healthy

PB Honey Toast, My Way

~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

IMG_4541.JPGLately, I find myself so over “date night”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love an evening out with my husband and friends, but “date night” has so many connotations attached to it, both positive and negative. There’s the pressure to make reservations, get dressed, have dinner planned for the kids and the sitter, arrange a date and time that works for friends (if it’s a group)… And then, you risk the fact that your kids might still be awake when you get home later that evening!! At least, if your kids are anything like mine.  On the other hand, it feels so good to get dressed up, put on some heels, try a new restaurant, and catch up with your husband and friends over a bottle of wine and good food.

A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I were debating whether we should go out one night.  We wanted some kid-free time together, but we were also exhausted after a long week.  Has anyone else been there? Please tell me we’re not the only ones…

Jack happened to be with his grandparents watching his cousins’ soccer games, and Isabelle was home with us.  In an inspired moment, Chris had the brilliant beyond brilliant idea to ask our sweet H.S neighbor girl to come watch Isabelle so we could go out! During the day! Brilliant, no?! We’ve often gone out during the day, but always with an agenda or a list of errands to accomplish in X amount of time.  This time, we had NO agenda – just me and my hubs, and the best “day date”.  We even made it home in time to make dinner for the kids, and enjoy movie night with them! It was truly, an almost perfect day.

We ended up at Coffee Shop in Walnut Creek where Chris got the most phenomenal Peanut Butter + Honey Toast.  I haven’t quite been able to stop thinking about it, so this week I made my own homemade version, topped with a dusting of cinnamon. Simple, easy, filling, and nutritious! Thanks for the inspiration Coffee Shop!

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INGREDIENTS:

  • Toast, of choice.  I used Udi’s Whole Wheat Gluten Free Bread.
  • 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter, I always prefer smooth PB, and think it works best with this snack.
  • 2-3 teaspoons of Honey
  • Banana, sliced.
  • Cinnamon for dusting.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Toast bread.
  2. Spread a light amount of PB, about a tablespoon.
  3. Drizzle honey over the peanut butter, 2-3 teaspoons.
  4. Slice banana to cover the toast.
  5. Dust cinnamon on top!

Note: I especially love cinnamon for it’s ability to regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol, any many other benefits.  Raw, local honey is amazing for its ability to relieve some allergies, and anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.  In high school I would make myself a tea of hot water, honey, and cinnamon.  It was so good! Perhaps I’ll share the recipe one day…

I have had this for a light lunch numerous times this week, it’s that good and filling!

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cheers!

 

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Quick, No Mess BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos

~ agustinaskitchen ~ 1 Comment

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DISCLAIMER: I’m not going to guarantee that these are “no mess” pulled pork tacos.  But they are quick,  easy to clean up, and a crowd pleaser on a hot Tuesday (or any day of the week) when the last thing you want to do is worry about turning on the stove, let alone the oven!

Mexican food has always been one of those things that I enjoy going out for much more than I enjoy making for myself or my family.  There’s something fun, and almost comforting about going to a Mexican restaurant.  Perhaps it’s because when I was a kid my brothers and I would always request to go to Chevys for our birthday dinners.  Each of us always got a batch of tortilla dough to play with while we waited for our food to arrive, and at the end of the meal the waiters would all stand around your table and sing you the most fun, loud, exuberant, hands-clapping Happy Birthday!  And pop a big ol’ sombrero on your head at the end!  Sometimes, if we went on a Friday or Saturday night there was a balloon man who would stop at each table offering to make any animal figure/sword/doll/whatever out of his balloons.  Our parents always obliged – how could they have said no?!  It was incredibly fun; celebratory, really. And made our birthday feel special because these strange waiters would sing happy birthday to us!

These, and many other Chevy dinners were my first experience with Mexican food.  I believe that since it was such an enjoyable experience it made me fall in love with Mexican food.  Fajitas, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tortilla chips and salsa, guacamole!! You name it…

