Four ingredient chocolate truffles

These will change your life. They just changed mine. If you're in a pinch and new to impress someone with your culinary prowess, without actually HAVING culinary prowess, these are perfect. They're actually perfect in every way but that's besides the point. These have ingredients MOST everyone probably already has. And they are soooooo delicious.

You need:

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semi sweet but you can use whatever type suits your taste)
1 tbsp almond or peanut butter
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
A coating mixture. I used coconut but you can use ANYTHING! Like chopped nuts, cocoa powder, graham cracker crumbs, possibilities are endless.

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave at 30 second intervals
2. Mix in the peanut or almond butter
3. Gently mix in Greek yogurt until completely incorporated
4. Refrigerate 15-30 minutes until firmed up
5. Roll approx 2 tsp mixture with fingertips and roll in coating mixture
6. Refrigerate until serving time

YOU'RE DONE! This takes less time to make than most desserts and is a lot more impressive. if anyone asks for the recipe just send them this way OR you can keep this deliciously simple recipe your dirty little secret. No one has to know how easy it is!


Xo D.

To paleo or not to paleo

Hello!

This blog post isn't a recipe, but more about information.

I have been intrigued by paleo for some time now and after months (years?) of clean eating and pretty regular exercise with no real results, I decided to look more into it.

I've been following @crossfitchemist for a long time and have always looked at her food pictures and though "THAT LOOKS SO GOOD!" or "I WANT BACON TOO!" Maybe mostly the second one...

After a few conversations regarding diet, she suggested I read It Starts With Food.

I immediately fell in love with the concept.

Eating foods that make you feel good.

Eating foods that encourage a healthy physical and psychological response.

Makes sense, right?

The part that has stuck to me the most has been the bit about digestion/knowing when you're full.

10,000 years ago, humans had to hunt/forage for their food. We obviously don't have to do that anymore and a lot of foods and made full of chemicals and artificial ingredients to keep costs low and profits high.

The problem with this, is our system isn't made to digest these chemicals and they honestly do nothing for you. They don't make you feel good, they don't make you look good, they're just not contributing anything to you at all.

The way your gut works is that your nutrition is absorbed through your intestine and once enough nutrition has passed through, your brain gets a signal to stop eating because you have absorbed enough nutrition.

These macronutrients your intestine is looking for are fat, carbohydrates and protein.

Let's say you have one plate of chicken, quinoa and vegetables and another plate with candy.

You eat the balanced meal with vegetables, chicken and quinoa and get a proper response at a proper time since your food is whole and nutritious.

If you're eating candy, you're eating a copious amount of "food" but since you're not absorbing any proper nutrition, your body doesn't get the signals to stop eating and you end up overeating.

I swear, when I read this, it all made sense and it was like a lightbulb went off.

Of course you eat more food if it's not doing anything for your body because it's craving proper nutrition and since you aren't giving it any, it keeps asking for more food, hoping you'll give it something it can use.

Probably my favourite part of the paleo system is that you're given the knowledge of what food are good for you and which are bad. You're obviously encouraged to make wise choices, but there are NO restrictions. If you want to cheat, you cheat. But you know you're not helping your body out.

After I started reading the book, I went gluten free for about four days. A Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

When I went back to work on Monday, I didn't pack a lunch and decided to get subway and got flatbread. As soon as I took bite, I got a big belly ache. My body had already gotten used to using something OTHER than gluten for nutrition. (Gluten is actually useless to our body but that's another blog post. This post is already getting too long.)

Anyway, that was a bit of a rant/ramble but all this to say basically that this is something I'll be writing more about and hopefully providing some paleo recipes and results and encouragement. 

Another concept proposed in the book is something called Whole30. 

This program (I HATE the word diet) is a way to reset your body, get it used to eating real, whole, unprocessed food. No cheats. No sugar. No alcohol. Thirty days.

I'm planning mine for September 2013, so I'm sure some posts will come from that as well.

If you have any questions, so NOT hesitate to send them in the comments, or email budgetfriendlytrophy@gmail.com and I'll do my best to give you a proper and prompt reply.

xo D.

I made a treat for you all

Weekly Planner!

