June 2010

Afternoon Delight: Odd Combinations

June 30, 2010 · 21 comments

I’ve always poked fun at Mr. How Sweet for the way he mixes everything on his plate together into one big, slop-pile mess.

But the truth is, I make my own slop-pile messes every now and then, too.


Mine are a bit more contained and not as ugly, but they are still odd.

In fact, I’m almost afraid to tell you what is inside this wrap.

This wasn’t my lunch, but it was my dinner last night.

I didn’t realize how fast my hunger would hit me, and I didn’t have anything prepared. The thought of cooking something just made me hungrier, and I was about to whip out the devilish Stacy’s pita chips when I just started throwing things into a crispy tortilla. Or, shall I say, ‘tor-till-ah,’ since that was how Mother Lovett pronounced it. And she wasn’t joking.


Inside are two eggs, over easy, avocado, organic baked beans, cherry tomatoes, low-fat monterey jack cheese and barbeque sauce. This is all wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla, because I love them so much that I will burrito-wrap my babies in them once they are born.


The end.

{ 21 comments }

Strawberry Yogurt Granita.

June 30, 2010 · 72 comments

Over the past few months I have come to determine that I don’t enjoy foods at extreme temperatures.

Warm drinks like coffee, or dirty water as I like to call it, make me feel queasy and cold foods, like popsicles, hurt my teeth and take too long to eat. If it can’t get into my belly in .5 seconds, I’m not interested.


As expected, ice cream has always fallen into this category too. It has never been my go-to dessert. And if I do have it, I want texture – think chunks, swirls, sprinkles, and syrups. However, in true How Sweet fashion, I would never pass up a $16 cup of ‘gotta have it’ mud-pie-mojo at Coldstone.


Lately, I’ve been craving ice cream.

Yes, it has been abnormally hot and humid here. And if you didn’t already know, when I am hot and subjected to humidity for any period of time, I grow horns and carry a pitchfork. Me being hot is similar to Mr. How Sweet being hungry.

The heat could be to blame. Or maybe my taste-buds (or texture-buds?) are changing? If that is the case, I am angry. Can’t they change in my benefit? Can’t they start to love vegetables?


The worst part about this whole wanting-ice-cream-everyday thing is that we literally live 30 seconds from a Dairy Queen.

If we walk there, that negates the thousands of calories that we consume. It’s negative calorie consumption.


But for some reason, my thighs don’t believe that.

And for that reason alone, I had to make a protein-packed, fruity replacement.

See, I always have wanted to love ice cream.

Mr. How Sweet loves ice cream, and I thought it was something we could enjoy together.

I am always looking for our ‘thing.’ You know, the one ‘thing’ that couples do together?

Some couples exercise together. I want us to eat ice cream. I know. I’m kind of an oddball.

I mean, unless I suddenly fall in love with Dale Earnhart, Jr. or Mr. How Sweet takes an affinity for glittery shoes, we have yet to have our own ‘thing.’


So now, when Mr. How Sweet wants ice cream, I can make this.

I am obsessed with the granita. Usually, granitas are all ‘icey,’ but because of the yogurt, this one is also a bit creamy.

It is loaded with protein and the strawberries add the perfect amount of sweetness. I added a bit of sugar, but only because not everyone in this house loves tart yogurt.

And by everyone, I don’t mean myself. So take a wild guess by process of elimination.


Strawberry Yogurt Granita

from Epicurious (with a slight adaptation)

Serves 4 (1/2 cup serving)

2 cups plain greek yogurt

2 cups strawberries, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar (or sweetener of choice)

In a large bowl, stir together yogurt, chopped strawberries, and sugar. Spread on a baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours. Remove from freezer and scrape with a fork, releasing ice crystals. Freeze again for 30 minutes, then scrape again. Repeat one more time.

Remove from freezer and serve immediately.



Who needs ice cream everyday when you can have this?

Now I just need to find a way to add bacon and chocolate and keep it healthy.

{ 72 comments }

Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp.

June 29, 2010 · 55 comments

Sure, this shrimp looks slightly boring.

But I promise that it is loaded with buttery flavor.


We love seafood in this house.

