What’s Fun and What’s Not Fun

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This weekend can pretty much be broken down into what was fun and what was not fun. Luckily the fun stuff outweighed the not fun stuff and I enjoyed one of my very few free weekends this summer.

What was not fun:

Taking two cats on a 30-minute bus ride to the vet. It was time for Olaf to get his one-year wellness check-up and update his vaccinations and since Dot hadn’t been to the vet since before we moved to Chicago we decided to take her too. Bad choices all around. Since we don’t have our car we had to ride the bus to the vet. Neither cat was pleased with the loud bus and Olaf yowled as loud as possible for the first 15 or so minutes. Cue me freaking out that we’re bothering all the passengers and would get thrown off the bus. When we finally did get to the vet it was time for Dot to freak out. She would not sit on the table, would NOT let the vet tech take her temperature, hid under the chair in the room, and growled/hissed/scratched at everyone that came near her. The vet did manage to give her the vaccinations and Adam has a nice big scratch to prove show for it. Olaf was just fine and barely even noticed that he was getting an exam. As an extra special bonus, the bus ride back home was packed to the brim with Cubs fans because of course we chose a game day to go to the vet. One bright spot of this whole ordeal was that the bus driver on the way back was super nice to us and made sure that our cats were comfortable and safe. Overall, I never want to do that again and I’m pretty sure Dot is still angry at us for subjecting her to all of that.

Olaf has forgiven all and wants to be held. Now

Poor girl is pooped from her trauma

Trying to get good food pictures with minimal space and light. We have two windows in our apartment and because of the way our apartment is situated, we get very little natural light. This makes taking pictures for my blog slightly difficult. At first I thought it was impossible but I’ve gotten creative and learned how to make what I do have work for me. It does lead to some interesting positions though. Good thing I do yoga!

What was fun:

Going to the farmers market. We finally got to go to our favorite farmers market. Because we have been busy pretty much every weekend since the Green City Market opened up, we haven’t gotten a chance to go. This weekend though we finally made it and it was of course awesome. All the fresh fruit and vegetables make me happy and I could wander around the market all morning if I could. Adam was happy to get his first Donut Vault donut of the season and even more excited that they had his favorite, lemon poppyseed. It’s the only way I can get him to come with me!

He’s trying not to stuff the whole thing in his mouth

Purple asparagus. I’ve seen green asparagus and I’ve seen white asparagus, but I had never seen purple asparagus. While we were at the market we saw these and of course I had to get them because they were purple. Best. Decision. Ever. They were so delicious and simple to prepare. All I did was drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, squeeze a little lemon juice over it all and roast at 400 for 15 minutes. They were a little sweeter than green asparagus and I could have eaten like 5 more bunches. Too bad I discovered them at the end of asapargus season.

I’ll try any purple fruit/vegetable

Fruit crisp. The farmers market pretty much just led to all sorts of good things this weekend. This fruit crisp is proof that you should go to the market more often! I made Adam a strawberry rhubarb crisp with fruit we got from the market. He deemed it delicious and probably would have eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Which is quite the compliment.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I really loved having the free time to do some fun things and spend time with Adam. Here’s to another great week!

What did you do this weekend?

Keep It Simple Series: One Skillet Meal

March 4, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Everyone is looking for a quick and easy meal. Rachael Ray got her start with 30 minute meals and googling quick meals will give you thousands of recipes. Today’s video is my favorite quick and healthy meal and it uses just one pan. I make this at least once a week and it is always a big hit, plus it never gets boring because you can always change things up just a little bit to keep it interesting. So let’s get to it!

Hopefully this video will give you some ideas on how to make your own one skillet meal, just make sure that you are using cooked grains/legumes and meat. Other than that go crazy with your version of this delicious and healthy meal!

Making a Healthier Weekend

February 16, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Everyone looks forward to the weekend. Two days to relax, destress from the work week and spend time doing the things we love. The weekend is also a great time to set yourself up for success when it comes to your health.

I have talked about meal prepping before on the blog. I believe that it is one of the most important parts of eating healthier. If you have a plan and are prepared, making better decisions become like second nature.

I’m going to share a few of the things that I do over the weekend to help my meals during the week go quickly, smoothly, and healthfully.

Make bigger meals

This might not sound like a healthy tip, but it is. On the weekends I have a little more time on my hands. What I do with that extra time is come up with new recipes for the blog as well as make big meals. I might do chili or other slow cooker meals. I might make different kinds of casseroles or soups or stews. Whatever I do, I make sure that I make extra. The leftovers then become lunch for the rest of the week. You can portion out the leftovers into individual containers that way you can just grab them in the morning and go. If you have healthy food in your fridge that is easily accessible, that’s what you’re going to eat. Spend a little extra time over the weekend and plan out a few big meals so you have your lunch ready to go!

