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Healthy Fruit Crisp

June 6, 2018 by Lindsay 15 Comments

This Healthy Fruit Crisp is low in added sugar and packed with fiber and healthy fats. Serve it over yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast or with ice cream for dessert.

*Originally published 6/2018. Updated 12/2022*

Hi friends!

This healthy fruit crisp is a fun way to change up your breakfast routine. I use frozen fruit which means I can make it any time of year and I added in chia seeds and ground flax for a dose of omegas and some peanut butter for healthy fats

Use whatever fruit you want but my biggest suggestion though is to always include some blueberries if you’re serving it more selective eaters. The dark purple color helps camouflage the chia seeds and make them less noticeable.

Healthy Fruit Crisp

The great thing about this Healthy Fruit Crisp is that it works two ways. With only 2 Tbsp added sugar in the whole recipe, you can feel good about serving it for breakfast. My kids love it over plain yogurt or vanilla yogurt or cottage cheese and they’ll eat it both warm and cold. You can serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Here’s how you make it:

Sounds delicious right?! It’s one of my new favorites for sure!

Low-Added-Sugar Fruit Crisp

This Healthy Fruit Crisp is low in added sugar and packed with fiber and healthy fats. Serve it over yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast or with ice cream for dessert.

Be sure to let me know if you try it! Want more recipes with baked fruit?

Dinner Roll French Toast Bake

This Dinner Roll French Toast Bake is the perfect recipe to use up leftover dinner rolls after a holiday meal. Prep the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight and enjoy it for breakfast in the morning.

Grab the recipe!

Sweet Cherry Oat Bars

These Cherry Oat Bars are the perfect addition to breakfast on a busy weekday morning or for serving as a kid-friendly after school snack! They’re lightly sweetened and full of fiber and protein.

Grab the recipe!

Blueberry French Toast Muffins

These Blueberry French Toast Muffins are quick, healthy and kid-friendly. Make a batch over the weekend and serve them for breakfast or pack them for lunch! They can easily be customized with different mix-ins.?

Grab the recipe!

Cherry Gingerbread French Toast Bake 2 copy

Sweet Cherry Gingerbread French Toast Bake

This Sweet Cherry Gingerbread French Toast Bake is the perfect holiday breakfast or brunch recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It can be prepped the night before to make your morning easier and is packed with flavor.

Grab the recipe!

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Oat Bars

These Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Oat Bars are the perfect summer breakfast. Make them ahead of time and enjoy all week long for a quick, healthy meal or snack!

Grab the recipe!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos

May 30, 2018 by Lindsay 6 Comments

These Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos are a quick and easy, kid-friendly option for lunch or dinner and a great way to use up leftover chicken. Make a double batch and freeze some for a busy week!

Hi friends!

Just popping in to share the recipe for these Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos that I made yesterday. I took some time away from the kitchen last weekend so yesterday I got back into the swing of things with two new recipes and this was one of them!

Here’s the thing about taquitos. They’re like tacos, which my kids love…but they’re rolled up really tightly which makes it easier for me to pack a lot of stuff into them without worrying about them pulling a taco open and inspecting every single thing that’s inside. When Squish eats tacos, it’s chicken and cheese. That’s it. And if he had it his way, it would just be cheese.

These taquitos have some black beans and hummus in there, along with shredded chicken, some cheese and a little ranch. I’m not a huge ranch fan and lemme tell you, I LOVED THESE.

Even more good news about these Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos – they can be frozen after assembly and then baked straight from frozen. Win, win, win. That means you could easily make a double batch, freeze one and bake the other right away.

I served these to Squish for lunch with extra ranch for dipping but if you’re not a ranch fan, you could leave it out and serve with salsa or guac for dipping. They’re the perfect way to transform leftover chicken into a fun, easy meal the whole family will love!

Here’s how you make them:

Simple right? Like I mentioned in the notes, I only mash the beans to make them less noticeable for my kids so feel free to leave them whole if you want!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try these Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos for an easy way to transform leftover chicken into kid-friendly meal the whole family will love!” quote=”Try these Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos for an easy way to transform leftover chicken into a kid-friendly meal the whole family will love!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad

May 23, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

This BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad is perfect for everything from dinner on a hot night to a summer picnic or cookout. It’s packed with protein, fiber, and vegetables and can be made ahead of time!

Thanks to Dreamfields for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

I’m excited to share this BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad with you guys today, just in time for your Memorial Day cookout! I think it’s best eaten cold, which makes it the perfect option for prepping ahead of time so you have one less thing to stress about on a busy day.

To make this pasta salad, I teamed up with Dreamfields to help introduce you guys to a fun summer event they’re hosting called #Pastapalooza2018! For the next six weeks, from Memorial Day until 4th of July, Dreamfields will be sharing delicious summer pasta blockbuster recipes, hosting exciting weekly giveaways (including a Grand prize of a year’s supply of pasta and a $1,000 VISA gift card), sharing coupons, and basically making summer more fun!

If you haven’t heard of Dreamfields, their pasta is made with premium durum wheat semolina and a blend of fiber and plant proteins that offers 5g fiber and 7g plant protein per serving! It also provides prebiotic fiber which aids in healthy digestion, all with the taste and texture of regular pasta!

When they asked me to create a recipe showcasing their pasta, this BBQ chicken pasta immediately came to mind. I don’t know about you, but for me, pasta salad basically screams summer. I love that you can make it ahead of time, throw in all your favorite veggies, add a flavorful sauce and boom! A healthy, flavorful dinner or side dish is born.

Here’s how you make it:

Pretty easy, right? This would also be great to make for dinner and then you’ll have leftovers to pack for lunch all week long!

Be sure to follow Dreamfields on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and enter to win some great prizes during #Pastapalooza2018.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

7 Easy Salads for Summer

May 21, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Try these 7 Easy Salads for Summer for quick and easy lunches and dinners. Use Rubbermaid FreshWorks containers to help keep your fruits and veggies as fresh as possible.

Thanks to Rubbermaid for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

I’m excited to share some easy salads for summer in today’s post. They are jam-packed with deliciousness. Warm weather is finally here and for a lot of people that means they start craving salads. They’re light and fresh, but can easily be made into a full meal! Which is why it’s no coincidence May is National Salad Month! I’ve been testing up a storm over the past month and I’ve come up with 7 delicious combos that I can’t wait to share with you.

But first, I want to introduce you to my new storage containers. A few weeks ago, my friends at Rubbermaid reached out to see if I’d be interested in testing out their FreshWorks containers. As someone who buys a lot of fresh produce, I readily agreed. Over the next few weeks, I tested out the various sizes on a variety of fruits and veggies, including lettuce, kale, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli and more!

