zoodles

WIAW: Wednesday Beers (and food)

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When I first saw What I Ate Wednesday posts a while back, I was a little confused. I thought that these were what people ate ON a Wednesday. I wondered how they captured it – was it the previous week? Was it what they planned for that day? It took a while and then I finally realized that it was just someone’s food – and they posted it on a Wednesday. Whoops. Anyway, for this week, I decided to share ACTUAL Wednesday eats – from last week. So this week’s WIAW foods are actually Wednesday foods! But not today’s foods. Confused yet?

Wednesday morning B and I took a pre-work walk for coffee and pastries. I just LOVE Bloom’s baked goods and if you go in the morning they have a great selection. Their almond croissants are my favorite.

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FW took a nap after our walk so I had time to make myself breakfast after B left for work! A runny egg, some egg whites, sweet potato with coconut oil and grapes. 20160727_095823

Lunch included a few random eats – an arugula salad with a corn salsa (courtesy of B’s mom) and goat cheese, a nectarine and leftover zoodles topped with a few bites of a veggie burger I hadn’t finished the day before.

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I was able eat the lunch with TWO hands because I was wearing FW. He hates being put in the wrap but it’s so nice to have both hands free and he calms down shortly after being put in it.20160727_162118

Afternoon snacks included more PB&J muffins and some beet chips. 20160727_161337 20160727_170913

For dinner, we had plans to meet up with B’s family and go to the Hofbrauhaus for his brother John’s birthday. We snacked on some appetizers (including a large pretzel and this large lunchmeat platter) and I had some of their hefeweizen to drink.20160727_185502

And for dinner? Their roasted chicken and potato salad. It was half of a chicken and I didn’t eat it all – but it made for GREAT leftovers on Thursday!20160727_194347

And that sums up my day of eats from Wednesday. Now, some questions for you:

  • Do you drink beer in the middle of the week? Or mostly on weekends?
  • How do you like your eggs?  I like whites or super runny! Or both (like above).

Meatless Monday: Lomein Zoodles

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

If you read my blog, you know I’m a lover of my zoodler (aka spiralizer). I love making zoodles and sharing the love with friends.

In my effort to try every single zoodle recipe there is – and share zoodles with friends – I had my friend Cuoghi over for Meatless Monday and we made a version of this recipe. It was her first time trying zoodles and I think she’s hooked!

Here’s our minor tweaks.

Lomein Zoodles

Vegetarian Lomein Zoodles

Serves 4

Here’s what you need:

For the noodles

  • 3-4 zucchini (I used 3 regular zucchini and one large yellow squash)
  • 2 Tbs canola oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, diced
  • 1 head of broccoli, chop the florets up
  • 1 cup snap peas
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 inch long strips
  • 1 cup edamame, cooked
  • 1 head bok choy, white and greens chopped
  • 2 large carrots, sliced into rounds
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes

For the sauce

  • 1 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbs soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs hoisin sauce
  • 1-2 Tbs corn starch
  • 1-2 tsp sriracha (to taste)

Here’s what you do:

  1. Prepare the sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients, whisk together until cornstarch is evenly dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Semi-blanch broccoli and carrots – boil for about 2-3 minutes until just softened, then remove and add to a colander to remove excess water.
  3. In a very large skillet or wok over medium heat add in canola oil.
  4. Add red bell pepper and white stems of bok choy into skillet once oil is heated up. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until just softened.
  5. Add in garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, snap peas, carrots and broccoli.Cook all the vegetables for 3-5 minutes until they all start to soften.
  6. Add in squash noodles, green leafy part of bok choy, edamame and the sauce prepared in step 1. Cook until squash noodles are covered with sauce and softened to your liking, about 3-5 minutes.
  7. Garnish finished dish with sesame seeds. Add additional hot sauce or sriracha as needed.  Enjoy!
3 bowls, plated

3 bowls, plated, with chopsticks

Lomein Zoodles - ictw

leftover zoodles for lunch the next day

leftover zoodles for lunch the next day!

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite Chinese food dish? I love all dumplings. B likes lomein so this dish was definitely a winner with him!
  • What’s your favorite spiralizer recipe?
  • Chopsticks or fork? Chopsticks all the way! 

It’s been a while, but I’m joining the Meatless Monday linkup with Tina Muir and Confessions of a Mother Runner and The Fit Foodie Mama.

photo MM new 2_zpsndxbaium.jpg

 

 

 

WIAW #22: No Groceries.

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Does anyone else feel like it should be Thursday, or even Friday? I’m still recovering from the Fourth of July and a busy work week.

