Recipe: Breakfast Burrito

I recently stocked up on some avocados at the grocery store because 1) they are super healthy and 2) I have read that they are a great first finger food for babies.  The soft, banana-like consistency makes them perfect for the little ones to mash between their gums.  Very kid-friendly.  Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and copper. They are also higher in potassium than a medium banana.

Well, it turns out my little one is not so keen on trying it  :)  I don't know if it's the flavor or consistency, but she just did not enjoy it like I had hoped.  Oh well, we will try again soon but in the meantime I was left with aging avocados in the fridge!  I hate throwing out food, especially healthy stuff!  I could have made guacamole but I didn't have any limes, and I did use some of the mashed avocado as a sandwich spread with some deli turkey and whole grain bread (which is also delicious, by the way!).  I have seen recipes for breakfast tacos using avocado chunks, and I wanted to give it a try.  The result was incredibly tasty!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil                                                  
1/4 of a small red onion, diced
1/2 of a green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg and 1 egg white
1 ounce shredded Cheddar cheese
2 whole wheat tortillas
2 tablespoons salsa, divided
1/2 of an avocados, cubed
Hot sauce

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook the onions and peppers until soft and slightly charred.  Season with red pepper, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.  Transfer to a dish and keep warm.

Whisk the egg and egg white and stir in the cheese.  Heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil in the skillet (I used the same one) over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low and add the egg-cheese mixture, scrambling until cooked through, about 3 minutes.  Prepare the tortillas by spreading each with 1 tablespoon of the salsa.  Layer each with half of the onion and peppers, and half of the eggs.  Top each with half of the avocado.  Season, to taste, with hot sauce.  Roll up burrito style and serve!

This would also be great with some fresh chopped baby spinach added to the onion and pepper mixture toward the end of cooking, it just didn't occur to me at the time.

ZUMBA!

Last night my husband had class and the baby was in bed by 7:30, which meant I actually had some time to myself.  Instead of sitting on the couch staring at the television, I decided to get some physical activity in.

Now, I have always been into fitness, I danced when I was younger, and I have some workout videosI would do here and there.  About 4 years ago I got into running, which I love, but my schedule these days doesn't always provide me the time to squeeze in a run.  I've been looking for a quick workout that doesn't require any equipment or gear, just something I can pop in the DVD and go to town.  I requested the Zumba Fitness DVD from my mom for Christmas.  I've heard a lot about the workout and thought it sounded just like what I have been searching for to help me stay active.

I've watched some of the DVDs and tried out a few of the moves, but last night was the first night I actually  got into it and completed the entire workout.  Let me just say I thought that I had at least had some rhythm, but I was way wrong.  The way the instructors move is just CRAZINESS sometimes, and I found it hard to keep up with the steps.  However, it did have me sweating and that's the whole point isn't it?  I think I'm going to get into it, and hopefully I'll get better as I do it more and more.  I have another session planned for tonight because it's the hubby's turn to put baby to bed!  A night off!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was an extended one for me.  Being a federal employee I get to reap the benefits off all of the federal holidays.  It all started Friday afternoon.  I went to lunch with some coworkers to blow off a little steam, and ended up taking more time than I had planned on.  But, what can I say, it was a good time!

Saturday our little sweet pea had us up at 6:30 am.  Instead of sitting around complaining about how exhausted I was, I decided to take full advantage.  I got the laundry sorted and started while daddy got a head start on his homework.  I have to say the early start helped us a great deal.  After lunch we headed out to Wegman's to pick up a few things.  I stocked up on the items I needed to make this burger.  More on that below...

We spent Saturday evening at a neighbor's house watching the Steelers play Baltimore.  I brought my little pea home around 7:30 for bedtime, and after that it was a quiet evening in for mommy, while daddy continued to party and watch football at the neighbor's.

Sunday was grocery shopping day.  I had to do this trip by myself since daddy had a little too good of a time Saturday night at our neighbor's house.  But, I'm not complaining.  I find I have more sucessful shopping trips when I go alone.  I could browse the products and produce for hours, and the rest of my family is just not into that sort of thing.  For dinner that night was a fantastic lasagna, which I made half with the traditional filling for my husband and half with chicken sausage and chopped spinach for myself.  I have been making it for years the same way and I am just now realizing I can substitute healthy ingredients for my taste and keep the same things my husband likes.  It was a hit! 

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day which meant a day off work, and my hubby ended up calling into work sick as well.  I think he needed another day to recover.  It was a great day off together though, we had a lot of fun!  We went out and about and did some shopping.  I made the stuffed Portabello burger for lunch, and oh my, it was delicious!  I have never made anything like that before but it was super easy!  I'm so happy I have another mushroom cap in the package because I totally plan on making it again.  I must say that most of my food choices were good ones this weekend, and I feel better than I have in a long time!  I figure that there are a lot of things in my life that I may not be able to control, but my diet is not one of them!  I may not always find time to squeeze in a workout or get a manicure, but good food choices are always an option.

Today is really uneventful.  We got about an inch of snow topped with freezing rain overnight, so my work was delayed 2 hours.  Let me just say I used to enjoy the 2 hour delay for work, but not so much anymore.  Not with a 10 month old who doesn't sleep in and gets in to EVERYTHING.  Let's just say by the time I did make it to work this morning, I was already exhausted from a morning of play  :)

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! 

The First Post

Today I started a blog.  Let it be known that I have no idea what I am doing, but this is an attempt to organize my thoughts and keep with my new year's resolution of having better control of the events in my life.  I am married and my husband and I work both work full time jobs while he also attends school.  We had a daughter in February 2010, who is my whole world.  Since her arrival, my life has been so crazy with work, daycare, cooking, cleaning, bills, etc., and sometimes things go by in such a blur that I can hardly remember everything.  My purpose for starting this blog is to take back control of this crazy life I seem to have made for myself. 


Read on if you care to do so and thanks in advance for not laughing at me   :)