I was very pleased with the results and wanted to show you a few side-by-side comparisons. For the comparison, I bought two of everything and left one in the plastic bag from the grocery store and put the other in a FreshWorks container (without washing) and left them in the fridge for at least 4 days before checking on them.

Here are the results for the kale and lettuce:

For the kale, I pulled the leaves off the stems so I could fit them in the container but did not wash or cut them. They stayed crisp and fresh. The kale in the bag was soft and wilted when I took it out to check on it.

For the lettuce, I pulled the leaves off the stem so I could pile them up in the container but did not wash or cut them. The leaves stayed vibrant, crunchy and fresh vs the wilted leaves on the head of lettuce stored just in the plastic bag.

I found less of a difference on spinach stored in FreshWorks versus leaving it in a plastic tub or container that it came in at the store, but the FreshWorks certainly didn’t negatively impact the produce.

I also tested out the smaller FreshWorks containers on strawberries and blueberries. I bought two pints in plastic packaging from the store, transferred one to the Freshworks and left the other for 4-5 days. Here are the strawberry results.

The ones in the FreshWorks container stayed pretty much blemish-free whereas the ones in the original container had several bad or spoiled spots after several days.

Other types of produce you could use these containers for include green beans, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, raspberries and more! The storage containers use a lid with patented FreshVent technology to regulate airflow and create the optimal environment for produce. All you have to do is move your produce into the FreshWorks containers after purchasing and refrigerate to help reduce moisture and spoilage. Don’t wash or cut your produce before storing! The CrispTray at the bottom of the container helps elevate the produce away from the moisture and promotes proper airflow to help reduce spoilage. Pretty cool huh?

So now that you know the best way to store all of your nice fresh produce, let’s talk about how to use it to make these 7 delicious salads – one for every day of the week! I tried to include a variety of toppings, proteins and leafy green bases so hopefully, there will be something for everyone!

I often use a mix of spinach and leaf lettuce for my salads, while my husband prefers solely using kale. Feel free to change up the greens in each salad and use your favorites. You could also swap in your favorite fruits and veggies to make a combination more appealing for your personal tastes!

Here’s a run-down of some of the flavor combos we’ve been loving lately:

Barbacoa Taco Salad

I made a big batch of this Slow Cooker Barbacoa and ate it all week long in this Barbacoa Taco Salad. You can prep pretty much all of the components ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble and eat. Here’s what you need:

Barbacoa
Avocado
Tomatoes
Fajita peppers & onions
Black beans
Corn
Red onion

I use my favorite salsa in place of salad dressing on this one! You can also try mixing salsa with some plain Greek yogurt for a creamier dressing!

Blueberry Chicken Sausage Salad

This one is packed with all of my favorite things. Chicken sausage comes fully cooked so I like to just sear it in a pan for a couple minutes. I prep the roasted sweet potatoes ahead of time by thinly slicing, misting with avocado oil and sprinkling with paprika and cayenne. Then I roast at 400 for 20 minutes or so, flipping once. When ready to assemble, here’s what you need:

Chicken sausage
Leaf lettuce + spinach
Roasted sweet potato coins
Blueberries
Crumbled goat cheese

Sometimes I add avocado to this one as well, and I like it with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Mediterranean Chop Salad

This Mediterranean Chop Salad is a vegetarian option that’s super easy to throw together. You can chop the veggies ahead of time and store them in the fridge and you can hard boil some eggs and cook a batch of farro ahead of time as well. When you’re ready to assemble, grab some spinach from your FreshWorks container and add:

Peppers
Red onion
Tomato
Cucumber
Hard boiled egg
Hummus
Farro (or another whole grain)
Everything Bagel seasoning (optional)
Crumbled feta (optional)

I use the hummus as the dressing for this one, but you could also add some Italian dressing if you wanted. Sometimes I swap the plain hummus & everything bagel seasoning for spicy hummus to give it a little kick!

Strawberry Chicken Kale Salad

This Strawberry Chicken Kale Salad is another one that’s super easy to meal prep. We always grill a big batch of chicken on the weekends in the summer and I like to cook a batch of farro or rice to have on hand as well. When ready to serve, I simply massage the kale with a little lemon juice and olive oil and then top it with:

Grilled chicken
Farro
Strawberries
Feta
Pumpkin seeds for an added crunch

This salad is great with Italian or honey mustard dressing!

Warm Bacon Kale Salad with Shrimp

To change things up, I occasionally like to enjoy a warm salad. Shrimp is one of my favorite quick-cooking proteins so this salad comes together in a jiffy. I just saute some bacon, mushrooms and kale for a few minutes. Then once the bacon starts to crisp up, I add tomatoes and shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked (should take 5 min or less), I add some chopped hard boiled egg and balsamic vinaigrette.

Here’s a recap of what you need:

Bacon
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Kale
Shrimp
Hard boiled eggs
Balsamic vinaigrette

You could also try eating this one cold and see how you like it and feel free to swap spinach for kale.

Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

This Thai Peanut Chicken Salad is one of my favorites for summer. Again, I use grilled chicken that I’ve cooked previously so it comes together quickly. I just steam some peas and whip up a quick peanut sauce while my rice noodles are cooking. Then I toss the noodles, peanuts, peas, and some red peppers in the peanut sauce, serve over a mix of leaf lettuce and spinach and top with peanuts for a little extra crunch!

No need for extra dressing on this one. The peanut sauce makes the perfect dressing.

To make enough sauce for two salads I use:

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp sweet thai chili sauce
1-2 tsp ginger

Whisk together in a small bowl and then toss with 6-8 ounces of chopped chicken and however many rice noodles you want. If you want to make more salads or want it extra saucy you can always 1.5 times or double the sauce recipe!

Avocado Tuna Cake Salad

Tuna cakes are another quick and easy protein source that are perfect for salads. I like to fry a couple in a pan (crispy) and serve them over spinach and combine with some previously roasted sweet potatoes (soft) and some freshly chopped peppers, onions and walnuts (crunchy) for the perfect combination of textures and flavors.

To make these tuna cakes for two salads, I just combined:

1 can tuna
1/2 a medium avocado
1/4 cup panko

Mix well and form into 6 small patties. Fry in avocado oil over medium high heat for a couple minutes each side. I like to use flavored tuna (garlic and herb is my favorite) to make it even easier, but if you’re using plain tuna, just throw in a few of your favorite seasonings – curry powder, paprika, cayenne pepper or lemon pepper seasoning all work great!

I like this one with salsa for a dressing as well, but feel free to use your favorite. I have a sesame ginger dressing that I also love that’s great with this combo!

So there you have it! 7 Easy Salad so for summer. Be sure to let me know if you try any of these combos and feel free to leave your favorite salad combos in the comments! I’m always looking for new flavor combos!

