Cabbage Rolls-1st New Recipe of the Summer

Finally, I have more time to cook! During the semester, I never had time to experiment with various recipes. This past week I made a recipe I found on Pinterest.

It was a simple crock pot recipe that took me about 20 minutes to prepare. I made the actual cabbage rolls the night before, then put them in the fridge, and cooked them the next day. They were ready to eat by the time I got home from work!

The first step was steaming the cabbage for about 10 minutes. You just need to soften the vegetable so it's easier to roll up.

While the cabbage was on the stove, I mixed together the lean ground beef, dry rice, onion, and spices. The mixture was done by the time the cabbage was softened!

Next, peel the cabbage leave carefully off the cabbage and add about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture to the middle. Roll it up, and voila! Rolling the cabbage got a little difficult at the end because the leaves got thicker, so sometimes I had to use 2 leaves to roll up the beef. The meat mixture made 11 rolls.

After I was done making the actual rolls, I made the sauce, which consisted of tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and some brown sugar.  I put it in the fridge overnight so it was all ready for tomorrow.

I had a good amount of extra cabbage at the end of making the rolls, so I simply sauteed the cabbage the next day and ate it with my meal. All I did, was saute the rolls in olive oil, and I added pepper and garlic.

  

 Overall I really enjoyed the cabbage rolls. I would definitely recommend adding extra sauce from the bottom when you're eating them to make the beef a little more moist. Also, I cooked the rolls on low for 8 hours, but I think 6-7 hours would be enough because the meat was slightly dry.

Here is the link to the recipe in case you want to try it on your own!

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Easy Quinoa Dinner

I finally have quinoa in my apartment and had to make it ASAP! The only thing is... I didn't have much other food in my apartment because I stole the quinoa from my home in Jersey, and I hadn't been grocery shopping in a few weeks.

What I had to work with was mushrooms, frozen spinach, quinoa, and canned beans. So I basically combined all the ingredients and went with it.

First, I cooked the quinoa by boiling 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of the grain (I halved the directions on the box, but I still had leftovers).  The quinoa took about 20 minutes to cook.

While the quinoa was cooking, I sauteed the spinach and mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, pepper, oregano, garlic, and some red pepper flakes (optional).

I then drained the kidney beans and washed them and added it to the spinach and mushroom mixture. Note* I only added about a half a cup of the beans because I was making a one person serving. The quinoa was done by this time, so I scooped some quinoa on top and voila!

Spaghetti Squash Stew

A recipe me and a few of my friends made up! Check it out.

Serves 6
Ingredients-
1 medium to large spaghetti squash
1 ½ cup of mushroom
1 cup sliced zucchini (green, yellow, or a mix!)
1 cup of tomato
2-3 cloves of garlic
½ of a medium-large onion
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions
1.)   Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrap out the seeds and pulp. Put the squash insides down on a tray and bake for about 30-40 minutes until the skin of the squash is soft.
2.)   While the squash is cooking, chop the onion and crush the garlic. Sauté in a large pot in about 2 tbsp of olive or canola oil.
3.)   Wash and chop all the vegetables. I personally like to chop them in chunks, but some people like when veggies are smaller.
4.)   Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add the vegetables with about a half-cup of water. Cover and let cook until the vegetables have reached the desired consistency. We personally like our veggies to be softer, so we cooked them for longer.  We also added salt and pepper to taste.
5.)   As the veggies are cooking, the spaghetti squash should be done cooking! Scrape out all the good stuff and put it in a large bowl
6.)   Add the spaghetti squash to the pot and mix together
7.)   Enjoy!

Some variations
1.)   Don’t like spaghetti squash? No problem! Try this with whole grain penne or rollatini.
2.)   After we finished eating, we decided that this meal would taste great with some parmesan (or maybe even feta?) cheese! Try that if you ever make the meal.
3.)   Add meat! One of our friends is a vegetarian, so we couldn’t add chicken or beef. But, we think this meal would taste great with lean ground beef or chicken breast strips.
4.)   There are so many different vegetables out there so do not be afraid to add new ones or replace old ones. For example, maybe next time try with broccoli instead of zucchini. Don’t like mushrooms? Try eggplant!

Summer is Approaching

So, I haven't posted anything in a while because I have been SO busy with school this semester. But, the semester is finally coming to a close and I cannot wait for summer! This summer I will be an summer intern at a private practice of dietitians.

I also have a ton of summer goals that I am calling my "Summer Bucket List." I'm sharing these goals with you and will continue to update throughout the summer on my progress.

1) Make 2 new recipes each month- Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, it may be the Italian in my, but during the semester I barely have any time to cook! So, over the summer I am really looking forward to making all the recipes I have saved up on my Pinterest.

2) Go on a hike- I have been getting really into hiking lately. There is a state park near my uncle's house (right across the street actually) so I am really looking forward to taking some friends with me and heading over to the trails.

3) Narrow down dietetic internships- I am going to school for dietetics and my ultimate goal is to become and RD, which means I must get matched to a dietetic internship. I made it one of my projects this summer to narrow them down and start work on my resume and personal statement... This doesn't really sound like fun, but I am excited!

4) Write three new blog posts a week- So, as I said I have not been keeping up with this blog. I know the direction I want to take, but I am still exploring my options. I can't wait to develop this blog even further

5) Relax! This passed semester has been very stressful. I am so excited to relax with my friends and enjoy the summer sunshine. I am also going to Spain with my family!

First post!

I was inspired to start this blog to write about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Many people believe that "healthy" is merely about eating the right foods and exercising daily. While some of this is true, "healthy" is so much more than that. It's about enjoying what you are eating and enjoying every moment of physical activity. What's the point of doing something if you aren't having fun?


This blog is about finding that healthy lifestyle that works for you--one you will be able to maintain throughout the years. It will be filled with good food, healthy exercises, and less stress. Read more to find out some tips!