September 3, 2010

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

I can’t say it enough: I love Frittatas. I love them. They are the perfect meal.

 

You can eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

They are healthy.

They are easy.

They are cheap to make.

They are a clean out your fridge kind of meal.

You can eat them heated or at room temperature.

You can doll them up, or go for a more simple approach.

Need I say more?

 

How about a recipe?

 

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Roasted Veggie Frittata

  • Veggies of all kinds
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 c milk
  • Cheese, lots of cheese

1. Dice veggies and roast on a cookie sheet until they’ve reached your desired consistency.

2. Eat some veggies, save some veggies, and put the rest in a oven-safe pan.

3. Whisk eggs with milk and add to heated pan.

4. Allow the sides of the egg mixture to pull away from the pan a bit.

5. Top frittata with cheese and put into oven at 400 degrees until cooked thoroughly, and cheese is melted.

6. Eat.

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Play around with the recipe. Do egg whites instead of eggs if you’d like. Test out different kinds of cheese. Feta. Mozzarella. Goat. Throw in every veggie you can find. Don’t forget to share!

Caution: Your dogs might try to steal a piece when you photograph your lunch for your blog.

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September 2, 2010

Just So You Know

Just So You Know…

 

I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the future of What Kate Ate.  I’ll be slowly transitioning into a different kind of blogging that I think will emphasis the themes behind WKA and also put a spotlight on the things I love: food, travel, yoga, and swimming. Stay tuned for some changes!

 

Yesterday marked four full years of loving for Matt and I. It’s crazy to think that there was a time when we weren’t laughing it up, zip lining across Costa Rica, or playing Mom and Dad to two adorable Dachshunds.

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I have an article in this month’s New Pioneer Co-op’s Catalyst. The New Pioneer Co-op is Iowa City’s answer to Whole Foods and an excellent example of how a grocery store should be run. Aside from bringing us fresh, organic, local food they also hold amazing cooking classes, tasting, and put out an awesome monthly newsletter. Be sure to check out My Journey to Better Health and try one of the Fall-inspired recipes featured.

 

Alison from Post-College Kitchen is featuring one of my favorite marinades in honor of the holiday weekend. It includes beer and POM juice – it’s destined to be a favorite (not to mention guy-friendly) recipe.

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What Kate Ate has joined the masses and now has it’s own Facebook page. It’s just getting started, but I’m thinking it’s destined for greatness. See for yourself!

 

Just so you know…

It’s Thursday! That means tomorrow will be the start of a 3 day weekend! Rejoicing allowed.

September 1, 2010

Chaddsford’s Winery

Back in July my friend Jen and I escaped camp for the day and ventured to a local Pennsylvania winery in the Brandywine River Valley called The Chaddsford Winery.

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We walked around a bit and checked out their wine selection.

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And we eventually decided to do a tasting.

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Chaddsford had an extensive wine selection and I was pleased with all of the sweet wines that I tasted.

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I think I could live in Pennsylvania after all!

August 31, 2010

Lemony Lentils

I love that Matt works at home and I’m in and out of the house all day long. Being a full-time student who has some odd jobs means that we get to spend (usually!) more time together then most couples. It also means that I get to make his lunch and we often get to eat together!

Lunch

When I got home from class I did a little bit of office work for Matt and then I made a killer lunch.

How can you go wrong with sausage + Buffalo Bleu chips?

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I piled two salads on top of leafy greens. They had:

  • Dried cranberries
  • Crumbled feta
  • Sliced al fresco sausage
  • Mini sweet peppers
  • Drizzle of Ken’s Italian

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It was crispy and fresh and one of the best at-home salads I’ve had in a long time.

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Plus, we had chips on the side. Salad + chips = a balanced diet.

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Dinner

After our late lunch I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Then I headed to a Self Guided Class over at Tree House Yoga. I spent an hour or so breaking down

When I got back I was physically and mentally exhausted and I considered eating a bag of chocolate chips for dinner.

But instead I made a quick, easy, healthy meal.

Lemony Lentils with Sugar Snap Peas

  • 1 c pre-cooked lentils of any kind
  • 1/2 c stock
  • 1 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 c crumbled feta
  • sugar snap peas
  • Seasonings: Salt and pepper
  • How: Bring lentils, stock, and garlic to a boil. Add juice and zest of half a lemon, along with peas. When heated thoroughly add feta, salt, and pepper and serve.
  • Notes: I used Trader Joe’s Black Beluga Lentils & a bag of microwavable sugar snap peas – basically I took all the work out! Asparagus would be a great substitute for the sugar snap peas. I intended to use it, but it was $7 a bunch at the market!

