The Teenage Taste!

In addition to running Spring Track, going to school, and hanging with friends I have also been doing a lot of cooking and baking. I love it!

Here are some of the highlights:

Chickpea Feta Salad

Spinach Artichoke Hummus

Triple Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Pineapple Banana Green Monster

Oreo Crunch Muffins

I’ve made all that and more. To view all my (new) recipes, click here! I’ve also been doing some random posts about my life in my Bites of Life tab.

Hope all is well with all of you and hope to see you over at The Teenage Taste sometime! See you soon!

~Erika

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I thank all of you.  Seriously, you are the nicest most caring people ever!  After being absent from FoodFitnessFun for over 2 weeks I’ve recieved many comments and emails asked if I was okay and why I haven’t been blogging. 

The truth is…I’ve been cheating on you with another blog.

Enter my other blog:

The Teenage Taste

Don’t worry, I’ll still be posting here every once in a while, but The Teenage Taste will be my main blog from now on. 

Have a great week!

…I went there.

Or the people who wrote the New Basics Cookbook went there and I just adapted their recipe.  But either way it is delicious. Over the weekend I was in need of some lunch.  I looked around the kitchen, scanning the area for some delicious looking sandwich ingredients and my eyes landed upon a perfectly ripe avocado.  Immediately I thought of this recipe (below) because just a few weeks ago I had bookmarked it…because that’s what all teenage girls do in their free time: look through recipe books.

Chicken, Avocado & Cheddar Melt

Slightly adapted from the New Basics Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh italian parsley
• 1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces), cooked
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
• 2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Paprika, to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the mayo, ketchup, scallion, and parsley in a bowl.  Set aside.
2. Cut the chicken breast in half down the center.  Cut each half into four thin, long slices.
3. Peel the avocado, remove the pit, and slice each half lengthwise into four slices.
4. Place two slices of chicken on each piece of toast.  Spread half of the reserved dressing over the chicken.  Lay the avocado slices over the dressing.  Place 1/3 cup cheddar on top of each sandwich.  Sprinkle lightly with the paprika and scallion.
5. Preheat the broiler.
6. Place sandwiches in a broiling pan, and broil 3 inches from the heat until the cheese melts, about 90 seconds.  Remove the pan from the broiler and serve immediately.

Yield:  2 servings

Instead of halving the recipe, I decided to “share the wealth” as they say and give my mom the other sandwich.  She actually thought I was joking at first, considering I usually hoard all of the avocados to myself, but once she started to take a bite she stopped talking.  She loved it!

Plus once we finished she told me, “You have to make this again, like tomorrow!”  And guess what?  I did.

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Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite sandwich?
2. Do you like avocado?

I know I told all of you that I would post about my Track running today, but it looks like I ran out of time.  I promise I’ll post it tomorrow though! 

Have a great Wednesday!

I have yet another Blog World Weekly to share with all of you. This week’s version is especially good…lots of delicious recipes!  My favorite!

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Towards the beginning of the week there was an eye-opening guest post on Foods of April about a guy’s opinion of muscular girls.  It was very interesting.  Definitely a must-read!

Another post that caught my attention was HEAB’s post about how eating low sugar isn’t as hard as you’d think.  She listed a few sugar-free swaps for hot cocoa and nutrition bars and even linked to a bunch of delicious sugar-free/low-sugar blogs!  Definitely helpful if you’re looking to lower your sugar intake (like I am!)

HEABified Hot Chocolate – healthy, delicious, and sugar-free!

In keeping with the sugar-free topic, HEAB also posted a bunch of sugar-free chocolate and cocoa powder recipes for all of the chocoholics out there!

Chocolate Brown Rice Bread topped with Cacao Bliss

Gracie from Girl Meets Life posted an informative post for her fellow bloggers about how to  become a blogstar.  I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to improve FoodFitnessFun!

After seeing Brandi post the recipe for her Cookies ‘N’ Cream Pound Cake I had a Oreo craving the entire week.  I still have the craving!  I guess I’ll have to break out the emergency stash sometime soon.

Jessica was also fueling my craving for cake batter with her Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls. Jessica, how do you come up with these things?! You’re a genius!

Caitlin also wrote an amazing post about achieving goals.  It’s called “Positive Feedback” and it’s really helpful!  You go girl!

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Another wonderful week in Blog World.  Seriously, I love it! 

Questions of the Day:

1. What was your favorite blog post this week?  Feel free to leave links!
2. What type/brand camera do you use?  I’m looking into buying a new one and want one that takes excellent pictures of food!

Have a great week!

Stay tuned for a savory recipe and Spring Track Update tomorrow!

