What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[starletta8]

I have to share my guilty pleasure.

Disclaimer: not with child, I've been eating this combo since I was a child.

Wheat bread

Kosher Dill pickle

Pepperoni

Gouda cheese

Longhorn cheese

[lylysa]

Baked chicken

Edamame

Cucumber salad (topped with crab meat and sesame seeds)

Green Tea

[DTalksAll]

@starletta8 I'm so close to purchasing the Skinny Grill Pan to use instead of our old electric caphlon grill & thought of you. I love that it's cast iron. We went chemical free a few years back, so no tephlon, plastic storage, non-stick... It's expensive, but since I do most of the cooking it seems easier to use & clean up than the caphlon grill. & it's safe for glass tops... YAY! 

[starletta8]

I have a glass top, and it's worked wonderfully. I have the Sur la Table exclusive one because it's the smallest one that Le Creuset makes and I'm only ever cooking for 2, max.

Not to enable, but it's the best cooking-related purchase I've made in a long time.  I use it almost daily, and twice a day on the weekend!  You just need to make sure to keep it oiled with olive oil- yum!

[starletta8]

As an update- I still use that grill 1-2 times a day, and it's just getting better with use.  And keeping it oiled is just habit by now.

[Anonymous]

@starletta8 I LOVE asparagus I usually squirt a little lemon juice on mine. Yum yum.

[starletta8]

Yes!  I love fresh asparagus!

I just love summertime cooking in general- it's just better and almost more fun to cook with all fresh ingredients.

[lylysa]

Oooo, I'm going to totally have to add some lemon onto mine! Don't know why I never did!

It's such an easy thing to make and takes no time at all!

[starletta8]

Breakfast:

small cinnamon roll (oops, this is my bad food for the day)

mega-sized coffee with soy milk

Lunch:

4oz grilled skirt steak

small side salad

Dinner:

2 lemon pepper chicken drumsticks (baked)

Grilled asparagus with olive oil

fruit salad

[lylysa]

Haha, I like how you have a "small" cinnamon roll balanced with a "mega" sized coffee! 😄

[lylysa]

Made bacon hamburger casserole last night since my bf and I bought bacon in bulk! Haha!

Recipe:

-1 lb lean ground beef

-1 small onion (of about 1/4 or 1/3 of a larger onion), diced up

-Half a bag of egg noodles (egg-free egg noodles can also be used, or other types of pasta)

-8 or 9 strips of bacon (or turkey bacon if you don't eat pork)

-Salt

-Pepper

-Chili powder/flake (optional, but adds a touch more flavor)

-Cheddar cheese (sharp is best since mild versions just get lost with the flavors)

-1 10 ounce can of condensed tomato soup

1. Cook pasta, strain, set aside

2. Cook bacon (oven, stove, griddle, microwave), crumble, set aside

3. Cook up ground beef with onion, season with salt and pepper, strain out any released fat, set aside

I like doing all three steps above all together so you save time, if prep/cook time won't allow for your bacon to cool down enough before you have to add it to the mix, use kitchen/cooking shears to snip them into chunks/pieces. I also like cooking up 1/3 of the diced onions up first in the pan so they're flavor is released a bit more before adding the beef. Don't be afraid to be generous with the salt and pepper since there's not a lot of spices in this recipe, you're going to want to be sure the beef isn't bland.

4. Take bacon and add it to the beef/onion mix, add in the can of soup and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stir to distribute the soup well into the meat

5. Add in noodles and mix, letting simmer for another 5 minutes

6. Turn off heat and sprinkle cheddar cheese over dish and let sit so cheese melts down

7. Let it cool slightly, then serve up and enjoy!

[starletta8]

Tonight's dinner:

Grilled lamb chops

Steamed Snap Peas

Small scoop of Mac n Cheese

Currently snacking on some apples and peanut butter.

[dianabt]

I haven't really contributed to this post but I've been on a recent health kick the last week while I figured out what was causing stomachahes! (lactose intolerance and gluten anyone?)

SO I thought I'd share my dinner I just ate! 🙂

Turkey burgers

homemade guacamole on a corn tortilla

sauteed zucchini in garlic and butter

SMARTWATER

Once I started paying attention to my food intake.. I really realized how many chemicals and processed things are in our foods we buy 😞 I just hate that it can be really pricey to eat TRUE fresh foods! San Francisco is full of them at our farmers markets around the city but the prices are not easy to deal with sometimes!

[lylysa]

I've found that proper food storage will help preserve quite a bit and really stretch the food and money you spend on it. 

Also, steering clear of the middle aisles in grocery stores helps a lot, all the fresh food is always on the sides (veggies/fruits). 

[Anonymous]

Ooh I know I love mixing strawberries with glaze and having strawberry shortcake like that. YUM!

[Anonymous]

@starletta8- I love fresh strawberries this time of year they are so gooood.

[starletta8]

Yes!  And these were so ripe that they had to be eaten today.  The best kind.

[starletta8]

Another productive day lost to headaches- I woke up at almost 2.

Brunch: Naturebox Whole Wheat Figgy Bar

Dinner*: Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks

Corn on the Cob

Grilled Asparagus with Sea Salt

* Subject to change since I'm heading out to the farmers' market later.

[Anonymous]

Feel better soon!  I yet migraines as well so, definitely feel your pain >.< have you tried taking meds for it?  I find Imitrex works for mine 🙂

[starletta8]

I've been on medication for literally decades... I just have to accept that I'll lose a certain number of days to them.

And my dinner prediction was spot-on, aside I added a pint of fresh strawberries for desert.

[Anonymous]

@lylysa- I've got the recipe for the Doritos Taco Bake so I'll go ahead and post it for you:

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef

Crispy Flat Tostada shells (approximately 12 of them, enough to layer.

1 Taco Seasoning Packet

Chopped Green Chiles (optional)

11 oz Bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos- Says to use 3/4 of the bag but everyone will use different amounts.

About 3 cups or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Lettuce, Tomato and Sour Cream to garnish

9x13 baking dish

Directions:

Cook beef  with the Chiles and Taco Seasoning.

Place a layer of the Crispy Shells in the bottom of  baking dish and top  it with a layer of beef and top that layer with some cheese,  Continue layering until you've reached your desired height and your out of layering ingredients.

Top the whole thing with a nice layer of Doritos, cover and bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes, remove the cover and continue baking for another 10 minutes until the chips are crisp and slightly golden. Let it cool a bit , use lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream as garnish. Serve it up and dig in:)