You are here: Home / Archives for How To

Back to Basics: Overnight Oats

February 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Back with another basic recipe that I eat all the time, at least twice a week for breakfast. It’s overnight oats!

It is very hard to get a good and appetizing picture of this, but just go with it…

photo 1-2.jpg

Overnight oats are basically cold oatmeal made with milk and yogurt instead of water. I write often how I don’t like to prep my breakfast in the morning and much prefer to “grab and go” of something I prepped the night before. Overnight oats are also eaten cold, which is perfect because it’s too hot for a hot breakfast most days!

I like this better than hot oatmeal because it has more protein from the milk and yogurt. The texture is kind of like mush, but I like it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you’re expecting it to be like oatmeal. Adding something crunchy helps.

Here is the basic recipe of how I like my overnight oats, and below I list some ways to change it up.

Basic Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 C old fashioned Quaker oats
  • 1/3 C vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 C milk
  • 1/2 sliced banana
  • 1-2 T gold or black raisins
  • dash cinnamon
  • ~1T peanut butter
Instructions:
  • In a tupperware or the bowl you’re going to eat breakfast in, mix everything together.
  • In the morning, top with something crunchy, more fruit, or leave as-is. Eat and enjoy!
Other mix-ins or toppings could be any kind of nut butter, a jam, a cereal on top, chia seeds mixed in, nuts on top, coconut, other dried fruit, etc. I really keep it as simple as in the picture all the time! The peanut butter mixed in is my favorite part.

photo 2-1.jpg

For more of the Back to Basics series, see the How To page.

Filed Under: Breakfast, How To · Tagged With: ,

Back to Basics: Hot Oatmeal

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

IMG_6536.JPG

While hot oatmeal is nothing new and special, I have finally figured out the proportions that I like to make a good bowl of thick oatmeal. I don’t like it too soupy, and I don’t like it when I still want more at the end of the bowl. What I also don’t like about making hot oatmeal is that it’s hot (so I don’t eat it most months of the year), and that it takes time to cook. One pot to cook and one bowl to eat=more mess. I promise it has redeeming qualities too.

However, I do think it’s filling, and a good way to get some important nutrients. It is also a good alternative to a dairy breakfast, which I eat most days. I want to learn to like oatmeal because some babies don’t tolerate mom’s dairy well. This Winter, I have made hot oatmeal maybe a dozen times total, and I’m liking it more and getting faster.

Here is my recipe for my best hot oatmeal, made in one small pot and ready in under 10 minutes.

Basic Hot Oatmeal

  • 1/3 C old fashioned Quaker Oats
  • 1/3 C milk (or milk substitute)
  • 1/3 C water
  • dash cinnamon
  • 1 T gold or black raisins
  • spoonful peanut butter stirred in at end
  • 1/2 banana, thinly sliced

Instructions:

  • In a small sauce pan, I bring the water to a simmer, then add oats and whisk. Then I add the milk, cinnamon, raisins and banana and stir. Let thicken until bubbly, stirring often.
  • While still on the heat, I stir in peanut butter to get it nice and melty. This is the best part.
  • I top it with a variety of things, usually granola and berries like in the picture.

IMG_6534.JPG

Filed Under: Breakfast, How To · Tagged With: , ,

How to: Pinterest for Baby

January 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Screen shot 2012-01-30 at 5.10.38 PM.png

Pinterest seems to be picking up steam over the last few weeks. I’ve been using the website for many months, and wrote a post about How to Pinterest last May 29! If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, it’s like a virtual bulletin board where you can create a board and add photos to it. Popular categories are food, wedding, home, baby, posters, holidays, DIY, etc. You can make as many boards and pin as many things as you want.

It’s basically a big time suck of looking at pretty pictures with links back to websites or blogs. Adventurous people may try a recipe they see or a DIY project, but I think average people just collect pictures. And of course, there’s an app for that to let you pin on the run.

However, Pinterest has been a good tool to use when I was looking at ideas for the baby’s room, and now I’m pinning ideas for our new house. I have boards for kitchen/living spaces, and one for bedroom/bathroom. I also have food categories and a board for baby.

Screen shot 2012-01-30 at 5.10.49 PM.png

These screenshots are of my Pinterest boards. The one below is my baby board. Each picture links to someone’s blog post or a company’s website if it’s a product.

You can install a “Pin It” button on your Favorites Bar, and then you can pin things from any website you visit. For instance, if you go to Pottery Barn and like a crib, you can “Pin It” to your baby board and keep track of things you like. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for home ideas or products I want to keep track of.

