Author: LiveLoveFinds

The Last Supper

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For quite a few years of my childhood, I went to sleep away camp for a month. Every year before leaving, I would ask my mom to host “the last supper”, complete with one of my favorite homemade Cuban dishes and family by my side to send me off. I called this dinner, the last supper, since you know, they were shipping me off to a 5 -star-sleep-away-camp, in Maine, complete with children of A-list celebrities, and lobster dinners. SO ROUGH, I KNOW. But, the one thing Camp Laurel South didn’t have was Rabo. Growing up, and to this day Rabo, ox tail, is one of my favorite Cuban dishes that my mom used to make.

These days, most “ox tails” you find at your local grocery store are more likely to be beef tails as opposed to ox tails. As you may know from my Instagram stories as of lately, I’ve been experimenting quite a bit with some of my favorite Cuban dishes. Whether it be just mastering the flavors and recipes, or coming up with healthier versions, it’s whats dominating our kitchen these days. Last week at the grocery store I came across some great cuts of “ox tails” and decided it was time to experiment.

Disclaimer: when I first made this recipe last week for just Joel, Thomas and I, I did it in the instant pot and the meat fell right off the bone, but I needed more seasoning. When I made the Rabo again this past weekend for my entire family, I used my slow cooker since I was cooking significantly more ox tail. The flavor was definitely there this time, but the tenderness wasn’t the same, but read more about this in my notes below the recipe!

I’m sharing with you guys two versions of this recipe, a slow cooker version and Instant Pot version. This recipe is best served with white rice and taking some of the cooking liquid and drizzling that over your rice, excuse me as I drool just thinking about it! Let me know which version you otry and share your pictures!

Ingredients & Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs ox tails, fat trimmed (you will have to trim the fat yourself, but try choosing meatier and larger size bones, see in pictures above)
  • Cumin*
  • Salt*
  • Pepper*
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 2 yellow onions, diced
  • 1 cup cooking white wine
  • 1 cup of of broth or 1 cup of water with bouillon cube
  • 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • Minced garlic*
  • Bay leaves

*You’ll notice that I don’t often provide measurements for seasoning. Honestly, I never measure my seasoning and just add as much as I feel like that day!

Slow Cooker Instructions

  1. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat
  2. Season oxtails with salt, pepper, and cumin
  3. Cook oxtails on each side so just the outsides are seared and place in slow cooker
  4. Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker
  5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Instant Pot Instructions

  1. Season oxtails with salt, pepper, and cumin
  2. Use the sauté feature to sear outsides of oxtails, you will have to do these in batches. Place oxtails on plate while searing
  3. Sauté peppers, onions and garlic for a few minutes
  4. Place instant pot on pressure cook and add oxtails back to instant pot.
  5. Add remaining ingredients to pot
  6. Close and seal instant pot, set to cook on high for 50 minutes
  7. When complete allow instant pot to do a natural release

Note about slow cooker: In the pictures shown, these were the ox tails I cooked in the slow cooker, which was too small for all I was cooking, but I made it work. The ox tails towards the top were not submerged in any cooking liquid which made these tails not as tender as those that were. I cooked the tails for 6.5 hours and let them keep warm in cooking liquid until we were ready to serve, about 1.5 hours later, and it helped!

Lifestyle Changes

LiveLoveFinds3 Comments
#transformationtuesday

See that #transformationtuesday up above? That’s me a little over a year ago and me just this past weekend. What’s changed besides my weight? My lifestyle.

I’ve gotten a lot of questions over the past few months on how I’ve been able to drop, as of Saturday, 23 pounds! The simple answer: it’s a lifestyle change.

Let’s be clear, this wasn’t one dramatic change I decided on another “diet starts Monday”. This was little changes over the course of the last ten months. It started with going dairy free, see more on that here, then meal prepping all vegan lunches and eating animal products (dairy not included) only at night, then I added daily workouts, and lastly, I started intermittent fasting.

It goes without saying, this is what has worked for me, but may not be what works for you. You should always consult your doctor before starting any new regimen or diet. In speaking with my doctor and getting blood work, I’m healthy and these changes have been what have worked for me!

