Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Do It Yourself Taco Seasoning

Yeah I know it is easy to go and get those single serve sized packs of taco seasoning at the grocery store. But, did you know that you can save money & make a healthier version at home? I didn’t…I needed a push. Or a friend to tell me so. Danica and I were at a warehouse type store and as we past the HUGE containers of spices we had a light bulb moment! Let’s make a HUGE batch of taco seasoning and split it!

OK!

Costco Sized Taco Seasoning 

(This is the site Danica found the idea from originally www.veggieterrain.blogspot.com)


4 1/2 cups Chili Powder
2 1/4 cups Cumin
1 1/2 cups sea salt
3/4 cup black pepper
3/4 cup paprika
1/3 cup dried oregano flakes
1/3 cup onion powder
1/3 cup garlic powder
1/3 cup crushed red pepper flakes

how to make taco seasoning
Toss to combine mashing up any clumps of seasoning. Store in an air tight container for up to 2 years.  Add it to anything you need Mexican seasoning for! Tacos, soups, bean, dips or combine with ranch & sour cream (or Greek yogurt!) for a tasty southwestern dip.

Mexican spices

Since you really only use a couple of tablespoons at a time this is going to last me a while…or maybe not seeing how often I like to cook Mexican dishes at home! Smile hehe

 

Go on and make it! It’s easy & you may never go back to buying those little pouches again!

 

Smile Have a great day everyone!

BYE!

 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Fitbloggin Breakfast Summit!

Wow! That was a FUN weekend! Went by too fast but it really was jam packed with good times!

Started out bright and early with a BART ride into San Francisco on Saturday. This was Danica’s FIRST time on BART! Look how excited she is! hehe

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BART

The reason for waking up at 5am was to join in on the Fitblogger’s Breakfast Summit meeting!

Fitbloggin SF

 

Special thank you to Attune Foods and Annelies for making this possible for us.

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We got cool swag bag! Lots of coupons for great products and a tee too!

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002It was time to eat….I was STARVING so I filled my bowl with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries & 2 pieces of banana. I topped it all off with some Erewhon Strawberry Crisp cereal & soy milk for a tasty AM meal!

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With my cereal & coffee in hand it was time to sit in for the discussion on the importance of breakfast with RD Jae Berman. This was a great chat about how to make the most out of what you eat in the morning. We also talked about snacks and making sure our workouts are fueled correctly too. Jae did a great job helping answer everyone’s questions. Smile

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Ok so in the meeting room at Attunes they have old advertisements on the walls…this one cracked me up! Laxative breakfast food! YUM! haha Smile

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This was a fun way to meet NEW bloggers & be able to re-connect with the ones I previously had met! It was great meeting everyone!

Group shot!

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Cool views from the office…Transamerica building. Can’t really see the pointy top with the heavy fog. lol

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It was out of the Attunes office and off to walk to the Ferry Building for the amazing farmers market they have.  A little fog didn’t stop us….

Ferry Building SF

WOW… it was a BIG market! Loaded with people too!010011

I loved all of the BRIGHT colors…012014015

Ohhh pretty!

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Sunflowers

No photoshop was used in the REDNESS of these tomatoes! lol They were SUPER RED!020

 

I got all excited when I saw the English Peas!021

I bought a bag and fought Sean all weekend with sharing them. lol I still have about 1/2 of the bag for snack!

English Peas

I loved the sign… Little nuggets of heaven!

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Succulents are my THING so I got all excited when I saw this display. Smile Danica’s picture of me cracked me up…I look like bigfoot or something! 039

ooh honey yum!!

HONEY STICKS

What’s Up Doc? Smile 

Carrots037

Fall was in the air….so pretty!

PUMPKINS

Oh BIGFOOT AGAIN! lol Annelies too! Smile

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Ok so we kinda all got separated as we wandered around the market so it was hard to say goodbye to everyone Sad smile But I know Danica & I were getting HUNGRY and decided to head back to grab lunch. We stopped off at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Walnut Creek.Yans China Bistro & Bar

They have great lunch specials even on the weekend!

Salad…

 

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Hot & Sour soup

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Then Danica & I decided to share our entrees Smile

Eggplant with a YUMMY Garlic sauce.

eggplant

This is my go to dish…Chicken with Mixed vegetables. It is in a light garlic wine sauce…so good! It was nice to share the two! Great flavor combos!

Chicken

Sunday rolled around FAST and we woke up and decided to get out on our bikes before the rain came. We went on the trail right in front of our house. Smile

047Napa River Bay Trail048049050052

Can ya tell I was scared taking this picture? lol It’s my 1st time taking pics & riding bikes at the same time. lol Sean kept telling me to be careful. haha

053054All the way at the end of the trail….The Napa River.

056American Canyon Napa Trail

Bike geeks… Smile

love

 

Sean helped me cook dinner last night…  Chickpea tacos! I mostly followed Veggie Terrains recipe found HERE!

Chickpea ideas

 

They were good…I asked Sean what he thought and he said, “they are kinda like fish tacos, minus the fish.” lol I felt the same way…kinda like they were missing something. Meat! oh yeah, it was the meat! hehe Smile

Now I want a BIG steak to make up for my vegetarian day yesterday. lol  I actually need to sit to plan out a few meals this week.

Anyone making a NEW recipe this week??

Ever try that Chickpea Taco recipe? What did you think?

 

Ok off to plan dinners! Have a great day everyone! BYE! Smile