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Meal Kits Are Flourishing Again and You Heard It Here First

The pandemic has ushered in a lot of changes in a very short time. For many of us, social distancing, wearing face masks, and limiting exposure to groups of other people remain the norm. Many businesses are still mandating that employees work from home, and numerous schools are still using a distance-learning model.

Another change that’s happened, this one more positive than most, is that meal kits are flourishing once more. You heard about them first here on Hungry and Fit, and they’ve surged in popularity. That makes sense given the risks involved with simply going to the grocery store these days. 

Where does the meal kit industry stand currently and what should you know? We’ll discuss all that below.

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fish curry 8

Instant Pot Fish Curry

If you’ve been anywhere near Fit’s social media recently, you’ve noticed she got an Instant Pot for her birthday! She is equally terrified and excited by it. An Instant Pot is basically a pressure cooker. For example, it typically takes 30-50 minutes to cook rice in a traditional rice cooker. With the Instant Pot, it takes four minutes. FOUR MINUTES. WHAT. Yeah. Very exciting. But also terrifying because…explosions. As long as you follow directions, you’ll be fine! So Fit’s been experimenting with it for a bit, and trying different recipes. Using Instant Pot’s included recipe booklet (recipe by Laura Pazzaglia), she made a scrumptious fish curry! I had already made brown rice before and wanted something healthy and flavorful to go with it. What better than wild caught white fish? This curry has a coconut milk base with different flavors like bay leaves and tomatoes to freshen it up. 

Remember, with an Instant Pot, follow the directions! 

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Easy Dessert: Pear Tart with Crumble Atop

What do you do with pears that are getting soft? Bake them! At least that was my excuse for my next baking adventure: a pear tart…crumble…thing. It was a tart/pie in the way of having a crust and baking the fruit, but I also prepared a crumble for on top. It made to be a delectable combination and I will continue to use it in the future. The recipe is based on this, but I altered a good number of things.

photo 4

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Baking Time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients

  •  1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought, whatever you’d like)
  • 3-4 pears
  • 2/3 cup turbinado sugar (used in separate times)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 tspb lemon juice

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Peel your pears and slice them up
Chop, chop!

Chop, chop!

  • Mix the sliced pears with 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl
  • Put the sliced pears with sugars into your pie crust
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and the rest of the sugar together. Then chop up your butter and “cut it” into the flour. You can use a pastry blender, but if you don’t have one like me, then you can just use a fork. You want to press the butter into the flour and sugar until it has a breadcrumb-like consistency
  • Pile it on top of the tart and put it in the oven for 45 minutes!
Putting in da oven

Putting in da oven

I was a little nervous about mixing a tart recipe and a crumble, but it actually turned out really well! And luckily, I didn’t have to use too much sugar. The pears give enough sweetness that you don’t need to dump cups and cups of sugar onto it. Try this recipe out, you won’t regret it! It’s pretty darn easy. And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Voila

Voila

Nomnomnom

Nomnomnom

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BONUS KITTY PIC 

Little baby

Little baby

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Jazz Up Your Ramen

Chris has a serious ramen obsession, and I mean with all kinds. Since we don’t have a usual ramen place here in Boulder, we usually go with the packaged stuff. Now I rarely ever eat that packaged stuff, because it’s not the best for you. However, I did get him off the Top Ramen crap and now he eats the stuff that actually gets imported from Japan (a little more expensive, but worth it). Most people who have ramen have just that–just the noodles with hot water. I, however, dare you to jazz it up a little! Make it healthier! There are many ways to do this, but this is how we did it.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
  • Serving Size: 2
Finished product...oh so good

Finished product…oh so good

Ingredients

  • 2 packets of Sapporo Ichiban ramen 
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1-2 cups spinach
  • 1/3 block firm tofu
  • 2-3 eggs

Directions

  • First, fill up a pot with water, about 4 inches of water. Start on high heat, aiming for a boil. Put the soy sauce in the water
  • Cut up the tofu into squares or thin strips
  • Wait for it to start boiling, and then put in the tofu
  • Turn down the heat slightly and let the tofu boil for about 20 or so minutes (I went and took a shower during this time)
  • Now it’s time to add the spinach or whatever kind of greens you want. Stir them around so they get submerged
Boiling boiling boiling

