Authentic Italian Baking Day

I spent the majority of my day today in the company of my wonderful Nonna (grandmother) and my lovely mom. I have been wanting to learn some of our family recipes so I am able to pass down our traditions. My mom's side of the family is from a tiny town in the region of Abruzzo in Italy. Abruzzo is famous for bocconotti, chocolate cream tartlets. Whenever our family goes or comes to visit from that side of the family, they always bring bocconotti and my immediate family goes nuts for them! Nonna makes them around the holidays each year (not because they are a Christmas treat, but because they are so much work!).

I learned the recipe and translated our handwritten Italian recipe to English.

I can't completely describe what they taste like. The exterior is a dense, lemon cookie-like crust that isn't overly crunchy and is still somewhat soft at the same time. The interior is a chocolate mixture that is so satisfyingly delicious that you cannot help but want more.

The Final Products! Yum!

While we baked the bocconotti, we whipped up some pizzelle. I've made these before from recipes I've pulled from the internet but they are no comparison to Nonna's recipe. It was so simple, yet so different. We kept some plain and rolled some into little cannoli-like rolls filled with extra creme from the bocconotti. The way Nonna makes them actually keeps the pizzelle much softer than your run of the mill variety from a bakery or supermarket. The typical version are crunchy, sweet crackers while these are more like super thin waffles or crepes.

I have been running a variety of changes to make like using the pizzelle rolls to make cannolis (which I make often). I also have been thinking about a way to make reversed bocconotti (chocolate crust with a lemon/vanilla cream).
Anyway, I had to blog about this fun experience today because I had a ball!

Have a delicious evening!!
TheHealthyAngel

Yesterday

I have been so busy organizing a mini-baby shower for a friend at my now ex-job, but I wanted to share my fun meals from yesterday!

I absolutely LOVE breakfast food! It makes being a healthy eater in the morning a little difficult for most, but I have some ideas to slim down some classics! Yesterday I enjoyed Chocolate Chip Banana French Toast.
 It was DELISH!!!! (I know delish isn't a real word, but they were just that good.) I made them with 35 calorie whole wheat bread, egg beaters and skim milk. I try to make everything a "one pot" meal so I actually mix the milk, beaters, cinnamon, and brown sugar into 1 bowl. Dunk the bread and grill in a frying pan. I had to take a picture of my pan because its hot pink and totally cute!
As I cooked the slices(individually) I pressed 6-8 chocolate chips into the already cooked toast. I made 3 pieces and topped them off with a whole sliced banana and a drizzle of maple syrup. I washed it all down with a cold glass of milk! Yum!!!

For lunch I ate at Wegman's and should have taken a picture of my Indian cuisine but I was starved and ate it up.

My boyfriend has been asking me to make tacos for a while so since I had some time last night, I made tacos. I sauteed a bunch of veggies (asparagus, red peppers, zucchini & onions), cooked up the ground beef and prepped several sides. The sides includes low-fat shredded mozzarella, low-fat sour cream, guacamole, and diced tomatoes. I am a vegetarian so I just ate the veggie portion but he told me the meat was tasty.

Enjoy the photos! I'll post more from my adventures tomorrow. I am baking some old family recipes with my mom and grandmom! Yay!!

Have a delicious evening!!
The HealthyAngel

Tuna Waldorf Salad

I have off this week so I decided to make something different each day. Today I decided to make a tuna waldorf salad for lunch. I didn't have any walnuts so I subbed them for almonds. I used a pink lady apple and light mayo.
It was delicious and I ate it in record time!

Breakfast

Its been rainy and snowing around here lately so I decided to have some heart-warming oatmeal for breakfast. I mixed old-fashioned oats with a chopped pink lady apple, ground flaxseed, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon.
It is cozy and comfy with a slight sweetness. It was very good!
See you at lunch!
Have a delicious day!
TheHealthyAngel

Cereal!