I probably get asked the most about the intermittent fasting. Each day looks different for me. Sometimes, I’ll be able to fast for 16 hours, sometimes 22, sometimes 20 and sometimes only 13. I take each day one at a time and listen to what my body needs, and then maybe spend a little bit more time at the gym on those 13 hour days! Intermittent fasting worked for me because of a few different factors. I’m not a breakfast person to begin with and I noticed that when I do eat breakfast, I was much more likely to overeat throughout the day. This makes longer fasts easy for me. Also, I never feel like I’m depriving myself of anything I really want. I just eat the things I want, in moderation, later on!

Those 23 pounds haven’t been easy and there’s been plenty of plateau weeks, but this is also the longest I’ve been able to maintain such a significant weight loss.

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes for times when I just need a little home cooking at the end of one of those longer fasting days, without the guilt!

Crunchy Pollito aka Crunchy Chicken

Ingredients

  • Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, diced in 1-2 inch cubes
  • Garlic Powder, to taste
  • Lemon Pepper Powder, to taste
  • Cumin, to taste
  • Cornstarch, 2-4 tablespoons
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil, I use safflower oil for this recipe

*Please note, I never measure my seasoning, but just go with what looks good and feels right! For the cornstarch, you want to use enough to make sure all your chicken has a pretty even coat.

Preparation:

  1. Heat skillet over medium high heat with preferred cooking oil
  2. With your diced chicken thighs in a bowl, add your garlic powder, lemon pepper powder, cumin, salt, pepper and cornstarch.
  3. Toss chicken with remain ingredients in the bowl so that diced chicken pieces are evenly coated
  4. When oil has heated, added chicken to oil and let cook for 5-6 minutes on one side
  5. Flip chicken pieces over to cook on remaining side
  6. When chicken has finished cooking, place on a plate with paper towel to drain any excess oil.

A few notes about this recipe:

  • I like my “pollito” extra crispy so I leave the pieces in long enough that they brown on the outside on at least one side
  • This recipe is healthy than your traditional fried chicken because instead of coating with egg and breading, you’re only coating with cornstarch!
  • If someone attempts this recipe in an air fryer, please let me know how it is!
  • I love to pair this with my delicious white rice or with my dairy free mac and cheese! But this can easily pair with any veggie side, throw it into a sandwich (like a homemade Publix Chicken Tender Sub, excuse me while I drool all over my keyboard)

Grazing Boards

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My favorite trend of 2019? Grazing boards. If you know me, you know I like to have options and grazing boards give me LOTS of options! So, what is a grazing board? See image above. But in all seriousness, a grazing board is board, however big you want it to be, with whatever treats you want it to have. And no, it’s not for cows like Joel keeps insisting.

I first came across Pretty Pleese when looking for vendors for our own wedding, needless to say, I was obsessed! Crystal not only creates beautiful boards for all occasions, but has also been so wonderful to work with! Her work inspired me to recreate some of these tasty treats!

Let’s get down to it, how do you create these boards? Honestly, there’s no wrong way to do it, but there are some basics.

  1. Sweet or Savory? I’ll be featuring both today, but will delve more into the Savory board!
  2. How many people will you be serving? This will determine the size of your board.
  3. Will you have a theme? The board I’m featuring today was “truffle themed”, there’s a particular 5 year-old tenant in our house that is quite fond of all things truffle. I created a monster.

Shopping List (based on a board for 5-7 people)

Savory Board

1. 3 cheese options, I get two wedges and dice one up to vary textures

2. 2 deli meat options, I usually use a chorizo and prosciutto

3. 2 different types of crackers or vessels for your cheeses and meats, Trader Joe’s has great options that won’t break the bank

4. 1 or 2 jams or honey, I used my favorite truffle honey, it’s worth EVERY penny

5. Arugula, optional, but I sometimes use this as a decorative base for my savory boards

Sweet Board

1. Mini Powdered Donuts

2. Glazed Donut Holes

3. 2 Candies of your choice, I always have candy on deck here, again 5 year-old tenant, so just take from whatever is on hand!

