Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ricotta Crazy

by Meghann on October 16, 2008

Ever since my Cannoli Cereal, I have been going a little crazy with my ricotta cheese lately. I’ve added it to my Butternut Squash Soup, incorporated it in to a waffle topper, and tonight I have managed to sneak it into both my dinner and dessert. It is so versatile and I can’t wait to try all of the great recipes you guys have suggested! Ricotta Cheese: It’s not just for lasagna anymore! :)

I was inspired by Caitlin’s Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burger for dinner tonight. Only I made some slight changes.

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I used left over mashed sweet potato, 1/2 cup of black beans, 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour, chopped onion, garlic, and a spoonful of ricotta cheese combined to form two small patties. I pan grilled the patties on the stove top and topped them with some yummy ketchup. The ricotta addition gave it a slight cheesieness that was perfect with the black beans and sweet potato.

On the side I heated up some frozen corn and green beans with some chopped onion, mushrooms, garlic salt & pepper.

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I really love the flavor combination from these frozen veggies. I really think the extra onion and mushrooms takes it over the top.

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I also had a random tomato slice that looked lonely in the fridge so I threw it on the plate so it would have friends.

I had lots of fun with my dessert tonight. I shall call them Cannoli Grahams.

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I mixed up some ricotta cheese, honey and chocolate chips. I broke up 1 1/2 graham crackers which I then layer with the ricotta mix and then some sliced strawberries.

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I am a genius! This was the perfect little dessert! The little pieces made for perfect little bites, which meant I got to enjoy my dessert for a much longer period of time. I will have to remember this next time I have to bring dessert some where. They’re almost like little dessert appetizers that can be brought around on a tray or something.

So now it’s official, I am obsessed with ricotta cheese! I still have a half of a container left and am excited to see what else I can come up with! :)

Now going back in time, I had a Peanut Butter Kashi Bar for my mid afternoon snack at work.

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Not as exciting as ricotta cheese, but it worked. :)

Tomorrow is Friday!!! I’m so excited I have a GREAT weekend planned and I can’t wait to hang out with all of my friends and family through out the weekend. It’s going to be busy, but its going to be fun!! Does anyone else have an exciting weekend ahead?

{ 17 comments }

Perfect Blood Pressure

by Meghann on October 16, 2008

Does anyone else frequently get lost while trying to hunt down a Doctor’s offices? I swear the last few Doctors I have been to I have had to stop and call for directions to locate the office. They just always seem to be hidden and not visually advertised. For instant the Doctor I saw today was located in a Bank of America Building! It looked like a plain old bank, but apparently there were Doctors offices on the second level. Who knew?

 

After I showed up 15 minutes late to my appointment.. oopss… the rest of the visit went great. It was just a check up since I was new to the area and looking for a primary care physician. The Doc was really nice; I think she’s a keeper! She did want to make sure I was getting plenty of eats to keep up with my active lifestyle; I was tempted to direct her to the blog to prove I got my fair share of food, but resisted the urge. J I did find it good to know that I have ‘perfect blood pressure’ (a direct quote from the nurse!)

 

The scary part of my visit came at the beginning when they brought me to the scale. The last time I saw a Doctor, in January, I stepped off of the scale in tears because I did not like the number at all. The poor nurse had to console me, it was awful. That image kept popping in my head, as I held my breath to see which number the little weight thingy would land on. Thankfully it landed exactly 25 pounds less then it had previously. This time I stepped off of the scale with a huge grin on my face and promptly told the nurse that the number was much better then last time. J

 

Unfortunately this particular Doctor’s office didn’t offer any lollipops, but they did have a big thing of Lifesavers in the reception area. I promptly grabbed a peach looking one on my way out the door.

 

 

When I returned to my office I had this lovely nectarine at my desk.

 

 

Since I came to work late I decided to just have lunch at my desk, rather then driving all the way home.

 

 

I had a lovely Egg Salad, Apple, Kashi Vegetable Crackers, and a Dove Dark Chocolate w/ Almonds. The green bottle is my favorite tea! It’s Teas’ Tea Mint Green brew. It’s unsweetened, has the slightest mint flavor to it and is amazing.

 

 

The Egg Salad I prepared the night before included:

  • 2 tablespoons of NF Plain Yogurt
  • A squirt of Honey Mustard
  • A squirt of Spicy Mustard
  • 2 Hardboiled Eggs
  • Spinach
  • Tomato
  • Mushroom
  • Onion
  • Grapes

It was delicious! Especially when I used the crunchy crackers for dipping.

 

I would rather eat apple slices over a whole apple so I brought my trusty apple cutter to work with me.

 

 

It made a nice holder for the apple slices as well. I just picked them out of it as I ate them.

 

My dessert Dove had my life philosophy pegged on its wrapper.

 

 

It made me smile. J

 

After my lunch I took a nice walk around my building to warm up and kill some time out of my lunch break. Sometimes its just so nice to take a nice leisurely walk outside during the day. I felt so refresh when I got back to my desk! J Does anyone else enjoy little breaks outside during the day?

 

A couple of fun links.

 

For all Disney lovers out there, they are having a promotion in 2009 where you will receive free admission to any Disney park on your birthday. This is a good offer for both Walt Disney World and Disney Land. Just go here to register your birthday!

 

If you are a Whole Food Fanatic like me then you will enjoy a $5 off of a $25 purchase coupon good through 10/22/08. Just go here to print the coupon.

 

I hope you enjoy all the goodies! J

{ 9 comments }

Amazing French Toast

October 16, 2008

Good Morning Everyone! I have to make this quick since I have a Doctor’s appointment to get to this morning. I did manage to still get a good run in this morning. Since I had the Doctor’s appointment I was able to sleep in a little again and run in partial sunlight! Morning Stats Distance: more »

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