Spices, eggs, toast!

Mediterranean Night!

It's Jimmy Johns Time!

Andy took me to Jimmy johns....I haven't been there in over a year!  It was better that I remembered!  Om nom nom? Here's a pic of my fav sandwich eater lol

Happy Heart Lasagna

February is the months of hearts.  The passionate whimsy of Valentine's day combines with the serious warnings of Heart Health Awareness month.  To celebrate the new season, I put together a Heart Healthy Lasagna recipe for you to share with your loved ones.

[bake][scones] Basil & Strawberry Scones

My friend Jason and I were reminiscing about the delicious scones we had tasted 2 summers ago in Seattle.  There's something about reminiscing about a distant memory, an anecdote that only you two share-the inside joke of anecdotes.  fuzzy memories and happy smiles filled our dialogue-weren't those the happy carefree days of our youth?  The conversation made me nostalgic...and then very hungry...I wanted to taste that summer, taste the freedom once again...and then 30 minutes of internet research later, these scones were born:

Figure 1: Fresh Basil & Strawberry Scones made with whole wheat

.  

I adapted this from a recipe from happyolks.com.  It was a cold rainy day in Portland-the kind that makes you want to cling onto the faux-summer days that were given just weeks ago.  I adapted half of the recipes to fit our family's needs(olive oil instead of butter for added heart health, whole wheat flour instead of white flour, almond milk instead of full fat coconut milk, etc.)  Also, I dropped the baking powder because I didn't have any more, and the Portland Snowpocalypse prevented me from venturing outside.  

Accompanied with a glass of milk or warm cup of black tea or coffee, it makes a yummy, filling snack. I work long hours at my high tech company, so I count on these yummy scones to keep me alert and happy until I go home at 8pm.  

Strawberry Basil Scones

2.5 cups whole wheat flour

2 tbsp turbinado sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil (OR 1/2 cup butter)

1 1/4 cup chopped strawberries

2 tbsp minced basil

1/2 cup almond milk

2 large eggs

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2)Combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt in a medium bowl

3) Crack the eggs into your large mixing bowl.  slowly add almond milk, oil, and sugar in, and whisk lightly with a fork until it's combined evenly

4) Add basil and strawberries.

5) Slowly pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients, while continuously stirring.  Continue to mix until the mixture is evenly mixed.  

6) Point your hands like shovels and lightly knead the dough until there is no more loose dry ingredients.

7) Shape into a ball and transfer to baking pan

8) Flatten into a 1" thick disc

9) Use a sharp knife and cut into halves.  Then rotate 180 degrees and cut again.  Then cut each of the quarters into halves

10)When the oven is ready, pop into the oven

11)Bake for ___ minutes.

12)Use a bamboo skewer to poke it to see if it's ready.  If it comes out clean, it's ready!

13)Pull out of the oven and let it cool for a minute

14)Use knife and separate the slices before they cool down. 

15)Plate and enjoy!

Thanks,

Livy

[Run Run Run]

Hi,

I've been keeping a running/race blog on my other blog site, check it out here!
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6050154916143628560#allposts

Healthy Sips: drinks to sip on at work or school all day long!

I learned an awesome tip from my cousin Audrey the other day.  Instead of eating out of boredom to get through her long medical school studies, she drinks water to stay awake and alert.  She carries her Camelbak waterbottle all day, and uses refill breaks to force her to get up and stretch and move around.

If you're like me and sometimes need something a little stronger than water to stay alert, have no fear!  There are a lot of awesome low calorie options that also have strong health benefits at the same time:

green tea + lemon

Studies show that if you add lemon or lime to green tea, it intensifies the antioxidant properties.  Also, lemon makes green tea more palatable for those who think that it has a slightly metalic taste.

EmergenC + orange and lime slices

This is great for brisk fall and winter days where everyone at the office is fighting some sort of bug that you don't want to catch!  Adjust the amount of EmergenC on the intensity of bugs in the office.  When I'm feeling fine, and am using it more as a preventative measure, I pour half of a packet into my 0.6 L Camelbak and add 2 slices each of lemon and orange.

When I'm starting to feel a cold come on, I up the dosage to a full pack and squeeze the rest of the orange into my drink.  If you want to amp up the vitamin C up even more, slice some strawberries and shake up :)

Tumeric+lime

Tumeric is well know for its anti-cancer properties.  It honestly has an acquired taste, but in small quantities, it can be made more palateable with a small squeeze of lime.  It's also known to be useful for disloging phlegm from your throat, so if you're feeling uncomfortable, adding a tsp to your water bottle can help free of the phlegm around your throat.