One day, a few months back, a friend and I were emailing and I asked her if she had any suggestions for dinner. She suggested her signature recipe: Thai chicken lettuce wraps.
Since then, it's not only become a go-to and something I make quite frequently, but also something I whip out for guests as well--and it's always a hit. I'd love to share the simple recipe with you...
Click for more (photo overload)...
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Last night I was on a sewing mission and I knew it was going to take me all night so I needed something quick, easy and healthy for dinner to fuel me in between pinning and stitching. Enter this amazingly easy and delicious dish that I made up spur of the moment.
Ingredients:
* 1 Chicken breast (or more if you're feeding others);
* Your favourite veggies, sliced; I did mushrooms & zuchinni because I had it on hand.
Directions:
1. Pre-heat over to 350C
2. Pour a quarter size amount of coconut oil in your cooking dish
3. Sprinkle with pepper
4. Add your veggies around the perimeter
5. Spread some grainy dijon mustard on your chicken
6. Place the chicken in the centre
7. Cook for 30 minutes & devour
I never had nor heard of onion bahjis until someone introduced us in the fall.
They are a traditional Indian....meatball? If I can get a lil' Italian on you.
They are made up of onion, cilantro, curry and other delicious stuff and were quite simple to make. As fate would have it, we got to use a deep fryer (versus using a pan with oil) to cook them which is how they are authentically done and they were to. die. for. Seriously delish.
Pssst, I used whole wheat flour.
1. Rolled oats with dried cranberries, milk & ground flax seed
2. 'Healthy' Grilled Cheese (made in the oven on 12-grain bread, no butter and real marble cheese)
3. Honey-garlic grilled chicken, kidney bean salad with feta & boiled cauliflower
1. Scrambled egg (whites) with broccoli, onion & cheese
2. Baked salmon, quinoa & broccoli/carrots
3. Chicken Kiev (from a box!) and a spring mix salad
4. Grilled chicken, quinoa topped with black beans & a spring mix salad
1. Mini Eggs &vanilla frozen yoghurt
2. Yoghurt, Kashi GoLean Crunch & raspberries
3. Cottage cheese with mixed frozen berries
4. Vanilla yoghurt with crushed Crispy Crunch chocolate bar on top
1. Avocado
2. Grilled chicken, black bean salad with feta & mashed sweet potato
3. Raw almonds
4. Home made felafel
1. 12-grain bagel with low-fat peanut butter (Kraft is my fave) & ground flax sprinkled on top
2. Breakfast at the Hilton (buffet): Scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, grilled veggies & milk (my fave!)
3. Easy microwave egg-white omelet with a peppermint tea (frequently my daily Monday-Friday breakfast)
4. 12-grain bagel with peanut butter and a steeped tea (two milk, one sugar)
1. Fried egg 12-grain bagel sandwich with grape tomatoes, marble cheese & spinach
2. Low-fat cottage cheese with cinnamon
3. Tuna melts with avocado on top
1. Spring mix salad with grape tomatoes, feta and whatever else I threw in there
2. Carrots & hummus
1. 'Healthy Fish & Chips': baked salmon with garlic & cilantro with home made sweet potato baked fries
2. Bacon, eggs & grilled potatoes
3. Tuna, mayo & cubed cheese (what!? I didn't feel like cooking)
4. Meatloaf & baby carrots
1. Purchased roast beef salad with tomato, hard boiled egg, mayo & lettuce
2. Breakfast wrap from the caf at my work (eggs, bacon, a hashbrown, lettuce & tomato in a whole wheat wrap. Oh. Ya.)
3. Spring mix salad with dried cranberries, unsalted sunflower seats, feta cheese, grape tomatoes and ground flax (no dressing)
4. 'Gourmet' hot dogs (wrapped in a flax seed pita with mustard, swiss cheese & then I added spinach) with veggies 'n dip
I whipped up some Chicken Parmigiana tonight on a whim...
I've never made the real deal before.
And by real deal, I mean coating it in an egg & bread crumb mixture, frying it in oil, and then baking it to perfection.
I always take the half-assed route: put chicken in baking dish, pour tomato sauce over, sprinkle grated cheese & bake.
BOR-ing.
This time was gourmet though.
I coated and fried that chicken up 'till it was nice and golden and fatty, and then I baked. Big hit. Biiig hit.
And of course to keep things healthy, I threw in some broccoli on the side (and whole wheat pasta).
It seems lately (or at least when I'm uninspired) my favourite question to my friends is, 'What are you having for dinner?' aka what am I having for dinner.
See how clever that is?
Anywho. A friend suggested meatloaf tonight and sent me the recipe.
I like easy, healthy stuff, and this fit the bill.
I made it and devoured it at 10pm... because I got home late, then had to make it, then it took an hour to cook... then I ate it. And I have a (hot) lunch for tomorrow. Woo.
