As with most food bloggers & writers, I love to bake and cook for loved ones. Whenever we have guests in town, I enjoy feeding them well. A lot of the time when I meet up with girlfriends, I'll bring them some of my latest kitchen creations to try. I show my love for people by making them nutritious, delicious food. When I stay at my parents' house in Jersey, it's fun to make snacks, dinners, and desserts for everyone to enjoy. A few weeks ago when I was there, I was a little off of my Chef Nicole game because I was under the weather, but I still whipped up some yummy recipes for them. One night I made creamy spring veggie & asparagus puree soup for dinner, because I knew my mom would dig it (She did!). I also made my most recently published Shape recipe, blueberry banana Greek ... [Read More]
PB & J
Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie [Vegan]
My hubby and I have a very serious, ongoing debate in our household. You see, we're both grown ups that like eating PB & J sandwiches -- though I make mine a banana, PB & J sandwich because it seems more adult to add a fruit into the mix -- but he only likes grape jelly. I, on the other hand, think grape jelly is gross and prefer strawberry or raspberry jelly. PB & J sandwiches happen to be our go-to thing to pack if we're on the road, going to the beach or anything like that, so it has come up many times and usually starts something like this: Me: "Babe, we're out of grape jelly. Should I just put strawberry on your sandwiches?" Him: "Nah, I don't like strawberry jelly." Me: "Stop the madness...How do you not like strawberry jelly??" When my hubby's ... [Read More]
Funny Dog Names + What I Ate Wednesday
I met some adorable dogs volunteering at the Humane Society tonight: Lillian reminded me of Harley. She was super sweet and just a total cutie. I quickly saw her stubborn side when we were all the way down the street. I tried to turn us around to go back but Lillian simply refused. She just sat there with a smiling face as if to say, ''No thanks lady, I'm good out here!" It took a whole lot of convincing to get her back inside, and her strong-willed personality was similar to how Harley can be. I really can't blame her, as she seemed very social and probably would rather hang around people and be outside all day long. I just love that happy face! Cobalt is a shy, 4-month old Australian Cattle dog mix. My heart melted a little when I left the room and he started ... [Read More]
Banana PB & Jelly Muffins
Late last night I decided I was in the mood for making muffins. I resisted the urge to bake right before I went to sleep, but may or may not have been deciding what kind of muffins to make and concocting a recipe while laying in bed. My requirements were that they came out yummy and moist, yet under 200 calories a piece. First thing this AM before beginning work, I whipped up these babies: Banana PB & Jelly Muffins Makes 12 Ingredients: 1 c whole wheat flour 1/2 c all purpose flour 1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed 1/4 c brown sugar 1/2 c peanut butter 1 c (soy) milk 3 TBSP (light) butter 1/4 c fruit preserves (I used raspberry) 2 TBSP baking powder Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin cups. In a saucepan, combine the butter, peanut butter, and sugar ... [Read More]