Healthier Nachos

My love affair continues.

This hot sauce is good on just about everything I can find in my fridge or pantry. I have put it on sweet potato fries, eggs, veggies, and more.

Click here to read another recent post where I used Frank's.

And another.

And tonight: nachos.

Nachos used to be one of my favorite things to get at the ballpark or as an appetizer. They are a little bit of everything- crunchy, warm, messy... yum. However, I think you will agree with me that nachos don't have much going for them in the way of nutrition. Last week, a friend posted a link to a recipe for Healthier Nachos on Facebook, and the idea stuck with me. I couldn't locate the original recipe, so I made my own version.

The first thing I cut out? The chips. Really, I have found that the chips are just a way of getting the good stuff to my face. They are just a vehicle. The original recipe used bell peppers instead of chips. I liked that idea, so I went with it. Then I cut the cheese. I swapped it for some diced avocado...because really I think that what the cheese does is give you a nice creamy texture. I lightened up the beef topping from the way I imagine it would be made in most concession stands. And then I added hot sauce. Just because it's awesome on everything. Did I mention that before? Overall, I think this was a pretty awesome dinner that I will definitely eat again. (Like tomorrow.)

 

Healthier Nachos (Paleo and Whole30 Friendly!)

Ingredients:

• 2 bell peppers sliced up into triangle-style shapes (but really the shape doesn't matter)
• 1 lb. ground beef (very lean)
• 1/2 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• Spices- cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• 1/2 avocado, diced

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When hot, place peppers on a baking sheet and roast about 5-6 minutes on each side, just enough to soften them a little bit and get them nice and hot.
• Brown beef and drain fat. Add spices: 2 tbsp. cumin, 1 tbsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste)
• Stir beef and spices. Add 1/2 can of tomatoes. Allow to simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid evaporates.
• Load up the nachos: peppers, beef mix, and top with avocado. Finish it off with Frank's!

 

Guess what today was? The last day of school. I can't believe it. For teachers and students around here, it's feeling a little like New Year's Eve. This is actually my first year of working all summer. If you have been reading for a while, you know that back in August I started a new job. I am still an educator, but my new position is year-round. It feels a little weird to be gearing up for summer work...but I am looking forward to the workshops for teachers that I will be teaching this summer!

 

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A Few of My Favorite Things (Right Now, Anyways...)

I kept trying to decide what post I should write next. So in the end, I decided not to make a decision. I thought, "Why not throw it all together in one random post?" Yay for you! You get to read my rambly (is that a word?) thoughts.

Lets talk about some things I am loving right now.

1. These biscuits.

 

I saw this recipe for Sweet Plantain Drop Biscuits on PaleOMG about a week ago and couldn't wait to make them. I am always wary of Paleo baked goods- but these are fantastic! I have eaten them with sausage patties, with jelly, and with butter. Always a win. I will be making these again! Do yourself a favor and make them. You can click the link above to get the recipe!

 

2. Yes, I am stalking PaleOMG. I also made her stuffed sweet potato.

 

There's some food porn for you. Fantastic. (I wonder what kind of weird hits I will get on this post now that I wrote the word "porn." Twice.)

 

3. Frank's Hot Sauce. Best stuff ever.

Use it to make wings or the stuffing for those stuffed sweet potatoes. Or put it on anything. Drink it.

 

4. This song.

It's like I am a teenage girl or something! Whatever... Go ahead and judge me. I like it, and I like Justin Bieber, too.

 

5. This book.

I just finished it, and it was awesome. Have you read it? So many twists and surprises. Loved it. I want to know what you thought. Any opinions on the ending? I wanted a different ending, kind of.

 

6. This local market.

I have been stopping at The Peach Stand in Fort Mill to get sausage, strawberries, and more every week or two. The strawberries from Springs Farm are the best I have found around here. They put the ones in the grocery stores to shame! Their local meats are also wonderful. If you are in the area, check them out!

 

Well, I tried to make this list a nice round number: 10. But then I ran out of favorite things. So this will have to be my top 6 favorite things for right now.

What are YOU loving right now?

 

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Eat Your Veggies: Okra

Now that summer is approaching, the farmer's markets are open again. This is always one of the best parts of summer. I swear, I can load my cart to the brim, and I never spend more than $20 or $25. And even better, I am able to support local farmers.

In the summer, I know I tend to eat more veggies, just because there are so many fresh veggies that are in season. Last year, we joined a CSA, but this year I missed the deadline. I enjoyed the CSA, but I also like being able to go and pick out my own veggies. One of my favorites is okra.

I grew up eating okra two ways: stewed with tomatoes and fried. I love both ways, and I also love adding okra to stews, soups, or gumbo. I even love pickled okra (and hope to attempt it this summer)! However, until last year, I never thought to roast okra. Now that I have tried it...it may just be my favorite way to make it!

