Healthy, Homemade Dog Treats

My blogpost today is dedicated to my 2 pups, Momo (left) and Sadie Mae (right).

These little guys are the the light of my life and keep me from being super lazy. Nothing compares to the unconditional love that your furry friends can bring; so I decided to bake some snacks for them in the kitchen.  The first recipe I found on Pinterest is for a simple Peanut Butter Dog Treat by The Simple Life.  Click the link for the recipe. 

NOTE: I did just want to say that I had to use a bit more flour because I used an egg (which was optional) and I feel like that made the dough more wet so it would've been impossible to roll out on to the counter. In addition, I didn't have a cookie cutter so I just used something small and round (about 1.5in across) and cut out small circles. I ended up only having to bake the biscuits for about 10min at 350 degrees.

The second recipe I found on Pinterest was for Homemade Sweet Potato Chews by Pet Coupon Savings. Click the link for the recipe.

NOTE: Instead of olive oil, I used coconut oil. Read up about it and it's good for dogs and adds health benefits internally and externally. ALSO, I tried a piece and it was delicious. Might make some to snack on myself. Happy baking & thanks for reading!

Paleo Egg Cups (Yummy breakfast! Or dinner.)

I decided to make the hubs and I breakfast this morning and had found this recipe a while back, but haven't tried it. No better time than the now, right? Let's eat!

Ingredients:

• coconut oil
• bacon (I used turkey bacon)
• eggs (1 per slice of bacon you use)
• asparagus
• salt & pepper for taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Use coconut oil to grease cupcake pan.
3. Lay each slice of bacon into it's own cupcake space pressing down on the center so it molds into the pan.
4. Crack 1 egg onto the top of each slice of bacon.
5. Cut up asparagus into small pieces and place on top of egg.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or with whatever you want for extra pizazz)
7. Fold left bacon flap over the right one. Honestly, this part wasn't in the recipe, but I just did it so my bacon wasn't hanging over the edges of the pan.
8. Bake for 15-17min for a harder egg and between 12-14 for a softer center.
9. Let cool and enjoy! :)

Recipe from A Healthy Life for Me
Thanks for reading,

Paleo Steak Salad with Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette

In the spirit of eating healthier, I decided to post this AWESOME recipe I found on Pinterest. I wasn't so sure if it was going to taste good, but it did and I'm stuffed (and not feeling guilty one bit).
If you look at the pictures, you'll notice some of the ingredients that I didn't use (didn't want to wait to boil eggs and figured only having red tomatoes was okay, lol).
I pulled this straight from the website and the link for the page I got it from is down below :)

Ingredients 
SALAD 

• 1/2 lb sirloin steak, (grilled or pan-seared first, then sliced) 
• 4 cups greens – we used Romaine lettuce 
• 1/4 cup red cherry tomatoes 
• 1/4 yellow cherry tomatoes 
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced 
• 1 avocado, pitted and sliced 

DRESSING 

• 3 Tbsp of avocado oil or olive oil 
• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar 
• 2 Tbsp paleo mayo 
• 1 small to medium garlic clove, pressed 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions 

1. Pat dry and season steak with your favorite prepackaged seasoning, or sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Cook on well-oiled grill or in a cast iron pan (along with 1 Tbsp of oil) over medium-high heat about 5 minutes per side for medium rare steak. Remove from heat, place on plate and tent with aluminum foil for 10-15 minutes before slicing crosswise into thin strips. 
2. Arrange salad ingredients on plates as desired, or place in large bowl and toss.
3. Add dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined. Pour over salad as desired. 

Tip I learned: If you don't have a garlic press, cut up a garlic clove finely, sprinkle with salt and press together with metal spoon or side of knife. 

Recipe from Paleo Newbie 

Happy eating!

My journey towards clean eating and a paleo diet

For the past couple months I have fallen off eating healthier than I normally did. For me, this mainly includes NOT drinking any kind of soda (damn that Coca-Cola is so freaking good when it's fresh), not eating any kind of foods that were from a box (as in ready-made pastas or hamburger helpers), not over-indulging into sugars or snacks (candy, ice cream, cookies, chips, etc).

Today I decided to go to a farmer's market store in town to pick up some greens and fruits to make smoothies. For other items I couldn't find at the farmer's market, I went to Walmart Neighborhood Market. I found the following recipes around online, but took some ingredients out and added other things in that I wanted. Haven't tried them yet, but can't wait to get them all frozen and drink them up!

Recipe #1: Strawberry, Banana, Kale

 Recipe #2: Green Apple, Kiwi, Spinach, Lemon

 Recipe #3: Peach, Nectarine, Banana

I distributed each ingredient for every smoothie into quart-sized, freezer-safe, ziploc baggies and placed them in the freezer. I plan on using either water or milk for additional liquid, but you can also used things like almond milk, or Lactaid (if you're lactose-intolerant), coconut milk, Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt. My sister also tells me that I should buy "a million oranges" and use that as my liquid. 

I know my journey to permanently eating clean isn't going to just happen overnight and there will be some minor, yes minor, relapses to ice cream and a Snickers bar, but starting today I WILL be more aware of the food that I purchase and what I choose to put into my body.

That's a (pinky) promise.

Thanks for reading,

Thrift Stores & Asian Markets

Today I went on a solo shopping trip and it was awesome! I found this cool cigar box for my husband so he can put random things in it (top one on the left), a cute salt and pepper shaker set, a couple trinket containers (top two on the right), two tins, and a red bread box! I have been waiting to get a couple of things to finally be happy with my decorations around the apartment and these were all perfect :)

I also got two pairs of jeans (True Religion and 7 For All Mankind for under $5 each), some O'Neil shorts, two books ("Chocolat" and "Love and Other Perishable Items"), and an H&M sweater and button up shirt for my husband (it lessens him being angry for me going shopping). 

