Tomato Soup

​I LOVE soup. I LOVE soup season. And I LOVE tomato soup…with a grilled cheese, of course! Not all tomato soups, though, are good. Or. Good for you. 

This soup has no cream…instead, it has goat cheese. And…it’s delicious and the best I’ve ever made/had. 

The Flavor Bomb Cherry Tomatoes are my absolute favorite and go-to always. I get them at BJ’s or Sam’s. This recipe used almost one full carton. 

Without further ado…here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Cups Cherry Tomatoes 
• 5 Cloves Garlic, Whole
• 3 Tbsp Avocado Oil
• A Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 16oz Bone Broth (or Chicken Broth)
• 1/4 Cup Goat Cheese
• 1/2 Tsp Dried Basil
• 1 Tbsp Pecorino Romano Cheese
• S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare and assemble all ingredients. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
3. On a roasting or sheet pan - add tomatoes and garlic. 
4. Drizzle avocado oil over tomatoes and garlic, add red pepper flakes, S&P and mix all together. 
5. Put in oven and roast 15-20 minutes. You’ll know when they’re done bc they will have burst/popped under the pressure or you can smoosh easily with back of spoon. 
6. Heat the bone broth in a soup pot on the stove. 
7. Once heated, add the ingredients from the sheet pan, goat cheese and dried basil to the pot. 
8. If using immersion (stick) blender, blend til smooth. If using a blender, pour soup pot of ingredients into a blender and blend on high til smooth. 
9. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with pecorino Romano cheese. 

Greek Salad Dressing

​

One of the things about eating salad…is that if you drench it in drawing that has a whole host of crap in it…it kinda defeats the point. Just sayin.🤷🏻‍♀️

I have a few standard homemade salad dressings that I make and I typically use 2 tbsp. 

Almond (Peanut) Butter and Smashed Berries

Ok. We start simple. This is one of my favorite breakfasts...and it is super easy and quick!

Though I have primarily switched to Almond Butter (and freshly made - no additives)...you can also do this, of course, with Peanut Butter - which I also get freshly made. 

For the LOCALS - I get this freshly made at Nature's Pantry in Fishkill.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp fresh Almond (or Peanut) Butter
• 1 cup fresh fruit (Blue-Black-Rasp-berries are my fav combo)
• 1 slice Eziekel Bread (or 1/2 Eziekel English Muffin)
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds

Directions:

• Mash berries in a bowl to make a 'jam/jelly' without adding anything to it
• Toast bread
• Spread nut butter over your toast
• Sprinkle cinnamon over nut butter 
• Spread 'jam' next
• Sprinkle chia seeds over jam

Eat & Enjoy!

Here's my tip for you that I learned...Nut Butters you buy in the store are usually made with added ingredients...likely hydrogenated oils like palm or canola (which are not good for you at all)...extra salt and sugar. Try to get something that is a one ingredient nut butter. Read your labels. 👊

This is the brand of sprouted grain bread (Ezekiel) that I use:

More Recipes Coming!

Well...it's been a bit since I have posted on my Xtini in the Kitchen blog that I started SO long ago. Back by popular demand - I'll be posting some new recipes...and what you'll get with this blog? Not 4 pages of scrolling to the recipe...that is my biggest pet peeve when searching for recipes.

So - while I gather my recipes together and actually write down measurements (bc I'm terrible at that)...here's a quick update...and probably the 'longest' blog post you'll read:

For anyone who didn't know...I reached a breaking point with my weight and overall health (having a bunch of genetics and autoimmune diseases that just don't help) and knew that I needed to do something - for me, for my girls and family..but the biggest thing I needed was accountability as I have tried 'dieting' in the past. 

Here's a list of what I have tried (and it is certainly not limited to):

• 21 Day Fix
• Weight Watchers
• Noom
• Atkins
• Keto
• Whole30
• Paleo
• Low Carb
• Juice Cleanses
• Shakes, Bars, Prepped Food
• Hello Fresh
• Portion Control
  
  

Sound familiar? Yeah...same here...and what did it get me? Not much. Maybe a loss of at most 5lbs...but...sometimes they worked and were easy to follow - but given my genetics and history...I needed something more. And what I found...was none of it was for me.

And here's the thing...after talking to a few people...and knowing what we all know - the best thing you can do is stop eating processed crap, pay attention to what you are putting in your body and eating whole foods.

I was on a mission to start that myself...but...my life is crazy and I knew that if I didn't have someone in my corner, holding me accountable...I would fail.

So - I did some research and found a place that had a highly recommended Certified Health Coach. After some conversations with Kev...it was time to commit to working with someone who knows a hell of a lot more than me.