4. Piroulines, tip: I find these at Ross for half the price than at my local grocery store

5. Nutella

6. Frosting

7. 2-3 types of sprinkles, I like to have a few options of sprinkles to add some variety to the board

I make my boards all about layering! As you’ll see in the pictures below, start with your base and/or any accessories you may use. For example, in my savory board I laid down the arugula first and decided I wanted my small bowl of truffle honey to be in the center. For my sweets board, I wanted my mini mason jar (filled with sprinkles to elevate the Piroulines and a nice decorative touch) to be offset and I added a small candy bowl next to it. Then decorate around those pieces!

Here’s a step-by-step look at the Savory Board

Started with my arugula base.

Added my bowl (for truffle honey) and placed the 3 cheeses I used which were: Truffle Pecorino, Saint Andre, and Truffle Goat (this is the diced one).

Added my cheese and deli meat vessles. The vessels consisted of thin rosemary crackers, garlic and parsley bruschetta rounds, and some bread sticks.

Added my deli meat next. For the prosciutto, I rolled it up and placed in between crackers and near cheese, I like to put these around the edges. For the chorizo, I folded some like a taco and put under the pecorino, but for the pieces standing, I used a tri-fold and they stand up nicely like this when placed together and tucked between things!

Ta da! Here I added the delicious truffle honey, a sprig of rosemary for decoration and our knives so we could enjoy!

As you guys can see, there’s no wrong way to eat a reeses! But really, there is no wrong way to create these boards. Who wouldn’t be happy to be sitting in front of a platter of cheese, meat and bread?! Below are some pictures of my sweets board!

Some tips for the sweet board:

  • I like to dip the mini donuts, glazed donuts, and the Piroulines in frosting or Nutella and then dip in sprinkles. Makes these items look less store bought and more homemade.
  • If you need some variety in height, add some leftover sprinkles to your jar, pretty and functional!
  • Vary your sweets. Surprisingly I’m not a sweets person, but in general peoples sweet preferences are all over the place. I like my boards to have a little something for everyone. On this board we have sour candies, chocolate covered pretzels, mint chocolates, chocolate wafers, cookies and cream pocky sticks, powdered donuts and glazed donuts. A little something for everyone 🙂

I hope this inspires you to make some boards of your own. When you do make your own, please share your pictures!

Skincare

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I’ve had some realizations in 2019. 

  1. Next year I turn 30.
  2. My body, skin included, is not that of a young, wild and free 21 year old, running around New York City, eating Domino pasta bread bowls at 2 AM.
  3. Did I mention that next year I turn 30?

As a result, Domino’s is no longer an exclusive food group in my diet and as you read in my last post, I’m dairy conscious now guys.

But back to skincare! If you’ve looked at any type of social media the past few months then you’ve definitely seen the scapel to the face procedure, dermaplaning. Lucky for me, being a client of Sunset Dermatology, they were offering a special for dermaplaning for the month of September, I jumped on the opportunity!

Two weeks ago I met with Diana, the aesthetician at Sunset Dermatology, for my first dermaplaning session. She recommends the treatment every 2-3 months. By the way guys, she’s the sweetest and answered every little question I had, on top of letting me hold up my phone to record my session as she worked her magic!

Back to dermaplaning, your session goes as follows:

  1. Face is cleansed
  2. Face is prepped with a peel
  3. Dermaplaning, the FUN stuff!
  4. Enzymatic Peel
  5. Hyaluronic Acid Peel
  6. Growth Factor Serum applied
  7. Sunscreen applied

All of this in about 30 minutes! There was no downtime to the treatment and I had very little redness right after! But the most noticeable difference has been that my skin has been GLOWING, even two weeks later!

right before dermaplaning session, note skin texture is uneven and not smooth

dermaplaning

Everything taken off during dermaplaning.
Immediately after my session. My face is a little red, but overall much smoother and glowing.
Exactly one week later. My skin is still glowing and so smooth!
One week later again, but this time with makeup. All my makeup and products go on so much smoother and even as a result of dermplaning.

Overall, I loved my experience with Diana and the dermaplaning treatment. Let’s be honest, I love every experience I have at Sunset Dermatology, #selfcare am I right?! I wanted to give dermaplaning a try before my wedding in January and will definitely be back to Sunset Dermatology for another session right before my big day!

