Welcoming September

Happy Friday all :)

In just a few short days the world will be welcoming September. It could be the start of a new school year, the start of a new season, working more often as businesses get busy. Sports change, trees change, foods change, (pumpkin spice everything). It's a beautiful time for change!

Lately I have been realizing that people are becoming busier this week. Students are moving into school and for a lot of working adults it can be hard managing work responsibilities and finding time to make effective food choices. By "effective" I mean cost effective and being healthy. 

Food Essentials on a Budget

I have come up with some healthy ways to budget food essentials to get the most out of what you buy!
Here they are:

Snacks

Chips, Popcorn, Crackers, etc.

This is for all the crunch n' munch snacks. How many of us buy a bag of chips or crackers and eat directly from the bag? 

The biggest problem with snacks like these is that they don't last very long. If you end up buying a large bag of chips that will cost you about $3.00 a bag. If that one bag only lasts you about two days, but you want chips to last you the whole week, that is about $9.00 a week on chips alone. $36.00 a month on chips. 

How to get the most out of snacks:

The first thing that needs to be done while you are shopping is to check serving sizes. 

In my recipe, Let's Taco 'Bout Shrimp & Salads, I compared regular Tostitos Chips vs. RW Garcia tortilla chips. (Both can be found at Market Basket in the chip aisle).  

Tostitos: 1 Serving = 7 Chips

140 calories, 7g of fat, and 115mg of sodium

RW Garcia: 1 Serving = 15 Chips

140 calories, 6g of fat, 50mg of sodium

(The key is to find chips, popcorn, etc. that gives you a good initial serving size. You want to make healthier choices, but you don't want to deprive yourself). 

Once you do that, bring your bag home and separate your servings into individual snack bags. 

For the RW chips I will count out 1 serving, (15 full chips), and place them into a snack bag. If a chip is broken or halved I will add pieces together to estimate a full chip being added to my plastic bag. I repeat this until all my chips have been divided into snack bags. 

My chips ready for the week!

Doing this has provided me with NINE snack bags, ready to-go. 

This preparation saves me time. If I eat 1 snack bag a day this will last me the whole week and I'll have two extra bags leftover.
(For packing snacks for families or multiple people, this is still a great way to distribute the snacks and get the most out of what you buy a week).  

Favorite Snacks:

Boom Chicka Pop $3.00
1 Large Bag = 4 snack bags containing 2 Cups each
and 1 snack bag containing 1 Cup
2 Cups snack bag:
74 Calories
2.5g Fat
67mg Sodium

Snapea Crisps $1.50
1 Bag = 3 snack bags each with 1 serving
1 Serving = 22 Pieces:120 Calories
6g Fat
85mg Sodium
Good Fiber & Potassium

Pita Bread

Pita bread is GREAT. 

Joseph's is one of my favorite brands. Not only does he offer traditional white pita bread, but also a variety of healthier versions such as the Flax, Oat Bran, & Whole Wheat pitas. 
This brand has gluten free options too and also small individual sandwich-size pitas. 

1/2 of a White Pita:
90 Calories
1g Fat
150 mg Sodium
2g Fiber

How to get the most out of Pita Bread

You can create all different kinds of sandwiches and wraps with the pita!

Personal favorite combos:
- Hummus and Taboule
- Peanut butter & banana wrap (Also try almond butter or sun butter)
- Hummus, Tuna, & mashed Avocado w/black pepper
- Chopped Lettuce, diced Tomato, diced Cucumber, & Chickpeas w/balsamic vinegar 
- Leftover Veggies mixed with Black Beans & Hummus (Veggie Wrap)

Get creative!

You can also use Joseph's Pitas to make individual pizzas! 
Preheat oven to 450 and then bake for 12 minutes, very quick and easy.

1 White Pita from Joseph's
Pizza Sauce, Sprinkled Olive Oil, Daiya cheese
Tomatoes, Black Pepper, Basil

I make mine a few different ways:

- Bread, sprinkle some Olive Oil, add sauce, choice of cheese, (or cheese alternative), and add any healthy toppings! Mine usually include diced tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, garlic, or onions.