I love breakfast food and cereal is one of my weaknesses. I saw this new Special K Oats and Honey the other day and decided to check it out. I liked it because its one of the only Special K cereals that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup in it.
Its so good! I added chopped bananas and blueberries for some added sweetness! The cereal stays pretty crunchy, too!
Have a delicious day!
TheHealthyAngel

This should be posted as TheUnhealthyAngel

Happy first day of Spring! I spent some QT with my boyfriend today. We drove around and spent time in the beautiful sunshine. To top it off we got rootbeer floats at a local drive-in restaurant. I asked for diet root beer but they didn't have any. I don't even want to know how many calories were in it but it was good! I only drank half because I got full.
So this is a sign that warm weather is on its way! Beware of "summer foods" that are calorie rich and nutrient deficient. Ill be blogging much more frequently!
Have a delicious first day of Spring!
~TheHealthyAngel

Breakfast

This morning I made a quicky oatmeal breakfast! Oatmeal is one of my favorite foods. This morning I put a scoop of ground flaxseed, 12 almonds, about 2 tbsp dried blueberries, cinnamon and brown sugar. It was so yummy! As you can see, I was not being very green with my styrofoam cup, but I was at work. Try it out! Its yummy!

Have a delicious day, bloggers!

Bbbbbbback!

Oh my goodness! Well after about a week of having the flu, I am back! Sorry I only blogged for like 2 days and then fell under the weather! I'll be blogging all of my meals again as of tomorrow. Today was pretty plain for dinner, 1/2 Progresso soup. :(   My appetite has been so awful and my tummy shrank a bit. Hopefully, the last bit of scratchy cough goes away so I can start exercising again! Any heavy breathy and I go into a coughing fit (seriously no fun).

Off to bed!

Sweet delicious dreams!!!

~TheHeathyAngel

Sickly lunch

So my planned lunch turned into saltines and tea in bed. Hopefully I can push it to dinner. Overall I haven't eaten much today which is no good on the basal metabolic rate front. You have to eat to burn! So here is a pic of my cracker and also of one of my dog, Tini eating my cracker lol!

Have a delicious day!

~TheHealthyAngel

Slow start...

I woke up feeling a little under the  weather today so I am slow getting started and posting this. This morning I decided to follow an old tradition my mom instilled in me about being sick and eating. Her mantra always was and still is, "If you are sick, you eat light. Toast with jelly and no milk because it will upset your stomach." So I do live by this bit of advice.

This morning I toasted 2 pieces of Arnold's multigrain bread, spread some sugar-free strawberry jam on it and partnered my toast with a 2 egg scramble.

I want to also mention that this amazing mug is compliments
of my older brother! He got it for me at Disney! <3

My mom also swears by the power of Camomille tea, which I do love, but didn't have any. So today I went with Pomegranite Raspberry Green Tea to soothe my aching throat. I toss a splash of Agave nectar into the tea because I have a terrible sweet tooth.

I found a recipe I want to make for lunch, so we will see how it turns out!



I love when tea is so hot it practically burns the bacteria from your throat!
I know it's strange but I hope it works!



Have a delicious day!

~TheHealthyAngel

Just Getting Started!

Hello Everyone!
If you have read my profile information you already know this, but I want to introduce myself. I am a 25 year old Diet Technician from NJ. I have a passion for food, nutrition and fitness and love learning about these fields. I enjoy trying new foods and creating fun twists on everyday staples.
Lately, I have felt like I am in a "food funk". I know it is partially because of my crazy schedule and lack of planning. I am hoping that blogging my meals and exercise habits will help me out of my "food funk"! Please feel free to comment, share or offer your own ideas! I will submit a description, photo and review of my meals each day.

Let's get this thing started!

Tonight for my snack  I enjoyed a fruit parfait wrap! I made it with a vanilla crepe, low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh strawberries and blueberries. I sprinkled some organic granola for the crunch factor!

I really enjoyed this snack and scarfed it down! The crepe ripped a little, so I ended up eating it with a fork. Next time I think I might double up the crepe to avoid yogurt spillage.

The picture is from my cell phone, so it is a little over-exposed!

See you tomorrow!

~ TheHealthyAngel