This salad has a different name in our house, but it has a bad word in it, and I know there could be some of my GOTRs that read this, so I am keeping it out of this part. The first time I made this salad was on my birthday which is April 30th, and it was after my first bite that I gifted this salad its signature name. We had it every day that week, and since then we've had it every week.
Green Poodle Cocktail
Changing my diet to mostly vegetables has forced me to be more open to new flavors and spices. I used to be such a wuss about spiciness. I still kind of am, but am definitely more adventurous.
That led me to trying a cocktail based on jalapeno. A cocktail that I am still thinking about. I can't remember all the exact ingredients of said cocktail, but I am pretty dang satisfied with how this one turned out. It is clean, fresh, and crisp, with a spicy aftertaste.
Taco Tuesday: Sweet Potato Black Bean Falafel Tacos + Kale Slaw + Tahini Sauce
Aside from being healthy and worthy of the mid-chewing 'mmmmmm's' (I'm thinking specifically of the scene in What About Bob? where Bob is eating corn at the family dinner table), my favorite recipes have three things in common:
- They make great leftovers
- They are easy and relatively quick
- They keep me satiated for a long time
Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Microgreens
This is the easiest, most delicious way to make homemade pasta. Trust me. I've tried many recipes and most of them call for fancy pasta driers/tools or use a sack of flour. Or, in most cases, have left me with gummy, bloated, wormlike strings and dinner at 10:00 pm.
I had 3 issues to solve. The recipe needed to consider the following things:
- Easy ingredient list
- No frills preparation
- Successful cooking method
Blue Corn Cakes Topped with Avocado and Herby Heirloom Tomatoes
This summer, our favorite thing to eat is Grilled Romaine and Grilled Pizza. Last summer it was Grilled Panzanella, and the summer before that, it was Corncakes with Tomato Salsa. I recently made these, and we remembered how much we L O V E D them, that and it is the perfect 'cold' dish to serve during the heat of the summer!
Four great things about this dish: 1) it can be served as an appetizer or as a side, 2) it can be served cold, 3) it utilizes delicious heirloom tomatoes, 4) it harks back to traditional southern cuisine, but in a healthy way.
Heirloom Tomato, Beet, Avocado Cold Summer Salad
It took me a couple of years to acclimate to Nashville summers. No t-shirts (if you sweat as much as I do...), God help us, NO gray, breathable fabrics only, no pants EVER, you get the idea. One night before dinner time, I asked P to research exactly this: 'cold summer vegetable recipes' and 'cold dinners for hot summer days'. We didn't really find much that could be ready super quick. (Sometimes I wait until I absolutely MUST eat within minutes, and that kind of limits things.)
'Pack All the Snacks' Mode - Pumpkin Pie Granola
Eating healthy is definitely a priority to me so setting aside time to plan out or prepare food is necessary. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast, I actually require two of them. Since I’ve been working during this time I had to come up with something easy, satiating, delicious, AND mobile.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili - Fourth Item in The Grateful Plate Series
Sometimes after a long day, the best kind of dinner is the one where you just throw a bunch of stuff into a pot. You use up some of those vegetables that you forgot you had, pop open some beans, throw in some canned tomatoes, and not only do you have a delicious dinner, but you have some marvelous, healthy, delicious, leftovers for the week. (LEFTOVERS ARE THE BEST)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN - Harry Potter Workout!
When people say they haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, I genuinely feel bad for them! They haven’t experienced how wonderful the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is!! The creativity of those books, its just astounding.
I wish Hogwards was real. I wish I could participate in the Welcome feasts and the Christmas feasts!! (Do the feasts in the books make anyone else hungry???) I wish I could apparate and use portkeys!!
I’ve seen various Harry Potter workouts around Pinterest before, and always thought they looked interesting. My husband and I did one in May that was SO much fun, check it out here! To celebrate Halloween, I thought we could do another one! We wanted to watch one of the later movies, and I couldn’t find a workout for any of the movies past Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I decided to make my own to work in accordance with Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix!!