Broiled Cod with Slow Roasted Onions

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As I mentioned yesterday, I might start copying Sarah & Jimmy on their nightly meal plans. Last night, I made a quick list of what my meals could look like this week. I think it's already going to get thrown off on Thursday since now I'm going out for Yoga with my girlfriends (which means we'll probably get wine and apps after). That being said, so far so good! Anyway, last night's dish was inspired by Joy the Baker's Roasted Onions that she posted on her instagram last week and has had me craving them ever since. 

RECIPE

She was right, my house had THE BEST aroma throughout.

During the last half hour of the roasting process, I sliced purple sweet potatoes into fry-like strands and tossed them with evoo, cayenne, salt, pepper, and paprika.  I threw them in the oven which was already at 400 degrees, then after about 15 minutes I tossed them and set them back in for another 10-15.

During the last 15 minutes of the roasting process - I turned on the broiler and put the fish on the top rack. It was drizzled with evoo, lemon, salt, and pepper.

On top of the stove - I cooked the green beans and topped them with a little grass-fed butter and chopped almonds.

The fish got topped with the roasted onions. I made a dipping sauce for the "faux fries": 3 parts yogurt, 2 parts mustard, 1 part mayo, cayenne pepper, salt, and 1 part maple syrup.

The onions were definitely the star of the show here. They were so soft and almost spreadable, just like butter. They have such a sweet texture that I really enjoy (I actually greatly dislike raw onions - cooked is where it's at). I'm also still obsessed with purple sweet potatoes. They are just incredible!

Here's the plan for the rest of the week!

Looks like I need to buy broccoli. Also, I know that my hand writing is HORRENDOUS.

Do you plan out meals?? Do you meal prep on Sunday?! Tell me about it...

Have a great Wednesday! xo

AMRAP & Protein Energy Balls

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So, I've mentioned before that I typically like to save Thursday as a 'rest day'. That didn't work out today because we are heading up to Maine tomorrow (yay!) which means that I likely won't get much of a workout in over the next 2 days. Tonight, I needed to pack and make some treats so I wanted to do something quick. I don't "do/take" crossfit, however, I do like some of the body weight AMRAP workouts that I see posted. I think they are effective since you end up pushing yourself pretty hard for a short amount of time. It works for me because I have a # of reps that I want to get in, in my head so I tend to push it. I modified one that I saw on Pinterest. And, as mentioned on fb, my main goal was getting a good workout as quickly as possible so I called this "Get-this-workout-over-as-fast-as-possible-so-that-I-can-finally-have-a-glass-of-wine-AMRAP". 

After I finished this, I quickly posted it on facebook and marched into the kitchen to make protein balls. We MAY go hiking on Saturday, so I think it'll be a fun treat to have. Plus, this recipe was stupid-easy.

I subbed in maple syrup for honey because that's what I have in my kitchen AND maple syrup has more anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties than honey so I think it's a better option. 

As stated, mix the almond butter, cocoa, vanilla, and maple syrup.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix it all together. I only needed 1 tbs of warm water.

Refrigerate for an hour and then roll into balls. Place into a sealed container and refrigerate again. Done and done!

These have a nice chocolatey flavor that isn't too sweet. The ingredients are awesome! Anti-oxidants, fiber, protein, vitamin E, omegas, etc. Much better and cleaner than buying a protein bar at the store! Enjoy and have an AWESOME weekend!

xo

Extra Spicy Noodle Bowls

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So, two things happened today. One, I finally went food shopping. Veggies, protein, and complex carbs have all been added back into my kitchen. Two, I'm finally feeling a little inspired in the kitchen again.  Recently, I realized that I have been making the same standard meals for a couple of months. I have become very bored with the same old, same old. But, for some reason, I had a mental block on how to mix it up. Does that happen to you guys? Oooof. Anyway, since I had some down time last week, I watched a little food network... Chopped, Ina, Giada. It really helped... really! I feel like I'm getting my groove back again so hopefully #fff will benefit! 

I asked Rob to give me a little inspiration tonight and he suggested noodle bowls, so I went with it! The last time we had noodle bowls at Blue Dragon, they used ground pork and a lot of spice. Here's what I used:

- Soba noodles
- Organic ground turkey
- Sliced green beans
- Sliced red bell pepper
- Hot pepper oil
- Sesame oil
- Rice vinegar (a lot of it)
- Crushed red pepper
- Grapeseed oil and extra virgin o/o
- Black pepper
- Reduced sodium soy sauce
- Ground ginger
- Shallot
- Chopped jarred jalapeños
- Freshly sliced jalapeños

In a large sauce pan, add sesame oil and evoo to pan with a chopped shallot or two. Add the turkey and season with salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. As it starts to cook through, add a decent amount of rice vinegar, and smaller amounts of soy sauce, sesame oil, and hot pepper all to taste.

Chop green beans and orange bell peppers and add to pan. Also, add the ginger and taste it to see what else it needs. I usually keep adding soy sauce, sesame oil, hot pepper oil, crushed red pepper, and vinegar. What's great about these dishes is that you can use whatever veggies and whatever seasoning you like - making it as spicy or not spicy as you please. As everything continues to cook through, add the soba noodles to a rapidly boiling pot of salted water.

Mix together in the saute pan, put in a bowl and top with freshly sliced jalapeño peppers. Serve hot & enjoy. Rob and I LOVED this meal tonight. I made extra for lunch tomorrow- whoo! There's a lot of nice protein in this dish from the ground organic turkey and the soba noodles which have more protein than regular wheat or white noodles. The veggies and seasoning provided added vitamin-rich benefits. The spice is great for a winter cold or just to warm up on a cold night. Enjoy!

Have a great Wednesday! xo