Healthy & Gourmet Brazos Pizza

January 12, 2015 Amanda Plott

So there's this famous pizza place here in Austin that I've been known to frequent lately because of their quirky and awesomely amazing off-the-wall flavor combinations. One of my favorite pizzas there is called the Brazos, which is actually the name of a town and a river here in Texas.

The Brazos pizza is a fantastically contrived crossbreed of Italian and Spanish. It's got the Italian meats and cheeses along with the peppers and heat of what we all know and love here as Tex-Mex.

My only problem with this local pizza place is the cost. Oh. My. Goodness. You want how much for a pizza? Yikes! That's the price of luxury and gourmet though. The good news is that you can have gourmet at home for a faction of that, and have complete and utter control over what's going into your pizza-pie...

'Instant' Skinny Chai Tea Latte Mix

January 5, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #SweetWarmUp #CollectiveBias

My world just became a sweeter place! Okay, so maybe there's a little spice in there too. What better is there to take a nice well-deserved break with during a dreary and cold morning other than a nice warm cup of a homemade chai tea latte in hand?

And no, I don't just mean a cup of chai flavored tea either, but an actual chai tea latte that's teaming with milk and a joyful mix of spices.

My life has had a lot of sweet moments in it that have happened to revolve around tea in one way or another. What can I say, a lot of good things can come about with a nice warm cup of soothing tea...

Spinach & Pea Tortellini

January 2, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #BackToBalance #CollectiveBias

The first time that I ever remember eating tortellini was probably back when I was in junior high (yikes - maybe even further back than that!) My dad must have been in charge of dinner that night because I remember he was the one standing at the stove cooking up those perfect little tender shells stuffed with fresh cheeses. And yeah, he even used BUITONI® pasta back then too.

Now, of course he is and has always been a much different home cook than myself. He had made something that was a little heavier; some sort of Alfredo sauce to go over the tortellini and green peas, which was then topped off with some bits of bacon. Talk about decadent, but at least he had some green in there!

It was one of the most amazing things that I had ever tasted.

I'm not sure where he got the original recipe idea from, but I know that for one reason or another that meal still stands out in my mind today...

Whole Wheat Lasagna Roll-Ups

December 11, 2014 Amanda Plott

Yes, that's right... you can have your lasagna and eat it too!

What's better is now you don't have to feel guilty about indulging in it anymore. Most places I looked, a typical serving of one lasagna roll-up was anywhere between 350-550 calories. What?! That's madness!

If you're going to have pasta, you better at least do it right and make those carbs and calories well worth it. With this lightened up version of lasagna roll-ups, you won't feel like you're missing out on anything and that's because you're not!

These noodles are loaded with cheesy spinach goodness. They're rich, decadent, full of flavor, and even more full of vegetables...

Cranberry & Walnut Brussel Sprouts

December 9, 2014 Amanda Plott

Can you believe that I've never cooked brussel sprouts before?! Honestly, I'd never even eaten a brussel sprout until about a year ago when I was downtown at this fun little restaurant called The Lucky Robot. They have these crispy pan seared (or fried) brussel sprouts that are served with some sort of kicked up soy dipping sauce. A-ma-zing!

I've been looking for an excuse (as if I needed one) to make brussel sprouts ever since.

With another major foodie-holiday rolling up on us all quickly, I thought that a side of some brussel sprouts with cranberries, walnuts, and blue cheese would make a great tasty side dish for any holiday meal!...

Skinny Holiday Confetti Cake Mix Cookies

December 3, 2014 Amanda Plott

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I'm getting into the holiday spirit with some festive, fun, and healthier takes on some of our favorite Christmas treats. Since we had a birthday this week, I thought it would be fitting to bake up some confetti cake mix cookies, but with holiday colors, of course!

And by birthday... I mean for my kitty-fur-baby-boy, Orion.

My four year old was pretty adamant on doing something for our kitty's first birthday. So, confetti cookies for all! Well, except for the cat, obviously. He got some new toys to play with while my daughter and I baked these cookies up...