Hello!
I was planning my Whole30 (which I'm doing in September) and was having trouble finding a printable (and free) weekly meal planner that was also cute.

I know. I'm picky, but I figure it'll help me somehow with sticking to the plan. I won't have an excuse to be disorganized.

I'm planning on figuring out all the meals and then posting them here and blogging my whole30 experience.

So I've attached a jpeg of the meal planner, not sure if you'll be able to grab it, but go ahead and use it!

xo D.

Cheesecake bars

At the request of Amy, I am doing a post about these delicious bad boys.

I think I found the original recipe on pinterest and since then have made them a few times, always adding my own twist.

These treats freeze well and travel well. I've cut them into squares and wrapped them in plastic film then frozen them individually to avoid inhaling the whole pan all at once.

ANYWAY!

The recipe is pretty basic:

Yes, I took the time last night to hand write it as I was in a meeting and desperately bored and wanted to share.

As you can see, they're stupid easy. Perfect if you have someone over last minute. Just whip these up and pop them into the oven.

I usually use fairly soft butter (as I leave my butter on my counter so in the summer it gets really soft) and the cream cheese SHOULD be softened but I give it a good whirl in the kitchenaid and it behaves.

The only time that doesn't work is if you've put your cream cheese in the freezer. I did that once and just microwaved it at like 20% at 30 second intervals. I have all sorts of tricks to share loves.

Other than that, the recipe is fairly simple to follow, but if you do have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments below. I'd be more than happy to answer if I can.

Now as for variations, I've done a few. I've added some lemon zest to the batter before for a fresher bar. I've also baked frozen raspberries into the top.

For Canada Day, I decided to bake frozen cherries into the bar and make the top into a Canadian flag. Since the top bakes like a cheesecake, I had to cover it in whip cream first to create a surface for the strawberries to stick onto. I know this is a pretty pitiful Canadian Flag, but come on, it's not an easy one to replicate.

Hope you enjoy these bars!

xo D.

Budgetting while planning a (nearly) cross country move

Good morning loves,

I know it's been a long, long time.
Quite frankly, I've been in over my head with this whole moving to Winnipeg thing. 
I think things have settled a BIT now, as I have planned what I'm bringing, what I'm selling and what I'm giving away or throwing out.

Now, some of this (actually a lot) is relying on my penny pinching skills. I have to admit, I am getting help from my parents.
My mom has offered to send my things for me and my aunt has graciously offered to receive my boxes and bring them to my place when I get there.

Things are a bit complicated, however, as my lease officially starts July 15 and I won't get there for almost a full month after.
I also haven't found employment.

But don't fear my loves. It will work. I have to make it work. And I always do make it happen, by some kind of weird troph voodoo.

Ok so let's tackle how I planned my move.

Things to bring:

I've moved an insane amount of time, we're talking 15 houses in the last 22 years with this move making it 16. So I have a bit of experience.
I am moving into a bachelor suite, so I know I will need to be frugal, not only with money, but also space. There is a little storage room, but my sister has said it's not very big (she lives in the same building so our layout is the exact same. Don't even get me started on how excited I am to be living in the same building as her.)
So basics like my coffee maker, dishes, pots/pans/etc., clothes are coming with me or getting shipped.

Things to sell:

I'm not really sure if this is really bad etiquette, but when I moved into the place I'm in now, a lot of people gave me things. Like my microwave and its stand, a kitchen table with three chairs and a few other things. Those things, along with a PLETHORA of knick-knacks are the things I plan on selling. I'm also going to try and sell my bed since it's worth less than the cost to send it. I'm also selling things like DVDs I never watch, craft supplies and all my Christmas decorating. I'm aiming to make $200 on this yard sale, but honestly, I just need the things gone.

Things to donate/throw out:

This is a little embarrassing. I threw out four garbage bags full of things a few weekends ago. FOUR! I know. Where did all this worthless stuff even COME FROM?! I wish I knew. Some of these things were half  used toiletries which I figured no one would buy (I wouldn't.) as well as some half-finished crafts, some souvenirs I just don't think are worth packing around with me. So after chucking all these items into the dumpster, I still had some good items I know would benefit someone. I brought fabric scraps and read magazines to the laundromat since I knew they'd appreciate it. I also brought a big clear bag of clothes and some shoes (the separation anxiety was astounding) to the local battered women's shelter. Felt good knowing things I didn't want or need could be used by people who would really, really be appreciative.

