Ratatouille

This weekend I have to admit that I overindulged a bit. Between barbeques and family get togethers, my body is definitely craving some clean meals this week. I sit down on Sundays and plan out my meals for the week. It is the best way to keep on track and hold myself accountable. I found this pad at Marshalls for a few dollars and it has been the best thing.

I do a lot of food prep on Sundays as well. This makes it so much easier when it comes time to either run out the door with breakfast in hand or whip together our meal when I get home from work. I like to chop all my vegetables, fruits, and make breakfast for myself and Jay for the week. I shared this recipe which will be on repeat for my breakfasts for the next week, or two. For Jay I always make this. I swear he will never get sick of those muffins!

The recipe I am sharing today is another from Whole30. We had this for dinner last week and it was a hit! I loved all the veggies combined with the garlic and tomato sauce. This is a recipe I will use again as it is a perfect side dish for any meat. I paired it with chicken meatballs, but I think it would be great with a perfectly grilled steak - yum!

The best part about this dish is that it cooks in one pan. I love when I don’t have to use a thousand dishes to cook one thing, it just makes my life so much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I make things all the time that make my kitchen look like it's been attacked by every pan and cooking utensil in the house, haven't we all?? You’ll love this dish. It’s simple and delicious - what more could you ask for?

I did chop all my veggies and put them in bowls prior to cooking. I found that it was a lot easier to dump the bowls into the hot pan rather than scrambling for what was going in next. I put the onions in one bowl, the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant in another bowl, and then the orange and green peppers in the last bowl. Since they all went in at different times it helped the cooking process, and myself, keep organized. I like to think of cooking as organized chaos. 

How do you decide what meals to make? I’d love to do a post on meal prep. Let me know if that is something you’d like to see! Happy eating!

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Ratatouille

by Kaytlyn Ferrando (adapted from the Whole30 cookbook) July-17-2017

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 finely chopped onion
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 cup diced eggplant
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced orange bell pepper
• 2 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp balsamic venegar
• 3 basil leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Heat pan with coconut oil.2. Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 3 minutes). 3. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often.4. Add the finely diced peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes. 5. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).6. Add the tomato sauce and water. Let simmer on low heat for 20 - 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 7. Serve with meat or eat alone.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: serves 2

Recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom 

Banana Oat Bread

I think my brain has turned to mush following along with the Nordstrom Sale. I follow so many beauty and fashion bloggers and that is all they’re talking about! Don’t get me wrong, I am loving looking at all the fall pieces and enjoy watching try on videos. I have major envy of them right now. These are some of my favorite bloggers right now. 1 2 3 4

I have been trying to stick with a routine this week of cooking, cleaning, and working out but summer school started, so everything has been thrown off a bit. Also, we are in the midst of renovating our upstairs bathroom, so it has been a bit chaotic over here. All of our toiletries are sprawled all over our office and our new fixtures are taking up our guest room. I am SO ready for this project to be over, and lucky for me we are almost done. I spent yesterday painting and I am always in awe of how much paint can really change a room. I will definitely do a post about it when we’re completely done.

Although this has been a busy week I was able to bake and cook up some new recipes. Today I am sharing a most delectable banana bread. I knew I wanted to make a banana bread this week and I also knew I wanted to try using ground oats as the flour base. I found this simple banana bread recipe here and changed some ingredients to create my idea of the perfect banana bread.

I talked about oats in this post and I am still loving them in my baking recipes. I swapped out the flour for 1 cup of ground oats and ¾ cup of oats as they are. I did this because I wanted the bread to have some of that texture that the oats bring when they soak up all the moisture.

This bread turned out moist and so delicious! At first I was nervous about how it would turn out using the ground oats but I am so glad I tried it. I usually only do simple and small switches when I am playing with a recipe but this one felt big to me. I definitely will continue to make recipes more my own on this food journey.

If there is something you want to see more of please let me know. Happy eating!