Think about snacks

Snacks are another area that you can work on over the weekend. Healthy snacks are really easy to make and again having extra time on the weekend is the perfect opportunity to set yourself up with some tasty snacks. I like to make hard boiled eggs, spiced almonds, snack bars, and roasted seeds. These are all simple snacks that last a while and are good to grab and go. Pick out a few snacks that sound good to you and prep them over the weekend.

Cut it up

Buying whole fruits and vegetables are a lot easier on your wallet but can be a pain to prepare for eating. Set aside some time to cut up your fruit and vegetables and portion out into containers or bags. I like to cut up my broccoli and store it in big gallon zip top bags so I can just pull them out and cook them come dinner time. Again, if you have healthy food ready in your fridge that is what you’re going to eat.

Get saucey

Yeah, that was a horrible pun. Get over it! I am a huge fan of sauces, dressings, dips, and spreads. These things are simple ways to add a ton of flavor and pizzaz to your meal. Over the weekend I will make a few different sauces to use for my dinners over the week. I know that store bought can seem like the easier choice, but the “simplicity” comes at a cost to your health. It is just as easy and so much better for you to make your own sauces. Some of my favorites to make in big batches over the weekend are cashew sour cream, hummus, and tomato sauce. I also like to make a few marinades for Adam’s fish and my chickpea tofu. Think about making one or two sauces or dressing on the weekend and then use them throughout the week in your meals.

These are just a few of the things that I take the time to do over the weekend. I know it might seem like a lot of time spent in the kitchen, but it isn’t. Break it up over a few sessions and it will be done in no time. Or if you’re like me and like being in the kitchen pick one day and knock out all of your healthy prepping. Once you’re done you will feel like you have accomplished a lot and you will be ready to face the week full of healthy food!

What are some of your weekend kitchen habits? Are there any simple tips you use?

Cherry Pumpkin Seed Bars

February 13, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Yay Friday! While I like most Friday’s this one is even better because my husband, Adam, is finally coming home after a 4 week business trip. Yeah, that’s a whole month. It has been a long 4 weeks and I can’t wait to see him! Plus I haven’t cooked for one person in a really long time and have a plethora of food stocked up for him to eat. He might be more excited about that….

I have a snack recipe for you this week. Snacking makes up a large portion of a lot of people’s diets and unfortunately those snacks aren’t the healthiest part of the day. It’s so easy to grab chips from the vending machine or down 3 of those 100-calorie packaged snacks. But there is good news! You don’t have to relegate yourself to eating unhealthy snacks. With just a little planning you can make your own healthy and delicious snacks.

When I was traveling a few weekends ago I picked up a Kit’s Organics Fruit + Seed Bar. If I do buy snacks instead of making them (it happens every once in awhile) I like to make sure that there are no weird ingredients. I got the cherry and pumpkin seed bar and it was delicious. I decided to try and make my own version of this bar so I could enjoy it without having to pay almost two dollars per bar. I like the tartness of the cherries and the subtle crunch of the pumpkin seeds. These are quick to put together and will make enough to have for the whole week!

Cherry and Pumpkin Seed Bar

makes 5-6 bars depending how big you cut the bars

1 cup chopped and pitted dates
1/2 cup dried cherries (make sure there is no extra sugar added. It should be just cherries)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp almond meal (you can roughly chop up a few almonds to get the almond meal)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

1. In a blender, blend the chopped dates until a ball forms. Scrape down the sides and add in the cherries. Blend again until the cherries are incorporated.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until everything is combined.

3. In a small glass baking dish (8×8 or 9×9 works well) press the date/cherry mixture down with a spatula. If it is really sticky you can wet the spatula.

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then remove and cut into bars.

There you go! This snack comes together really quickly which is great because now you have delicious snacks on hand when you get hungry! You could also roll these into little balls and then roll them in a little cocoa powder for a chocolate cherry dessert! Either way, enjoy your new healthy snacks!

Have a great Friday and Happy Valentines Day a little early!

Keep It Simple Series: Eat Your Vegetables!

February 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87

How many times have you heard, “Eat your vegetables”? Probably numerous times. Vegetables are some of the best foods you can eat in a healthy diet, but it can seem like a daunting task to get in more servings. In today’s video I show you two simple ways to prepare vegetables to make them taste amazing and to get in more servings. Check it out!