Growing up my brother, cousins, and I always begged my nonna, mom or auntie to make us “rolls with jam”. They were our favorite treat and seemed so special because they would make them out of a few simple ingredients in just a few minutes. Nonna always rationed them out to us (2/kid) but my brother would have the majority of them (as in, at least 6). They are still one of his favorite treats. Nonna calls them “omLETTE” and we always called them rolls with jam. I believe they should be properly known as crepes, but I will always simply call them rolls with jam.

I may have called my brother to make him jealous the night I made these.

These are a great dessert to make when you have last minute guests or feel like having a special treat. You can serve them they way I usually do, rolled up with orange marmalade and sprinkled with powdered sugar, or you can get creative. However you choose to eat these, it will be worth the few minutes of effort it took to make them. There are a few tips below the recipe; be sure to check them out.

And now I present, my favorite childhood dessert of all (besides ricotta balls)…. Rolls with Jam!

Rolls with Jam
Yields 8

Ingredients:
4 heaping tablespoons of flour
2 flat tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of lemon zest
“approximately” 1/2 cup milk (add as needed to reach the right consistency)
butter for frying
powder sugar to decorate

Filling:
Orange marmalade, or any other filling you choose!

Directions:
* Mix all ingredients in bowl
* Heat non-stick skillet to medium-high heat
* Melt butter in pan (1/3 teaspoon for each roll, just enough to spread in pan)
* Pour an almost full ladle of batter into the frying pan and immediately swirl the pan to cover the entire surface evenly with batter
* Cook until edges loosen and bubbling begins (approximately 45- 60 seconds- the edges will turn up)
* Flip. After about 30 seconds remove from pan and spread a thin layer of your filling over one half and roll up
* Sprinkle with powdered sugar
* Finally, eat as many as you can

Tips:
- The batter should be realllly thin. Add enough milk to reach that consistency.
- If you like things a little sweeter you can add a capful of vanilla extract to the batter.
- Don’t worry about the first couple not looking great… for some reason the first ones are never right!
- If you don’t want to use butter use something (Smart Balance, etc) because it makes the crepe brown nicely and helps the batter to be distributed evenly (slick pan).
- Any kind of milk you have in your fridge is fine.
- Don’t be afraid to adjust the batter after you see the first couple cook.. I usually add a little more milk if the crepe looks a little flat.
- Don’t add too much batter to the pan. One small ladle is enough- you want these to be really thin!

My favorite classic combos:
1. Low sugar apricot jam (it has little bits of peel in it and is just amazing)
2. Nutella + banana slices
3. Nutella on its own
4. Orange marmalade
5. Strawberry preserves (not my favorite at all).

These really make a big statement when stacked next to each other on a nice tray and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Your guests are sure to love them!!!

Good luck, and enjoy!

I steamed some fresh broccoli and accidentally overcooked it. I decided to turn it into soup, and that was a great idea! I simply added 4 cups of vegetable broth and some spices and let it simmer down. Then I used my potato masher to mash it all up. It was heavenly. PB loved it too! I had the bowl below and another half bowl.

I also made some baked chicken breast with artichoke hearts, Near East tomato lentil couscous, and steamed spinach. It was a great and healthy meal!!!! I had about 2 oz of chicken, 3/4 cup couscous, and 1/2 cup spinach.

Tomorrow we go to COLORADO!!! I can’t wait to snowboard big, snowy mountains. Of course, being the list making woman I am, my bag is already 75% packed.. time to finish the rest!

[Reminder: I am blogging my meals this week- every last bite- to show you how I eat and why I eat it. This is the extended reply to several Ask Me Anything questions I received.]

Good night!

Day 3:

Breakfast   
Lunch

Day 2:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner- recipe for Baked Breaded Eggplant

Day 1:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

I am turning into my nonna.

Today I had one of her favorite lunches- pasta with canned tuna. I had about 2.5 oz of angel hair with a can of tuna in olive oil, drained. The oil from the tuna works as a great sauce over the pasta.

[Reminder: I am blogging my meals this week- every last bite- to show you how I eat and why I eat it. This is the extended reply to several Ask Me Anything questions I received.]

The water was put on to boil because I was just so hungry. I know the photo is hideous.

In the afternoon I took a 10 minute break to bake some muffins. This time I used 1 pear and really chopped it small, and I made the muffins in a mini muffin tin. I baked them to bring with us to Colorado tomorrow! PB and I are going with another couple to Beaver Creek (near Vail). We would love dining suggestions and more!!!

I think PB is ready to show off his newly acquired snowboarding moves (he is linking turns! and well!)

Back to the muffins. Of course I had to taste test two of them. They were just the way I remembered them… a bit dry, not very sweet, but perfectly satisfying. You don’t have to feel guilty eating these. Find the original recipe here.

