Healthy Baked Garlic Broccoli

October 30, 2013October 30, 2013Leave a comment

Taylor watching football – and eating fresh, baked broccoli!

When you think of football – you usually associate it with hot wings, potato chips, pretzels and beer. I bet you never picture broccoli. However, you should! It’s not good to feed our bodies junk.

You feel like what you eat. That statement is basically a truth. Believe it. So, if you eat junk, you will feel like junk. Plain and simple.

Last weekend, instead of baking potato skins or packaged French fries, I dared to cook something different. Something healthy – and it was delicious. Hints of salt, broccoli and pepper, this oven broccoli was mouth watering good!

It’s so simple to make these little food parcels of goodness. I’ve been missing out – and you are too, if you have yet to try this roasted broccoli. Gluten free, healthy and yummy – a threefold score!

You will need: broccoli, 3 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tbsp. of garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste! You can adjust these ingredients to your taste as well. You may want to add a little more oil – go right ahead!

First, place your broccoli florets in big mixing bowl. Pour in the olive oil and garlic powder. I generally mix the broccoli with the olive oil (make sure it is coated) and then mix in the garlic – making sure every little green tree gets hit with garlic goodness.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of your broccoli – and preheat the oven to 375.

I lined a cookie sheet with foil and dumped out my seasoned broccoli on the tray, and just popped them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Leave in longer, if you want a crunchier texture.

This is heaven-sent and so good for you. Replace those football snacks with this healthy alternative. Your body will be cheering you on!

Apple Butter Gluten Free Spice Cake – Perfect For The Holidays!

October 28, 2013October 28, 20134 Comments

I can’t stop thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are just around the corner. Every time I walk in Trader Joe’s I am hit with a delightful cinnamon smell. My senses run wild and visions of sugar plum fairies dance in my head (to take from a song).

Last night I was feeling in the holiday mood – so what better way to feed this holiday spirit than with spice cake? The richness of the cinnamon, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice is to-die-for good!

A co-worker of mine (who will remain nameless) really wanted me to incorporate the free apple butter I got last week from work into a culinary masterpiece –so found a way to add it to this gluten free spice cake!

This ingredient really makes the cake nice and moist. This gluten free cake will be a holiday show stopper for sure. Your family won’t even know it’s gluten free, trust me!

You will need: 1 tablespoon butter, 1 ½ cup apple butter, 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 half and half creamer, 1 cage free egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice and 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray. Just need to get this ready to pour the spice cake goodness in to!

This is the magical holiday cake.

First, in a bowl, pour in your apple butter, brown sugar and olive oil – whisk these together. Add in cream, egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Next add in the gluten free flour, melted 1 tbsp of butter, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and pumpkin spice. Whisk until smooth.

Pour the batter into the pan. Then sprinkle some loose cinnamon and brown sugar over the top of your sweet, little spice cake. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I am going to start bringing this to Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. It will be a crowd favorite. You can pair it with a glaze icing or low-fat cream cheese. It is great for breakfast too. Enjoy.

Eat Like Michelle Obama: Tips On Making Your Own White House Kitchen Garden

October 27, 2013October 27, 2013Leave a comment

Yesterday was a pretty neat fall day. I toured the White House Fall Garden with a good friend and Taylor. I was not really sure what to expect, but it was pretty educational – and we got to see the First Lady’s Kitchen Garden, which I had wanted to see in person.

I’m sure you are familiar with this garden. It has been touted in her campaign to end obesity and harvested for the DC Food Pantry. Michelle Obama has even written a book about it, ‘AMERICAN GROWN: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America.’ Here is a book review on it – if you wanted to read more. Also, this looks like a great book if you wanted to read about all the U.S. President’s beautiful gardens!

As I scanned the greenery of her garden and saw the signs for peppers and lattices overgrown with ivy like plants, I wondered just what is planted in her garden and can I make one to?

So here is the gist ladies – you too can make one. Obviously, not on this grand of a scale (you don’t have gardeners paid to tend to it); but, who says you can’t turn your balcony or little patch of green backyard into a little harvesters dream for one or a small family?

Looking at the LBJ tree – channeling my Texas roots.

Mrs. O is currently growing – various kinds of lettuces (one being the peppery arugula), blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peas, spinach, fennel, carrots, kale, herbs and broccoli. Fitness Magazine reports that the White House spent about $200 on start-up seeds alone for the garden (so it can get a little pricey to start your own!)

So, here are a few little tips that might help when even contemplating starting your very own garden:

Start small. If you are a condo dweller, like me, space is limited. I (have not yet) but am planning to start a little herb garden in the spring and also plant some lettuces. These seeds are inexpensive to plant and will save you bucks in the grocery store. Organic lettuce can be pricey. Johnnyseeds.com sells a variety of organic salad seed mixes. How fun! You can harvest your own salads.

