Lifestyle with Melendy

a mom sharing her Recipes, Inspiration & Life

food

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Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

Mashed Cauliflower was something that used to scare me. Our family has adapted our eating for my husbands diabetes, I took on this beast. What I discovered is that Mashed Cauliflower can be amazing, and even the kids will eat it if done correctly! Here is my recipe!

 Ingredients

  • 1 Head of Cauliflower
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese 
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (reserve)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 stick Butter softened

Seasoning to taste – 

  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
chopped Cauliflower

I start by chopping the head of cauliflower.

I steam this and preheat the oven to 400F

Then I prep all of the other ingredients – the sour cream, cheese, and butter. I also prepare the seasoning in a small bowl for easy combining.

Then when the Cauliflower is Al’dente I place it in the Food processor a few pieces at a time.

mashing up the cauliflower!

I then add the Butter, sour cream, and seasoning.

slowly add the cheddar cheese, and mix well.

Pour the Mashed Cauliflower into a greased 8×10 pan and cover with reserved cheese.

Cover with Aluminum foil, and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

(you may remove aluminum foil after 30 minutes and broil for 2 minutes to toast the cheese if you desire)

I serve with steak or chicken, and a salad. Everyone in our family loves this recipe – and the carb count is low so no guilt about seconds!

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Stopping the guilt

How often do we guilt ourselves about the things in front of us?

The cookies in the staff room, the cake at the party, the cheese on our taco…

I have had an unhealthy relationship with food for a large part of my life. I eat my feelings, I am over weight, under nourished, and often guilt myself out of eating what I want because I don’t think it is what I “need”.

Today is my mom’s birthday. I knew there would be cupcakes in the staff room. I knew we would be encouraged to eat them, and I knew that I would want one. I dreaded eating it. I have been eating healthier options, smaller portions, and upping my hydration. So eating a cupcake the size of Texas was not in line with what I had been wanting to do for my health.

But you know what – I ate the fucking cupcake.

I ate it because I wanted to. Because I knew that cupcake was worth the calories in. I knew that celebrating my moms birthday was worth more than my waistline. I do not want to guilt anyone who counts calories, diets, or overall wants to watch what they put into their body. I am a track and field and cross country coach, a preschool teacher, and a mom. I know the importance of being careful what you put into your body. I also know the importance of your mental health when it comes to taking care of your body.

So – why do we feel guilty when we do something/eat something/buy something that we want?

Because we are programmed to feel that way. To not accept pleasure. To give more than we take. To please others.

I want to stop the guilt – not be a stone cold jerk – but – Eat the cake, or buy the dress, or go to the movies alone because we want to be alone – or say no to plans that don’t work for us. At the end of the day – being happy – truly happy – is so much more important than a number on the scale, the calories consumed – or the balance in our bank account.

So what can we do to stop this guilt?

For me, it means scheduling things I love. I go get my nails done every few weeks- no polish – just a naked manicure, cleaning my cuticles, a 30 minute period where someone else is taking care of me.

It means signing up for races I want to run and then doing them – no matter what my time will be, no matter how little prep time I have because of life.

It means going out with friends once a month, continuing to sing in the group I love, and coaching track and cross country because I love helping others.

And every now and then – it means eating the cupcake.

What do you do to lessen your guilt, and increase your happiness.

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Stuffed Chicken – Pinterest day 3!

Stuffed Chicken for the win!

Well, we are well on our way to culinary genius here – Or maybe I am just swimming in yummy Pinterest inspired foods!
Recipe one and two were amazing, and I decided to go for recipe three!!

On the plate today was a Stuffed Chicken breast.
The prep time for this meal was really short.

I started with a pan, and the olive oil.


I added the crushed Garlic, and heated for about a minute.


then I tossed in the Spinach and heated through until the spinach was wilted.

I removed that from the heat, set the oven to 425F

black and white becasue who wants to see raw chicken naked?

Next I butterflied the chicken breast

I used Mozzarella because we love Mozzarella then placed the spinach on top.


I used olive oil on the bottom of the pan, placed the folded closed chicken breast in the casserole dish


sprinkled with Paprika


and baked for 30 minutes


we tested the temperature – who wants food poisoning? No-one!

I paired the stuffed breast with baby Arugula
We almost couldn’t eat it all! So delicious!!!

The original recipe can be found here!
And the only adjustment we made was type of cheese!
Let me know what you think If you try it!

In Conclusion

Just Pinning a recipe is fine for inspiration, but I am so glad I got inspired, ran to the store and made these delicious meals!

Let me know if you re inspired to make your own Pinterest inspired week.

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Zucchini Au Gratin!! Pinterest day 2!

My Pinterest recipe journey continues!
Day one we loved the squash and lobster dish so much, we decided to dive into the next recipe!
This recipe is a Zucchini Au Gratin – and it was super delicious.

