On-The-Go Healthy Lunch - Half Second Cup, Half DIY

 

Today I was really hungry, but really low on time.

 

I had a couple classes back to back and a short break in which I had to catch up on readings. I knew I would probably just sit in my room and eat junk since I didn't have a lot of time to prepare anything, so between classes when I stopped at Second Cup for a Green Tea (my favorite!) I picked up an Asian Spinach Salad to go.

The salad had spinach, carrots, edamame beans, purple cabbage, and mango (which was a pleasant twist). I tossed the high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar balsamic vinaigrette that came with it and added some feta cheese for protein and extra flavor.

I'm on (another) feta kick right now, so I've been putting it on everything possible.

I had a sweet craving, but did not want to eat junk food for dessert so I made my watermelon feta salad for dessert instead.
Just an example of how you really can be healthy on-the-go. ;)

Movie Snack-Time! - Watermelon Feta Salad

Okay. So I was definitely a bit skeptical about this at first...

 

 

...but my skepticism quickly faded.

I am not a fan of ordering in high sugar, high fat foods for movie nights. My boyfriend used to love to order pizzas for movies, and I happily participated, until all my food allergies erupted. Not that I'm complaining. It was these allergies that taught me that I had to take a healthier road.

I really wanted sweets this past movie night, but at the same time I wanted the saltiness of a bag of chips, and the satisfying feeling that comes from protein rich meals.

I was Pinteresting it up for snack ideas...(surprise)...when I came to a watermelon feta salad. I had watermelon, I had feta...why not?

I just crumbled a tiny bit of feta over a few pieces of melon to start...but that quickly turned to giant chunks (as you can see) upon tasting it.

The tangy-saltiness of the feta and the sweetness of the watermelon are so complementing to each other. I have been eating this all week...(I even ran out of feta and had to get more just for this salad). The best part is it's high in fiber and protein and is super hydrating. Guilt free!

If you like watermelon and you like feta, you will love them together! Let me know what you think. Yum!

Gluten Free Parmesan-Herb Pasta

The other day I just really wanted pasta, but I didn't feel like doing anything elaborate. This dish was inspired by a discussion with another gluten-free friend of mine. Thanks, Kristy!

 

 

 

You will need:

1 cup spiral rice pasta

1/4 cup quartered cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. oregano

A sprinkle of Italian spice

2 tsp. extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil

 

1. Cook pasta

2. Drain pasta and pour drained pasta into bowl to serve.

3. Mix in oregano, basil, olive oil and parmesan.

4. Place tomatoes in the middle on top of the pasta.

5. Sprinkle Italian spice over the tomatoes.

 

It's that easy! If you like salt add a bit of sea salt for extra flavor! You will not believe how amazing this tastes!



Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I tried my hand at cauliflower pizza crust last night as an alternative to my usual store-bought, gluten-free pizza crust. Turns out it's amazing, and even my gluten-eating family liked it! Definitely a must-try! 

 

 

This super easy crust takes about ten minutes to construct. The hardest part is steaming the cauliflower...like I said, super easy!

You will need:

1 cup of steamed cauliflower grated or mashed
1 egg

1 tbsp. of Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. of basil
2 tsp. of parsley
1 tsp. of oregano
1/2 tsp. of Italian spice

1 small mixing bowl

1 potato masher

1 small pizza pan or baking dish

 Precooked desired pizza toppings (the crust is not in the oven long enough to cook most toppings, but veggies can be left uncooked)

Pizza sauce of your choice

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. Prepare and cook all desired pizza toppings (I just cooked up some ground beef and Italian sausage and diced some green pepper, onion, and added some canned mushrooms).
3. Mash steamed cauliflower well (I started off by grating it and got lazy, and found that a potato masher is equally effective).

4. Add egg, cheese, and spices.

5. Mash mix with a fork and mix well.

6. Put the mix in a greased pizza pan (I just used cooking spray). Make sure to spread at least 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick - I made mine waaay to thin the first try)

7. Bake at 450F for 12-15 min. or until edge gold AND middle is crisp (you do not want the middle to be uncooked, bleh)

8. Add pizza sauce and PRECOOKED toppings and place back in the oven until toppings are hot  (should take about 5 minutes).
 

Super tasty! Good luck!