I was invited to a baby shower and offered to bring a dessert. I then thought long and hard about what to make. I tossed around the idea of making something pastel colored or possibly adorning my creation with some baby-inspired sprinkles. I finally set my sights on a recipe for Rocky Road Brownies. (Random I know, but they sounded good at the time).

Seeing as how this was one of my first baby shower experiences, I was unfamiliar with the baby-shower-bringing-a-dessert etiquette. Everyone apparently got the memo that you are supposed to being cute, neat, mini versions of your favorite dessert. Then there was my dessert which was dark, not-so-mini and looked messy.  I called it the black sheep dessert of the party.

To make this gothic treat you simply make the brownie mix as directed on the box and toss on some marshmallows, semisweet chocolate chips and chopped peanuts right when it comes out of the oven. Cover it with aluminum foil to retain the heat and aid in the melting rate.  For the observant readers out there, you may have noticed that I did not add nuts to my version. Well, the reason for this deviation would be that I purchased a box of turtle brownies which had caramel and walnuts enclosed that were added to the batter. I decided to also mimic the caramel contained inside by drizzling some on top (further adding to the gooey factor). By the way, I could have totally saved myself by using mini marshmallows, but NO I went all out by stepped it up with the large ones.

Also, for my REALLY observant readers, you may have noticed that this is not an incredibly healthy recipe. You see, what I like to do is not deprive myself of baking “normal” sweets. I make them to take to gatherings outside of my home. This way, if I really want a taste I will take a piece at the party or sample some as I cut them up. If I make unhealthy items and they end up at my house, I may be tempted to taste more than necessary. And that’s my story….

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding last weekend. I’ve been a bridesmaid enough times to know that you need a game day plan for nourishment purposes. I’ve made the mistake of not eating a large enough breakfast and then got light headed at the alter. (The last thing the bride probably wants is a fainting bridesmaid as she’s walking down the aisle). Therefore, in preparation for the big day I ate the following items along with water to keep my metabolism humming along:

- Small bowl cereal w/ skim milk BEFORE updo appointment
- 1/2 Arnold thin bread w/ almond butter & banana AFTER updo appointment
- Fresh fruit @ the bride’s house
- Turkey sandwich (no cheese) on the limo on the way to pictures

DINNER
- Shrimp w/ cocktail sauce (appetizer)
- Skipped the bread and soup (normally I would eat soup, but this one felt a bit salty)
- Salad w/out dressing
- Grilled chicken breast w/ steamed veggies on the side (no oil)
- Mainly fruit for dessert w/ a few tastes of a few sweets O:-)

(That would be me stealing a grape from the sweets table while dancing below:)

I’m sure that everything I ate seemed pretty feasible, but you may have wondered how it is possible to be served a healthy option such as plain grilled chicken breast and oil-less veggies at a large, pre-set menu, banquet function. Well, I would have to thank my in-laws for this accomplishment. They always look out for me and know that I would prefer the meal that they special order for me. They always call ahead to notify the hall of my (pretend) “food allergy/ dietary restriction.” My parents would tell me to eat what is offered and not be picky, but these in-laws of mine really look out for me. Thank you!

I am new to this “take a picture of your food” thing and I was a bit nervous about whipping out the camera while eating, so my dashing wedding date (husband) was my personal photographer for your viewing pleasure. He is such a jem. I figured this deserved him making another appearance on the blog…this time all dressed up similar to what he looked like when we said “I do”.

Isn’t he a hottie?!  I heart him.

I received a request from one of my readers (Hi Stephanie!) for a recipe involving avocados. I searched long and hard for the perfect recipe which deviated from the traditional use of avocados in the form of a dip. During my quest, I could feel the recipe gods shining a light down on my cookbook page as I opened it to Eggs Mimosa. When I think of mimosas, I typically think of the delightful champagne and orange juice mixture. But this recipe was far from that.

In a nutshell (or should I say egg shell) this recipe is simply a modification of the party favorite: deviled eggs. I have never made deviled eggs. On the few occasions when I do consume them, I tend to scoop out the center and only eat the white part. I was a little skeptical about making this recipe which A) I have never made any variation of and B) I was not sure whether I, myself, would want to eat it. But, I took one for the (blog-reading) team and charged through to the kitchen.

