Sweet Potatoes with Collard Greens and Tomatoes

A good friend makes you laugh. A good friend is someone you can trust. A good friend has a shoulder for you to always lean on.

And a great friend brings you unexpected bowls of frozen yogurt just because there’s a new flavor at your favorite spot.

Hey, Danielle – that’s you! Yesterday evening, I got a text from Danielle telling me that Tutti Frutti had pumpkin frozen yogurt and asking if I wanted some. Obviously my response was prefaced with an “Omg” and finished off with a “Yessssss.” Seriously, how would you have responded?

Her delivery came on the perfect day; I was making an all veggie meal that should only be balanced out with something sweet, right? Just say yes. I was determined to use a bunch of items from my 5th CSA box.

In this week’s box:

• watermelon
• red potatoes
• apples
• collard greens
• squash
• green peppers
• onions
• tomatoes
• green beans

As much as I talk about eating candy, cookies, and dessert, I really do have great self control. I eat it often, but never eat a lot at a time. I took a huge bite of the pumpkin froyo, declared it  amazing, and put the rest in the freezer for after dinner. I swear this motivated me to a)cook a healthy dinner and b)grocery shop at the speed of light for the other items I needed.

Sweet Potatoes with Collard Greens and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch collard greens (about 6-8) leaves
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Wash the collard greens and pat try.  Cut down the center of each leaf to remove the rib.  Chop leaves into 1/4" strips and set aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes and season well with salt and pepper.  Cook until they are browned and almost cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Place the cooked potatoes in a bowl and set aside. 
3. Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onion and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes until tender. 
4. Add the chard and sauté until it starts to wilt, about 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and tomatoes into the skillet with the greens. Add the garam masala and stir. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.  Continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring often, to let the flavors meld. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Hello, colors! You’re going to love this dish, I promise. And boys, if you need meat in your meal, serve this as a side next to your steak or something. It’ll make anyone happy. And when you’ve finished gobbling it all up, you can comfortably reach for that cup of frozen yogurt.

Did someone just shout “Balance!”?

Amen.

Memorial Day Weekend Continued…

After too much fun on Friday and Saturday, Boding and I agreed that we wanted to start the week off on the right note. A healthy note. I tweeted the head chef at Crave, Landen Ganstrom, asking him if he could whip up something healthy for us. Although he wasn’t working, he dialed up his sous chef and told him we were coming in.

Like always, we started off brunch at Crave with their delicious cornbread muffins. These things are incredible. I rarely, if ever, butter my bread, but this is where I make an exception. They’re melt-in-your-mouth tender, sweet muffins.

Back on the healthy track, the sous chef served us an entrée that did not disappoint. We each had Coriander dusted salmon with a peach reduction served atop pulled zucchini, squash, and red pepper “fettuccini” in a light tomato sauce.

After brunch, we went shopping. Boding bought some of his favorite wine, Jam Jar…

…and I picked up a pair of (cheap!) wedges from Payless. I can’t remember the last time I went in that store, but I’m glad I did. Twenty bucks (yup!) later, I walked out with these.

All the shopping worked up an appetite, so we went to Tutti Frutti for some sorbet. I had pineapple and orange creamsicle topped with mango, blueberries, and cookie dough. I kid you not, this is the best froyo/sorbet in Charleston. Their soy yogurt is  even better than the regular froyo.

Side note: The girls at work and I decided not to give up sweets until Monday. It just didn’t seem right to start over MDW. :)

We then spent an hour or so at Barnes & Noble, doing “research.”

On Monday, the weather wasn’t so lovely in my area. I woke up, visited Brandy at Starbucks for a skinny caramel latte, and then hit the gym. Continuing on with my typical Monday, I ended up at Chick-fil-A for lunch.  Shocker.

I had a kid’s meal with grilled chicken nuggets and one of those cute applesauce packets.

I’m a sucker for cute packaging, especially when it contains fruit!

