if consumed immediately, but they will be good for 24 hours. 

Juices labeled + put into water bottles until ready for use.

What juicing combinations are your favorite? My favorites are orange carrot ginger and strawberry orange lemon!