Olive Oil

Oh how I love tomato, basil and mozzarella with drizzled olive oil over the top! This picture shows no cheese because we didn't have any at the time, but our little appetizer was still delicious. I also love how olive oil is very healthy for you.

That's all I have to say about that for now. I have a bunch of posts backed up so I'm trying to get them out a little quicker!

Wine Country

My parents came to visit and we headed up to Napa to drink some wine. The thing is... I didn't like wine at the time. I know it has great health benefits, but it just made me cringe at the taste. However, when I went to wine country, I found that I actually liked some of it. I'm not surprised; I like the expensive stuff!

We only hit 4 places because we got up there late but that was enough wine for me- hey, I was the driver!

Beringer: Pretty grounds, great wine- my favorite Chardonnay, really great servers, 3 tastings for $5
V. Sattui: Had a deli, wine was ok (cheap tasting but not a lot of wine- we also had a coupon), server was not very nice though!
Robert Mondavi: Gorgeous grounds (picture above with the statue), you can wander around them with your wine tasting ($10 for 2 almost full glasses)

Domaine Chandon: Made me love champagne! $15? for 4 tastings- well worth it!

Farmer's Market

I love the San Francisco Farmer's Market. Well... I haven't been to another farmer's market so I can't really compare! It is also a little too expensive for me to go every week but I love to wander around and taste samples of 3 dollar peaches! Here's an article on how to eat green and has recipes too!

I also like to go and pick out things that catch my eye and build a meal around that. Following this post, you'll see the fragrant (and cheap!) rosemary I bought at the market in a meal that has become my favorite meal ever! Here is an article about using seasonal vegetables and fruits in your meals (Savor the Season).

Welcome back to me!

Well. I've been away for quite some time. First there were visitors (=no cooking and definitely no time), then apartment hunting (= no time) and then of course came the moving.

So, although there are boxes all over the floor and I'm not sure where half of my kitchen supplies are, I'm starting up again and I will be much more diligent this time! My friend Jean decided to have a "craft day" at her apartment and since all my scrapbooking materials are packed away still...here comes a post!

Since I obviously haven't cooked anything with the move, here are some sites I find useful/good/interesting.

Hungry Girl: I used this website when I was on Weight Watchers. It has lot of good tips for low fat/low cal foods. You do have to pay attention because it doesn't really take health risks such as cholesterol/sodium into account when recommending foods. It is written by a regular female who has been keeping an eye out for things like this for you and me!

Food Network (Healthy Eating section especially): Food Network in general may not have all healthy eating (any of Paula Dean's stuff that she loads with butter!) but there is a special section for people looking for something that won't clog the arteries. There are tips and articles about what types of food are healthy and in season and what nutrients are needed and where to get them.

Simply Recipes: This is a blog that somehow is lucky enough to be a widgit on iGoogle! She (and her family) try every recipe before she posts one. They aren't all perfectly healthy but she organizes her old posts by types of food including a section on vegetarian recipes and low carb recipes. Otherwise, you'll just have to sort through by hand! Also, she has a monsterous list of other food blogs to refer to for other ideas.


I think I'll stop there- I'll post more every once and a while! I'll leave you with a final article about 6 Superfoods! Thanks for reading along!

Peanut Asian Sauce Chicken Lettuce Wraps

So I'm still getting used to taking pictures of food... it is definitely harder than I thought! This is a little concoction that I pulled together, which of course means I didn't measure any of the ingredients! My dad always told me this was the sign of a good chef, but it is also the sign of a bad blogger of recipes! I have a good estimate here though, and of course, taste the sauce before you use it to make sure it is to your liking. I will probably make this again soon and add a comment if it comes out different- please also add your comments if you make it!

Ingredients:
~1 pound of chicken (I used frozen chicken tenderloins from Costco- cheap and very quick to make)
~1 head of romaine lettuce
~3 large tablespoons of peanut butter (can be fat-free to increase health value!)
~3 tablespoons of soy sauce
~1 teaspoon sesame oil
~2 cloves of minced garlic
~2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
~2 tablespoons of cooking sherry
~1 cup dry minute brown rice

1) Cook chicken through.
Meanwhile...
2) Start making the minute brown rice according to directions (mine takes 10 minutes).
3) Make the sauce in medium size bowl: add peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, rice vinegar, and sherry and whisk together.
4) When chicken is done, put hot chicken in bowl with sauce and mix it up while cutting into pieces.
5) Wash and dry full romaine lettuce leaves
6) Arrange lettuce on plate, put some brown rice on and the chicken on top of that-- so simple!

Serves 2 (with a little leftover, but we also had a side of veggies)

Please enjoy this quick and delicious meal!

Welcome

This is my first post on my new blog about (mostly!) healthy eating. As a on and off dieter- including Weight Watchers twice- I was constantly trying to find recipes that were both delicious and on my diet without spending a fortune on recipe books. As a 20-something always on the go, I like my meals to be quick in both preparation and cooking time, but still homemade. This site will combine recipes I found from books/the web/friends, and recipes I've tweaked or made up on my own. Of course, they will all be taste-tested by yours truly! I hope you can find something on here you like! Thanks for visiting (and thanks to all my friends who helped me think up a name for the blog- especially Kate, since this name is her idea!)