Monday afternoon, Amanda and I met some friends at Vickery’s to enjoy the sun, after it decided to come out from the clouds. When the boys told our server they wanted one more beer, Amanda and I couldn’t decide if we wanted another. Our server suggested we “share one more beer.” Initially we thought “how bizarre” but went with it. Two girls one straw.

What was the highlight of your Memorial Day Weekend?

CSA Week 7 / Recipe Help From My Readers

Despite being a bit sad that I am more than halfway through my Spring CSA with Gruber Farm, I was delighted with this week’s box.

The variety and quality of Week 7 was impressive.

• carrots
• green beans
• zucchini
• pattypan squash
• cucumbers
• onions
• peaches
• pole beans
• red potatoes

At first, I wasn’t exactly sure what the beans in the bottom middle were. I couldn’t decide if they were snow peas or pole beans. After asking friends on twitter, I finally decided they must be pole beans. I hope I’m right. I’m open to being corrected…

As usual, I went straight for the fruit. Biting into the first peach reminded me that Summer is just around the corner. That evening, I cut the potatoes in bite-sized pieces and sauteed them with diced onion. All they  needed was a bit of oil and a dash of salt & pepper. Sometimes it’s the simple recipes that turn out the best.

The other vegetables left me wondering…

Should I eat the carrots as I always do, with my favorite hummus?

What on earth do I make with the patty pan squash? I won’t forgive myself if I chop them up. They’re too beautiful not to keep in their whole form. Perhaps stuffed is the way to go.

Pole beans? Who cooks with those?

Everyone thinks of peach cobbler, why not make something else?

Here are some recipes I bookmarked today:

• Patty pan Squash Stuffed with Corn
• Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Rosemary Roasted Potatoes – basically what Courtney made this weekend!
• Carrot and Raisin Salad – a healthy version of Chick-fil-A’s!
• Sautéed Peaches

What would you make with this week’s vegetables? I want to know your favorites. Your tried and true recipes. Your family’s secrets.  Your own creations.

As bloggers and foodies, we know how tiring searching for the perfect recipe can be, so why not share with one another? Send me what you’ve got – I’d love to make it at home and highlight it on my blog!

Winner gets a special prize.

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce / CSA Week 3

Check out the goods from Week 3 with Gruber Farm CSA. So much color!

Included in the box:

• Swiss chard
• collard greens
• sweet onions
• strawberries
• zucchini
• squash
• red potatoes

Onto the cooking. I know what you’re thinking. Another recipe with mint?

Yes. My one and only “child” is my new mint plant and I’m taking full advantage of it before I kill it. Minted everything. Somebody come over with some rum so we can make mojitos!

Chickpea Zucchini Patties with Minted Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp.  salt
• 1 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice 
• 3 tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions

1. For the patties: In a food processor, pulse chickpeas until very finely chopped. Place in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in panko crumbs, zucchini, onion, egg whites, and salt. Form into eight separate patties.

2. Warm a pan that has been coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sauté patties until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. For the sauce: In a small bowl, stir Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and mint until well mixed.

4. Serve patties warm. Top with yogurt sauce.

Calling all vegetarians! This recipe is for youuuuuuu. And when those crazies ask you if you’re getting protein, show them the stats on chickpeas and Greek yogurt. Bam.

I hope my CSA gives me more zucchini because I could eat this over and over. Joe came over for dinner and he called them my “love tarts.” That made me chuckle.

MAKE THESE!

What’s your favorite Spring vegetable? How do you cook with it?

Impromptu 4 Course Dinner at Crave

Usually when I’m at the gym, I’m daydreaming about what I’ll be having for dinner that night. Sometimes this makes me work harder and sometimes it’s the only thing getting through my workout. Let’s be real.

During my sprint intervals, I received a tweet from Alysa that the chef at the restaurant where she works was now on twitter. Alysa works at Crave Kitchen & Cocktails and their chef, Landen Ganstrom, is a member of my gym. I had met Landen before when we worked out at Eco. As a fellow fitness junkie, he has implemented many healthy menu options onto Crave’s menu: gluten free, vegetarian, paleo, and even vegan.

