Tag Archives: healthy eating

Steak Penne pasta with homemade tomato sauce

As I’ve been developing my cooking skills i have been wanting to try new techniques for prep and presesentation. For this dish i will be making full use of fresh tomatoes from start to finish. This is a fun twist to a simple penne pasta.

For this dish you will need the following:

3 petite sirloin steaks

4 large red tomatoes

1 box penne pasta (Alternatively you can use protein penne if available for extra protein)

Assorted seasonings of choice ( for this i used garlic powder, black pepper, basil, mrs dash salt free table blend, steak seasoning, italian seasoning and onion powder)

2 cups heavy whippng cream

1/4 stick of butter

First we will want to place our pot onto the stove with water and cut the bottoms of our tomatoes in an x shape and place into the water. Boil these for 60 seconds. This wi blanche the tomatoes making them easy to work with. Once blanched pour over cool water to stop the internal cooking and drain. Once drained, peel the tomatoes and retain the skins for later. Once peeled place into a blender and blend into a tomato juice.

Next we will place our pasta into water and cook until al dente and drain. While we are waiting for the pasta to cook, we can work on prepping our steak for cooking with our seasonings.  Once the pasta is done we can get to work on our steak. Cook and butter baste to your desired level of pink (or lack thereof if well done). For cooking the steak i utilized a family size forman grill to drain extra fat and once the steaks are done we can put our tomatoe skils in to char a little for presentation.

Once the steak is cooked,  cut it into small bite sized pieces and mix into the pasta. Afterward, heat your heavy whipping cream and add your tomato puree and stir in garlic and onion powder, itallialn seasoning, basil and pepper to add more flavor. Stir until color changes and to desired taste. Pour the sauce into the pasta and heat on a low simmer stirring the pot to blend it all together. Place onto a place and add some of the charred tomato skins and serve!

And there you have it, a simple flavorful dish using all of a tomato. This was a very good dish that has a lot of versatility to it in terms of how to make the sauce and pasta options. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Working on my presentation more

Simple Mason Jar Protein Ice Cream

Sometimes, you just want ice cream without the guilt or the sugar crash. That’s where this vanilla protein ice cream comes in. It’s creamy, sweet, and tastes like a real treat, but it’s made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Plus, it’s packed with protein, so it can double as a post-workout snack or late-night dessert that won’t derail your fitness goals. This ice cream is also very easy to make in 30 minutes. All that will be needed to make this is a simple mason jar.

For a simple single-serving batch you will need the following:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 cup heavy whippng cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1–2 tablespoons sugar substitute (like stevia adjust to taste)

1 pinch of pink Himalayan salt (balances flavor)

Let’s get to the fun part

1. Combine all ingredients into an 8 ox mason jar

2. Close and shake the jar for up to 5 minutes to mix (try not to over mix)

3. Freeze for 30 minutes (don’t freeze it too long as it could damage the jar)

4. Renove from the freezer and serve with your favorite toppings or straight from the container.

I ate the whole thing. Zero regrets

The best part about this treat is that you can customize your toppings (or protein powder if you want something like chocolate or strawberry). This is a beginner friendly recipe that can be enjoyed the same day. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Picadillo (Giniling) – Ground Beef in Tomato Sauce


I enjoy trying different kinds of foods from all over when I travel, and I try to also find recipes for places I might want to go as well. I make it a point to explore different kinds of cuisine from all places. One dish that i recently stumbled upon is Picadillo.  Picadillo, known in the Philippines as Giniling, is a hearty, comforting dish that brings together simple ingredients in a rich tomato-based sauce. What makes Giniling special is how adaptable it is. You can swap ground beef for pork, chicken, or even turkey. You can also swap the veggies for assorted heartiness and color.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

1 lb  ground beef (the leaner, the better, but I found a little fat in this recipe worked well)

3 medium potatoes, diced

2  large carrots, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato sauce (Alternatively I used fresh tomatoes that were blanched and chopped in the food processor)

2 tbsp soy sauce (I found teriyaki sauce works in a pinch)

2 tbsp cooking oil

Assorted spices of your choice to taste


Now let’s get down to the good part:

1. Prepare the base: Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant and translucent.


2. Brown the meat: Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up clumps with a spatula. Drain excess fat if necessary.