Screen shot 2012-01-30 at 5.12.03 PM.png

Do you Pin? Follow me! Any Pinterest related questions?

Filed Under: How To ·

Holiday Arts and Crafts

December 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

IMG_6358.JPG

Ho ho ho from Santa’s craft table. Every year since we were little, our family always gave the gift of food. My mom spent weekends baking different kinds of cookies, and at the peak of the giving years, we assembled so many tins and celophane bags of goodies to deliver by hand.

Nowadays, I still bake every December and give the gift of homemade treats. Most years, I fill a jar with goodies, tie a bow around it, and tie on a tag. This year, I had an idea to cook a few different kinds of cookies and give an assortment in a tin.

Then my brain got to thinking how I can assemble, and after three trips to The Container Store within 6 days, my tins were ready for cookies, and I have enough ribbon and bows for a lot of cookie making.

I am generally not that crafty, and usually in awe of super homemade gifts. But stickers, bows and ribbon I could do. Here’s a very basic step-by-step of what I’m giving away this year.

IMG_6360.JPG

Supplies: 

  • All from The Container Store
  • Small and Medium aluminum tins
  • Wax tissue paper (it says it’s better for baked goods than regular tissue paper)
  • Ribbon
  • Seasonal tube ribbon in various colors (that’s the floppy bows)
  • Sticker tags
Other ideas:
Bows, tags, twine, decorative gift bags for treats wrapped with a bow and tag

IMG_6362.JPG

  • On the tissue paper, I traced the lid of the tin with a pencil and then cut it out. Two pieces per tin, one on the bottom of the cookies and one on top.
  • I placed in a cookie assortment, laid the second sheet on top, and then put the lid on.
  • Around the body of the smaller tins, I taped down red and white striped ribbon. The thickness of this ribbon fit perfectly around the tin. Put the taped end at the back, sticker facing the other way.
  • Around the larger tins, I tied a colored bow with the tube bow and cut the bow ends making six little ends. (that’s not a very good explanation, but the ribbon is at the Container Store every year.)
  • I placed a matching colored sticker on the top, and that’s it!

IMG_6363.JPG

My colors for this year were golds, reds, and Hanukkah blue and silver. Hope our people like our gifts this year!

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With: , ,

5 Minute Lunch

August 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

IMG_8386.jpg

Although not the prettiest pictures to share, I thought that something practical like packing my lunch might be helpful. I have been packing my breakfast and lunch for as long as I’ve had a real job, and if you don’t get good at it, you don’t have anything good to eat. I actually see packing my food as a fun challenge, like what can I prepare this week that I’ll really look forward to? Desk eating is not glamorous, so you better make what’s inside good!

IMG_8387.JPG

I get in ruts, but don’t mind eating the same thing on repeat. Breakfasts come easy to me, but lunches are not my favorite meal of the day. Seeing them in tupperware make them look worse, so you have to work extra hard to open your lunch and say “mmm yes, lunch!”

This week, I started changing up my lunch and it has been delicious! When we came back from Florida, I didn’t want to cook for the week. I did still go to the grocery and planned to bring my breakfast and lunch each day for work. The keys to this lunch were powerful ingredients that I don’t usually have at home to make the lunch extra special.

IMG_8389.JPG

I started with Flat Out Wraps that I brought home from Publix, aka the best grocery store ever, only in the Southeast. I have problems finding them in Houston. These wraps are special because they are about 90 calories, and are shaped to fit the good stuff and fold up nicely. They are also soft and full of good flavor. A winning combo.

Inside my wrap, I spread it with store bought hummus. Obviously, you could make your own, but sometimes you don’t want to dirty the food processor. Then I added store bought tabbouleh. Again, make your own, or buy one you like.

IMG_8390.jpg

On top of that was lettuce and a tomato, then wrap and slice and wrap in foil. Crunchy, vegetarian, delicious! Ready in no time with minimal cleanup. I also like that this lunch is easy to repeat. You have a whole container of hummus and tabouleh, and a whole pack of wraps, so eat up!

On the side of my wrap, I had a cup of mixed fruit–strawberries and half a banana on this day.

Inside my desk, I have easy sides, like crackers or chips or a Dagoba chocolate bar. I like keeping a stash at work of things I eat almost daily so I don’t have to bring the same things every day.

IMG_8392.JPG

Filed Under: How To, Lunch · Tagged With:

Guest Post: How to stay cool with treats this summer

June 10, 2011 by 2 Comments

Hi Y’all! My name is Lauri and I’m a Registered Dietitian eating my way through life’s tasty treats, one bite at a time! I document my food journey and daily recipes over at RedHeadRecipes.com!