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I’m glad I saved the chocolate chips for dessert!

Locals

The first ever Iowa City Yoga Festival is taking place November 5th, 6th, and 7th in Iowa City. Join me and tons of other energetic yogis as we enjoy a variety of workshops from teachers all over the country!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

August 30, 2010

Brown Milk

Yesterday afternoon Matt and I set out on an hour long bike ride around Iowa City. I soaked up every second of the 90 degree sunshine. As I put it to Matt, before we know it we’ll be knee deep in snow – literally. This is Iowa after all!

When we got back I was starving so I reached for half of a Chocolate Peanut Butter Luna Protein Bar that I got from the Healthy Living Summit and then polished off the rest of our hummus:

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Dinner

I did a few chores around the house and then Matt made dinner.

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It was the cheesiest! Macaroni and cheese!

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After dinner I lounged a bit and then headed to the grocery store.

I came back and made some cookie dough from a delicious Cooking Light recipe. But Matt and I deemed it too late to bake. So we ate some dough instead.

Oh, Sunday evenings!

Breakfast

This morning I woke up bright and early and headed to the kitchen for some cereal.

I used one of the coupons I received in my swag bag from the HLS, the HLS truly is the gift that keeps giving, and picked up this new cereal at the grocery store.

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As an adult, I’m fairly new to cereal. When I was little breakfast usually was a pop tart, a toaster strudel, maybe a bagel, or some form of sugary oatmeal with dinosaur eggs in it.  But usually not cereal.

I’ve definitely opened up to cereal over the years. And now it’s the easiest breakfast I can think of!

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As for the Erewhon?

It’s chocolatey.

It’s organic.

And it left my milk brown.

What’s your favorite cereal now? What was your favorite cereal as a kid?

August 29, 2010

Talk derby to me

Yesterday afternoon Matt and I headed to his parent’s farm for a little bit of family time.

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Of course I spent some time soaking up being outside in the sun.  And visiting with the animals.

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Being away from home for almost the entire summer has made me really cherish every single summer time activity and sun-filled day that we’ve done in the last couple of weeks.

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Dinner

After running around and taking far too many photos, we headed inside for dinner.

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I finished off the meal with a few pieces of candy.

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And then we were off.

To the roller derby that is.

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Cross it off my list:

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I have officially been to a roller derby bout. Cedar Rapids Roller Girls, to be exact.

It was such a fun experience! There was so  much energy and I loved the girl power. I can’t wait to attend another one, perhaps a little bit closer to home.

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And I’ve already come up with my derby name: Hate Connell.

Breakfast

This morning we woke up late and had pancakes. Not just any pancakes though, we had Peach Pancakes.

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I added some Apple Pie Spice, Vanilla Extract, and some fresh peaches to a boxed pancake mix and wa la:

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Peach Pancakes were  born.

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No pancake would be complete without Almond Butter, Vanilla Oikos, Chia Seeds, and Maple Syrup now would they?

August 28, 2010

Seize the day

Happy Saturday!

I hope everyone had a fabulous kick-off to their weekend! My Friday night ended with a stein of Boulevard Wheat

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and some cheese fries courtesy of the Vine.

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And some delicious boneless buffalo wings. We went all out!

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I love collard greens and peaches, but I also love me some bar food!     

Breakfast

My Saturday almost started the same way, but after a few bites of leftovers I came to the realization that buffalo wings for breakfast may not be the best idea. So I went with a close second:

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Some nuts from the HLS for a mid-morning snack.

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While we were outside photographing today’s snack I attempted to snap some Saturday shots of the dogs. But they weren’t cooperating.

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The only house pet that stood still for close-up was the Peacock. Check out your pumpkin patch!

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I’m off to teach a quick First Aid class at the University of Iowa and then Matt and I are off to seize the day. Can’t wait to recap tonight’s festivities!

Giveaway

Congrats to Nicci over at Nifty Eats who is the winner of the Chia Seeds Direct Giveaway. Thanks to everyone who played, the odds were pretty good this time! Nicci email me your address at WhatKateAte@gmail.com.

August 27, 2010

Flashback Friday: Goose Island Brewery

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the Healthy Living Summit weekend was our visit to the Goose Island Brewery in Chicago.

Call me a bad girlfriend if you will, but I finally made the voyage to the Home of 312 sans Matt. But I had two of my pals in tow: Theodora & Heather.

Sunday morning post breakfast the three of us said goodbye to Sarah and heading via T to the little brewery.