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Banana Oat Bread

by Kaytlyn Ferrando July-14-2017

Decadent and moist banana bread loaded with chocolate chips.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup ground oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Mash bananas.3. Add eggs, coconut oil (melted), honey, milk, and vanilla to the mashed bananas. Whisk until well combined. 4. In a separate bowl, combine oats, ground oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 5. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Stir until well combined. 6. Fold in chocolate chips. 7. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray thoroughly. I improvised with tin foil and sprayed it with nonstick spray. 8. Bake for 50 minutes or until center is set. The bread will be very moist upon completion.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 50 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 1 loaf

Spinach Frittata

Let me just start by saying, you’re welcome. This frittata will be one of your new go to breakfast recipes. It tastes like you’re eating a pizza but without the grease, cheese or crust; i.e. everything not healthy. It is AMAZING.

For my birthday, Jay got me the Whole30 cookbook, which I have been asking for at least once a week- thanks babe! The first recipe I tried was this one and I am so happy I did. Not only is it a perfect breakfast but I find myself having a little slice after I workout. It’s just the right amount to replenish my body after sweating everything out. I typically reach for fruit or some kind of carb after I’ve exercised, but I don’t want to jumpstart my body with sugar anymore. The frittata kept me full until my next meal and didn’t leave me craving chocolate within the hour- because let’s be honest, who doesn't crave chocolate?! 

I’ve done the Whole30 twice and I love the way I felt about two weeks in. Prior to doing the Whole30 the first time I drank a glass of full fat milk daily, cheese with everything (and I mean everything), and had to have chocolate after dinner every night. I had lots of headaches throughout the month and my stomach was upset at least twice a week, for no specific reason. I knew I needed to make a change. I first heard about the Whole30 through one of my favorite bloggers, Katy. She is the sweetest person, definitely go follow her blog! After seeing her go through the process I decided to give it a try.

If you’ve never done the Whole30, the rumors are true. It is hard. You will crave sugar. You may even break down and cry. However, you are stronger than you think. You CAN do it. And it DOES get easier.

The first week was pretty easy, but by day 7 or 8 I was feeling really cranky. I wanted to eat cheese and chocolate so badly, but I didn’t give in to the cravings. Luckily Jay did it with me so we had each other to lean on. I highly suggest having someone to go through this with you, it really does help! By day 12 I felt so amazing. My stomach didn’t hurt at all, I had way more energy and my headaches were nonexistent. After my 30 days I realized that I didn’t need chocolate before bed or cheese on everything. I completely stopped drinking full fat milk and rarely put cheese on my home cooked meals.

The best part was that I lost 14 pounds! Can you believe that?! Now by no means is this supposed to be a diet for weight loss, that was just an added bonus. The second time I did the Whole30, about a year later, I lost about 5 pounds but I was also working out a lot more frequently. The second round was SO much easier. I think it was because I knew what to expect and how awesome I was going to feel while eating so much cleaner.

So enjoy this frittata and be kind to your body, it’s the only one if you have. If you want to try the Whole30 and have more questions please feel free to ask away! Happy eating!

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Spinach Frittata - Whole30

July-12-2017

Perfect breakfast frittata filled with healthy ingredients.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 cup diced seeded tomato
• few slices of tomato
• 9 ounces baby spinach

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper and set aside.3. Preheat a skillet on medium heat and add the coconut oil, or preferred cooking fat. Add the onions and diced tomatoes to the pan. Cook about 3 minutes, or until the onions are tender and translucent. 3. Add the roughly chopped spinach to the pan and stir it until the spinach has wilted and is well incorporated with the onions and tomatoes.5. Add this mixture into the whisked eggs and stir until well combined. 6. Transfer the mixture into a greased 9 inch pie plate and top with sliced tomatoes. 7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the center is set.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 9 inch pie

Recipe from The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom 

What's in my lunchbox

My biggest pet peeve is when people say teaching is easy. My second biggest pet peeve is when they say oh you only work 8-3 and you have summers off! Must be nice. Those people are usually businessmen (women do it too- I know) who sit in an air conditioned room in a comfy chair all day, who get to surf the internet on their down time and have actual adult conversation. THAT must be nice. But I’m not bitter or anything. I love my job 100%. There is nothing else I would ever want to do. I could not sit in an office all day, although adult conversation and air conditioning would be nice! Teaching is not just an 8-3 job, which is why I am showing you what I bring in my lunchbox. So if you’re a teacher or work long hours, this is a great example of how you can pack lots of healthy food for your workday.

