diet – Appalachian Barbie

Spaghetti Squash Marinara with Turkey Meatballs

This lower calorie version of the classic spaghetti and meatballs won’t leave you wanting more.

March 4, 2019 The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

This hearty and filling meal won’t leave you missing the standard pasta and pork at half the calories.

For the Spaghetti squash:

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the ends off a medium spaghetti squash, set it upright and carefully cut down the middle. Remove seeds and strings from middle, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grease a foil covered cookie sheet with nonstick spray and place squash cut side down. Bake for 50mins or until fork tender. Remove from oven, set aside to cool. When cooled, use tines of a fork to scrape “spaghetti strands” into bowl.

For the marinara sauce:

Heat large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil. Dice 1 green bell pepper (after removing ribs and seeds) and 1 small onion. Add to pan. Next, mince 2 cloves of garlic and add to pan, stirring to combine veggies. Add 3/4 container of fresh sliced baby Bella mushrooms and season salt/pepper/garlic powder/Italian seasoning to taste. Stir all and cook until onion and peppers are softened. Next add one jar of marinara sauce. (I used my go-to jarred marinara, Kroger’s Simple Truth Organic brand.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 15 mins or so, until mushrooms are tender and all flavors have married. Set aside to cool.

For the meatballs:

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, add 1 lb of 93/7 lean ground turkey and 1 large egg. In a small baggie, mix 1/4C breadcrumbs, 1/4C grated Parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, 3/4tsp salt, 3/4tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Shake to combine then add to bowl with meat and egg. Using hands, thoroughly mix. Grease a foil covered cookie sheet, and begin rolling out 1″ diameter balls. Bake for 12 mins, then flip meatballs and bake for another 10 mins.

After all ingredients are prepared, layer squash, marinara sauce and meatballs in a bowl and ENJOY!! 🍝

Southwestern breakfast quesadilla

March 1, 2019 The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

Not the best photography but trust me when I tell you this is one amazing #breakfast. I’ve had a lot of people ask me for the recipe for my breakfast quesadillas. The good thing about these are that you can mix them up a million different ways. This southwestern style one in particular is a little heavier than my usual breakfast due to the steak, so I just lightened up my other meals. Basically I always make sure I hit my 3 essentials- CARBS (super important in the AM, but try to eliminate them as the day goes on) the whole wheat wrap, PROTEIN: 1/3C egg whites, 1 whole egg and some type of meat (today I used leftover sirloin steak but you can do sausage, bacon, turkey bacon, ham, whatever) and HEALTHY FATS: avocado today, u could do a drizzle of olive oil, butter, etc.

Preparation:

Heat a skillet big enough to hold a whole wheat tortilla lying flat over medium heat. Spray with nonstick. When heated, put your tortilla in, browning both sides but not to the point it’s stiff. Remove and set aside on a plate. Next I added a handful of spinach, because it’s always good to get your leafy green veggies in where you can. Sauté the spinach for a minute, while u whisk together 1/3C egg whites, 1 whole egg, salt and pepper to taste and 1-2 Tbsp of salsa. Add that to pan with spinach. DO NOT SCRAMBLE. You want the eggs to cook in a solid circle, being careful not to burn. Carefully flip and cook briefly to finish the eggs then remove them and lay them atop the tortilla. (The round eggs should be basically the same size as your wrap) Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheddar cheese. Dice up leftover steak (1-2oz) or whatever meat you’re using and cook in the skillet until it’s heated or cooked through. Place it atop eggs. I thinly sliced tomatoes and avocado, sprinkled with a bit more salt and pepper. Then fold over in half. Place the whole folded quesadilla in the skillet finishing browning the wrap on both sides and melting together all the goodness inside. Enjoy!

Fajita steak salad

March 1, 2019 The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

Made a fantastic fajita steak salad for dinner tonight. Rubbed a sirloin with lots of fajita seasoning, salt and pepper and seared it in the cast iron. Next, tossed in lots of green bell pepper, onion and minced garlic with the same seasoning I used for the steak as well as a spoonful of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for some heat. Built the salad with spinach, diced tomato, fajita veggies, 4oz of steak, a spoonful each of corn and black beans and topped with 1/4 avocado. To make a southwestern dressing, I mixed some adobo sauce with 2Tbsp of 45 calorie Greek yogurt ranch to taste. Not gonna brag but this is one of the best dinners I’ve made in awhile.

Quick, Crisp, Colorful–Summer Salads You’ll Crave

April 4, 2016April 4, 2016 The Appalachian Barbie1 Comment

Mention the word “salad” at mealtime and chances are you’ll get a few death stares from your dining companions who either think you’re A) starving yourself or B) attempting to starve them. I know this look all too well coming from my bodybuilder hubby. But with enough protein, these salads are enough to satisfy even his super-sized appetite. In my opinion, there’s nothing better on a hot day than a crisp salad. I love to top mine with a mixture of savory and sweet so I really feel like I got a well rounded meal and am not with an empty stomach at the end. My only rule of thumb is to mind your measurements when it comes to your salad toppers. Load your plate up with all the green veggies you can handle (I.e. Lettuces, spinach, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc), help yourself to a moderate amount of fruits (berries, melons, pineapples, apples, etc), measure out your protein, (4- 8 oz depending on your dietary needs), and go sparingly with the dressing, carbs and fats.

