Let me tell you a secret.  I don’t loooveeee veggies. At least not in the same way I looooveee pizza.

(I know it’s almost heretical.)

But when my friend sent me this recipe from the Food Network
I actually thought “here is a veggie recipe I can get excited about” or something sort of cheesy like that.

Sunny Anderson’s Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

1 pound brussel sprouts
2 tbs coconut oil*
1/2 tsp nutmeg
handful of dried cranberries
handful of chopped walnuts
sea salt
pepper

(* Original recipe calls for olive oil instead of coconut.  I prefer to use coconut oil for most of my cooking.)

The original recipe said to core and shred the brussel sprouts.
However, I had no idea how to do that and it sounded like it would take forever and a day so I simply cut off the bottoms and sliced them into thin slices.
Then I sautéed them in the coconut oil for a few minutes until they were “bright and slightly” wilted.
Next, I added the nutmeg, sea salt and pepper.
Lastly, I added the walnuts and cranberries.

Aren’t they pretty?

They were also delicious.  Something I rarely say about veggies.

I served them with Trader Joe’s wild salmon and some other sort of dark leafy green from my CSA box.

Thanks Lisa for sending me the link to Sunny Anderson’s recipe.

Tell me the truth do you “looooveee” veggies?

and

How do you “core” brussel sprouts?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

1 cup of quinoa
1 can of artichoke hearts (quartered)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of Kalamata olives (chopped)
1/4  cup of sundried tomatoes  (chopped)
1 tbs of dried oregano
sea salt to taste
fresh basil

Cook the quinoa in water.  (I use twice the amount of water as quinoa.  Bring to a boil.  Throw in the quinoa.  Reduce heat and cook until all the water is absorbed.) In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.  When the quinoa is done toss with the artichoke mixture.  Use kitchen scissors to cut pretty little slivers of basil.  Be obsessive compulsive and meticulously sprinkle them over the top of the quinoa fussing over each sliver.

I made this salad last minute for my dear friend and Girl Hero Martha‘s birthday celebration Sunday.  It turned out good but how could it not with Kalmata olives, artichokes, and sundried tomatoes!  I feel like I should insert “nom nom nom” right here but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  Somehow imagining that sound makes me a little nauseous and besides I just don’t get it.  I’m like person 2 from this urban dictionary definition.

People are awkwardly sittin around in a room with nothing to say…
Person 1: nom nom nom
Person 2: wtf
Person 3 and 4: hahahaha

What are your turn-to-make-anything-good staples?  The ones that make you go “nom nom nom”.  What the…  ;-)

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Growing up in Indianapolis, there was this one particular pizza place I loved to visit and gorge myself on for their pesto.  It is so good.  Fifteen years later, I still visit every time I go back but it has sort of lost it’s luster for me.  The reason, a waitress with a big mouth.  A few years ago, I was telling this waitress how much I adore their pesto and she started rambling on about the ingredients which are not exotic but  the consistency is perfect.   As soon as she walked away, I wrote what she had said down on a napkin and went to work trying to recreate it. After a few tries,  I got the ratios right and now can I have my favorite pesto whenever I want instead of waiting until I visit Indiana.  While this is my favorite pesto in the whole gigantic (yet quickly shrinking) world, I actually named it Perfect Pesto because it’s a great “annoying people” repellant. So if you make it for a date night make sure you both eat it.

Perfect Pesto
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 cups of finely grated parmesan cheese (I use a pre-grated parmesan romano blend from Trader Joes’s)

Directions:  Put the basil, pine nuts, garlic and half of the oil in a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth and scrap mixture into a bowl.  Still in the parmesan cheese and add more oil until desired consistency is reached.  I like mine thick and chunky.

I use this pesto for pastas, pizzas, stuffed tomatoes, on chicken, and, on french bread (of course). Oddly enough, my favorite time to eat it is at breakfast either plain on eggs or on an egg sandwich.  Yum!

Ezekiel bread, pesto, scrambled eggs, tomato, and sea salt.

or…

l

...with a fried egg and melted mozzarella. Mmmmmm....

Check out these Giveaways!
Raw Honey at The Suburban Jungle (Ends tomorrow!!)
Mirra Beauty Products (also) at The Suburban Jungle
Funky Monkey at Eat Drink and Be Hopeful
This one is TOTALLY RANDOM but since I saw this movie not long ago and loved it, I thought I’d share it.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox DVD at Tiara’s & Tantrums (If I win it we’ll make a perfect pesto pizza and watch it!)

