Tag: quesadilla

A Healthier Quesadilla

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Good morning! I’ve been meaning to get you this recipe, but for one reason or another it just wasn’t able to happen until today. I promise you, though, it’s worth the wait!

Quesadilla’s aren’t a common occurrence around our house, not because they’re not delicious, more because we just never think to make them. Tacos, though? You bet we keep those on a frequent rotation- I love, love, love all types of tacos and we’ve mastered a few “recipes”  (fish tacos, steak tacos). After our most recent bout of quesadilla’s, I know these will become a staple, too!

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For these, I decided I wanted to get creative and offer 2 types: standard peppers, onion, spinach & chicken and then another that was a little less traditional, but perfect for this season: butternut squash, brussels sprouts & goat cheese. Both came out really great and it was hard to choose our favorite since they had such different flavors from one another.

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On top of the veggies, we opted to use the mini Ezekiel wraps we had in our freezer, which ended up working out great because they didn’t get soft and soggy like traditional flour tortilla’s tend to get when you fill them with cheese and sauteed veggies. I also got all fancy and bought some nice, sharp cheeses and shred my own cheese rather than buying a bag of shredded cheese… not necessary, but it was a nice touch!

The only downside of these is that it took a little bit of time to prepare the veggies initially, but the good thing is that if you make a big batch of everything, it’s so easy to whip up more quesadilla’s the next day! Oh, and my hands got REALLY messy as I was assembling the ‘dilla’s… totally worth it, though!

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Ingredients

  • Ezekiel wraps- figure out how many quesadilla’s you plan on eating to determine how many wraps are necessary. Also, if you use bigger wraps, you may not need to make as many quesadilla’s
  • 2-4 boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs
  • 1 small red pepper, sliced thinly
  • 1 small onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 butternut squash, chopped into small pieces (I bought an organic one that was already skinless so I just had to  chop it up)
  • 1-2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 handful of baby spinach
  • 1 small block of Gouda or sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 (or so) cup of crumbled goat cheese
  • EVOO & S/P/Garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Cut up your veggies & heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add in the EVOO and sautee your onions & peppers first. To help speed up the cook time of the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash I steamed them before sauteeing them. Once they softened up, I added them to the skillet for a bit (after I had removed the peppers & onions). When the Brussels sprouts & butternut squash are done cooking, throw a handful of spinach into the skillet; remove once it’s wilted.

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2. Once the veggies are cooked, remove them from the pan and place into separate bowls. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until they are cooked all the way through. We like to sprinkle salt, pepper & garlic powder on each side while they cook.

3. While the chicken is cooking, shred your cheese 7 set aside.

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4. Once the chicken is done cooking, turn the heat down on the stove a bit and place one wrap/tortilla on the greased skillet you’ve been using (why waste more dishes?!). Add a thin layer of cheese, your chicken & veggies (changes based on what option you’re making) and the put a final layer of cheese on top before you cover it with the other tortilla/wrap. Let it cook for a few minutes- at least- on each side so that the inside is nice and melty and the outside is a little crispy.

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5. Once they’re cooked, slice & serve with a side of homemade (or store bought) salsa.

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These were such a fun Friday night meal and I love that there are endless options for the different types of quesadillas you could make. We loved these so much we ate them for lunch the next day, too!

Questions for you: Do you like quesadillas or tacos better? What’s your favorite quesadilla or taco filling?

 

My 5 favorite quick and easy (but relatively healthy) dinner ideas

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I am sure I’m not the only one with a schedule this summer that leaves little room for much “real” cooking, right? Throughout the winter months, I seem to have much more time to spend hours in the kitchen whipping up delicious and healthy meals, but there’s something about the summer months that causes my schedule to fill up so quickly! With that said, I’m often left with figuring out what to cook that will not take much time (when I get home from the gym I’m STARVING- read: Hangry) yet still be tasty and healthy.

Here are some of my favorites!