SOUTHWESTERN SHRIMP SALAD

2 large sweet potatoes, diced

1 large bell pepper, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

20 oz medium raw shrimp, dethawed, peeled, deveined, tail off

2T olive oil

1T Chili powder

1 1/2 t Cumin

1/2 t Garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Leafy greens ( I used baby spinach)

Tomatoes

1/4 Avocado, sliced

Plain Greek yogurt and salsa for dressing

Combine all ingredients except shrimp greens, tomatoes, avocado and dressings in a bowl or large ziplock. Shake to coat with oil and seasonings. Roast in a 375 degree oven for 20 mins or until potatoes are mostly tender. Shake shrimp in same oil and seasoning mixture, add to pan, and finish roasting until cooked through and shrimp are pink, around 10-15 mins. Put roasted veggies and shrimp on top of salad mixture, serve with side of avocado, salsa and sour cream. Feeds approx 4 ppl.

STRAWBERRY GOAT CHEESE GRILLED TURKEY SALAD

For this recipe I used (SURPRISE INGREDIENT!) turkey breast cutlets, although skinless, boneless chicken breasts works the same. I just happened to catch some on sale and it’s a change of pace from the norm. I marinated 1lb for 5 minutes in low sodium dale’s, sprinkled with steak rub and grilled to done, around 10 mins. Pull from grill and let cool while you are prepping other ingredients. (Use 4-8oz for salad, depending on dietary needs.)

Baby spinach

Fresh strawberries, sliced

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers, sliced

Sprinkling of walnuts

Sprinkle of goat cheese

Drizzled balsamic vinaigrette

Build all ingredients to your liking and top with dressing.

SWEET AND SPICY SHRIMP SALAD

Peeled, tail off, deveined and dethawed shrimp, sprinkled with old bay and baked for approx 15 mins in 375 degree oven, then tossed in sweet chili sauce

Greens

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers

Fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

Extra sweet chili sauce for dressing

With salads I feel like the possibilities are so endless and you can really cater to your own specific taste. Do you have any favorite ways to build your own garden-on-a-plate???

Quick and Simple Dinners

July 20, 2015 The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying a warm summer day in your neck of the woods. I would like to just throw up a quick post about some simple delicious dinner ideas I’ve made as of late. Hopefully you will be inspired to create something delicious in your own kitchen tonight! That is my goal for this blog by the way. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut whether it’s in the kitchen, with our beauty routine, wearing the same clothes, going to the same places, and I hope to be a source of creative inspiration to pull you out of that stagnation. All of my recipes and ideas are simply something to get the gears turning and are open to your own incredible interpretation. I try to post basic, simple concoctions so you can add your own spin to it and tailor it to your own unique tastes! I encourage each and every one of you to use these ideas as a starting point and share with me your own versions of them!

So back to the recipes.

First up we have a simple, healthy meal from the grill. Nothing beats cooking outside in the summer, and a juicy steak with fresh sides is always a great go-to. I marinade my steaks for only 5-8 minutes in Low Sodium Dale’s (any longer and it’s too salty.) Then I sprinkle it with a dry rub steak mix (kroger brand is on my spice shelf now) and spray it with a little nonstick before slapping it on the grill. LADIES- master the art of grilling! There is nothing sexier than a woman that can prepare a perfectly cooked hunk of meat for their man. I would never recommend cooking a steak over medium, but I guess that’s all just a matter of taste. As for the sides, I got some brussell’s sprouts on sale, so I drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and cracked pepper and roasted them in the oven until they were fork tender. I also had a 1/2C of quinoa, seasoned with the same olive oil, salt and pepper mixture.

I also made my honey a pork loin in the crock pot for dinner. I rubbed it with seasoning salt, pepper and italian seasoning, minced garlic and fresh parsley and basil from my herb garden. I tossed it in the slow cooker with some diced potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and more dry rub and a splash of low sodium soy sauce and let it cook about 10 hours. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

I also threw together a “kitchen sink” soup, meaning, I had a bunch of stuff going out of date and didn’t know what else to make, so I made soup. I pulled out all my veggies and meat that I needed to use up. In this case it was garlic, onions, squash, peppers (green bell and jalepeno), and ground turkey. I browned my turkey with the onion, garlic and peppers in a deep pot. When it was no longer pink, I added some odds and ends from my pantry-a few cans of organic beans (green beans and chili beans), a few tablespoons of tomato paste, some rotel, and chicken broth. Once that came to a boil, I turned down the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes covered. I then added the squash and cooked it for about 5 minutes more then turned off the heat. Voila! A delicious summer soup that will last for a weeks worth of lunches.

I also just wanted to share some of the beauties I’ve been pulling from the garden this year. I am always so blessed with what comes from the vegetables I plant.