Later in the afternoon I had some Oikos vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries, a couple of tablespoons of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and 1.25 Weetabix biscuits. I almost skipped my snack this afternoon, but I got super hungry around 3. This was great… although I did miss the chocolate chips! I am one of those people who is sad when a delicious meal or snack is gone. Are you that way?

I have a really fun giveaway coming soon. Hint: it involves creative shoes… Get excited!!!!

Day 3:

Breakfast   

Day 2:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner- recipe for Baked Breaded Eggplant

Day 1:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

Who recognizes that line? It’s from one of my favorite movies.. which depicts exactly the type of family both PB and I come from.

[Reminder: I am blogging my meals this week- every last bite- to show you how I eat and why I eat it. This is the extended reply to several Ask Me Anything questions I received.]

Yesterday I did not eat any chicken, beef or fish. I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened. I was still able to consume 91 g of protein. You don’t necessarily need to eat meat to reach protein goals! I absolutely love fish. I eat chicken breast (always organic or locally sourced) because it is easy to cook and flavor in other ways, but I don’t like it that much. I rarely eat beef, except for the occasional bite of PB’s dish at a restaurant, or when trying tapas or family meals. We often have 2 or 3 days a week where we eat a vegetarian diet. We can still reach our protein goals on those days with just a little bit of thought. It is even easier when I consume yogurt or eggs on those days, like I did yesterday.

I know there is a lot of debate on the amount of protein a body needs in a day. I was always taught that we need 0.8 g/kg of body weight. For someone about my size, that equals to around only 50 g of protein a day. I know my body, and as an athlete (woah, I just called myself an athlete??), I need even more. The recommended protein intake for athletes is between 1.2 g/kg- 1.8 g/kg. To calculate your recommended level of protein, take your weight in lbs and divide by 2.2 (to get your weight in kg) and then multiply by either 0.8 or anywhere in the range of 1.2-1.8.

My goal is to get between 90 and 100 g of protein a day. That might seem really high for some, but I know that my muscles need it.

All that to say, like Erica, I am really focusing more on reaching that goal every day.

For breakfast this morning I settled on a protein shake to accompany the protein discussion. This shake had 30 g Jay Robb Chocolate Whey Protein, 1/2 frozen banana, 6 oz water, 6 ice cubes, and 2 tbs peanut butter. I am trying to pretend it is summertime so the summer weather will come sooner. I chose to have a shake instead of a formal breakfast due to time. I was in a rush packing this morning and trying to clean up before work, and a protein shake seemed like the quickest solution.

This was so satisfying, even without something to chew. I can’t wait for summer fruits so I can finally set up and use the juicer PB’s awesome friends gave us!!! It is sitting in the closet waiting patiently to be used.

Previous days’ eats.

Day 2:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner- recipe for Baked Breaded Eggplant

Day 1:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

You KNEW someone in the family did something good when we were having breaded eggplant for dinner. If I could pick one last meal to have it would have to be my mom’s breaded eggplant, breaded chicken breast, and ravioli with cream sauce. Extremely decadent, but one of my favorite meals growing up. Usually, when we were having that for dinner, it meant that either something good happened at my dad’s office, my brother had a championship soccer game, or I brought home a sparkling A on a difficult project. I would help my mom bread all the chicken and eggplant, and steal pieces of the finished fried eggplant before dinner. Yum.

Today I try not to fry foods. We have fried in the house only a couple of times, and I would prefer to keep that number extremely low. The solution? Bake instead of fry!

For dinner tonight I made a very simple classic breaded eggplant- BAKED!

Baked Breaded Eggplant
Serves 2 as an entree

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant or two Italian eggplants
2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
Whole wheat flour
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Kosher salt + pepper to taste
1 tbs canola oil
Nonstick cooking spray, or olive oil

Directions:  
1. Peel the eggplant and slice into very thin rounds. Sprinkle with salt and place between paper towels. Place a heavy object over them to help draw out the bitterness. Leave them like that for at least 30 minutes.
2. Put three shallow bowls in a row. Pour about 2 cups whole wheat flour into the first bowl, the eggs and milk in the second bowl, and about 2 cups of bread crumbs in the third bowl. Beat the eggs and milk together, and add a dash of salt and pepper to each bowl.
3. Dredge an eggplant slice into the flour and tap to remove excess before placing in the egg/milk mixture. Cover completely and, using a fork, lift the eggplant slice out of the mixture and let excess liquid slide off. Place in the bread crumb bowl and cover completely, again tapping excess. Repeat with all eggplant slices.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Pour 1 tbs canola oil in a baking sheet and add the breaded eggplant slices in a single layer. Spray with cooking spray and place in the oven for 40 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through. Enjoy!

