Thank you to everyone that has been so encouraging on my Weight loss Journey.  At the end of the day - it's all about being healthy... and really being comfortable in my own skin.  I consider myself attractive (yes - I am honest), but I just wish that I could make it to my ideal weight, my pre-children weight.  I'll be sure to update along the way and will really get a starting goal going once I feel a little better in the next few days... because I know I failed to provide all of that when I got started up again.  But this time - my goal is to make it a lifestyle change.  

Here are the items you will need or can use in this recipe:

• Kale - about one full leaf - just under a cup (I used green Kale, you can use Dinosaur Kale as well)
  
• Spinach - about a cup of Fresh Baby Spinach
  
• Carrots - I chose to use 7 baby carrots.  I like to use the organic baby carrots because they are small enough to where I do not need to cut them.
  
• Banana - Half of one banana - peeled and cut
  
• 2 cups of distilled water
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Pure Organic/Un-refined coconut oil
  
• 1 Table spoon of Body By Vi Shake Mix (Vanilla) - you can choose any whey protein or protein mix you prefer
  

Everything else you need to know is listed in the video embedded below or you can click here.

Enjoy and if you blend it really well - it will not be chunky but more like juice ;)  Be Well, Love Yourself for You and most important... Sparkle is NEVER Optional!
xoxo
Honey

I got this recipe from a Facebook page and wanted to share.  Definitely check out the page and like it to check out more awesome recipes.  We are huge Pizza lovers in this house, so you know I'll be trying this out really soon.  I may be switching out the Cottage Cheese for Riccotta, I'm just not sure yet.  I'll definitely be posting photos on Instagram and here on my Blog when I am finally able to test it out. :)
Bon Appetite!
Honey

Pizza Casserole:
Source: Witchin in the Kitchen

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked rotini pasta
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 (24 ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 (16 ounce) container cottage cheese
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 (3 ounce) packages sliced pepperoni

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13 casserole dish.
  
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
  
• In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until evenly brown, drain grease. Mix in the cooked pasta and pasta sauce. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
  
• In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, olives, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.
  
• Spoon the cheese mixture over the sausage and pasta mixture. Top with pepperoni slices.
  
• Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.
  

INGREDIENTS

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

PREPARATION

1. Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Place 2 cups spinach in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Combine couscous with 1/4 cup water; divide evenly among packets, placing on top of spinach. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl. Divide shrimp evenly among packets, placing next to couscous. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 tsp salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl. Carefully cut foil to open; stir contents; garnish with salsa before serving.
   

THE SKINNY - 397 calories per serving, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 25 g protein

I always get asked to share my recipes that I make for dinner and I normally post them frequently, but have been so busy this past month, I have kind of flaked in that department.  So, here I am playing catch up. :)  Tonight's dinner was something I had been craving for a while now.  I took inspiration from one of my favorite Hole in the Wall eateries called: Honokowai Okazuya.  They make a similar dish there... though, I must admit - I will not be eating there for a while... because mine tasted SOOOOOO.... much better! lol  When I cook, I normally eye ball or just guesstimate everything I put in it... so I am going to give you the basic ingredients needed and how to put it together... but the amounts will be something you may have to try out and test drive yourself.  I apologize, I should really start measuring my ingredients, but I always cook and create on a whim. 

Ingredients:

• Ono or any white fish like Halibut or Mahi Mahi (Ono - Wahoo, Mahi Mahi - Dorado, or even Red Snapper)
  
• Butter - about 2 blocks
  
• White Wine, I like to use Chardonnay
  
• Sundried tomatoes - I like to get the one that is dried in sun and already has italian herbs in the oil
  
• white cap mushrooms
• capers
• zucchini
• white rice or your choice of starch
• Garlic Salt, Salt and Pepper (to taste) 
• 1 whole lemon

How to:

1. Get your starch cooking - if you are making white rice, get it cooking.  If you are making pasta, you can start getting your water ready to boil.
2. Start by pouring your wine into a sauteed pan (make sure it is deep enough).  Cook on Medium heat until it reduces, usually till there is half the amount of liquid as when you started.
3. While the win is reducing - Season your fish then start pan frying your White Fish.  You can add some EVOO and use this as your lubricant to cook the fish.  Do not mess with it or it will flake and break apart - your fish will let you know when it is ready to be flipped.
4. Add cold butter to your wine a little at a time.  I normally cut in 1/4 of a cup sizes and slowly add in the butter... whisking/stirring it in so that it thickens.
5. Add your capers and sundried tomatoes and then season your sauce with garlic salt or salt and pepper (to taste).
6. In a separate pan (a small one is okay) start heating up a little butter or some EVOO (for your stir fry veggies).  Cut up your vegetables julian style or how ever you would like.  Add the cut veggies (mushrooms/zucchini) to the pan and stir fry for just a few minutes until tender.  Remove from stove.
7. As your sauce starts to thicken, cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your sauce.  You can also decide to hold off on the lemon and squeeze it over your plated dish.
8. You can start plating by first adding your starch and then the stir fry veggies.  Add your fish and then pour the sauce over your fish and some onto your starch if you would like. 