Probably my favorite new recipe is this quinoa crust pizza I stumbled across. I saw this recipe on the instagram “livegreenhealthy” and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made. So far we’ve made 4 different types of pizzas on it, but this bbq chicken with jalepeno was a real crowd pleaser! This would also be a delicious way to make cheese sticks. Recipe:

1/2C quinoa

3tsp olive oil, divided

1C water

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4C shredded italian cheese blend OR mozzarella

place uncooked quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and run under cool water for about a minute until water runs clear. Shake off as much excess liquid as pssible. Add rinsed quinoa and 2tsp of olive oil to a medium sauce pot. Turn the heat to medium high and stir occasionally for 6-7 minutes.The excess moisture will evaporate and the quinoa will begin to toast. Carefully add the water to the toasted quinoa and cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let quinoa cook for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and turn heat to low, cooking 5 more minutes to remove all excess moisture. Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl and let cool for at leat 10 mins. preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick. In a small bowl, add eggs, 1tsp olive oil, garlic salt, italian seasoning and baking powder. whisk until combined. Add cheese to quinoa and stir to combine. Add egg mixture to quinoa and stir well. Spread the quinoa ‘dough’ into an even 1/4″ layer on the parchment. Bake 15 minutes, top with sauce, toppings and cheese of your choice, then bake until all toppings are cooked through and cheese is melted and browning. (Sometimes I finish under the broiler.)

And finally, it doesn’t get any easier than a big fresh salad and chicken. When you’re on a budget and wanting to eat healthy, you sometimes have to get creative. Chicken legs are always a great alternative to more expensive breasts. I marinated these in a mix of italian seasonings, garlic and olive oil and red wine vinegar, then baked them on 400 for about 25-30 minutes. I filled my plate with fresh veggies and drizzled with a greek yogurt ranch dressing and that was that. A simple healthy FILLING and inexpensive dinner.

I hope you’ll all try these out when you’re stumped on dinner. Let me know how you tailored each dish to your own style!

Cut Out the Crap!

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015 The Appalachian Barbie4 Comments

Hey guys! Hope you’re all staying cozy and warm during this nasty winter storm. I was just sitting here enjoying a warm bowl of oats and watching the snow fall and got to thinking about the American diet and the struggle for the average person to get fit in a world so heavily influenced by “fast” food and “convenient” boxed and frozen dinners. One of the biggest challenges in the journey to a healthy lifestyle is learning how to eat correctly. Re-teaching your mind -and body- to not just consume, but also enjoy, whole nutritious meals can seem like a daunting task. Well I’m not going to sugar coat it–

YOU. HAVE. TO CUT. THE CRAP.

I mean that literally and figuratively.

I don’t want to sound mean in the following paragraphs. But it’s time to get real and stop making excuses. I hate excuses. Everyone has one and all it is is another version of lazy. I’m sorry to tell you but we’re all busy. We’re all tired. We all have outside circumstances that could influence our schedules. But the answer is to MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY. Human nature is to make time for the things that are important. I can guarantee that you make time in your busy schedule to watch your favorite tv show, or get your nails done, or go to the bar for a drink after a stressful day. So these are the things that are important to you. It’s time to make yourself and your health your most important priority, because at the end of the day, why would you put that other stuff first?? That tv show, or your nail appointment, or that cocktail have never done anything for you and in the grand scheme of things what is it going to matter? The things you are fueling your body with are going to have much more of an influence on your life in the long run than missing an episode of Real Housewives.

Along with getting real, it’s time to starting eating real. No good can come from living on a diet filled with processed, preservative rich, mystery crap that comes from a drive-thru window or a box in the microwave. It’s disgusting. For god’s sake, pick up a box of hamburger helper and try to decode the nutrition information. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t flippin eat it. I am not trying to toot my own horn or be obnoxious, but one of the things I am most proud of is conquering the addiction to fast food. I’ve probably eaten fast food 4 times in the past 2 years and I felt disgusting each and every time. Anything that is sold so cheaply and to such a mass quantity of people can’t be good. Not even subway! Their lettuce comes in a vacuum sealed bag, filled with preservatives so it can survive the distribution process without turning brown. You’re ingesting that. Lean Cuisines, Weight Watchers Meals….even most “protein bars” are full of awful crap that the human body should not be trying to break down! It’s high time to stop eating for convenience and start eating for your health.

With all that being said, there is good news! You don’t have to spend all day every day planning meals and thinking about workouts. (Although for some of us, that sounds like a good time.) With a little bit of scheduling, a healthy, nutritious diet can be just as convenient as hitting a drive thru on your lunch break. The biggest step you can take to getting healthier is setting a schedule and sticking to it. Scheduling out time to meal plan, a day to hit the store for the week, and time to prep your meals will soon become second nature if you just stick to it for a month. This type of lifestyle will also be hugely beneficial to your budget. I allow myself $75/wk for groceries and I only go to the store once a week. That means that I better get what I need and if I run out, it’s tough titty said the kitty. Make do with other stuff until the next trip to the store. When you think about it, $75 is less than 3 average trips to a restaurant.

So here is a sample of how I schedule my diet planning:

-On Monday evening, I discuss with Mitch what he wants to eat for the upcoming week. (The only meals we actually cook every day are breakfast and dinner. The rest of our meals are already prepped.)

-On Tuesday afternoon we go to the grocery store with our list. This process usually takes an hour from start to finish. Always on the list-skinless boneless chicken breast, tuna, spinach, brown rice/quinoa, almond milk, steel cut oats, egg whites, fruit…..

-Tuesday evening or Wednesday, we put 6 lbs of chicken in the crock pot to cook. You can do this before you go to work, or before you go to run errands. ( This is where I get annoyed with people who say they have no time to meal prep. Really?? You don’t have time to open a pack of chicken and put it in a slow cooker with some water? ) I also cook up my rice/quinoa for the week.