Anyway, these were my eats from Monday. I got back late Sunday from our trip to Milwaukee and didn’t go to the store. I didn’t meal prep. So here  it is – what you see is when I don’t have groceries (until the end of the day).

The morning started with another smoothie bowl. I know – for a person who doesn’t like smoothies, I’m starting to really enjoy smoothie bowls. They can’t replace my typical eggs, but when you don’t have any groceries but do have some frozen fruit, a Vitamix and protein powder at work, this will do. Again, it doesn’t look that pretty but it tasted pretty good. It was some Hemp vanilla protein powder (free sample I had gotten in the mail), some water, some ice, and some frozen strawberries and blueberries. Topped with some flaxseed and chia seeds for texture. AND eaten with a spoon. Evne though some of it was in a glass (see how much it made?!)

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Lunchtime I headed over to one of my favorite downtown sandwich and salad places, Stone Oven and got my favorite salad. Janea’s salad. Feta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, bread, croutons, tabbouleh and couscous salad. Such a good meal. I was in food heaven.

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Followed by a nectarine and a few nuts (not pictured) AND some white chocolate chips (I had already eaten some when I took the photo).

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I also had some Werther’s and mustard. Yes, I like mustard packets. By themselves.

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For dinner,  I had plans to introduce a friend to some zoodles. She had never had them before, so I headed over to Heinen’s after work to pick up some goodies to cook and we ended up making a dish for Meatless Monday – vegetarian lomein with zoodles instead of pasta. It was pretty good!

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She brought over dessert – some paleo zucchini brownies and cookies she had made. They were both really good! I’m a purist when it comes to dessert, and these didn’t taste like traditional cookies and brownies – but they were still really tasty. I may have taken some for leftovers. Zucchini brownies for breakfast anyone? (It may defeat the purpose, but they’re so delicious with peanut butter too :))

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So there you have it. That was my day without groceries until the evening. Click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

Some questions for you:

  1. What’s your favorite quick and/or on-the-go breakfast?
  2. Have you ever had any paleo desserts? What did you think? Do you recommend any recipes?
  3. Anyone like me? Do you eat mustard plain?

WIAW #19: Zoodles and Birthdays

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 12 Comments

Guess what day it is … that’s right – it’s What I Ate Wednesday! These were my eats from Monday. It included a new zoodle recipe and a birthday dinner (one of a few) with my friend/running bff Nicole.

The day was also my first day of my training for the August half marathon I signed up for. I know – a half marathon, in August, sounds hot, humid and notsomuch fun. Oh well. I’m doing it! Anyway, day one was 3.5 miles so I tried to run them pretty fast (for me) and then finished with kettle bells and the elliptical. My post-run breakfast was made for me by B! Egg whites with italian hot peppers, mixed veggies and spinach.

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For lunch, I had made myself a salad. I made salads Sunday during some meal prep and also some quinoa salad so I mixed it all together. Topped with a Heinen’s flamegrilled veggie burger. YUM. No dressing this time.

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Snacks the day included a nectarine, strawberries, mixed nuts and carrots.

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For dinner, Nicole came over. It’s the start of her birthday week and she confessed to me that she has NEVER HAD ZOODLES. I know, right?! So in honor of her bday week we had plans to make pad thai zoodles for dinner. I snacked on some of those peanuts in the background before/after cooking too.

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For dessert, I finished a glass of red wine (yes, it’s leaning on B in this picture) and may have also had a peanut butter oatmeal M&M cookie.  These cookies were REALLY good and I’ll definitely be making them again and sharing the recipe soon!

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That was it! That was my day. How did I do? Two questions for you:

  • Do you like oatmeal cookies? What do you put in them?
  • What’s your go-to Thai or Vietnamese order? Pad see mao or pad see ew for Thai, Pho or Bun or cabbage salads for Vietnamese! 

Meatless Monday: Zoodles with Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 13 Comments

I can’t stop making zucchini noodles. Seriously, I love my zoodler (okay I guess the correct term is spiralizer). It’s so easy to use and makes cooking vegetables SO MUCH FUN and getting B to eat veggies SO EASY. Spoiler – if you read my blog often you know that B is not my child; however, in the past few years he’s gotten much better about eating vegetables. One of the ways? Creative usage of veggies. And this recipe definitely counts. I mean, who doesn’t love oodles of peanut buttery sauce with their noodles (see what I did there?)… now, just substitute with zucchini and it’s even better!