Dinner is Served.  You can go ahead and pair this dish with an awesome glass of white wine or what ever dessert you would like.  This dish is super easy to make and something like this would be sold for over $20 in a restaurant here in Hawaii.  Now you can make it all yourself.  I love creating new recipes and this recipe is very similar to my pasta shrimp scampi one, so you can easily take this sauce as it is versatile and use it in combination with other seafood dishes.  It taste great with chicken too.

Happy Eating and Enjoy!

Disclaimer:  This recipe is one I have created and tried on my own many times.  You are welcome to omit the alcohol from the recipe if you would like.  Also - my little verbiage about having a glass of white wine with dinner of course is a suggestion for adults of legal drinking age.  Please drink responsibly.  If you do use this recipe or share on your site/blog, social media, please credit this recipe and image back to me.  Thank you! :) xo Honey

Spring is almost here... I can already feel the change in the weather and because of this - I'm already planning recipes for fun Spring time dinners and meals.  I found this awesome recipe on one of my favorite sites: Right at Home (click for link) And I could not wait to post it.  So many of my friends are experiencing heavy winter months with lots of snow, which I do not get here in Hawaii... so I wanted to share a recipe that would definitely make them look forward to the beautiful green trees, flowers and the sounds of song birds.  This recipe is fun, festive and definitely bright.  It is perfect for any time of year - but most definitely a great fresh meal for Spring and Summer Months.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do sharing it with you.  Scroll below and see what Right at Home has in store for you - you will definitely love the simplicity of this recipe and how fast and quick it is to put such a bright and beautiful display together.  And - if you're feeling the Winter Blues... try and prepare this now and see if you can add a little Spring Sunshine to your dining room table. :)  Recipe & Ingredients posted below.

A little note from Honey's Kitchen... Fresh ingredients can be hard to come by this time of year, especially for vegetables like tomatoes.  If you can't find Fresh ingredients, definitely substitute for canned or frozen.  By adding your favorite spices, you can surely make it taste fresh and delicious.  

• Prep time: 10 minutes
  
• Cook time: 5 minutes
• Serves: 4

Ingredients
Strawberry-Tomato Salsa

• ¾ cup strawberries, cut into small dice
• ½ tomato, cut into small dice
• 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
• ¼ Serrano chile, minced, optional
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Fish Tacos

• 4 tilapia filets, approximately ¼ pound each
• 1 teaspoon of your favorite taco seasoning
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 8 6-8-inch flour or corn tortillas, heated according to the package directions
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 cup shredded lettuce or green cabbage
• 1 lime, cut into small wedges

Directions
1.) Prepare the salsa by mixing together the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2.) Dry the filets with a paper towel. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and set onto a plate. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Pour in olive oil. When the oil is hot, gently add the fish to the pan, cooking for approximately 5 minutes and turning once.
3.) Remove fish from the pan and break each filet into two pieces. Serve in a tortilla topped with strawberry salsa, avocado slices, and shredded lettuce or cabbage with a lime wedge alongside.

chef’s notes You could also make the salsa with mango or peaches. Simply substitute ¾ cup of either chopped fruit for the strawberries.

This recipe is from: http://www.rightathome.com/Food/Recipes/Pages/fast-fish-tacos.aspx?sid=email&cid=rah201303&rid=129127805

I've been slacking a bit with my foodie tutorials and recipes.  Life just gets all of me and sometimes I don't remember.  I was on one of my favorite food websites today and came across this awesome and delectable treat so I had to share.  If you try out this awesome dessert, comment below and let me know what you think :)

Ingredients:

• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup) $$
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar $
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 large egg whites
• Cooking spray
• 2 1/4 cups cookies-and-cream light ice cream

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. 2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3. 3. Place brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add cocoa and egg whites, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended.
4. 4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.
5. 5. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or just until edges are set. Cool on pans 2 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
6. 6. Spread about 2 tablespoons ice cream onto flat side of 18 cookies; top each with another cookie, pressing gently to form a sandwich. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Recipe Time
Hands On: 35 Minutes 
Total: 3 Hours, 45 Minutes 


Recipe an Image Courtesy of Cooking Light and MyRecipes.

