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Filed Under: Daily, FOOD AND COOKING, What We Eat

EVERYDAY EATS / HEALTHY FAMILY DINNER FAVORITES

In January Chris and I did a month of no sugar, no dairy, no processed grains and no booze (sooooo boring). Sounds pretty horrible from the outside looking in, but I promise it’s almost all rainbows and butterflies, well after the first two weeks or so. I personally do a detox once a year, so cutting back on all these things was pretty easy for me (I’m not trying to toot my own horn, it just was). The first time is always the worst, oooh those sugar cravings!! Since that month is over and as annoying as it sounds (it feels equally annoying as I type it) it feels better to keep those things cut out of our diets. So we still avoid sugar, dairy and processed grains, but still enjoy them when we crave them or when we are out – moderation. It’s that 80/20 rule, 80% of the time we eat clean and super healthy, 20% of the time we eat what we eat. And since I do all the cooking, the kids basically eat whatever we eat – except I still buy and make them their favorites for snacks and school lunches.
Alot of you asked if I could share some of the things we eat, that didn’t have the 4 things we were avoiding (that’s a bit of a confusing mouthful).
I like to try at least one new recipe a week (I get very tired of eating the same thing), some weeks everyday consists of a new recipe. But we always have a rotating list of go-to simple ingredient favorites, here are some off our current list for dinners and leftovers (aka lunches):

DINNER

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Salmon
Italian Drunken Pasta (minus the white wine and noodles – and use a gluten free/sugar free sausage)
Meatloaf Muffins
Chicken in Milk – our favorite roasted chicken recipe (switch out the milk for coconut milk, not exactly the same but still oddly totally addicting and delicious)
DIY Chipotle Chicken Bowl: Chicken Marinade (I put it in the slow cooker), Rice Recipe (I use quinoa instead), Corn Salsa.
Quinoa Chicken Curry Bowls
Tex Mex Casserole
Crock Pot Tikka Masala (use unsweetened coconut milk instead of yogurt and cream)
Deconstructed Falafel Bowl

SALADS

You can always follow me on Pinterest, I use my recipe boards like a cookbook and delete food pins that didn’t work (if I’ve tried them) – all the above recipes are on my boards (my heavily organized boards, nerd alert) and of course I’m always adding new ones as I find them. Do you have any fantastic go-to healthy dinner recipes? Please Share!

*A photo of breakfast for a dinner post? What can I say, I don’t take a lot of food photos so it was my best stand in – but also I do eat eggs for dinner sometimes, brinner!

Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, FOOD AND COOKING, SIMPLE LIVING, What We Eat

WEEKLY FOOD PREP: SUMMERTIME

Once summer hits I find we are home way less, which means there is barely enough time to cook a meal – if it’s not too hot to cook. The house is usually in a constant state of mess, more than usual that is. And I always always feel like I’m behind on life as soon as we step in the door (and probably the whole day, to be honest). I try my best to plan ahead, but have taken things to a more controlled type A personality type level, this year. This is how I prep for the summer weeks (It’s a bit different than in the fall and winter), to make sure we all stay eating well and there are zero surprise “let’s go grab some take out because I forgot to thaw/prep for dinner” moments.

MEAL PLAN (ALWAYS MEAL PLAN).

I cannot grocery shop with out a plan. Well I can, but I always end up over spending and then having to visit the store a few extra times during the week to grab things I forgot – a waste of time and money. So I meal plan (usually Sunday nights, because I like to shop Monday or Tuesday mornings when it’s quiet and the stores are just getting restocked from the weekend). I usually sit (probably while the kids play and make another mess) with my pad of paper and Pinterest food boards and make a list for the week.

WASH ALL THE FRUITS AND VEGGIES.

Fill the sink with cool water, mix in 1 cup of vinegar and then toss in your fruit and veggies as the groceries get unpacked. Letting them soak for 10 minutes, as soon we come home from the store makes it easier for the kids to just grab a snack during the week and let’s me skip the whole washing step when cooking prep time comes.

CHOP AND PEEL.