Roasted okra is so easy to make. Just follow these steps. Feel free to experiment with other seasonings as well. This is just how I like to make it.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and dry your okra. (The smaller the okra, the better. Smaller okra is more tender.)
• Place okra in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the okra in the bowl to be sure that it is all coated with oil.
• Spread out over a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then flip each piece over and bake for 5-10 minutes longer, or until okra is browned (but not burned).
• Serve hot and enjoy!

And if possible, enjoy outside! :) Happy Summer!

 

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Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. We could not have asked for better weather! It was absolutely beautiful here. We were able to accomplish a lot this weekend. Check out the beautiful new fence hubby and his dad built! our old fence was in bad shape. It was really falling apart. They worked all day on Saturday and I think they did a wonderful job!

Old fence:

 

New fence:

 

We have been looking forward to the pool opening this weekend. That is definitely one of my favorite things about summer! The water was like ICE because the temps have been a little lower than normal, but I guess if you are 5 years old you don't really care!

Sadie was feeling brave and was ready to attempt the swim test today. Last summer, she finally passed it in late July or early August.

The goal: a coveted YELLOW bracelet. (Meaning you can swim across the pool by yourself.)

 

Walking to the start spot...

 

Getting ready to start...

 

Swimming...

 

Made it!

 

What else is perfect for a long weekend? Wings! I made three varieties tonight: Asian, BBQ, and Hot. The hot was my favorite.

I also made some roasted zucchini and some buffalo cauliflower tonight. This is becoming one of my favorite ways to eat cauliflower! I tried a simpler prep method tonight than the last time I made this. I plan to share this week in a separate post.

Finally, I just want to say that I am so thankful for all of those people who defend our country! They make the ultimate sacrifice, putting this country above themselves. They are the reason we get to celebrate today!

Happy Memorial Day!

 

 

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Scenes from the Weekend

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful and productive weekend. This post will be a little bit of a mashup... I thought I would just share some pictures and details from our weekend.

We started off our weekend with a special ceremony for our little soon-to-be preschool graduate!

 

I still can't believe that she is going to Kindergarten in the fall! (Insert cliche comments about time passing too quickly here.)

The ceremony was very cute and I only took about 200 photos.

 

I will spare you the other 197.

On Saturday, we were all up and around pretty early. I headed up to the Queen City to help lead the warm up for the MS Walk with Queen City DanceOut (the company for which I teach dance fitness classes). We led our warm up song and then quickly headed to another venue where we were guest instructors for a Zumbathon called Pearls for Creative Healing. Pearls is an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence and also raising awareness of this important issue. We were the last instructors of the Zumbathon. The pictures from the event were amazing. Here are a couple that were posted online by Hip Chick Photo.

 

Afterwards, I met up with the hubby and munchkin for lunch:

Salad topped with a turkey burger... And sweet potato fries!

I squeezed in a few bike rides this weekend- nothing too long, but it was nice to be out on my bike in the neighborhood. I like to ride around and check out other people's yards and landscaping.

Meanwhile, Sadie enjoyed the sprinkler in the yard.

And I made this delish smoothie.

In the magic bullet: 4 large strawberries (green tops and all), 1/4 cup canned coconut milk, 1/2 banana, a few ice cubes. SO good! It was actually too thick for this straw. Very sweet and creamy! I am wondering about making strawberry ice cream with coconut milk... I will look into this!

Okay friends, that's about it! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend, too!

 

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Heat Wave!

Well, I think Mother Nature just gave all of us southerners what we wished for. Over the past 4 weeks, everyone I know has been saying, "It's so COOOOLD. WHEN is it going to get WARM?"

Well, that day was today. As a matter of fact, I think we were close to 90 degrees. Hello summer!!!

After work, I headed out to a nearby park for a walk/run.

I am still struggling with the running. But thanks for the suggestions so far on Twitter. I currently use Map My Run, which is great because it tracks your runs and your progress. I am also registered for a race in July, so I will try and get motivated for that. Today was gorgeous and the honeysuckle is blooming, which made everything smell so nice.

I know all you allergy sufferers don't like it, but I love honeysuckle. It just reminds me of spring and summer. I need to teach Sadie how to get the nectar. Do you all remember the nights eating honeysuckle and catching fireflies?

Tonight's dinner was spaghetti squash and meat sauce. And we ate al fresco. Nice.

My meat sauce is sorta homemade. You can view this post with directions for my sauce and also another way to serve spaghetti squash!

Kid approved. :)

Never cooked spaghetti squash? It's so easy. Cut in half lengthwise and roast in the oven (cut side down) at 450 degrees until the skin can be easily pierced with a fork. (About 30 minutes).

Little tip for you... Before roasting my spaghetti squash, I drizzled the cut side and sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of garlic powder. It REALLY made it more flavorful!

I even made lemonade. (Not for me- avoiding sugary drinks- but for the husband and kiddo.)

Look at how domestic I am. ;)

 

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