To make my Eggs Mimosa:

- Boil a dozen eggs
- Cut in half and scoop out yolks (I threw away about half of the yolks because I don’t like them too much)
- To the yolks, add 2 chopped avocados, some finely minced garlic, a splash of olive oil, and a dash of pepper
- Mix it and mash it all up
- Delicately plop this mixture in a plastic sandwich bag where a little corner is snipped off. This allows for easy filling and an easy clean up.

I still don’t like traditional deviled eggs, but this new and improved variety boasting with protein and healthy fats is more up my alley. Love them!

I enjoy lasagna but I fear the fancy, long noodles. Not only are they hot to handle from boiling pot to baking pan, but I always manage to accidentally detach those ruffley fringes from the noodle. It’s just not a pretty sight to see. But, when I came across this recipe for Inside Out Lasagna, my eyes widened with excitment. “My lasagna days are not over!” I thought to myself. (Note: Due to the fact that I played around with the spices AND my husband absolutely LOVED this dish, I am going to keep the recipe a secret. Maybe I will be able to pass this recipe down to my grandchildren one day….if I could only remember the measurements of what I tossed in there).

Fast forward to the next day, where I had about 2/3 of a container of ricotta cheese in the fridge. If you know me, you know that I don’t like to waste food. I’d like to thank my mom for this attribute. After a little bit of googling, I came across a Strawberry Ricotta Parfait recipe that I set my sights on to whip up for my husbands breakfast. Since the goal of this recipe was to save the ricotta, I decided to save myself from washing another dish by simply documenting this creation in the form that it was packaged in for my husband’s take-to-work meal. May I draw your attention to the lovely lunch bag in the background that I bought for him. If you see him, tell him that it is cute. It will make him more confident carrying it around.

For this Strawberry Ricotta Parfait I simply added a bit vanilla extract, splenda & honey to ricotta cheese. I then sliced strawberries and tossed them with a few dashes of balsamic vinaigrette. (The original recipe called for mint, but I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about chewing on mint leaves at 7:30am in his cubicle). I then alternated layers between the ricotta mixture, the strawberries, and granola. I usually receive feedback on my new recipe creations. For this one, I did not. But I analyzed the fact that the storage container was empty when he brought it home and I could tell that he had scraped the sides

My grandfather-in-law has a back yard which consists of approximately 95% garden and 5% grass. We stop by his house and admire his plants so much that he recently gave us a tiny, little tomato plant to grow at our home. “How sweet” I thought to myself. Since I have a history of killing various flowers, scrubs and plants, I was not incredibly optimistic about harvesting any actual pieces of produce. This little tomato plant was casually planted in the rich soil of our front yard landscaping where a patch of property was available.

This innocent little tomato plant, which I thought was going to have a very short lifespan once it was transferred to my possession, actually ended up turning into a tomato monster. This ONE tomato plant has single-handedly smothered my THREE hydrangea plants. We are definitely the classy neighbors with the garden in the front yard.

This morning, I just about had it with the out-of-controllness of the little tomato plant that I had my husband trim it back a bit. Please don’t tell my mom. She was either planning on entering it in a contest or possibly receiving enough tomatoes to can for the winter.

My middle name is modification when it comes to recipes, so I thought nothing of modifying the Fettuccine with Turkey Bolognese recipe in an effort to make it a vegetarian-type meal by omitting the ground turkey. I like to sneakily ensure that we have a number of meat-free meals per week. I had read about this and the environmental impacts of slightly reducing meat consumption as well as the substantial amount of energy that can be saved.  Apparently, Meat Free Monday has been designated in many places as the day to do a little something good for the planet. The day I made this was on a Tuesday…but that mistake does not compare with the grand finale mistake that you will read about in a moment.

All I did was sauté carrots, celery, and onion in olive oil. (Although, I did not include ground turkey in this particular batch, you certainly can and should add it prior to the next step). Then I stirred in spicy tomato & basil sauce. This glorious mixture was spooned over whole wheat organic pasta. (May I draw your attention to “organic”). I’m going to make a dedicated effort to include more organic foods in my diet. (May I also draw your attention to “more”. I don’t want to overwhelm myself by attempting to do it all at once).

We ate this fantastic, veggie filled dish. Then something magically drew me to look up the definition of “Bolognese.” To my surprise, it actually is a MEAT-based sauce. Oopps! Fail.