Since I got such a positive response last week on my Seven Things Sunday post, I figured I would do it again.  Hey, this just might become a weekly thing! 

So, without further adieu, I’m proud to present…

Seven Things Sunday II

1.   Meal:  The Veggie Sandwich I had yesterday.  *Recipe coming soon!*

2.   Song:  “I Just Wanna Run” by Downtown Fiction

I was actually introduced to the song by my friend Adrianna when I was injured because she felt like it fit me perfectly. I have to admit, she was right!

3.   Workout:  Still walks with Fluffy, but I have a feeling once Track starts (tomorrow!) running will take the top spot.

4.   Laugh:  This week I had a lot of laughs but I couldn’t think of any that were extremely hilarious.  I did have a pretty good spur-of-the-moment joke this week, though.  Once again, you had to be there, but I’ll try to explain it to the best of my ability.  Earlier this week I told some kind of corny joke at my lunch table and a few people chuckled, however a few moments later the table next to us started laughing hysterically at something someone said at their table.  Quickly, I quipped “Haha, they must have heard me!”  Then my entire table was in hysterics.  I have no idea how I come up with this stuff!

5.   Website:  Foodgawker – You know you have too much time on your hands when you decide to look through 20 pages of food pictures.

6.   Discovery:  Resizing photos.  Yeah, it sounds lame, but I never knew I could resize photos before!  Speaking of photos, how do you like the new photo size.  Keep it or go back to the old sizing?

7.   Hope:  That my back will be A-okay from now on!  I really, really, really want to run!

“I just wanna run, run it away, run because their chasin’ me down…”

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Well, that’s all for now folks!  Now I’m off to straighten my hair, watch a little TV, and hit the hay.  I’m tired!

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite website right now?
2. Have you ever been featured on Foodgawker?
3. What was your favorite workout this past week?

I hope you all have a great week and stay tuned for another Blog World Weekly tomorrow!

Today I did a lot of baking for my Uncle Ozzie’s birthday party. I also ate some really good food and had a pretty tiring workout. I didn’t do any homework. Oh well!

Breakfast:

Grilled Cashini Sandwich on Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

After breakfast I did some blog reading and then got to work.  I had a lot of cleaning to do in preparation for the birthday party.  I swear, cleaning the house lasts longer than the actual party!

Thankfully, once the cleaning was over, I had to do something much more enjoyable: BAKING!

I was the designated “Dessert Chef” because my family knows I am quite the baker.  (Can my head get any bigger?!)

The birthday boy requested a Funfetti cake.  I was so close to making it from boxed cake mix but then I came across Jenna‘s recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream. 

Instead of cupcakes, I doubled the recipe and made a layer cake with 2 8-inch round pans and baked at 350F for 30 minutes.

 I also made some Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies because he loved them so much last time I made them.

I couldn’t wait to dig in.  Talk about a test of self-control!

After the kitchen was cleaned (I make such a mess when I bake!)  I got out of the house and took Fluffy for a walk.  It was beautiful outside today!

70 degrees and sunny!  Spring is here!

Workout:

• 3 mile walk with Fluffy
• 15 min. Abs 101

After my workout, I was ravenous!  I made myself lunch right away.

Lunch:

Tomato, cucumber, avocado, mushroom, roasted pepper, Laughing Cow, and hummus sandwich on Rye

I forgot how much I loved avocado.  The sandwich was so good.  I think I’ll post a recipe soon, but I still have a bit of tweaking to do. 

Soon after lunch, the family started coming over.  We talked and caught up for a bit and then got ready for dinner. 

On the menu for tonight was:

• Mom’s Gumbo

• Make-Your-Own Pita Pizzas

• Salad

Can you see Fluffy?!

I decided to skip the gumbo tonight, but I had some pita pizza.  It was so good!

Dinner:

Salad and 1/2 pita pizza with onions, mushrooms, and olives

I made sure to keep dinner light, considering I wanted to make sure I saved enough room for dessert.  I couldn’t wait to dig into the cake!

“Happy Birthday to youuuu…”

Dessert:

Oh.My.Gosh.  The cake was so good!  Well worth the wait!  I got a bunch compliments on it – thanks Jenna!

A sweet end to a wonderful night.

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Questions of the Day:

1. How did you spend your Saturday?
2. What is your favorite cake flavor?

Have a great Sunday! 