Plant produce that you can plan a meal around. Fitness Magazine also suggests, “Heartier items like squash, potatoes, and beans can substitute for meat and still be satisfying.” Remember, I made a whole meal around spaghetti squash a while back.

Connect with an online gardening community. Kitchen Gardeners is a pretty cool website to find out what plants work best in specific climates. Here is an online site that lists some online gardening communities to join – check it out here.

Leeann and I with our favorite Texan President and First Lady (and Barney!)

All in all, you can start a garden, maybe not just like the First Lady’s, but you can save a pretty penny on some organic produce by growing the hearty stuff at home. Give it a try. I know, I will.

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. – Alfred Austin

And this Bible verse is also beautiful…

Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

– Jeremiah 29:5

Gluten Free Turkey Cheeseburger Soup

October 25, 2013October 25, 2013Leave a comment

Warning before you read this – I cannot guarantee that this soup is low fat. However, it’s gluten free, creamy and will warm your tummy on those cold winter nights.

As soon as I read the name of this soup on ‘Buns in my Oven’s’ blog – I knew I had to make this. I mean, who does not love meat, cheese, garlic and potatoes? But, in a warm soup – wow, I was in heaven! This was easy and fun to make. I slightly modified the recipe to make it gluten free.

The man in your life will love this – 100% guaranteed. It’s like a burger but in soup form. Yum, my mouth is watering just typing about this lovely, little dish.

You will need: 1 pound ground lean turkey, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons butter (or use olive oil), 2 chopped garlic cloves, ½ small chopped onion, 1 tbsp dry or fresh chopped basil, 3 cups gluten free chicken broth, 5 sliced red potatoes, 1/3 cup all-purpose gluten free flour, 2 cups skim milk and 8 ounces sharp cheddar (sliced into small cubes).

You will also want to make croutons to place on top of the piping hot soup – after it’s done. You can read that recipe for gluten free garlic croutons, here.

First, brown your meat in a dense soup bowl on the stove. After that is done, drain excess water – and set aside in a separate bowl.

In the same pot (make sure the meat has been emptied), throw a 1 tbsp of butter, onions and garlic. Sauté these for a little bit. Then pour in the 3 cups of chicken broth. Add in the basil pieces and sliced red potatoes. Let this cook for about 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

In a bowl, whisk the milk and gluten free flour together. Make sure there are no clumps. In a separate pan on the oven– add in the 2 additional tbsp of butter. Then pour your milky mixture over the hot butter and whisk for about 2 minutes.

Pour in the milk mixture to the soup mixture. Stir up thoroughly. Take the cubed, sliced yellow cheese and add in slowly to the soup pot. It will look very creamy and good. Then, lastly – pour in your turkey meat. I also added a dash of red pepper – for taste.

Top off the bowl with garlic, gluten free croutons. Yum. Dinner is served.

Ways To Celebrate Halloween Without Being Ghoulish

October 24, 2013Leave a comment

This website has the cutest pet costumes!

I like fall – but the idea of celebrating the day of the dead and dressing up like ghoulish monsters is not really appealing to me. No thank you.

As Christians we are taught, ‘Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.’ (Philippians 4:13)

Gazing upon zombies with blood is not my idea of pure and lovely. However, there is no reason to put this holiday off limits or prohibit your kids from trick-or-treating. You can just celebrate this festive day differently.

Instead of witches hats and skeletons adorning wreaths on the front door, how about a friendly pumpkin or smiling scarecrow? Those seem like good exchanges! Let your kids dress like doctors, Bible characters, princesses or super heroes. They don’t have to be ghouls or goblins terrorizing the night.

Place little Bible verses in your candy bowls. So the trick-or-treaters will not only get a little sweet candy but the candy that lasts forever – the sweet Word of God! Maybe Halloween can be a mission field. You don’t have to travel to Africa for this – you can touch lives via your front porch.

You don’t have to hide out from the holiday to preserve your Christian faith – you can be a light right where you are by celebrating differently. Remember we are called to be ‘in the world, but not of it.’

This might be a different take than some – but, by all means – have fun, dress your dog in a ballerina skirt and your little ones in bumble bee outfits. Live differently. Others will take notice. That is what Christianity is about. Embrace goodness.

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May our life be like fall – crisp, ruddy but real!

October 23, 2013October 23, 2013Leave a comment

My feet enter the bed of crunchy leaves –raked in precision. Hair glistening auburn in the speckled sunlight – it’s fall. The air smells like pumpkin scented candles, my skin, rippled with goose bumps is no longer a toasty tan from the summer months. It’s pristine white like pillars of ivory.

