Caroline Dines

Alright, so I admit it might not have been THE best week of my life but it certainly was a good one! I think the shot below speaks for itself but in case you wondering it contained sweet potatoes and peanut butter and was by far my favorite meal of the week (which I actually got to eat three times!). I am saving it’s recap for last so you’ll just have to keep reading.

This week I started taking Human Biology and Basic Anatomy and Physiology as Pre-Requisites for the Masters in Applied Nutrition program that I will be starting as soon as these are done with. So far, I am actually enjoying the material and feel as though I am learning more than I ever did in these subjects in high school. Maybe it’s because I actually care now and I can apply it to something as exciting as nutrition and health. Starting school has been energizing and has given me focus to my days which I was lacking for the better part of January.

I also recommitted myself to Baptiste Power Yoga this week and have practiced 6 TIMES since last Saturday. My body is thanking me for the almost daily strength work/massage it has been getting and my mind is clear to study.  It also helps having a sweet new yoga bag that I got for Christmas!

Does having the right/good gear help motivate you to be active?

On the food front things have been looking up as well. I have been mixing it up my normal routine and even did some baking. I decided to share with you the best of my week instead of all the meals I documented. They were all good, but these are the best of the best!

Best Breakfast:

Two baby slices of Challah bread (scored from a guest at the house) toasted with butter and jam, half a banana smeared with peanut butter, and 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese. Maybe it was the beautiful sun shining outside or the fresh new combo for my taste buds; either way this breakfast was memorable.

Best (looking) Lunch:

Darin and I went to b.Good last weekend and while this meal looks like a “10″ I have to admit that looks can be deceiving. I still wanted to include it though because it was one of my favorite photo-ops of the week.  What you see here is a Turkey Burger (no bun) with tomato, chipotle salsa, and guacamole. In the background you may notice a pile of sweet potato fries (baked) which I ended up eating half of and bringing the rest home to use in another dish. The burger itself was dry and lacking flavor. I wished it had more of the salsa on top and had been a little more juicy. However, in b.Good’s defense, turkey burgers usually come out drier than beef. At least it was healthy!

Best Baked Treat:

After failing miserably with a batch of Almond Flour Molasses cookies that will go unpictured because I actually threw them away after eating a few, I redeemed myself in a big way with these Double Chocolate Almond Flour Brownies.  I basically used my cookie recipe, inspired by Elana, and tweaked it by adding cocoa and baking them in a brownie pan. The result? HEAVEN. I just finished the last one today, the batch of 16 lasted Darin and me the entire week. This just proves my theory that baked goods made with almond flour actually fill you up so you don’t over eat!

Best Dinner:

This past Friday night, my cousin Meg and I got together at her pad for a little cooking/movie night and I took full advantage of having a private kitchen in which to photograph the process. In the photo above you will see the key ingredients for our Nutty Sweet Potato Stew. Meg found the recipe on-line which was supposed to be cooked in a slow cooker. Since I showed up at 5:00 with the ingredients slow cooking wasn’t going to work for us. Instead we transferred everything into a big pot on the stove and cooked it for about an hour or until the sweet potatoes were soft. Here is our “rough” recipe:

• 2lbs. sweet potato, chopped into 3/4 inch cubes
• 3 yellow onions, diced
• 5 full sprigs of parsley (removed after cooking, before mixing in peanut butter)
• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatos, do not drain
• 3 cups of water
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of “The Heat is On” Peanut Butter (if you didn’t have this particular variety you could add spices to heat it up to your liking)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley per serving

Cook all ingredients except the peanut butter on medium high until potatoes are soft. Take off the heat and add the peanut butter. Top each serving with parsley and enjoy!

Serving size 1.5 cups, makes approx. 6 servings.

While we cooked we enjoyed some Riseling and tunes ala Grooveshark from Meg’s computer.

And as an appetizer (because we wanted something “green” and we were starving), Meg roasted up some brussels with a little Olive Oil and S+P. I suggested dipping them in honey mustard which made them even more delicious.

Seriously, if you have any love for sweet potatoes and nut butter which I think a lot of you do, try this recipe. The combination tastes so indulgent but at the same time is so healthful and fresh. I think next time I will try it in the Crockpot. Imagine coming home and dishing up a hot bowl of this?

And because no good dinner is complete without a little something sweet, Meg shared with me some of her Cocoa Almonds from Trader Joe’s (DELICIOUS) and a square of Trader Joe’s Truffle Bar.

I hope the past week was as good for all of you as it was here in my world!