Omelets & Traveling Yoga, typical Tuesday?

After a long day at work I was in the mood for a nice n’ easy dinner!  Plus we’re about to get some crazy summer-like thunderstorms apparently (confused weather much?), so I wanted to be cozied up on the couch by the time that happened 🙂

So I turned to the incredible egg!

Eggs are such a great protein source to incorporate into a weekly menu.  They are nutritious, economical and can be so versatile! 

Tonight’s Mexican inspired egg menu included:

• Fresh side salad
• Egg omelet w/ veggies & queso fresco
• Caramelized plantain w/ vanilla ice cream

Step 1:  Salad chop.

Romaine, cucumber, tomato & onion.  Sea salt & pepper.

Step 2:  Omelet

More veggie chopping.

Then a quick saute.

Followed by the addition of 2 eggs + 3 egg whites (let this cook over medium-low, covered).

And then some of my favorite new cheese discovery (!!!)

Queso fresco. 

Love this stuff – it has the saltiness of feta coupled with the creaminess of a mozzarella (that’s my latest comparison at least!)

Served with a salsa topping.

These flavors were a match made in heaven 😀

The omelet kind of browned a bit at the bottom, which gave it the most wonderful flavor!  Then the creamy and salty queso fresco with the salsa… oh yummmm!

Step 3:  Plantain dessert

If you haven’t used plantains in your kitchen yet, I highly recommend giving these a try!  From a savory Chicken & Plantain Stew or Roasted Plantains w/ Chile & Cilantro to tonight’s dessert option, these things can be used in so many ways.

A little butter, cinnamon & cane sugar did the trick

The smells were amazinggggggggg!

Served warm over vanilla ice cream of course 😛

Sweet, warm, creamy… all the things a cool weather dessert should be!

And before I go, for all you Richmond readers (heyyyy!), I wanted to let you know about something new that I tried out the other day, The Traveling Yoga Sisters! 

A few of the girls at my work and myself had a private lunchtime yoga session with Tracy and we loved it!  Their concept of offering affordable yoga classes at different locations (no studio = no rent = $5 session, we practiced in a karate gym!) is one that definitely caught my attention. 

I was so excited at how much I loved the class!  They not only offer private small group sessions, but also weekly group yoga — and guess what, I’m going back again this weekend 🙂 

Let me know if you’d be interested in joining too!

Have a great night everyone 😛

Chobani Pasta Salad!

The Christmas tree is up!!!

And the dining room is set for a Christmas feast 😉

And I’m ready to share an easy dinner with all of you featuring one of my favorite things ever 🙂

Chobani Greek yogurt!!!

Do you not love this stuff? 

 Not only do I love the flavored ones straight up (hellllloooo pineapple lovahhhh) but also using the plain as a substitute for items such as mayo or sour cream!

And with 18g of protein, it’s a pretty great swap 😉

Don’t ya think?

So tonight I added some plain Chobani to the mix of a classic macaroni salad to come up with a low-fat, high protein version of everyone’s (or maybe just my?) favorite pasta salad!

And so what if it’s not summer anymore, this is good anytime of year IMO 😛

Italian Macaroni Salad w/ Greek Yogurt Dressing

• macaroni noodles (about 1/3 of a large 32 oz. box), cooked & cooled
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can black olives, halved
• pepperoni, quartered
• cheddar cheese, cubed (about 2/3 package)
• pepperjack cheese, cubed (about 1/4 package)

Dressing

• 1 container Chobani plain yogurt
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 5 tblsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1/2 tblsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tblsp dried basil
• sea salt & black pepper to taste

This pasta salad comes together in 1-2-3!!

While the macaroni is boiling (according to directions) get all the other salad ingredients ready to go.

Chop the veggies.

Christmas colors!  Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking it too 😉

And prep the pepperoni & cheese.

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water until the pasta is cool.  Add to a large bowl along with the chopped veggies…

and the pepperoni & cheese.

Lookin’ good already!

At this point, pop the pasta salad in the fridge to chill while you mix up the dressing.

This dressing couldn’t be easier. And instead of being full of heavy calorie-dense mayo, it’s made creamy by the addition of the smooth & rich Greek yogurt. 

Just combine the ingredients above and give it a stir!

You will be amazed at how creamy & delicious this turns out without any mayo what-so-ever 😀

When you’re ready to serve, lightly stir the pasta salad with the dressing until the combined. 

And into the bowl it goes!

Mmmmm mmmm, this turned out great! 

I was curious to see how The Man would react to his “yogurt pasta salad” but let’s just say he had seconds and I got just a few compliments 😉  Love that he has such an open mind to trying these new combos and love even more how much he also enjoys them!

So there you go, a healthy undercover way to prepare a delicious pasta salad classic!  Even though it may not be 80 degrees outside where you are (or where I am!), I hope you’ll give this salad a try 🙂