The chilly afternoon breeze is the reason for my ice-cold reaction – these little dots of frosty membrane on the covering of my bones. Yet, I don’t seem to mind.

The air is fresh. Chimney’s sputter out grey smoke into the distance and the quiet, plump husband and wife doves coo in the distance. It’s a coo of peace and fulfillment. I scan the rich, warm scenery to spot this feathery couple– they blend in to the nature around me. They are impossible to spot. Very well, I think, this was God’s intent, his way to protect and cover them in the wild. Their music soothes my soul.

Laughing. Whirling of crispy leaves. These are things I remember from childhood. Stillness. Peaceful painted sky. Orange plastic Jack-o-Lantern trash bags with goofy, toothless grins and cozy loose knit sweaters. Warm apple cider. A great hunt for mossy sticks in the yard in order to build a crude fire in a spacious Texas ranch home. Dirty hands. Lungs full of air. Safety, comfort – this was my autumn world.

But was this how it was – or just how I pictured it? Thinking back on this world fills my imagery with the aroma of perfection. It is easy to look back at this memory and visualize grandeur. Moments of care-free bliss. Often times, early memories are aggrandized.

The Swiss Miss cup of grocery store hot chocolate turns into a gourmet, milk chocolate fashioned in the North Pole. The breeze I thought was too cold (and I might have complained about) develops into a crisp, fall day over time in my mind. And the leaves that I once clasped a hold of – were not clean, they were earthy and, more than likely, carried crawling critters.

However, isn’t this like life? It’s a crazy beautiful mess – not how you picture it, but the little moments create sweet memories and lasting love. No matter how nicely you frame the scenery – whether with a gold embellished frame or a rustic wood one, that bowl full of water and floating apples looks appealing – but when seeking for that perfect crisp fruit, your head and hair will still get soaking wet – but you capture that sweet prize.You embrace life.

May our life be like fall – crisp, ruddy but real! God did not promise a life of ease – but one full of trials, triumphs, failures and joy. One of promise. It’s important to really digest the truth that promise cannot be obtained without practice.

We may fall on our knees and soil those brand new jeans, but we get up – knees stinging in pain. A gnarly branch may catch our hair and mess up that perfect, neat bun, but we fasten back that tangled hair with a bobby pin and continue on, unaffected by appearance.

Can you hear the doves in the distance – the ones coupled in peace?

They have reached promise. And we are on a journey to obtain that as well. Let’s pray for peace and rejoice in the dirty nature, falling leaves and water soaked apples for they make us into sturdy vessels. No longer cisterns of stagnant water – we are the flowing living water of God!

What Successful People Do In The Morning

October 22, 2013October 22, 20131 Comment

In the morning I find peace. I like to wake up at 5:30am most mornings and just take my time to get ready. Shuffle to the kitchen with my hair in a messy bun for a cup of coffee. Pajama pants wrinkled from a long night sleep, it’s nice to ease into the day ahead – to really take in the rich aroma of the homemade brew – to reflect and listen in the stillness.

You can visualize work, think on life, utter prayers to your Maker, read a chapter of that novel you have been promising yourself you will finish, do a few yoga poses, run to the sound of first light, take your dog on a walk and hear the bird’s fist daylight song, listen to a radio show or make boxed lunches for your family.

In this post is a chart of a few things you can do in the morning that will maximize your day and maybe give you a little more peace and joy.

Movers and shakers make the morning hours their Bethlehem. It is not surprising to find that CEO’s wake at daybreak to start their day off right. Though you might be tempted to turn on that noisy TV – it’s best to sit in the quiet and reflect. Think. These are your hours. In these moments you can choose chaos or opt for peace.

Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy states, “I purposely try not to check my phone or turn on the TV first thing in the morning. I have my best ideas when my head is clear of distractions and I’m getting ready to leave the house. I’m fresher and have a clearer head. I find being creative later in the day much harder after a jumble of meetings, phone calls and other distractions.”

It takes willpower to do what is important to you. Aristotle offers word of wisdom here, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I think it is important to make waking in the morning hours a habit.

Even the psalmist says, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” (Psalm 63: 1-2)

Perfect Gluten Free Croutons

October 21, 2013October 21, 20131 Comment

Hey gluten free ladies and gents! Do you ever have a craving for croutons in your salad? I love chopping up romaine lettuce on the weekend and just creating a huge everything salad.

The sky is really the limit on the ingredients. It’s whatever I am feeling for the night. Maybe some fresh sliced avocado pieces? Or some hard boiled eggs – some sprigs of broccoli!