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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In keeping with our decision to eat vegetarian a night or two a week, I’ve been creating new or revamping old recipes.  Last night, we converted my Mozzarella Chicken to Mozzarella Eggplant.   I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think I actually like the eggplant better.  It was sooooo good.  I nearly cried for joy when I found out my husband had a business lunch today and I didn’t have to share the leftovers.

Mozzarella Eggplant

1 eggplant
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 red onion – sliced
2 tbs balsalmic vinegar
2 tbs water
4 tomatoes – chopped into big chunks
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves – chopped
4 oz part skim mozzarella cheese – Not shredded, the kind you buy whole. Cut into little chunks. A piece about the size of you palm. (Cheese sticks work too.;-))

Brush the eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.  Grill on each side for about  3-5 minutes.  (Grilling the eggplant was key.)

Heat the rest of the oil in a saute pan and cook the onions until they start to soften.  Then add the water, vinegar, tomatoes, and basil.  Cook over med/high for a few more minutes until the liquid starts to thicken.  If you want a more sauce add a little more vinegar and water in equal parts. Keep stirring it so it doesn’t burn.  Turn down the heat just before servings and throw in the mozzarella.  If you put the mozzarella in too soon it will start to melt all together.  It’s better when the cheese stays chunky.  Spoon the sauce over the eggplant.

The fact that there was no meat on the table did not stop Meow Cow from practicing his usual tactics. Every evening, Meow Cow saunters in and sits down on the bench at the table right between my Brent and I.  Meow Cow patiently sits looking up at me pretending he actually loves me.  He knows if he stares sweetly at me long enough I’ll let him eat off the table. Yes, I am that rogue-ish. Occasionally, Brent scolds me but most of the time he pretends he doesn’t see because secretly he wants to feed Meow Cow from the table too.  He would never admit this because it greatly goes against the civilized code of conduct but it’s true.  When Meow Cow doesn’t get what he wants he gets extra nice and climbs onto one our laps.

If he fails to score he gives us kisses.

And then when he gets what he wants.

We love Meow Cow anyway.

xoxo
jenn

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As you may know, I joined a  CSA (community supported agriculture) so it’s probably only a matter of time before I start wearing pachouli.   Since I don’t get to choose what goes into our veggie box it’s always interesting to see what each week will bring.  This may sound inconvenient or even scary for some but it works for us. The great thing about being a part of a CSA besides getting the crazy fresh organic produce is that it forces me to try new things and get creative (or go online in search of recipes.)  Lately there has been a bunch of swiss chard something I wouldn’t normally buy because I don’t trust that something called chard could taste remotely good…even with “Swiss“ tacked on the front.  Normally, I stick to things like broccoli, green beans, red peppers, onions, asparagus, lettuce, and spinach so the swiss chard seemed a bit on the exotic side.  After some searching around on google I decided to try this swiss chard recipe.  It was simple, super quick, and even tasty enough for  my picky 9 year old.  Like most things green, swiss chard is really good for you too.

If you are interested in finding a CSA or farmer’s markets in your area check out Local Harvest.

Regarding my New Year’s resolutions, I’d like to say I almost caved and ate a burger today but my plan of self-destruction was thwarted…well…I had a few fries.

One last thing.  Sorry about the random playlist “place holder” post that accidently went out to some of you subscribers.  We switched the domain over to girl-heroes.com and have been having some issues with the subscriber list.  Hopefully all the kinks will be ironed out soon.

xoxo
j

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This past weekend we celebrated my oldest son’s birthday.   My sister and I made him a beautiful dilapidated limousine cake which I did not have one bite.  Thank you. Although I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to ice it without licking my fingers.  Besides having severe anxiety over the fact that my son is now at the halfway point to being and adult I nearly had a coronary stressing over what I was going to eat during his party.  So an hour before the party I whipped up this quick dip.  It’s pretty much the same thing as my skinny spinach dip but tastes different.  It was really good.  Someone at the party even commented on how good it was and asked how I made it.  So here ya go!

Sun Dried Tomato and Artichoke Dip

2 cups of low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup goat cheese
3  cloves of garlic
1 (150z) can of artichokes (in water)
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil)

Throw everything but the artichokes into a blender or food processor.  After the mixture is smooth throw in the artichokes and pulse until the artichokes are blended in the way you like them.  I prefer my artichokes a little chunky.   Dip veggies  or use less as a spread on a sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.  Approx 206 cal, 13 grams carbs, 17 grams protein, 8 grams of fat

Hugs and High Fives,
jenn

PS - This was my “awesome” limo cake.  I know. I’m not a baker.  (He is obsessed with all things financial right now.  Alas the reason there is play money surrounding the cake.  It was a “Ritchie Rich theme.”  That we are not at least not by American standards.)