Boiling boiling boiling

  • When you’re two minutes out, go ahead and crack the eggs into the boiling pot
  • Get out the ramen packets. You can use the flavoring if you want. Put into large bowls so that you have room for all the other fun stuff

photo 2 (30)

  • Now slowly start to pour the contents of the pot into the bowls, you want to try to get the liquid out first and pour as evenly as you can. Then the other stuff will come plopping out too. And that’s basically it! Make sure to let the ramen sit a little bit so the noodles can expand
Not as appetizing as it tasted, but this is what it might look like when you first pour it

Not as appetizing as it tasted, but this is what it might look like when you first pour it

This is a quick meal with carbs, proteins, and fats in it to make it well-rounded. Yes, it’s still ramen from a package, but it certainly didn’t taste or feel that way after jazzing it up. Again, this is just one way of doing it. Next time I might add ground turkey for Chris’, more greens, and play with it! Add nutrients to food to stay hungry and fit!

photo 4 (22)

Chris ended up finishing mine too...no surprises here

Chris ended up finishing mine too…no surprises here

BONUS KITTY PIC 

The cats FINALLY realized Dovah exists last night. They were so curious and interested they didn't want to sleep

The cats FINALLY realized Dovah exists last night. They were so curious and interested they didn’t want to sleep

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Mama’s Rhubarb Pie

Let me start by saying I have the best mum in the whole world. Let me say next that she makes the best rhubarb pie in the whole world. And let me say NEXT that she surprised me by sending me a package Halloween day with fresh-cut rhubarb from her garden two states away along with goodies like a movie and candy. She sent it that morning and it came that afternoon. I couldn’t believe it. Totally surprised me. She’s always sending me pictures and telling me she’s baking a rhubarb pie or crumble and I’m always unhappily drooling in Colorado (she lives in California). SO, I have rhubarb (a lot of people curiously don’t even know what this tart food is) and it really doesn’t require many more ingredients. It’s an easy recipe, but I called my mum a few times to make sure I was doing it right.

My mum and I trying not to laugh

My mum and I trying not to laugh

Finished product. Yes I did make shapes on it

Finished product. Yes I did make shapes on it

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Baking Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups rhubarb (roughly)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 piece pie crust

Directions

  • Thaw out the pie crusts (if you’re doing frozen) by leaving out for at least 15 minutes
  • Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F
  • Chop up the rhubarb into 3/4 inch pieces (roughly) and toss them in a large bowl
Rhubarb from California! Straight from the garden

Rhubarb from California! Straight from the garden

  • In a small bowl, mix the sugar and flour together
  • Now, toss the sugar/flour mixture with the chopped up rhubarb in the big bowl. Mix it around so that the sugar is evenly distributed among the rhubarb
This is the part where I always snack

This is the part where I always snack

  • Put that sugar-coated rhubarb in the first pie tin
Drooling...

Drooling…

  • Now, this is probably the trickiest part: getting the other crust to come down evenly on the bottom crust. So the rhubarb should be a little heaping in the bottom pie tin. Thus, you want to flip that second pie crust so that its bottom is on top.
  • Press upon the bottom crust and rhubarb. Use a fork to press and bind the two crust together all away around the edges. You will get some extra dough so get a sharp knife and slice around the edge to get the rest. Use the extra dough to make shapes or faces!
Looks weird, but I promise it turns out well!

Looks weird, but I promise it turns out well!

  • Make three small slits in the pie to let it breathe
  • Now this next step is to ensure that the pie crust doesn’t burn: get some tin foil, fold it in half and just cover the edge of the crust. It may take a few pieces of foil. Nobody likes a burnt crust!

photo 5 (7)

  • Put it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake it for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F. Then turn it down to 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes. It should be golden brown on top and you should be able to go through those slits cleanly
Just waiting for me to dig in

Just waiting for me to dig in

And that is it! This pie isn’t as fun to make without my mum because I have nobody to tell me not to eat the sugar-laden rhubarb and smack my hand. But it still turned out pretty well. Actually, it turned out to be delicious. The rhubarb was still tart but balanced off with the sugar, and the crust didn’t get burned at all! Maybe it’s in the blood. I’m glad I didn’t botch this one! Thanks, mum! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Nommmmmmmmmmmm

Nommmmmmmmmmmm

BONUS KITTY PIC

Cuddles, obviously.

