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? 😄

[Ispend2much6]

@Mellmars1185  The pesto looks great! Did you use any type of nuts in it? I’m looking for a good recipe that doesn’t use them.

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 Thank you! I was going to use pine nuts but they were so expensive. I searched for an alternative and ended up using roasted walnuts. Let me know if you find an alternative that works for you☺️

[Ispend2much6]

@Mellmars1185  This might sound a little crazy, but hemp hearts always tasted like pine nuts to me.  I may try those.

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 That is a smart idea 💡. I think they would make for a great substitute. I think it will be an excellent texture too! Hemp hearts are full of protein. I may try this out in my next batch!

[CookieGirl1]

@Mellmars1185 zucchini bread is SO good!  

[Mellmars1185]

@CookieGirl1 Isn't it?! It comes out moist. I want to try a different version after we eat this one.

[Ispend2much6]

Although setting two small, short-lived fires in the oven from the overflow of this dish hitting the coils wasn't part of the dinner plan, I needed a quick and easy dinner tonight and am filing this one away for repeats!

Sheet pan gnocchi, sausage and vegetables.  I've made similar dishes before, but I learned some tricks this time around. 

I placed the gnocchi at the outsides of the pan so they could cook better and not be mushy.  Drizzle with olive oil and season, top with cherry tomatoes drizzled with oil and seasoning (do this step right before putting in the oven.)

Sliced zucchini and drizzled with olive oil and seasoning, then topped with Italian sausage that I squished out of their casings and formed small meatballs.  Bake at 400 for 30-45 min.  The outside-crunchy yet chewy inside gnocchi are irresistible.

[peculiarzmakeup]

Such a beautiful dish, looks incredible I love the combination of all those things together i bet it was so tasty!!! @Ispend2much6  

[Ispend2much6]

@peculiarzmakeup  Thank you it was.  The fires didn't add anything to it though.😂

[blackkitty2014]

I will try to do this @Ispend2much6 . We have some squash and cherry tomatoes 🌹

[Ispend2much6]

@blackkitty2014  Ooohh, that's right- your husband is the great gardener!  Could you please ask him what could be making my zucchini plants not bear much fruit?  We've only had 2 from two different plants.  The blossoms that are high on the plant look like someone/something is eating them, the stems are sliced clear across below where the blossoms were.

Also, we have very little bees this year; first time ever.  How about your area?

[blackkitty2014]

I will ask him about the squash @Ispend2much6 . We have this crazy heatwave over my area. 100+ for almost everyday since last week of June. We still have more Armenian cucumbers 🥒 than we can use but definitely less than other years. Looks liked we won’t have any dragon fruit this year but we probably have decent amount of avocado. Other fruits liked Santa Rosa plum, fig, peaches are making about the same amount. Our grapes seems very small this year due to the heat 😩

[Ispend2much6]

@blackkitty2014  That is crazy hot!  Thanks for asking him.  If you need a plum recipe, look up Smitten Kitchen's Purple Plum Torte.  It's so easy, and my family goes crazy for it.  In fact, I have been asked to make another one this weekend.

[blackkitty2014]

@Ispend2much6 My husband said in the past he did have in-blossom rot (I’m not sure if it is the same condition you do) and we didn’t get any fruit. That in-blossom rot due to lack of calcium so what we do is give the plan egg shells 🐚. (Yes we save all eggshells 😂🤣 and mash it into little pieces. We also save old milk and mix with drinking water (1 portion of milk and 3 water) and give it to the plants. Seems most plant love it that way. 

[Ispend2much6]

@blackkitty2014   Oh, thank you!  I knew the blossom rot could happen with tomatoes, didn't realize zucchini could have it too.

We amended the soil with composted chicken manure for the first time this year; the plants really struggled at first.  I don't think we'll use that again, although we have had tons of cucumbers that were really sweet, and not bitter, this year.  But no squash.

[CookieGirl1]

@Ispend2much6 ooh, so fancy!

[Ispend2much6]

@CookieGirl1  Not really. lol Thanks!

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 This looks delicious and fresh! I love sheet pan dinners. They make life a little easier (minus the fires 🔥 hehe). The sausage looks delicious! Is that ground sausage? This is the time of year where I need all of the zucchini recipes possible. My neighbours are very generous lol

[Ispend2much6]

@Mellmars1185  I'm only interested in fire if marshmallows are involved. 😉  Yes, it's ground Italian hot sausage, the kind that is raw and in casings.  I just squeezed it out of the ends of the casings and shaped it into balls.

Have you ever made zucchini bread before?  It's basically a cake.

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 i hear you about the marshmallows...or maybe even smores? 😏

Oh yes I have made zucchini bread before. I have done it with cocao too! I was going to make it today but ran out of time. We might have guests so I chopped the zucchini into rounds and made a foil pack for the bbq with peppers, onions, garlic and butter. I still have plenty for the bread. I will keep you posted! Also, I usually make pasta with the ground pork from the sausage casing. I never thought to roll them up! Thanks for the amazing tip!

[Ispend2much6]

@Mellmars1185   We make smores in our air fryer oven.  Our grill is too weak for it!

Those packets sound so easy and divine.  I should try that in our oven.