Want a Thai-inspired, delicious meatless meal? Here you go. Oh, and while we were eating this, B said, “What’s in this sauce? I would definitely eat this again.”

Zoodles with Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce

Zoodles with Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce

Makes 2-3 servings.

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 3 medium zucchini, spiralized into zoodles
  • 1 large carrot, spiralized
  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
  • 1/4 lime, for garnish (optional)

For the sauce:

  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 5 Tablespoons of peanut butter
  • ½ lime, juiced
  • 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1-2 Tablespoons water, to thin out the sauce somewhat

Here’s what you do:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, honey and red pepper flakes. Add water if needed to thin out the sauce – should be a thin paste. The zucchini will thin out the sauce even more later. Set aside.
  2. Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add oil and diced shallot and saute for 4-5 minutes or until translucent and fragrant.
  3. Turn down heat and add in zucchini and carrot noodles. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until zucchini is heated through and at the texture of your liking  – B likes his zoodles somewhat softened and not as al dente so I cook mine for about 4-5 minutes.
  4. Remove noodles and add to the large bowl with the sauce.  Toss until noodles are well-coated.
  5. Serve and garnish with peanuts. Enjoy!

Zoodles with Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce

Interested in a not-so-meatless version? I added shrimp to B’s dish and cooked them with the shallots first before adding in the zucchini. See?

B's version!

B’s version!

For more posts on my love for zoodles and some recipes, here you go: https://icrashedtheweb.com/tag/zoodles/

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have a spiralizer yet? What do you make with it?
  • What’s the best vegetarian meal you’ve eaten lately?

Join this Meatless Monday linkup!

http://tinamuir.com/honey-lime-3-bean-dip/

Meatless Monday Linkup!

WIAW #13 : A fully meatless Monday!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

It’s time for my lucky #13 What I Ate Wednesday post. I’m really so hooked on WIAWs now – I can’t stop reading everyone’s blog posts, viewing the photos (most of which are waaay better than mine) AND getting new ideas on what to eat. Are you interested in joining the fun or checking it out? 

This is my Monday eats – and it was a Meatless Monday! One of these days I’ll do an actual Wednesday or a weekend, but alas, weekends sometimes the blog is so far from my mind (as is documenting my glorious eats) but as soon as Monday rolls around it is back to business.

So here we go. Welcome to my Monday!

Breakfast, along with coffee (I needed it!) was egg whites with hot pepper, made by B of course. With spinach and frozen veggies.

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I had gone for a 6 mile run with Nicole in the morning and I was parched. So in addition to my usual lemon water and Crystal Light, I had a Nooma. Delicious! (Disclosure – Nooma sent me some to review as I train for the Cleveland Half Marathon. I would be drinking it even if they hadn’t sent it-  I’m hooked!)

I match!

I match!

All of a sudden it was lunchtime. My froworker, Wendy and I, made a quick stop to Hingetown during lunch – she picked up lunch and I (had brought my lunch) picked up some homemade Ginger Kombucha from the Cleveland Tea Revival. Yes, I have a new favorite kombucha!

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I drank it all afternoon, including with my lunch. A delicious and colorful salad that I had made. Arugula, lentils and roasted cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato and eggplant. And some hearts of palm. I looove hearts of palm!

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Snacks during the day included some carrots. Surprise, surprise.

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And some raw cauliflower dipped in Frank’s Red Hot. Don’t question it – just try it.

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And a late afternoon sweet tooth snack of some homemade granola. I forgot to take a picture of the bag, but here’s what it looked like when I cooked it:

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For dinner, I made some zoodles with a spicy peanut sauce. I pretty much mixed up 4 or 5 recipes and it came out GREAT! I’ll be sharing it for an upcoming Meatless Monday blog post.

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Dessert included a butterscotch cookie I had made AND some chocolate covered fruit that B had made me. That’s right – B made me some chocolate covered fruit! Our 4th anniversary was last week and the traditional fourth anniversary gift is fruit (and flowers!) and he stayed up one night while I was sleeping making me chocolate covered strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. #lucky

ate half before photographing ...

ate half before photographing …

Also ate half the blueberries before photographing ..

Also ate half the blueberries before photographing ..

Perfect end to a delicious day!

Some questions for you:

  • What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had covered in chocolate? I tried chocolate covered dried pineapple once and liked it – along with chocolate covered fritos! 
  • Carnivores – do you ever have meatless days?

 

WIAW: Cookies and Zoodles – it’s all about balance!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 21 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Here is a typical day … why is it typical? Because I had zoodles for lunch and cookies for a midnight snack. It’s all about a balance right?