I’ve been known to take a bite or two (or three) of cake. Especially if it’s a special someone’s birthday. But I hardly ever have to fight with myself over resisting the frosting. I just don’t like frosting. So, I decided to cleverly get away with making a birthday cake sans the creamy, buttery topping.

I rallied up the (family) troops to celebrate my husband’s birthday. They came over, sang Happy Birthday, (he blew out his candle), and they actually enjoyed my Amaretto-Almond Cake. I did modify it slightly by swapping Splenda for regular sugar in the glaze and leaving out the amaretto. (Grandma and Grandpa were a part of the celebration and I was not planning on getting them intoxicated).

While brainstorming potential vacation destinations, my husband came up with a cruise. Although vacation planning excites me…cruises scare me. Primarily its the buffets combined with the stories that I hear from people regarding how much weight they gained during their trip. I decided to take the challenge and go on the trip. We went on a 5 day cruise which stopped in Key West & Cozumel.

In summary:

- I shared (KEY word: SHARED) a slice of Key Lime Pie with my hubby. I had to take advantage of this in Key West.
- Workouts did not consume my trip, but they certainly did make a cameo appearance.
- I ate a HUGE salad for lunch EVERY day. (My husband speculates that they ran out of spinach by the last day due to my over consumption).

- I packed healthy snacks (primarily from breakfast) to have on hand during our port explorations. These items included fruit, dried apricots, walnuts and mini-cereal boxes. Although there were food options available every moment of the day…I found that not all of them met my healthy living lifestyle requirements, hence, the need for taking some to-go.
- I’d like to give props to Royal Caribbean for their Vitality Program.  Basically, they had a little symbol next to healthy activities (such as gym classes) and healthy meal options. I rolled with the vitality symbol at all of my fine dining dinners since it was probably frowned upon to modify the menu options when serving that many people.

- We had some time before our flight out of Fort Lauderdale, so we headed shopping to the Galleria Mall. There, we discovered my NEW favorite restaurant: Seasons 52!!!! Where has this place been all my life?! All of the menu options are seasonally inspired and less than 475 calories. We ordered a super flat bread dish featuring artichokes and goat cheese. For lunch, I had a Portobella Turkey Burger. I don’t know if I’ve ever ordered a burger at a restaurant.

Fantastic trip with a tremendous amount of relaxing. It IS certainly possible to make healthy choices when unlimited options are available. Sometimes you just have to be creative and usually I have to plan ahead. (But being a planner at heart makes this easy for me).

Let me set the scene by stating that our 6 year dating anniversary was quickly approaching and we are still silly little love birds that like to celebrate momentous occasions such as this.

As I was at the sporting goods store, getting ready to treat myself to a new pair of running shoes, I had a revelation and immediately called my husband. The conversation went a little something like this:

Me: “Pumpkin, our dating anniversary is coming up and I have the perfect gifts for us to give each other. Not only am I going to purchase a gift for you from me, but I am also going to purchase a gift for me from you. You don’t have to do anything.”

Him: “I don’t have to do anything?!”

Me: “No. Just show up.”

Him: “Ummm. Ok.”

(This concept works well in situations where a bank account is shared).

I decided to get us matching Puma running shoes! It was about time for me to replace my running shoes. My husband, on the other hand, has been continually complaining about his current shoes being too “breezy”. Apparently, too much air flow and circulation has been preventing him from enjoying his workouts. Being such a responsive wife, I figured I’d grant his wish and free him from his ”airy” shoes.

You may be saying to yourself…”What is this girl thinking? Chocolate bark is far from a typical item to be featured on a healthy cooking blog.” Well, my friends, let me walk you through my methodology….

I will start off by stating that I strive to search for the broken chips, crackers, pretzels, etc. when the opportunity arises to consume these items. I feel that by selecting the broken ones I may be trimming a few calories in the end. (Random story, once I was shuffling around a bag of veggie chips on a quest to find the broken ones. Then my dad walked by, gently punched the bag and said “There, now they’re all broken!”)

I have selected to whip up a quick dessert which allows my guests to break off just as much as their little heart’s desire. Even after splitting a piece in half, the presentation will not be sacrificed. Tell me what other desserts you could split in half during serving and they would still look suitable?

To make these breakable babies, all I did was melt some while chocolate in the microwave. Then I mixed in chopped almonds and dried cranberries. From there, I thinly spread this mixture on a wax paper lined pan and refrigerated overnight. Wake up, break (them) up, and Enjoy!