Garlicky Asparagus.

I love asparagus. I usually just get frozen steamer bags of them, but I decided I was in the mood for some fresh asparagus. I found this recipe for Garlicky Asparagus in Cooking Light, and not only were they super easy to make, but they were seriously delicious.

What you need...

• 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1/8 teaspoon salt


• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to Make them...

Steam asparagus 4 minutes or until crisp-tender...seems simple enough, right? Well, it would be if you had a vegetable-steamer-pot-thingy, but not all of us have those (me included). So how are you going to steam your asparagus? Just get creative! I assembled my steamer using a strainer and alumni foil - worked like a charm!

While asparagus steams, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently. Add asparagus, salt, and pepper; toss to combine.

I cooked the asparagus in the pan until they got a little bit of color, then called it a day.

My garlic ended up getting crispy and it added nice texture to the asparagus. One serving (about 3 ounces) is only 57 calories!

These Garlicky Asparagus are the perfect complement to any meat dish - give them a try! K, byeeee. (Hehe, this rhymes.)

Doritos Locos Nachos.

When most people heard of the Doriots Locos Tacos from Taco Bell, they were like this:



When I heard about the Doroits Locos Tacos, I was like this:



I wish I was kidding when I say I immediately went out and tried this GENIUS invention. After I devoured a Doritos Locos Taco and all its glory (and then another...woopsie) I could not believe I'd never had the pleasure of tasting such a masterpiece. I kept thinking, "Why have I never made nachos with Doritos?!?!?!?!!!" So obviously, I had to change that.

One Doritos Locos Taco Supreme (with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream) is 200 calories. Okay, not bad right? WRONG! Have you ever just eaten a single taco from taco bell? Because I haven't. Its like eating three potato chips and saying, "Close the bag, I'm done." It. Just. Doesn't. Happen. I could probably crush at least three Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme in one sitting, without thinking twice about it - so that's more like 600 calories. Instead of doing that and feeling terrible about yourself for the rest of the day, for just 360 calories you can eat an entire plate of Skinny Doritos Locos Nachos!!

What you need...

• 1 oz (about 12 chips) Baked Doritos


• 40z lean ground turkey


• 1/4 cup water


• 1 1/2 tbsp less-sodium taco seasoning


• Shredded lettuce


• Salsa


• 2 tbsp fat free sour cream


• 1/4 cup Sargento Shredded Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese

How you make them...

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the turkey - cook until browned. Stir in 1/4 cup water and taco seasoning; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.



Turn oven on to a Lo Broil - this is important, if the temperature is too high you'll burn your chips almost immediately (found this out the hard way). Place 1oz of Doritos on a baking sheet. (I actually weighed 1oz of Doritos and it ended up being 12 chips.) Using all 4oz, top each chip with a spoonful of ground turkey and cover with evenly with 1/4 cup cheese.



Place in the oven and watch carefully - the cheese will melt quickly. Once melted, remove from the oven and transfer to a plate.



Cover each Dorito nacho with lettuce.



Then add a layer of salsa.



And finally, top with fat free sour cream. Be sure to measure out two tablespoons and divide it up evenly - its really easy to get carried away with the sour cream and you end up consuming extra, unnecessary calories. And there you have it - Skinny Doritos Locos Nachos! 

They were everything I hoped and dreamed they would be. While my boyfriend and I were grubbing on them, he looked at me and said, "You've made me happy! You know you're going to have to make these again, right?" Haha, I think those comments say it all. K, byeeee!

Tex-Mex Rice Bowl.

"I find myself when drinking in a constant state of desiring Mexican food. But to put that more accurately, you'd have to replace the word drinking with awake."

As I've said before, Mexican food is a staple in my diet. I appreciate all forms of Mexican food, but more often than not I end up eating an 800 calorie burrito bowl from Chipotle. While they are amazingly delicious, the habit is expensive and fattening. I recently came across a recipe for a Tex-Mex Rice bowl and thought it could be a perfect substitute for Chipotle. (Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY claiming that it is as satisfying as Chipolte - or even remotely tastes like it in any way - I'm simply pointing out that both dishes live in the same Meixcan food family.) This Tex-Mex Rice Bowl is super easy to make, so its perfect for a weeknight!

What you need...

• 1 (8.8-ounce) pouch precooked uncle ben's brown rice


• 8 ounces ground turkey or lean ground beef


• 1/4 cup water


• 1 1/2 tablespoons less-sodium taco seasoning


• 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn


• 1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 cup fresh salsa


• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced


• chopped fresh cilantro

How to make it...

This is very complicated, so read carefully (obviously kidding)...squish the bag to break up the right, tear a slit in the top of the bag, and microwave for 90 seconds.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the turkey or beef. Cook until browned. Stir in 1/4 cup water and taco seasoning; bring to a simmer.

Stir in corn and beans; cook 1 minute or until heated. [If you're not too lazy to chop up some fresh vegetables, green peppers and onions would be great to add in here too.] Stir in rice.

Top with salsa and jalapeño. Sprinkle with cilantro.

This recipe yields 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup) and one serving  is only 306 calories and 7.6g fat. I added a few extra toppings for my boyfriend: Sargento Shredded Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese and fat free sour cream - both for only an additional 50 calories! If you love Mexican food and hate cooking complicated/time-consuming meals, I suggest you give this a try! K, byeeee.

Tyler's Tap Room.

Tyler's Tap Room is a mecca for bar food lovers. They make all typical bar food, only they make it better.

Last time I went, we got the Carolina Nachos - house smoked pulled pork piled on tortilla chips, smothered with beer queso dip, and topped with green onions, bbq spice and North Carolina's own Durn Good hot sauce. They were delectable!!

Tyler's Tap Room has an amazing selection of beer (as I'm sure you could guess from their name). They sell flights of beer, so you can try four different beers in one order. It perfect if you're indecisive like me. There are locations in Apex, Carborro, Durham, and Raleigh, North Carolina -  check it out if you're in the area. Also, be sure to check-in on foursquare when you go and you'll get free garlic fries! K, byeeee.