baked salmon with avocado remoulade and corn salsa

Hubby and I have really been working hard to eat healthy lately.

Eating healthy is not always easy, but it is SOOO worth it. 

We both feel so much better and our bodies work so much better when we give them proper nutrition.

Being a relatively new mom though, I need easy meals to prepare.

But really, healthy meals don't have to be complicated.

And that's what I especially love about this meal.

The other night I realized I had two avocados that needed to be used ASAP.

They were perfectly ripe and ready to be eaten.  

So, I decided to make a healthy remoulade with them.

Ingredients:

Remoulade

2 ripe avocados

3 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp light olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Salsa

1/2 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup of corn (fresh or frozen)

1 medium or large tomato

lime juice 

chile powder 

Salmon

2 salmon fillets (I used frozen fillets)

seasoning salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Method:

To make your remoulade, blend avocados, lime juice, and olive oil in a food processor or blender until smooth.  When finished, add salt and pepper and stir to combine.

To make salsa, combine black beans, corn, and tomato in a small bowl.  Add as much lime juice and chile powder as you like.  I would recommend only using a bit of lime juice, as it's already pretty strong in the remoulade.  If you like a "kick," feel free to add lots of chile powder or some cayenne pepper.

To make salmon, coat both sides of your defrosted (or fresh) salmon with olive oil.  Sprinkle both sides with ground pepper and seasoning salt (I used Lawry's).  Cover in foil and bake on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This meal was DELICIOUS and super filling! Hubby went out of his way to tell me this was definitely a repeat meal.  And he doesn't usually love salmon too much.  This meal had plenty of flavor and enough variety, that he really enjoyed it though.  And the best part, it was such a quick and easy meal to prepare!

What are some of your favorite easy and healthy dinner meals?

slow-cooker bbq pulled pork

I've never made pulled pork before. 

In fact, I've never really made anything with barbecue.  

But I had a pork tenderloin sitting in the freezer and thought, why not?

So I pulled out my slow-cooker and made up a recipe.

I started with a rub.  You can let it sit on the meat as long as you want. 

I put it on Saturday night and left it on until Sunday morning when I threw the whole thing in the crockpot.

Now I don't mean to brag...buuuuut, this was pretty dang good.

It even got the approval of my barbecue-fanatic husband. 

Success?  I think so.

Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork 

Rub Ingredients:

-1 tsp black pepper

-1 tsp salt

-1 1/2 tbsp chili powder

-3 tbsp paprika

-1 tbsp lawry's seasoning salt

-1 1/2 tbsp cumin

-1 tbsp dried oregano

-3 tbsp brown sugar

Other Ingredients:

-Pork Tenderloin

-1/4 c. water

-1-2 c. BBQ sauce

Method:

-Combine all rub ingredients in a small bowl

-Cover pork tenderloin with spices

-Wrap tenderloin with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge 3 hours-2 days.  Your choice.  (I left mine in overnight, about 12 hours)

-Add seasoned pork tenderloin to crockpot along with 1/4 cup water

-Cook on low 8 hours

-After the 8 hours, pull the pork out and lay on a cookie sheet or cutting board.

-Pull meat apart with two forks

-Empty the liquid from the crockpot and place meat back inside.

-Add 1 1/2 c. BBQ sauce to the crockpot and mix to combine with pork.

-Allow to cook 30-60 minutes more on low.

-Serve and enjoy on buns, sandwiches, over rice, or any other way!

-Feel free to add extra BBQ sauce 

spinach power muffins

I have had a slight obsession with spinach lately.  I've been eating it nonstop.  Seriously, it's SO healthy for you and SO easy to incorporate into almost anything.  In our house, I put it in our pasta, on our pizza, in our quesadillas, and anywhere else I can sneak it in.  

My current favorite things to put spinach in are muffins and smoothies.  I made these muffins yesterday for the first time and have a feeling I'll be making them again...soon.  Very soon. 

They were so simple to make, and they are absolutely delicious.  

You'd never even know there was spinach in them....wellll, except for the fact that they're green.  But taste wise?  Mmmm mmm delicious!