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Prepping things this way makes meals as easy as grabbing a handful of shredded chicken and weighing it to your specifications. Or grabbing a 2/3C measuring cup and scooping out your grains. Throw those in a tupperware together with a big handful of spinach. When it’s time to eat, throw on a splash of teriyaki and microwave for a minute and a half. Done. There is lunch.

It also is helpful to get in the habit of eating basically the same thing every day except for dinner. I know it sounds boring, but once your body gets used to it, it starts to crave these meals.

Weaning your body off of these processed, sugar and preservative filled crap foods is going to physically be a challenge as well. Just like a heroin addict, your body is going to detox off sugar. I promise. You will feel like crap. You’re going to feel off. Maybe get headaches. Maybe even sick. this is your body withdrawing from the unnatural junk it’s been used to. But don’t despair. It only lasts a few days. And then your body is going to start rejecting the bad stuff. These days, if I eat things I’m not supposed to, my body physically rejects it. I can’t eat red meat more than 3 times a month. Dairy makes me violently ill. If I eat pasta I will bloat to the point that my pants don’t fit. I am completely, physically miserable.

This doesn’t mean you have to eat boring, bland brown rice and chicken every day. It just means educating yourself on healthy substitutions! For example–

Say you heat up a packet of microwave quaker oats every morning. INSTEAD, scoop out 1/4C of steel cut organic oats into a small pot with 1C of water. Once it starts to boil, it only takes around 10 mins to cook. In that time you can be cooking a healthy egg scramble, making your coffee or even blowdrying your hair. Add a spoonful of vanilla greek yogurt, 1 packet of stevia and 1/4C of fresh blueberries for berries and cream flavored. Or a dash of cinnamon sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup for maple brown sugar flavored.

If it’s burgers you crave–prep a 1lb pack of 93% lean ground turkey into 4 4oz patties. I like to mix up my meat with a few dashes of low sodium Dale’s and a tablespoon of burger seasoning (seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder). Throw them on the grill or skillet with some nonstick and serve them on a toasted whole wheat english muffin or high fiber bread loaded with greens and tomatoes

French fries- don’t buy a bag of frozen crap. Slice a potato, toss in olive oil, sea salt, pepper. bake for 20 mins on 425 degrees. finish off under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that crisp outside layer.

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The goal for changing the way you eat is to eliminate all the unneeded fillers and crap and stick to minimal wholesome ingredients. When eating, less is more. Give it a shot. I promise you’ll feel better and look better!

Is Cleansing/Fasting Just a Trendy Way to Starve?

February 9, 2015 The Appalachian Barbie2 Comments

Hey everyone! I hope y’all had a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful 65 degree February weather today. I had a wonderful day with my best friends brunching and perusing around a bridal convention. This was my first experience at one of these shindigs, and, to put it lightly, WHOA that was a lot of estrogen in one room! However, I got a lot of great ideas, made some great contacts, and most importantly, gorged myself on delicious samples. Everything from appetizers to entrees to cakes, we tried it. To say I was miserable on the way home would be an understatement-I had to unbutton my pants. So tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity to start that mini-cleanse I’ve been debating on for awhile. Cleanses and fasts are hotly debated topics in the health world. A lot of people would say that depriving yourself of food in any manner is not healthy. On the other hand, you have a lot of people who say fasting is a time tested cure-all for most of the body’s ailments. So after extensive research, the following are MY opinions on the subject and MY diet. I am not recommending you follow this advice as no two people are the same and you may have to consult with a professional. So with that out of the way, here we go.

Let’s start with researching cleanses and fasts throughout history. In recent years, many celebrities have come forward with their use of cleanses, more specifically, the Master Cleanse, or Lemonade diet. The term Master Cleanse is practically synonymous with Beyonce for me, due to her famously using it to drop a drastic amount of weight for “Dream Girls.” However, the Master Cleanse has been around since the 1940s, invented by Stanley Burroughs and published in the mid 1970s in a book under the same title. Basically, it’s a juice fast where you live on warm lemonade, made with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days, then over the course of 3 days you re-introduce veggies and fruits and soups to your diet. Mr.Burroughs recommends basically a vegan diet by frowning upon basically any meats or dairy products in a person’s day-to-day diet. There have been plenty of other fasting diets over the course of the past century. Slim Fast, grapefruit diet, juicing… the list goes on. However, let’s go back further in history. In every great religion there is documented use of fasting for spiritual purposes. In the New Testament, within the books of Luke and Acts, fasting is often mentioned in relation to prayer or to clear the mind before making important decisions. Likewise within Buddhism, the Buddha did not experience the great awakening until after fasting and meditation. Muslims are most notoriously documented for their use of fasting during Ramadan, a month-long event where they refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset. I could go on for days listing each religion and their use of fasting but that would get boring and we need to move on. So even FURTHER back in history, if you want to consider the diet of ancient man, they naturally practiced fasting because, well, they had no choice. Hunters and gatherers had seasons of plenty and times where there was no food to be had. Their bodies had to acclimate to storing all the food they could and efficiently distributing all their energy when food sources were scarce.