- Bread, sprinkle some Olive Oil, add smashed avocado, choice of cheese, (or cheese alternative), and add any healthy toppings! The avocado tastes amazing especially when the cheese melts on top. Sometimes I will add a little sauce and then smashed avocado for extra flavors.

- The third option is to add the sauce, avocado, and toppings but not any cheese. Crazy right? But if you are trying to lose or manage weight, the cheese can add a lot of extra fat to your pizza. Go crazy with toppings and you won't even miss the cheese!

Other Tips

- Kale is usually $1.60 for a bunch. This can be used during the week with salads, sandwiches, and also Kale Chips!

- Lettuce in a bag is typically cost effective! The brand Foxy sells bags of Romaine Hearts for about $2.50 in the produce section. You can use Romaine for the essentials and also use it for lettuce wraps to replace bread! 

- Avocados can be used for many things! Typically I use 1 avocado and find ways to use it throughout a few days once ripe. I add it to wraps, salads, or smash them on toast!

(Other ideas: Avocado mashed potatoes, avocado w/rice, guacamole, etc.) 

- Stay away from Easy Macs, Cup of Noodles, or any other quick meals like those without reading the labels first. 

Cup of Noodles contains 810mg Sodium for HALF the cup. That means if you eat the whole cup in one sitting that has 1,620mg of Sodium!

Notice how 1 Serving Size is only half the cup.
This makes the numbers seem smaller, but double them
and that will equal the whole cup!

Well that is everything for this week!

What snacks or easy meals do you enjoy eating? Leave a comment or suggestion!

Good luck to anyone starting school, enjoy your weekend, and thank you for stopping by! xo :)

But First...Coffee

Good Morning/Early Afternoon food lovers! Are you awake yet?

If you're like me who needs coffee to become a fully functional person, you'll understand the struggle and constant dedication to the ever-so powerful: Caffeine. 

Today I want to talk about Breakfast! The most important meal of the day!

Now now, I know what you're thinking. But before you decide to hit the close button on me for assuming this will be another one of those, "Eat oatmeal! Make breakfast! Whole grains! Protein! Energy!" Fear not, for I am not here to give that lecture emphasizing the importance of making a full meal, at least not today. (Because personally I barely have enough time to feed my dogs kibble for breakfast, let alone cook for myself). 

Which leads us to this week's blog post:

Breakfast On The Go! 

Ah, yes. Pop in the drive through, take that first sip of coffee, and you're off to your morning routine!

This is something that a lot of us do, however there are ways to make this quick fix perfect for health benefits and starting off our day...but there are also ways to make it a total nightmare. 

So here we go. 

Dunkin' Donuts vs. Starbucks

Olivia personally runs on Dunkins, so let's take a look there first.

Sugar is the main culprit when I think about coffee.

Short lesson of the day~ 

1 normal teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams. This is the same as 1 packet of sugar.

16 oz. bottle of coke contains 44 grams of sugar, about 11 teaspoons/packets of sugar.

DUNKIN DONUTS:

Medium French Vanilla swirl iced coffee with only cream:

- 260 calories

- 36 grams of sugar

This coffee currently contains 9 teaspoons worth of sugar.

9 teaspoons = 9 sugar packets, since each packet contains about 4 grams.

The sugar in this coffee alone is 139 calories.

AND This is without any sweeteners added! So this coffee doesn't even contain "cream and sugar," or equal, splenda, etc. 

If this coffee were to contain cream and sugar, this would exceed more sugar than a bottle of coke. 

STARBUCKS:

Grande Caramel Frappuccino with only whole milk, no whipped cream:

- 280 calories

- 59 grams of sugar

59 grams of sugar = About 15 teaspoons/packets worth of sugar.

Sources: Dunkin Donuts Nutrition and Starbucks Nutrition

Looking at Alternatives

Dairy~

The bold choices offered are dairy free and are healthier alternatives to cream or milk in coffee! 

This will limit calories and sugar!

Dunkin Donuts:

- Almond Milk

- Skim Milk

- Whole Milk

- Cream

Starbucks:

- Coconut Milk

- Soy Milk

- Non-fat Milk

- 2% Milk

- Whole Milk

Almond Milk: Good for your heart, blood pressure, skin, immunity system, and contains anti-cancer properties when compared to cow's milk!

