Wins and Losses and THREE Recipes

My, oh my, do I have a lot to share with you today! :)  I really just wanted to share my wins, but I've been promising the ice cream maker story (which I count as a loss), so I figured I owed it to you.  So to start us off - my week, in wins and losses:

Wins - first good voice lesson in 3 weeks (I was suffering from laryngitis but it finally cleared up), manageably full week of work, meetings & social things, lots of kicking baby happening, a much needed visit to Dr. Reiff (toxicity, some issue with my large intestine - who knew?, histamine reaction - my hands have been swelling & itchy on our nightly walks around the neighborhood, and my usual stress reaction), [edited to add:] a super fun dinner date at Whole Foods with my awesome little sister, and one and a half delicious recipes accomplished!  so stoked about that last one.

Losses - pregnancy hormones & ailments came together in a fit of sobbing last night (which will undoubtedly bring the return of the dreaded laryngitis) over my sciatic pain on my right side, a spider greeting me with a web in the hallway right outside my bedroom door this morning (and I had no choice but to kill him :/ ), 4 pounds gained since my last visit to the midwife a month ago (which is technically only a half-loss, since that's right on track, but I was hoping to make up for the 8 pound gain from the month before - oops!), one moderately failed (although Matt doesn't agree) attempt at frozen yogurt.

Although the losses paragraph looks longer, I actually did have more wins than losses this week, so that's a good thing!

Now on to the part I know you're all waiting for anyway - the food!

We'll start with the loss, and save the absolute BEST for last.

Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt with Carob Chips

I started with this recipe from healthyfoodforliving.com and per usual, tweaked it for my own edification.

I ended up with:

Ingredients:

•  3 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt *see note
• 1/2 cup room temperature natural peanut butter*, creamy or crunchy (I used crunchy for extra texture)
• 1/2 tsp truvia (then added another 1/2 tsp just to my bowl which helped)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used Trader Joe's alcohol-free version)
• 2 big handfuls of unsweetened carob chips (from the bulk aisle at Whole Foods)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurts, peanut butter, truvia, and vanilla extract. Stir until well-mixed.
2. Two options: (I used option a.)

a) Freeze according to ice cream machine manufacturer’s instructions, folding in the carob chips after churning. Serve immediately as soft-serve, or transfer to an air-tight container in the freeze until “ripened” (hardened).
b) Fold in the carob chips. Spoon mixture into an air-tight container and place in the freezer. For soft-serve consistency, serve the frozen yogurt after about 2 hours of freezing. Otherwise, let the fro yo sit in the freezer until firm (at least 5 hours). If you are having trouble scooping the fully-frozen yogurt, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

*note: I'm sure you could also use any non-dairy yogurt of your choice if you're vegan, although I haven't put that to the test.
*note: I'm assuming if you're looking at this recipe at all, you're not allergic to peanuts.  If you are, feel free to attempt it with almond or other nut/seed butter of your choice, but know that has also not been tested by me.

Three reasons this was a fail in my book, but not Matt's:

1) Our refrigerator STINKS!  Things on the top shelf of the fridge constantly freeze, but things in the freezer don't stay frozen - ice disappears & everything ends up freezer burned and horrific regardless of how it is packaged.  We left the bowl for our ice cream maker in the freezer for 2 whole days (instructions said it should be completely frozen in somewhere from 6-24 hours depending on the freezer)... When I took it out to use it, it still wasn't completely frozen, which impacted the operation of the ice cream maker :(  We ended up having to put the "frozen" yogurt in the freezer to actually freeze it.  After just 24 hours, it was a nearly-impossible-to-scoop block.  Grr.

2) 1/2 tsp was NOT an appropriate amount of sweetener for this recipe.  I'm not sure what would have been better (I'm tempted to try coconut palm sugar next time actually), so I need to experiment with that.  Adding another 1/2 tsp to my two scoops helped a bit, but I still wasn't happy because...

3) I didn't like the peanut butter - Greek yogurt combo.  I think I would have been happier with maybe the Stonyfield Farms plain yogurt for consistency/taste, although it would definitely not have the same protein punch that Greek yogurt has.  I think Greek would be fine in other recipes (fruit flavors, perhaps?) but I didn't love it with the peanut butter.

Matt has been enjoying it I think, but I haven't eaten any more since my first bowl the day after I made it. I'll experiment some more with it, and keep you posted on future developments!

Now for the highlight of my week:

I took my first bite and announced, "I'm awesome!"  (to which Matt responded, "and modest!") :)

Please, if you never try another recipe from this blog, make this for yourself!!! You won't be sorry!  (Of course, I recommend waiting until the weather is a little cooler, since my oven heated up my apartment something dreadful!)

Roasted Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza

• 1 pizza crust (I used Against the Grain's gluten-free three cheese crust)
• 2 cups marinara sauce (approx) - I made my own so see below for that recipe too!
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4" slices
• olive oil
• turkey pepperoni minis (optional)
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese* (to taste)
• shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese* (to taste - I used two "sprinklings")
• dash crushed red pepper (optional - I left it out to test my homemade sauce flavor!)
• dash oregano (optional - same as above)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Lightly coat veggies in olive oil and lay out on cookie sheets in a single layer.  Roast until lightly browned (about 10 minutes), then turn each piece and continue roasting until other side is also lightly browned (about 10 more minutes). [I roasted my veggies 15 mins each side as the original recipe from Cooking Light recommended, and ended up with about 1/3 completely charred!  Oops!  Adjust for whatever your oven requires and keep a close eye out!]
2. Reduce oven temp to 375*F.  Layer crust with sauce, roasted veggies, pepperoni & cheeses, top with spices & bake 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is slightly crisp.  (I used a baking stone, but you could use a cookie sheet for soft crust or bake directly on the rack for crisp crust.)
3. ENJOY!! I promise you will!

*note: If you're vegan/dairy-free, feel free to substitute any non-dairy cheese product of your choice.

Easy Tomato Basil Sauce (adapted from the Food Network)

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• Dash cinnamon (this is my favorite part!)
• Dash nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Coat a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the oil and warm over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until soft. 
2. Add the crushed tomatoes & spices. Turn the heat up slightly to medium and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Stir in the basil and the remaining olive oil. 
4. Toss with spaghetti, if desired - or use for the amazing pizza recipe above! 

I have enough sauce left over that we'll probably put it on brown rice pasta later in the week, and I'm sure it will be just as delicious! :)  Hope you all try & love this as much as I did!  My next experiment is making my own crushed tomatoes instead of using canned.  I'll keep you posted on that too!

Have a great cinnamon weekend!!