carrots – Fervent Foodie

Lentil Dal with Spinach and Carrots {healthy recipe}

April 27, 2016 1 Comment

When I was kid, my parents didn’t sneak vegetables into my meals, per se. (Though, my step mom did occasionally “hide” Brussels sprouts under a blanket of Velveeta cheese.) Rather, it seemed like they picked the vegetables they knew the kids would eat. BROCCOLI. POTATOES. POTATOES. POTATOES. This worked out well for me, because as a kid I hated most cooked vegetables, including green peppers, tomatoes, and CARROTS. Oh, how I loathed the mushy cooked carrot.

This dal recipe has three cups of minced carrots and ten ounces (two regular-sized bags) of spinach (or more, if you like). While the spinach is discernible, the carrots blend right in with the lentils and you forget they’re even there. Hallelujah. This lentil dal is a very healthy dish, yet hearty and satisfying. I’ve made if many times over the last several months, and finally made the effort to write down the ingredients on the last batch. This recipe is forgiving — add as little or as much of the seasonings as you like. Extra veggies always welcome.

What I ate

Canada, Greece, Repeat.

June 29, 2010 6 Comments

Around the world and back again in three short meals 🙂 Geesh, I need a vacation… Luckily, only two weeks til my Char-Char-cation!!! (Charlotte/Charleston/Vacation 😉 )

Breakfast #1 = Canada

Canadian Bacon Eggins! Last night, I decided to whip up some eggins and use some of the Canadian Bacon I picked up at Trader Joe’s over the weekend.

I sprayed a muffin tin down with cooking spray, and plopped one piece of the Canadian bacon in each of 6 muffin tins.

Then I mixed together 9 egg whites, splash of water, S&P, red pepper flakes, franks red hot and poured it evenly into the 6 muffin tins. (Word to the wise – if you use a container with a spout it makes life A LOT easier 🙂 )

I cooked them for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

I had three of these little guys for breakfast with a dollop of ketchup.

Stats for 3 Canadian Bacon Eggins & ketchup: 147 calories, 6g carbs, 1g fat, 26g protein, 0g fiber

Breakfast #2 = Greece

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s nonfat vanilla greek yogurt with 1/4 cup each strawberries and blueberries.

Trader Joe’s greek yogurt was so tasty. It’s not overly sweet, which I really liked. I think I could have ate about 3 more servings of this 🙂

Stats: 133 calories, 23g carbs, 0g fat, 9g protein, 2g fiber

Lunch = Repeat

Leftovers from last night’s Chicken Couscous Salad!

So tasstttyyyy…

Last night’s smoothie

Since lunch was a repeat, I thought I’d showcase the lovely little smoothie I made last night. Everyday, I have a mid afternoon snack and a late night snack, each of which are around 100 calories. They are usually something simple like an apple or a bowl of low-cal cereal and almond milk, and don’t typically make it into the blog.

Last night, I was feeling up for a smoothie so I put the following into the blender:

1/4 cup Oikos nonfat plain yogurt
1 packet Truvia (Stevia)
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk
1/4 cup each of frozen fresh blueberries, strawberries, and black raspberries

All blended up:

This lil guy was quite tasty, and he is quite the looker too 😉 !

Stats on the berry smoothie: 92 calories, 18g carbs, 1g fat, 6g protein, 4g fiber

Get those comments on the PB2 Giveaway page! Pssst… you don’t have to create a blog to get a wordpress account!

Also, check out this Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway courtesy of Hillary at Foodie on the Run!!!

Fitness, Ramblings

Busy Bee & I miss running

June 17, 2010 17 Comments

Tonight has been one of those nights where I haven’t stopped moving since the moment I got off work. Walked in the park with my sister, grocery shopping, mowed the lawn, laundry… and it’s after 9 and I’m pooped!

Tomorrow I am volunteering with the United Way of Summit County for the Day of Action. I decided I’d try and pack some healthy snacks to take along since I know they will be providing us with some unhealthy temptations. (I’m sure I’ll succumb to at least one 😉 )

Walking in the metro parks this afternoon really got my desire to start running churning again. I would consider myself an active person since I’ve played soccer since elementary school, and I just generally enjoy being outside and moving around. A few months back I decided to start running and I loved it! I felt like I had found a new passion. Running first thing in the morning really energized me for my day, and I felt absolutely great. But unfortunately I injured my knee. Still not entirely sure what happened there. The doctor tells me “some knees just aren’t made for running.” I’m not ready to accept that. I hate doctors. But that’s a different blog for a different day.

I stumbled upon this website which gives a plan for building yourself up from walking to running. Stamina is not my issue — I can run 5K no problem (well before the knee issues began that is). I think what I need to focus on is not stamina but strength.

The Plan (3o minutes per day, 3 days per week):

Week #1: Two minutes running/four minutes walking
Week #2: Three minutes running/three minutes walking
Week #3: Four minutes running/two minutes walking
Week #4: Five minutes running/three minutes walking
Week #5: Seven minutes running/three minutes walking
Week #6: Eight minutes running/two minutes walking
Week #7: Nine minutes running/one minute walking
Week #8: Thirteen minutes running/two minutes walking
Week #9: Fourteen minutes running/one minute walking
Week #10: Run the whole time!

I guess the worst that could happen is my knee will hurt, and I’ll have to stop. I think I’m going to give it a shot! I’m just hoping the knee can handle it. Also, how the heck do I keep track of my time in 2 minute intervals? Maybe there’s an iphone app…. Haha.. of course there’s an app 😉

As of yet, no big plans for the weekend and no new recipes scheduled for experimentation. But I did find this little message in a treat I had earlier this week:

Now I have to do something new! I’m really funny about messages like this, or even messages that come in fortune cookies. I often carry them around in my wallet as a reminder to think positively and enjoy everyday. Somtimes you just need a visual.