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!

Blackberry & Banana Spice Cake

Okay, so totally didn't want to over-blog and look like a fat ass yesterday, BUT I did make something else. 

I met a woman a few weeks ago at a get-together and she brought a delicious cake that tasted looked and tasted like it would be super difficult for me to even try making.  ALAS, it was the complete opposite. Super easy and I'm not baker by any means. As we talked, she let me know that the cake was super simple to make. 

She explained that she used blackberries, blueberries, and bananas that were kind of on their way out from being fresh, so she threw them into a spice cake mix (which I found at the Walmart baking aisle for $1). So here's what I did (yeah, I threw away the box so this is going to be from memory).

Ingredients:

• 1 container of blackberries
• 1 medium/large sized banana
• 1 box of spice cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup cooking oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 cup of water

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place blackberries and banana in a bowl and mush together, yes mush. It was my cake and my hands were clean, so I used my fingers.
3. Mix in cooking oil, water, and eggs. Stir together.
4. Mix in spice cake mix. Now this should look pretty watery so don't freak out because it's going to make the cake moist in the end.
5. Place in a pan. I say pan because you really can use whatever pan you want. The woman I met used a bundt cake pan and I used a loaf pan (the cheap disposable foil types).
6. Cook for 35min. Okay for this part you've got to use your best judgement on how mushy you want the center to be. If you want a firmer cake, you may need to cook it for longer. Again, I used a loaf pan so that meant the inside of the cake was a bit mushier.

Thanks for reading,

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,

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 :)

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! :)

Chicken Alfredo w/ Broccoli (The Healthier Version!)

Full Disclosure: I didn't have broccoli.

Okay, let's begin.
I used this recipe --> http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-broccoli-alfredo/

BUT, I wanted to share the ingredients I used to just make this a bit healthier!

The noodles I used were by Ronzini Healthy Harvest Spaghetti

I bought Cream of Mushroom of course, but I used the Healthy Request version 

(it had waaaay less calories, pretty much 1/2).

I also bought a small can of organic mushrooms to add. I also added some salt and onion powder (maybe a teaspoon, but you can add more for taste if that isn't enough!)

Here was my end result, sorry for the lighting, it MAY or MAY NOT look appetizing.

Just follow the recipe and everything will turn out really amazing! 

Cat's Favorite Energizing Greek Yogurt Mix

Making this little mix is not hard at all and only takes about 5 minutes of your time to put together. My choice of Greek Yogurt is Oikos 0% Fat Vanilla Green Yogurt (by Dannon). I loved the texture of their Greek Yogurt from trying their Bananas Foster flavored yogurt (my very 1st taste of Greek Yogurt ever). DON'T mess up and get the plain flavor, because unless you like that sour taste, no amount of honey or sweet fruit will get that taste our of your mouth. Just stick to using it for a substitutes in making sauces.

Click here to see the health benefits of Greek Yogurt :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt (again I used Oikos)
• 1/2 banana
• blueberries (however many you'd like)
• almonds (however many you'd like - I like a lot)
• honey
• bowl
• Feel free to add: granola 
• Substitute: any fruit (or add to the mix - we just want fresh fruit!), almonds for something else

I eat this snack during any time of the day (on weekdays when I work, it's usually 1/2 for breakfast and 1/2 for lunch). It keeps you full throughout the day and you don't have to feel guilty for eating something that tastes so delicious! 

Have an energizing day!