I modified a recipe I found on pinterest.

So here it is:

Ingredients:

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/3 c. white sugar

2 tbsp. oil (I used vegetable oil)

1/8 c. milk (I used 1%)

a splash of lemon juice

a splash of vanilla extract

1 medium banana

1-2 c. of baby spinach leaves (I used about 2 cups)

1/4 c. chopped almonds

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with muffin liners.  

-Mash banana in a medium-sized bowl.  

-In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

-In the same bowl as the banana, add the sugar and egg and combine thoroughly.  Once combined, add oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. 

-Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine thoroughly.  

-In a food processor (or blender), blend the spinach leaves until they are very fine.  Add to the batter and stir to combine.  

-In a food processor, blender, or just by hand, grind/chop the almonds to a texture/consistency that you like.  Add half the ground almonds to the batter and stir to combine.  

-Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and garnish the tops with the remaining chopped almond pieces.  

-Bake 20-25 mins at 350F. 

-Enjoy!  I found them equally delicious warm and fresh from the oven and at room temperature the next day.  I actually made some of these to freeze so I can have a healthy treat later.  

Are there any ways you secretly add a kick of health to your recipes?  

bakin' up a storm

Lately I've been spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen. 

One, because I love baking and cooking.

And two, because I've had a lot of extra time on my hands lately.

With hubby back in school and working, I'm just hanging out until baby makes his arrival.

I've enjoyed doing weekly meal planning and making the occasional treat every week.  

This past week, I made mochi (a Japanese dessert) for the first time.

We took it to an international potluck that we went to at hubby's professor's house last weekend.

The recipe was SO easy to make and made about 75 pieces.  

I will definitely be adding it to my potluck recipe collection.  

I'll post the recipe soon if anyone wants to try and make their own mochi at home.

I've also been trying out different homemade bread recipes.

Yes, store bread is convenient, but there is just something so wonderful about biting into a piece of warm, homemade goodness.

So far I've tried out two different recipes, both using loaf pans.

I just want a really good homemade wheat bread recipe that I can make in my pans.

Don't get me wrong, both the recipes I've tried so far have been delicious, but I've had some trouble getting them to rise properly.  

I want a really lofty bread that will be good for sandwiches.  

Feel free to send recipe suggestions my way.

And in the mean time, I'll enjoy a nice warm slice of bread topped with wonderful honey butter.

kahuku farms

I had the BEST lunch today.  It was delicious!  

Beau and I have been meaning to go to this local food place forever and finally got around to it today. 

Well, I am a a HUGE fan now.  

This little place, called "Kahuku Farms" is nestled on the North Shore of Oahu, just about 5 minutes from my house.

They grow all their own food on their farm land and sell it in farmer's markets and use it to make their lunch food.  

So everything you eat there is local and super fresh.  

We ordered some delicious veggie lunches and a haupia pineapple smoothie, made with local bananas, coconut, and pineapple.  

If you're ever on the island of Oahu, it will be totally worth your time to stop by this little treasure of a lunch place.  

Eggplant-tomato bruschetta pizza with macadamia-nut pesto and a side salad

Veggie panini

We will definitely be visiting here again. 

Perhaps the next time we go we'll try some of their delicious-looking grilled banana bread...

Oh, and more details to come about our little baby-to-be.  

So fear not, that post is coming soon.

garlic shrimp with coconut, cilantro, and tomatoes

Growing up I hated vegetables.  I know a lot of people say this, but I mean I really HATED vegetables.  I avoided them like the plague.  When I first started college it was a big deal when I started eating tomatoes and cucumbers.  But now I'm working my way up to all kinds of vegetables!  I'm eating peppers now. I hope my mother is proud.

With all that being said, I've been making some delicious meals lately.  

One of my latest dinners was something I found off of pinterest.  