So, there is your history lesson for the day. With all that being said, I have drawn my own conclusions on fasting. First, I find short term fasting to be a safe and effective practice. Performed in no more than 3-10 day increments, I find that cleansing and fasting can be a terrific way to become more in tune with your own body, shed nasty toxins that are weighing you down, and strengthen your own mind and will-power. Long-term fasting to me seems stupid and wasteful. Ancient man did not willingly go hungry for weeks at a time, nor should I. That statement leads me to my second conclusion: I don’t believe in a full-blown, liquids-only, starvation fest. Instead, I like to maintain small daily liquid cleanses in addition to a supremely clean diet to aid in a healthy body and weight loss. For example, beginning tomorrow, I will start my morning with a Master Cleanse lemonade (8oz of warm water with 2T of pure lemon juice, 1T of pure maple syrup and a dash of cayenne pepper) within 10 mins of being up. I have noticed that this practice helps me with waste elimination, something I struggle with due to my crippling IBS, which may be TMI but to be honest this is a horrible ailment that myself and millions of other people suffer with and deserves someone talking about it because it sucks. Anyway, I’ll follow that with a very clean breakfast, a post-workout protein shake with added veggies and fruits, lunch of fish and rice or quinoa, then replace my 2nd snack with another Master Cleanse lemonade. Dinner will be chicken with veggies. At night prior to bed, a cup of organic senna tea (a natural herbal laxative). I also will drink a bit of warm water with sea salt to also move those toxins out at some point during the day. The goal is for me to get my body as clean as possible, to alleviate any nasty crud I’ve picked up from working in a scummy bar, and to get rid of all the crap food I’ve eaten and re-set my internal system. This type of cleansing seems much more manageable than a full-blown liquid fast. For me personally, I workout far too much and work in a very physical job where I can’t function on ZERO calories. Ideally I would like to incorporate yoga into my morning routine during this time. I am really bad about stretching and yoga can really help your body stretch and push bad things out and give you more of a sense of control over your own mind. However, I say that I would like to start doing yoga in the mornings like, once a week, so we will see how that goes.

I will update post-cleanse with an update. If any of you have any tips or fasts you have performed yourself, let me know! We can discuss! Til then have a blessed day.

Pizza-tow up from the dough up!!!

August 6, 2014 The Appalachian Barbie1 Comment

Hey everybody! I hope y’all are getting to enjoy every last drop of summer 2014! Over the past month, my little tomato garden has exploded into a rainbow of various shades of red, orange, yellow and pink. I have had more tomatoes than I know what to do with and have went what I have deemed as “tomato crazy.” Since one of my all time favorite things to eat is marinara sauce, I decided to give it a whirl with my own tomatoes, and I must say it turned out beautifully. And what better way to enjoy this delicious concoction than on everyone’s favorite food–PIZZA?! I have been making my own pizza dough for awhile now and had a lot of toppings in the fridge, so I threw it all together and it was amazing. After posting a pic on Instagram and Facebook I got a lot of people asking me how to make it. It is a little more detailed than just calling Domino’s so I’m here to guide everyone through the entire process, step by step. Hopefully I won’t leave anything out!

Ok, first and most importantly, you need to set the mood. Slip into something comfy and flip on the Frank Sinatra station on Pandora.

Seriously. I have made this pizza and sauce twice now, and this time, after serenading my sauce with Sinatra, it turned out better. You also are gonna want to have a nice clean workspace, with plenty of elbow room and a sinkful of soapy dishwater to make cleanup easier. I also like to keep a large “trash” bowl handy for the same reason. Instead of making a million trips to the trash can, you can just chuck everything in there and dump it at the very end.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400.

While your oven is heating, we’re gonna start the process of prepping your tomatoes for roasting. Gather all your ripest, reddest tomatoes. For aesthetic purposes only, you want to use red tomatoes. I know a lot of people prefer romas for making sauce, however, as you can see, I have used a mixture of better boys, heirlooms and cherry tomatoes and it turned out just as good. I used quite a bit of tomatoes, as they varied in size. But I would say if you are using standard medium sized tomatoes, you would want to use around 6 or 7.

Also, at this point you want to go ahead and get your water pots going. We’re going to blanch the tomatoes in order to peel the skin quickly and easily. Blanching simply means dunking your tomatoes in boiling water, then ice water. So go ahead and fill one pot with water and turn it on HIGH so it can start to heat to a boil. You will also fill another pot with heavily iced water and set it beside it on the stove, but obviously not on any heat.

Ok, while we’re waiting on that to boil, (remember, a watched pot never does) we can start prepping the tomatoes. Using a small paring knife, you want to remove the core from one end and make a small, shallow “x” in the other end.

You should also take this opportunity to taste test. YUM!

Back to the recipe!

So once you have that all finished, your water should be boiling and it’s time for your little maters to take a bath.

Using a slotted spoon, gently drop your tomatoes, a few at a time, into the boiling water for about 30 seconds, altering time depending on size.

Pull the tomatoes out and immediately immerse them in the ice water pot for about 30 seconds.

A perfectly blanched tomato should have skin that is wrinkling off the flesh.

Go ahead and continue this process for all your tomatoes. When you’re finished, don’t dump your hot tomato water! You can turn it off, but don’t pour it out. We can use that water later on to thin out your sauce if it is too thick.

Ok so go ahead and start peeling your tomatoes. When done correctly, it should take no effort to gently pull the skin off the flesh.

When you have all them finished, go ahead and quarter them up into large pieces, around an inch in size, and spread them on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Next comes the onion. I always wait until I see how much tomato I actually use to determine the amount of onions and garlic. This is also a matter of taste. I wanted “roasted onion and garlic parmesan” sauce. If you don’t like those flavors, don’t add them. I personally used a whole medium yellow onion, diced it, and spread it around the tomatoes on the pan.