There are some veggies that take a bit of extra time to chop, but can keep well for a while once chopped. In the summer I like to pre-chop and peel vegetables for salads and snacks (and stuff), it takes out half the work for later and it makes throwing a salad together or grabbing cut up red peppers instead of crackers much easier. I like to chop red onion, red peppers, carrots, de-stem and break apart kale.

COOK AHEAD.

Those things that can easily thrown into salads or added to a meal, but can take a bit of time just on their own getting them all ready to be eaten. I like to prep and cook a few beets, a few hard-boiled eggs, chick peas (or whatever beans and legumes I’m into using that week) and quinoa. If I ever make too much, quinoa (never happens) or chickpeas – I freeze them, which then makes the following weeks prep super-duper easy. *I recently started cooking my dried beans and legumes in the slow cooker, much better and more fool-proof then soaking all night and then cooking.

MAKE HEARTY SALADS.

Sometimes it’s a pain to stay indoors and cook for long periods in time in the summer, but maybe that’s just me and my tiny kitchen. At the beginning of the week, I try to make a couple (depending on how much room my fridge has) hearty salads to keep covered in the fridge. Often I will leave the dressing (and less hearty vegetables, like spinach) on the side and we can add that to each portion later. This makes lunch time a no brainer (especially packing lunch for Chris). Also it’s a good fall back for a dinner side when I’m feeling lazy (let’s say about 5 days out of the week). This quinoa salad (a twist on this recipe), broccoli salad, and chickpea salad from the oh she glows cookbook (for quick sandwiches) are some of our favorites.

MIX AND PUT ASIDE.

Mix breakfast, salad dressings and marinades. For all the same reasons, if you prep and pre-make it, it will make eating and eating healthier so much easier. For breakfast I make a version of overnight oats but just let it sit for about 20 mins in the am and its good to be eaten – usually I pre-mix because my concoction of nuts, seeds, and grains is a bit confusing for my husband. Same goes for salad dressing, if I know I’m going to need it that week making at least one of them ahead of time will take all the work out of making an extraordinary salad later.

PACK AND PREPARE.

Often if we have our day planned out, I will pack snacks, a hearty salad and some sandwiches in my backpack when we head out for the day. This way we don’t have to rush back for lunch and we won’t be so hungry that we grab some pizza or something else while we are out. Basically this plan let’s the kids play outside allll day long, no interruptions.

MOST PHOTOS TAKEN BY: KINGSTON

Do you have any weekly meal prep tricks? How is summertime for you, do you find it harder to keep up? Find some of our favorite go-to meals here.

Filed Under: Daily, What We Eat

WHAT WE EAT / 03

Instead of a post filled with photos of food we like a whole lot. I am stuck on one delicious salad, we often go to whole foods just to devour it and then my cousin made it in the summertime – and then I literally dreamnt of it for weeks. Eventually I decided to make it myself with some tweaks. Oh and I added kelp noodles, my friend told me all about these super noodles and I finally bought them. Cheese Whiz, the only thing that is stupid about them is how long it took me to buy them. They are great in everything, add an extra crunch and are so crazy healthy and cleansing (no more detail then that needed, this is a post about food). So keep in mind, I am not a food blogger or a recipe maker (nor do I claim or aspire to be) – I just simply like to share the things we love and sometimes food fits into that love list.

BROCCOLI SALAD WITH EXTRA CRUNCH

2 broccoli crowns (or 3)
1/4 red onion
handful of sunflower seeds
handful of dried cranberries
cooked chopped bacon or tempeh bacon or coconut bacon (optional)
1 heaping table spoon veganaise (no soy version)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons cane sugar
salt
pepper
kelp noodles

whisk together: veganaise, apple cider vinegar, cane sugar, salt and pepper.
wash and cut broccoli into small bit sized pieces, toss with sunflower seeds, red onion, dried cranberries and bacon (or facon bacon).
pour dressing over top and mix. cover and put in fridge for 30 mins, or so.
before eating mix a handful of (washed and cut) kelp noodles with each serving.