3. Season: Stir in soy sauce, tomato sauce, (for additional texture you can opt for  tomato paste to mix with the sauce). Simmer for 2–3 minutes.


4. Add vegetables: Mix in potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.


5. Finish: Add any additional veggies you may want to use (commonly peas and peppers are used, but you can use what you want) and the seasonings. Simmer for another 5 minutes until everything is well combined. (Green onions garnish is optional)

The finished product

And there you have it. A simple hearty dish that the whole family can enjoy. This one was a lot of fun. Until the next time, dear readers. Excelsior!

Homemade salsa

One of my favorite things to make is tacos. And what else would be better than a good old-fashioned salsa to top things off. This salsa is not too spicy (you can adjust the heat as you wish for this) yet quite flavorful with fresh ingredients.

For this recipe you will need the following:  3 large tomatoes, 2 green onions (chopped), 1/3 chopped onion, 1/3 cup cilantro, 1 jalapeño pepper (or more depending on spice tolerance), 2 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder,  1/2 teaspoon cumin, 2 cloves of garlic.  I am aware you can use sugar to help balance out the flavor but I didn’t use that for this. Please use sugar at your discretion.

Chop all solid ingredients and place them into a blender or food processor and blend for 60 seconds. Do not puree this as you’ll want a nice chunky texture. This can last about a week, I put mine into mason jars for a nice snack during the week.

The finished product

This was a simple recipe yet super delicious. As the weather starts to cool I look forward to sharing some nice fall recipes with you all. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Simple Salmon Quesadillas

Sometimes, the simplest things in life are the best. Some days are just so long and exhausting that you might not feel like doing anything, let alone cook. These salmon quesadillas are quick and easy for those long days or those lazy afternoons. For this, you will simply need some salmon, your preferred shredded cheese and spices of your choice , low carb wraps, salsa, and light sour cream.

This recipe works with fresh or frozen salmon that has been thawed out. Simply bake the salmon on a lightly greased baking dish for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or grill to desired tenderness) after applying your seasoning of choice. (For mine in utilized Mrs. Dash all-purpose seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, and a healthy dash of Tony’s Cajun seasoning).

After the fish flakes with the touch of a fork, you can then chop up the salmon into small pieces with a chefs knife or shred it to pieces with a food processor if you have one. Warm up your wrap in a skillet for about a minute, being sure to flip onto both sides and apply a healthy layer of cheese around the wrap and place a serving of the shredded salmon into to wrap (about 4 to 6 ounces should do depending on how big your wraps are). Fold over the wrap and place into a lightly oiled skillet and cook both sides until the cheese has melted together both sides of the wrap. Once removed from the skillet cut into four pieces and serve with the salsa and sour cream.

Very low effort dinner but delicious nonetheless

This is an easy low effort dinner that can be prepared within 30 minutes. The best part about this is that you can put in other ingredients such as tomato and spinach and peppers for a nice serving of vegetables as well. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

Guilt Free Protein Muffins

When it comes to desserts, nothing is more satisfying than a good old-fashioned muffin. They are easy, quick, and tasty, but with the amount of sugar that can come in most muffins, it prompted me to see how i can make them less sugary and equally tasty.

For this recipe you will need the following: 3/4 sugar free sweetener,1 1/2 cup flour (or almond flour), 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2/3 cup almond milk, 2/3 cup olive oil, 1 cup of frozen fruit of your choice, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 3 cups of protein powder of your choice (i used the aldi brand which has 30 g of protein per scoop), and lastly avocado oil spray to lubricate the muffin tray with optional muffin cups.

While preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, take your dry ingredients and whisk together in a bowl and set aside. Next, combine all dry ingredients and pour over top of the dry ingredients and fold in the fruit as you stir into a batter. Once all the ingredients are together pour evenly into the muffin tray (my muffin tray made about 6 large muffins so can be spread out over at least 12 smaller muffins if you have a higher capacity tray). Once all the batter is in the tray, place the muffins into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until you can put in a toothpick and remove it from the muffin cleanly.