I met Marci at the FoodBuzz Festival last year. Actually, we were roommates! I have enjoyed watching her blog grow over the past year! Her photos our gorgeous (Did you see those Double chocolate cookies??)

While Marci is away enjoying the cooler temps in Aspen, I’m here in South Carolina trying desperately hard NOT to melt in our super humid, near 100 degree weather!

In fact, this weather is SO hot, its got me craving everything cold and sweet I can get my hands on. So if you are like me, and need to cool off a bit, try one of these COLD sweet treats on a HOT summer day.

Oh, and the best part about these tasty summer treats– They won’t wreak havoc on all the hard work you’ve done preparing for bathing suit season (Ugh, is there anything worse than bathing suit shopping?!)

Frozen Grapes

So simple and so refreshing on a hot summer day! Frozen grapes are the perfect summer treat to keep on hand everyday. Grab a few metal or bamboo skewers and place grapes back-to-back until the skewer is full (Be sure to wash and pat the grapes dry first). Place skewers in your freezer for at least an hour and enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. This would also be a great snack alternative for kids to enjoy instead of sugary popsicles!

Source

Banana Frozen Yogurt

Love soft ice cream but hate all of the calories and added sugar that goes along with it? Then this is the perfect dessert for you! Simply peel and dice bananas, then place in a Ziploc bag and stick into the freezer for several hours. Place frozen bananas in a food processor and ‘Let her Rip’ for several minutes (*Note: A blender will work, but not as well).  Stop to scrape the sides every couple of minutes or so. Eventually, the frozen bananas will turn into the consistency of frozen yogurt!

Top with melted Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter

For a step by step visual, click here

Chocolate [Avocado] Pudding

Avocado in pudding? Wha?? I know, crazy right?!  This rich, chocolaty pudding makes a perfect dessert for a summer BBQ.

What you will need:

  • *1 avocado
  • *4Tb rounded cocoa powder
  • *1/4 cup light coconut milk
  • *½ banana
  • *2-3 Tb Agave nectar (or honey)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well combined (You may have to scrape the sides a few times). Chill in fridge for a couple hours, or until cold.

FroYo

Frozen yogurt is probably the Tastiest Summer Treat to emerge over the past couple years. However, it’s just as easy to make your own frozen yogurt at home with a little help from Chobani’s FAQ section (http://www.chobani.com/about/faqs)

Can I freeze Chobani Greek Yogurt?
Yes, frozen Chobani (or “FroCho” as we like to call it) can be frozen and stored for up to three months. While frozen, the live and active cultures present in Chobani become dormant. But once thawed, either in the refrigerator or by your body heat when eaten, they become live and active again.
FroCho will have a slightly different texture, whether eaten frozen or thawed, but makes for a refreshing treat.

Packed with protein and a lot less sugar than ice cream, frozen [Greek] yogurt is a great way to chill off during these hot summer days without any guilt! And with so many flavor choices, such as cherry, pineapple, pomegranate, blueberry, peach, and strawberry (to name a few), FroCho is sure to satisfy even the pickiest of palates!

EatingWell’s Frozen Raspberry Pie

I haven’t had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into this decadent looking treat, but it won’t be long before I do! And at just over 200calories a slice, that teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini will still fit once the pie is gone!

Source

I hope you guys STAY COOL this summer and I hope to see y’all around!!

THANK YOU Marci for allowing me to guest post on your blog! I am truly honored!! Hope you have a BLAST in Aspen!!

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With:

What Pinterest’s you

May 29, 2011 by 8 Comments

There is a new website out there called Pinterest. I know you probably don’t want another site to go to daily or every so often, but I’ve added it to my repertoire to visit, and it’s gaining popularity, so I want to tell you about it and show you how to use it, if you’re curious. I just want you to be an informed internet user! I joined a few weeks ago, but didn’t really spend much time on it to understand it until this weekend. And now I’m checking back often.

What’s Pinterest? If you are familiar with the trending topic of “inspiration boards” where you collect images or fabrics or ideas in one place for a room in your house or  goal to accomplish, this is like a virtual inspiration board. You “pin” photos to boards you create, like “kitchen ideas,” “beautiful furniture,” “wedding,” “baby nursery,” anything you want to create.

The good thing about Pinterest is that it’s not related to a blog, so you don’t need one to join. Some photos may take you to a blog, but it’s not necessary. It’s also a free tool.

How to use Pinterest: (Reminder, I just played around and took some screen shots, I’m not an expert at the site.) Once you sign up, you should start following people. You can access Twitter and Facebook and email to see if any of your friends are members too. When you follow someone, you can see their boards. Below is an image of one person I follow and all of her boards to the right. The board open is called “yummy food.”

