MyPlate, Update

Long time no blog, I know. Really, I do. I've been meaning to post so many new recipes, but every one I have made was not up to par for sharing.

I made a spinach and onion quiche. Eh, nothing spec. Red lentil sloppy joes. Pretty good, but not the flavor I was looking for. Taco pasta bake with tofu. Needed some more going on, but I will try again.

Harumph. In internship news, things are going great and currently with the Department of Public Health. I'm really excited to be a part of a farm to plate curriculum development for 4th graders, since it's something I am familiar with, and what I enjoy doing! Win, win, always wins. I have a presentation to give regarding the updated food pyramid of MyPlate to headstart workers on Tuesday, but feel pretty good about it. I will be sure to update later on this week.

One thing I did make this weekend was a yummy evening snack. My friends know how obsessed with stovetop popcorn I am. Like make every night no matter what obsessed. I was in the mood for something sweet, thus the Sweet & Cinnamon Popcorn was born!

Sweet & Cinnamon Popcorn
serves 1 ~ about 3 cups 

2 T popcorn kernels
1/2 tsp oil
1 packet stevia (or 1 tsp sugar)
cinnamon, to taste
1 T granola (optional)

Cook popcorn, as shown here .

Once the kernels start to pop, add half of the stevia or sugar. Continue to cook until all kernels are popped, shaking pot often.

Once fully popped, transfer to a bowl, spray with cooking spray and top with remaining sweetener and cinnamon. I love cinnamon so I made sure to put exactly a heaping lot-ful on mine. Sprinkle on some granola for extra goodness. You know you need it!

*Another update, is to the Whole Wheat Tortillas recipe. I found a new way to prepare, yielding a much bigger and softer tortilla, at only 50 calories each!

Just another manic Monday awaits!

It's On, UConn!

It's official! I leave for my 8 week NACUFS internship at the University of Connecticut tomorrow! Although my summer vaca was just about a week long I got A LOT accomplished. Got my first car (on my own I might add!), had a blast at a Jack & Jill for my bride-to-be Katie, saw plenty of friends and family, along with countless other things I needed before departing for the majority of the summer. The only thing left, and of course the biggest task at hand is finding my housing for my Alabama internship. One day at a time though....

I have long been wanting to try this recipe and with the gorgeous sun and time on my hands I am glad I tried it today! Be warned. This is extremely addicting. Proceed with caution!

I always buy the plain shredded wheat cereal for one of my morning routine breakfasts. Sounds boring, I know, but I jazz it up so it doesn't resemble eating soggy cardboard. I will post a recipe sometime soon for my breakfast bowl concoction with shredded wheat, yogurt, milk, and mix-ins. Being a blank canvas as the plain shredded wheat is, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make homemade triscuits, or something similar. The bite-sized biscuits are pretty much triscuits on their own, but with a lack-luster flavor, calling to be dowsed in a buttery, salty bath. It also reminded me of making homemade chex mix, thus I call it Trix-Mix!

Trix-Mix
serves 1 (but easily adapted for more)


1 cup Unfrosted shredded wheat cereal
1/2 T light butter spread ( I used Smart Balance Light Butter & Canola oil spread)
1/4 tsp ea. of Salt, pepper, & garlic powder
1/8 tsp Paprika


All you do is melt the butter spread in the microwave, which takes about only 15-20 seconds. I would imagine you could also use an olive oil for a nice flavor. If someone experiments with it let me know.

Next, add the shredded wheat to a re-sealable plastic container. Tupperware works just dandy.

Add the spices to the melted butter, mix well, and pour over the shredded wheat. Seal on the cover and shake until every biscuit is coated. Transfer to a sheet pan to dry for an hour or so, or do as I did and dig in right away!

I seriously could not stop eating this stuff! It has inspired me to try again and again, experimenting with different flavors! Cajun, Parmesan, Rosemary...the possibilities are endless! This serving has 160 calories, but if you used a regular butter or oil it would be a bit higher, but still a healthy and oh so delicious snack. They are perfect for dipping in hummus, or shoveling in your mouth which I am about to do right about........

Any flavor ideas out there?

Weekend of my life

So this Sunday may or may not be the determination day for at least the next year of my life. Actually it definitely is. That is the day I find out dietetic internship placement, which if my intuition and hard work are right, will be in Montgomery, AL. Bring on the anxiety and Sweet Tea.

The past few days have been a bit dreary and combined with some stress relief brings me to crank up the oven and bake. Now you would think the common baked goods would be coming out of my oven: Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cupcakes. But of course not! That would make sense, which is of course not me. Instead, I baked up one of the easiest, and tastiest recipes from the vegan blog Oh She Glows, which happens to be one of my favorite food blogs around. Although I'm not vegan, she has a lot of delicious recipes that I may have not thought otherwise to even try. Enter, homemade wheat thins. You read it right, wheat thins, made by you. I would have never thought of attempting these, but when I saw how few ingredients, and simple the process was, I gave it a try and am so glad I did! I suggest you do the same, before you buy a box of who-knows-what crackers, bake some up yourself on a rainy and otherwise uneventful day. You won't be disappointed. Besides, these ones are 100% whole wheat with minimal sugar so a snack you can feel good about. I adapted the original recipe to make a rosemary and garlic variety, which are SO good! Love the combo, and make a perfect vehicle for some creamy hummus!

