From my home to yours: Quick Meatball Recipe



Will make about 15 meatballs

1.5 pounds of grass-fed beef
1/2 a cup of bread crumbs
1/3 of milk
Less than half of a white onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of garlic salt
2 teaspoons of parsley
1/2 a jar of The Sauce King (or your choice of tomato sauce)

Preparation Time: 45 - 60 minutes

To begin preparing the meatballs, in a bowl add the bread crumbs and milk. Let it sit until the bread crumbs have soaked up all the milk. It should look mushy and should take no more than 5 - 10 minutes.

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. In the mean time, season the ground beef with garlic salt and parsley. Chop the onions and garlic into tiny pieces. Then add to the meat. Slowly with your hands mix the ground beef with all the ingredients. Add the bread crumbs and slowly mix into the meat.



Now, it is time to make the meatballs! Grab a small amount (or big amount if you want huge meatballs!) and shape them into balls. Spray an oven pan with cooking oil, and place each meatball in the pan. Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they are cooked.




While the meatballs are cooking in the oven,  in a deep cooking pan add tomato sauce and boil. Once the meatballs are ready place them in the pan with the tomato sauce. In a bout 5 minutes the meatballs should be marinated in the sauce and ready to serve!


Enjoy!

Since I can remember Hip Hop music has been a part of my life. My parents do not listen to Hip Hop nor care for it. They often ask me how can a young educated Latina woman relate to the music. The answer is, I can relate to Hip Hop in every way, shape, and form. There is no standard "listener of Hip Hop". It is just in my soul, in my spirit. The way you can hear the pain, the motivation, and the hunger for greatness is what moves me. I do not take the lyrics literally like some people might do. I just apply it to my everyday life. I did not grow up in a perfect home, and I sure did not grow up in the best suburb. But to me, doing homework and listening to the music made me work harder. While on the song there hustle was selling dope, my hustle was doing homework.

When ever I need a mental up lift, whenever I am about to go to an interview, whenever I have an important event, and I need to pump myself up I play Hip Hop. Why? It gives me confidence, it makes me feel like I CAN do anything and BE anything. It makes me feel like a boss!

I made a blog post about foods with high protein. This week I wanted to make an easy list of bad and good carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are sugars that break down to make glucose in your body. Glucose moves through your blood, and is the main source of of energy for the brain, muscles, and some cells. Although carbs are not essential to human life because you can produce glucose with fats and protein. The difference is carbs can produce glucose quicker. To me that does not mean you should avoid carbs completely.

So here is the list.

Healthy carbs

Vegetables
Beans
Whole grains
Fruits
Nuts
Yogurt
Quinoa (high in protein and fiber as well)


Bad Carbs

Dried Fruit
Cereals (look at the nutrition labels)
Crackers
Cakes
Chips
Pies
Flours
Jams
White bread products
White pastas
Sugars, syrups, sweeteners
Candy
Bagels
Pizza (sadly)

For the bad carbs it does not necessarily mean to never eat these items. The point is these items should not be your primary source of carbs. You want most of your carbs to come from the healthy carbs, and then once in a while indulge in a cookie or pie. Try to pick a carb that has more nutrients. Also, for rice instead of choosing white rice choose brown rice. Same for pasta try to chose a whole grain pasta.

It has been almost a year now of consistently working out. My body has been changing drastically. I see arm muscle, my butt is getting firm, my thighs have muscles, but one thing seems to stay the same, my abdominal area. My stomach has made some improvements, but not like the rest of my body. Although my stomach is smaller, my little pudge and love handles seem to not want to go away. Is it because all of the tortillas  I have eaten throughout the years?

About two months ago I have been trying to figure out what I can do differently to help me lose these last few pounds on my stomach. I did some reading and I learned that abs are made in the kitchen. You have to eat clean, and stay away from junk food. Another important aspect is morning cardio. Morning cardio is good in general if you want to lose weight. When you do cardio in the morning you are working off the fat you have. If you do cardio later in the day your body will be working off the food you ate (you can eat before the morning cardio, but do not eat carbs).




My new goal now is to get up early and do some cardio. I am not a morning person, but a Latina has to reach her goal!

What goals are you setting this week?

From my home to yours: Simple Quinoa Patties with Avocado Sauce



Quinoa Patties:

Makes 6 medium sized Quinoa Patties

• 2 1/2 Cups of Water

• 2 Cups of Quinoa

• 1 tsp Goya Adobo

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1 tsp of Coconut Oil

Avocado Sauce:

• 2 Avocados

• 1/3 of a white onion

• 2 tsps of Garlic Salt

• 1 tsp of Goya Adobo

• 1 tsp of Parsley

• 1 tsp of Paprika 

• 1 tsp of Black Pepper

• 1/2 of a small tomato

• 1 very small piece of a Jalapeno

• 1 Garlic clove

• 1/3 of Milk

Preparation Time: 30 - 45 minutes


Quinoa is a new dish that I found about last year. Hard to believe, but it is true. Quinoa can be used in replacement of rice for a healthier option (in my family replacing rice is a no no). But quinoa is delicious in its own way. It has a plain flavor, but by adding the ingredients you like, it will make it a tasty meal. Quinoa was a sacred grain to the Inca Empire in Peru. This grain is high in fiber, very nutritious, gluten free, high in proteins, contains amino acids, and loaded with antioxidants.

