What's On The Menu?

This post is just a little something that I whipped up for dinner today, honey glazed tilapia, black beans and corn mix, and jasmine rice.

Ingredients:

• onion
• bell pepper
• garlic
• canned corn
• black beans
• tomatoes
• tilapia
• rice
• spices: cinnamon, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder
• honey 

Rice: I love jasmine rice, possibly because it is such a fragrant rice, I don't necessarily think it has that different of a flavor than white rice, but I'm sure that others may disagree.

 Corn & Beans:  I'm not exactly sure what to call this side dish, other than corn and beans.  I used a bell pepper and onion to give a little more depth to the dish.  For seasoning I only used some salt, pepper, and Sazon Goya seasoning (to add even more flavor saute the veggies in bacon grease).  After the veggies have been sauteed and the corn, beans, and canned tomatoes (I drained and rinsed the canned corn and beans).   Allow the dish to simmer on medium heat for 10-15mins.

 Honey Glazed Tilapia: Season the fish with salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and cinnamon then coat with either olive or safflower oil.  This time I chose to saute the fish this time, but it is also amazing when grilled.  The key is to drizzle the honey over it before taking it off the heat.  This way the honey forms a nice crust over the fish.

Before serving drizzle a little extra honey over the fish.  Since tilapia is such a mild fish it can stand up to a lot of flavor so don't worry about over seasoning.

What's on the menu?

Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise

adapted from All Recipes
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 burger w/ mayo bun + avocado • Old Points: 8 pts • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 362.6 • Fat: 14.0 g • Protein: 18.1 g • Carb: 50 g • Fiber: 15.1 g • Sugar: 7.1 g
Sodium: 786.4 mg (without salt)
Patty alone, no bun, no avocado, no mayo: 4 pts plus 


Ingredients:

For the Spicy Chipotle Mayo:

• 3 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise (Hellman's)
• 1 tbsp canned chipotle in adobo sauce

For the Black Bean Burgers:

• 16 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jumbo egg
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 cup quick oats (use gf oats for gluten free)

• 4 whole wheat 100 calorie buns (Martin's)*
• 1 small hass avocado, sliced thin

Directions:
Combine mayonnaise and chipotle, set aside.
Dry the beans well after washing, extra moisture keep the burgers from sticking. In a medium bowl, mash beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, cilantro, onion, and garlic, then add oats, then eggs and spices. Then stir into mashed beans. 
Divide mixture into four patties (using slightly oiled hands helps) and place them onto a flat surface covered with wax paper. (If it's too wet, chill the mixture 30 minutes in the refrigerator or add another tablespoon of oats)
Freeze at least 2 hours before cooking or keep frozen until ready to cook.
Heat a lightly sprayed skillet to medium heat and cook frozen burgers about 7 minutes on each side.
If grilling, preheat grill over medium heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil; grill 7-8 minutes on each side or you can bake in the oven at 375° on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Self Improvement

Hello Readers,
If you've been keeping up with my last few posts you know that I am on a mission to find a meaningful relationship.  The last couple steps I've taken have involved me taking a good hard look at myself and figuring out what I bring to the table.  This next step is also an introspective one:
Step 3: Self-Improvement
Now unless you are Jesus himself, there is room for improvement. This step is not meant for you to be harsh on yourself and make you dwell on your imperfections, but it is important that you are real with yourself.  Just like I had you write down all of your strengths, I want you to write down your weaknesses.  The goal of this step is to take initiative in making yourself a better half.  For example, let's say you have bad credit, your not in healthy physical condition, or you aren't very social, these are all issues that can be fixed with some time and effort.  There is never a obstacle so great that it cannot be overcome.  It helps if you at least recognize it is a problem, from there you can find ways to improve it. It's important to remember that not everything can be solved in a day, some things may take months or even years to fix, but once they are you will feel such a great sense of relief knowing that you overcame a great hurdle.