But, don’t worry, I’ll post it today because it’s a really good one.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Fluffy Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Slightly adapted from SHAPE Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup plain greek yogurt (regular yogurt would work too)
• 3 tablespoons flour (I recommend 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon all-purpose)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Separate one egg.  Combine the yolk in a small bowl with the yogurt, flour, and vanilla extract.  Stir well with a fork.
2. Separate the second egg.  In a larger bowl, beat two egg whites, sugar, and salt until they are fluffy and hold a soft peak.
3. Melt butter in a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add a quarter of the batter. Cook 2-3 minutes, until brown, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the reverse side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Yield: 1 large serving (4 pancakes) or 2 smaller servings (2 pancakes each)

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I enjoyed my pancakes plain: no nut butter, no sugar, nothing.  They were just that good on their own.  However, if you’re a syrup person (I’m not) then you can top your ‘cakes with syrup, agave, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc. 

These pancakes are also pretty filling considering they have over 6 grams of protein each!  Approximately 25 grams in the entire recipe.  Yay for protein!

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I definitely think all of you should get up and make these pancakes right away.

Before I sign off I’d like to share a few more things with you.  Remember a couple of days ago when I told you that Katie and I were doing a 3 miler?  Well, it was actually a 2 miler because instead of running the entire way we stopped to get pizza on the way back to school and walked the mile back.  Fail.  However in my defense, who wants to run on a full stomach?!  Not me!

Another thing, remember my Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies?  Well, when I first made them I brought a few over to my uncle’s house and he loved them so much that he requested I make them for his birthday party (later tonight)!  Of course!  I’m in charge of all desserts, but more about that later.

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you put syrup/other toppings on your pancakes or prefer to eat them plain?  I like to add sugar and nut butter, but I also eat them plain 75% of the time.
2. Have you seen the movie, Beastly?  Was it good?  I saw the previews awhile ago and thought it looked cool.  My friends and I are thinking of going to see it.

Have a great weekend! 

Remember yesterday when I told you that I was looking forward to breakfast?  Well, it was pretty epic!  Not to mention filled with cinnamon! ♥

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Yogurt Mess (light vanilla yogurt, Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread, granola, Microwave “Stewed” Apples, peanut butter, and cinnamon)

Oh.My.Gosh.  It was so freaking delicious.  “It was like a burst of cinnamon swirl in every bite!”  ~Old Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials

I also rounded out my cinnamon-filled meal with a cup of coffee spiked with cinnamon per Christina’s suggestion.  Deeeeeeelish!

I’m definitely going to start drinking cinnamon coffee every morning.  It was a nice change of pace from my usual black coffee.

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Since I’ve been loving cinnamon a lot more than usual lately, I figured I should write a post (similar to this one) highlighting the health benefits of cinnamon.  It actually has more nutrients than you’d think!

                              (source)

What I’m Loving: Cinnamon!

Sometimes it seems like cinnamon is in baked goods everywhere, which makes it easy for one to assume that cinnamon is unhealthy, just because it is usually prevalent in high-fat and high-sugar foods.  But, in reality, that couldn’t be more wrong! Cinnamon is actually loaded with a plethora of health benefits including it’s ability to lower LDL “bad” cholesterol, preserve foods, boost cognitive brain function, control blood sugar, and even aid weight loss!

Sounds pretty impressive, eh?  I’m sure you’re dying to hear more but before I get into the details let me share the nutritional stats.

                                (source)

Who knew cinnamon was so high in fiber, calcium, and iron?! Definitely not me!

Cinnamon Regulates Blood Sugar:

Recent research suggests that cinnamon may be helpful as a supplement to regular diabetes treatment in people with type 2 diabetes because it improves antioxidant levels and therefore improves fasting blood sugar. 

Cinnamon Reduces LDL “Bad” Cholesterol:

The results of a study from 2003 in Pakistan showed lower levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol after 40 days with levels continuing to drop for 20 days after that.  Similar studies were also conducted revealing the same thing.  Most people had their LDL cholesterol  drop by at least 10 points!

Cinnamon Aids Weight Loss:

According to experts, cinnamon tablets can also be taken in order to aid weight loss. The cinnamon helps target the thyroid (gland in charge of metabolism) and speeds it up over time, resulting in a faster metabolism. 

Sources:

Mayo Clinic

That’s Fit

About

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Jeez, I don’t know about all of you, but I never knew there were so many benefits to flavoring with cinnamon.  I just thought it tasted good!  Haha.

I hope you enjoyed the little tidbits of information I gathered for you. Let me know if you want to see more of these in the future.  Most of  you seemed to like the one I did on eggs.

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite way to use cinnamon?  In oatmeal?  In baked goods? In desserts?
2. What is your favorite spice?  Mine is cinnamon followed by cumin and pepper.

Hope you all have a great Friday!