Next comes my FAVORITE PART!! GARLIC!! I used a TON of garlic cloves of various sizes, but I would say maybe 7 normal sized cloves? 8? It’s a matter of taste. So then you chop those in halves or quarters depending on size and, stay with me here, it’s about to get wild, shove them INSIDE the tomato pieces!

This serves 2 purposes–1.) it will keep your garlic from burning in the oven and 2.) it infuses your tomatoes with yummy garlic goodness.

So after you’ve planted your little garlics into the tomatoes, you’re ready to oil and spice. I don’t measure spices, sorry. I liberally applied sea salt, black pepper and italian seasoning over everything, then drizzled it all with olive oil. You can definitely at this point use fresh oregano and basil and I’m sure it would make it even better, but since all I had on hand was the dried spice, I made do, and it still turned out great.

Time for the oven. You wanna roast this for about 30-40 minutes in that 400 degree oven. Keep an eye on your pan and make sure your tomatoes don’t get too done because they will shrivel, and make sure your onions don’t scorch. It’s just perfect when your onions are browned. Pull it out and let it cool for about 10 minutes until you’re able to comfortably touch it. This is where a food processor is so handy. It’s no secret I’m obsessed with my Ninja. I just dumped everything from the pan into it, added some more of the above spices to taste, plus about 1/8th cup of parmesan cheese and pulsed for a few seconds and Voila! You could probably also use a hand mixer.

When everything is a nice even consistency, just pour it into a pan and let it simmer on low, covered but not sealed, so that steam can escape but the spatter can’t. REMEMBER, ON LOW! VERY LOW! The last thing you want to do is scorch the bottom of your sauce and give a burned taste to all the hard work you’ve put in there. This also is the time to utilize that tomato water from earlier if your sauce is a little thick. Mine tends to turn out thin initially so I didn’t need the water, but you never can tell. I let mine simmer for about an hour under a watchful eye and stirring consistently until it had reduced to a nice thick sauce.

At this point I would let your sauce cool, then put it in an airtight container or mason jar and let it infuse in the fridge at least overnight. With fresh made things like sauces and salsas, the longer the flavors have to marry, the better it is going to taste.

So now let’s talk about the dough.

Your sauce has been chillin’ for a day or so, and now you REALLY want this flippin pizza. It’s time to start from the bread up. I make a very simple, healthy dough using greek yogurt and whole wheat flour. You can make this ahead of time as well and freeze it, or right before. But beware–the consistency of this dough is EVERYTHING. It is going to make or break your pizza. Too wet and it’s going to be too doughy, too dry and you can’t work with it. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 425. Get out your ingredients, it’s gonna get messy.

nonstick

whole wheat flour

plain greek yogurt

1Cup measuring cup

garlic powder

salt

pepper

italian seasoning

rosemary

Again, I use my ninja for everything, so I sprayed the inside of it liberally with nonstick, but if you’re going to do this by hand, spray the inside of a large bowl. Then you just add 1 Cup of plain greek yogurt, and 1 Cup of whole wheat flour, then add your spices to taste. (again, I don’t measure so….sorry.) At this point I just threw on my lid, and pulsed until I got the right consistency. If you’re kneading by hand, know this will take a lot of working. You may have to add more flour or more yogurt, depending on the day. Also, make sure you spray your hands with nonstick before you start physically touching the dough. Trust me, you’ll thank me for that tip. The perfect dough consistency is pliable and easy to spread without tearing or sticking to everything it touches.

Sprinkle your work space with more flour before getting your dough out to work it. Roll it in a bit more flour, then start folding the dough into itself until it forms a nice smooth ball, and spray the top with nonstick.

Now you want to put your dough ball in the middle of a pizza pan that has been coated with nonstick. I really like the aerated pans, but if all you have is a cookie sheet, that will work too. Start in the middle and just work your dough out with your fingers to the edges of the pan, until it’s all the same thickness and uniform in shape. This amount of dough will make a medium sized 12″ pizza.

Then it’s time to add that delicious sauce from yesterday. (By the way, that amount of tomatoes should have made 1 rather large jar of sauce, so you should have enough for like at least 3 medium sized pizzas.) The amount of sauce you add is all a matter of taste, but since I love marinara I like to put a lot.

Then a LITTLE bit of cheese, to give your toppings something to stick to.

Now it’s time for toppings. I made a deluxe of sorts, with things I had in the fridge already. But put whatever you want! I used pepperoni, bacon, banana peppers, onions and spinach.

finally top it off with lots of cheese and it’s ready for your 425 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Your pizza is done when the edges are crispy and your cheese is starting to brown.

And that’s it. Time to enjoy!!

I know this seems like a ton of work for one pizza. why go through all that trouble when you could just order one from Pizza Hut and have it to your house in 45 minutes? Well, I try to be aware of where everything comes from that is going into my body and it really doesn’t get any healthier than this when it comes to pizza. You can’t beat the taste of homemade either. And if you spend one day making a large batch of sauce, enough for several jars, then you have it on hand and can throw it on pizza or pasta for a quick and easy dinner later. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail, so making dishes ahead of time can really turn into a lifesaver when you’re trying to live a healthy lifestyle. I hope this “healthy” cheat meal is as delicious for you as it was for me. Bon apetit!

