Magic Bullet Miracle.

You know that you have good friends when they buy your spouse birthday gifts that are really meant for you. Like when my wonderful friends bought my hubby the Magic Bullet (yes, THE Magic Bullet from the Infomercial) for his birthday. Oh, the possibilities...

like my Chocolate Milkshake that I made for dinner tonight. I wish I could take credit for the recipe, because it's genius, but I got it from the wonderful Skinny Chef website. Usually when I tell people of these whacky creations they respond with your typical, 'you crazy girl, you get on wit' yo' crazy self.'

But in all seriousity...this milkshake is insanely creamy and yummy. Yes, it does contain fat, but the fat from the avocados is the heart healthy kind - as opposed to the artery clogging kind found in ice-cream.

Chocolate Avocado Milkshake - From Skinny Chef

1/2 Avocado
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 tbsp sugar*

Blend in blender (or, if you are so blessed, in your magic bullet) and voila. I seved mine over ice. Magical!


*After 27 years of homage to little yellow packets, I have decided to use actual sugar. I was raised on saccherine and aspertime, and now at age 30, I feel that the few extra calories are better than the unknown effects of artificial chemical sweetners.

Dressed for Success!

Having a soy intolerance means that I can't eat 99% of commercial salad dressings out there. They are all made with soybean oil. All except the Renees brand. I looooooooove Renees dressings - all of them! I always have at least 3 going in my fridge at the same time. Also, they have great recipes on their website which I do love to browse.

There is only one problem with my love/obsession with Renees dressings -the kind in the jar-really high calories (80 per tbsp). I do like my big salads where I douse my lettuce in creamy dressing. This week I discovered a little trick to stretch my dressings without adding muchos calories. I add 2 tbsp 1 % buttermilk to 1 tbsp dressing. I get the creaminess and the moistness (c'mon, you can trick your brain that it's not rabbit food) without upping the fat intake. I've heard some people do the same thing with yogurt, but I find it tastes too sour.

Runway in a Bowl

So after spending an entire day (9-5) in the mall yesterday, there is no denying that Fuschia is the it colour for Spring 2009. But fuschia soup?

I must admit, the colour looks a little weird in a plate, but this 3 ingredient, 3 minute prep dish is perfect for spring. It is actually quite pretty - like - Easter egg pretty. I originally took this recipe from the original Moosewood cookbook.

Chilled Fuschia Soup

1 can of beets, drained
3 cups 1% buttermilk
1 tbsp minced dill (or 2 dill toppits cubes)

Put all ingredients in a blender. Serve right away, or chill for at least 1 hour. Personally, I think it tastes better after it's chilled.

I am a yoga dropout.

again.

I don't have an answer for this, so I'll just put it out there into cyberspace and see what happens. I have yoga guilt.

I don't love yoga, and I seem to be terrible at it due to my very short arms and non-existant torso, but I feel like I should be doing it because it's healthy and it's supposed to clear your mind or whatever. But every time I go, I get frustrated at how much I suck at it and how boring it is to actually clear you mind. So I feel guilty.

Is yoga guilt a Jewish thing? Lord knows we have a monopoly on guilt.

So I've spent the past week doing Bikram Yoga, which is yoga in a room that's heated to 37 degrees celsius. My body does not tolerate heat well, so I thought this would be a nice challenge. Suprisingly, I enjoyed the heat and find it did help me relax and stretch.

The thing about yoga is it supposed to help you cultivate patience. But so is trying to move a pen across the table with your mind. Just because they say it's supposed to happen, doesn't mean it will....sigh....

I think it's time I bind my downward dog and take it for a hike!