Sprinkle on some chia seeds for that healthy flair. And – yum, the salad is wonderful. A bowl of freshness and loaded with vitamins in those veggies.

However, one thing I miss is that garlic crunch. Sometimes I am perfectly fine without it. I think it’s healthier for me just to skip them – and it is. But, sometimes you just want to splurge a little and eat some of those savory croutons. Live on the edge!

Yet – lots of gluten free ladies are in a rut here. You may be driving all over town just to find special gluten free croutons. And no one has time for that. But, wait – you can make croutons with gluten free bread (and they are better than the store bought kind). Promise you that!

Ready for a salad!

You will need: 4 slices of gluten free bread (I used Udi’s), 2 tbsp. of gluten free chicken broth, 2 tbsp. garlic powder, 2 heaping caps of olive oil, a pinch of pepper.

Cut the bread in little pieces. You can make little or big croutons depending on the mood you are in. I made mine in a semi medium square.

After cutting your squares, pour them in a mixing bowl. (Gluten free bread is going to be a little more crumbly – so be prepared for that).

Add in the olive oil, garlic powder, chicken broth and pepper – churn up the ingredients in the bowl. You want to make sure all the little bread crumbs are seasoned.

For this, I used the broiler on the oven. Set it on high – and lined a cookie sheet with the delicious croutons.

If you use the broiler, hang out in the kitchen because the bread will toast fast. And you don’t want burnt croutons. Now – after toasty, add to any salad and enjoy your perfectly seasoned gluten free croutons!

Light Garlic Gluten Free Pasta

October 19, 2013October 19, 2013Leave a comment

Last night was simply heavenly – it was the first time in a long time that I really have had a chance to breathe.

So, I curled up in my bed with a nice bowl of comfort pasta. Was not feeling like spaghetti sauce – or even pesto.

Sometimes you just want something light and comforting. And, this simple recipe hit the spot. There is nothing like curling up in bed, in a sweater, reading a book – with lit scented candles.

You will need: gluten free corn pasta, ½ cup parmesan, 7 grape tomatoes, ½ tbsp. garlic powder, 2 tbsp. olive oil and pinch of crushed red pepper.

Boil water in a pot (think you know how to make pasta) and set your corn gluten free noodles in there – when boiling. I like corn pasta. It tastes a lot better to me than rice pasta. Less of a gooey mess after you strain them as well! Trader Joe’s has awesome options for corn pasta that will not break the bank!

After the noodles are tender and done, strain and run cool water over the noodles. Pour the noodles back into the warm pot on the stove.

Dump in the parmesan cheese and olive oil. Stir up this beautiful goodness.

Add in the spices. Then slice the grape tomatoes in half (add those in last). I like to turn the stove top back on to heat the cheese and get the flavors to run together.

Now, grab a glass of wine and a nice book – you are ready for a nice, girly Friday night.

May I suggest the book, ‘A Million Little Ways’ by Emily P. Freeman. I am thoroughly enjoying this beautifully written book.

Top the night off with the 1997 flick Anastasia. I totally did that. Embrace your womanhood. It just makes life better.

Healthy Zucchini Gluten Free Pizza Bites

October 18, 2013October 18, 2013Leave a comment

Finished product!

Who doesn’t like pizza? I do. I love pizza. Yet, being a pizza lover and gluten free, it’s hard to really indulge myself in some genuine pizza.

Business trips to New York are not the same – you pass by the greatest pizza places and close – but no cigar. You can’t have them because of the white wheat that you will consume with every gooey bite. Oh well.

But, my friends those tempting days are over! {Cue the choir!} I know there are a lot of gluten free fast food pizzas now. Domino’s is one of my favorite. Please check out the GF Menu.

Yet, if you are a girl watching her skinny, little waist line – might not be the best option. And this is not for those with celiac. That needs to be noted – just for those with gluten sensitivity. The pizza is not made in a 100% gluten free cooking zone.

Before putting these awesome pizza bites in the oven.

In comes the option of zucchini pizza bites – low-carb and gluten free. What? Yep. Completely guilt free.

This literally took me no time at all, and I dined on a feast of mini-pizzas last night. They were scrumptious. And, I really was not missing the dough or crust. I felt lighter and way more healthy for sure.

You will need: 2 zucchinis, 1 bag of low fat mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning and 1 jar of marinara sauce.

Simply slice the zucchinis into little circle pieces – and set on a baking tray (lined with cooking spray).

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Take a spoon and dab marinara sauce on each little piece. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over these mini pizzas and then set a pinch of cheese on each round slice.

Preheat the oven to 375 and bake these little circles of goodness for about 10-15 minutes.

Ta-da! Pizza bites without the fat or wheat and totally accommodating to a low-carb diet. Enjoy, radiant ones!