Fast, Fresh Recipes Using Summer’s Bounty

July 16, 2014 The Appalachian Barbie5 Comments

Hey guys! Another beautiful summer evening here in East Tennessee! I’ve been a busy bee all evening, playing with new recipes and I would love to take a second to share them with you guys!

This all started because I had a windowsill FULL of overripe tomatoes from my garden. These have been the first to ripen, so they’re a little small, some had a few spots on them…..they just weren’t SUPER great slicing tomatoes. But what to do?! I’m certainly not going to waste them! And I had 3 jalepenos that had just come straight from the little garden out back. As I started digging around the house I realized I had a bag of diced bell peppers that I had stored back in March in the freezer. I also had garlic and spices. A quick trip to the store down the road for an onion and a lime could mean one thing……SALSA TIME!!!

Now, I am as guilty as the next person about buying canned salsa, and I’m here to tell you right now, YOU DON’T FRIGGIN NEED IT! It’s just as cheap, a million times healthier and 548168416525 times tastier to make your own! Especially if you have a garden, like moi. Even if you don’t, buying a couple of tomatoes, peppers and onions will cost you next to nothing and make a crap ton of delicious homemade salsa. Store it in freezer bags and you can enjoy it all year long!

Ok, so yeah, I don’t have an exact recipe really. The beauty of salsa is that you can make it exactly as you like it. Chunky or smooth. Spicy or sweet. Cilantro or no. (NO WAY for me. I HATE cilantro. yeachhhh!!!!) It’s your prerogative. For me, I used what was around the house. The amount of tomatoes I ended up having after removing the stems and bad spots came to around 2 1/2- 3 Cups. Because I had 2 different kinds of peppers, I only used about 1/2 cup of bell peppers and 2 whole jalepenos ( seeds and ribs included!) If you don’t like things too spicy, definitely only use 1 and remove the seeds (that’s where all the heat is.) Also I should mention that mine were small as they came from my garden, and the ones in stores tend to be larger. Try your best to buy organic or homegrown. The difference in quality is unquestioned. And I swear, knowing exactly what went into these beautiful veggies, digging the hole with my own two hands and being able to pick them a few months later to enjoy really takes taste to a whole other level. Anyway, back to the recipe.

So you’ve diced up your tomatoes and peppers. If you’re going to make a chunky salsa, make sure you dice your stuff up pretty uniform in size so one flavor doesn’t outweigh another. I used a food processor (God bless my Ninja) so I just chunked it up without thought. Next comes the onion. I used about a 1/4 of a large onion. Since the flavor is so strong I didn’t want it to over power, just compliment. Then the garlic. I used probably 2-3 good sized cloves. I frickin LOVE garlic. I could probably eat an entire bulb like an apple, so again, go with your own taste. Finally I added sea salt, ground black pepper, and since I didn’t have cumin on hand, I improvised with chili powder. Juice of 1 lime and I was ready to process! Remember, as tempting as it is going to be to eat your salsa immediately, it’s best if you let it marinade overnight. All the flavors mix together and it will taste completely different. So that’s that. If you like cilantro, throw that in. If you want something sweet and different, substitute mangoes or pineapple for the tomatoes. Add some corn and black beans if you want a heartier salsa.

I swear to God, I have made some pretty delicious things in my life, but this was by far one of the easiest and most delicious things to come out of my kitchen. So fresh–UGH!!

(**side note, I ate mine with some simple sea salted pita chips, but you can use whatever you like. I just didn’t want a strong salt flavor to take away from the beauty of the salsa.)

Fresh from the garden salsa ingredients, minus the bell peppers

The finished product, after a quick spin in the Ninja.

Another happy surprise I got tonight was finding a way to curb my craving for mashed potatoes! Here in the south we love LOVE our taters. Smashed, mashed, hashed, fried, baked or loaded…you name it, we’ll eat it. Unfortunately that is part of why the south has an obesity epidemic on it’s hands, but that’s a rant for another blog. So tonight I gave mashed cauliflower a whirl. SO glad I did! The consistency was perfect and after the right flavorings, you NEVER would have known it was simply steamed cauliflower. This is yet another recipe that can be tailored to your individual taste, or altered by what you have laying around the house. We’ll call mine “Garlic Ranch Parmesan Fauxtatoes!” I chopped up one head of cauliflower, removing the core and any remaining leaves, then tossed it in a large pot, covered it with water and turned it on the stovetop on high. I also threw in a few garlic cloves because, like I said earlier, I have a garlic fever and don’t wanna be cured. Also I’m a huge fan of garlic mashed potatoes, so I thought, what the hell. I threw a lid on the pot and let that sucker boil and steam on medium high for about 15 minutes, til it was really tender. Then I drained the water and threw all of it in my Ninja. (I told you I love that thing. Best $100 I’ve spent in my kitchen.) Sea salt, black pepper to taste, then I started adding light ranch greek yogurt dressing. This is where things get custom. I used Marzetti’s Simply Dressed & Light. I added probably 1/4 cup initially, pulsed and added more. All told, I used maybe 1/3 of the bottle??? I didn’t really pay attention. I just added until it was the right consistency and had the right amount of ranch flavor for me. OMG it was AMAZING! This is a recipe I intend to make several times a week. Did I happen to mention that 1 cup of cauliflower has 25 calories, compared to 1 cup of potatoes, which has 116?! That means I can have 3x as much….right?