What did that get me? A lot. Here's what it got me so far:

• 15 lb weight loss in ONE month
• Someone to hold me accountable DAILY and WEEKLY
• You don't have to count calories
• Learning about FOOD and what it does to your body
• Understanding what types of food I should be putting in my body
• How much of the 'types' of food I should be eating daily 
• Carbs ARE NOT bad - but - the RIGHT starches/carbs are good
• Forming habits...specific to exercise
• How to eat out
• How to snack
• Food isn't bad...if you know how to eat
• Learning what is good in the grocery store and where things are priced better
• Healthy isn't always SUPER expensive
• It's not always about Organic, but more how it's raised or what's in it
• Increased water drinking
• New, amazing recipes that ARE delicious - you don't have to sacrifice GOOD food for this - you just can't eat junk
• Meal prepping better and getting ahead of myself so I always have something good ready to go
• It's not a 'cheat', it's a want and while you don't want to gorge or binge on something, you can have something you want every so often...in moderation
  
  

I'm on my 2nd month and while I still have a LONG way to go. I have had a few slip ups...but, I have someone helping me stay on track and pushing me on the things that I also need help with. EXERCISE. Something that I had said to my health coach would be the HARDER and HARDEST thing with me. 

I also know HOW to get back on track and see immediate results when I do.

I don't love to exercise - I am not someone who 'feels good' after a workout. I'm more tired and not happy about it ha. It's hard for me to fit exercise in or even find the motivation and yes, I work from home...but things aren't as easy as people think they are just because I work at home. If you think it's easy - you clearly haven't worked from home.

What I love about her - is - she started me slow...just getting in a HABIT going. Then, she increased my exercise and is really proud of my food piece, but, got tough with me on exercise. For good reason.

So anyway - here's to a LIFESTYLE change, not a DIET. I'm so tired of that word...bc you don't have to diet to live your life.

Stay tuned for some yummy recipes to come - that some of you have likely seen, but, have asked for the recipes. So - ask...and you shall receive! 💜

Deconstructed Berry Cobbler

At least, that's what I'm calling it! I'm not a huge fan of nuts in general...nor am I a fan of nuts in my food, but, I had this at a friends house and it was so good I had to steal it from her!

I'll have to make it again and take a picture...it was so delish that I forgot to take a pic before people started digging in...

This is a NO BAKE recipe...super easy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups strawberries, cut up
1 small carton raspberries (this can always be upped based on preference)
1 pint of blueberries (this can always be upped based on preference)
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup oatmeal (I used rolled oats)
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Cut up fruit and put all together in a bowl.

Place walnuts, pecans, oatmeal in food processor first.

Add in maple syrup, salt and cinnamon on top.

Pulse food processor (or turn on - either works) until everything is chopped fine and ingredients are all mixed together.

Layer half fruit in a dish, then pour nut mixture on top. Add another layer of both and serve.

You can serve it as is. Or...you can serve with whipped cream or ice cream too!

**NOTE: For those w/peanut allergies - you may want to just let everyone know that it contains nuts...because a lot of people thought it was granola when I put it out! :-)

Roasted Spaghetti Squash w/Sautéed Veggies

Decided to go real simple with this quick dish that can be made for lunch, dinner or a side. Very versatile!

Ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash 

1 small zucchini, diced 

1 handful baby carrots, shredded (I used my mini food processor to make small)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated 

Salt, Pepper and Oregano to taste

EVOO

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the stem end off of the spaghetti squash. Cut squash lengthwise in half and place on baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle EVOO over both halves of the squash and sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano lightly. Turn the squash over so the cut side is now down on pan. Poke a few holes in the squash with a fork.

Place in oven and cook for 45-50 minutes.

While the squash is cooking, heat over medium a pan and add 1 tbsp EVOO to pan. Once heated, add in diced zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes, then add in carrots. Once they cook for 3-5 minutes, push to the side and cook the garlic til fragrant and mix all together and cook for another 2 minutes. Take off heat and cover until squash is done.

Once squash is done, use fork to shred and pull out all the squash. Put into a bowl and add in the veggie mix to combine all. Grate Parmesan on top and add any additional salt and pepper if needed. 

Yum!!

Jicama Salad

This is a delicious, new, refreshing salad that my dad brought to my attention after experimenting w/the Spiralizer we bought my mom for her birthday.

If you are serving the jicama salad as a side to a spicy Mexican dish like enchiladas or tostadas, then you don't need to add olive oil or avocados. There is enough fat in the main dish to balance the acidity in the salad. In fact, a benefit of the salad is that it does just that, brings balance to these types of dishes. But, if you are serving the salad on its own, then you may want to add a little olive oil or some chopped avocado to the salad so it is balanced in and of itself.

Apparently I forgot to take a pic of the finished salad - so, just imagine all of these veggies mixed and tossed together in a large bowl. (btw, that's not ALL of the jicama...this was just a portion to show ingredients and for a pretty picture!) Next time I make this...I'll be sure to take a finished product pic!

Ingredients:

• 1 large jicama (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, then julienned or spiralized (easiest to work with if you cut the jicama in half first).
              I used my mandolin to julienne it bc the spiralizer wasn't working best w/it - probably
              bc it was a big jicama.
  
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 a large cucumber, seeded, chopped
• 1 navel orange, peel cut away, sliced crosswise, then each round quartered
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of paprika
• Salt
  
  Optional: (I left it out)
• 1/2 avocado chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Toss together the jicama, bell peppers, red onion, cucumber, orange, and cilantro in a large serving bowl. Pour lime juice over all. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne and paprika. Season generously with salt.

Let sit a half an hour before serving.