I left in in a little longer than anticipated, but it was still amazing.

These muffins were so delicious, and I didn’t feel guilty eating a single one. With the sugar free sweetener and protein powder this made it into a nice staple for a post workout treat with 15 grams of protein per serving (for large muffin tray at 30 grams of protein per scoop with the protein i used. Your protein might vary depending on the powder used). These can last up to about a week and, of course, can be frozen for later. Until the next time, dear readers excelsior!

Homemade peanut butter

Over the last few months, I’ve made homemade bread, a strawberry spread, and many other recipes. This time, I decided to go with something simple:homemade peanut butter

This recipe will require only three simple things: peanuts, a little salt ( if your peanuts  aren’t already salted), and a food processor. You will want to take your food processor and fill it with 3 to 4 cups of peanuts and a little bit of salt. Once in the processor, mix on and off scooping down the sides of the processor container as you give the processor a rest during off periods.  You will want to process the peanuts in the processor at intervals of 45 seconds on 15 to 20 seconds off to clean. Rinse and repeat for roughly 10 minutes until smooth and creamy. This is enough to make one mason jar full of peanut butter.

A labor of love

This is a great homemade treat that can be enjoyed in a sandwich with my sugar free spread and my low carb bread for a homemade pb&j, a base for homemade peanut butter cookies and the list goes on. For optional additives, you can add a little peanut butter for a honey peanut butter blend as well. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

Mini basque cheesecake with homemade strawberry topping

During the holiday season, it is sometimes a challenge to stick to a diet when there is so much good food to have. Cheat days are nice, but then I had a thought of what can be done to still make a dish that is enjoyable year round without too much guilt. That’s when I decided to revisit the cheesecakes I’ve made in the past, but this time with less sugar. The basque cheesecake photos i have seen online inspired me to make my own sugar-free varient.

For this recipe you will need the following: cheesecake: 1 block Philadelphia light cream cheese, 1 1/2  cups plain Greek yogurt, 5 1/2 table spoons zero calorie sweetener of your choice, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 2 table spoons of vanilla extract all at room temperature. Strawberry spread: 1 pound of strawberries halved and hulled, 1/4 cup zero calorie sweetener, 3 tablespoons of corn starch, 2 tablespoons of water, and a healthy splash of lemon juice.

To start your cheesecake, you will need to preheat your oven to 480. While that’s warming up, start to mix the cream cheese until smooth. Once that happens, mix in your Greek yogurt, vanilla, cornstarch, and sugar and continue stirring. Once incorporated, add one egg and carefully mix into the batter at a time and mix until smooth. I’ve seen these prepared with mini ramekins, but I only had full size available to me as well as a stunning lack of parchment paper, so I had to improvise with lightly greased aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes on the top rack and let them chill in the fridge for 3 hours.

No parchment paper? No problem.

While the cheesecakes chill, let’s make our spread. Chop the strawberries into halves (or finer if desired) and set to the side. Add your cornstarch into a small cup and mix with the water to make a slurry to add to the strawberries. Get a small to medium sauce pan and mix in the strawberries, cornstarch slurry, lemon juice, and sweetener over medium heat. Stir and break down the strawberries with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula of your choice. Once mashed down, place the mix under a low simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and remove from the heat as the spread will thicken up as it cools. I stored mine in a mason jar for safe keeping and chill in the fridge with the cheesecake.

Guilt free goodness right there

Once 3 hours have passed with the cheesecake in the fridge, remove them from the foil and onto a place and give it a generous spread of the strawberries.

A little messy getting out the foil

This was an excellent  and guilt free dessert, and with the Greek yogurt, it had a nice little dose of protein hidden in there. The spread can last for a week, and the cheesecakes can last 3 to 4 days. This is a healthy and delicious dessert that you and loved ones can enjoy anytime! Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

3 ingredient low calorie  bread

I’ve been bitten by the cooking from scratch bug in recent weeks. There have seen many recipes i have had a want to create over the years and have tried recipes from various regions of the country and a few overseas.  I have decided to take on a challenge in the kitchen of which I’ve never undertaken: making bread. This was a beginner friendly bread that I created using a few simple ingredients: bread flour, rapid rise yeast, and pink hymilayan sea salt.

