Healthy Holiday Side Dishes for Procrastinators

It’s a one-week countdown to Thanksgiving! I’ve noticed that on-task, super-planning people have already locked in their holiday menus and have loading up their carts at the market. I’m a bit more of a slacker, waiting until the final days to formulate my feast. No shame in my game, I get side tracked with work, working out and life!Holiday Side Dishes for the Procrastinator

If you are a like-minded lollygagger, you’ll appreciate my guide to Healthy Holiday Side Dishes for the Procrastinator. Most of these side dish recipes take between 15 and 30 minutes to make and combine pantry staples with fresh ingredients you can STILL find in the produce department. Read on to get six quick and easy recipes that actually look like you put some effort into it. Continue reading

Lemon Ginger Green Beans with Almonds + Holiday Sides

November is here and it’s time to start thinking about healthy Thanksgiving side dishes! One of the best things, other than gathering with family and friends, is the sheer smorgasbord of side dishes that go along with the meal. On a normal day, I’m lucky to get two plant-based accompaniments with our main protein, but during the holidays it’s more like a dozen delicious things to go alongside our turkey or roast.Lemon Ginger Green Beans with Almon

This recipe for Lemon-Ginger Green Beans with Almonds is a snap to make and so much fresher and fitter than the creamy green bean casserole of yore.  Read on to get the 10-minute recipe and a few other ideas for vegetable side dishes. Continue reading

Greek Stuffed Breakfast Sweet Potato

I remember when mom used to make whole-grain pancakes, sausage and a fruit salad for DINNER! She would always rationalize the “backwards night” by reminding us that we were getting all the food groups, like we could even hear her through the . Today, I realize that she had a point, it really doesn’t matter what you eat and when, as long as it’s balanced. So, why not put a spin on her flip-flop with dinner for breakfast!96 Greek_Breakfast_Sweet_Potato_Skins_three_fork

I’ve done green salads, rice bowls, and steak kebabs for a morning meal, these are all quite tasty before dawn breaks . . . and super easy if leftover! Today, I’m sharing Greek Stuffed Breakfast Sweet Potatoes, a perfectly portioned and perfectly delicious way to start your day. If you’re time-crunched and always quick grab that sugary pastry, give this recipe a try (it takes only 15 minutes) and I promise you’ll feel so much better. Continue reading

How to Roast, Grill, Microwave & Slow Cook a Sweet Potato + Recipes

When I found out that today (February 22nd) was National Cook a Sweet Potato Day, I got really excited. It’s about time this delicious, nutrient-packed tuber got some attention other than in November. Packed with healthy carbs, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients, sweet potatoes are perfect for your plate year ‘round. With at least 16 varieties grown in the U.S., including one of my favorites, the Stokes Purple Sweet Potato, I can’t imagine ever get tired of this vibrant veggie.How to Cook a Sweet Potato

Bake, microwave, roast, saute, grill, fry and boil are just some of the ways to cook a sweet potato. Eat them “as-is” with simple seasons or mash flesh to use as an ingredient in soups, side dishes, smoothies, baked goods and more.  So, are you wondering just exactly how to COOK a SWEET POTATO? Read on the find out the basic methods and get some of my favorite recipes:  Continue reading

7 Nourishing Soup Recipes for Dinner All Week

December may seem to be the month of BIG FANCY MEALS. Tenderloin, roast turkey, Cornish hens, or lobster tails might headline a celebratory holiday dinner, but there are still plenty of other meals to be made in the month. And, let’s be honest, with a to-do list and social schedule packed fuller than Santa’s sleigh, there isn’t much time left to make a balanced, nourishing meal to fuel up for the festivities. Or, you may even be trying to “eat light” between events that are loaded with delicious, yet indulgent, foods that aren’t typically in your diet.

Seven Nourishing Soups for Dinner All Week -- try one or all 7 of these healthy, nutrient packed soups that are simple to make and will satisfy your soul and body.

SOUP is the answer, soup to the rescue! Soup is the unsung hero of the season and gift to all us family meal makers out there – it’s typically super simple make, extra veggies can be snuck in without backlash, it’s forgiving and easy to swap out ingredients, it can be made ahead and then reheated as-needed, leftovers seem to even taste better as spices have more time to mingle. And, if you need a last-minute gift idea for your neighbor or that single guy in the office, why not whip of a batch of your favorite soup and pair with a loaf of artisan bread for an amazing, edible present.

I hope you enjoy at leat one of my seven super soup favorites!  

Mezzetta Spicy Shrimp Spinach Soup

Almost Instant” Spicy Shrimp & Spinach Soup – So much better than a Styrofoam cup of salty, surprisingly high fat ramen noodles, this fresh and fit soup recipe is meal prepped with fresh veggies, cooked shrimp, brown rice and more and then stored in the fridge (for up to a few days). When ready to eat, simply add boiling hot water, shake and then spoon in up right from the jar.

Thai Carrot Crab Noodle Soup is a powerhouse of nutrition -- feel free to swap out the protein for chicken or shrimp , if needed.Thai Carrot Crab Soup – Oodles of noodle deliciousness and healthy veggie ingredients, including carrot juice and brown rice noodles keep it gluten-free.  Not feeling crabby? Feel free to swap out the crab with shrimp, chicken, tofu or whatever protein you have on hand.

Best Ever Chicken and Rice SoupComforting Chicken & Rice Soup – A feel good, taste good soup on days when you’re feeling run down and need soul and body satisfying nourishment.  A light roux makes the soup seem richer than it is, and shredded chicken, fresh veggies and brown rice create a balanced bowl of goodness.

Vegan Chipotle Sweet Potato SoupVegan Sweet Potato Soup with Cilantro Chimichurri – It’s easy to make a meal out of this meat-free, dairy-free, vegan soup – it’s as hearty as it is healthy. The velvety texture is spicy, smoky and a touch sweet and the vibrant green drizzle adds an unexpected (yet delicious) tang!

So many different ways to top this delicious, nutritious soup!

Smoky Chipotle Butternut Squash & Chickpea Soup – Frozen cubed butternut squash and rinsed canned chickpeas keep this pleasingly peppery soup convenient for a quick fix on weeknights. A bowl of this soup will fit a vegan or vegetarian diet, but I like to add cheese and bacon!

Cranberry Orange Bourbon Beef Stew – When does a soup stop become a soup and start becoming a stew? Perhaps it’s when you add succulent, meaty chunks of beef to a slow cooker like in my delicious stew-soup hybrid that is elevated with a hints of orange and tangy berries.

Lemony Carrot Ginger Gazpacho – Stop thinking of gazpacho as only a warm-weather soup. This twist on the Spanish classic is perfect cool lunch for post-workout when you don’t want a steamy bowl of soup in your face. Or, if you feel chilled to the bowl, just go ahead and heat up Gazpacho, there’s now law that you can’t. I’ve done it and it’s great!

What is your favorite soup to make? Should soup be a “side” or “entree”? Do you ever take soup in a thermos to work? Tell me all the souper soup things in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer