Cha-Cha-Cha- CHIA

I have caved to the trend and have had my first Chia product. 

For those of you who dont know what Chia is or means, It is a seed that is mostly grown in mexico it comes from the plant Salvia Hispanica. The use of Chia seeds dates back to the Mayan's and Aztecs, more recently it is known by the fad Chia pets which is where many 90s kids know the cha-cha-cha- Chia comercials in which the Chia seeds were used in a clay mold to grow a grass that appeared like hair on what ever the clay mold was, I vividly remember my uncle buying my cousin a cat chia pet because she forgot to give him a list for Christmas. 

Now all this talk about seeds and plants my have you wondering so where does this come in with food? well there are many different ways to use these seeds they can be bought already in food, for example some Natures Path cereals are made with Chia seeds, it can also be bought in a drink form which is what I will focus on as I tried a drink from the company Mamma Chia, you can also buy it at your local grocery store and use it for baking or cooking on your own accord. 

Some of the positives of the Chia seed are that they can be used in products that are gluten free as well as vegan. They also contain Healthy Omega-3 Fatty Acids , Carbohydrates, Protein, Fiber, Antioxidants and Calcium 

The Chia product that I have tried out is Cranberry Lemonade by Mamma Chia

The Mamma Chia company started with Janie Hoffman the creator and now CEO who began using chia to benifit her own health and created the company to share these wonderful seeds with her community. The Mamma Chia brand has grown since its 2009 start, seeing as it has reached specialty stores such as whole foods in Connecticut it has branched pretty far since its San Diego beginings. The Mamma Chia Products range from the Vitality Beverage which is what I got as well as Mamma Chia Squeeze which Im not really sure what exactly they are but basically a squeeze togo pouch snack. There is tons more information about Mamma Chia and the amazing things that their drinks can do for you at mammachia.com

Now what you have all been waiting for I'm sure My opinion!  

So what do I think of this Mamma Chia drink? First of all I LOVE the flavor, I bought it in cranberry lemonade and it is delicious I also really want to try the Cherry Lime :) as well as many of the other flavors.

The texture is something unexpected I had heard of it before so I kinda knew what to expect, but for those of you who don't really know something with the chia seeds makes the drink almost gelatin like... not that I'm promoting drinking but I kind of think of it as a liquidy jello shot BUT HEALTHY FOR YOU !!! 

Also you may be thinking I don't really like the idea of a seed in my drink... but let me tell you , I hate smoothies that have seeds in them I just dont like there to be something crunchy in my drink call me crazy lol. But I really dont mind it in these the seeds go down really easy and once you get past the initiall omg this is really jello like its not bad at all! 

I hope this post was helpful!! If you have tried Chia in other ways besides these Mamma Chia drinks let me know in a comment below what you think of Chia seeds and other ways that you have used them! 

Stephaniexx

Pesto Caprese Chicken

Lately I have been trying to eat healthier (the struggle... I want to bake something chocolatey). I am not trying to crash diet or anything because that is horrible for your body, but me and eddie are trying to incorporate more vegetables and a healthier lifestyle. So one of the new recipies I decided to try is this Pesto  Caprese Chicken. 

What you'll need: 

- 2 medium to large Chicken breasts

- about 2 tbls. of Pesto 

- 2 medium tomatos 

- Mozzarella Cheese  

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- Grill/ George Forman

Instructions: 

- Turn on George Forman to 350 degrees and preheat oven to 350 degrees 

- Add salt and pepper to the chicken to personal taste then place on the George Forman and Cook for about 10 minutes or until cooked thuroughly ( may take less time depends on chicken thickness ) 

- While chicken is grilling slice the tomatos in topretty thin slices

- Once chicken is done spread about a table spoon of pesto on each peice of chicken

- Next add the slices of tomatos on the pesto

- Finish by adding mozzarella to the tomato later for this add as much as you like I know eddie likes his very cheesy so I added more for him

- Now place them in a casserole dish or on a baking sheet and place in the oven 

- Bake for about 10 min or until the mozzarella is well melted 

- durring this time I made some chopped spinach or you could be making another vegetable or some whole wheat pasta

This was delicioius and the perfect size dinner for me tonight, eddie had a few chips because he wasn't quite full but next time were going to make some whole wheat pasta to go along with it. 

