Cooking and I go way back. I had to start cooking and grocery shopping when I was in grade school but I didn’t know anything about healthy eating back then. I came into my love of cooking in college. And as I’ve gotten out on my own, I love baking, sharing my table with others, and I’ve loved eating healthier too.
What you put in your body is just as important as how much you move your body when wanting to lose weight (or just to stay healthy). And nowadays, everyone has specific diets: gluten free, no dairy, vegetarian, no carbs, vegan, fat free, etc. Whatever way you is up to you and your doctor, but here are some of my favorite healthy recipes from over the years.
Enjoy – and please share your fave healthy recipes in the comments so others can see them.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus – perfect, creamy, and definitely packed with protein with the chickpeas. Eat it with a spoon or with some raw veggies for a perfectly nutritious appetizer or small plate.
Black Bean Salsa – I usually make this several times a year. Raw, whole ingredients. Can’t get better than that. And it is perfect for a topping on meats or salads, and you gotta have this to go with your standard Taco Tuesday.
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls – most people do allow for some bread – and what better way than to use whole wheat flour and just imagine the smell of yeast in your home – I think it is an amazing smell.
Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles – quite possibly my favorite Cooking Light recipe. I love mexican food and this for breakfast is a huge treat
Homemade Granola Bars – yes, you can buy granola bars, but when you make them you can control how much sugar and fat and preservatives you put in. So much better for you!
Spinach Casserole – I know this doesn’t sound like much but it is simple comfort food.
There are so many others – and tons of salads and smoothies! Fresh foods and colors in your food are two helpful things to remember when going healthy. More color usually means more vitamins!
Hooray for a Monday off (well, I really don’t work, so not much change here) and the unofficial start of fall. I’ve got some eating healthy to do this week. My mister has some stuff going on with work so the littles and I will be eating our meals by ourselves for a few days at night.
I have some leftovers to send with the mister for lunches: beef stew, triple b mac and cheese, cream of celery soup (recipe coming soon), and vegetarian baked ziti. And this week I’ll be making:
Spaghetti Casserole
Lots of green smoothies
Lots of salads
The boys faves: chicken nuggets, fish nuggets, veggies, fruit, sandwich meat, pbj, etc.
Making these muffins (it is one of our rotations for breakfast along with oats, yogurt and granola and fruit, and cinnamon toast)
I have a thing for cookbooks. And food. Yup, I do. There, I admitted it.
I love cookbooks that tell me a story, that highlight real food, that makes me want to make every recipe. This one is even better because it clearly reminds me of my childhood. I loved going next door to my grandparents house and picking all the tangerines and oranges that I wanted. I never remember buying citrus till I moved out of the state of Florida. My parents had a kumquat tree that died. They now grow pomelos. I would love to grow a lemon and lime tree just because I hate purchasing them.
If you are a lover of citrus, you need to pick up this cookbook. If you can’t get your hands on good produce to photograph – then rip out the pictures and put them on your wall in the kitchen to inspire you. Love the tangy, tartness in these recipes. Adore the many uses of the same fruit. There are so many varieties. Just go with it!
The first recipes I’ll be making is the lime curry chicken this weekend and grapefruit and avocado salad this week. Can’t wait – and yes, there will be photos.
I received this book happily from Blogging for Books in exchange for my thoughts, all of which are my own.
BBQ. Everyone has their opinions of it, especially in the South. Vinegar? Brown sugar? Mustard? Smoked with sauce? Smoked with sauce on the side? Pork? Beef? Never-ending discussion on this subject.
I do like some BBQ better than others but one of the best parts about bbq is the side dishes that accompany it. And this new macaroni and cheese would own up to the best bbq at any picnic table – especially this weekend, as it is the official last weekend of summer and many tailgating parties are happening as well.
Triple B Mac & Cheese
Recipe Type: casserole
Cuisine: southern
Author: kcreatives
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
The perfect side dish to any bbq – or just a main dish waiting to be devoured
Ingredients
8 oz shell pasta
6 T unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp country dijon mustard
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup diced banana peppers
3 strips bacon (already cooked, diced)
3/4 sleeve Ritz crackers
2 T unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Boil water for pasta and cook the pasta according to directions, drain.
Melt down butter in a pan.
Once butter is melted add flour and salt. Whisk until combined.
Add pepper and dijon mustard and mix well
Add cream and stock and whisk for about 3 minutes
Add monterey jack cheese and turn off the heat.
Dump in the cooked pasta.
Pour all into a buttered casserole dish.
Top with grated sharp cheddar.
Mix melted butter, crushed crackers, and diced cooked bacon. Sprinkle on top
Bake for 20 minutes at 400.
EAT!
3.3.3077
Triple B: bacon, banana peppers, and baked. Creamy. You can’t go wrong.
Cardamom is definitely my favorite go-to spice with anything berries or citrus. It just lends that special “oomph” and “hmmm, wonder what is in there” to any recipe. I have made some cardamom sugar with the pods and always have ground cardamom in my spice “basket” (a wine box I found at Goodwill which I love and am always in search of another one for cheap).
Anyway, I had to share this recipe tonight! Just in case you have tons of lemons and you just have to have cookies with your decaf tonight!
This recipe is a shout out to Cheryl Day who owns Back in the Day Bakery – my fave cafe in my favorite city in Georgia, Savannah. I tweaked her recipe and oh by golly is it good (and her’s is stellar too by the way).
Lemon Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Cuisine: Dessert
Author: kcreatives
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 dozen
Perfect chewy shortbread for that cup of coffee!
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract (I love opening the bottle of this, smells amazing)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup 10x sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
zest of two lemons
1/8-1/4 cup cardamom sugar (for sprinkling on top before baking)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350.
Spray sheet pans with baking spray.
Cream butter. Add in salt and lemon. Combine sugar and zest. Then add in all purpose flour. Shape into balls with your hands and gently press them down (I’d love to find a pretty cookie press for this one, a simple, antique one would be great).
Let chill in fridge for 2 hours.
Sprinkle cardamom sugar on top of each cookie.
Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
Cool a little – then devour them warm, or wait until morning.
Greetings folks at the last day of August. I wanted to share a little about how I go about planning my menu each week, and remind you still have until tomorrow to enter my 10 year blogging giveaway, and give you the menu for the week.
Here is just a few steps in my menu planning:
Ask my mister if there is anything that he would want for food this week. He usually gives me one or two specific things so I try to always mix those into what I’m already planning.
I have my go-to food blogs and always some cookbooks on hand to peruse and see what looks yummy to me this week.
Think about our schedule and our diet needs for the week. Sometimes my husband has two days off, sometimes only one, so that plays a factor. Also, we are on the go…so I like healthy and portable if we are going to be gone close to lunch time.
I write down the recipes I want to make and make a list. Then, I hit my pantry and fridge to see what, if anything, I have off that list so I don’t duplicate it. Then I put that revised list into the notetaker app on my android. This is so much more handy to me than paper and pen. I can just delete as I go with one finger. Not needing to balance paper, pen, grocery cart, and two little boys who are reaching for shelves or hitting my heels with the little grocery cart.
So, here is what we are doing this week:
Spaghetti
Macaroni and Cheese with banana peppers
Kung Pao Cauliflower
Roasted Jalapeno Soup
Beef and Vegetable Soup.
I’ll be sharing the recipes on facebookin if you want to follow along there – and I’ll be tweaking them – so if they come out well, I’ll share them with photos on Instagram (you can follow along over there) and the recipes here on the blog.