To check out all of the Rubbermaid Freshworks containers, check out their website! You can also find them at stores like Target, Meijer, Kroger, Bed Bath & Beyond and on Amazon. And be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

No Bake Granola Bars

May 18, 2018 by Lindsay 28 Comments

These No-Bake Granola Bars are lightly sweetened with honey and packed with chia, flax and hemp seeds. Full of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, they make a healthy, kid-friendly afternoon snack!

*Originally published July 2014. Post, recipe & photos updated May 2018*

Hi Friends!

Let’s talk about these No Bake Granola Bars. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 4 years since I first shared this recipe on the blog. A few weeks ago, I took Little Miss to a toddler playtime at our local community center. Can we also talk about how she almost never gets to do all the fun things by herself with mama like her brother did at that age? Second kid problems. Anyways, as we headed to pick up brother, I realized I’d forgotten to grab his after-school treat. So we made a quick stop at the vending machine and I snagged a $0.50 chocolate chip granola bar.

It was a big hit with the Squish man…..which made me think about this homemade version I’d made so many years ago. I’ve found most homemade granola bars to be overly sweetened in order to help them stick together…but really if you also use nut butter, and you store them in the fridge, you really don’t need that much sweetener.

No Bake Granola Bars

So yes, these crumble a little bit…but for the most part, if you eat them straight out of the fridge, they do their part to hold up as a no-bake granola bar. When I originally made these, I mixed in chopped almonds and pepitas…which I love, but my three-year-old would immediately spit out. So, for this updated version, I omitted those and went with a mix of chia, flax and hemp seeds. They’re all kinda the same color as the oats which helps them blend in so that the only thing that really stands out is the mini chocolate chips, which is what I wanted the focus to be.

So, here’s the updated recipe. For those of you who are fans of the original recipe, I’ve included it in the comments.

If you don’t have one of the types of seeds, feel free to leave them out. As mentioned in the notes, I think they’re sweet enough with 1/4 cup honey, but feel free to bump it up to 1/3 cup if you want!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Make these kid-friendly No Bake Granola Bars, packed with 3 kinds of seeds, for a healthy after-school snack!” quote=”Make these kid-friendly No-Bake Granola Bars, packed with 3 kinds of seeds, for a healthy, after-school snack!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Freezer Cooking Tips

May 14, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Looking for some Freezer Cooking Tips? These simple ideas from a Registered Dietitian will teach you how to make freezer cooking work for you by saving time and reducing stress during a busy week.

Hi friends!

Let’s talk freezer cooking tips, shall we? One of my number one requests from you guys is more freezer meals so I hope you’ll find today’s post helpful. First I want to introduce you to my friend and fellow RD Mary Ellen over at Milk & Honey Nutrition. (You may recall we started a mama support group over on Facebook last month called Turnips & Tantrums. Be sure to join us over there if you haven’t already!) She just so happens to be a freezer cooking pro. She even wrote an ebook about it! So I asked her to share a few tips with you guys and here’s what she had to say:

Freezer Cooking brings up a number of ideas for different people, but regardless of your previous opinion… keep reading to see how my version of freezer cooking can not only save you time, but also money and stress. Most people I’ve talked to, if they haven’t tried freezer cooking already, say they’re scared about being in the kitchen for “so long” and worry they’ll be so stressed having to prepare so much food.

BUT, if done right, freezer cooking actually accomplishes the opposite… you’ll feel less stress the day of, and for the whole month ahead knowing you’ve got dinner already done… every single night!

Stress less in the kitchen

Here are a few ways to ensure you experience less stress in the kitchen, especially on your prep day:

Double and triple check you have all the ingredients you need.
Set aside uninterrupted time (no other distractions) for cooking.
Read through all of your recipes before beginning and print them out! (imagine your phone or tablet locking up with you’re elbow deep in shredded chicken and spinach.)
Prep the meat and vegetables first. Whether you’re just doing some basic meal prepping or a full freezer cooking session, these are often the most time-consuming parts. Once you have these done, everything else goes pretty quickly.
Use freezer-friendly disposable containers to store prepped meat and vegetables, and finished recipes once ready to be stored.
Prepare the recipes in a logical order… if something needs to bake, get that going first, and work on other recipes while that one is baking in the oven.
Have a designated “trash” area on the counter, a common place to rest spoons, wrappers, continers, egg shells, etc.

How to pick the right recipes

Build collections of 6-9 recipes that you feel comfortable making all at once. Try to group recipes that have similar ingredients to reduce the cost at the grocery store and the time you’ll need to spend preparing them. And look for recipes that are easy to double. Some of my favorites include:

Building your grocery list

Set aside time to do a totally separate grocery trip for a freezer cooking day.
Build a separate grocery list as well. (Doing this typically means I’m less likely to forget things)
If a recipe calls for canned beans or veggies, look for reduced sodium or no salt added varieties whenever possible and if a recipe calls for them to be drained, also rinse them off before using them in the recipe.
When using canned tomato products specifically, try to find preservative-free varieties (without calcium chloride; citric acid is ok) when possible. One nationally known brand available at many stores is Pomi.

Freezer Cooking is an excellent meal planning tool. It allows you to spend less time in the kitchen, while still making healthy choices. But if the idea of choosing your own recipes, and building a grocery list seems too time-consuming, my eBook, Freezer Cooking with Milk & Honey Nutrition provides you with step by step instructions for how to prepare 9 different recipes in a matter of hours, ensuring you have dinner and/or lunch prepared for weeks in advance. Once completed, you’ll have 50+ adult meals. Check it out here and use code LEANGREEN for $5 off.

Big thanks to Mary Ellen for these tips! I wanted to pop in an add a few of my own thoughts as well.

Like she mentioned, my best tip for freezer meals is to pick recipes that can easily be doubled. It’s super easy to prep 2-3 batches of the same recipe all at once and have them on hand. Things like casseroles, soups, burgers and meatballs work especially well for this. Then you can spread them out over the next few months so you don’t get bored with them.
Think beyond dinner. A lot of people think only dinners can be prepped for the freezer but my freezer actually tends to full of a lot of breakfast and snack options. I like to make and freeze energy balls, smoothie bags, popsicles, pancakes and waffles, muffins, baked oatmeal and more to have on hand for quick meals and snacks for the kids.
Use your slow cooker! Some of the easiest meals to prep are dump and go crockpot meals. You can just throw everything in a ziploc bag and freeze them. The night before you want to make them, put them in the fridge to thaw and then just dump everything in the slow cooker the morning of.
Prep components. It’s super easy to prep a big batch of shredded chicken, pork or beef. Portion it out and freeze. Then you can just pull it out and use it for things like enchiladas, casseroles, soups and more. Same goes for things like rice!
Invite a friend. If you’re going to do a big prep day, it might be a fun to invite a friend to prep along with you. Then you can chat the whole time and both end up with a freezer full of food. Make a master list, split it in half and you can each go to the store for half the items.
For a few more resources, be sure to check out my friend Regan’s podcast called This Unmillenial Life. She has a whole episode of freezer meals that you may find helpful. And my friend Kelly over at New Leaf Wellness is another queen of freezer meals with tons of ebooks and blog post full of great freezer recipes.