The morning I started my day with my usual. I’m so predictable. Egg whites and veggies all the way! If you like something, why mess with it, right? OH and we had a new bag of pistachios at the office so I had a few of those with my eggs.

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Lunch was leftovers! I had made some zoodles in an avocado pesto sauce for dinner the night before, so I enjoyed that with plenty of snap peas. AND kombucha! My first time trying this flavor. It was okay, made the kombucha even earthier than usual.

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Snacks during the day included:

Carrots and unsalted mixed nuts

carrots

carrots

Some homemade granola (I get on granola-making binges sometimes and can’t stop. Which is good because I love eating it and sharing it!

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I had to work somewhat late so B made dinner! And what a dinner it was. Steak (cooked just the way I like it – medium rare), avocado, asparagus and broccoli. I am back to eating meat and this was the first steak I’d had in at least 3 months.

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After dinner, I got down to baking business. Which is what I like to do — except for some reason these cookies took me 2 hours to make. Whoops! It meant a late night – and late night of cookie tasting as well. I finished off my evening with a few of these peanut butter oatmeal cookie bars:

I didn't eat the whole plate ...

I didn’t eat the whole plate …

So so good!

Today’s linkup is with another Cleveland-dweller, Clean Eats, Fast Feets!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you eat the same thing for breakfast every day? What is it?
  • Do you like kombucha? Any flavor or brand recommendations?
  • How do you like your steak? Medium? Rare? Overcooked? Not at all?

WIAW: Sunday! (Cake for Breakfast)

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 11 Comments

I decided to switch it up a little bit this week – I’m sharing with you a day of Sunday eats! I typically share a weekday post but guess what – I remembered to take food pics on Sunday!

I woke up fully intending to have a great breakfast of eggs and beans – and B was ready to make it of me! – but somehow ran out of time and only had 15 minutes for breakfast before my Sunday morning plans, meeting Nicole for a walk and tea. Oh well. That meant breakfast was quick – but still delicious! I had made lemon cake Saturday so it sounded perfect for Sunday breakfast. IMG_20150329_164012 Then it was time to meet Nicole. We took a nice walk and enjoyed a pot of tea while we caught up. She just got back from Australia so it was awesome to hear some of her stories. That’s my favorite from Cleveland Tea Revival – ginger turmeric.

a whole pot of ginger turmeric for me!

a whole pot of ginger turmeric for me!

I got home about 1 p.m. and was starving. Guess lemon cake doesn’t fill you up? I luckily had some leftovers from Friday night waiting for me. Note – I forgot to take a photo of it on Sunday, but here’s the photo of my veggie burger on Friday. I had about half leftover.

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And with the veggie burger I had some more veggies! I did some meal prep and ate some of the veggies I was preparing – spinach, brussels sprouts and some additional frozen veggies. Oh and this new flavor (for me) of La Croix. Pretty yummy!

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Sunday dinners are typically with B’s family, but I had to work and we had tickets to see a final movie at the Cleveland International Film Festival, so we had a quick dinner planned. Below – my concoction from the Heinen’s salad bar. I assure you it was really good and about 1.3 lb. of food. #notashamed

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Some questions for you:

  • Do you have standing Sunday night dinner plans? We typically go to B’s parents house for dinner and I love it!
  • Dessert for breakfast – anyone else guilty?
  • Favorite salad bar toppings? Quinoa salads, edamame, hummus, beans and the Heinen’s roasted red pepper tofu (in the photo above on the bottom) – so good! Oh and I also love some good Krab (fake crab). I don’t know why – but it’s something I enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Zoodles with Spinach Basil Pesto

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I love my spiralizer. Have I told you that lately? Okay, I did just last week … But seriously, I’ve even written an ode to my spiralizer.

I love my zoodler.

It makes cooking so much fun.

I feel like a kid.

There you have it – my haiku to my spiralizer. There’s just something about it that makes cooking so much fun and reminds me of when I was a kid playing with play dough and making mystery meals … you know what I mean? Now that that’s off my chest (#awkward), here’s a quick and easy recipe that I made last week for St. Patrick’s Day- a super green, yet healthy, vegan dish for B and me. Sorry, I’m Italian and we had already had corned beef on Sunday  – so for the holiday it was super green noodles.

zoodles and pesto

Zoodles with Spinach Basil Pesto

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 medium-to-large zucchini
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • a large bunch of basil – about 3/4 cup
  • 1/2 cup spinach
  • 1/4 cup toasted chopped or slivered almonds (toasting them brings out a nutty flavor)
  • 3-5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (depending on how thin you like your pesto – I like mine a little thicker so I use less olive oil)

