Shrimp Pad Thai

Today is a day for the history books: I actually cooked something! And something worth posting about, at that. Someone really ought to buy me a medal. Anyway, I used SkinnyTaste's Shrimp Pad Thai recipe with a few little modifications of my own and it worked out simply beautifully.

Here are some of the changes I made:
1. I used significantly more shrimp. Also, I purchased them already cooked, shelled, and deveined, which meant they didn't have to cook for quite as long.
2. We used slightly more than one tablespoon of crushed peanuts, and also we added the crushed peanuts to the oil at the same time as the garlic.
3. No tofu, bean sprouts, or chives. Just by choice. However, we served green beans on the side, which was much nicer in my opinion.

I decided to be a proper blogger and document, so here are a few photos of my cooking adventure.

And it tasted absolutely magnificent, just as good as in any restaurant.

'Til next time,

Julianna

YONANAS

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm back! It seems I just don't bake as much as I thought I might, but I've had some really lovely adventures with general healthy living, so I think this blog will slowly convert to a combination of healthy cooking, workouts, and my own reviews of pre-made healthy foods.

But the main point of this post is to enlighten you on the wonders of this magical machine I recently acquired: Yonanas. It's a banana whip maker. What could possibly be better! I first discovered banana whip at Bashful Banana in Ocean City, NJ last summer and fell wildly in love. And tonight, I made my own.

What is banana whip, you might ask? Whipped frozen bananas, that's it. A gift of the gods. And it makes those bananas the texture of soft serve ice cream. Healthy, delicious, and completely accommodating of add-ins - I used a bit of peanut butter and a few miniature chocolate chips, but other fruits would also be delectable.

It's so simple. You freeze the bananas, leave them out for 5-10 minutes to thaw, and press them through the Yonanas machine. Blenders simply can't get them to this divine texture. As an ice cream connoisseur, I must say that this is infinitely better than wasting calories and fat on traditional ice cream. Also, it hardly tastes like bananas, it's really just like traditional soft serve... but much more filling. Essentially, I'm obsessed.

100 Calorie Frappuccino

Perfect alternative to a four dollar indulgence.

1    cup coffee
2    cups of ice
⅛   cup 1% or skim milk
1    No Sugar Added Fudgsicle Original Fudge Bar
.25 oz Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate (two pieces of a .49 oz bar)
½   teaspoon sweetener

Refrigerate coffee with sweetener added until chilled. I used Green Mountain's Caramel Vanilla Cream K Cup for some extra sweetness, without the extra calories. In blender, pulse ice, coffee, milk, and popsicle (removed from the stick) until blended. Adding more ice might be necessary. Pour into a glass! Finely chop dark chocolate and sprinkle the shavings on top. Do NOT put the chocolate shavings in the blender.... they will all get stuck at the bottom and it will be sad. For extra freshness, freeze for 15-20 minutes. For a little extra excitement top it off with 2 tablespoons of Whipped Light Cream.

I personally recommend sipping this beauty through a straw while relaxing on a chaise.

Top 10 List

My top ten easy, healthyish recipes to try for this summer:

1. Peach & Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza
2. Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes
3. Shrimp Pad Thai
4. Lighter Mozzarella Sticks
5. Lime and Coconut Chicken
6. Skinny Coconut Shrimp
7. Oven Baked Fries
8. Skinny Spinach & Artichoke Dip
9. Balsamic Strawberry Brushetta
10. Peach & Brie Quesadillas

Also, as a huge Listography fanatic, I made a list of healthy foods that I typically have on hand, as alternatives to other more calorific options :)

Fruity Smoothie

Strawberry-Raspberry-Lemony Smoothie that's better than most

I woke up this morning and wanted something fresh and delicious for breakfast. We grow a lot of produce in our yard, so we tend to have a lot of fruit on hand. So this happened:

1½ cups whole fresh strawberries

¾   cups frozen raspberries

¼   cup Simply Enjoy Lemon Sorbetto

1    cup Chobani Strawberry Greek Yogurt

Instructions: Wash strawberries, cut of ends, quarter them. Put everything in a blender. Blend. Drink/Eat/Slurp. Or refrigerate for later. Serves 2. 

It gets to be a little seedy with all of the fruit, but it's well worth it. For under 200 calories, you get basically dessert for breakfast, some fruit servings, and calcium. Jazz things up with some protein powder if you feel it, live your life, make your choices. But make this smoothie.

The Challenge

I am a foodie... to the extreme. But I've realized there are a lot of healthier foods that I actually like and wouldn't really mind eating. This isn't really a diet so much as a lifestyle change, and I've started having this crazy love for cooking and creating food... er, wanting to make it anyway. So here I am, hopefully making some foods that won't send you or me into cardiac arrest, to see how eating more healthfully changes things. And to see if I like it, because I think I will.