Sweetness from the fresh figs & pomegranate seeds, salty from the crispy prosciutto and then tossed with a maple mustard vinaigrette? The PERFECT fall kale salad.
After going through withdrawal from our two-a-day pastas during our road trip in Italy, I tried to find a somewhat-healthy (but really not-so-healthy, hello butter sage sauce!) meal that would bring us back to the days of Italy. The reason I say “somewhat-healthy” is the switch from regular potatoes to sweet potatoes. But believe me, it is every bit delicious, light and pillowy as traditional gnocchi.
A healthy & delicious week night dinner - Quinoa, Kale & Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant. (With a bit of lemon juice for a hit of citrus).
In the US Andrew and I LOVED the GT's Kombucha brand. They had some odd/interesting flavors that always made me feel 'healthier'. (ok ok, that may have been all in my mind). But, in Germany... these tasty/magically healthy kombucha brands don't exist! (They do have one or two brands of "kombucha" here, but it basically tastes like bubbly tea). I had always read that you could brew your own... and it was easier than I had thought!
The past few Valentines Days I've tried to bake something for Andrew as a little Valentines treat. (baking is how I show my love). It was much more romantic when we didn't live together, so I could show up with a nice little surprise. But the surprise factor doesn't really exist when he can hear the loud noise of my hand mixer whipping up a storm in the kitchen. Oh well...
This year I saw on pinterest these beautiful little meringues in the shapes of roses, so I thought i'd give it a try. The best thing is, its only 3 ingredients and they're not that bad for you. (it's really just egg whites + sugar + a lot of whipped air)
A few weeks ago Andrew mentioned something like "maybe we should add some different recipes into the mix?" ... at first - I was offended. "you DON't want kale salad at all meals?!" Then... I realized, maybe he's right. Challenge accepted.
So I got researching. My coworker & fellow 'health food fanatic' shared this link with me: "Healthy recipes for the month of February". And I was in love, so many interesting different recipes to try.
Its easy to fall into the routine of making the same easy dinners that you know you love over and over when you come home from work. So I challenged myself to try at least one new recipe each week. First, we are starting with a Sweet Potato Crust Pizza.
One of our favorite wintertime sides which is also perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. Smashed sweet potatoes with dried cranberries and pecans. It's a SUPER easy 4 recipe side dish, which can be made paleo - or not!
Fast, easy & delicious homemade orange cranberry sauce which is a perfect side to a Thanksgiving turkey,
These are by far - my most favorite cookies in the world. I could literally eat an entire batch myself. They taste like bite-size pieces of pumpkiny-fall, with little delicious chocolate bits.
Ok, here it is... this is the recipe for our absolute FAVORITE Kale salad. This became our go-to recipe during our months of "wedding prep" with paleo-healthy eating. We would make a big batch for dinner, and then pack some for us to take for lunch the next day. (that way we had no excuse to get tempted and eat badly). One of the amazing things about this salad (other than being SUPER healthy) is the fact that you can add whatever toppings you want and it will taste amazing!
The Bee's Knees. A refreshing drink made of a homemade honey simple syrup, gin, fresh lemon juice and some ice.
One of my new favorite ways to bring vegetables into my routine is by doing the oh-so-trendy "green smoothie". Green smoothies are basically any type of smoothie where you add in some sort of vegetable (spinach, kale, etc). But the veggies on their own aren't the tastiest, so it's always a good idea to add some fruit to liven it up (Green Apple, Banana, Kiwi, etc).
The recipe I am writing about actually turns out to be a "red smoothie" because of the beets. Beets are SUPER healthy, and is one of the sweeter vegetables. You can also use the "greens" that are attached to the fresh beet. (we've made salads with it).
Lemon blueberry layer cake with a light cream cheese frosting topped with sugared blueberries.
One of our favorite weekend breakfasts is sweet potato home fries with two fried eggs on top, add a bit of hot sauce, and accompany that with an espresso... perfection! Something about breaking that egg open on top of the sweet potatoes... its messy but sooo good.
Here in Boston the air is starting to get a bit more crisp, the autumn leaves are starting to fall, so it is the perfect time to make a big bowl of warm and spicy chili.
I went for the healthier option with ground turkey as well as the pumpkin bowl (you can eat the inside!). But you could also use ground beef, add some cheese and sour cream on top and some tortilla chips for dipping on the side. (if you really want to go big - use a bread bowl instead of a pumpkin bowl!).
Every year Andrew and I have a little pumpkin carving competition. The Fall is our favorite season, but unfortunately up here in Boston it comes and goes so quickly, so we like to make the best out of every Fall activity.
One of the things I loved as a kid about making jack o' lanterns was carving off the top and reaching in to grab the seeds... that weird feeling and that wonderful pumpkin smell just makes me think 'fall'.
There are so many things I love about the Fall season... the crisp air, leaves crunching under your feet, the bright oranges and yellows of the trees, pumpkin spice flavored everything.. but I think my absolute favorite thing about the Fall is apple picking. Andrew and I have started a tradition of going apple picking at Russell Orchards up in Ipswich, MA. It is the perfect little orchard... there is a beautiful drive through windy tree lined roads, and the moment you pull up the smell of Apple Cider Donuts fills the air. There is a little pumpkin patch with children running through it, and a small animal farm that I think Andrew and I enjoyed more than the kids.
I've wanted to write a blog about my food and travels for quite some time now, but I had no idea WHICH recipe to start with. So instead of over analyzing to find that perfect recipe, I figured i'd start with what I just made tonight!
First, start with a good piece of salmon. Since we cook for dinner and lunch all at the same time, we typically go with 2lbs of meat. One of the most important things to remember - line the baking sheet with foil! It will save so much time of scrubbing to clean.
The most delicious and moist chocolate chunk banana bread recipe. Even better the next day so it is the perfect “make ahead” recipe.