The recipe called for 3 Zucchini, but I know my family, so we double the recipe from the start!
First I sliced the squash using my mandolin –

Then I tossed it with the salt, placed it in my colander over the sink, and waited…

While waiting I prepped the steak tips…I marinate them in a bag with Olive oil, Salt, pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce.That sits in the fridge for about an hour to set.

Then I prepped the cheese sauce!
I couldn’t find the pre-shredded Gruyere, so I grabbed a block of it and shredded it myself

Here is where I made an almost fatal error!
The shredded cheese was for the top of the casserole – But I melted it in by accident because I was so excited to be using such awesome cheese!

Stir stir stir!

Pepper added to the Zucchini before the pour

Pour the sauce over the whole dish.

I then added the cheese on top that wasn’t mistakenly put in the sauce!

Baked at 400 for 30 minutes, and it was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!

A few things – The original recipe claims prep time is 10 minutes – I disagree…But I did also shred my own cheese. Slicing the Zucchini alone took some time. Other than that – I loved this recipe and I will be making it again!!!
Here is the original recipe!
Let me know if you try it and what you think!!

See you tomorrow for the next recipe!!!

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Lobster & Squash for dinner!

I found this amazing Lobster and squash recipe on Pinterest, and I had to try it!
I ran off to the grocery store and grabbed the ingredients.

I knew I did not have time to cook a lobster – nor do I like to cook a lobster. I strolled up to the seafood counter and asked the gentleman if they can cook lobster for me – and they do! YES! Ingredients purchased – time to head home and cook!
Problem number one – The grocery store was out of spaghetti squash! so, I improvised and used squash noodles – zucchini, summer squash and butternut squash noodles! I baked them in the oven for just a few minutes – I wanted them to be warm when I added them to the butter!
Next I chopped the garlic, sage, and basil, and sprinkled the sea salt in. I started to melt the butter! This recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup of butter, I used that much, but, you could cut it back if butter is a problem for you.
Then I added the chopped ingredients into the butter. I let them sit on low for a few minutes.


This part was hard because it smells so good and you just want to eat – even the lobster was ready to dive in…

I put the squash in the butter and used tongs to make sure it was all coated in the herb butter. After about 2 minutes, I added the lobster, and then let it all swim around for a few minutes.

I picked out my big bowl, and portioned it in half – half for me, half for Steve, and I sat down and loved every last bite of it! I will absolutely make this again, and may find other variations to make for my non seafood eating children!

Here is the original Pin that I found –
and here is the recipe with my food adaptations – You decide which way you love it! Let me know if you try this recipe and what change about it!
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Lobster & Squash Noodle

Ingredients

  1. Squash Noodles – Zucchini, Summer, butternut
  2. 3/4 cup salted butter
  3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  4. 2 tablespoons sage, chopped
  5. 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
  6. 2 pinches sea salt
  7. 2 cups lump lobster meat (I used one lobster)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Place squash noodles on baking pan.
  3. Place in oven and bake for aprox 15 minutes.
  4. Once the squash is done cooking, place the butter into a skillet over medium heat.
  5. Wait for it to melt then add the garlic, herbs, and sea salt.
  6. Once the butter sauce becomes fragrant add the squash noodles to the skillet.
  7. Toss to coat the squash.
  8. Finally, add lobster and toss everything to heat through, about 1 – 2 minutes.
  9. Then, remove immediately from heat so you don’t overcook the lobster.
  10. Place in the individual dishes and sprinkle with additional chopped herbs!
  11. Last but not least – DEVOUR!

 

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To Pinterest or not to Pinterest?

We have most likely all found Pinterest.

My mom uses Pinterest, My dad uses it, My husband is using it to finish our basement. I use it – for many purposes, but I often pin with no intention of actually using those pins. In the words of a friend – Pinterest is an Online Life – One we usually wish we had. Workouts we won’t do, outfits we won’t wear, drinks we won’t make, crafts that are too messy, and food we won’t cook. Reality is – we want to, but we won’t.
After hearing this, I decided to take action. I looked at my Pinterest boards, and found one workout that I thought I could do daily, and several recipes that I wanted to try.

I decided to Use my Pins to actually make some changes!

First – I decided to do a plank Challenge for my workouts – since Steve and I are cruising soon, I am very conscious of my waistline.   I am about 10 days in, and I am seeing and feeling some results. Let’s see where I land on Port day! I am also going to the Gym Daily and doing about 50 minutes of Cardio, combined with healthier eating – I am not down pounds yet, but inches are melting off! Yay for small successes!

Now for recipes

I found several Low carb recipes, and some even looked appetizing! I looked at our week, and I decided that with a low impact week, we were going to try these out. (Be on the lookout for how these went over the next few days!) Here are the recipes that I am in love with for this week.

Monday: – Spaghetti Squash and herb butter lobster!
Tuesday – Steak tips with Zucchini AuGratin
Wednesday – Spinach and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken breast and Arugula salad

I will be back daily to update you on each recipe, and, what I would do differently!
Want to see the recipes I Pinned on Pinterest?
Follow me and my boards!
And be sure to check back here for how these recipes turned out!