Coconut Milk: Good for your heart, immunity, weight loss, rich in antioxidants which help reverse and prevent the cause of diseases and cancers, and contains a lot of vitamins and minerals!

Soy Milk: Contains equal or more protein than regular milk without the cholesterol and saturated fat! Vitamins, minerals, and fiber! 

Drink Tips

- Try asking for your coffee without additional sugar and add it in yourself! This allows you to control additional sugar.

- Stay away from artificial sweeteners (splenda, equal, sweet n' low, etc.)

- "Swirl" coffee contains a syrup with sugar. Sometimes this is sweet enough along w/your dairy choice and additional sugar isn't necessary!

- Say no to whipped cream if possible!

- Coffee dehydrates us, so drink water after your coffee :)

Strawberry Lite Coolatta (mine is kiddie size)
A small size would contain:
100 Calories
20 grams of sugar in lite
vs.
57 grams found in the regular small

- Most Dunkin Donut Coolattas come in "lite" versions as shown above. 

These contain no dairy and are low calorie alternatives!

Food Tips

- Multigrain and Whole Wheat bagels are great bagel options! 

- Dunkin Donuts offers a peanut butter spread which is healthier than cream cheese!

Also: Reduced fat plain and veggie cream cheeses are available.

I am not sure if this is something Starbucks offers also :)

- The nutrition catalog links are here and here!

Transformation to happiness

Well that's all folks! I think I've rambled enough for one post!

I advise all of you to give the catalogs a look and make better choices if possible. 

Start off your day with food but keep in mind what you put in your body!

My challenge is for all of you to try something new! Choose a different dairy choice, use less sugar in your coffee, any little change could make a difference and who knows - I might even be the cause of your new love for almond milk  ;) 

Thank you for stopping by! xo

Give My Regards to Food

Good afternoon food lovers! How has your week been?

As some of you may already know, I have spent these past few days exploring New York and eating my way through Manhattan! The personality and culture of the city was absolutely beautiful. I went to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday and we had a great time adventuring our way around.

But now let's talk about what really matters here:

New York Food

The places I went to did not disappoint! I would highly recommend trying any of the establishments I am about to list. Most of these were on my Food Bucket-List, a few of them were random encounters! 

First Stop: Pizza

Patzeria Perfect Pizza
231 W 46th Street
New York, NY

Margherita Pizza 

The first stop after arriving into the city was a much needed meal! 

What better way to enjoy the first stop in New York than with authentic New York pizza?

At first approaching this very tiny place, I almost walked away. Looking inside through the door, this restaurant was like an enlarged walk-in closet! There was a counter to order and a small bar with only 4 stools to sit.

I decided to go for it anyway, and this pizza blew my mind away. It was mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, and garlic. Melted in my mouth and each bite of rich flavor was incredible. 

Couldn't resist a bite!

Late Night Bite: Ramen

Totto Ramen
366 W 52nd Street
New York, NY

Totto Spicy Ramen

The first evening was mostly wandering and exploring, but things quickly became dark and the city started to get brighter. Not only did the city light up, but so did my appetite! 

Approaching Totto Ramen, I noticed that the location we chose was like a small cellar. There were steps leading down into a tiny restaurant. To the left I saw the cooks making the ramen and there was a noodle bar and a few tables to sit. The noodle bar was a place to sit facing the cooks. I watched them stir and cook all the noodles fresh and put together these bowls of broth, meat, and veggies. 

My bowl of ramen was insane! The ramen noodles are covered in this broth with spicy sesame oil, scallions, bean sprouts, and nori [seaweed]. I added seasoned avocado, seasoned boiled egg, and bamboo shoot. (I chose not to add chicken or pork to my ramen, but normally you would choose either one to add). 

There are currently:
3 Locations in New York, NY

Lunch: Delicatessen

Katz's Delicatessen
205 E Houston Street
New York, NY

Reuben Sandwich w/ Corned Beef & Pastrami

I had heard many great things about this deli and the results did not disappoint!

Walking in, everyone receives a ticket. From there I chose to order my sandwich at the deli counter. I sampled both the corned beef and the pastrami. The pastrami melted in my mouth and had so much juicy flavor. I was undecided with how I wanted my sandwich so I used both meat in a reuben!

