- Author: Melissa -

Hi there! I'm Melissa & I am a firm believer in taking cookies out of the oven 2 minutes under the recommended cooking time. I also love to travel, cook, shop, craft, and live an all around positive lifestyle. Come say hi!
Dinner, Lunch, Recipe Box

Make Your Own Burrito Bowls!

SEE YA LATER, CHIPOTLE! :) Remember a few months ago when I posted this recipe about Healthy Salsa Shredded Chicken? Well, I put that recipe to use in a different way the other night. That recipe makes a ton of shredded chicken, so you’ll have plenty of leftovers. This is one of those recipes that just has leftovers calling your name! You Need:  *1 Green Bell Pepper *1 White Onion *Shredded Chicken *Raw Spinach *Lettuce *Brown Rice *Salsa *Low-fat Plain Greek Yogurt *Guacamole *Shredded Cheese* *This is really just opinion based. You can throw whatever you like in there! This would be amazing with corn and black beans, for example. Slice up your onion and pepper into thin strips and put in a sauté pan with a bit of olive oil, pepper, and cayenne…

Breakfast, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Healthy 3 Ingredient Strawberry Jam!

Any other avid F.R.I.E.N.D.S. lovers out there?! When it comes to jam, I side with Joey. ;) I love it! Especially paired with peanut butter. Yummmm jam and peanut butter. Making jam brings me back to my childhood with my Oma (aka “grandma” in German). She always had the freshest fruit and we would stand over her stove for hours boiling it down to create jars and jars of jam to last us forever. Seriously, forever. I’m 99% sure she still has jars of it in her garage. One vivid memory of this jam making was how much sugar was added into the fruit mixture. In the end, jam ends up being more like candy than a healthy fruity substance. This is where that all changes. :) I saw a spin on healthy blueberry…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Friends & Family, JAXplore, Lunch, My Life, Recipe Box, Sides, Snacking, Travel Adventures

Sun Dried Tomato Grilled Chicken Salads! (& some very important visitors!)

Can I add “Really Freaking Good Salad Maker” to my resume? ;) Dj and I have had a stream of non-stop visitors these past 3 weeks. We’ve had so much fun. Moving alone to Florida, we’ve had our moments of home-sickness, so having friends visit really has helped! Two of my very best friends since we moved onto the same dorm room floor our freshman year of college, Katie and Danielle, were the second wave! It was so nice to see them. It was like a little glimpse of home. :) We spent our days on the beach taking in all of the strong Florida sun! The next group was one of my best friends I worked at the American Embassy in London last summer, Mina! I hadn’t ever hung out with her on…

Breakfast, Drinks, Recipe Box, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Oatmeal!

Guys. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Oatmeal was created the other day. And. It. Was. Glorious. I’ve been on a bit of an oatmeal kick lately. It’s just so quick and needing to be at work at 8am just does not fit my favorable lifestyle. (Aka, sleeping until 11am, drinking coffee while watching How I Met Your Mother, showering, finally deciding to become a real human around 1pm when it’s time for more food). So, oatmeal it is! It’s very quick to make, meaning I can hit the snooze button a few more times without skipping breakfast. (Which I’ve come to learn is a huge mistake!) In a bowl, cook quick oats the way you typically would. I prefer the microwave for 1 ½ minute method because, you know, I love sleep and quickness. But if…

Dinner, Lunch, Recipe Box

Fresh Vegetable Soup!

I promise I haven’t forgotten about you all!! I actually wrote this post last week, went to publish it, and my entire browser just closed on me. Thus, losing the post, as well as my patience. ;) This past week, my mom flew from London to Georgia for a work conference. Since I’m so close now that I am in Florida, I drove up to meet her! My sister is a sophomore at USC (South Carolina, not California), so we then drove there, and I just got back last night. SOOO, I apologize, but I am now back and committed to this blog. Anyways, let me get onto this low-calorie, filling vegetable soup I made the other week! Dj and I have been doing p90x for the past couple of weeks, so we are…

Breakfast, Recipe Box

Turkey Sausage & Veggie Egg Scramble Breakfast Tacos!

Tacos are by far my favorite foods. I love Mexican food, and finding different ways to play around with the taco’s fillings, is really fun! This past morning, I made turkey sausage & veggie egg scramble tacos for Dj and I. They were super filling, low in calorie, low in fat, and full of protein!  You Need: 4 Large Eggs *2 Low-Fat Turkey Sausage Links *6 White Mushrooms *1 Small White Onion *1/3 Medium Zucchini *1/3 Medium Yellow Squash *1 Tablespoon Almond Milk *6 Corn Tortillas *Pepper (to taste)* Corn tortillas are a lot better for you than flour tortillas. They are lower in calories, fat, and have a very simple ingredient list. You can read more about the difference here! In a large skillet, sauté the mushrooms, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, and turkey sausage with 1 tablespoon…

Lunch, Recipe Box, Sides, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Healthy Snacking!

I love snacking. I snack all throughout the day. The key to snacking is keeping it healthy! Throughout this week, I have tried to keep track of a few of my favorite snacks to give others ideas of how to snack smart! What I eat when dinner isn’t for another 2 hours: Celery is great because you can top it with so many different toppings to keep it interesting! Here, I have celery topped with Roasted Garlic Hummus – Peanut Butter and Ground Cinnamon – Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, and Low-Sugar Grape Jelly – Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, and Slivered Almonds. What I eat when I have a sweet tooth before bed: Here, I have a cup of Low-Fat Vanilla Bean Yogurt, ½ of a Fresh Peach, and some Frozen Dark Chocolate Chips. What I eat…

Dinner, Lunch, Recipe Box

Spaghetti Squash Primavera! Guilt-Free “Pasta” Night

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

I’m a big lover of spaghetti squash. I’m actually a huge lover of all vegetables. Dj, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive when I told him I was experimenting with a pasta dish, that was actually pasta-free. He kept looking at me with nervous eyes as I walked around the kitchen saying, “But what if I don’t like it…” (Then you can eat something else). “But… wait… you’re using squash instead of noodles…?” (Yes, and it’s freaking delicious). After taking his first bite, however, he jumped right on the Spaghetti-Squash-Loving-Bandwagon.. he even went back for seconds! He even asked me a few times if it was actually healthy because it tasted that good. SO! If you are trying to sneak more vegetables into your diet, your children’s diets, or in my case,…