With these tacos I wanted to recreate, the simple, festive feeling of going to a restaurant right at home.  We make this BBQ Pulled Pork every now and then.  We should make it more often because it’s so easy! This time we turned it into tacos, and I wish we were having it for dinner again tonight.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 lb pork shoulder
  • salt to season
  • 1 can of your favorite BBQ sauce – we used Kinder’s Mild BBQ Sauce
  • 1 medium white onion, diced
  • 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • Guacamole, I prefer to make my own – though store bought would work fine
  • favorite salsa, we used Casa Sanchez Fire Roasted Medium salsa
  • 1 package of tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. I lied, you will have to turn on your stove for 2 minutes.  Get out a big pan and put it on medium high, place your pork shoulder on the pan to sear the sides.  Season with plenty of salt.
  2. Immediately transfer into a crockpot.  Pour a 20oz bottle of BBQ sauce into the crockpot to coat the pork shoulder. Put the lid on and set on high for 6-8 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, chop your onion, cilantro, and salsa.  Place in individual ramekins.  If you are making your guacamole, prepare no more than 20-30 minutes before serving so that it stays fresh!
  4. When your pork shoulder is done, remove and place on cutting board.  Using two forks begin to tear the meat off the bone.  It will literally fall off the bone into delicious pieces.
  5. Enjoy!

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Cheers!

My Favorite Healthy (and super easy) 3 Ingredient Green Juice

~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

 

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Happy New Year! Is anyone else super excited for a clean slate!? I can’t quite remember the last time I was so happy for a New Year.  At the end of 2016, I was so ready for the New Year, that I overindulged like mad.

I’ll try and justify myself by telling you that for a big part of the holiday we were all fighting some cold or other so we stayed inside a lot and ate, slept, ate more, watched movies, and did a lot of reading.  Honestly, it was actually quite nice to fully enjoy cookies, cakes, spaghetti, steak, lasagna, an endless flow of chocolates, bacon, sausage and eggs. Of course, the only downside is that I’ve now begun 2017 with a few extra pounds, which don’t feel so good!!

In an attempt to counteract these extra pounds, I’ve been juicing a bit. Last year I did not use our juicer at all, not once! However, after pulling it out of the garage and putting it back on the kitchen counter, I realize that I forgot how much I like having fresh, alkalizing, and nutritious green juice to get my digestion, mind, and body to feel alive and alert again.  Moreover, I love how drinking 100% makes me crave more fruits and vegetables in my diet.  Also, the broccoli, apple, lemon combination does wonders for your immunity from to all the vitamin C they provide! Cheers to 2017 and more fresh fruits and veggies! Oh, and maybe a trip to New England, I lived in Boston years ago and haven’t been back in 5 years… 😉

INGREDIENTS:

4 heaping cups of broccoli (stem included)

1 1/2 – 2 green apples

1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Put all the ingredients through the juicer, stir, and enjoy!

*Makes about a cup and a half.

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Cheers!

A Summer Basil Vinaigrette

~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

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Basil is the herb of summer.  It’s refreshing, light, and has that wonderfully cool scent – perfect for a late summer evening. You can throw it in a salad, top it on pizza, turn into pesto for pasta, even put in water with sliced strawberries to drink. Recently, I saw it turned into a vinaigrette,  and immediately had to give it a try!

We went through two batches in one week. Currently, I have a bunch more basil sitting in the fridge that I’m going to turn into this vinaigrette to use for dinner tomorrow. We used it as the sauce for pizzas (it was better than pesto!) I also drizzled it over salmon a couple of weeks ago, and used it for a mozzarella tomato panini.  It’s so easy to make, versatile, and so good for these summer months.

Without further ado:

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INGREDIENTS:

2-3 heaping cups of basil

2 garlic cloves

1 shallot

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

*salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor/grinder/chopper/blender until it comes out smooth – about a minute or two.

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 Cheers!

A Smoothie Green St. Patrick’s Day to You

~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish!  Except, I didn’t wear green.  Nope.  Every year I “forget” to wear green.  Mostly I’m too lazy.  You see, I don’t have a lot of green in my wardrobe.  I just don’t.  Don’t judge.  Maybe next year, alright?

That said, I always love to consume something green or “Irish” on this fun day!  Today it was so incredibly hot out, that by the time we got home this afternoon, all I wanted was a smoothie.  Do you remember making smoothies on hot summer days when you were a kid?  I would make my smoothies with strawberries, milk, and ICE CREAM! And I called it a smoothie!? More like a milkshake!  So, I made myself a smoothie sans all the dairy…

I pulled these ingredients right out of my fridge, and within minutes voila!  What I most like about this smoothie, is that the banana really masks the spinach, yet you still get all the great health benefits of the spinach.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 c. ice

1 large banana

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

3/4 c. almond milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

I always put all the ingredients in the blender in that order. And give it a good long blast until it’s smoothie delicious! Pour it into a fancy schmancy glass. Add a straw and enjoy!

*Makes about 2 cups

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