Watermelon Feta Salad with a Twist

Today I was having magazine catch-up Sunday. I am not feeling that well today so after Yoga this morning and a nap I went right to the couch and got out the stack of unread magazines. They sure had been stacking up. About halfway through the mountain I came across my Good Housekeeping magazine, which was a pleasant break from the Glamours and Cosmos, and came across an article of 5 Ways to Use Watermelon This Summer.

Immediately I realized I was hungry for a snack and had some watermelon in the fridge. The recipe I liked was the Savory Melon Salad. I didn't have the lime juice, so I improvised a bit with that, and added an ingredient.

I took about 5 big chunks of watermelon and tossed them with about a tbsp of reduced fat feta cheese. I also sprinkled them with a little bit of salt and pepper. I thought maybe some sweet vidalia onion would be good too so I sauteed a few small slices of vidalia onion with about a 2 tsp of olive oil. Once they were slightly warm I added just a pinch of Splenda Sugar Blend to the pan. This crisped and sweetened up the onions and they were delicious. I tossed them in the watermelon and added a squirt of lemon juice to the remaining olive oil in the pan and poured it over. I tossed everything together and added some fresh cilantro on top.

Can we say YUMMY!

And, the thinly sliced sugary vidalia onions were so good I am trying to think of other things I could make them with! 

Well, back to the magazine stack to see what other ideas and creations I can come up with. :) 

Friday Favorites #6

Happy Purple Friday everyone! I am working on blogging more frequently, but life has taken over again! Work is crazy busy and summer is winding down. Now we are into the beginning of fall which is filled with football Sundays, little cousins soccer games, and lots of fun weekend festivals. I'm sad to say goodbye to summer but excited for all the fun fall activities coming up.

Here are my current favorites.

First of all, how about those Baltimore Ravens! I was lucky enough to get to go to the opening game on MNF and the stadium was crazy. I had so much fun with my roommate Brandon and friends LeeAnne (below) and Adam.

My next favorite is my friend Carlyn. She just ran her very first half marathon on Sunday and I was so happy for her! I made sure to show up with my awesome glittery neon sign to root her on across the finish line. She did an amazing job and is an amazing friend. We will be doing a short run (for her) tonight after work and I am really looking forward to getting my weekend started right with a run!

Next, I have cravings all the time for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. And I am not capable of making it an only having the 1 cup serving that is recommended. So I was really excited when I came across Kraft Mac and Cheese Veggie Pasta! It has a 1/2 serving of veggies in each serving. To me it tastes no different then the normal Kraft Mac and Cheese, and it uses half the butter and has about half the points of the normal version. Happy Emma :)

Finally, sunflowers have been on my mind recently. A beautiful friend passed away last week after a short and very brave fight with cancer. Lindsey's favorite flower was a sunflower and I just keep seeing them everywhere this week. So I wanted to add a sunflower to Friday favorites for her. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

The Best Hair Ties Ever!

I just have to share these awesome hair ties I just received as gift from a close family friend Toby. She and my mom always fight over stuff when then find something small they know I would like while shopping around in Chestertown, MD when my mom goes to visit. This time Toby sent my mom home with these adorable hair ties as a small gift for me.

I have to say they are the best hair ties EVER! First of all, they look so darn cute on your wrist when not in use. They are soft and the perfect elasticity. They even match most of my jewelry. 

Second, they hold your hair really nicely. I have pretty slippery hair when it is straightened and these held my pony tail great. Plus they didn't leave any pony tail creases in my hair like the traditional elastics and looked really cute, although the picture below doesn't look so hot (it was a long day and my hair wasn't in the best shape by the time I took the picture). 

So if you happen to be out and about and see some hair ties like the ones I just got pick them up! I think for three they were about $8. Seems a little pricey but they made a really great gift! 

Adventures in Pinterest Cooking #3

A good friend kindly reminded me that I have got to step up my blogging again. So I decided to spend my Saturday cooking some recipes from Pinterest and preparing some blogs so I am not missing from the blog world for weeks at a time anymore. So this Adventures in Pinterest Cooking is dedicated to my friends Michelle C. Thanks Mishl for getting me back on track. :)

I had some fresh green beans in the fridge that my mom brought back from the farmers market last weekend so I went searching for some easy green bean recipes that were healthy options. Of course Pinterest and Skinnytaste did not disappoint. I found this easy recipe for String Beans with Garlic and Oil that is only 1.5 PointsPlus per serving.

First I had to completely empty out all of the cabinets looking for a large saucepan that also had a matching lid. Even though I am not a great cook I do know the basics and I know that if you are steaming veggies you really need the lid of the pot to have a good seal, otherwise you won't get a good steam. So I searched and finally found a matching set.