Some of my favorite freezer recipes are:

That’s it for today! Hope these Freezer Cooking Tips were helpful! Be sure to check out Mary Ellen’s blog for more great recipe ideas and check out her ebook as well to get started on your freezer meals journey.

Have your own freezer cooking tips or favorite recipes? Leave them in the comments!!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Crepe Kabobs

May 9, 2018 by Lindsay 3 Comments

These Crepe Kabobs are fun, kid-friendly breakfast treat! Make them sweet with peanut butter filled crepes and fresh fruit or savory with cheese-filled crepes, sausage and eggs.

Thanks to Meijer for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

I’m super excited to introduce a new partnership today with my friends at Meijer. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that Meijer is where we shop weekly, so teaming up with them was a perfect fit! Today we’re kicking things off with these Crepe Kabobs that just so happen to be perfect for Mother’s Day!

As I was brainstorming for this post, I wanted to come up with something super easy and kid-friendly because you guys know I’m a big fan of getting the kids in the kitchen! These Crepe Kabobs are perfect for little hands to help assemble and just require a little help from dad or another adult to make the crepes in a hot pan! The crepes can even be made the night before for easy assembly in the morning.

My toddler was super excited about this morning project and so proud of himself for helping. He loved spreading the peanut butter on the crepes and carefully assembling his kabob.

The great thing about this little Mother’s Day project is that we only had to make one stop (at Meijer) to get everything we needed! Meijer is great for creative kitchen projects like this! While we were doing our weekly grocery shopping, we snagged all the recipe ingredients we needed – from the fresh fruit to the chicken sausage and eggs, to the flour and milk for the crepes. We also grabbed some wooden skewers, a Mother’s Day card, some beautiful flowers, and a cute bamboo tray to make it easy for the kiddos to treat mom to breakfast in bed! My hubby makes a great breakfast and I told him I’d love it if he helped the kids make me some Crepe Kabobs for breakfast on Sunday!

Whether or not they’re actually thrilled about executing the breakfast in bed situation is kind of a toss-up 🙂

Now let’s talk about the crepes themselves! I opted to make two versions: sweet and savory, so there’s something for everyone. The sweet version has crepes filled with peanut butter and lots of fresh fruit while the savory version has crepes filled with cheese, chicken sausage, and hard-boiled eggs. You can easily do all sweet or all savory, change things up with different fruits or use fried eggs and breakfast sausage if you wanted!

The crepes can be made the night before and stored in the fridge so then in the morning, all you (or your husband) have to do is spread the peanut butter or melt the cheese, fold them up and assemble your crepe kabobs. For the crepes themselves, I made mini versions so that they wouldn’t be super giant when I folded them up and put them on the skewers. One batch of batter made about 16 mini crepes.

These are such a fun and festive breakfast treat, but really you don’t need a special occasion. Make these for a quick weekday breakfast or an after school snack if you want, just for something different!

Here’s how you make them:

So easy, right?!

Mamas- share this recipe with your co-parent ASAP so they can head to Meijer and get everything they need and put the kiddos to work on Mother’s Day. You deserve a break! And what’s cuter than a toddler serving you breakfast and bed? And then attempting to eat all your breakfast before you even get a chance?!

[clickToTweet tweet=”These Sweet & Savory Crepe Kabobs are a kid-friendly breakfast or snack option that’s perfect for Mother’s Day!” quote=”These Sweet & Savory Crepe Kabobs are a kid-friendly breakfast or snack option that’s perfect for Mother’s Day!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Meijer. The opinions and text are all mine.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef (Barbacoa)

May 7, 2018 by Lindsay 24 Comments

This Slow Cooker Shredded Beef is easy to make in the crockpot for dinner and tastes better than the Barbacoa at Chipotle. Perfect in burrito bowls, on salads, in enchiladas and more.

*Originally published 11/2014. Photos and post updated 5/2018*

Hi Friends!

Allow me to introduce this Slow Cooker Shredded Beef. You might also know it as barbacoa if you get it at Chipotle or other restaurants. You guys have been asking for more slow cooker recipes so today I decided to revisit an old recipe that my friend Marisa shared as a guest post several years ago. Back when she shared this recipe, I was super excited about it…but I never actually made it myself.

A couple weeks ago I decided to change that! Whenever I make shredded meat at home, I tend to use pork or chicken…but hubby is a big beef fan and this recipe has some seasonings that I don’t typically use so I was excited to test it out. What I was not excited about was the fact that when I strategically went to the grocery store while I only had one kid, they didn’t have the cut of beef I needed. So then I had to go to a second grocery store after I picked up kid #2…which made it even more work. Nevertheless, we prevailed and came home with what we needed.

This sauce does require a food processor or blender, which is one extra step, but I think it’s totally worth the effort. It’s super easy to throw everything in and it added such great flavor to the meat.

I love having a big batch of shredded meat on hand that I can then use throughout the week to make various dishes like burrito bowls, nachos, taco salads, enchiladas, sandwich wraps and more.

Adding the peppers does give it a bit of zing so I didn’t give this batch to the kids but hubby and I are big fans of spicy food so we loved it! You can reduce the number of peppers you use to make it less spicy. And if you have extra peppers in your can like I did, I just froze mine in a ziploc bag to use in the future!

Here’s how you make it:

There you have it! Simple and delicious.

If you’re not familiar with Marisa’s blog, Uproot Kitchen, be sure to go check it out! She shares great recipes like Whole Wheat Banana Bread, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu with Polenta.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Thursday Things – Poshmark

May 3, 2018 by Lindsay 2 Comments

Hi friends!