So this is basically where it stands. I've made my lists and started working towards sorting everything out. My dad is bringing me a bunch of boxes of my things he apparently has, but I have a feeling it'll be a whole lot of junk/things to sell since I haven't needed/used them in the last year and a bit.

Have you moved before? What are your favourite ways to make sure everything is organized and ready to go? 

xo D.

Salting Steak

Salting Steak

This post is, again, more of a method that an actual recipe.

I was on Pinterest and saw (very briefly) a post about steak. It was about making the best steak you'd ever put in your mouth or something so, of course, I didn't repin it and it's gone forever.

HOWEVER! I did catch one part of the pin. Which was salting the steak while waiting for it to come to room temperature.

That night, I visited my grocery store and picked out some top sirloin steaks. Mostly because I don't know anything really about steak and they were cheap so I figured this is a good opportunity to test the method.

After I tried it the first time, I was so intrigued by how it worked I did some research and found this. 

I mean, this girl looks like she knows what she's talking about so I decided to try this a second time. This time, I took pictures to show you doll faces how exactly it looks and how it works.

SO! All you need is steak and salt. Sea salt specifically. Don't use table salt at any cost, you will regret it and I will tell you I told you so.

First, I trimmed the fat off the sides of my steak. 

Then I put them onto a baking sheet I had lined with foil. I poured salt on one side then flipped them and poured salt onto the second side.

I crushed a few (lots) of garlic and added those on top as the flavour gets carried into the meat (as you read in the link I posted)

This part is crucial. Let the meat sit. For best results, let it sit for at least 40 minutes. I left mine out for about 2 hours because I was on Skype and got distracted.

Now, you will notice the steak looks like it's bled out. Do not fret. This is water. The salt has done some complicated chemical reaction and basically broken down the meat fibres and so this is water leaching out, leaving more flavour in the meat.

Rince the steaks off and dry them out VERY WELL with paper towel.

Ok once you have done all this, you are ready to cook the steaks.

Now you can see on the package that the 4 steaks cost me around 8 dollars. So this is 2 bucks a pop. Honestly, you cannot find a better deal for protein. Chicken breast is like 30 a pack here and I just can't afford that. So now, I can get cheap steaks and make them taste like a much more expensive cut. I'm ok with that.

What are your favourite ways to make you feel like you're eating expensive while sticking to a budget?

Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork

This is way more of a method than an actual recipe. Mostly because I always have different spices on hand to throw into the rub.

I started making this a few months ago and it is now in heavy rotation in my meal planning because it is cheap, tasty, not too bad for calories and I have a weird obsess with BBQ. 

Seriously, obsessed.

Anyway, this is what you need.

Ingredients:

1 pork roast. I always use shoulder, bone in.

1 cup brown sugar (basically the only constant in my rub)

The rest is up to you. Mostly I use garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chill flakes and salt and pepper. Super easy.

Steps:

1. Mix your brown sugar with all the spices.

2. Rub all over the roast. Make sure you cover every spot, you want the flavour to really get 

into the roast.

3. Wrap your pork in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge. I usually let it sit one or two days.

4. Put your roast in your slow cooker with 3 cups of liquid. I've used apple juice and water.

 My sister uses coke or root beer. I bet mustard and water would be good, whatever, you drain it after anyway so I usually just use plain water.

5. After your pork is cooked (a solid 8-10 hours on low), drain the liquid and shred the pork. It should just fall apart. Add barbecue sauce. Depending on how much roast you have, use enough barbecue sauce to lightly coat the shredded pork.

Price wise: My roast was $14. Pulled pork has lasted me two weeks before. It freezes very well, so you can just pull out however you need and refreeze. Also you can add it to pizza, pasta maybe, I usually just eat it on a whole wheat bun with plain broccoli slaw. Yum! So per portion, it's about $1 (not including the spices, which you probably already have on hand.)