Next step was to bring 1 inch of water to a boil and drop a steamer basket in with the green beans. While the green beans were steaming, I attempted to thinly slice 3 cloves of garlic. (The recipe calls for 4, but I only had 3/4 lb of green beans so I used a little less on the garlic and oil). My garlic slicing skills need some work, but they came out ok. I also started heating the oil in a saute pan.

 

After that everything started happening at once. The green beans finished in about 4 minutes (I wanted to make sure they were nice and crisp) and I starting browning the garlic in the saute pan. 

Once the garlic was lightly browned I added the green beans to the saute pan and tossed thoroughly. Voila! Easy String Beans with Garlic and Oil. 

I think they came out really good! Of course this was a very simple recipe, but it was easy enough that I could make it as a side dish while cooking a more difficult main entree. The green beans were nice and crisp and I loved the crunch that the thinly sliced garlic gave to the recipe. I added some salt and pepper for seasoning but the garlic really steals the show. 

So on a closing note, I guess I better go clean up the kitchen. As easy as that recipe was, I managed to make it look like a tornado ripped through the kitchen. :) 

Happy Labor Day Weekend! 

Back in Action, Back on Track

Let's be honest. I have a been a HUGE slacker recently. My friend Carlyn so kindly pointed out to me that I haven't run since August 4th (damn RunKeeper activity logs!) and I have noticed a few eyebrow raises from friends and family regarding my food choices lately. While I haven't completely fallen off the wagon, I've maintained my weight, I am not doing what I should be towards my health and fitness goals.

So today we get back in action and back on track. Yesterday I did a huge grocery store run and stocked up on all the necessities. Low fat snacks, veggies, fruit, protein. This morning I started off with a great breakfast. Multigrain flatbread with 1 tbsp peanut butter, a banana, and some iced green tea. I have my Special K Protein snack bar all ready for my morning snack too.

Tonight, I am going to try to get out the running shoes and go for a short run if its not raining. Next Step G.I.R.L (getting inspired to run for life) training starts on Thursday. Hopefully my time trial isn't too horrendous after not running for the majority of the month. It will be great to get back with all those amazing women and coaches and get training for an 8K! 

So today I am printing this quote and sticking it on my desk to help keep me on track. I will use it through the week and see if it helps remind me to stick with it! Wish me luck! 

New Orleans & Red Dress Run

I know it has been forever since I have written a post. My life has been taken over my not only a busy work schedule,  my niece and sister are in town, and I took a weekend trip to New Orleans!

First, how cute is my niece? We had a wedding a 2 weeks ago to attend (which was beautiful by the way), and she just looked so cute in her green taffeta dress!

After a wonderful weekend with my family 2 weeks ago, last weekend I headed to New Orleans to party it up with my BFF Teddy, his family, his awesome girlfriend Katie, and her family. I had never been to New Orleans and had so much fun. I'll tell you what, Bourbon Street is like something I have never seen before. Make sure you watch out for those hand grenades, they will sneak up on you. 

We also did something call the Red Dress Run. It is actually more like a stumble around Jackson Park and down Bourbon street. I have never in my life seen so many people in red dresses in one place. This year the money benefited breast cancer. 

Needless to say after experiencing this event, we have all decided this will now be a early thing. I actually think it might take a year for me to recover from all those hand grenades this year!

So that is my catch up post! Hopefully more blog posts coming later this week.

Adventures in Pinterest Cooking #2

It's been far too long since I have tried a Pinterest inspired recipe. But this weekend I tried a breakfast recipe I saw for Eat Clean Egg White Muffins. I thought these would be great to make ahead of time and freeze.

Here is the picture from the blog I found the recipe on of what they should look like and you can get the full recipe there.

As always this was an adventure....First, I had to go to my Mom's and steal her muffin tin and an onion (yes typical Emma, I told you I don't cook enough, and I forgot the onion at the grocery story). Second, of course I bought the wrong carton of Egg Whites so I had to half the recipe and only use 6 of the 12 muffin spots. But anyway, I filled each up with baby spinach, onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini. The recipe didn't call for zucchini, but I had some fresh from the farmer's market so I threw it in there. I tossed them with Mrs. Dash seasoning for flavor. 

Then I covered each with the Egg Whites and threw them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

While they were baking I admired my new ceramic plate I got in Jamaica to rest utensils on while I am cooking. I just had to share a picture of it because I think it is super cute.

After about 20 to 25 minutes they were done. They slid out of the tin easily (I coated it with cooking spray) and they smelled delicious. 

I ate one right away to try it and really liked it. The only thing I would do is add a little shredded cheese next time for some more flavor and maybe a little of real salt instead of the Mrs. Dash pretend salt. 

I froze the rest and have had one each morning this week for breakfast. I just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pretty good for 2 points and with a little fruit on the side its a great breakfast. 

So another successful Pinterest inspired recipe. Maybe I will try something harder next time!