Time for another round of Thursday Things. Here are some things I’m loving lately.

breathe+ app

Breathe+ Simple Breath Trainer

I’ve talked a little bit before on IG stories about how I occasionally battle anxiety. One of the things that helps me is breathing. I’m not a huge yoga and extended meditation person, but I found this simple app that I’ve been loving. You can choose how many seconds you want to breathe in, hold it or not, and breathe out and the screen fills up with pretty colors as you count up and then the colors disappear as you breathe out. You can set the app to repeat your desired breath sequence for however many minutes you want. It’s free, but I paid the $2 to get rid of the ads at the bottom so I could just focus on the wave of pretty colors. It’s simple but it’s been very effective for me.

brown leather purse

Poshmark

I think I’m late to the game on this one, but I recently discovered this site for buying and selling clothes, accessories, etc. I’m not looking to sell stuff but I was looking for a brown crossbody purse forever and couldn’t find one that I like anywhere. So I checked out Poshmark and found this one from Anthropologie that someone was selling and loved it! My transaction went smoothly and it was shipped quickly. Definitely a win!

podcasts for kids

Podcasts for Kids

I mentioned on IG that we’ve been trying out some podcasts for kids in the car on the way to school lately and I got some great suggestions. Then my friend Sally just happened to write a great post about this exact topic. Some of the ones on her list are for kids a bit older but I’m definitely bookmarking it. We’ve been loving Story Pirates and the Disney podcast for Squish.

bumkins reusable bags

Bumkins Reusable Bags

I love my Stasher bags to store stuff in my fridge and freezer and pack in larger coolers, but I find them to be a bit too big for regular lunch boxes, which I discovered as I was packing a lunchbox for our first picnic of the year yesterday. So I ordered a bunch of these Bumkins reusable bags to use for the upcoming summer. They come in lots of cute patterns and sizes.

jujube

Jujube Diaper Backpack

I decided for this summer I wanted to try out a diaper bag backpack so that when I’m carrying Little Miss, wearing my cross body purse and trying to hold Squish’s hand, the bag can just be on my back out of the way. After asking my mama friend, the Jujube brand came highly recommended. They’re pretty expensive and I decided that while I would love one, I probably didn’t need a brand new one, so I’ve been searching on eBay (you guys know I love eBay) and scored one yesterday in pretty much brand new condition for only $70 instead of $180 new! Excited for it to arrive next week! I love all their patterns and kinda want two…one for each car 🙂

That’s it for this week!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust

April 30, 2018 by Lindsay 43 Comments

This Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust is packed with fiber and so easy to make. Let everyone top this kid-friendly breakfast or snack recipe with their favorite nut butter, yogurt and fruit!

*Originally published July 2013. Photos and post updated April 2018*

Hi Friends!

I originally shared this post almost 5 years ago. I was on vacation and my friend Lauren, a fellow Columbus RD (we actually did our Dietetic Internship together at Ohio State), took over for the day.. She shared this Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust and this week I decided to give it a little upgrade and reintroduce it to you guys because it’s the perfect, kid-friendly breakfast or snack…especially for summer with all the fresh fruit available!

What I love about this recipe is that it’s so easy to customize. I tested Lauren’s original recipe using unsweetened pea milk (instead of vanilla almond milk, adding pumpkin seeds for some extra protein and leaving out the coconut. I found that the crust wasn’t quite sweet enough for my liking. So, I made a few tweaks and Squish loved it! I added a couple of dates for some natural sweetness and added fiber. If you make it with vanilla flavored milk and include the coconut, you could probably leave out the dates, but I like the addition. I also adjusted the recipe to make two personal pizzas at a time.

I’ve left the original recipe in the notes section of the recipe if you’d like to see it!

In the five years since Lauren first shared this recipe, she has started both a blog and her own nutrition business. You can check out her blog and her Instagram for some amazingly delicious plant-based recipes and also check out her website to see what services she offers!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try this Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust for a fun, kid-friendly breakfast or snack that’s packed with fiber!” quote=”Try this Fruit Pizza with Oatmeal Flax Crust for a fun, kid-friendly breakfast or snack that’s packed with fiber!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Pizza Meatballs

April 23, 2018 by Lindsay 12 Comments

These Pizza Meatballs are a quick, easy and kid-friendly lunch or dinner option. They’re lower-carb, packed with protein and taste great on their own and dipped in marinara!

Hi friends!

We’ve been loving these Pizza Meatballs around here for the past week or two so I figured it was time to share them with you. If you follow me on Instagram, you know it took me several tries to get these right. But they were worth the extra effort!

The first time I made these I made them with tuna…and it just didn’t work out all that well. I had the idea floating around in my head…and then Kelsey posted her Tuna Pizza Bites that looked delish so I knew I had to give my version a try. But…my version was dry and “not yummy” as Squish would say. The second time, I switched to ground chicken and continued with my idea of stuffing them with cubes of string cheese or pieces of fresh mozzarella. They were better, but still missing something.

The final time I went with shredded mozzarella to spread the cheese throughout and also mixed in a little marinara sauce to keep them nice and moist and flavorful. Definite winner. I rolled mine in breadcrumbs but I suppose you don’t have to if you don’t want to!

If you like the breadcrumbs for a little bit of crispy outer coating, these are best eaten the night you make them. The breadcrumbs won’t stay crispy after being refrigerated but they still taste good and I made myself a batch to enjoy all week long.

The kids gobbled these up and the hubby also enjoyed them as a lower-carb alternative to pizza. They’re great by themselves but I like dipping them in some extra marinara…or even in some bbq sauce. Yum!

Here’s how you make them:

Easy right? Let me know if you try these! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

[clickToTweet tweet=”These Pizza Meatballs are quick, easy and kid-friendly. Perfect for lunch or dinner, they’re great on their own or dipped in some extra marinara.” quote=”These Pizza Meatballs are quick, easy and kid-friendly. Perfect for lunch or dinner, they’re great on their own or dipped in some extra marinara.”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Blueberry Beet Muffins

April 18, 2018 by Lindsay 47 Comments

These Blueberry Beet Muffins are a healthy, kid-friendly breakfast or snack. Their pink color makes them fun to eat and you’d never know they’re packed with vegetables!

Hi friends!

Let’s talk beets. Specifically, these Blueberry Beet Muffins. As you may have noticed, I’ve been having a lot of fun lately adding vegetables to different recipes! Be sure to check out my Chocolate Pea Cookies, Carrot Oat Bars and PB Chocolate Cauliflower Oatmeal if you missed them! I asked the mamas over in my Turnips & Tantrums group which veggie I should tackle next and beets won by a landslide.

That worked out perfectly because I’d had a Blueberry Beet Muffins idea floating around in the back of my brain for a while now and this was just the push I needed to put it into action!

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of beets. I don’t like how messy they are. I don’t like the way they smell. I hate eating them plain, no matter how hard I try to like them. But I love these Blueberry Beet Muffins. So that should tell you something. If you can get past the smell of steaming the beets in the microwave, I don’t think the muffins themselves taste like beets at all.

And Squish, who is definitely the pickier of my kids, has gobbled up 6 of these in the past 3 days…and he doesn’t like the Chocolate Pea Cookies or the Carrot Oat Bars like his sister does. So that should also tell you something.

I used frozen blueberries from my stash we picked last summer (which is getting dangerously low by the way) but you could also use fresh blueberries. I steamed my beets in the microwave, but you could also just wrap them in foil and throw them in the oven for a while if you happen to be roasting other veggies.