I had the dish you see above with no sauce, plus the salad below:

When I was little my mom always made omelets in arabic bread wrapped up in foil for trips to the beach. It was our lunch, and I never thought it was weird. To me, eggs are a perfectly acceptable lunch food, and I know that is also true in many countries. What are your thoughts on the subject? We are talking about important things here!

To get in some protein and vegetables today I made an omelet with nonstick cooking spray, 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, a huge handful of chopped cooked spinach, and 1 oz of organic shredded mozzarella cheese. It was absolutely delicious. I love high volume meals, and I bet many of you do too. By adding a lot of spinach, not only do I get some great nutrients, I also get a good size lunch!

In the afternoon I became very hungry and tried to delay it for a little while with some seltzer and hot water. I was finally able to step away from my desk and made myself an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin with about 1 tbs of peanut butter and 1/3 of a banana, sliced thinly. I absolutely love these Sandwich Thins. PB does too. Now when we go to the Wegman’s in Cherry Hill I buy several packs of Sandwich Thins and Flat Out wraps and we keep them in the freezer. The Whole Foods near our house does not carry either brand, and we do not go to Wegman’s very often. I am trying hard to streamline our grocery shopping, but we inevitably have way too many packs of dried fruits, cereals, grains (white rice, brown rice, couscous, basmati rice, orzo, pasta, whole wheat pasta, and the list goes one), and nuts.

When I moved to Philadelphia I thought I had outgrown this design from Target (they still have it for sale at a great deal). I had the whole set… dinner plates, appetizer plates, mugs, bowls etc. In my post-move high I trashed/donated almost the entire set, except for a few bowls and two mugs. I regret it. I think it is good to hold on to a few fun things from single life, like this set!

Update on my cut finger: It is extremely awkward to do anything, especially typing, tying shoes, and anything that involves getting my finger wet (which makes it throb oddly).

I am enjoying sharing my meals with you this week, but I have some recipes and restaurants I am itching to share, too!

*******
Two random tips today:

1. Organize (read: label) and reply to emails as soon as you receive them, when they are fresh in your mind. It will help you feel and stay organized and in control. I never have more than 20 emails in my inbox, and those are the ones that need major action (like planning a party).

2. In the same regard, do your dishes right away! PB had to teach me this one, but now I do all of the cooking pots and pans right away, dry them, and put them away (ok he does it a lot of the time, but when I am home during the day I do it myself). I love not having to worry about scrubbing a pot after lunch because I already did it!

*******

Yesterday?

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

Today is Fat Tuesday.

Is it sad that I am celebrating it by putting chocolate chips in my breakfast?

Life has changed from the days of fun junk foods! Life is so much better now.

[I am blogging my meals this week- every last bite- to show you how I eat and why I eat it.]

This morning I ate a big yogurt BOMBA. Why? I was very hungry and had yogurt on the mind.

Chocolate chips were added in celebration. I had a heavy hand.

I also had more Post Shredded Wheat Vanilla Almond cereal and lots of fresh raspberries.

Raspberries are not in season and I feel guilty buying them, but I bought them anyway.

I measure my portions, did I mention that?

The magic formula: 1 container plain Greek yogurt + 1 serving cereal + 14 g choc chips + 80-100 g raspberries

The result? A perfect breakfast.

Dive right in.

Yesterday?

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

Tonight?

Buddy Valastro of TLC’s Cake Boss will answer questions live via Ustream from 7-8PM EST. To RSVP, click here

Vote for the MOD SQUAD cake.

I still had dinner. After eating some sweet potato fries PB and I headed downstairs to the gym. I ran 3 miles on the dreadmill and then did a few strength exercises + stretched. I am going to make a solid effort to stretch every day.

My finger really, really hurts. I normally don’t complain about cuts and bruises and such, but this cut is extremely awkward. I also cut a bit of the my pointer finger, so two fingers are out of commission. I had trouble tying my sneaker laces and even more trouble putting my hair in a ponytail. And I keep bleeding through bandaids. TMI?

Anyway… PB was so nice and took care of me. Not only did he cook dinner, but he did all of the dishes and cleanup. He took some leftover grilled chicken I had made yesterday and cooked it with onions, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and tomatoes and topped it all off with some mozzarella cheese. He served me a huge dish- I had about half of this with a Flat Out wrap and two or three carrots and pretzels dipped in hummus.

So that was my first day sharing my meals with you. I thought that I would eat less when taking photos of every food I ate, but it seems as though I ate a lot more than usual today. Some days I am really hungry and never feel satisfied- this was one of those days. I hope tomorrow I have a more normal appetite!

By the way, you can find a lot of my old posts in the tabs above, and my most recent posts in the column on the right. You can also subscribe to receive all new posts directly to your inbox. It is also in the right column.

I absolutely LOVE salad. I know some people make themselves eat salad, but not me. I grew up eating a basic salad at home after every dinner, and we almost always have a salad with dinner now. Lately, however, I have been having a big salad at lunch, and packing one for PB as well.