I decided to make my own recipe for the quinoa patties, and add a special sauce (you know like add some Latina flavor).

This was my first time making quinoa patties. It was hard to keep the patties from not falling apart. I read some tips that you can add egg and breadcrumbs to make it easier for the patties stick together.

First boil 2 1/2 cups water in a pot with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of Goya Adobo. Then add about 2 cups of quinoa. The quinoa should be ready in about 15 - 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In a separate pan heat up coconut oil and add minced garlic. Chop half a white onion into small pieces and saute the onions and add 1 tsp of garlic salt.

When the quinoa and sauteed onions are ready add together into a bowl and mix. At this time you can add eggs and breadcrumbs to make it stick better. Make little quinoa balls and squish them into patty shapes. Once done if you are feeling lazy (like me and super hungry) pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes, if you are not feeling lazy in a pan fry the quinoa patties. Frying the quinoa patties will give it a crunchier kick.



For the avocado sauce peel 2 avocados, throw out the seeds and add the rest to the blender. Add to the blender onion, tomato, jalapeno, garlic, and milk. Add all the seasonings paprika, black pepper, parsley, garlic salt, and Adobo. Then blend until paste like. Taste and add more garlic salt if it needs more flavor.

When it is ready to serve put some avocado sauce on top of the patty. Enjoy!



How do you like to eat your quinoa?

I am a Latina conflicted between wanting to live in the tropical mountains of Puerto Rico to wanting to live the city life where there is no sleep. A Latina who loves her tostones to loving her quinoa. A Latina who wants to wear old comfy clothes to a Chicago fashionista. A Latina who wants to live inexpensive to a Latina who rather have flashy things.

Maybe it is because I was born at a time no other was born at. My grandma was raised in a town in the mountains of Puerto Rico, my mother was raised in a town in Puerto Rico, my father was raised in a rancho in Mexico, and I ...well I was born in the United States of America. The first of it's kind.

Finding Success

Success is not an easy route to take, but it is THE route to take. At times we feel like we are not doing enough, but when you look back you realize all your baby steps added up, and you saw a bigger picture. Success for example, is when you are building a house. You have to create a plan/design, buy the tools, set up the land. At first there seems to be nothing, but everyday you continue to lay a brick or put up a piece of a wall. Slowly, you start to notice how much you have progressed. Success can be looked at as building a house. You create a vision in your head, and layout the design, everyday you continue to take steps 1 month , 6 months, years later you will see all pieces falling together. You do not need an exact plan just a blueprint. We need to focus, and work hard because if you don't someone else might beat you to your own dream. Or even worse, you will live your life not knowing what your are capable of.



Life is all about balance. I love spending time with my family, going on vacation, doing fun activities. I also know that the amount of fun I have I need to work ten times harder than that. As a Latina I was raised family oriented, and sometimes I feel obligated to be at every family event, or every get together (my family gets together almost every weekend). It is a wonderful value to have, but to reach my dreams I need to sacrifice that time to stay focused and work harder. Especially now, I am maintaining my shape and building muscle. It is hard to stay on track when I am being offered tacos, quesadillas,tortitas, empanadillas, bread, and flan!

The new age Latina is conflicted with old core values, but at the same time having american values, knowing that we must work harder to achieve the American Dream. This isn't just about working "overtime", but literally taking the time out to find out who you are and what you truly want out of life. To separate yourself from your family/friends to see who and what you can achieve in life. Not saying that family/friends hold you back, but in my experience getting out of your inner circle or comfort zone can really show you what you are made of. So go out there, meet the world, try new foods, go on new adventures, make new friends, and show the world who you are. Most importantly, DO NOT GIVE UP!

Recently, I have been on a journey to eat healthier. I have done a lot of reading about protein filled foods. Protein filled foods can help you build muscle, reduce cravings, speed up metabolism, increase fat-burning, and much more. My goal is to gain some muscle, therefore I eat more protein than carbs and fat. You can break down your healthy eating habits into protein, carbs, and fat depending on your healthy living goal. That is something I can get into next time.



I struggled at the beginning remembering all the foods that are high in protein. I decided to make a list to make it easier for us all when we go shopping! I included meats and veggies in case you want an all around grocery list filled with protein! Enjoy!

1. Beans: Lentils, Kidney, Lima, Black, Pinto, and Pigeon Peas

2. Greek Yogurt

3. Nuts: Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios, Cashews, Peanuts

4. Seeds: Pumpkin, Squash, Sunflower

5. Tuna

6. Chicken

7. Lean Beef

8. Turkey

9. Pork Loin

10. Non-fat Mozzarella Cheese, Cottage Cheese, and Swiss Cheese

11. Canadian Bacon

12. Chorizo

13. Pepperoni

14. Edamame

15. Eggs

16. Falafel

17. Peanut Butter

18. Raw Oats

19. Japanese Soba Noodles

20. Quinoa

21. Avocado

22. Broccoli

23. Spinach

24. Salmon

25. Brown Rice



What is your favorite protein?