When I received this tweet, my plans of nuking another spicy black bean burger with some veggies flew out the window. To Crave I would go.

I immediately texted Sarah, who had just finished a Pure Barre class. Sarah is a vegetarian of 8 years, so she was also quick to jump on a healthy meal.

Once at the restaurant, Alysa and our server, Carmela, informed us that Landen would be surprising us with different dishes. Carmela asked if we had any allergies and what our nutritional needs were and then reported back to Landen. For the record, both Sarah and I have no allergies and eat no meat or poultry. To say we were excited to see what we’d receive was an understatement.

Course 1: As soon as this came out, I knew we were in good hands. When I’m presented with beets, my trust is immediately handed over. Friends, this is a beet and carrot salad in a peanut sauce with candied peanuts. Have you ever seen beets in shoestring form? I haven’t, and I loved it.

Course 2: Wild Alaskan salmon with fennel pollen, black caraway seed,and poppy seed over sliced apples and jumbo lump crab sprinkled in some heirloom tomatoes. It was finished with imported Italian mustard. The lump crab meat was hidden underneath the sliced apple and was quite a happy ending.

Course 3: What we initially thought was pasta was actually local zucchini, summer squash and red bell peppers sautéed in oven roasted garlic paste topped with tomato basil chow chow. The peppers were unbelievably sweet, as if they had been plucked from the garden that day. The flower on top was also edible, but it was too cute to consume. I contemplated putting it in my hair and doing a hula dance but I resisted.

Course 4: Dessert. This was our most emotional course. Yup, even more emotional than beets. What you see here are pears and blueberries in a caramel sauce with walnuts and Humboldt Fog cheese. Sarah said this is her favorite cheese and it may just be mine too. The combination of flavors in this dessert was incredible. Get to your store and buy this cheese as fast as you can.

After dinner, Landen came out to chat and see if we enjoyed our dishes. We couldn’t thank him enough for such a delicious, yet healthy meal. If there’s one thing I can get you guys to understand, it’s that healthy food IS tasty. Especially when you have someone like Chef Ganstrom serving you. Carmela, our server, was a delight. She was friendly, attentive, and did an excellent job at explaining our dishes. I highly encourage you to check out Crave – it’s located in the shopping center with Target (The Shoppes at Seaside Farms.) Tell them I sent you!

For more information, check out these links:

• Crave’s website
• Crave on Twitter
• Crave on Facebook
• Chef Ganstrom on Twitter

Are you drooling yet? I am all over again. :)

Butcher & Bee and Breaking Dawn

For lunch on Friday, my coworker and I decided to stop in at Butcher & Bee, a new sandwich shop on Upper King. When I say Upper King, I mean Upper King. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you’d probably miss it.

Their small, changing menu features inventive sandwiches and sides that feature local products. The inside of the restaurant only has one communal table, which was full when we arrived, so we opted to sit outside instead. It was surprisingly warm out for the middle of November.

To start, we shared the Shrimp with ginger, radish, soy, lettuce, and cucumber. It was very fresh and full of flavor.

I had the Pull Squash Sandwich – loaded with butternut squash, cabbage, and carrots in a slightly spicy barbecue sauce. I loved the flavors and it had just the right amount of heat. The pickles weren’t good though. Something was off.

My friend had the Wagyu Roast Beef and Cheddar on Brioche. I think he enjoyed it, but wasn’t super impressed. In general, I think the food was fine, but very overpriced. Both sandwiches, the shrimp app, and one drink cost over $25. Geez.  I do appreciate the fact that they make their bread in store and would not be opposed to coming back to try new items. I’ll just make sure I’m feeling rich.