(For those just reading now, I am documenting my eats for the next few days to demonstrate how I eat. I will make every effort to also share why I eat what I eat when I eat it)

Today for lunch I took a huge bowl and made a salad containing:

-baby spinach
-radicchio
-butter lettuce
-1/4 avocado
-shredded carrots
-1 serving Wegman’s whole wheat croutons
-1/2 oz dried cranberries
-mung bean sprouts
-1 tbs Annie’s balsamic dressing

I topped the salad with one fried egg. It seems weird to top a salad with an egg, but it is really delicious.

I ate the whole huge bowl, and I usually do. I was really hungry, and this salad was very satisfying. When I build a salad I try to make sure I have many different textures, flavors, and nutrients.

A couple of hours later I was getting really hungry and I knew I wanted to go for a run after work, so I had a great afternoon snack. I usually eat Oikos yogurt, but I bought a few containers of Fage the last time I was at the market. Fage, even the 0% (I bought 0% and 2%), is incredibly creamy and delicious. I topped one container of plain Greek yogurt (6 oz) with 1 TLC Roasted Almond Crunch bar, crushed, a few chocolate chips (about 1.5 tbs), a few strawberries, and a few tablespoons of Post’s new Shredded Wheat cereal in the Vanilla Almond flavor.

The shredded wheat was so good I went back for 2 small handfuls. This was sent to me by Post, and I was really impressed by the flavor. Also, it stayed crunchy in the yogurt, even after 10 minutes.

I also made a little snack plate for PB with celery sticks, Sabra hummus, and one of the Twin Bakery’s new Sunflower Cheez Flatbreads!

Around 5 I got started on dinner… when I had an accident. I was cutting a potato into french fry form and I cut out a chunk of my finger. It wouldn’t stop bleeding. It stopped after 10 minutes but it is really hard to do anything. Even typing right now is hard! Luckily PB bought me a first aid kit years ago and we have lots of Neosporin and bandaids. Anyway… I made some baked fries and PB and I ate them as snacks.

I was hungry for everything I have eaten so far today except these potatoes- I ate them simply because they tasted delicious! It is the perfect pre run fuel, perhaps? We will see! I’m off to the gym!

Breakfast today can be found here. Please also don’t forget to vote daily for the MOD SQUAD cake for Kelly’s Cake Off!

After losing weight and maintaining for almost two years, I have been focusing on losing a few more lbs (which really means, just getting to a point where I am very comfortable in my body). I have been trying to do so very, very slowly by making good food choices but still enjoying myself. I have lost the few lbs that crept on after our wedding, but I would like to still lose more. This week I will be sharing my meals and snacks with you- pretty much any bite that crosses my mouth- to show you how it is I eat. I have received this question time and time again, and I am ready to answer! I will do my best to explain why I am eating what I am eating when.

Shall we begin?

Last night PB and I had an indulgent dessert, which meant I woke up with little appetite. I know exactly how well I ate the previous day based on my morning hunger:

No appetite = weight gain
Little appetite = maintain
Very hungry = lost weight

I have really found this to be true over time, and I think my body has a tough time metabolizing food at night. While I know a calorie is a calorie, I have found that I can eat a lot of food if it is healthy and I don’t eat too late. If, however, I eat a late healthy meal, or I eat junk during the day, I find I gain weight. It is important to know how your own body works, and that is how mine is.

This morning I woke up and wasn’t very hungry, but I knew that if I didn’t eat breakfast then I wouldn’t have a chance to eat again for a few hours. I am trying to stay really focused at work in the mornings which means no late breakfast! I was also really thirsty, and a smoothie sounded great. Knowing myself, a protein smoothie with nothing to chew would leave me unsatisfied, so I also had a mini Flat Out wrap (the 60 calorie ones) with a smear of peanut butter and a few slices of banana.

My protein smoothie had 1/2 banana, 1 scoop chocolate protein, and 1 tbs peanut butter. I always measure my peanut butter. I haven’t had powdered protein in a long time, but I know my body needs more protein with all the lifting I have been doing in recent weeks, so I am trying to honor that. This shake turned out to be huge since I added so much ice, so the leftover bit in the blender went to PB, which was probably about 1/4 of it?

Around 10:30 I was hungry again and had 2 tbs Sabra hummus with a few baby carrots and a few pretzels. Baby carrots are a waste to buy since they are just adult carrots cut up, but these were on sale! I like having mini snacks a couple of times a day between meals. Please note how small this plate is- it fits in the palm of my hand. I eat lots of my meals with small spoons, forks, plates and bowls to make it appear that I am eating a larger portion. I enjoy my meals more that way.

I posted last night’s post quite late, so here is a link in case you missed it!