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I discovered this dip when I was making lasagna last week.  I couldn’t quit licking the spoon as I was putting the lasagna together. Think of that when you come to my house for dinner!  It’s an easy and yummy to make veggies less “veggie” tasting and it will help you stay in those “skinny” jeans.  (BTW, I don’t like the word skinny but I like “skinny” jeans.) Store it in the fridge for a quick on-the-go-snack just make sure you take along some minty gum or make sure you don’t get too close to anyone.  Or better yet feed it to your loved ones and they will not only get the health benefits of garlic but will smell like they been soaking in it too.  ;)  

“Skinny” Jeans Spinach Dip

2 cups of low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups of spinach
1/4 cup of goat cheese
1-4 Cloves of Garlic (Depending on your taste.  I use 2.)
Sea Salt (to taste)
Raw Veggies (for dipping)

Put the cottage cheese, spinach, goat cheese, and garlic in a food processor or blender and blend until creamy.  Serve with your “favorite” raw veggies.  I really like it with red bell peppers.

Makes 4 servings.  144 calories, 6 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein, 7 grams fat per serving (Without veggies…even I’m not obsessive enough to count raw veggies.)

xoxo
j

Today for lunch my kids were going to eat taquitos when the $&*! hit the fan.  We were out of sour cream.  I was about to remind them that they are lucky to have food at all when I remembered I my sweet friend Rachel told me she used Greek Yogurt in place of sour cream. Brilliant. So instead of guilt tripping them I gave them each a dollop of yogurt.  At first they were skeptical but after trying it they asked for more.  Crisis solved.  But the best part of our lunch was that I discovered a quick and easy dressing.  Just mix  Greek yogurt and your favorite salsa together.  So maybe I didn’t “discover” this but it was new for me!  I used Trader’s Joe’s Red Authentico salsa but I think I’d really like to use a chipotle one next time.  It was actually very tasty and felt like an indulgence since it’s creamy.  Here’s an idea for a healthy, totally guilt free, and yummy salad.

1 Head of Chopped Romain
1 Grilled Chicken Breast
1/4 Cup Black Beans
1 Small Tomatoe
1/4 Cup Corn
1/8 Cup Chopped Jicama
1/4 Sliced Avocado 

Dressing
1/8 Cup Greek Yogurt
1/8 Cup (of your favorite) Salsa

xoxo
j

A few years ago my friend made something like this. Since then, I’ve been playing around trying get the ingredients in just the right proportions to fit my taste and it has become, by far, my favorite dressing. So much that I brought it in a cooler with me on vacation. It is a tasty way to get in your healthy fats and it masks the dirt flavor of spinach! Wooohooo!

My Favorite Dressing
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup flaxseed oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice – If I have lemons on hand I use fresh squeezed but bottled works just fine
2-6 cloves of minced garlic – I tend to use a lot of garlic because I don’t like to people to get to close to me when we talk

Put everything is a large bottle and shake.

Makes about 18 2 tbs servings. Approx. 136 calories, 6 grams of carbs, 1 gram protein and 12 grams of fat per serving

Don’t be afraid to play with amounts based on your taste. Personally, I usually make this with only flax oil but some people find the taste of flax to be a little strong so that’s why I suggest 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup flax instead of just 1 cup flax. But if you like flax then just use that. Or if you hate flax then just use olive oil. I also like to use flax because it doesn’t harden in the fridge. If you are using olive oil it may solidify in the fridge.  Just stick the bottle in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes to get the oil all oily-like again.

Quick everyday salad – 2 cups of spinach, 1/4 cup of dried cranberries, 1/4 slivered almonds and 2 tablespoons of Favorite Dressing.

Hope you like it too!

Hugs and High Fives,
jenn

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This is really good and even better, it’s really good for you!  It will have you looking as lean as the original Italian Stallion in no time!

4 tbs of olive oil
4 tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 tbs of raw-unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tbs of dry mustard
1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves (minced)

Put all of this in a bowl or bottle and shake!

Serve on top of grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, and baby tomatoes.

Makes approximately 6 servings each about 85 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs and 0 grams of protein.

And just because I can’t help it!