Friday evening, I had a nerdy night in with some chicken noodle soup and wine. That doesn’t sound too nerdy, but how I spent the majority of the evening was. I recently discovered Comcast On Demand (I know, I’m slow) and found a whole section on the Twilight saga. You can watch trailers, clips from the movies, and interviews. Inspired by all of this (and my large goblet of wine), I made a silly purchase. TICKETS FOR THE MIDNIGHT SHOWING OF BREAKING DAWN!

I am so flipping excited. Amanda, along with a few other friends, is going too. The only thing I’m worried about is that it’s outside. Will we freeze? Will it be worth it? Yes and Yes.

Favorite unique sandwich combo?

Ever gone to a midnight (or outdoor) showing of a movie?

Keep the Betty Crocker giveaway entries coming!

Biceps and Brussels Sprouts

I have been eating out way too much lately.

• 4 Course Beer Kitchen dinner last Wednesday
• Taziki’s twice this weekend
• FIG on Monday

Don’t even get me started on my alcohol consumption over Halloweekend. However, life is short, and I refuse to not enjoy every moment of it! So what if I sipped a little too much this weekend? Instead of complaining about it, I balance it out with new workouts and clean eating during the remainder of the week. And then all is right in Xtina land.

Inspired by this Equinox workout that was featured on FitSugar, Mariah and I busted out a circuit workout in roughly 45 minutes.

Complete Circuit 1 three times. Repeat with Circuits 2 and 3, with a 1-2 minute break between each circuit.

Circuit 1:

Exercise	Reps	Equipment	Notes
Jump Squat	15	Body weight
Squat Thrust Deadlift	15	15 lb. dumbbells
Single-arm swings	15	15 lb. dumbbells
Plank with Reverse Row	15 each arm	10-15 lb. dumbbells

Circuit 2:

Exercise	Reps	Equipment	Notes
Lunge with Bicep Curl	15 alternating legs	10-15 lb. dumbbells
Mountain Climbers	45 seconds	Body weight
Bridge with Exercise Ball	20	Exercise Ball	Place soles of feet on the top of exercise ball, then lift pelvis up and control it down.
Plank	45 seconds	Body weight

Circuit 3:

Exercise	Reps	Equipment	Notes
Romanian Deadlifts	15	10-15 lb. dumbbells
Push-ups	15	Body weight
Overhead Press	15	10-15 lb. dumbbells
Jump Rope	60 seconds	Jump rope	Can substitute with jumping jacks

By the third set of each circuit, we were miserable. Once we completed all  9 circuits, we were groaning, but both agreed that it was an excellent workout, for cardio and strength.

We then rushed back to my apartment for some fresh fall veggies. CHECK THIS OUT. Have yall ever seen Brussels sprouts still on the stalk? I nearly did cartwheels in Trader Joe’s when I saw this.

Thank goodness I had just worked on my biceps – this branch was beastly! (So was my hair after the gym, but hey…)

Brussels sprouts are incredibly easy to make. Just 5 simple ingredients will make delicious roasted sprouts: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Of course you can add more, but why mess with nature too much? We used this recipe, but roasted them a bit longer so they’d have a nice crispy outer layer.

We also made spaghetti squash and topped it with tomato basil sauce and goat cheese. The sprouts were the highlight of the meal, for sure. I could not stop eating them.

At the gym, do you prefer cardio or strength training? I love running outdoors but definitely prefer strength training. It does wonders for my metabolism and I get to hang out near the boys at the gym. Any talk about “bulking up” drives me absolutely crazy– 10 to 20 lb. weights a couple times a week are not going to make a woman bigger. We do not have enough testosterone for this. And on that note, STRONG OVER SKINNY!!!

What’s your favorite fall vegetable? BEETS!!!

