Looking for a super healthy summer appetizer or light dinner? Look no further than rice paper rolls! They're colorful, tasty and a cinch to make as long as you don't mind chopping veggies into thin strips...To make things quicker/easier you could buy pre-chopped veggies such as julienned carrots, strips of bell pepper, etc. Feel free to get creative with what you put in your rolls! Rice paper rolls can be the perfect 'kitchen sink' meal, i.e. a way to use up all the veggies leftover in the fridge at the end of the week!
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In time for Thanksgiving next week, I've curated a collection of gluten- and dairy-free recipes from the blogosphere to give you some healthy cooking inspo! Whether you're in charge of the family T-giving meal or needing to bring a dish to a Friendsgiving potluck party, hopefully you can find a recipe here that will fit the bill. I bet no one even notices how healthy they are!
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Autumn is here! Mornings are chilly and winter squashes and pumpkins are popping up at the farmer's markets. I've been on a smoothie kick most of the summer, but as soon as the weather changes, I find them much less appealing. Instead, I crave something warm and comforting to break my fast....and this porridge really hits the spot!
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I bring my lunch to work every day. It's healthier and definitely saves money. My favorite kind of weekday work lunch is a hodge podge of leftovers from the night before. Meal prep and planning is essential for success and I follow the principle of 'cook once, eat at least twice.' This means if I am cooking chicken breasts + veggies for dinner (for two people), I will cook 4 chicken breasts and 4 servings of veggies so lunch is sorted for us the next day. If, for some reason, this leftovers plan doesn't pan out, or we went out for dinner, then I have to have something up my sleeve that is simple, delicious and can be prepared quickly the night before or in the morning before heading to work. This salmon and collard green burrito is my go-to! All it entails in terms of prep is a quick steam of the collard greens so they're soft enough to roll like a tortilla and a messy stir of the salmon salad ingredients in a bowl. Throw the burritos into a glass tupperware container and you're off to the office...in ten minutes (including clean up)!
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One of the first principles I teach my clients is to make lunch the biggest, most nutrient dense meal of the day as the digestive system works most efficiently between 10am - 2pm. With lunch being the main meal, that means dinner should be small and light because your digestion is weaker in the evening. You could do a soup or stew in the autumn and winter and a salad in the spring and summer. This nutrient-dense steak salad is a great option for a light weeknight dinner. You'll feel full from the protein, healthy fat and fiber while keeping the calories pretty low at around 400. Plus it's totally delicious and satisfying!
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Now that it's Spring, I'm back on the smoothie train. Smoothies can be a great choice for adding to your breakfast meal rotation, or you can make them smaller to have as a snack. I've been enjoying this delicious blueberry coconut concoction pre- or post-workout. It's well balanced with healthy fat, protein and carbs plus it's simple and easy to make!
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Spring is here! So it's time to start transitioning away from the heavier comfort foods of winter and into light, cleansing spring fare! This doesn't mean you have to eat salads three meals a day. Instead, focus on flavored steamed veggies, brothy soups, sprouts and lighter proteins like beans/legumes, lean meat and fish. These tacos are a wonderful option for a weeknight dinner. Maybe you can even eat them outside on the porch like we did last night!
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Who doesn't love a crock pot meal in the winter? How good is a "chuck everything in and walk away" dinner? It's freakin awesome is what it is. This crock pot roast is as quick and easy as they come. It literally takes 2 minutes to prep, which you can easily squeeze into your morning before racing out the door. The cauli mash isn't too difficult or time-intensive either, apart from the 25-ish minutes it takes to roast in the oven. But, again, you're able to pop it in and walk away. Then you just have to whizz it in the food processor and you're ready to serve! If you're like me and feel a meal is incomplete without something green, you can saute up some spinach super quick or steam some kale, chard, or beet greens (pictured here). Recipe for this simplicious weeknight meal comin'atcha.....
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Ok team, I've got a warming, sweet-tooth satisfying, anti-inflammatory and deeeelicious recipe for you today.....SUPERFOOD HOT CHOCOLATE! This is a recipe I make often in the winter, either as a mid-morning pick-me-up or an after-lunch treat. It's chock full of superfood nutrients and is home run for satisfying sugar cravings.