For such a huge sandwich, I ate everything within 10 minutes. The flavors were unreal.

I also received a plate of two different kinds of pickles and everything was amazing!

Sushi Date Night

Natsumi
226 W 50th Street
New York, NY

Located in the Theater District of Manhattan, this Japanese restaurant was the perfect stop before seeing Chicago on Broadway! The ambiance was nicely set to match the decor and style inside.
As a sushi fanatic, I loved how fresh the fish was. My sashimi pieces were extremely fresh and had a very clean taste to them. As for the sushi rolls, they were good! Compared to other sushi I have had, I feel like some flavor was missing in the rolls. However, this was the freshest sushi I have ever consumed, so next time I will order more sashimi and try something else!

Good Morning: NYC Bagel

Ess-a-Bagel
831 3rd Ave
New York, NY

Nova Bagel

Waking up in the city was beautiful! A quick walk right outside led to the hustle and bustle of the never ending rush that is New York.

Waiting in the long line at this bagel shop was worth it. I ordered a Nova Bagel which is a plain bagel, smoked salmon, lettuce, onion, plain cream cheese, and I also added avocado.

The bagel was amazing, fluffy and refreshing along with the other flavors.
(This shop also offers different types of tofu cream cheese for anyone who needs the alternative)!

I had always dreamed of eating a true New York bagel. I definitely found one and fell in love! 

City Snacks

Beyond Sushi
62 W 56th Street
New York, NY

Crunch N' Munch Roll

Walking by this small cafe I noticed there was "sushi" in the name of the place.

This grabbed my attention and so I walked inside. Looking at the menu, I realized there were healthy versions of Japanese salads and rolls, these including non-fish sushi. 

Every roll is handmade using a variety of grains, vegetables, and even fruit.

Crunch N' Munch is an 8 piece sushi roll that is made with black rice, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, tofu, kiwi, and a white miso sauce dropped on top.  

This was the first time I had ever tried anything like this, and it was incredible. So much color and flavor without using any fish at all! The varieties were creative and delicious, I highly recommend to anyone who loves sushi to give this place a try! 



Well, that's all folks! Vacation is over, now back to reality.

If you missed it, I added some insight on packing healthy-ish travel snacks for the road!
You can find that information here

My question to all of you is:
Where are your favorite places to visit in New York?
What food establishments need to be added to my list?
Leave a comment or suggestion, this won't be my only visit!

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend :) xo 

View from Empire State Building

Let's Taco 'Bout Shrimp & Salads

Good afternoon food lovers!
Did you enjoy my pun?

I hope you all have been enjoying your week, the weather in New England has been beautiful! I have mostly spent it at home, my allergies have gotten the best of me. The good news is that I have had a lot of extra time to prepare my blog for the remainder of August, and I'm excited for you to see what I have planned!

Now without further ado...

Shrimp Taco Salad

This recipe was quick, easy, and the flavors were unreal.

If you read my "About Olivia" tab, something I mentioned is that I strive everyday to redefine the term healthy. It's flavor, it's color, it's natural, delicious, it's BALANCE and most importantly, it's fabulous! 

This salad was all that and more! I think you will really enjoy this. 

Tips & Tricks!

- The homemade cilantro-lime dressing will also double as the marinade for your shrimp!

- The amount of food I used was to feed four people and we also had leftovers, (I made a huge salad and also had extra to make an additional small salad). The amount of shrimp & veggies you use can be completely based off of how many people will share this salad! The recipe for the dressing should not be modified. You can double or triple it if necessary, but don't minimize it!

- If shrimp is not your style, I think this would also taste great if you substitute for chicken! 

- I made my salad look pretty, but by all means feel free to mix your ingredients up and do whatever is easiest for you! Be messy, especially if you are the only one eating this salad and you don't have time to make it neat. Throw it together, bring it to work, eat it for dinner and lunch the next day, I am just happy that whoever is using this recipe is putting the time in to try something new!

- The original recipe called for chili powder but I used red cayenne pepper. Adjust this spice's measurement if you aren't a huge spicy fan. I always say, you can always taste and add more if you need to, so start small and work from there!