SO KELP NOODLES, HEY? You can buy them at specialty food or health food stores. They aren’t really like noodles at all, more like a crunchy sorta tasteless vegetable in a noodle shape – which means they taste good in everything, since they don’t over power any flavors. They are gluten free, contain no fat, cholesterol, protein, or sugar – and are usually just 10 calories per serving, basically they add some extra substance without all the carbs and such. They are super high in nutrients, because kelp is super like that. So far I have tried them in salads, but I am excited to test them out as noodles in some pasta, maybe even soup and I’m sure they would be great in fresh spring rolls. I might not have sold them as well as I should, so just trust me and give them a try. Also this salad, but be careful you might just eat the whole thing.

Filed Under: Daily, What We Eat

WHAT WE EAT / 2

QUINOA SALAD | quinoa, corn, grated carrot, minced red onion, chopped red and orange peppers, spinach, feta, and the best Italian dressing you can buy/make. (husbands lunch like every single day)

CURRY LENTIL SHEPHERDS PIE | yummy mummy kitchen recipe but with a sub in of Indian spices instead of thyme and rosemary.

CAPRESE PANINI & KALE CAESAR SALAD | budget bytes recipe with sourdough bread and kale instead of romaine in a Caesar salad.

EGG FRIED QUINOA | Liv Life‘s recipe

SALMON TACOS | Cup Of Jo‘s recipe. (a kiddo favorite)

TERIYAKI TOFU CHOW MEIN | dry fried tofu marinated, stir fry veggies and tofu and boil noodles (no frying). this teriyaki sauce recipe, but tamari instead of soy, cane sugar instead of brown (half the amount of sugar), and balsamic vinegar instead of wine.

Original post from OhDearDrea, she inspired me to create my own. I’m not a food photographer, and most of the time I forget to take photos while the light is good (or at all, cause we usually don’t like to wait to eat for anything) – but these are some of our favorite recent meals. And I swear my kids actually do eat all of this, Harlow asks for the salmon tacos all the time (they really are the best, like the recipe says).

Filed Under: Daily, What We Eat

WHAT WE EAT

Before I tell you anymore, you need to know that this post idea is an original OhDearDrea series – all credit must be sent in her direction, preferably in the form of internet kisses, oooos and awwwws, sour dough bread and Oreo cookies.

SIMPLE SPAGHETTI | quinoa noodles, uncooked minced garlic, uncooked chopped kale, nutritional yeast, chili pepper flakes, pepper, extra virgin olive oil. basically a pumped up version of this.

EXTRA FLUFFY PANCAKES | a basic pancake recipe like Martha’s with a twist: 3/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup greek yogurt instead of 1 cup of milk and maple syrup instead of sugar.

BACON BRUSSEL SPROUTS | an adaptation from Rachael Ray’s recipe, less bacon, less bacon grease, no oil and vegetable broth + sirracha.

GRAPEFRUIT & ALMOND APPLE OATMEAL | fresh grapefruit, plain oatmeal with almond butter, unsweetened apple sauce and a dash of coconut milk.

CURRY SPAGHETTI | quinoa noodles, jarred vegetable bolognese, sauteed mushrooms, onion and garlic and curry paste (my secret is out).

ROASTED VEGETABLE ENCHILADAS | eats well with others recipe, sub greek yogurt instead of sour cream and add sirracha of course.

I’m no chef nor am I a food photog, but I thought it would be fun to share small snaps of what we eat once in a while – sometimes it is more exciting then what we wear (especially when our Spring clothes look exactly the same as our Winter ones, if you know what I mean). We are pretty simple cooks and eaters over here, we like our meals to be healthy, delicious and not budget breaking (budget nazi, right here). We are moderation eaters (that’s our label and I’m sticking to it), we eat alot of meatless, wheatless, au natural, and fresh foods, I try to stay out of the freezer and dry food sections when shopping (when possible). But we still enjoy some wheat, meat and junk in moderation (sometimes very light). Oh also, by we I sorta actually mean, me – since I am the grocery shopper, chef, and sous chef around these parts.

I can’t promise even a little that our food will be as delicious or as pretty as What Marlow Eats but maybe some of you will dig in. (too cheesey?)

Heart and Habit

EVERYDAY EATS / HEALTHY FAMILY DINNER FAVORITES