Cuddles, obviously.

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Easy Cheesy Whole-Wheat Vegetarian Lasagna

The weather is getting colder (I actually saw little baby snowflakes today!) and the body wants warm food. What better to have on a cold night than a steaming plate of lasagna. Great comfort food with plenty of nutrients. This one has less fat than the average lasagna because you aren’t using ricotta. AND it’s whole-wheat! Can’t beat that. I got the recipe from here and then adapted it. Alright, let’s get to it.

Proved to be a wonderful dinner

Proved to be a wonderful dinner

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50-70 minutes 

Ingredients

  • 8 oz box whole-wheat lasagna 
  • 9 oz frozen spinach
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup powdered Parmesan 
  • 3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
  • a few fistfuls shredded mozzarella
  • 2 cups red sauce of your choosing

Directions

  • Cook your whole-wheat lasagna until it is just al dente
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
  • Grease up a glass baking dish
  • In a bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese
Cheeeeeesayyyyy

Cheeeeeesayyyyy

  • Alright, now it’s time to layer this puppy up! Start by laying down the foundation: the first few pieces of lasagna so it covers the bottom of the baking dish
  • Next comes the spinach. Lay about half the spinach that you have on top of the noodles, somewhat evenly.

photo 2 (25)

  • Place another layer of lasagna noodle. Then pour all of the cheese mixture on top of that

photo 3 (20)

  • Then put a little bit more spinach on top of the cheese mixture. And then another layer of lasagna noodle!
  • We’re almost there, guys! Now spread the top of the noodles with your tomato sauce and then sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

photo 4 (15)

photo 5 (6)

  • Now it’s ready to bake! Put it in the oven for between 50 to 70 minutes. Mine took around 60. A good way to tell if it’s done is when the cheese on top is slightly browned. Another way to tell if it’s cooked all the way through is to stick a knife through the bottom and count to ten. If the knife is hot, then you’re good to go!
Chris' protein shake behind it...

Chris’ protein shake behind it…

This was a wonderful dinner. Perfect with salad or some kind of greenery–and don’t forget the red wine! It doesn’t leave you feeling too heavy since it’s a bit less fat than the normal lasagna. And we had leftovers for like 2-3 days! I’m always happy because it means packing lunches are easy! Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

Bon appetite!

Bon appetite!

photo 2 (26)

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BONUS KITTY PIC

photo 1 (14)

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Our Weekend in Pictures

Sorry for the no-Monday post, but I was busy studying and Chris was busy scuba-diving. I thought I would share the weekend in pictures…enjoy!

Chris getting his scuba certification

Chris getting his scuba certification

Great start to a Saturday...

Great start to a Saturday…

Visited tons of farms and went pumpkin picking

Visited tons of farms and went pumpkin picking

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Little Salvation Army visit...

Little Salvation Army visit…

Obviously visited the Humane Society...

Obviously visited the Humane Society…

Chris almost took this guy home

Chris almost took this guy home

Awwwwwwwww

Awwwwwwwww

Video games

Video games

Castle marathons

Castle marathons

Going to the Flatirons Mall and enjoying some Sarku

Going to the Flatirons Mall and enjoying some Sarku

Grocery shopping

Grocery shopping

Some home-cooked meals

Some home-cooked meals

Study snacks (totally stole this from Chocolate Covered Race Medals)

Study snacks (totally stole this from Chocolate Covered Race Medals)

Not to mention WORKOUTS

Not to mention WORKOUTS

Chris surprised me with a 3-course meal from one of our favorite restaurants, Dagabi Cucina

Chris surprised me with a 3-course meal from one of our favorite restaurants, Dagabi Cucina

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BONUS KITTY PIC

^.^

^.^

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Easy Chicken Parm Recipe [Made By a Vegetarian!]