- The tortilla chips I used in this recipe are amazing! Regular Tostitos chips are 7, let me repeat, SEVEN chips per serving. 140 calories, 7g of fat, and 115mg of sodium in just SEVEN chips! If you are like me who can't stop after 7 chips and decides to eat most of the bag, this can be a nightmare. So let me introduce a better alternative...

These chips are delicious! Comes in blue & yellow in one bag. Each serving is 15 chips and you'll get 140 calories (the same as Tostitos), 6g of fat (compared to Tostitos at 7g of fat), and 50mg sodium!!! So for more than double the single serving size of Tostitos you'll get the same calories, less fat, and way less sodium! Plus these are gluten free for anyone who needs that!

This is a better alternative! Find this lovely gem at Market Basket :)

Let's Get Cookin'

Ingredients and EXACT measurements you will need for the cilantro-lime marinade and dressing! Put these in a food processor or blender, only if you don't have a food processor.

-  1/3 Cup packed cilantro leaves, somewhat chopped, (I bought a bunch of cilantro leaves in the produce section of Market Basket and used what I needed)!

- 1/4 Cup Lime juice (Use fresh limes, or lime juice that I used in picture below)

- 1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil

- 1 Tablespoon of Honey

- 1/2 Teaspoon of chili powder or red cayenne pepper (adjust as needed for more/less spicy)

- Some salt & pepper

Other ingredients you will need for the salad:

- Frozen shrimp, use as much as you need! I used Large.

I used 1 pound and a half to serve 4 people and had leftovers.

- Romaine Lettuce

- 1 Bag of shredded cabbage (I used a plain bag of coleslaw veggies all shredded)

- Grape or Cherry tomatoes (I used cherry)

- Avocado (I used 2 small ones)

-Green onion

- 1 can of black beans

- Salt/pepper, I would use more pepper than salt for flavor and to keep sodium low

- Tortilla Chips (Optional)

Step 1

Take your shrimp out to thaw. Remove the skin, clean it up, and set aside!

Step 2

Time to make the marinade/dressing!!! 

Remember, the marinade doubles as the dressing later on.

Preparing to make dressing:
Lime Juice in green bottle can be found at Market Basket
Easier than cutting and squeezing limes
I would still buy a fresh lime or two for garnish at the end of cooking!

All finished
Here it is!!!! Quite beautiful.

 Step 3

Take a large plastic bag and place shrimp in it.

Add 3 Tablespoons of the cilantro-lime dressing into the bag for every 1/2 pound of shrimp.

I used 9 Tablespoons since I had 1 pound and a half.

Use your judgement here you can add more or less, but make sure you have enough to cover all the shrimp!

Place this bag in the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes.

Bag of shrimp and marinade ready for the fridge!

While I waited for my shrimp, I cleaned up my counters a little and started preparing some of my veggies. Also, I noticed that for my family I was going to need more dressing so I took this time to make more servings of that.

Once your dressing is done, put aside in your fridge to stay cold while you continue to cook!

15 minutes later...

Step 4

Okay shrimp is ready! Heat up your pan on the stove w/ some olive oil and then pour your bag into the pan!

 

Pan heating up oil
I would cook shrimp on medium/high heat

Shrimp all spread
Starting to cook!

It's important to keep an eye out and make sure your shrimp fully turn pink! Each and every single shrimp. Turn over after you notice some of them starting to turn pink on the outsides. 

All done!
Beautiful and ready to come off stove.
Set Shrimp aside once they come off stove.
I put mine on a plate.

Step 5

Grab your large bowl, time to start adding salad ingredients!

I started by putting some of my coleslaw shredded veggies in the bowl, and then added some of my cut-up romaine lettuce:

Step 6

Add on top of that your tomatoes, green onion, and a majority of your shrimp (not all of it).

For my cherry tomatoes I halved most of them, and also cut some of them into 4's. (Don't use all of your green onion or tomatoes yet)

Tomatoes & green onion on top
of lettuce and shredded veggies

My shrimp added w/ tomatoes and green onion

Step 7

Add more shredded veggies and romaine lettuce on top of what you have so far!

More lettuce and shredded veggies!

Step 8

Add some remainder shrimp, tomatoes, and green onion. I made my look fancy but again, it is not necessary! If you look at the finished picture, you'll see that the remainder green onion is in the center of my shrimp.