Usually, it comes in the form of lobster or $19 cans of lump crabmeat, because for some reason we find it appropriate to blow our life savings on food. It isn’t normal for newlyweds to eat lobster? Oh.

Let’s just say that we use the money we save from the vegetables we don’t buy. There. That’s better.

Have you ever had grilled shrimp?

I’d have to say it is my favorite way to eat it. I love the smokey flavor. You must give it a try.


So, yes, the shrimp is just lying on a pile of plain brown rice. We do eat healthy most of the time. The ‘plain’ part comes from me being too lazy to spice it up for dinner, and not caring since Mr. How Sweet doesn’t know the difference between seasoned, herb rice and plain, not-even-cooked rice. Well, I should give him a bit more credit – he would probably know that the rice isn’t cooked, but only since it would get stuck in his teeth.


I couldn’t serve this shrimp to Mr. How Sweet anyway. He would need an additional side dish.

He refuses to eat anything without a side. My oh my, that boy loves his sides.

When I made the BBQ quesadillas the other night? His first question was, ‘where is the side?’

When we have pizza? ‘What is the side?‘

If I only make one side? ‘Where is the other side?‘


A few weeks ago, we had one of those common nights where I didn’t cook dinner because I was too busy watching Full House reruns and peeling off my nail polish finger by finger.

The man literally made himself a burger with a side of chicken. I kid you not.


Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp

Serves 2-4

1 pound raw, deveined shrimp

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons melted butter

Clean shrimp and dry thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Chop 2 cloves of garlic, pressing with the back of the knife continuously to create a paste. Spread on shrimp. Brush shrimp with melted butter.

Grill on low-medium heat (this may different depending on your grill) for about 2-3 minutes each side.

Chop remaining garlic and add it to remaining butter. Brush on shrimp and serve.



In our house, shrimp usually is a side dish, since we need about 5lbs to feed Mr. How Sweet. It’s cheaper to buy some slabs of meat for him.

I can’t wait until the day I have to tell my children that they can’t go to college because their father needed to eat steak.

{ 55 comments }

Fitness Kick Start: Start Your Morning Off Right.

I have always been an early riser. I don’t enjoy sleeping in – I want to be up as early as possible so I can start my day. But when my alarm goes off at 4:30 am each morning, I want to throw it out the window. At that time, I hate everything around me. Including working out. Some mornings, I hit snooze until my finger goes numb. But I know that I just won’t feel complete without a workout first thing. It starts my day off right and makes me feel great. It sets the tone of the day for me. Even a quick 20 minutes of moving around gets me up and going on those days I sleep in. I usually do a mini workout at home, since I don’t have time to get to the gym and back. It makes me feel positive about the day ahead and clears my mind. Get-Your-Butt-Out-Of-Bed-Workout 1 min jumping jacks 30 seconds high knees 20 forward lunges 1 min simulated jump rope 20 squats 10 burpees 1 min jumping jacks 15 squat jumps 20 pushups 1 min high knees 30 second mountain climbers 90 second plank hold REPEAT

21 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies.

Is there any better combo that chocolate and peanut butter? I don’t think so. Though I wouldn’t mind adding in some salty flavor – like bacon or pickles, or both. And no, I’m not pregnant. I’m just weird. The chocolate cookies are not super sweet, meaning that most of you would love them. Of course, they still leave me wanting more since I can eat a cup of sugar with a spoon and desire more sweetness. When it comes to cookies, I tend to overdo it on the chips. The phrase ‘less is more?’ I never follow that. Ever. For anything. I know I need to re-think that. I’m sure my life would benefit. So would my waistline. And my wallet. This time I did follow it. Not on purpose, of course. My bag of peanut butter morsels was at the end of the road. Ready to kick the bucket. Hanging on for dear life. And when I usually would have just eaten the chips by the handful to finish off the bag, I knew they would be perfect in cookies. And they were. Even though the cookies aren’t very sweet, each time you get a bite of peanut butter [...]

82 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

Bourbon Peach French Toast.