This is my first time making Chicken Parmesan (or better known–Chicken Parm) and I think I did pretty darn well! I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t taste while I cook, which I don’t particularly like, but I was able to feel it out and follow directions and made ’em nice and tasty. I found this easy recipe here and changed it to fit what I wanted. This is a quick fix for any hungry meat-eater and boy did Chris like it!

photo 4 (8)

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
  • Serves: 2-3 people (or JUST Chris)

Ingredients

  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 egg
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used homemade)

Directions

  • Wrap the chicken breasts in some plastic wrap. AND BEAT IT! JUST BEAT IT! Really, smack the heck out of it until it’s around 1/3 inch thickness. Or just eye it.
  • In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, and oregano. In another bowl, combine the egg and salt.
  • photo 1 (26)
  • Now roll those smacked-up chicken breasts first in egg and salt mix, and then, once coated in that, roll it in the breadcrumb mixture. Really coat it.

photo 2 (24)

  • Heat up some oil and once it’s nice and hot, place those breaded-up suckers in. It should only need about 3 minutes on each side, but just keep an eye on them until they’re golden brown. The original recipe calls for putting mozzarella on top, but, ummm, I forgot to put it on and it was just fine without it.

photo 3 (20)

  • Heat up some marinara sauce (I made mine from scratch) and pour on top of the beautiful golden breaded chicken and serve!

photo 1 (27)

It was delicious and Chris literally ate all 4 chicken breasts. I served it with a broccoli-zucchini mix on the side. It’s the perfect meal for after work because it takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s DELICIOUS. It feeds a whole family if you don’t have a freak like Chris who can eat the world (hi Vishnu). Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

yum!

yum!

photo 3 (21)

Homemade sauce

Homemade sauce

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BONUS KITTY PIC 

Close-up

Close-up

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Healthy Greek Yogurt Mini-Cheesecake Recipe

I’ve been wanting to make these for a loooong time. First, the problem was I couldn’t find one ingredient anywhere. Then, it was that I was prepping for the contest, so I stayed away from dairy. Finally FINALLY, both those problems are over. I found the ingredient (Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese) at Wal-Mart (unfortunately) and this past Monday, my contest was complete!

I can hear you saying, HEALTHY cheesecake?! Give me a break! Sure, it may not be better for you than a protein shake, but hear me out. This magical ingredient cuts half the normal fat of a cheesecake and deals twice the protein. Can you say SERVE ME ANOTHER?! I thought so. I got this recipe from here and cut it in half. It was very easy and so so good. Creamy, delicious, and light—and it doesn’t leave you feeling like you have a bowling ball in the tummy, which I appreciate. This is a recipe I will often go back to as Chris and I love cheesecake. You could do it with or without the lemon twist (we happen to like it).

You pretty thang

You pretty thang

  • Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes

 Macros

  • Serves: 6 (you can always double it for a bigger party)
  • Calories: 182
  • Fat: 8.9g
  • Carbs: 19g
  • Protein: 6.8g
^_^

^_^

Ingredients

  • 3 cinnamon graham crackers
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 8-ounce package of Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese & Greek Yogurt
  • 1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners (I used ones that were waaaaaaay too big)
  • Ground your graham crackers finely—I used the bottom of a glass and a bowl…and eventually my fingers

photo 1 (30)

  • Mix in the butter with the graham cracker crumble
  • Put the crumble at the bottom of each cupcake liner, try to make it even

photo 2 (28)

  • Bake for about 5 minutes and let cool
  • Grate some lemon zest
  •  The recipe asks for a stand mixer, but we don’t have one of those. So I used a whisk! Mix all the rest of the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Make it smooth.

photo 3 (23)

  • Pour into muffin liners about 2/3rds full. Mine definitely were not all even. Do what you can.

photo 4 (11)

  • Put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Mine were good at 23. A little cracked, but after refrigeration, they smoothed out.

photo 1 (31)

  • Make sure to let them cool. Then pop them into the refrigerator for about 3 hours before you serve.

photo 2 (29)

Oh so goooood

Oh so goooood

That’s it! You can garnish it if you’re feeling fancy, but I like ’em plain. These are just so good and mini…it’s perfect. And the macros don’t leave you feeling bad. It’s easy to make, easy to eat–what’s better than that? Use this delicious recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

A hot Sajah just chillin'

A hot Sajah just chillin’

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A Healthy Take on Risotto: Mushrooms and Onions Please!