Quesadillas

I love all types of quesadillas because they are so versatile and relatively quick and easy to put together. Sometimes I’ll just do cheese but I try to spice them up a little by adding in chicken and peppers and onions. Lately, when I have leftover roasted veggies I end up putting those in my ‘dilla- a great way to use up leftovers without getting bored and feeling like you’re eating the same thing over and over.

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Eggs

I usually do them scrambled, but sometimes I do hard boiled or over easy… Heck, sometimes I even microwave them for the fastest and easiest type of egg! I try to incorporate some type of veggies or greens (spinach or kale) to add in a little exta nutritious value. I usually top my eggs with slices of avocado and salsa- makes for a super tasty meal! RM will often make us frittata which is a fun way to change up my normal egg consumption.

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Quinoa bowl

Even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook a real meal, I will usually whip up a batch of some staple items: quinoa, chicken, roasted or sautéed veggies, sweet potato, etc. and one of my favorite things to do is throw them all in a bowl together! RM laughs at me every time I suggest eating ‘quinoa bowls’, but they are so easy, delicious and healthy that I think they are a very suitable dinner idea… And good idea at that!

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Smoothies

I’m not talking your regular old fruit smoothie. I’m talking a smoothie packed with protein, flaxseed, chia seeds, almond butter, coconut oil, spinach and then some fruit. Regular fruit smoothies are loaded with sugar and very little protein or “staying power”. Although it’s “natural” sugar, you still want to be careful not to incorporate too much, especially first thing in the morning which will likely kick up your sugar cravings for the rest of the day. RM has a Vita Mix and I always ask him to make me a power smoothie when I get home from the gym.

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Pizza on a wrap or flatbread

I used to loveee English muffin pizzas (heck, who am I kidding, I still love them), but I have started to turn to wrap or flatbread pizzas because it looks and feels like I’m eating a real pizza! I usually just top them with cheese (because it’s quickest and easiest), but sometimes I’ll add peppers or other veggies. The beauty is that if you broil them this dinner takes no time at all! I try to use wraps that are high in fiber and protein (some have more than others).

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A tip to make these basic meal ideas even healthier and easier? Prep a bunch of veggies at the start of the week so you can easily incorporate them into whatever you put together!

Questions for you: What’s your quickest/easiest meal you throw together during the week?

 

Shopping, Girl Time, Celebrations, Workouts- Another Busy Week!

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! For some reason, I have had an incredibly busy week. It’s been fun, but I’m beat! Doesn’t end today, either. I’ve got work until 4:30, then I am subbing my old Friday night class at the Allston BSC (all my old regulars, please come!!!) and then babysitting! Phew! Let me tell you that a well deserved trip to Lululemon will be happening 😉

Let’s catch up, shall we?! On Sunday, on my way back to MA, I decided to make a pit stop in Kittery since I was tired of sitting in massive amounts of traffic. I have a bunch of work trips this month and wanted another suit, so it was a great time to check that off my “to-do” list. 45 minutes later, I walked out of Banana Republic with a new suit and a new dress- for $72!!! Long story short, I had cash rewards from my BR card and then had to open another card for some reason so I got the 15% off, too. Definitely a great pit stop!

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I didn’t end up making a big meal on Sunday night since it was so hot, but I threw together a pretty tasty quesadilla! Shrimp, peppers, onions and feta- delicious!

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On Monday, I went to The Studio Empower for an awesome class and was greeted with a salmon dinner prepared by my roommate when I walked through the door! Love that.

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Tuesday was a really awesome day! I forced myself out of bed for an early run. It wasn’t fast, but I covered 3.4 miles in 30 minutes which I was very happy about. After that, I did 15 reps of biceps curls balancing on 1 leg, upright rows, triceps dips, pushups, and an ab ladder. Nothing like being finished a workout by 7:15am!

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After work I met up with someone for drinks at Legal Harborside Roofdeck. I couldn’t believe how packed it was for Tuesday. Apparently people have a life outside of the gym after work; who would have thought?!