To start, you will want to heat 1 and a half cups of water on the stove. Next, you will need 3 and a half cups of bread flower to go into a large bowl. Once this has been placed in the bowl, you will need to add a table spoon of rapid rise yeast and half of a tablespoon of pink Himalayan sea salt

Dry ingredients ready to rock and roll

Once the dry ingredients are done the water should be nice and hot. Pour the water into the bowl and mix around until the flour is fully incorporated into the mix and form it into a ball.

I’m having a great time.  A ball if you will

Once this is shaped into a ball, cover it and place it somewhere warm and let it sit for an hour to build up in size. Once that is done put it into a bread pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and form it into the pan and let it sit for another hour.

Two hours later

Once the hour has passed, put your oven on 450. Once the oven is heated bake the bread for 20 minutes to completion and remove to cool.

Bonus tip: I forgot that scoring the bread helps the bread expand more.

Once the bread has cooled, you will have a nice loaf of low calorie bread. I let a piece of this sit, but this bread lasted me about 5 days before it started to turn. I would recommend eating this right away while it is fresh.

Even without scoring the first time the bread looked great.

This was a wonderful first take on making a new dish. I realized this was rather small but I am looking to make it into larger loafs for the next time. This makes a very good peanut butter sandwich and with no preservatives, it was the most  guilt free pb&j that I have had in a while. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

Benefits of juicing

Recently, I went to a juicery for the first time. I enjoyed the diverse mixes of fruit and veggies and felt the need to get another mixed juice. I then took a look at the price of the juice and asked myself: What if I just did this at home to save myself some money? Fast forward a week, and I purchased this lovely little tool.

And so it begins

Before I begin, there are many reasons why juicing was an appealing method to amd why a juicer was a wonderful investment. The first part is that without extra sugars and preservatives, it is lower in calories, and I can enjoy it guilt free compared to regular store bought fruit juice. Keeping in mind this juice typically should be consumed in 24-48 hours due to the lack of said preservatives. Additionally, this helps more of the nutrients from the fruits and vegetables get into your system more easily than the body needs. During the summer months, this is a refreshing way to keep hydrated . Also, there are good natural additives one can use, such as cinnamon and tumeric, for aid in weight loss and better digestion. And lastly, it’s just fun coming up with different flavors and mixes.

I then began reading up on different juicing combinations and ideas and decided to give it a give it a try. My first juice was an apple, pineapple, and strawberry juice mixed with a little bit of cinnamon for the extra kick.

The Tiki glass really set the tone for me

I then got to brainstorming and looking for inspiration for the next juice. That’s when things got a little…..wild. Early on a Sunday morning, I felt the creative urge to whip something up, and I had the great idea to make another juice. But this time, there was a twist. The first juice was a pineapple, cherry, strawberry juice with cinnamon.

This was insanely sweet

Next, I decided to try vegetables, so I made a green juice with green apple, spinach, cucumber, lemon, and tumeric.

Added a little too much lemon but excellent nonetheless

Once I finished juicing , I realized I had pulp left over. Then my wheels began to turning and I went to the net for different ideas on how to use the pulp. My first creation was adding a little extra frozen fruit to make a smoothie bowl

Can never go wrong with fruit and granola

Once I devoured my smoothie bowl, I wondered what I could do with the veggie pulp. Then, after some digging, I decided to make it into a dip akin to a spinach artichoke dip. A little cottage cheese as a base (and extra protein to boot) and a little cheddar cheese really brought this together.

Before
After

There are many benefits to juicing. This was a wondeful experience for my first few times trying it, and I look forward to trying more combinations in the future. This would be a wonderful tool for anyone’s kitchen and the possibilities for not just juicing but also what can be done with the pulp alone are numerous. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!