My last stop of the day was an asian market I found by my apartment. This is the first asian market I've been to in Virginia and I was super happy to have found it. I got some ingredients to make the sauce for katsudon and some yummy coffee.

It's been a pretty long day. I'm going to finish setting out my decorations and maybe I'll write a post showing how I arranged some of the things around my apartment.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For today's festivities before my husband had to go into work, we went to Cinebistro to watch Deadpool (which was awesome!!!!!!) and enjoy a meal along with it.

Check out my review here on YELP!

Down below are some photos I took before the movie started. Doors open 30min before the movie begins and your meal arrives before the movie starts (IF YOU'RE NOT LATE).

Our tickets :)

Going upstairs to the theater, bar, bowling alley and game room.

My husband and I both ordered the sirloin!

Thanks for reading,

Things that make me happy!

Instead of writing a full-on blog post today, I just wanted to reflect on things in my life that make me happy (just things that come to mind as I type). And GO:

1. my husband

2. my dogs

3. reading

4. video games (Fallout 4, especially)

5. a nice glass of wine

6. blogging (surprise!)

7. watching Netflix

8. comic books

9. doing puzzles

10. sweet, yummy foods

Thanks for reading,

Cashew Panko Crusted Baked Chicken

Hellllllo everybody!

I made this the other day for dinner and it was SUPER delicious AND easy to make. You don't have to use cashews if you don't want to, you can use almonds or no kind of nuts at all. (Add coconut if you're feeling adventurous!)

Ingredients:

♡ 1-2 chicken breasts 

♡ olive oil

♡ season salt

♡ cashews (or not)

♡ panko crumbs (see recipe below on how to make your own it if you don't have it)

♡ baking spray

♡ foil and baking sheet

♡ coconut (optional)

Recipe:

1. Cut up your chicken breast into pieces however you'd like it, so either into strips for chicken tenders or chunks to make nuggets.
2. In a bowl put about 2 tsp olive oil and toss the chicken in and make sure all is covered (this will keep the chicken moist and juicy when you bake it!). Sprinkle with some season salt and pepper for taste.
3. Finely chop up your cashews (in a blender, using a knife or however you can manage to get them chopped up) and mix with panko crumbs in a separate bowl.
4. Begin taking your chicken pieces and toss them in the cashew-panko crumb mixture until covered. 
5. Set on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with baking spray. Place into the oven at 400 degrees and cook for about 25-30min (or until it's cooked to you liking).
6. Break out some dipping sauce and enjoy!

**Don't have Panko Crumbs on hand? If you have some slices of bread, here's how to make it!*

1. In a blender or food processor, grind up a couple slices of bread (try to make at least 2-3 cups or more, depending on how much chicken you are trying to make).
2. Spread the crumbs onto a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 5-10min. Check on the panko crumbs and make sure they are DRY, NOT BURNT. After all, we're just trying to remove the moisture from the bread :)

Trader Joes Valentine's Day Adventure!

I finally was able to make it out to Trader Joes yesterday with the hubby and we had a blast shopping in there. Not only do they have a great variety of healthy choices, they offer awesome prices to go with it! We walked out with a bunch of food to last us a good long while for about $62, SCORE! This is also including the $6.99 insulated cooler bag we bought in blue that was ENORMOUS so we could just leave our groceries in the car for the rest of the day (works perfectly!)

If you ever have the chance to go to Trader Joes, they have a ready-made food in the refrigerated sections along the wall where the vegetables are, organic vegetables, craft beers, etc. There's just too much to name! AND the packaging on this stuff! Amazing. Even their advertising signs throughout the store are great. 

Last, but not least, I FINALLY bought some Cookie Butter. HOLY MOLY serious mouthgasm. MUST TRY. They have a few different varieties, but we just chose to get the regular one. Now they even have the sandwich cookies made with the cookie butter as well!!!

 

Here's a link to their website: Trader Joes

CHECK IT OUT! :)

Ginisang Ampalaya (Filipino Recipe)

Growing up, this was a dish I loved to hate. As a Filipino child, every dish starts off smelling the same: sautéed onions, garlic, and tomato bases with everything else to come after. Then the dish is just a guessing game from the aromas pouring into my room. I kid you not though, when my parents would call my sister and I to dinner and I would see this dish on the table and be PISSED.

Why be this angry at a dish? I'll tell you why:

1.  It's bitter melon. It's super bitter and lives up to it's name.
2. There was never enough pork or scrambled egg to dilute the bitter, nasty taste of the bitter melon.
3. My sister and I were in elementary school when my parents really starting making us eat this.
4. It's bitter melon.

As I got older and my mom (STILL) continued to make this dish, I would cut up the bitter melon into chunks and hold my breath while forcing myself to eat the bitter melon because mom and dad said it was good for me (click here for the health benefits). NOW, as an adult living on my own, I crave this Filipino dish and actually love the bitter taste (funny how we're conditioned into being healthy right?). IF you're up to the challenge, try it out. It's pretty much scrambled eggs and bitter melon (I added pork because I wanted to, the dish doesn't really call for it - it does make it taste super yummy though!).

Click here to go to Panlasang Pinoy for the recipe! 

Here's the finished product down below:

Enjoy the bitter! :)