Pear Walnut Arugula Salad

pear arugula salad So far, my first week at the hospital has been going great! I have had the opportunity to work on some really interesting cases, and I am learning a lot. I have been pretty tired every night when I get home (probably just not used to regular “grown up work hours” since I have not worked full-time in forever!), but I heard some of my classmates on other rotations are only getting a few hours of sleep – so I really can’t complain. The biggest challenge so far has been eating healthy now that I don’t have the chance to come home and have lunch everyday like I used to. I have tried and failed all week to make and bring a lunch with me, and ended up eating at the cafeteria. Don’t get me wrong, the cafeteria has healthy choices, but when I walk by and smell the pizza or fries or chicken fingers, I can’t resist! It’s horrible. I have not eaten so poorly like I have been this week in a long time. My goal for next week is to start packing easy salads, like this pear walnut arugula salad, and healthy sandwiches for my lunch. Note: If you don’t like blue cheese, you can switch it out for any crumbled cheese you want, or omit the cheese completely.

Do you bring your lunch to school/work, or do you usually eat out at your favorite place?

I am so excited to share my book with you tomorrow!! It has been a lot of work, but worth it in the end because I am thrilled with the end result. More details soon! XoXo

Pear Walnut Arugula Salad

Prep time

10 mins

Total

10 mins

Cuisine: Salad

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 cups organic arugula, trimmed & rinsed
1 pear, sliced
½ cup sliced beets
¼ cup blue cheese
½ cup walnuts

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing

⅔ cup olive oil
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp black ground pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly chopped parsley

Instructions

Add arugula, pears, beets, blue cheese and walnuts to a large salad bowl and toss.
Add all salad dressing ingredients to a cruet and shake well (you can also add them to a small bowl and whisk together).
Drizzle salad dressing over the salad and toss together just before serving.

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Low-Fat Banana Cream Pie

Apr 2 by Kristianne

banana pie This week is an exciting one for me. I survived my first day of rotations today (yay) and I am launching my first recipe book this weekend – stay tuned for more details! After a long day at the hospital, I came home and indulged with this low fat banana cream pie I made for Easter yesterday. Oh, how rude of me – Happy Easter by the way! I hope you had a wonderful day with family and friends, and plenty of chocolate of course

This banana cream pie is really easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the filling to set in the freezer! When I was looking around for recipes, I saw that most were made with egg yolks and/or heavy whipping cream (it is a banana cream pie after all…what did I expect?!). I try to avoid heavy whipping cream in desserts, because come on, have you looked at the nutrition label? There is more saturated fat in two tablespoons than I probably eat in one whole day! I created this recipe for those who want to enjoy a creamy banana filling, but without all the fat from heavy cream. Don’t expect it to taste like a traditional banana cream pie, but I think it is full of banana flavor and the texture is excellent. Keep the banana cream pie in the freezer until you are ready to serve it, then place outside to defrost for about 20 minutes so it gets nice and soft.

bananapie1 bananapie2 banana cream pie bite

5.0 from 3 reviews

Low-Fat Banana Cream Pie

Prep time

1 hour 20 mins

Total

1 hour 20 mins

Type: Dessert

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Crust

12 chocolate sandwich cookies (can substitute graham cracker crust)
2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling

4oz light cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
⅓ cup non-fat milk
2 small bananas (or 1½ large)
¼ cup light Cool Whip
Light whipped cream and sliced almonds for topping

Instructions

In a KitchenAid 5-speed hand blender or food processor, grind the chocolate sandwich cookies down to fine crumbs (or graham crackers if using these instead).
Add the crumbs to a pie dish, along with melted butter.
Mix together with a fork until the cookie crumbs are completely wet, then press against the pie dish to form the crust.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, add all of the filling ingredients to a stand mixer and mix (or beat with electric beaters) until smooth, about 4 minutes.
Transfer filling to pie crust and freeze for 1 hour, or until filling is firm.
Store in the freezer until ready to serve, then set out for 20 minutes before cutting.
Top with light whipped cream and sliced almonds.

FTC Disclosure: KitchenAid provided me a 5-speed hand blender free of charge.

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Currant Scones

Mar 27 by Kristianne

currant scones

This recipe for currant scones is one of my favorite scone recipes. Even though I love chocolate and usually make scones with chocolate chips, sometimes it is a nice change to make them with fruit. Currants go very well in scones, and pairs nicely with jam in the mornings. They are best when heated up for 5 minutes in a toaster oven on 350F before serving. You can eat them plain, with butter, or with your favorite jam. I also like having them for an afternoon tea break! See also: Chocolate Chip Scones, Blueberry Scones

We just got back from our Spring skiing trip to Lake Tahoe, and it was so much fun! I love that it is only a few hours away from San Francisco to such a nice “getaway” location. Most of the snow was melted, but the lake looks breathtaking any time of the year.

emerald bay

We attempted a hike around Emerald Bay (see photo below), but two couples passed us warning of bear tracks so we turned back. With a backpack full of food on my back and knowing that the bears are waking up very hungry this time of year, we didn’t want to risk it!

currant scones with tea

5.0 from 2 reviews

Currant Scones

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total

25 mins

Type: Dessert

Serves: 5

Ingredients

6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup Nature Box Zingy Currants www.naturebox.com/
1 egg
⅓ cup sour cream
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a food processor or in a large bowl using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly.
Add the zingy currants and stir in with a fork.
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, sour cream, milk and orange juice. Pour over the ingredients in the other bowl and mix with a fork until the dough is moist and begins to hold together.
Flour hands and gather the dough into a loose ball, then turn out onto a floured surface. Roll to about ¾ inch thickness.
Cut out triangles and place on an ungreased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Sprinkle sugar over the tops of the scones.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until scones become golden-brown and firm to touch.
Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm

Makes 10 scones

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Mar 22 by Kristianne

Mediterranean salad We are off to Tahoe! I actually packed everything on time for once in my life so hopefully we can leave before the Friday traffic hits SF! I’m serious, do not try to leave San Francisco on a Friday evening via the Bay Bridge…ever! It gets nasty. Before I go, I wanted to leave you with this healthy Mediterranean quinoa salad. I love roasted artichokes and tomatoes, but I love them even more in a salad! I have been obsessed with quinoa lately (you should see how many boxes I have stocked in my pantry!), it is just so much fun experimenting with different quinoa recipes. I couldn’t stop eating this salad, I just love the flavors. It really is one of those salads that make you stop after taking a bite and say, “MMMM” out loud. Or maybe it is just my quinoa and feta cheese addiction that makes me love this salad so much…

Oh, by the way, have any of you living in the Bay Area seen the Bay Bridge lights at night? I still haven’t gone to check them out! From the videos I have seen, I think what they did is so cool!

Have a happy Friday and great weekend!

5.0 from 4 reviews

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total

30 mins

Type: Salad

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

2 cups cooked organic white quinoa
1 cup arugula, trimmed and rinsed
1 can/jar artichoke hearts
1 cup organic cherry tomatoes
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
Ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice cherry tomatoes and artichoke hearts in half and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add 1 tbsp olive oil, and pepper and mix well.
Spread over a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Add quinoa, arugula, feta cheese and roasted vegetables to a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle olive oil over the salad and sprinkle desired amount of ground black pepper over the salad.
Toss everything together before serving.