Meatloaf:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
* 1 chopped onion
* 4 minced garlic cloves
* 1 pack of lean ground beef
* 1 cup of bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup of milk
* 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix everything together with your hands. Line a loaf pan with tinfoil and 'fill' with your meatloaf mixture. Bake for an hour. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting.
I topped mine with a ketchup based sauce (1/3 cup ketchup, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp dried mustard).
You know when you're eating something really, really yummy and (as I like to say) you don't want it to be over? That's how I felt while eating this delicious bean salad. A friend sparked the idea, I came up with the recipe.
It's easy. And healthy. And filling. And delicious.
Don't like beans?
You could use quinoa.
Hate tomatoes?
Avocados can be your friend.
Not a fan of feta?
Look, I'm not going to hold your hand.
See what I just did there? I gave you options. And that's what eating is all about.
It's easy. And healthy. And filling. And delicious.
Don't like beans?
You could use quinoa.
Hate tomatoes?
Avocados can be your friend.
Not a fan of feta?
Look, I'm not going to hold your hand.
See what I just did there? I gave you options. And that's what eating is all about.
Black Bean Salad
* 1 can of black beans
* 1/2 onion chopped
* 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
* Crumbled feta (as much as you like)
* Splash of lime juice
* Pepper to taste
Just finished making and eating this. It was a total improv of a meal and it turned out quite good. I was looking for something healthy, filling and tasty after my sweat session at the gym tonight and this did the trick. Here's how it goes:
You need:
* Turkey breast (sliced into strips)
* Broccoli, red pepper & onion (or whatever veggies you like)
* Curry paste
* Plain Yoghurt
* Quinoa
Saute your onions in a little olive oil, while cooking your turkey in a separate pan. Add the other veggies to your onions. Once turkey is cooked, add that to the mix. Prepare the quinoa. Mix up two big spoonfuls of curry paste with three big spoonfuls (or more) of the yoghurt. Poor over turkey/veg mix. Simmer. Poor over quinoa & enjoy.
I ate this tonight. Pulled Chicken Salad. A off-the-top-of-my-head recipe from an old friend that never fails. It's clean, healthy, filling and delicious (and quick, easy-peasy).
I was leaving Zumba tonight and hit up the grocery store as I needed two things: (i) groceries, and (ii) dinner. After picking up various produce and planning my meal for tomorrow night (I'm making a Greek chicken crock pot dish I've never attempted before) I started to feel hungry. I hit up the magazine/cookbook aisle for inspiration and I didn't even need to open a book! I saw a magazine entitled, 'Clean Eating' and my mind jumped to this salad and back to the produce aisle I went. Within 15 minutes of arriving home I was chowing down.
Ingredients:
* Whole BBQ chicken
* Spinach
* Veggies you like (I like: grape tomatoes, avocados)
* Canned mandarin oranges
* Optional: dried cranberries
Make it:
Pull all the chicken off your BBQ chicken and put in a bowl off to the side. Put heaping handful of spinach on plate. Chop veggies & add to the mix. Throw in whatever else you want (walnuts are awesome. As are hard boiled eggs). Toss some chicken on top. Enjoy.
Told ya it was easy.
Sometimes I make my own dressing (not tonight, thanks Kraft) and to do so I squeeze a lime (you could use lemon), chop a couple cloves of garlic, and pour in some olive oil. Shake it up and pour over your salad.
I made turkey sweet potato chili.
Wow, that was a mouthful.
It was delicious.
I then proceeded to eat it for four days straight.
It was still delicious.
I used ground turkey (duh), for the first time ever, and it was good (but not quite the good stuff kids go for).
Kids would probably go for chocolate and chips...
Joy the Baker is my favourite food blog. Not only does she whip up amazing desserts, dinners, appetizers, cookies, cakes, breakfasts, soups and more, she's hi-larious. No seriously, she is. And witty, she's so witty she's makin' all the kids want to be just. like. her. I have made several of her concoctions before (my fave ginger cookies are courtesy of her) and this time I took on two recipes at once. At once! Quinoa Cakes (with some stuff in 'em) and a Vegan Broccoli Soup. And hot damn they were good. Seriously, this girl knows what she's talking... er... cookin' about. Don't take my word for it (or my photos, because not only is girl a phenom chef, she takes extraordinary photos too), check her out.
* I modified my recipes a tad just because I didn't have a few ingredients. Here's what I used in lieu:
Sage instead of cumin
Lime juice instead of lemon
No olives
Cilantro instead of parsley
I love sweet potato. I can't get enough. I bake it, I mash it and now I apparently make it into soup. When I found this recipe, I knew it was love at first sight (hello, did I mention I love sweet potato? It was a no brainer). It was fairly easy to make and enjoyed for many days following the night I made it. Le yum. Get your soup on.
Super easy summery salad. The last time I made this was for Canada Day celebrations and since we are experiencing Daylight Savings now, what better way then to post about something summery? I can almost feel the warm breeze blowing past... oh wait, I actually can as I'm still on vacation in Florida.