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From there, I headed to Amy and Sheila’s for a girls dinner party! Instead of going out, they offered to cook for us which was a nice treat. It’s so hard to catch up with people while in a restaurant at a big table; I’d much prefer a casual setting at someone’s apartment. Our friend, Kelly, was also visiting from San Francisco so our group was even bigger than usual! Unfortunately, Kia couldn’t come because she had her puppy to tend to, but other than that we were all there!

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Amy grilled up chicken, steak, shrimp and veggies. Jess and I cooked rice and green beans and Sheila prepped the salad. Pair that with a big ol’ glass of vino and you’ve got a happy Monique 😉

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After dinner, we brought out the desserts for some birthday celebrations. If you remember, I severely cut back on eating desserts a few weeks ago, but I most certainly had desserts on Tuesday. I mean, funetti cake and peanut butter rice crispy treats with chocolate and homemade berry ice cream?! I was in sweet tooth heaven!

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And, throw some bubbly in there and you’ve pretty much got a perfect night!

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On top of all of that, just when we thought it couldn’t get any better than good food, good drinks, tasty desserts and long overdue girl time, Sheila surprised us with her recent engagement!!!!! Somehow, we had the whole ‘toasting to champagne’ thing on video and it’s literally the best video I’ve ever seen. All you hear in the background is “wait. WHAT?!” from me and screams from Lauren. It.was.awesome! We all couldn’t be more happy for Sheila and Bryan!

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Beautiful ring unlike anything I have ever seen!

Wednesday I ended up teaching a double to help a fellow instructor out- phew! I was on another level that night; that is what happens when I go too long without teaching 😉 My Thursday double was a little tough to get into, purely because my legs were tired! What made everything better, though, was coming home to pizza fresh out of the oven!

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Man did THAT hit the spot!

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

Questions for you: Tell me- what’s on the agenda for tonight? How have your workouts been? What’s was the best part of your week? Drinks on a weeknight- do you do that often?

A New Take to Leftovers

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Ugh. What a miserably cold, windy and rainy day! I am still not sure why I decided to wear tights and straighten my hair today (really, I had no real reason to do either of these things… except I didn’t wash my hair yesterday since I didn’t work out, so straightening it was the best option I had… shhh it’s not that gross!).  At least I had my cute Sperry Rubber Slip On’s on (does that make sense? I hate when 2 of the same words are next to each other in a sentence):

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That’s really all I had going for me this morning, though. The T was delayed and the masses of people ON the T was horrific. I don’t plan on going outside for the rest of the day:)

Anyway, I need to tell you about my dinner last night! Tuesday’s are my “rest” days from the gym, so last night I went home, did 30 minutes of self-practice yoga in my room and then thought about what I could have for dinner.  I wasn’t really in the mood for stuffed peppers or taco salad, but I did want to use some of the leftover pepper stuffing.  Enter: a “Taco” Quesadilla! This week, I ended up buying these wraps. They are the perfect size (most are so big!) and really low in calories so it’s a great way to get a little carb fix in without feeling too guilty about it!

All I did was layer a little shredded cheese on half of it, some of the taco mixture from Sunday and then a little more cheese.

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And, voila! A delicious and relatively healthy weeknight meal.  I didn’t even feel like I was eating leftovers- that’s the best part!

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Now, if only I had something a little more exciting for lunch… This week I have been getting back to the basics with healthy salads, greek yogurt and fruit. My coworker and I call this “Moe’s Leaning Tower Lunch”.

001It’s quite the struggle carrying all those containers from the kitchen to the lunch room (it’s a much farther walk than you would think!).  Broken down, it’s a salad with veggies, quinoa and goat cheese, dressing, greek yogurt (really liked the Hannaford “Inspirations” brand!) and strawberries. Yum, yum, yum! (and, when I have a salad for lunch, I feel like I don’t have to worry about eating as many vegetables at dinner time… please tell me I am not the only one who uses that type of rationalization…)

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I am excited to teach UXF Burn tonight- Hoping I have a huge turnout like last week.  I am feeling MUCH better and I am ready to kick people’s butts tonight:)

Hope you’re all staying warm and try!

Questions for you: Leftovers: love ’em or hate ’em? How is your week going?