Grilled chicken with a spinach and cucumber salad and MASHED FAUXTATOES!!! Try them! Don't be scared! — Grilled chicken with a spinach and cucumber salad and MASHED FAUXTATOES!!! Try them! Don’t be scared!

Guys I hope you try these recipes and it inspires you to create some of your own. The best meals are made of simple, fresh, wholesome ingredients. Remember that and you can’t go wrong! post me some of your favorite healthy recipes and I would love to re-post them to share with others!!

Until next time, stay happy and southern and enjoy the little things!!

Marching into spring

March 7, 2014 The Appalachian BarbieLeave a comment

Good morning! I’m sitting here drinking my morning tea with the sunshine streaming through my windows and listening to the birds chirp. Even though it’s still pretty chilly outside, just like the birds, I can feel spring moving in. And time is FLYING by. I can”t believe it’s already been 2 months since I started this little online journal. Pretty soon it’ll be 90 degrees outside and everyone will be bitching and whining for cooler weather on Facebook (why can’t people just be happy )

This week I got around to bringing a little spring into the house. I changed my Bath & Body Works Wallflowers from “Leaves” to “Coconut Leaves!” I mopped my floors, opened my windows and let in some fresh air. And I changed out my dining room roses for a beautiful arrangement of astro’s and tulips. Nothing says spring time like tulips, and in white, they are so chic.

Also, yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which means Lent is upon us. I’m not Catholic, but I’ll take any excuse to better my diet, so for the next 39 days, I’m cutting the carbs! This really isn’t a major change for me, I’m just enforcing my existing diet beliefs. I guess the best way to describe my diet would be Paleo, but I hate to associate myself with the Crossfit cult, no offense to any crossfitters, I just don’t do it, but more power to ya. I guess I’m a Naturalist. I feel that the best way to eat is the way my ancestors did–by eating things that can be consumed in their rawest form from nature. Lots of chicken and fish, with red meat maybe once a week and pork every other week, (I don’t have any kind of moral issues with red meat and pork, I’ve just found that when I’m eating really clean, my body has a hard time breaking those things down, and since I want to listen to my body, I probably should limit my intake of them.) I compliment my protein with plenty of fruits and veggies. Leafy greens, broccoli/cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, asparagus, all the squashes, peppers and onions, garlic, avocado and cabbage are some of my favorite veggies. On the fruit side I love any kind of berries, kiwi, melons, pineapple, grapefruit, grapes, and tangerines. I try to stay away from carrots, corn, potatoes and bananas, as these contain a lot of sugar and honestly, I just hate the texture of bananas. For snacking, I try to stick to nuts, raw walnuts and almonds preferably, nut butters, hummus and occasionally 1/4 cup servings of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. I’ve tried to quit dairy all the way around, but I’m a sucker for good cheese and can’t pass up my smattering of feta on my eggs in the mornings. Hey, YOLO. I have not drank milk in over a year now and am now apparently lactose intolerant. However, I absolutely LOVE almond milk. There is a reason why the Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla almond milk is always sold out at my grocery store. It’s delicious AND it only has 30 calories in an 8oz serving!

With all that being said about my diet BELIEFS, just like any believer, in my day-to-day life I falter. My diet REALITY is a lot more lax than just that nice little list up there. It’s hard to work in a pub where you’re frying delicious hand-cut french fries and not snag one or two. Off every order. And pretty soon those add up to an order within themselves. Or to tell the sweet old war vet who brings me cookies n’ cream ice cream that I can’t eat it because I’m dieting. Or cheesecake. For God’s sake. I’ll never be able to pass on cheesecake. As I’ve become more in tune with my body over the past few months, I’ve really learned a lot about myself. For example, as the day goes on I lose motivation. I’m a morning person. I wake up with all the ambition in the world. I don’t have food cravings and I get. stuff. done. However, the later in the day it gets, the worse my sweet tooth is, and the less likely I am to stick to goals and you can forget about the gym. Seriously, if I’m not at the gym before 1pm, it’s not gonna happen. And I normally don’t go in to work until 9pm! So imagine how hard it is to not hit the late night diner that serves homemade gourmet cheesecakes until 5am with all my co-workers after a long night of slinging drinks! But I am a firm believer in the 90/10 rule of eating well and exercising 90% of the time so the other 10% can be spent being a disgusting fat slob.

I really need to get it together though since Mitch and I are going on our spring vacation next week to the beach. I absolutely can’t wait. One of my best friends moved to Myrtle Beach right after we graduated high school and even after almost 10 years, is still nice enough to put me up when I get a little spare cash and can manage to get away from work for a few days. With that being said, I’ve spent a lot of time in the ol’ Dirty Myrtle, but since Mitch is going with me this time and he’s not a big drinker or partyer, I wanted to plan some really fun stuff that even I’ve never done before. For instance, one day we are driving down to Georgetown and touring Hopsewee Plantation. I’m obsessed with Southern history and am sure the tour of the house and the following afternoon tea will not disappoint. I’m also excited to get down to the Inlet and enjoy some fresh seafood. JUST NO HUSH PUFFIES!

I hope everyone is as excited as myself for the upcoming season. As much as I try to be thankful and enjoy every day, there’s just something so fresh and new and exciting about spring. With everything in nature stirring and coming to life, I can’t help but feel the same on the inside. Hopefully I’ll have some time to update from the beach. Until then, everyone carpe diem!

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