Table Talk.

Veggie Pasta with Basalmic Vinegar Dressing

This is the perfect meal to make when you are cooking for one and are looking to have some leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

1a. Cut desired amount of pasta.

1.Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Sprinkle olive oil and Italians spices of your choice on top. Roast in the over at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

2.While the tomatoes are roasting, make the dressing. 

2 parts olive oil

1 part basalmic vinegar

Crushed clove of garlic

Squirt of dijon mustard

S&P to taste

(Adjust amounts as needed.)

3. Cut up zucchini. Saute in a little oil.

4. When zucchini softens, add the cooked pasta and a handful of spinach leaves.

5. Put on the lid, let the spinach wilt.

6. Add roasted tomatoes.

7. Pour on Basalmic dressing and sprinkle desired cheese on top.

Yum, Yum, Yummy.

It's good warm or cold. Perfect for dinner and lunch the next day.

Table Talk.

SUMMER SALAD

This is the easiest meal ever. It is a delicious summer salad. And so inexpensive.

This salad serves four people. I made one 1/2 cup of quiona and 1 cup garbanzo beans. Plenty for four.

Here are all the components for the salad.
Plus, I added cheese and sliced almonds. Do the same if you desire.

Mix it all up and this is what you get. Here is my meal. Yes, I did put it in a small mixing bowl. Very hardy. And delicious. I used homemade basalmic dressing. Jayson used something like ranch dressing.

We were very full afterward. So we relaxed.

Table Talk.

Veggie Stir-fry Wraps.

This week, on our journey of eating healthy on a budget, we made vegetable stir-fry wraps. SO easy and super healthy.

The components:

1.Chop up carrots, zucchini, red onion, and garlic. Saute in a little olive oil.

2. Have your super-cool husband grill some bell peppers. Yum.

3. Cook some brown rice.

4. Mix up your sauce. I used soy sauce, juice from one lime, and, of course, some Tapatio hot sauce. I like a little kick.

5. Add cooked bell peppers to other cooked veggies.

6. Pour on your sauce.

To make the wraps, we layered the veggies on top of the brown rice and wrapped it in a whole wheat tortilla. We don't mess around.

And to make dinner more fun, invite over the best-kitty-sitter you know. In our case, the best-kitty-sitter-we-know is also a friend. Duh. Lucky us. She likes to eat dinner at 5:30. Write that down.

Normally, this is the part where I figure out how many calories are in one serving.

 I don't want to. Don't make me.

It's not alot. That's all you need to know. I am healthy. The end.

(a tuesday) Table Talk

Our journey to eat healthy continues! The following meal is PERFECT for a hot summer night because most of the cooking is done on the grill.

I am a huge fan of making meals that require grill cooking. It keeps the heat out of our little apartment.

Ok, here are the meal components:

steamed broccoli & green beans, grilled chicken, feta & lime grilled corn

The veggies made up the majority of our plate. Jay and I shared the chicken breast. And that corn. Oh that corn. It is the best summer corn ever. Ask Kaylah. She requested it last time she was over. Right, Kaylah?

Oh, want to know how to make the corn? ok.

1. Cook the corn on the grill with the husks on. After done, cut off the kernels.

2. Put kernels in your serving bowl.

3. Squeeze juice of one lime onto corn.

4. Add S&P.

5. Sprinkle on sliced almonds and feta cheese crumbles to your liking.

6. Mix and enjoy!

Seriously, how easy is that? And it is so good!

Here is the breakdown of what we each ate:

1/2 of a large chicken breast : 216 calories

1 cup of broccoli: 30 cal.

1 cups of steamed green beans: 50 cal.

1 corn off the cob: 150 cal

1/8 cup of feta cheese: 45 cal.

1/8 sliced almonds: 70 cal.

Add it all up, = between 530 - 560 calories.

Pretty good, and definitely not short on flavor! Give that corn dish a try on one of these hot summer nights. You won't regret it.

Table Talk.

I love dinnertime. Love it. Love sitting around the table with friends and loved ones, sharing time and yummy food. I don't really like the term "loved ones", just so you know.

So, here is the deal. Jay and I are eating healthy. That's all there is to it. We just are and that's it.

We are switching from the old to the new.

From the old to the new, I meant the food pyramid.  We have switched to the NEW food pyramid. 

We are inserting more vegetables and fruits into our diet, cutting out some of our meat eating habits by substituting natural whole grain proteins like beans & rice, quinoa, etc.

So, on my non-FRIDAY FLIP days, I am going to be sharing Table Talk on Fridays.

Basically, I am going to share what we had for dinner the night before. Hopefully, it will be a healthy option. 

Table Talk is about eating healthy on the NEW pyramid. It's about sharing time with whoever is at your table (even if they are "loved ones"), and doing it on a budget. 

Last night, we had the simplest of dinners.

We started with the veggie kebabs.

Zucchinis, bell peppers, and a red onion. A little seasoning salt and pepper. So easy. 

Next, is the brown rice and beans (black-eyed peas, in this case).

So basic, right?

To add some flavor, I squeezed some lime-juice onto my rice and squirted a little Tapatio hot sauce.

Yeah, we are pretty fancy. We eat off china. And sit at the table in our swimsuits. Like I said, Very fancy.

So here is the breakdown:

• 1 cup cooked brown rice = 215 calories
• 1 cup cooked black-eyed-peas = 180 cal.
• 1 large zucchini = 52 cal.
• 1 large green bell pepper = 33 cal.
• 1 cup chopped = 67 cal.

Depending on our exact serving size (which we are NOT going to become the people who measure out their food), we probably ate between 475 - 550 calories. And we both felt FULL. I'm just saying, eating healthy works.

It was a nice dinner. Light but filling. We chatted about our honeymoon adventure in Costa Rica and how eating rice and beans makes us want to go back. And never come back.

What about you? Are you trying to eat healthy?