Typically I am at work from 7-4:30. I usually eat breakfast sitting at my desk checking emails. Because of this, I try to bring something that I can munch on that’s not too messy. I’ve shared how I like to make my eggs in this post. It’s an easy, quick, and relatively mess free breakfast. The best part is, it keeps me full until snack time! Any of my teacher friends out there still need a snack at 10 every day even though it’s summer?

For snack I’ll usually have a fruit or some kind of bar, sometimes both depending on how my day is going. If it’s a full moon forget about it. My butt is walking to the staff room for oreos because most likely my kids are driving me loco. Isn't is crazy how a full moon can make people act differently?!

These are really decadent, and come in a few different flavors. My favorites are the raspberry and blueberry- yum! They’re just like fig newtons but for adults. They’re dairy free, non GMO, and kosher. Basically all of those healthy food buzzwords going around. Beware this is not sugar free, but it is a good treat when you need a pick me up.

For lunch, tuna has been one of my go-to’s. It’s simple to make and tastes delicious. I love to add chopped up deli pickles to my tuna. I find that I always need a crunch factor when eating a meal. My husband will tell you that sometimes instead of craving a specific food I’ll go whining around the house wanting something crunchy. Anyone else feel me? Instead of using store bought mayo in my tuna, I make my own. I used this recipe. I like making my own mayo because it tastes way better than store bought mayo! Try it, you’ll like it!

Yogurt and a piece of fruit complete my lunch for the day. I like these yogurts because they are only 100 calories, and of course they get a gold star in my eye because of the crunch factor. I might eat these at lunch or as an after school snack. I try to save at least one thing for after school because I can get pretty hangry!

What’s in your lunchbox?

Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins

I am not exaggerating when I say that I make these muffins every single week. My husband eats them for breakfast during the workweek and they are a much better alternative to regular bakery muffins.

These muffins are delicious. They are made without refined sugar or flour which is a major bonus in my opinion. I can’t get my husband to eat lots of fruits and veggies but I can get him to eat a healthier version of his favorite breakfast. Small victories! I add a little more chocolate chips on top- it's all about the presentation!

When making these muffins I love to use these silicone muffin liners. I absolutely love them. They make cleanup so much easier! The muffins slide out of the silicone liner with ease and they are simple to wash. I usually let them sit in water for a bit before I wash them and the leftover muffin just slides right off. I highly recommend these if you like to bake like I do!

If you’re going to be baking with a lot of honey, this is the best bang for your buck. I used to go through so many small jars- and honey is not cheap! I’ve had this jar for about 2 months and I am just now getting to the bottom.

Back to the muffins! I found this recipe here and I didn’t change too much from the original recipe. Of course I used my favorite coconut milk but any milk would work for these. I’ve even made them with water when I was in a pinch and they still turned out fab! The great thing about these is that if you don’t have very ripe bananas on hand you can replace it with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce. They are great that way too, but Jay assures me that the banana version is quite a bit better. Don't be afraid of the massive amount of 100% dark cacao powder that go into these muffins. I promise you they won't be bitter!

Oats take the place of flour in this recipe. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, oats is for oatmeal not muffins! Wrong. Oats have lots of nutritional benefits and since I know some of you are dying to know what they are I will summarize what I read about oats this article. You’re welcome.

1. Oats are a good source of carbs and fiber.
2. Oats can improve blood sugar levels.
3. Since oats are so filling, it can help you lose weight- heyyyy

There are many more benefits that you can read about here, but these three I thought were the most intriguing.

I found that the easiest way to grind the oats was in my nutribullet. You don’t need a big fancy blender, but if you have one that will work too! They take about 30 seconds to grind up to a powdery consistency, so it’s nice and quick!

Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean that you can no longer indulge in your favorite things. Eating healthy to me means making conscious choices about the ingredients you’re using while baking or cooking. By making simple switches in ingredients, food can still have all the delicious flavor without the high fat, calories, and carbs. 

If you try this recipe let me know how you liked it!! Thanks for reading!

 

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Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins

by Kaytlyn Ferrando July-2-2017

Refined sugar and flour free! What's not to love?

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 2 tsps baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsps dark chocolate cacao powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Mash bananas. 
2. Add all wet ingredients to the mashed bananas and whisk together until fully combined.  
3. Grind 1 1/2 cups of the oats until they are a powdery consistency.  
4. Add the oats, ground oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cacao powder to the mashed banana mixture. 
5. Whisk until completely combined.  
6. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
7. Pour batter into a greased muffin tin or silicone baking inserts. 
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 
9. Let cool and then enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 10 mins  
Cook time: 20 mins  
Total time: 30 mins  
Yield: 8 jumbo muffins

Niagra Falls

We’ve been on vacation for the last week so I didn’t do much cooking or have much time to sit down and do a post. Jay and I went to Niagra Falls in Canada for our first wedding anniversary, and it was so much fun! I thought it would be fun to share some of the things we did in Niagra Falls! First of all, if you haven’t visited Niagra Falls I highly recommend it. The Falls are the most magical and mystical things I have ever seen. They took my breath away when I first saw them. Their size and power are indescribable.

We stayed right in the middle of the small city surrounding the Falls, which I would definitely recommend. We could walk everywhere and we used their WeGo bus system. I’ll link the package here that we used to explore the Falls. It was the perfect way to see everything we wanted to and get around the city. Another benefit to staying right in Niagra Falls was the surrounding attractions. There were SO many restaurants, adventure parks, arcades, rides, and touristy things to do. If you have kids, this is the holy grail of how to keep them busy and happy. Warning: be prepared to spend some money. Obviously going on vacation you go in with that mindset, but really everything is a bit more expensive there and everything had a $6 parks fee, it was our running joke the whole time we were there. Not that I am complaining! All of the fee money goes to keeping the Falls and the area around it maintained and beautiful for tourists like us.

The first thing we did and the most fun thing we did was the Hornblower ferry into the falls. Basically it’s a huge ferry that brings you past the American Falls and then into the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. When I say into I don’t mean near the falls I mean you’re basically right next to the falls! As we got closer and closer we began to feel the spray from those majestic beasts, hence the fabulous- and oh so stylish- red ponchos. When the ferry got to the falls it was breathtaking. Literally breathtaking because there was so much water spraying in my face that I couldn’t breath! But once I got over that and wiped away the loads of mascara running down my face (note: wear waterproof mascara) I got to see the beautiful falls up close. It was like no other experience I've ever had.

The next thing we did was the White Water Walk. This is about a ½ mile walk along the rapids of the Niagra River. The rapids are moving about 24 mph and the waves are over 10 feet high! This was another breathtaking sight and another thing I highly recommend.  

We also did another tour behind the falls (waterproof mascara not required) which was second best to the Hornblower ferry. Basically we took an elevator down about 250 feet down and ended up in the tunnels that were dug long long ago. We got to explore the tunnels and read about the Falls; did you know that the Falls were once dried up for a few years so scientists and experts could study the rocks and earth behind them? Really interesting stuff! Two if the tunnels lead you directly behind the falls. We got to see the power that’s behind those magnificent falls. The last tunnel leads you out to a small landing right next to the edge of one of the Falls. We were lucky that it was overcast that day so we captured the Falls in all their glory.

Overall we had an amazing time. We even went over to Toronto to catch a Blue Jays game. The stadium there is really nice and clean (that’s important to me). Jay has a bucket list to see as many baseball stadiums as he can. So far he’s visited 5 out of the 30, so he has we have a lot more to see!

There were so many other amazing things we did in Niagra Falls,  but I don’t want to give all the magic away! If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them! What are your summer vacation plans?