Next, I opened my can of black beans and drained the juice. I also put them in a strainer and rinsed them off with cold water to remove excess sodium and juice from the can!

This orange strainer is from my grandma!
It was a wedding present given to her from the 1950's

Step 9

Add black beans and avocado to your salad! 

 

This is what my salad looked like at this point!
The beans were spread along the outside
The avocado was sliced and placed along the outside as well.
 

Step 10 (Last one I promise)

Incorporate the chips! You can put them along the edge like I did, crumble them into the actual salad, or keep them on the side! This is optional, but I will say that did add a little something extra and worked great!

Okay now you're done!!!! 

Put your salad on the table, break the dressing out, cut up lime if you want to garnish, and that's it!

Each bite of shrimp with the marinade complimented the dressing.
So much flavor and texture in a salad!
No two bites were the same.

Enjoy my food lovers!!!!

One last thing I noticed is that my salad came out mostly green besides the red in tomatoes and black from the beans. If anyone thinks of ways to add some color to this recipe let me know! I was thinking corn? 

What do you think? Leave a comment or suggestion, I love trying out new things!

Enjoy your weekend, stay hydrated, and let me know if any of you decide to make this! :)

Thanks for stopping by! xo

New Beginnings

"You're off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, get on your way!" 

Welcome food lovers! Today is the day! 

My very first post and premiere of my blog, Fabulous Foodie :)

That quote above is Dr. Seuss for all of you that grew up reading his books. I decided for my first post I wanted to connect this to new beginnings, a new start, a blank page that will soon be filled. I thought it would not only be appropriate but pretty relatable to bring the doctor of rhyme himself into my first post, and here's why:

Think of everyday as a new beginning! When you wake up there is always a blank page to be filled, and you have 24 hours to do so. I am going to give you all the best advice I have for starting your new beginning off right, giving you full energy and lots of health benefits!

Start your day off with water

Hmmm....that sounds nice and all, but coffee is how I become alive. It's actually how I function as a human being so why do I need plain flavorless water?

Don't worry, I'm not depriving you of the holy caffeine (because I need that too, honestly).

Short lesson of the day ~

Think of it like this. Your body loses water during the sleeping process. When you wake up you may not feel thirsty but a lot of grogginess and fatigue can be a result of starting off your day dehydrated. Drinking coffee immediately in the morning dehydrates us even more. From there, if you're not consistently drinking water throughout the day this can be why some of us feel tired after the caffeine does it's job and leaves our system. Our body can be dehydrated without us even realizing we are. 

Why hydrate? (Benefits of water)

- Energy boosts!!! Relieves fatigue

- Clear skin

- Staying alert, focused, and refreshed

- Keeps our digestive system and organs running smoothly

- Speeds up metabolism, promotes weight loss

- Flushes out toxins

- Boosts immune system

So here's my challenge to all of you!

Wake up and drink 1 or 2 cups of water in the morning BEFORE your coffee.

After your coffee, continue to drink water throughout the day! There is a reason why science recommends we drink about 8 cups a day. 

And see how you feel! Pay attention to energy and how you function for about a week or so. We are all human and need water in our systems, there are no negative side effects for giving our body more of what it needs :)  

Ways to make it...well, not boring

Lemon is always great to add to your water! Sometimes I'll add fruit and infuse my water for natural flavors. Summer is a great way to add all different types of fruit and combinations for flavor and hydrating with color. 

Water infused w/ strawberries, black, blue, and red berries
Use frozen fruit when infusing water! These will act like ice cubes.
Also, a bag of frozen fruit can be used for smoothies and many other things!
1 bag of frozen berries is less money than buying containers of fruit produce, & the frozen fruit will last longer.
Drop some lemon juice or add lemon slices for more flavor.
Get creative!

This is $.99 at Market Basket!
I love the flavor and freshness of this brand.
A few drops of lemon in your water, plus this is great for any cooking needs.
Convenient for many things & this will save you from buying and cutting your own lemons!

Have you tried infused water before? Leave a comment or suggestion of what others should try. I am curious to try new flavors as well! 

If you accept my water challenge, let me know how it goes! Remember, 8 cups a day :)

Thanks for stopping by! xo

"Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top the rest!"