November

8:49:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

It's hard to believe it's almost December.  November was a really fun month and fortunately included some "mountain time".  I went to school in the mountains and definitely miss them in the fall.  This month I got to visit Charlottesville, Lexington, and Blacksburg for football, wine, apples, and visiting with friends and family.

My friend is currently living in Charlottesville, VA and I visited her for the day before we headed to the football game in Blacksburg.  It was a perfect fall day.  We started it with bagels at a local shop called Bodo's and then we did a bit of shopping.


After that, we drove to her aunt and uncle's orchard at the top of Carter Mountain.  It's a bit of a steep drive (for those of us from Virginia Beach, anyway), but not long at all.  At the top you have a beautiful view of Charlottesville, as well as a winery where you can taste their wines and an orchard where you can buy apples, cider, and more.


I definitely recommend visiting if you are ever in the area.  We took advantage of a wine tasting, some apple cider donuts, and the perfect backdrop for some Anthropologie catalogue - esque pictures.


After that, we, along with our many layers of clothing, headed west to Blacksburg for the night game.  We met up with my friend's family and my husband.  I was mostly too cold to take pictures, but we had fun tailgating and drinking the wine I got after our tasting.  

We spent the next day visiting and relaxing in Lexington - a beautiful city to visit in the fall.



You are probably thinking "ok, this post has absolutely nothing to do with food..." and you're pretty much right.  I did try my share of new recipes this month, though, and in the next week or so I hope to share all of them with you - including everything I made for the first Thanksgiving we hosted.  So, stay tuned for some double cranberry applesauce and pear with gruyere pie!

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Greek Quinoa Salad

10:22:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

I found this recipe for Greek Quinoa Salad on the blog "Two Peas and their Pod".  I love greek salads, and the more I read about quinoa, the more I want to work it into my meals, so this seemed like a good recipe to try out.  I followed it exactly - minus the kalamata olives, and that's only because I forgot to get them.  I'm sure they'd make it even better.

If you haven't tried quinoa yet, I recommend that you do.  It's versatile and a "super food".  You can read about 7 of its health benefits here.  It's good to eat plain, with a little sweet thai chili sauce, mixed with vegetables, or meat - really anyway you might use rice.

This Greek Quinoa Salad is quick and easy to put together.


What you will need:

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup feta cheese (I used fat free)
salt and pepper, to taste

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Rinse quinoa with cold water. Drain. Cook according to directions on package.  
While letting quinoa cool to room temperature, mix tomatoes, cucumber, onion, feta, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  When quinoa is cooled, add to mixture.



In a small bowl, mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, and oregano.  Drizzle over quinoa mixture.

Enjoy!

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Green Smoothies

9:45:00 PM Anna 0 Comments

There are tons of green smoothies out there that mix spinach with lots of other fruits and veggies, and after a long weekend out of town and not eating the best foods, I decided to try one variation.  I made this recipe for a Healthy Limeade Smoothie.  I must admit - it was not my absolute dream smoothie, but I'm sharing it because I think with a few changes I could really like it - and you might like it as is!


 What you will need:

1/2 english cucumber, sliced
1/2 avocado
2 handfuls spinach
3 limes
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I think I would leave this out if I made it again)
3 teaspoons agave nectar (or sweetened of choice to taste)
8 ice cubes
1/2 cup water

Put ice in blender first, then add all other ingredients and blend.  Enjoy!


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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1:23:00 PM Anna 0 Comments


These muffins are a bit of an alteration to the muffins on Skinnytaste.  I subbed in ground flax seed and water for the egg whites (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water for each egg white) and also used whole wheat flour and light butter.  Mine ended up a bit gooey on the bottom, sticking to the liner, but they still tasted great.  I don't know if that happened because of the flaxseed or something else, but it won't keep me from eating them.  Each muffin is 5WWP+

What you will need:

3.5 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons light butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add bananas, applesauce, flaxseed and water mixture, and vanilla extract.  Beat at a medium speed until thick.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk together.  Add flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips if desired and pour into muffin liners.  Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy!

On a completely separate note, I hope everyone gets the chance to vote today - Also, happy 3 months and 2 days of living with us to Dingo!





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