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After getting lost, ordering a cab through Theodora’s iPhone, and landing some spots on the sold out tour: we got down to business.

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To be honest, I think Matt would of loved the tour and the explanation that is beer making but for me it was hard to understand and difficult to follow. Plus I was busy being a blogger.

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And taste testing random beer essentials like malt & hops. The tour guide said I could, swear!

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Barrels of booze:

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And then there was the tasting!

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I started paying attention some time after the beer was placed in front of me. And luckily for you, we even took notes!

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A quick crash course:

How to taste beer

Appearance: Color, Clarity, Foam, Carbonation, Effervescence

Aroma: Hoppy, Malty, Floral, Fruity

Mouthfeel: Light, Medium or Full Bodied

Taste: Sweet, Bitter, Malty

Finish: Crisp or Lingering, Sweet or Dry

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From left to right:  Willow Street White, Nut Brown Ale, Honkers, IPA, Liquid Dark, Sai-Shon Tea.

My favorites were easily Willow Street White & Sai-Shon Tea.

Lunch

After the tasting we said goodbye to Theodora and we settled in for a delicious lunch at the Brewery.

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I ordered a Sai-Shon Tea & treated Matt to a Nut Brown Ale.

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Aside from hanging out with Heather & I at lunch, he also drove all the way from Iowa City to pick me up in Chicago post-HLS. He definitely deserved a beer!

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Matt & I split the pepper-encrusted burger which was topped with blue cheese and served along side some delicious fries.

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I also saw roasted beets with feta on the menu and I knew we had to have a side of those.

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The food at Goose Island was easily as good as the beer. The upside to the beer though? I get to buy it in Iowa!

You didn’t think that I forgot to swing by Trader Joe’s on my way out of town, did you?

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I love Matt in this picture. Clearly ready to shop till he drops!

August 26, 2010

Multi-purpose

I love multi-purpose meals. You know meals that you can get seconds, thirds, even fourths out of. Even better are meals that serve as two different functions. For some reason leftover chicken breasts turned into Chicken Noodle Soup, come to mind!

Lunch

That’s exactly what happened for lunch. I saved some pulled pork from last nights Pulled Pork Nachos and mixed it with a little bit of BBQ sauce for some pulled pork sandwiches today.

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Topped with some delicious queso fresco cheese on a sandwich thin.

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And served with some cantaloupe.

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A few hours later I reached for a snack and found these little gems:

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I had a serving full of the melt in your mouth pleasures.

Yoga

While Matt finished up work and started on dinner I did this week’s free yoga class through Yoga Today.

The class claimed it was Beginner, but after reading the comments I knew it would be a semi-challenging class. And it was! I definitely need to work on my strength.

Dinner

On the menu: Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Brussels Sprouts.

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Matt cooked up the sprouts with some diced onions and garlic and then threw it all together with some jarred sun-dried tomato pesto and a dash of milk. I saw a delicious looking recipe in Eating Well for homemade sun-dried tomato pesto but I couldn’t find sun-dried tomatoes at the grocery store.

So we went with jarred pesto. And it rocked!

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I’m grabbing a handful of chocolate yogurt covered raisins and catching up on Burn Notice!

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Chia Seed Giveaway

Don’t forget to enter! You have until Saturday morning to win some Chia Seeds from Chia Seeds Direct.

Also, next week look for a unique product review opportunity that my friends at CSN Stores have provided.

August 26, 2010

Core Fusion Yoga

This morning there was a mad dash for the kitchen as Matt & I fought it out for the bottom of the box of our Quaker Oatmeal Squares. Clearly I won.

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Topped with some peaches from Wilson’s & a little sunshine.

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Looks like I need to add cereal to my grocery list!

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HLS Part III

The roommates and I headed back to the hotel room to decompress for a couple of hours until we went our separate ways. Heather & I headed to a Core Fusion Yoga class being held at Exhale Chicago and Theodora & Sarah went to get their Zumba on.

To be honest I hadn’t heard much about Core Fusion Yoga, but I’m open to new experiences!

We boarded the bus with our new mats, and we were off.

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The class itself was a little bit different than the more traditional yoga I practice. The teacher was full of pizzazz and ran the class much like an aerobics type class with the occasional yoga terminology but with a heavy emphasis on the physical part of yoga versus the mental or spiritual element.

Post class I had a little chat with John about developing his teaching style. I love talking with other instructors and trying as many different kinds of yoga classes as possible. I think the variety will help me develop my own teaching and practice philosophies.

Post class hang-age:

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Thanks for an upbeat class, John!