Thank Yous, A Winner, and Rainbow Eating

First, I’d like to thank you all for the sweet compliments on my nerdy glasses. I love how much better I can see and really have only taken them off to shower, work out, and sleep. When I take them off, I’m like ewww. Also, thank you for your help on the t-shirt contest!  :)

Second, I’d like to announce the winner of the Fiber One Brownie giveaway. Instead of using a random number generator, I used the Mariah generator. Without telling her why, I asked her to pick a number between 1 and 92…and she chose #8:

Congrats, Britton! Please e-mail me your contact information and your prize pack will be on the way.

…

In preparation for looking svelte for my birthday party on Saturday, I have increased my fruit and vegetable intake. Ok, ok, really I just have so many veggies from my CSA. I was chatting with Mariah, who also subscribes to a CSA and we were joking amount how many fruits and vegetables we ate all day. We kind of feel like rabbits.

For breakfast, I had my usual Kashi original cereal with light vanilla soy milk and blueberries. FYI, the “abbrev” for blueberries is “bluebs.”

Mid-morning, I snacked on some almonds and dried cranberries.

For lunch, I had more of the Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Quinoa.

My afternoon snack was a zucchini muffin and some baby carrots.

After I picked up my 10th CSA box, I cut up fresh yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, corn, and tossed them with italian dressing, balsamic, and goat cheese.

I ate that along with black beans and my most recent discovery: Bilinski’s Apple Chardonnay chicken sausage.

The moral of this story is: There is a rainbow in my stomach. It might even be a double rainbow.

On a completely different note, while I was gorging myself with rabbit food, Mariah asked me a very serious question. Our gchat conversation, complete with faces:

Mariah: if there was a breakfast that is just 100% bad for you (but wasn't) and you could eat it all the time... what would it be?

 

 

me:oooh probably pancakes.or cinnamony french toast

 

 

Mariah: with an assload of butter and syrup

 

 

me:and powdered sugar and brown sugar. also honey and whipped cream.

 

 

Mariah: all of the above

 

 

me: i wouldn't mind if there were chocolate chips in there either

 

 

Mariah: nope me neither

 

 

I can’t stop laughing at our heads. But the point of that was my question for you all:

If you could eat any breakfast, regardless of how bad it was for you, what would you have?!

Sometimes I Just Want To Be Random

Like in this post!

When I got home from work today, Lucy asked me if I was going to the gym. I (too) quickly responded, “NOPE! I’m skipping it!” I said it in the voice of a 15-year-old who would rather go shopping than to class. I love the feeling that exercise gives me, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was spend some time with Lucy! She has been such a wonderful friend to me and we’ve gotten so close over the past few months. She decided to skip the gym with me and we discussed what we wanted to do for dinner.

We thought. And thought. And thought. Nothing sounded good…except frozen yogurt! Yep, not only did we skip the gym, but we jumped in her Bug with the top down and cruised straight to Menchie’s.

Unfortunately once we got there, there weren’t a ton of flavors that excited me. I got a pathetic portion of peanut butter, thin mint chocolate, and country vanilla fro yo topped with heath bar bits.

Lucy got raspberry sorbet topped with blueberry and mochi.

After our treat, we went to Whole Foods for wine. Check out this Australian bottle I found:

Now that sounds like a party in a bottle. Woop woop! Am I the only one who still says that? Probably.

I also saw a very exciting new Ben & Jerry’s flavor:

I almost peed my pants with excitement until I saw the calories per serving. Seeing as I just had froyo, I restrained myself from buying this and eating it in the parking lot. Trust me, I would have.

A couple hours later I found myself hungry for a real meal. I figured that the frozen yogurt wouldn’t actually fill me up, so I ended up swapping my dessert and dinner times. Dinner consisted of Tandoori flavored rotisserie chicken (purchased from WF), black beans, and some zucchini and squash from Tuesday’s CSA box.

Do you ever have dessert for dinner and then find yourself eating dinner anyway?

To end this post, I thought I’d share a Bits of Truth quotes that made me happy today:

Live more! Smile more! Laugh more! We are surrounded by beautiful things. Embrace them. Be kind to everyone.

Eat your damn fro yo.

XO!