Pesto Salmon & Italian Orzo Veggie Salad

I'm usually not a fan of cold pasta salads

or a big pasta person at all for that matter 

but I was craving one so bad for some reason... 

SO I made this delicious contraption, and let me tell you  

I am officially a fan. 

For the Salmon:

Ingredients

• Salmon filet (skin removed)
• Pesto
• Cherry tomatoes
• Foil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Remove skin and place salmon in foil in a baking dish
3. Smear on pesto and top with halved tomatoes
4. Wrap up foil together at the top (like a basket)
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes until salmon is pink and flaky

Seriously - It's that easy!!

For the Orzo Pasta:

Ingredients

• Orzo (cooked)
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Onions
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Italian Dressing

Directions

1. Cook orzo according to package (desired serving size) - I used about 1 cup orzo
2. Let cool and place in refrigerator 
3. Add chopped broccoli, peppers, onions, and tomatoes
4. Add Italian dressing to desired taste - I used about 1/4 cup dressing
5. Mix well 
6. Store in refrigerator and enjoy cold!

Zucchini Pizza Boats

So after I taught Spinning© today,

 I walked outside and got the biggest whiff of a 

fresh oven roasted pizza at the pizza joint next door.. 

Instant craving. 

So I decided to make these babies: 

Ingredients:

• Zucchini (one zucchini makes two boats)
• Pesto
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Artichokes
• Onion
• Mozzarella cheese (non-fat)
• Parmesan cheese
• Basil
• Crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350^o F
2. Cut ends off zucchini and cut in half
3. Scrape out middle of zucchini with a spoon
4. Brush on a thin layer of pesto and top with chopped onion, tomatoes, artichoke, etc...
5. Add cheeses, herbs, spices 
6. Place in oven for 35-45 minutes 

 Devour

Meal Prep Virginity!

Relating back to my last post, I have absolutely zero time. 

SOOO... In order to stay on track with being healthy and nutritious,

 I'm trying this new thing where I "meal prep" ahead of time aka cook all my meals at the beginning of the week for easy lunches at the office and easy warm-up-able dinners when I'm ravenous getting home at the end of the day from work/exercising. 

This week I made: 

Stuffed Peppers (find recipe on Cinco de Mayo post)

andddddd

Spaghetti Squash Junx

• Spaghetti Squash (cooked)
• Frozen Spinach (thawed)
• Onions
• Black beans
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Parmesan cheese
• spices and FRESH HERBS 

So now I can have delicious and nutritious meals in the snap of a finger 

(more like 1:30 min in the microwave)

Try it... no excuse not to stay on track!

Holy Moley GuacaMOLE

Just in time for Cindo de Mayo, I have been craving Mexican for the past week. 

Pretty sure I could make a different food group just for chips and salsa.... So my weakness. 

On Monday, my roomski and I made these delicious mexi-stuffed peppers with fresh corn-off-the-cob. 

Recipe: (serves 4)

• 2 peppers halved (4 pieces)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn 
• 1/2 onion diced
• 3/4 tomato diced
• Jalapenos diced with juice
• Cooked chicken/ other meat
• Mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. De-seed and cut peppers in halves
3. Mix all other ingredients together and stuff peppers 
4. Bake for 35-35 minutes (or until you can't wait any longer)
5. Smother with salsa and/or sriracha YUM

Sooooo good and they warm up great! We both had the other two for lunch the next day. 

So delicious and filling!

Can't wait to make fajitas, fresh guacamole, and mango margaritas for cinco de drinko :)

Spaghetti Squash Zucchini Bowl

For Easter my mom and I made a spaghetti squash and broccoli casserole (so good and cheesy) and left me with about a half pound of cooked spaghetti squash. All the Easter leftovers are just about gone thanks to dinner tonight: 

Spaghetti Squash Zucchini  Bowl:

• Cooked Spaghetti Squash 
• Zucchini 
• Yellow Squash
• Onion
• Shrimp (frozen)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic, spices/herbs

1. Heat skillet to high heat and add olive oil and garlic for about 1 minute
2. Add sliced zucchini, yellow squash, and onion to skillet and cook on medium for about 10 minutes
   (Make sure you are flipping the squash so the ones on the bottom don't burn)
3. Add spices/herbs/whateva
4. Once these are softened add cooked spaghetti squash and shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes
5. Heat some pasta sauce and add to your bowl! 
6. Enjoy :) 

I sprinkled some red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, and sriracha in my bowl... YUM!

Anything spicy = get in my belly.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Pancakes

I was feeling a little adventurous this morning and in the cooking mood so I decided to make: 

Sweet Potato Protein Quinoa Pancakes!

They were de-lish-i-oso:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa 
• 1 scoop whey protein powder (mine is french vanilla flavored)
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
• Vanilla
• Cinnamon
• Honey/Syrup

1. Poke holes with a knife and cook sweet potato in the microwave on high for 10-12 minutes

2. Put cooked sweet potato in a food processor/blender and smooth out

3. Mix sweet potato, quinoa, protein, egg whites, almond milk, flax seeds, vanilla, and cinnamon together

4. Spray skillet with cooking spray and plop some pancakes!! 

They were pretty good! Maybe more added sweetener next time. My roommate and I ate ours topped with a banana, honey, and more cinnamon. I'm sure they would be great with peanut butter or with nuts/raisins added in the batter. 

Enjoy and have a happy hump day! :)