Rosemary & Garlic Homemade Wheat Thins
makes about 70 crackers
adapted from Oh She Glows


1 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 T sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground rosemary (i just crushed dried rosemary leaves with my rolling pin)
3 T vegetable oil spread (I used earth balance butter, but I also like smart balance)
1/4-1/2 cup water ( I ended up using 1/2 cup water, but it will depend on how dry your dough is)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees, and spraying 2 baking sheets with non-stick spray or lining with parchment paper. Next, sift or whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Next, cut the butter into the flour either using a pastry cutter, two forks, or what I did and use a whisk. I cut the butter in by using a twisting motion with the bottom of the whisk, which seemed to work just fine. Whatever method you're comfortable with.

Next, add the water and vanilla. Start with 1/4 cup of water at first, and adjust if your dough is still dry. Stir in the water until a dough starts to form, then finish incorporating with your hands. I really squeeze the dough in order to make sure its thoroughly combined. This is when you will know to add more water or not. 

Now cut the dough in half, or in quarters which I had to do since I have little counter space to work with. Flour a rolling pin and your counter liberally, and roll out the dough as thin as you can. This takes some muscle, but the thinner, the crispier and better your crackers will be. Now cut the dough into the familiar wheat thin shape, or what ever you would like. I tried to make them resemble the original as much as I could, but a few are a bit "rustic". It doesn't really matter in the long run, they will all taste the same. Just a matter of how picky you are about appearance.

Now transfer to the baking sheet, spray with a bit of cooking spray and sprinkle with some more salt and garlic powder. Bake for about 8 minutes, but keep a close eye on them since they burn easily. Repeat until your dough is used up, (which was two batches for me) and you are left with fresh from the oven whole wheat crispy deliciousness!

Store them in an air-tight container for around 2-3 weeks, if they last that long! Experiment with different flavors, I would love some new ideas! As always enjoy and let me know what you think.

What's your favor thing to dip wheat thins in??

Old Fashioned Goodness.

With School officially over for the year, I can now find the time ( and lots of it) to start blogging again. I have many recipes/ideas that I want to try over the Summer, and will be starting my own container garden soon! So hopefully the posts will be a regular project of mine. Anyway let's get done to the food. This one is nothing new or special, but one of my new found obsessions. Stovetop popcorn. A simple past time, but oh so delicious! So first off let me ask a question:

Do you REALLY like the taste of microwave popcorn?

If you answered yes, answer me this:

Do you REALLY know what's in that microwavable bag of 'popcorn'?

I know that both of my answers to those questions are No, but I would frequently make it because all you have to do is throw the bag in there, and wait. That's it.

I then moved on to an air popper for a healthy alternative, but was left with mostly chewy package material. Until I discovered stove-top popcorn. Oh the wonders! But really, takes a little more effort (minimal I might add), but the end product tastes and is much better for you than any microwave popcorn. No trans fat, no artificial flavors, just corn, oil, and seasoning of your choice. Ok enough rambling for such a simple snack.


First here is what you will need: A small pot, or bigger depending on how many servings you are making, measuring spoons, popcorn kernels(most likely located next to the microwave popcorn in the store), and any seasoning you want to add (salt is always the default)

So first you want to get the pot heated. I usually do medium heat, and that works. Next add the oil. I usually add only 1/2 a teaspoon for 1 serving (2 Tablespoons of kernels). That's all it takes. Once you add the oil, you can add the kernels. (Again for 1 serving, 3 cups of popcorn is 2 Tablespoons of kernels). Feel free to adjust the servings of both the oil and kernels. Next you want to just swirl the pot so that the kernels get covered in the oil. This assures that they won't burn before they pop. I also add the salt directly to the kernels at this point, but if using other seasonings I would wait until after. Then pop the lid on, and wait.

Once you start to hear the kernels start to pop, is when the 'work' comes in. Simply just shake the pot continuously over the heat until the popping stops. That's it. Now when i make it it tends to get hot holding on to the lid when i shake it, so you many want to have a dishcloth over it. Once the popping stops, transfer your popcorn to a bowl, and add your seasoning of choice. Sometimes I spray a little non-stick spray on the popcorn to make my seasoning adhere better. I love playing around with different flavors, so here are some ideas of what I have used.

-Salt & Pepper
-Garlic Powder/Onion Powder
-"Southwestern" mix - Cumin, Cayenne, Chili Powder, Paprika
- Pumpkin Pie spice (Great for the fall!)
- Parsley & Parmesan cheese (SOO good!)

Those are a few of my favorites, but feel free to play around with different combinations and new ingredients.

Here I have pictured an addition that some may find "different" for popcorn, but believe me it's delicious. Hummus. It's rather tasty to dip your popcorn into. As far as nutrition goes, a single serving of this popcorn has around 100 calories, and 3 grams of fat, not to mention it's a whole grain snack! So for the same amount of calories you are getting from microwave popcorn, you get no mystery ingredients, no trans or saturated fats, and I personally think it tastes much better. So try this past time treat, and you may find yourself making it every night like me. It takes just about the same time to make as microwave popcorn, so give it a try! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.