Here’s how you make them:

Easy, right??

[clickToTweet tweet=”Add some vegetables to your breakfast or snack with these Blueberry Beet Muffins!” quote=”Add some extra vegetables to your breakfast or snack with these Blueberry Beet Muffins!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

5 Ways To Support Your Favorite Bloggers

April 13, 2018 by Lindsay 27 Comments

Hi friends!

Today I just wanted to pop in a share a few words about a topic that’s been on my heart lately. Although I know I have a lot of readers who are also bloggers, but this post is mainly for my “regular readers”. All you amazing people out there who don’t blog yourselves, but take the time to read my blog posts, make my recipes, etc.

Sometimes the world of blogging and social media can be tough. There are a lot of bloggers out there and a lot of social media platforms, all of which have constantly-changing algorithms that are hard to figure out and keep up with. It can be hard to get your work seen. And there’s nothing more frustrating than when you work really hard developing and testing a recipe, taking photos and putting it out there, only have people not see it because social media platforms decide not to show it to them.

So I wanted to take a few minutes and let you guys know about some easy ways you can show your appreciation for the bloggers you love. Not just me…but any blogger who you regularly follow and enjoy! It feels a little weird to write this post and I don’t want it to come across in any way as unappreciative or negative. But after thinking about it for a while, I realized that if you’re not in the blogging space, you might just not know exactly how much of a positive impact some of these things can have on the blogs you follow. These are simple things you can do as a reader to help us get our content seen by more people and trust me when I say we appreciate it so much:

Leave a comment. If you make one of our recipes, leave a quick comment on the post! This not only lets us know that people are trying our recipes, but it’s a great place to share substitutions you might have made, how they turned out, how the recipe turned out in general, etc. The feedback is helpful for us, but it’s also great for other readers who might come across the recipe later and have questions about similar substitutions or results. For example, someone made my Carrot Oat Bars the other day and turned them into muffins and said they turned out great. If they left that info in the comments, other people could read it if, perhaps, they were planning to try that as well and wondering if it would work. Or if you try freezing a certain recipe and it comes out great, leave a comment and let us know! We can edit our posts to include all that feedback from readers and help more people in the future!

Rate the recipe! If there’s an option to rate a recipe (ie give it 5 stars) on the blog, do it! It helps show us you liked the recipe and helps show other readers that people are making the recipe and loving it!

Tag and share! If you make one of our recipes or crafts or DIY projects or whatever, share a photo on Instagram and tag us! This helps direct other people, who may follow you, but not us, to our social media platforms and blogs so they can try the recipes and projects for themselves. Or share the link on your Facebook page so your friends can follow the link and check it out!

Engage with new posts! Follow us on social media and when you see our new posts, like them, share them, comment on them! The more people interact with our posts, the more people the social media networks show them to. Similarly, platforms like Instagram have algorithms to show you the content they THINK you want to see. So the more you interact with us, the more likely they are to show you our future content so you don’t miss anything! We love interacting with you guys, love to hear when you try our recipes or are excited to try them and are always happy to answer your questions! Your engagement makes us happy and also helps more people see our content. Win-win!

Use the share buttons. If you’re on Pinterest, pin our photos! Pinterest has become a huge search engine and even if you don’t have thousands of followers, it still helps us a lot when you pin our content and help get it into the mix for others to see! Or you could tweet a recipe or share it on FB! Most of us try to make it really easy by putting share buttons throughout our posts.

Added bonus: sign up for our email lists! If we write a post or recipe you really love, hit forward and send it to a few of your friends to check out.

Blogging takes a lot of work. Yes, some of us make money working with brands, running ads, etc….but we also put a lot of money back into our blogs, just like any businesses owner does! It’s hard to constantly adapt, stay afloat and be seen. We love what we do…and couldn’t do what we do without you guys, the readers. You taking the time to share our posts means the world to us, and also helps ensure we can keep providing the kind of content you love to see from us!

As always, thank you guys so much for your support over the years! I love you all.

–Lindsay–

Thursday Things – Mabel’s Labels

April 12, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

Hi friends!

It’s been a while since I did a Thursday Things so I rounded up a few things to share with you guys today:

Mabel's Labels

Mabel’s Labels

I’m not quite at the point where I need a ton of labels but I know it’s coming soon. This company is so cute and offers customized labels. They’re dishwasher safe, microwave safe and waterproof so you can put them on almost everything.

grimm's toys

Grimm’s Toys

A family-owned wooden toy company headquartered in Germany. They have tons of fun-looking toys, blocks, cars, puzzles and so much more. I love looking at their website.

Rockets of Awesome

Basically, this sounds like Stitch Fix for kids. Four times a year you get a box based on the style profile you create for you kids. You get 8 items. Keep and pay for what you want and return the rest. You also get to review and approve the assortment before it ships and prices range from $16-38. I haven’t tried it yet but might try it out for the kiddos soon!

Turnips and Tantrums

The FB group for mamas that I recently launched with a fellow RD mom. Come join us if you haven’t already! We have daily questions about everything from favorite rainy day activities for kiddos to travel tips to planners, live recipe demos, prizes and more! It’s a judgement-free zone and a great place to ask questions! Join us here.

Have you found anything cool lately?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Frozen Layered Brownie Bars

April 11, 2018 by Lindsay 2 Comments

These dairy-free Frozen Layered Brownie Bars are perfect for dessert or an afternoon treat! They pair a layer of sweet potato brownies and a layer of peanut butter banana cream and even sneak in some cauliflower!

Thanks to Elmhurst™ for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

Allow me to introduce you to your new favorite treat. These Frozen Layered Brownie Bars are actually two delicious desserts in one. The bottom layer is a sweet potato brownie (a spin on this recipe) and the top layer is a creamy dairy-free blend of Elmhurst Milked Cashews™, peanut butter, bananas and, gasp, cauliflower. That’s right, I put sweet potatoes and cauliflower in your dessert and you’re going to love it!

I’m not really sure how this idea filtered its way into my brain, but I’m oh so glad it did. While it may be hard to believe here in Ohio, warm weather IS coming. And there’s nothing better than a cold treat on a hot day, am I right?

As I’ve mentioned a few times, especially if you follow me on social media, both my kids are currently having a little trouble with dairy products. They cause eczema flare-ups for Little Miss and constipation issues for Squish…so I’ve been trying to limit them. We’ve been trying out some different plant-based milk beverages lately and have fallen in love with Elmhurst Milked.

They have both nutmilks (almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut and peanut) and grainmilks (oats and brown rice) and I’m so in love with their simple ingredient lists. They don’t use emulsifiers, stabilizers or thickeners and yet their products are so creamy and delicious thanks to their innovative process! They also offer both sweetened and unsweetened varieties.