Once you see boards, you can “repin” pictures you like to your boards. That’s how you build your own collection. To create your own boards, make up some categories of anything you want. It’s a great site for home design, cooking, weddings, fashion, and just beautiful photos.

Why use Pinterest: Well, it is another time sucker, but it would be great if you were decorating a house for sure. I just like seeing pretty photos, especially of food. You could use this as a place to find recipe ideas. For instance, I typed “tortellini salad” into the search box because I wanted to make something like it, and I got a list of photos where I could click them and see a recipe.

If you are a blogger and want to share photos, you can pin your own photos to a board. I create a board called “food from my kitchen” where I put all recipes I thought had nice photos. Then people can view or share. If you’re looking for traffic, it’s not like posting on Food Gawker or TasteSpotting.

Pin it bookmark button: There is a convenient button to add to your toolbar. You open a page you like, click “pin it,” and that image goes right to Pinterest on a board you choose. No uploading necessary.

There are also ways to share your pins via Facebook and Twitter, and there’s an iPhone app for easy viewing and pinning.

Any questions?

Filed Under: How To, Things I Love · Tagged With: , ,

Demystifying Beets

May 26, 2011 by 4 Comments

IMG_3934.JPG

Have you tried beets yet? Well beets are a little laborious and messy to make, but I really love the taste. They are a vegetable, but look like a starch, and cook like a starch too. I first started eating beets from the Whole Foods salad bar, where I learn about a lot of things I haven’t created myself.  Then I got daring and decided to cook them myself. That’s how I started eating tofu too–I loved it from Whole Foods, and then tried to mimic flavors at home. You learn how it should be prepared from the pros, then try to recreate at home.

IMG_3935.JPG

First, you buy beets at the store in a bundle. My little bundle above was three beets with a gigantic long stem. You cut the stem and discard (or some people may save them for a soup), and scrub the skins a little to get the dirt off. They’re pretty dirty.

While we’re talking about dirt, beets are one vegetable that you should consider buying organic. They are from the ground, like a vegetable is, but seem to retain a lot of dirt. I feel a little better about what I’m eating if I know it wasn’t sprayed by a lot of pesticides. I don’t buy all fruits and vegetables organic, but that’s a story for another day.

Back to the instructions–after you’ve scrubbed the beets, lay them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375* and prepare to bake them. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap them tightly in the foil they’re laying on.

IMG_3936.JPG

After about one hour, the beets should be knife tender. Unwrap the foil a little and poke with a knife. If it doesn’t stick easily or come out easily, bake a little longer, but one hour should be about right.

I read that the skin should peel off easily, but mine didn’t really peel. I cut along the skin with a knife and then cut the beets into large bite sized pieces. At this point, I put mine in a tupperware container to eat during the week for lunches and dinners, but you could season again with olive oil, salt and pepper, or add to a salad and season with a dressing. You could also combine a red onion and fennel (or another herb) for a nice side dish with an oily dressing.

IMG_3945.JPG

Lily says, “Mom, why do your hands look like they are bleeding at the nails?” Well Lily, beets make your hands turn beet red. That’s why they call it that expression. You could wear latex gloves if you don’t want pink hands and nail beds, because the beets really do turn everything red.

The good part of baking beets is that most of the time is inactive cooking, you can do whatever you want while the beets cook.

Have you tried cooking with beets? I’ve also boiled them, but that was pre-blog days too! It’s a similar process of boiling until tender and chopping.

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With: ,

Our little garden update + recipe

May 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

IMG_3796.JPG

You may remember that we started planting a garden with Burpee Home Garden plants last month. I wrote my first post about our planting process here. It has been almost a month since our herbs and vegetables were planted, and we’ve made some progress.

IMG_3797.JPG

First, you may remember that our herbs were in little cups like the picture above, and we planted the cups in soil in balcony containers. I left them in the cups for a few weeks because I was unsure if I was supposed to remove them or not. I decided to finally remove the plants from the cups and plant directly in the soil because the cups were not decomposing even though they say “compostable.” It’s not the same thing.

IMG_3799.JPG

Our herbs have started to really grow tall, and I even used some fresh basil for my favorite hummus recipe, see below for details. The tomatoes and peppers have not started to bloom, but I assume they will take a while.

I water them daily or every other day, and they get a small amount of direct sunlight in their location, but mostly indirect sunlight.

In the picture below, you’ll see little dots in the center, which I think are the beginning of tomatoes.