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I love a nice warm bowl o' oats for my brekkie in the Fall. Oats make for a satisfying and cheap breakfast while doing great things for your heart and digestive health. Some people can't or choose not to eat grains as perhaps they have an autoimmune disease, or they're following a Candida diet or Paleo / Primal eating approach. For my grain-free folks - guess what? Grain free doesn't have to mean porridge-free! By swapping out the oats for apple and coconut, you can achieve a porridge-like consistency. I wanted to give this bowl an Autumn spin so I added in butternut squash puree, ginger and some turmeric for all it's immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory goodness. The result is a rich, creamy, satisfying, grain-free, Paleo porridge that should definitely make it on your breakfast rotation this season.
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Getting in a good breakfast is very important in setting you up for a successful day of clean eating. When you don't eat enough, or grab something sugary or junky just to fill your tummy, your blood sugar starts off on a wonky note and you'll be fighting an uphill battle the rest of the day to bring it back into balance. If I know I'm going to be rushing out the door the next morning, either I make something the night before to bring with me, or decide to have a breakfast that takes less than 2 minutes to pull together. Below are my five favorite breakfasts for busy mornings when I'm on-the-go.
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Spring is the time of year when our bodies naturally want to "spring clean" or detox after the heaviness of winter. If you tune in, you may notice that your appetite naturally begins to wane during the months of spring. Spring boosts natural fat metabolism which, in turn, decreases cravings, hunger and appetite in order to reset fat burning, start detox and loose any extra weight carried over from winter.
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I love an afternoon snack of veggie crudites (celery sticks, baby carrots, cucumbers) with hummus. It's a great way to deliciously satisfy hunger between lunch and dinner while loading up on vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and healthy fats. As much as I enjoy hummus, I can get a bit tired of it and am always looking for ways to mix it up, i.e. adding sweet potatoes and chipotle in for a Mexican twist, or swapping out the chickpeas for zucchini -- that kind of stuff. That's all good, but I really wanted to expand my horizons. This dip - called muhammara - answered my prayers.
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I have to admit, most bliss balls I've tried are a bit disappointing. They look great, but when I buy one and eat it, it's just not that good. Not sure what the deal is, but rather than trying to figure it out, I decided to try my hand at making my own to see if I could step up the game a little. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these are pretty damn delicious.
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I'm sure y'all have heard of the Paleo diet by now. It seems to be the latest health trend / buzzword. You may be wondering, though, what actually does the Paleo, or caveman, diet entail... I get asked this question a lot so I thought I'd write what I know about it and also hook you up with a delicious and Paleo-friendly cookie recipe in case you want to jump on board the caveman train.
In a nutshell, the Paleo diet is about eating in a manner similar to how our caveman ancestors did before the agricultural revolution. This means eating unprocessed meat, saturated fats (from animals, avocados, coconuts, etc.), non-starchy veggies, nuts/seeds, eggs, and a little low-sugar fruit. It also means eliminating any food that arrived since farming and processing began, about 10,000 years ago -- stuff like grains, legumes, dairy, vegetable oil, etc.
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Ok guys, here I am delivering on my promise from last week. If you're thinking of giving the Two Week Red Meat Experiment a try, this is the perfect dish to make on Sunday for a week's worth of no hassle red meat lunches. Portion it out into mason jars and bring one to work with you each day. Too easy! Even if you aren't doing the Experiment, this recipe is sure to please! I'm on a bit of a chili-making kick at the moment and this one is by far the best from my repertoire. Hearty, protein-y, spicy and moreish -- what more could you want from a winter lunch? It will get you through your afternoon without thoughts of chips or chocolate (I can pretty much promise). I'd definitely recommend doing one of the two creamy-add-ons, as well as garnishing with a healthy handful of cilantro to get some green into your midday meal.
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For those of you who followed my blog through my Asian travels at the beginning of last year may know that I was 'vegan' for about 6-ish months. You can read more about my meat-free life here. Once I started culinary school in August, it was pretty difficult to maintain a fully vegan diet as we had to learn to cook animal protein and I wanted to taste all our creations! For the time I was in school, I ate and enjoyed whatever animal protein we made, but maintained a vegan diet at home. So, with that, let's call it about a year with limited animal foods, and particularly minimal red meat consumption (probably 5 times the whole year).
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