For this treat, I used the Milked Cashews ™, which has 4g of protein and 2g sugar per serving.

Here’s how you make them:

Just a couple easy steps and these beauties can be in your freezer! Remember to use dairy-free chocolate chips if you need to keep this recipe dairy-free!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try these Frozen Layered Brownie Bars for a delicious frozen treat on a hot afternoon!” quote=”Try these Frozen Layered Brownie Bars for a delicious frozen treat on a hot afternoon!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Spicy Green Sauce

April 4, 2018 by Lindsay 6 Comments

This Spicy Green Sauce is made with roasted tomatillos, avocado and just a few other ingredients. Combine them all in the blender for a simple, flavorful sauce that’s good on everything from chicken to vegetables!

Hi friends!

Meet my newest obsession – spicy green sauce. If you follow me on Instagram or checked out my recent post with Easy Lunch Bowls, you know that I’ve been putting this on literally everything.

It’s SO easy to make and adds a delicious spice and flavor to anything you put it on. Plus it keeps well in the fridge so you can make a batch over the weekend and use it all week long.

Spicy Green Sauce

This sauce came about a few weeks ago when I bought some tomatillos to make homemade salsa verde…and then realized I didn’t have any cilantro for that. So I threw in an avocado instead, along with some onions, garlic and a serrano pepper and boom! This sauce was born.

This recipe is very forgiving. Exact measurements aren’t required. You could also add a splash of lime juice if you wanted. I love this for breakfast on scrambled eggs, for lunch on bowls full of roasted veggies and for dinner over things like chicken, meatballs and more!

You could even use it to make things like enchiladas or tuna salad.

Here’s how you make it:

So easy right? If you’ve never bought tomatillos, I get them at my regular grocery store in the same aisle as the bell peppers, jalapenos, serrano peppers etc.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try this Spicy Green Sauce, made with roasted tomatillos and avocado, on everything from chicken to roasted vegetables!” quote=”Try this Spicy Green Sauce, made with roasted tomatillos and avocado, on everything from chicken to roasted vegetables!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Salmon Nicoise Salad

April 2, 2018 by Lindsay 1 Comment

This Salmon Nicoise Salad is an easy, flavorful twist on a classic recipe. Made with roasted vegetables, baked salmon and a simple dressing, it’s perfect for a healthy lunch or dinner!

Hi friends!

Hope you all had a great Easter weekend. Just popping in to share this simple Salmon Nicoise Salad recipe with you guys today. Might be a good way to use of some of those extra hard-boiled eggs you have laying around.

I’m going to be honest and let you know that until last week, I’m not sure I’d even had a nicoise salad. They’re traditionally made with tuna and for some reason that just never sounded all that great to me. But I had some salmon to use up last week and as I was staring at the ingredients in my fridge (and using my 4-step method for dinner on the fly) I realized that I had all the ingredients typically needed for this salad. AND realized that it actually fit right in line with the simple lunch/dinner bowls I’ve been enjoying for the last month or so.

And since you guys know my love of roasted veggies is going strong, with no signs of stopping anytime soon, I decided to put my own spin on the salad….using salmon instead of tuna and roasting the veggies.

A few good things about this Salmon Nicoise Salad:

It’s easy. Just requires a few sheet pans in the oven- very minimal hands-on time.
The dressing is super easy, but if you don’t want to make your own, your fav store-bought dressing will do just fine.
I served mine over a mix of spinach and kale but use whatever greens you’d like.
You can prep a lot of this ahead of time and just reheat and assemble when needed.
This is a pretty salad. Serve it when you’re having a couple friends over for dinner. Put everything on a couple pans and let people assemble themselves.
If salmon isn’t your thing, you could easily sub chicken or tofu.

So here’s how you make it:

Easy right??

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try this Salmon Nicoise Salad with roasted veggies for an easy lunch or dinner during the week. Prep the components ahead of time to make it even easier!” quote=”Try this Salmon Nicoise Salad with roasted veggies for an easy lunch or dinner during the week. Prep the components ahead of time to make it even easier!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Easy Lunch Bowls

March 29, 2018 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

These easy lunch bowls also make quick, healthy options for dinner. They’re simple, come together quickly and are packed with vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats.

Hi friends!

In the past, I’ve shared several roundups of healthy toddler meals, but I rarely share what I eat myself. Lately, I’ve been loving meals in a bowl, so over the past couple weeks, I’ve started snapping pictures of some of my lunches and dinners and sharing them on Instagram stories, along with my kids’ meals. Several of you have mentioned that you enjoy seeing them so I thought I’d share a roundup so you’d have several of them all in one place for inspiration!

Before we start, let’s cover a few things:

Some of these are lunches and some are dinners…I just titled the post lunches because it was easier 🙂
This is not necessarily everything I eat for the entire meal. I often snack while cooking, eat some fruit or chips on the side, etc.
I roast all my veggies pretty much the same way. At 400 degrees, tossed in Chosen Foods avocado oil (i buy it at Costco), sprinkled with sea salt or other spices (curry powder on sweet potatoes, rosemary on white potatoes, paprika on cauliflower, lemon juice on broccoli etc). Sometimes i mix some diced bacon when I roast carrots. I usually roast a bunch of veggies on Sunday and just reheat during the week…but I also roast new ones throughout the week because we go through a lot. We also buy a lot of steamfresh veggies.
I’ve been obsessed with my green sauce lately. I’m planning to put it on the blog but for now, here’s the recipe: about a pound of tomatillos (roasted at 400 for 20 min), 1 Tbsp garlic, 1 small onion, 1 small to medium avocado and a serrano pepper all in a blender and blended until smooth.
Farro is one of my favorite grains. I buy it at my regular grocery store near the rice and quinoa but you can also buy it online from Amazon. It cooks like rice (in water or broth, cover and simmer for 20 min or so) but is much chewier. I cook a big batch on Sunday and eat it all week. You could do something similar with rice, wheatberries, quinoa etc.
To prep my kale, I remove the stems, chop it up, wash and dry it and then pour on some oil and lemon juice and massage it with my hands…then I store it in a ziploc bag and eat it for 3-4 days.
If I use a certain brand of something consistently, I’ll mention it below!
I eat very similar meals day after day and I’m totally fine with it. And most of these meals are over the past 2-3 weeks. I tend to use similar meal components for an entire week thanks to food prep.