Let me start off by saying that I always choose the wrong times to try out a new way of doing things.  Case in point - I have made my Famous Homemade Lasagna so.... many times and I almost always use Barilla lasagna ribbons and boil them.  However, this other brand was on sale and so I decided to buy it.  What was so cool about this brand is that you can actually cook it when baking and can eliminate that extra step of boiling the pasta.   It also meant that I had to bake the lasagna just a tad bit longer than I normally do - but I was very impressed with how it came out.  It was delicious, fork tender and it really cut out an extra step in the kitchen for me.  Will I be using this pasta brand again and eliminating this step in the future?  I'm still on the fence about it.  I think that my lasagna comes out much more ooey gooey (as pictured below) if the pasta is pre boiled, but that doesn't mean that I sacrificed flavor profiles or the deliciousness you get regardless. 

I take an extra few steps when making my lasagna which can be a bit more than most people.  While others just add straight ricotta or mozzarella, I mix my ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese together with an egg and my favorite seasonings and spices.  This makes it creamier and it also holds together in layers a lot more than others.  

Check out my video tutorial below for the step by step on how I create my Famous Homemade Lasagna and feel free to add in your own goodies to make it your own.  I like Ground Turkey because it's healthier, but you can use Ground beef.  I also added Ketchup to supplement more sauce, but I would suggest if you are going to be making as much as I did - to add more sauce, be prepared and use more. I just couldn't get my homemade sauce to defrost quick enough so I was short in that department. lol

Supplies / Ingredients needed:

• 1 -lb.  ground turkey or ground beef
  
• 2-1/2 cups  Shredded Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese, divided in half (half for the ricotta mixture, half for the topping)
  
• 1 container  (15 oz.)  Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
  
• 1/2 cup  Grated Parmesan Cheese
  
• 1 - egg, beaten
  
• 1 - jar  (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce ( I prefer homemade or use the Safeway, Best Yet or Prego Brand)
  
• 1 box - lasagna noodles, uncooked
  

There are many different sides that you can choose to eat with your gooey lasagna.  My family loves Garlic Bread or they just eat the lasagna just the way it is because it has so many delicious ingredients.  If you are looking for veggies to add to your meal for sides, my favorites are asparagus or spinach.  You can also substitute meat for spinach too and use the same ingredients, just make sure your drain your spinach really well and do not combine it with your sauce - you will layer it as you do everything else.   You can also add parsley to your egg/cheese mixture as well.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and my family does.  Get ready for some yummy dinner delights.  Have a wonderful day.
xoxo
Honey

This is one of the ways I make my Homemade Alfredo Sauce.  You can do this way - which I show in the video... which has a creamier consistency and is absolutely perfect for cheesy lovers, or there is another way I do it - minus the cream cheese, that comes out just as great... but is much more buttery.

Ingredients needed to make the Sauce:

1 - 8oz. package of Cream Cheese
1 - Pint of Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream
1 - Cup Parmesan Cheese (shredded)
Salt / Pepper to taste
1 - Tablespoon Minced garlic
1 - block (1/2 cup) butter (make sure it is actual butter and not margarine or spread because that can make the sauce much more oilier than you would like)
1 - tsp ground nutmeg (fresh or spice) - you can opt to use more or less... do this to taste.

Additional ingredients to add in the sauce:

1 1/2 - 2 - cups Cooked chicken breasts
1 - box pasta (you can select which to use), we like Farfalle or Linguini, Rigatoni is also a favorite.

Cook your chicken breasts prior to making your sauce if they need to be cooked, I used already cooked breasts.  Also cook your pasta according to box instructions.

I hope you guys like this recipe. I can film the recipe without the cream cheese if you would like, but I kind of explain about it in the video.  Enjoy and post pictures or comments if you try it.
xoxo
Honey

Ingredients / Supplies needed:

Chicken wings
Butter
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Minced Garlic
Tobasco
Onion Powder
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Newman's or other brand - Creamy Ceasar Dressing

I pretty much eye balled most of the ingredients or used them according to my taste.  I would suggest watching the video (below) to see what I do and approximate amounts of each ingredient.  This is perfect for a Pot Luck or for a quick and easy dinner. :) Enjoy and if you try this - please leave a comment.

xoxo
Honey

If you know me... you know that Italian food or similar is my weakness.  One of my favorite dishes is my Shrimp Scampi with White Wine and butter sauce.  It is not only delicious, tastes naughty and is... did I say Delicious - it can be made in under 30 minutes which is perfect for a Mother who is trying to cook a hearty meal in a short amount of time.  I had all of the ingredients I needed either in my freezer, fridge or pantry.  Since I had to defrost the shrimp and lobster as well as clean each - it did take longer than 30 minutes for me.  But, if you go to your local grocery and get them all cleaned and fresh - you'll have a 30 minute meal on the table and ready to eat quickly.  My children love pasta - it's fun to eat and let me tell you, this particular one smells divine.  This is an all time fav in our house and while it may have some naughty ingredients, it is really not as bad as you think.  Ingredients & video tutorial below.