Hope you enjoyed this recipie and let me know in a comment below if you try it out!

Stephanie xx 

Sweet Potato Fries Yum!

This week as spring is approacing and I am trying to get in better shape for summer I have decided to make some big changes to my diet, as someone who works out regularly my diet is where I struggle. I generally lived a college diet and go out with my friends and eat some pretty crummy food. So this week I have really been working on healthy eating. So on this track I decided to try to see if I could make myself some sweet potato fries. To my suprise they actually turned out pretty good!!

To start off my venture I first peeled my sweet potato so for anyone who has never done this before it is not as easy as peeling a potato let me just tell you that know. I'm sure it gets easier with practice but I deffinatly struggled so make sure you have a good knife to work with. 

Once the potato was peeled I decided to slice mine in half becuase it was pretty big and I didnt want crazy long fries as well as it being very difficult to cut. After this I cut it in to slices and strips of potato about a cm wide and a cm thick. I have always prefered shoe stringy like fries and while they all did not turn out that thin I tried, So if you prefer wedges or steak fries go for it this way just seemed the easiest for me to cut. So once I did this I put them all in a strainer and ran some water over them just to make sure they are washed and I have read that doing this will remove some of the starch from the potatos. Also after you do this make sure you dry them with a paper towel really well 

Once I dried the potatos I transfered them to a small bowl 

To the bowl I added olive oil about 3 tbsp, Some salt and pepper to your individual liking and alittle less than a hand full of bread crumbs. This process would be best if you had a plastic back to shake it all up in however I lacked that unfortunatly so if you are in the same boat as me just make sure that you coat all of the fries pretty evenly. 

Pre baking photo! So I put the oven on to 400 and baked them for 40 minutes. Now as you can see I made some regular potato fries for eddie since he is not a fan of sweet potatoes and they are on the left. And yes I made a ton! I am eating the left overs at the moment actually and they are just as delicious :) 

And the finished products! some delicious fries. 

I hope you all enjoy!! and let me know in a comment below if you decide to try them out. 

Later lovies 

How to Perogis!

So over the easter long weekend I made perogis among other things with my mom and my cousin. If you are unsure what exactly perogis are the best way I can describe it as polish ravioli but not at all the same and personally I like them better. They can be stuffed with potatos or farmers cheese I prefer potatos. You can also change up how you prepare them, for example I like to put mine in just melted butter, my mom likes to brown her butter in a sauce pan, and my cousin likes to put them in melted butter and brown sugar so it really depends on how you like them. Perogis also are of Polish origin and because they are kind of stressful to make most families make them once or twice a year usually around Christmas and Easter. So how do you make these gems keep on reading to find out! Also the Recipie I am going to provide is to make the potato perogis. 

Perogi Dough

3 cups of flower 

1/3 cup of Vegetable oil

1 cup of warm water 

1 tsp of salt 

So first you are going to mix this dough. We used a Kitchenaid mixer but any mixer should work. Once the ingredients are mixed take the dough and put it in a bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it sit for about a half hour but can sit longer. 

While mixing the dough begin to boil your potatos until they are ready to be mashed. Once they are boiled strain them and amke sure there is no water left 

To just up the anty alittle we make cheesy potatoes! So first add milk, butter and salt to your liking. 

Next comes the cheeses, we used American, Cheddar, and Velveta. Also add those to your liking but generally the more cheese the better in my opinion. Also make sure you mix it well otherwise you will end up with some perogis that arent very cheesey. 

Make sure you let the potatoes cool and then move on to working with the dough

so after the hour it is time to knead and roll out the dough. Use a flat surface and make sure the surface and the rolling pin are flowered well. The Dough Can be seperated in to four pieces before kneading. Knead a few times until it seems not difficult to work with. Know this is mainly because you need the dough to still be alittle sticky but not entirely so that it will seal when you use the  B-I-G maker. Roll the dough out so that it is large enough to cover the maker and is thin so a bit thicker than paper. 