Have questions about what you see? Just leave me a comment below! For more information about Sunset Dermatology, check out their website here!

Dairy Free Lasagna

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I get asked a lot, “Are you dairy free? Are you vegan?” The answers are no and no. I’ve created a new term (just like every other millennial) for what I consider myself, I am dairy conscious. What does that mean you ask, Joel asked me the same thing when I first brought it up with him too. Dairy conscious means, in the comfort and privacy of my home, I try my absolute hardest to be completely dairy free. But, when we’re out at a restaurant or in public I’m not gonna be that asshole asking, “Does this have dairy? Does this have butter? Does this have cream? Etc.” I’m gonna live my life while I’m out because let’s face it, I still love dairy. But no doubt about it that I will hate myself two hours (maybe less) later while I’m stuck in the bathroom 🤷🏻‍♀️.

As a result of being “dairy conscious”, we’ve experimented A LOT this year with dairy free substitutes. Let me be VERY CLEAR, while none of the dairy free recipes I post will ever be able to fully replace their dairy counterparts in all their glory, some have come pretty damn close! Let’s start with this lasagna. I used to make this lasagna with full blown dairy followed with full blown cramps, but lasagna is one of Joel’s favorite dishes. It was time to explore!

A few notes about this lasagna:

1. I made the cashew ricotta using apple cider vinegar. I would definitely recommend using lemon juice or white wine vinegar and maybe slightly less of whatever acid you decide to use. While the “ricotta” had a great flavor before baking, the vinegar came out in a distinct, not so great way after baking.

2. The provolone slices were from the brand Follow Your Heart, I would recommend their mozzarella slices for this recipe as they have a better taste or perhaps another vegan sliced cheese of your preference!

3. If you don’t feel like making your own ricotta, Kitehill makes a great dairy free ricotta!

4. This recipe is also delicious when using actual dairy. Just substitute your favorite regular dairy products! My secret tip for the dairy-full version, use jarred vodka sauce instead of a red sauce 😉 Thank me later!

5. This recipe should keep in your fridge for a week!

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and send me your pictures and let me know how you made this your own!

Ingredients & Recipe

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 28 oz. jar of preferred red sauce (dairy free)
  • 1 bag Violife mozzarella shreds
  • 1 pack of Follow Your Heart provolone slices
  • 3 cups vegan ricotta cheese, double this recipe and save your leftovers
  • 1 box of oven ready lasagna sheets
  1. Preheat oven to 375 ° F
  2. Saute onion until translucent, add minced garlic
  3. Cook ground beef about 3/4 of the way through and then drain fat
  4. Return beef to pan and empty entire jar of sauce into pan, cook beef in sauce for a few minutes until cooked through
  5. While sauce is cooking, mix “ricotta” with egg
  6. Once sauce is finished, place some of the meat sauce at the bottom of cooking dish
  7. Layer your lasagna as follows: sauce, lasagna sheets, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella shreds, provolone slices, repeat as many times as desired or until you can no longer layer!
  8. Bake for 40 minutes at 375 ° F covered until you see cheese bubbling! Keep in mind that dairy free cheese does not brown and crisp like regular cheese.
  9. Serve warm and enjoy!

Live Love Finds

LiveLoveFinds, 1 Comment

So, I joined the millennial bandwagon. Hi!

For those who don’t know me, I’m Alana. BCBA by day and juggler of all life things by night and doing it all from sunny (and hot) Miami, Florida.

Why start this blog? I’ve gotten tons of questions on my Instagram about what people see in my daily ins and outs. Things like food recipes, fashion, beauty products, home decor, etc. I figured, I’m always sharing my finds, why not put all that content in one place and dig a little deeper?

This space will be for you to share in my finds and coming up with ways to make those finds your own! Want me to find something in particular? Just let me know!

For those that know me, know that I live with intention and wholeheartedly believe in the power of thought. What you believe you become, or the mantra I got tattooed on myself, sorry Mom! Anyways, it has fared quite well for me so far, so I’m going to kick off this blog in the same way. My intention for this blog is that I want this to be a space where you can find ways to grow, learn and become inspired with me and hopefully I can give you some laughs along the way too!

Happy finding! -Alana