What you need:
* 2 pears
* a pint of strawberries
* a package of leafy stuff (I used mixed greens)
* feta cheese
* walnuts
Dressing:
* olive oil
* 1 lemon (for the juice)
Chop everything up, throw it in a big bowl & enjoy.
For the dressing, it's kind of a trial & error. I like to use a Mason jar; squeeze a lemon (or lime) into the jar, add even more olive oil and shake it up. You might need more of both, pour over salad right before serving & toss.
I even put some of the salad on my buger! Get creative.
When I was in Toronto in November, the bff and I went to Fresh, a restaurant originally discovered by our mutual friend Ka. It's a gourmet vegetarian / vegan restaurant, and while I love meat, this was a great change for a night. I ordered the Warrior Bowl and devoured it.
About a month ago I attempted this dish, without instruction (strictly memory and imagination), and it turned out quite nice (keep in mind it's not really a Warrior Bowl, but we'll call it A.Co's version). Tonight I was craving it (especially since I knew I had a fresh blueberry pie waiting for me for dessert!) and wanted something healthy. Here's the how-to:
You will need:
Spinach
Chickpeas (I used kidney beans last time in a pinch)
Brown rice
Peanut Sauce
How to:
1. Cook your rice (I used about 1 cup)
2. When the rice is almost ready, saute the spinach (I used 4 big handfuls) and chickpeas (1 can) in a wok
3. Spoon in 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of peanut sauce into the wok
4. Mix in the rice
5. Add pepper to taste (I also added curry powder - be creative!) & enjoy
I only had about a large spoonful of peanut sauce so I improvised
and added two large spoonfuls of peanut butter - it works!
I love pizza. However, ordering pizza isn't the healthiest nor the cheapest when you want it on a semi-regular basis (read: once a week or so), so I have come up with a way to have my pizza and eat it too (and not feel guilty).
What you'll need:
- Greek pita wrap (I like these because they are thicker, but I always get whole wheat or whole grain, etc.)
- Tomato sauce (any kind will do)
- Loads of veggies (my faves include broccoli, olives, tomatos & mushrooms)
- Any kind of grate-able cheese (I like marble)
- An oven, pre-heated to 400 degrees F
Spread tomato sauce on pitas, layer with veggies and cover with grated cheese
Bake until cheese is bubbly and pita looks done / slightly-crusty
Voila! (I enjoy mine with hot sauce)
While driving home from the gym the other night I knew I'd be eating solo and wanted something quick, healthy and to be able to use ingredients I already had (I really didn't want to stop at the grocery store!). I decided on the tried and true tuna melts I often make in this situation. When I got home, I realized there was no mayo but remembered a friend had advised me years ago that you could substitute humus wherever you used mayo (a trick her doctor taught her). I actually had humus and gave it a shot and it was actually really good. From now on, this is how I will make my tuna melts. Now, to keep humus on hand will be the tricky part...
What you'll need:
- 1 can of tuna (preferably in water, much healthier)
- 1 or 2 stalks of celery (or something crunchy - I like the crunch)
- block cheese (I used what I had on hand, cheddar)
- a spoonful of humus
- some sort of bread
- an oven, pre-heated to 400 degrees F
Chop celery, cheese and mix in a medium bowl with the canned tuna
Add a spoonful of humus (I just winged this, you might need a bit more/less)
Spoon tuna mixture onto your bread (I love using a bun but was trying to be healthy
so I used 12-grain bread), on a baking sheet & pop in the oven for 20 minutes
or until cheese is melted and the tops look slightly browned
Enjoy!
Tandoori grilled chicken & avocado stuffed flax pita
Ever have those days where you don't have much on hand to cook with, but are feeling something healthy, satisfying and good? Me too. All the time. Tonight I was cooking for one and really didn't want to make a trip to the grocery store. I had a few things on hand that I wanted to incorporate (chicken, avocado, cauliflower and sweet potato), but didn't want the standard, 'Chicken and veggies' meal. Hmmm, after perusing online and finding nothing that used all four ingredients, I decided to make something up. I ended up with this tandoori grilled chicken and avocado stuffed flax pita. It was good, too (and easy - has to be easy, especially for nights like these)! Here's how to make it:
You will need:
Chicken breast
Avocado
Cheese (any kind, get creative!)
Tandoori sauce (you could use honey-garlic, teryiaki, whatever your lil' heart desires)
Pita bread (I like the healthy stuff and got a thicker, flax pita)
How to:
1. Get out the panini press or BBQ. Brush your chicken with your (tandoori) sauce and place on the grill.
2. Cut up some fresh avocado and slice some cheese.
3. Cut open one end of the pita so it's ready to be stuffed.
4. Prepare any side dishes (I made a baked sweet potato and grilled up some cauliflower and carrots, however, the pita is pretty filling so you might not need this)
5. When the chicken is ready, put a couple slices of your cheese on and grill for 30 seconds (to melt).
6. Stuff pita with chicken and avocado & enjoy.
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