A breakfast that includes bourbon? There isn’t much to think about when it comes to this. The only thing I’m thinking about is how quickly I can make another batch and scarf it down. My family likes their bourbon. In fact, it is the drink of choice. We call it the ‘Lovett’ drink, after Mother Lovett. Up until she passed away, she was enjoying her bourbon every night. You have to live a little, right? I remember taking sips out of Mother Lovett’s bourbon concoctions when I was younger. I didn’t ever think it would grow on me, but it has. Luckily, Mail Pouch tobacco has not grown on me, or any of us, considering my grandpa gave my cousin a nice little ‘taster’ where she was 5 years old. It must be fun to be a grandparent? Bourbon Peach French Toast from Bobby Flay (with some slight adaptations) Serves 2 4 eggs 1 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup white peach puree 2 tablespoons bourbon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 4 slices bread, sliced 1/2-inch thick (I used whole grain) 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons canola oil Whisk together eggs, sugar and [...]

42 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

Fitness Kick Start: A Week In Lifts.

I mentioned on Tuesday that I was doing body part splits in the gym this week, basically just to switch it up. I felt like lifting heavier than I normally do (which is still pretty heavy), and also didn’t feel like getting up early enough to do my usually upper/lower/full body workout, or whatever the flavor of the month may be. I just get bored so easily. I thought I’d share the entire week with ya. A Week In Lifts Legs: walking lunges (5 x 20), step ups (4 x 10 each leg), deadlifts (5 x 8), single leg angled press (4 x 8 each leg) Shoulders & Chest: click here Back: pullups (5 x 8), seated row (4 x 8), lat pulldowns (4 x 10), prone incline rear delt fly (4 x 10) Biceps & Triceps: pushups (5 x 20), triceps dips (5 x 8), overhead triceps ext (4 x 10), seated incline biceps curls (4 x 10), hammer curls (4 x 10) Let is just be said that I never work biceps and triceps alone, ever. This may have only been my 4th or 5th time of doing so in over 10 years of lifting. I hate working [...]

10 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas.

Quesadillas are one of our go-to meals. Well, at least one of my go-to meals. I’m not sure that Mr. How Sweet could assemble a quesadilla, especially if he has a case of hungry-angry husband syndrome. So I usually make them for us in order to avoid any kind of 2-year-old-tantrum that may take place. My favorite part about quesadillas? You can use anything. You can make any flavor. Toasted, fried or grilled, they taste incredible. This specific quesadilla is loaded with caramelized onions, chicken, two kinds of cheese and barbeque sauce, with a little extra for dipping. I think it is my favorite one so far. In fact, I’ve had a version of this for lunch almost everyday this week. I had mine with some kale chips on the side, since, you know, they are still the only vegetable I can stomach. Especially after I drown out all the kale flavor with nutritional yeast. Speaking of veggies, I tried to serve Mr. How Sweet a side salad the other day and he refused. Am I rubbing off on him? I asked him about it, and he said that he didn’t want to ‘waste the calories’ on a salad. What? [...]

87 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

Menu: Big Summer Brunch.

I never get to go to brunch. Woe is me. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever had brunch? I need to get on this. I created a faux brunch with a bit of bacon and a boatload of calories. The spread? Multigrain Waffles, White Chocolate Cherry Granola & Yogurt, and Grilled Banana Crepes with Fresh Strawberry Cream Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Pita Chips, Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cheeseball, and Bacon Stuffed Avocado I can already feel my pants tightening. You may want to add a few veggies in there. It’s a tad carb heavy.

16 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

Muffin Mania.

I promise to lay off the muffins after this. Maybe. Well, for at least 7 days or so. And I will just lay off writing about them. I certainly won’t stop eating them. I had to lump them all together for you. Mainly because I love you, but also because I don’t want to be the only one who is developing a muffin top from eating too many muffin tops. I need you to partake in the fun. Do you know what is even more exciting? I made another muffin that I haven’t even told you about yet. It involves bacon. Did your jaw just drop? Probably not, since you know that I would like to live in a house made of bacon one day. This little piggy went to market. But the bacon muffin is another story for another day. For now, enjoy these muffins. And your expanding thighs. Whole Wheat Banana Coconut Muffins These are probably my favorite ones. I love banana and coconut. More than chocolate, more than blueberry. I know. What’s wrong with me? Goat Cheese and Honey-Stuffed Muffins Savory muffins. Whodda thunk it? Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Fudge Muffins Not my favorite. Still delicious. Not [...]

70 comments Get More Sweet Eats →

← Previous Entries