Here’s what you do:

  1. Using your zoodler (okay, or spiralizer) cut your zucchini into fun noodle-like pieces. When done, I put my zoodles in a pile on the cutting board and like to cut them in 1/3s or 1/2s so the pieces aren’t so large. Set aside.
  2.  Add garlic, basil and spinach to blender or food processor. I use my food processor and it works just fine. Mix well.
  3. Add in toasted almonds, continue to blend until a thick paste forms.
  4. Add in olive oil, one tablespoonful at a time and continue to blend until paste becomes somewhat creamy. Add in any extra salt, garlic, basil or olive oil to taste, as necessary. Mine makes about 1/3 cup pesto, which is perfect for this recipe. You could probably use a little less pesto but I like my zoodles coated!
  5. In a pan over medium heat, toss zoodles with pesto and heat for about 3-5 minutes or until just tossed and warm. Enjoy! Makes two healthy dinner portions.

Top with any of your favorite toppings – I like mine with parmesan cheese (not vegan), diced tomato, more fresh basil and even sometimes sautéed onions.

I’ll definitely be sharing more zoodle recipes soon – I’ve already made shrimp zoodle scampi, zoodles with homemade tomato sauce … and even used my spiralizer on sweet potatoes to make curly sweet potato fries!

Some questions for you:

  • What’s the next Meatless Monday recipe you have planned? I’m joining with this MM linkup and of course checking out MeatlessMonday.com for ideas!
  • Zoodler fans – what zoodle recipe should I make next? This is my second one shared in a week.
  • How do you make your pesto? I typically use basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese and pignoli nuts, so this is a different version for me! 

Garlicky Spicy Shrimp and Zoodles

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Have I mentioned that I got a spiralizer? I know, I’m behind the times. I had been using my mandolin to make zoodles and even a knife to make thin shreds for salads (like a papaya or apple salad). But guess what – the wait is over. I finally found a spiralizer I love, that meets my needs (is easy-to-use, doesn’t take up a lot of space and doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles) and I tried you out. So beware – there may be an influx of zoodle recipes coming your way!

Here’s the first recipe I tried out. Good news – even B enjoyed it!

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way shape or form giving up pasta. I am Italian and pasta holds a special place in my heart, especially homemade pasta. So yes, to answer your question (I knew you were going to ask) – I will still be making homemade pasta. BUT this is great for a quick, easy, healthy weeknight dish. The following meal took less than 30 minutes to make!

Garlicky Spicy Shrimp and Zoodles

Garlicky Spicy Shrimp and Zoodles 

Here’s what you need:

  • 2 medium-to-large zucchini (mine were each about 8-10 inches in length and 3 inches in width about)
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. divided
  • 3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 2 shallots
  • 1/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
  • 14 large peeled and deveined cocktail shrimp (note: you can use raw shrimp, just cook them a little bit first before anything else – I just didn’t want to handle raw shrimp)
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (to taste)
  • salt, to taste

Here’s what you do:

  1. Use your spiralizer to make zoodles! I have this spiralizer (iPerfect Kitchen Envy Spiral Slicer Bundle – Vegetable Spiralizer – Zucchini Spaghetti Pasta Maker)  and LOVE it because it’s perfect for my needs – its simple, easy to use and easy to clean and takes up practically no space in my kitchen. I used the larger size zoodler setting for this recipe (my spiralizer only has two settings which is perfect for me). I chopped the zoodles in about half so they weren’t super long. Set zoodles aside.
  2. In a large nonstick pan, add 1/2 of extra virgin olive oil. Add chopped shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until start to become translucent. Add in garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant.
  3. Add in shrimp and be careful not to overcook- toss with oil, shallots and garlic until just warm.
  4. Add in zoodles, broth and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook the zoodles – I like mine just a little bit softened – if you prefer yours al dente, definitely don’t cook more than 2-3 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and toss with rest of olive oil, basil and hot pepper flakes. Serve while warm.

Enjoy!

Garlicky Spicy Shrimp and Zoodles

Some questions for you:

  • What noodle dish should I try with zoodles next? Spaghetti and meatballs? Chicken lomein? Pasta puttanesca? Spaghetti and clam sauce? Another?
  • What’s your favorite pasta dish? Not talking with zoodles, but talking REAL DEAL PASTA! I love any pasta with seafood, especially spicy dishes. I also love B’s homemade turkey meatballs 🙂