So here we go! Here are 16 meals I’ve eaten this month:

Farro + roasted carrots, green beans and peppers + lemon garlic shrimp (just sauteed shrimp in a pan with butter, lemon juice and garlic) + green sauce
Farro + roasted green beans, potatoes, carrots + Thai Peanut Salmon Burger + salsa + green sauce
Sheet pan green beans, spiralized sweet potatoes and peppers and chicken sausage + leftover salmon burger + Lotus Foods ramen + green sauce + avocado + roasted cauliflower
Sheet pan chicken sausage with green beans, spiralized sweet potatoes and peppers + Giovani Rana tortellini + maple mustard dressing (similar to the one in this recipe)

Farro + roasted carrots + green beans + Jack’s Special Salsa + green sauce + scrambled eggs
Lotus Foods ramen + steamed peas + roasted broccoli + Instant Pot shredded chicken + Stubb’s bbq sauce
Tuna salad (similar to this recipe) + green sauce + farro + roasted sweet potatoes + carrots and green beans + Garden of Eatin’ Blue Corn tortilla chips
Kale + smoked pulled pork + salsa + green sauce + farro + roasted sweet potatoes + avocado

Kale + apples + kale and goat cheese stuffed chicken (similar to this) + roasted sweet potatoes + farro
Chili lime chicken burger from Trader Joe’s + french toast waffles (just french toast cooked on a waffle iron instead of griddle), Wholly Guacamole + Sabra hummus + red peppers
Roasted carrots + farro + tuna salad + salsa + guacamole + pumpkin seeds
Roasted green beans + chips + pulled pork + red onions + green sauce + avocado

Chips and salsa + snap peas and hummus + tuna salad + avocado
Barilla protein pasta + lentils + zoodles + steamed mixed veggies + Rao’s pasta sauce
Kale + salmon + hard boiled egg + green beans + red onion + roasted tomatoes and potatoes + maple dijon dressing
Farro + roasted sweet potatoes + salsa + hummus & pepita crusted chicken

So there you go! Hopefully that gave you a few new ideas! Be sure to pin this post for later so you can go back and reference it!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Looking for some quick and easy lunch and dinner bowls? Here are 16 ideas packed with vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats!” quote=”Looking for some quick and easy lunch and dinner bowls? Here are 16 ideas packed with vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats!”]

If you like these posts, be sure to let me know and I’ll try to do them more often!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cauliflower Oatmeal

March 28, 2018 by Lindsay 17 Comments

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cauliflower Oatmeal will be a hit with kids and adults. Give your regular breakfast bowl of oats some added nutrients by blending in some steamed cauliflower!

Hi friends –

Allow me to introduce you to this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cauliflower Oatmeal. Now before you get all crazy and start thinking that this is some version of “oatless” oatmeal…that is not the case. This is regular oatmeal….with an added nutrient boost from some steamed cauliflower…which doesn’t alter the taste at all.

We’ve been buying this Farm Day Organic Cauliflower Crumbles (basically raw cauliflower rice) from Costco and it’s like a one pound bag so I’ve been trying to come up with some new ways to use it!

Since I’m always trying to come up with new ways to add veggies to the meals I make for my kids, I put my thinking cap and got to work! I’ve done a lot lately with snacks and dinner so I wanted to focus on breakfast. About a year ago I shared this Blueberry Cauliflower Smoothie and since then, adding cauliflower to smoothies has become a staple for me. It blends in easily and doesn’t alter the taste. That got me thinking about oatmeal.

Cauliflower is white, so that makes it a great candidate for blending into almost any flavor of oatmeal, even those bowls that don’t have anything to alter the color. For this recipe, I went with a chocolate version but you could easily do peanut butter banana, or apple cinnamon or something like that.

Squish is pretty picky lately and I knew if I just added some steamed crumbles/cauli rice, he would notice…so I decided to try blending it all up before cooking it in the microwave and it worked like a charm! To steam the cauliflower, I place it in a glass dish, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes.

So here’s how you make it!

Pretty easy, right?! Like I said…feel free to sweeten to your desired level and experiment with different flavor combos! And if you’re feeling extra adventurous you could probably even add an egg! See this post: How To Cook Oatmeal with an Egg in the Microwave!

Edited to add: I recently tried these as steelcut oats. I cooked one cup of steel cut oats in 3 cups cashew milk according to package directions. While it was cooking, I steamed 2 cups raw cauliflower rice and then processed in the mini food processor until smooth. When the oats were almost done, I stirred in the cauliflower, about 1/3 cup peanut butter, half a banana, a splash of maple syrup and 1/4 cup cocoa powder…and stored it in the fridge for Squish to eat all week long.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Add a boost of nutrients to your morning oatmeal without altering the taste by using steamed cauliflower! This Chocolate PB Oatmeal with Cauliflower is kid-friendly and delicious!” quote=”Add a boost of nutrients to your morning oatmeal without altering the taste by using steamed cauliflower! This Chocolate PB Oatmeal with Cauliflower is kid-friendly and delicious!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole

March 26, 2018 by Lindsay 8 Comments

This gluten-free Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole is a low-carb dinner recipe that’s also great for lunch! A flavorful mixture of ground beef and cauliflower rice is layered with cheese and poblano peppers instead of stuffed into traditional bell peppers.

Hi friends!

Hope you guys had a great weekend. I just wanted to pop in and share this Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole that I made for my hubby last week. This recipe idea was born thanks to some poblano peppers that were on sale at the grocery store and a giant bag of cauliflower rice we snagged at Costco.

I was originally planning to stuff the peppers but poblanos are a lot longer and skinnier than bell peppers, which most stuffed pepper recipes call for, and I wasn’t sure how much meat I’d actually be able to fit instead them so I decided to change things up a bit.

Instead of stuffing the peppers, I sliced off the tops and cut them lengthwise down one side so that they could lay flat. And then I used them similar to the way you’d use a lasagna noodle when making a lasagna. I started with a layer of peppers, topped it with a mixture of beef and cauliflower rice, added some cheese and then repeated the layers one more time before baking.

One note- one of my followers on Instagram suggested that you could char the peppers over a flame on the stove and then peel the skin off if you wanted, but I didn’t take that extra step.

We’ve also been eating a lot of kale lately as my hubby has discovered he likes it as much, if not better than spinach…so I threw some of that into the mix too for an additional boost of nutrition.

This casserole is super simple, packed with veggies and tastes great thanks to some flavorful spices. Top it with avocado and your favorite salsa and serve it with some tortilla chips!

Here’s how you make it:

Pretty easy, right?? You could easily cook some regular rice and use it in place of the cauliflower rice in this recipe, or swap the kale for some spinach. Add some cayenne pepper for extra heat if desired!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Try this Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole for an easy, gluten-free dinner that’s bursting with flavor!” quote=”Try this Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole for an easy, gluten-free dinner that’s bursting with flavor.”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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Spicy Green Sauce

Salmon Nicoise Salad

Easy Lunch Bowls

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cauliflower Oatmeal

Beef and Cauliflower Stuffed Pepper Casserole

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