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You can find me here: http://amyella.wordpress.com

Goodbye

I don't want to be all melodramatic with a long goodbye, but I didn't want to just disappear without saying anything either.

After six years, I'm done blogging. I started to write a long post about why I'm leaving and the truth is that there are lots of reasons but, meh, it doesn't really matter.

I will miss it, because I really enjoyed it. It's been a long time, though, since I could write anything meaningful, funny, entertaining, or creative and I hate coming here and reading my own awful drivel.

Thanks to everyone who's been here consistently. I really appreciate you guys.

Love,
Amyella

EDITED TO ADD: I'm puttin' the recipes back up. Cuz, you know, everyone loves recipes! And, also, the link to the doggies is here because their cuteness, let me show u it.

I Love Fajitas

All last week I was craving fajitas. I miss my weekend post-workout fajita meal. This weekend I put together some homemade fajitas marinade and pico de gallo. I marinaded both steak and chicken, cooked up some red, green, yellow bell pepper and onion strips and used a dollop of non-fat greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream (Fage really does taste more like sour cream than plain yogurt.) I also ate mine in a bowl with no tortilla, but you could wrap these in a nice regular flour tortilla or get one of the low carb varieties.

Fajita Marinade

juice of 1 lime
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves minced or crushed garlic
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

In a large ziploc bag mix all ingredients. Add strips of sirloin, chicken or shrimp. Marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours or overnight.

Pico de Gallo

2 tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 jalepeno pepper minced
salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Oat Pancakes

Probably anyone reading this blog has made the standard "fitness" oat and eggbeaters pancake. Mostly, it's equal parts oats and eggbeaters with a little cinnamon and Splenda. From there you can doctor it up with all kinds of add-ins, but that's the basic. I started making those in 2001 and let me tell you, I thought I was an innovator!

This morning Bobby Flay was making pancakes and as I was watching I thought - huh. I can make pancakes. Real pancakes. Fluffy, light, golden pancakes. With ingredients I already have on hand all the time. And I did. And now I share them with you:

Amy's Oat Pancakes

1/2 cup oat flour (put oats in a food processor and blend until fine)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 packet Splenda
1/4 cup baby food prunes (prune puree, no sugar)
1/4 cup eggbeaters
1/4 cup non-fat Fage
2 Tbs Hood Carb Countdown fat free milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup Sugar Free maple syrup















Mix all ingredients except maple syrup in a bowl. The batter will be darker than real pancake batter because of the oats and the prunes, but the consistency should be very similar. If it's too thick, add a little more milk.















Make sure your griddle is liberally sprayed with Pam and over med-high heat. I got 4 good size pancakes out of the batter. Cook the first side until the edges get tiny bubbles and a matte finish, then flip and cook the other side. Should get a nice golden color.

Put on a plate and drizzle with sugar free maple syrup. I would say this is two servings, despite the fact that I ate all four pancakes in one sitting. :)

















Makes 2 servings. Each serving:
150 calories
1 g fat
25 g carb
3 g fiber
10 g protein

Maggie's Granola Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

So last weekend I made Maggie's Granola Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies and they are the most delicious little treats ever! I love this recipe. I'm posting here because I use my own blog as a recipe resource (using the handy "Recipe" link in that top nav). I made very teensy, tiny modifications so the macros below reflect my small substitutions and also my brands of trail mix and protein powder. You can find Maggie's original recipe here.

If you didn't try these when you saw them posted on Maggie's blog, take my word for it: make them. YUM! Thanks, Miss Maggie!!

Maggie's Granola Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

Ingredients:
1.5 cups rolled oats, dry, uncooked (Old fashioned, not quick oats)
.5 cup Fiber One
3/4 cup Harris Teeter Trail Mix*
1/4 cup Chips, chocolate, semisweet, large
4 scoops Cytosport Cookie's N' Cream protein powder
1/2 tsp Salt, table, 1/5 oz per teaspoon
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar free Maple Syrup

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the oats, trail mix, chocolate chips, and whey. Add the syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir until everything is thoroughly mixed. At first, it will seem too dry, but continue stirring and it will eventually blend.

Spray two non-stick 12-compartment muffin tins with cooking spray, then press the mixture into the bottom of each cup firmly. Alternately, spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, then drop 24 equal blobs of the mixture onto the sheet, squashing each down slightly into a cookie-like thickness.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 6 minutes.

Nutrition (per 2 cookies):
140 Calories
5 g. fat
15.5g carb
3.2 g fiber
11g protein

*Harris Teeter brand trail mix, "Diet Delight." Sunflower seeds, raisins, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, peanut oil.
serving size .25 cup
150 calories
9 g fat
12 g carb
3 g fiber
5 g protein

The Veggie Soup With The Little Meatballs

This is a recipe I put together after taking elements from a bunch of different recipes. It has a really nice, light and bright flavor. It's not overly salty but it's definitely not bland. Also, it's a relatively inexpensive meal since part of the protein source is canned beans.

The Veggie Soup With The Little Meatballs

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained
6 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 bag frozen chopped green beans

1 pounds 99% lean ground turkey
1 cup grated fat free Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, Italian seasoning, and ground turkey. Mix together well and form into small meatballs, no larger than 1 inch in diameter; set aside.

Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Spray bottom of pot with non stick spray and add onion and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 or 6 minutes alone, stirring frequently, then add the canned beans and the chicken broth. Cover the pot and bring the soup up to a boil. Add the frozen green beans. Reduce heat to medium. Slowly add the meatballs, stirring gently so that they do not clump together into one uber-meatball. Cook for about 30 minutes, until turkey is no longer pink.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving:
218 calories
1.75 g fat
28.5 g carb
6.6 g fiber
23 g protein

Greek Gyro Meatloaf

I adapted this recipe from one of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. I made it this weekend and it is yummy! Would be delicious with some grilled zucchini and squash on the side.

Greek Gyro Meatloaf

2 pounds ground 96% lean beef
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 to 3 pinches ground cinnamon
1 cup non-fat feta crumbles

1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt (I use Fage)
1 small clove garlic, grated
1/4 cucumber, peeled and grated
1 lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place beef in a bowl. Add grill seasoning, 2 teaspoons cumin, chili powder, coriander, oregano, cinnamon and feta crumbles. Wring the spinach dry in a kitchen towel and add to beef. Mix the beef and form a long 3-inch roll on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.

Mix yogurt, a grated clove of garlic, cucumber, the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

Serve beef with yogurt dipping sauce.

Makes 10 servings. Each serving:
188 calories
5.8 g fat
4 g carb
31 g protein