IMG_3800.JPG

Now for the recipe! Basil is probably my favorite herb, and I’m excited to have a few varieties now. There is traditional basil that looks like the leaves below, and also Italian Basil, which are much smaller leaves. I didn’t use those yet.

For the recipe, I picked about eight leaves and cut them in a chiffonade, a fancy word for ribbon. You just roll them up together and cut.

IMG_3801.JPG

Then it looks like this below. Basil in this shape is a great addition to a salad or pasta dish.

IMG_3802.JPG

I added mine to the food processor for my hummus. I talk over and over about my love of homemade hummus, and how store brands aren’t for me anymore. I recommend you try this if you like a simple, healthy dip or spread with simple and few ingredients.

IMG_3803.JPG

Basil Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 C cooked chickpeas (1 can), rinsed
  • 3 T EVOO
  • 2 T tahini
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Water (I used about 3-4 T to thin it out)

Instructions:

  • In a food processor, pulse garlic and chickpeas. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine.
  • Add basil and pulse again.
  • Add water as needed to thin it out. It will congeal in the refrigerator so you can make it looser knowing it will thicken.

The final product, with specs of green inside and topped with paprika.

IMG_3817.JPG

It’s pretty neat to walk to your garden to pick your herbs for a recipe!

IMG_3825.JPG

Do you have any gardening tips? Any fresh herb favorite recipes to share?

Filed Under: How To · Tagged With:

How To: Meal Planning

March 4, 2011 by 2 Comments

My how-to page was looking a little bare, and I really enjoy writing how-to posts, so how about one about how to plan meals for a week without being crazy organized about it?

Sometimes I talk to friends and they tell me they have no food in their house because they don’t know what they want for dinner in three days and don’t go to the grocery ahead of time. Then there are also people who know what they are having for dinner in not only three days, but for lunch on Day 5 and dinner on Day 6. I fall somewhere between both of these people.

In my opinion, the trick of meal planning is to have a great stock of pantry staples, a refrigerator of things you always have on hand, and some planning ahead, of course. Here’s some steps to break it down and make it less intimidating than it seems.

1. Plan only one week at a time, and I would even say to ignore the weekends. In our house, we eat out 99% of the time on Friday and Saturday nights, so those nights aren’t included in my thoughts at the grocery store. I really like to cook at least Sunday through Wednesday, and by Thursday, eggs are very common for dinner.

2. Have some overlap in breakfast and lunch, or rely on staples you always have. For instance, my breakfast is either a bowl of hot or cold oatmeal, cereal with yogurt, a muffin with eggs and fruit, or sometimes something different. In all of these instances, I always have the ingredients on hand. Like, always. Yogurts are always on my grocery list, same with fruit, cereals, and my oat tubs are so big I don’t run out often. Not having to worry about breakfast means 7 meals are taken care of.

3. For lunch, I am similar to breakfast. I either eat leftovers from dinner, meet friends or pick up on occasion, or put together a big salad or wrap. I always have lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and hummus on my grocery list, and there are always crackers in the pantry, extra fruit in the fridge, and some kind of protein left over. Sometimes I make a green monster for lunch, which is especially easy later in the week when leftovers are no longer appealing. If all else fails, I have bread in my freezer and peanut butter and jelly on reserve. There’s lunch!

4. Snacks are also something that I can rely on my planning. Cheese and crackers I always have, apples or pears with Babybel or Swiss cheese is common, yogurt or cottage cheese with cereal or granola is common too. All of these can be altered by flavor or fruit to make it a little different, but still easy to plan for. Nuts and dried fruit are always in my pantry. You don’t have to buy things in a machine or eat a packaged 100 calorie pack. Just use what you have.

5. Now for dinner, where even I have a hard time coming up with what to make each night. To me, it’s all about resources and taking time to think. First, I always look at our calendar and see which nights we aren’t home for dinner. For the remaining nights, I bookmark and print recipes all the time to try (although 80% of the recipes I print are baked goods, oops?), I turn down pages in cookbooks for easy referencing, I read magazines, and also think about it based on what looks good at the grocery store. What I don’t do is not plan and not wait until I get to the grocery store to decide what to make for four dinners.

I make soups early in the week to last at least two meals, even if one is lunch for me. I make turkey loaf that will last a while too. A block of tofu is great for early in the week to use for two more meals (usually lunch the next day and one more dinner). Roasting vegetables always last a few meals. Even a store-bought rotisserie chicken is good for a while too.

How do you plan your meals? Shared Google calendar? Wing it? Go to the grocery store every other day?

There obviously isn’t a right way to plan, this is just how I do it for our house!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Filed Under: How To, Meals · Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts