Right now, when I open my fridge I don’t find all that much. A single apple, left over black beans, a carton of coconut milk, and some catsup is just about all I can find in that pit of emptiness. Unfortunately, I haven’t been to the grocery store in a while. Even though I don’t have much, I still refuse to eat out!

I live in New York…it costs way to much money! Besides, whatever I come up with from the limited ingredients I have will probably be more enjoyable than just going out and ordering in.

Last night, when I was making my breakfast for the following morning, I realized that I had to use the remaining pumpkin that was sitting in the fridge. I decided to see what would happen if I made my overnight oats with some added pumpkin. I was not disappointed with my results…I mean common…everything is better with pumpkin!!

 

Pumpkin Breakfast Pudding

• 1/2 Cup dry oats
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground flax seeds
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 8 drops stevia (or 2 packets)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 banana sliced

microwave oats, water, chia, flax, stevia and vanilla for 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a mason jar. Mix in sliced banana and pumpkin. Put it in the fridge overnight and eat it in the morning. ENJOY!!!!

 

Happy Wednesday everyone!

 

xoxoSYN

Well, I want to start this post by saying happy birthday to the most incredible guy in the world… my boyfriend, and best friend, KEITH!!!!!

Things have been crazy on my end. The show has been fantastic! We have gotten such wonderful feedback, and wonderful reviews!!!

 

SO COME CHECK US OUT IF YOU CAN!!!!!

 

OK..now that my shameless plug is over :)

The weather here in New York has officially shifted. It has been quite chilly, and naturally, I have been craving warm foods. As I’ve said before, my time is generally quite limited as far as cooking is concerned, so I usually try to have some ingredients pre-prepared so that I can just throw something together. On my last day off, I tried to whip up some Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Cream Sauce to add to some of my dinners for the week. As I was half way into my cooking process I realized I was out of coconut milk!!!! I had to think FAST (I make food seem so dramatic).

I had a box of low sodium butternut squash soup, and decided to sub that for the milk. I also added about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce. After I added the finished product to some veggies, it reminded me so much of Penne a la Vodka (sans penne)!!!

 

A la Vodka sauce 

• 1/2 roasted butternut squash
• 1 roasted red pepper (from a can packed in water)
• 1 cup butternut squash soup (or milk of choice)
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 tbs parm cheese (or nutritional yeast)
• 1/4 cup low fat tomato sauce
• 1 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste

First, roast or steam your squash. Then Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. (If your Butternut Squash is still hot from the oven, be careful that the blender doesn’t overheat!)

Veggies

• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Mushroom
• LOTS of chopped fresh basil
• 1 TBS low fat cheese
• 1 TBS Parm cheese
• (Optional: some sort of protein)

Cook veggies (excluding the basil) in a sprayed pan with about 3 TBS of water. When the veggies are cooked, add about 3/4 cup of sauce, and the remaining ingredients. Cook until hot, transfer to a plate and ENJOY!!!

 

Talk about comfort food :) I honestly ate this exact thing three days in a row. SO DELISH.. and my favorite.. GUILT FREE!!!

Happy Sunday all!!!

 

xoxoSYN

Last night we opened Big Fish on Broadway!!! It was such an incredible night, and I was so happy to celebrate with so many wonderful people!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of my gorgeous boyfriend :)

Come check out the show if you can!!! You will NOT be disappointed.

Today is my one day off, and I have been the laziest I’ve been in a long time. At first, I felt a little guilty. Then I decided that I deserved a day on the couch in my pjs. Sometimes, you’ve just got to give yourself a day of Netflix, sweatpants, and the couch!!!!!

The best, and most productive thing I’ve done today is make this bad boy:

I’ve seen a couple of interesting recipes online for carrot cake smoothies. The idea is really intriguing to me. I eat a ton of fruit, so I am always trying to add more veggies into the smoothies that I make. That being said, this may be my new favorite smoothie! It was so delicisous…the kind of delicious that makes you sad when there is none left.

SO….After you go and see Big Fish, have this Carrot Cake Smoothie. It may prove to be one of your best nights EVER!!! ;)

Carrot Cake Smoothie

• 2 medium sized peeled carrots
• 1 whole frozen banana
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (I used coconut milk)
• 8 drops stevia
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbs raisins
• Optional: 1 tbs vanilla protein powder
• 4 ice cubes

YUMMMMMMM

xoxoSYN

Every have one of these days?:

Wake up: eat breakfast

crave chocolate

Go to work: Eat lunch

Crave Chocolate

Work out

CRAVE CHOCOLATE

Get home: Eat dinner

CRAVE CHOCOLATE

That was my day! For some reason, my brain was absorbed with thoughts of a rich dark-chocolate goodness.

I tend to not keep baked goods in the house. Mainly because I have no off switch, and once I have 1 cookie, I want 10. Today, I tried to satisfy my chocolate craving by eating fruit, nut butter, even putting cocoa powder into my yogurt. NOTHING worked. I realized that the only way to satisfy my craving was to give in….eek.

Now, clearly it’s easy to go over board when baking. Usually, a spoon is licked, chocolate chips are tossed into your mouth, and then of course you have to sample the end product. By the time you are done baking, you probably have eaten 3 servings! Whenever I bake, I try not to consume to many extra bites, licks, and tastes, but sometimes it is inevitable!!! I mean, common, we’re all human!!!! The only way for me to make these choices better is to alter traditional recipes to be what I like to call “Guilt Free!”

I decided to head over to my favorite dessert blog: Chocolate Covered Katie, and was instantly intrigued by this recipe. After making some serious substitutions (I wanted it to be fat,sugar and gluten-free!) I came up with these.

 

 Free Brownies

(Gluten, Sugar and Fat FREE)

1-WW Points Plus per LARGE brownie!

Makes 6 large brownies

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup bobs gluten-free flour (any flour will work)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 TBS egg whites
• 1 1/2  TBS stevia
• 3 TBS unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie!)
• 1 mashed banana
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (I used coconut milk)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 TBS dark chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients. MIX WELL. Transfer to a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  ENJOY!!!

These came out really thick (just the way that I like my brownies.) I will warn you, they aren’t rich and chocolaty like traditional brownies, but I felt like they did the trick.

I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful fall weather!!!!

xoxoSYN