Ex.  Large amount of debt/Bad Credit:  get in contact with the bank or creditor and come up with a solution to minimize or eliminate your debt.  In this economy many people are having trouble and most companies are willing to work with you.  Make sure to have a reliable source of income and most importantly make a budget for yourself and STICK TO IT!!! You also want to pay yourself first by putting at least 10% in a savings account that can be used for emergencies.

It's vital that you remember that no matter how bad your situation may seem it can be fixed.

Blog Shout Out

I just wanted to take the time to give a shout out to my best friend Michelle and her cousin for starting a beauty blog. Check it out at www.beautythugs.blogspot.com

Father's Day

Life Lessons

You may have thought I didn't see,
Or that I hadn't heard,
Life lessons that you taught to me,
But I got every word. Perhaps you thought I missed it all,
And that we'd grow apart,
But Dad, I picked up everything,
It's written on my heart. Without you, Dad, I wouldn't be
The (woman)(man) I am today;
You built a strong foundation
No one can take away. I've grown up with your values,
And I'm very glad I did;
So here's to you, dear father,
From your forever grateful kid. By Joanna Fuchs

Know Your Role

In my last post I introduced some of the steps I'm taking in order to find a meaningful relationship.  Step one was to play up your strengths, I made this the first step because it can be so easy to fall into a negative mindset when thinking of why you're single, this way you are encouraged to think of the positive before even having time to get depressed.  As I sat to make a list of good things about myself I realized that I'm a catch... This is not to sound cocky, but to get you to understand that you are in fact worth it!  Too often I am surrounded my beautiful, intelligent, and successful women who feel that the reason they're single is because they simply aren't qualified.  This couldn't be farther from the truth, the problem isn't in what you lack, but in how you present yourself.  Lacking confidence is the equivalent of smelling like the falafel you had for lunch, you may not realize it, but everyone can smell you.  It's became apparent to me that a good portion of the steps I'm taking aren't necessarily to snag any man I choose, but to make myself a person any man would be proud to call his woman.  After all getting the man is the easy part, it's keeping him that's the challenge.  But don't worry if you follow these steps like I am the man will want to stay.

Step Two:  Know Your Role
Before you even get into a relationship it is important to know what type of woman you are and what type of woman you plan to be for a man.  Let's face it, not everyone is meant to be wifed up, but if you truly feel it's something you deserve, then proclaim it.  Now just because you think you deserve to be someone's girlfriend/wife doesn't mean every man is going to see you that way.  There's nothing wrong with going out and having fun by all means do you! But if you want to be taken serious as a contender for love you have to walk the walk.  The fact is that it's not the wife you see up on a table top shaking for change... you are only offered one first impression, and if you mess that up most people aren't willing to stick around to see what else you offer.  So the homework assignment for tonight is to take a deep look inside and figure out if you're looking for fun or looking for love.  Both are acceptable decisions, but they have very different paths and end results.

Play Up Your Strengths

I have to make a confession.... I was unaware that the dates of Cuffing Season have been changed.  Is is just me or is everyone I meet or already know is either in a relationship, married, having a baby, or anything else that does not indicate being single? The whole thing has had me in a funk the last few weeks because it wasn't until recently that I realized that I'm the last single friend...  As hard as I try I can't shake the feeling that this is depressing news and that I need to take some serious steps to ensure that it doesn't stay this way for long.  Now I'll admit that I haven't been giving relationships a serious thought for quite some time now because I've been solely focused on school, work, networking for my future, trying to remain somewhat social, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Wow, when I write it all out like that it really is a lot, but despite all of that I do know that I need to put some effort into dating because chances are that my dream man will not just fall into my lap.  I'm attempting to come up with a few steps that will ensure that I'm giving myself the best chance at finding someone special.  I might not have the whole series worked out yet, but here is what I have so far.

Step 1:  Play Up Your Strengths

The idea behind this is that no one knows what you do best like you do, and if you're not sure what your strengths are ask someone close to you.  Next you should post them somewhere that you'll see them everyday.  It's the best way I know how to ensure that you won't get down on yourself and think that you have nothing to offer.  And on the off chance you have no strengths work on getting some.  After all, you can't be a full half then any relationship you do get in will never be a whole one.