As you know, I’m in an extreme clean-eating phase right now, prepping for contest. Thus, I can’t always cook or bake what I want. I’m okay with it, I’m staying strong and working hard—and I actually enjoy the food, even though it may be bland to some. Anyhow, I found a delicious recipe that fit my macros with some to spare—without skimping on flavor. I used brown rice instead of risotto or white rice. Chris had about three servings of this—he loved it and made me promise I would cook it again. Did I mention this is vegan?

photo 3 (3)

The recipe I found here, was kind of intimidating. It was a lot of steps and different instructions for seemingly the same ingredients. However, I gave myself a good hour and next time I make it, it will take half the time. When I do something once, I learn quickly and usually adept the next time around. I learn by doing, just how I am. This recipe is extremely altered that I don’t even want to base it on that link, but that’s what inspired me. I can’t say I’m a genius, because I don’t come up with ways to make it better, I am just making do with ingredients I have (or don’t have). Alright, let’s get started.

  • Prep Time: 25-45 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 35 minutes
  • Serves: 4 normal people (for us—fed me and Chris…3 servings)

Ingredients

  • 1.5- 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 package brown mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (use fresh if you can)
  • as much garlic as you want (I used elephant garlic, so…A TON)
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • salt & pepper

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F
  • Cut your onion in half. Put one half to the side and leave one half on cutting board.
  • Slice up your mushrooms and clean them. Put them into a hot-water-proof bowl and pour the boiling water on top.
Steeping mushrooms

Steeping mushrooms

  • Turn to the half of the onion on your cutting board and dice it up into little pieces. Mince or cut your garlic here too. What better combination than this?
Chop chop chop

Chop chop chop

  • Get a deep pot ready—one that can go into an oven. Heat the two tablespoons of oil in the pot on medium heat. Put the diced onions and garlic in. Cook for 8 minutes or until nice and soft. ENJOY THAT SMELL.
Best smell ever

Best smell ever

  • Drain the steeping mushrooms but save the liquid!
  • Push the onions in the pot to the side, turn on medium-high heat, and put the mushrooms in. Do not stir. Let them cook for 5 minutes and then turn them over, doing the same no-stirring and let cook on this side for 5 minutes. If a crust forms, that’s totally okay—kinda what you want.
  • Add in the rosemary, stirring so it gets in the mushrooms and onions.

photo 4 (2)

  • Add in the brown rice and let cook for 4 minutes

photo 1 (6)

  • Turn the heat to high and add the white wine, vegetable broth, balsamic vinegar, and steeped mushroom liquid

photo 2 (4)

photo 5 (1)

Mushroom liquid

  • Mix around and get anything sticking to the pot up and off
  • Mix in salt and pepper to taste

photo 3 (4)

  • Bring to a boil, put on a lid, and then put into the oven for 35 minutes.
  • While the wonderful mixture is cooking, coat a pan with oil and start caramelizing the other half of the onion. Cut that onion in moon-slices and once oil is heated, put them in, and salt it. Do a low heat until the mixture is ready. Yum!
Onions caramelizing

Onions caramelizing

  • Take the risotto mixture out and let sit for a few minutes. Now, see, I get kind of impulsive when I cook and don’t always take everything into consideration when I convert a recipe for my own needs. Sure, I cut the onions from 4 to 1, but did I cut down the vegetable broth? Of course not. So, I’m sure the liquid was supposed to soak into the rice and just have solids left. However, ours had plenty of the liquid left—and we liked it that way (we used the delicious stuff to cook stuff the next day)
  • So, do it our way, use a spoon or some kind of utensil to scoop out the rice, onion, and mushroom mix out of the “soup.” Plate it and put the caramelized onions on top.

photo 3 (3)

Came out absolutely wonderfully

Came out absolutely wonderfully

Don't forget to have some greens on the side!

Don’t forget to have some greens on the side!

It looks like a lot of steps, but many of these steps take about 10 seconds. Please don’t be intimidated by this because it really is SO delicious. And easy once you get the handle of it. So it’s not exactly risotto because I use brown rice. However, this makes it healthier—a complex carbohydrate with plenty of fiber to keep you full and slowly digest and absorb into the blood stream. Let me know if you have any comments or questions. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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