Ingredients:

1 lb. peeled shrimp

olive oil

1 red or yellow bell pepper (I only had mini peppers, so I used 3, yellow, red, and orange), sliced

1/2 cup fresh, chopped cilantro

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 14 oz. can of coconut milk

1/2 a lime, or a few squirts of lime juice

Sea salt

Directions:

Add sliced bell peppers to pan with olive oil and saute for about 5 minutes over low heat.  Add cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for about 1 minute.  Add can of tomatoes and can of coconut milk along with salt to taste.  Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.  Flavors will blend and sauce will thicken.  Add the shrimp to pan and cook until they are pink and done.  Turn off heat, squeeze lime juice over mixture and stir well.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

pineapple chicken recipe

So last night I found the perfect looking recipe online 

and decided I would make it for dinner. 

Well, after only making the dressing/marinade, I decided it was not the recipe for me.  

Mainly because the dressing was disgusting.

Sooo, with a last minute idea in my head, I started pulling things out of the fridge.  

Here's what I used...

1/2 cup brown rice I had made earlier and stashed in the fridge

diced pineapple (I used maybe half a fresh pineapple)

about 1/2 a large tomato

chicken cut into bite-size pieces

lime juice

soy sauce

garlic salt

salt and pepper

1. Add a dab of OVOO to a pan and dump in chicken and pineapple

2. Add soy sauce and lime juice for flavor. Then add salt, pepper and garlic salt (not pictured).

3. While chicken is cooking, dice up tomato

4. Add tomato to skillet with pineapple and chicken.

5. Add rice to the skillet and stir.

6. And there ya go, a quick and tasty dinner!

homemade almond butter

Want to make your very own almond butter? Well, lucky for you, it's super easy.

Got a bunch of raw almonds and half an hour? 

Oh good, then you're already set!

Take raw almonds and roast in the oven for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Once roasted, dump into a food processor.  I don't have an actual food processor, so I just used my magic-bullet knock off. 

Pulse for 10-15 minutes, periodically stopping to stir.

It may seem like the nuts will never become smooth, but I promise they will.  Just stick with it. They'll be pretty grainy for awhile though. 

Towards the end, add some honey and any spices you want (I added a dash of nutmeg in mine). If consistency still isn't as smooth as you want, add oil a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. 

And finally, ta da!

Enjoy your fresh, delicious almond butter!

homemade oreo cookies

So my husband and I kinda have a love for those ever-delicious, horribly-bad-for-you cookies known as oreos. So I decided to try and make some homemade ones. They turned out pretty good actually.  If I had to change one thing, I might make the frosting into a cream cheese frosting, but overall it was a successful baking experience. :) Hope some of you give it a try!

I put a bit (meaning way too much) frosting on this plate of cookies, but they were the only ones I took pictures of.  Just learn from my example...don't over fill cookies...

Chocolate wafers:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

Filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and then the egg and continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass. Will be bulky. (If you're mixing by hand, like we did, this step may take awhile, so don't give up!)
2. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined (or greased) baking sheet approximately two inches apart. Flatten the dough and bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set cookies on a rack to cool.
3. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
4. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

a morning at the bakery

So after living in Hawaii for two years I FINALLY got to go to the famous bakery, Ted's.  

I've heard quite a bit of hoopla about this place and yet I've never found the time to go.

So this morning Beau and I had to go and get our new car registered and we thought, "what the heck! Let's go get breakfast at Ted's!" And so we did. 

It was well worth the trip.  

Egg sandwiches and macadamia nut pastries...yummmm. 

relieving decision

I'm sorry I've been such a slacker lately with blogging.  This term of school has seriously been crazy.  The terms here are only 6 weeks and so when you're trying to fit in a semester's worth of work into 6 weeks, it gets a little busy.  most of my classes are 3 hours long and the homework is what's killing me.  I'm sure you're tired of hearing me rant about school, but that's seriously all I've been doing lately.  

But I have good news!  Last week I made a really important decision.  At the end of this term I was supposed to switch jobs and be the head of one of my professor's personal research labs.  Well, I decided to turn him down. It was a stress I don't need right now and I love the job I'm currently working in and I've been working there for almost two years now.  It was a really hard decision for me to make but Beau and I both felt it was the best decision and i seriously feel so much lighter! It's like that one major stress was just taken off my shoulders!

And now, summer is looking good! And what better way to start off my summer-attitude but with some delicious watermelon?

Don't mind if I do.