Zucchini Spaghetti

Spaghetti taste and texture with all the health benefits of eating a zucchini!

Zucchini Spaghetti

I did something today that most people that know me would not believe… I bought zucchinis for more own personal dietary enjoyment. I have yet to meet a zucchini that I voluntarily devour, until today.

The month long anti-carbohydrate stint that I just completed has taught me one important lesson: I can easily pass on candy but I have a hard time skipping pasta and breads. In an attempt to trick myself into being okay with passing on pasta, I decided to test out this zucchini spaghetti trend that seems to be bombarding my internet browsing.

Ready In 15 min
Average Cost $3.00

Chicken Stir Fry

Spicy chicken stir fry overloaded with vegetables.

Chicken Stir Fry

I’m not so sure how this recipe made it this long without being posted. Chicken stir fry is a staple of my work-week diet for the simple fact that I can make a huge batch and divvy it up into little containers to bring to work… not to mention this is healthy and ridiculously easy.

You really can’t go wrong when you’re buying ingredients, just snag the cheapest veggies you think will work (my trio almost always consists of broccoli, onions, and green peppers).

Ready In 30 min
Average Cost $7.00

Nutella Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

Simple peanut butter cookie recipe with a Nutella twist (pun intended… sorry).

Nutella Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

I decided to join this diet competition last Friday with a handful of friends and family (and a ton of other people that I don’t know at all). The premise is pretty neat… you put your money in the pot (ours was $10) and the goal is to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. At the end, you split the pot with whomever succeeds and those that don’t get nothing. Apparently, the potential to lose money is a greater motivator than the potential to gain money… or so they say.

Ready In 30 min
Average Cost $3.50

Fish Chowder

Easy to make fish chowder, complete with potatoes, cod, and just a hint of… bacon!

Fish Chowder

Did you know that there are people who only want the thick parts of a cod fillet? I never really considered asking the seafood counter to slice up a piece of fish and give me only a certain part. Apparently they had enough people asking for the thicker sections a few nights ago that they needed to find someone to pawn the thin parts off on. All they had to do was utter the words “Discount” and I was sold. If I could get any white fish for $2.99 per pound every day, I wouldn’t eat anything else!

The only question at this point was, “What the hell am I going to do with 3+ pounds of fish?” The answer came to me in the form of a cookbook… Union Oyster House Cookbook to be exact. As a seafood lover, I was very happy to receive this cookbook as a gift for Christmas. Sadly, this was the first time I’ve gotten the chance to use it!

Ready In 40 min
Average Cost $10.00

Skillet Poached Egg w/ Bacon and Spinach

Poached egg infused with green onion and served on toast with turkey bacon and spinach.

Skillet Poached Egg w/ Bacon and Spinach

I have not had great success in the egg poaching department. It takes too long to setup and requires too much of a commitment from me in the early hours of the morning. My brain just doesn’t have what it takes until later in the day.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to get my hands on an old copy of a Bon Appétit cookbook ($8 for 1000′s of recipes… sold). While stumbling through the breakfast section, I landed on a fool-proof way to “poach” eggs. Not only did they come out tasting like a damn good poached egg, the green onions and olive oil added an amazing flavor. I’ll be making these eggs at least once a week for the rest of my life.

Ready In 20 min
Average Cost $3.00