So this is the nifty little maker we used. Also flower this before using. Once your dough is rolled out place it down over the maker and place an oval of potato alittle smaller than the maker in each of the sections. Then roll out a second peice of dough the same size and thickness and place it over the potatoes. Push down the potatoes alittle then roll over the dough with a rolling pin. make sure you can see the red of the maker then remove the excess dough which should peel off easily. Then flip the maker over and the perogis should fall out. Place the made perogis on a baking sheet or some other flat surface that is coverd in tinfoil. 

We also placed some of ours on parchmet paper. Each batch of dough will make about 50 perogis. Once made on to cooking and eating!! Take the perogis and place them in boiling water for about five minutes. You will see them float to the top of the water. Then take them out and strain them to make sure any extra water is draied. I then place them in melted butter but you can eat them as you please :) 

I hope you enjoy your perogis and let me know if you try them in the commets below!

Later lovies 

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

So I figured this weeked is easter which for me means quite a bit of food so while knowing im going to eat alot i figured why not start it off right with some gnocchi mac and cheese! 

Delicous sooo cheesy 

for this you will need: 

- gnocchi you will need to bags or boxes or your own homemade if you wish 

- you will also need about a quater cup of milk maybe alittle more you can judge 

- butter

- garlic

- flower

- your choice of cheese I used chedder and mozzarella 

I also made chicken so for that you need

- chicken breasts

- Italian seasoning of bread crumbs 

- 1 egg 

- butter

So this is the chicken that I  made pre baking and for both of these I set my oven at 350. So with the chicken I first dip it in egg cover it with progresso bread crumbs place it on a baking sheet and slice butter really thin and place it on top of the chicken then back for about 15min, but depending on chicken thickness cut the chicken open just in case. 

Next you need to cook the gnocchi by slowly adding it to a pot of boiling water, the gnocchi are done once they are floating then take them out with a big spoon preferably with slits in it ( totally not proper terminology i'm sorry ) 

While cooking your gnocchi on the side prepare your roux and your cheese mix. first by melting a table spoon of butter in a small sauce pan, once melted add garlic and cook until it is fragrent. Next add a table spoon of flower and mix untill combined ad thick. Once thick add a quater cup of milk and mix until it starts to ticken then begin to add cheeses. I didnt measure my cheeses mostly because I love cheese and i wanted it super cheesy so I would cheese to taste. Which is when you may need to add more milk if with the cheese it gets too thick 

Once the cheese is mixed and the gnocchi are cooked add it to a pan and mix it all together ad I like to top it off with some  more cheese the bake it for about 20 min 

Now take out the ooey-gooey cheesy ness and enjoy!!! 

Later lovies 

I love zucchini

So I am A huge!!! fan of zucchini it is probably my favorite vegetable and I will eat it any and every way possible. So last night while I was making dinner I decided that I would show you all one of my favorite ways to cook and eat zucchini. Now mind you I am in college and while I do live in an appartment I dont have a full fleged grill with me instead I have gods gift to non girll folk and that is a george forman and I can tell you that I use this thing all the time!!! because grilled vegetables are my favorite. 

First cut up the zucchini in to diagonal slices I try to make them thin because they cook faster that way but Im not a chef here so just slicing in a diagonal as best as possible works for me

After I cut the zucchini I put them in a large zipplock bag to which I add salt pepper, garlic powder, olive oil, and dried basil leaves

Now its time to shake!! I shake up it all in the zipplock back making zure that each peice of zucchini is getting coated

Then I lay them evenly out along the george forman and close the grill for about 10 minutes I check it periodically though because some of the really thin ones will cook faster 

Once they are soft and cooked through I take them off the grill and pile them on to my plate so this is my lovely dinner in total for last night I had breaded chicken that I baked the zucchini and potato wedges that I also baked if you would like a how to on either of those leave a comment below because I frequently cook them

later lovies