 I really wasn't sure what I wanted my next post to be. All I knew was I wanted something super easy. I ran a half marathon over the weekend (my first! I'm now addicted) and needless to say I've been very sore since. So the less time spent on my feet doing anything - even cooking - the better.
While grocery shopping a couple days ago I bought some crunchy sesame pita sticks for no particular reason other than they were in front of my face and looked good. I thought maybe I could munch on them throughout the week with some hummus or guacamole or something. After getting home from work today I remembered the sticks. So I looked in my cabinets and figured out what I wanted to make. I took the main ingredient of hummus (chickpeas) and the main ingredient of guacamole (avocado) and combined them in this ridiculously easy, super healthy, absolutely delicious dip.  Last weekend was one of my favorites of the year - greens are back at the farmers market! A true sign of spring and summer vegetable bounty. I bought some baby collards and baby kale and of course I got some ramps!
I have missed fresh greens so much. I had to have them raw in a salad. I bought some good quality steak and decided to make my own dressing. If you haven't made your own salad dressing before then this delicious eye-opener is for you - I only use dressing I've made at home. It's healthier, prettier, and yummier!  More so than any year in the past I feel the need to be healthy. Not for the fad of it, but for my well-being. It feels so good being healthy! Though the holidays are often a time for us to indulge (I for one am a firm believer in not holding back), I think having at least one guilt-free dish isn't a bad thing.
When I think Easter, I think boiled eggs, ham, rolls, and spring vegetables and fruit. I love a good, fresh fruit salad or fruit platter. And I love when it is paired with a creamy dip. Unfortunately those dips are full of cream and processed sugars, and when you are trying to cut back on the bad stuff it isn't exactly the best for you. So I decided to make a healthier version that still gives you that tangy goodness and delicious flavor.  If there is one thing I will always make homemade instead of buying prepackaged it's salsa. Not to diss the jarred stuff found in your typical grocery store chip aisle, but nothing comes close to that homemade flavor! The only effort really required to make it is some chopping/dicing and then the will power/patience to let it rest before devouring.
I'm all for the classic style salsa, but being in Australia I just had to take advantage and make a mango version. So make this, close your eyes, and pretend you're on the beach enjoying every last bite. And make sure to tuck this recipe into safe-keeping for summer, when you actually are at the beach!  My boyfriend and I are headed down to Florida this weekend (Universal and Daytona 500, here we come!), so we need to make sure we use up everything we have in our fridge. This means lots of meals where we just throw things together. We have already done pasta, stirfry, salad...and frankly we wanted something new. I started to realize lots of what we had went together quite well - avocado, greek yogurt, black beans, ground meat, cheese, tortilla chips - so I set out to buy a lime and some cilantro to tie it all together!
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AuthorAli is a Brooklyn based blogger and Certified Health Coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, providing you with recipes to inspire you to cook more at home! She is a firm believer in knowing that eating healthy can be made easy and inexpensive if you simply know how to cook and understands that for the average person there needs to be balance between "healthy" and "unhealthy". Whether you are looking for easy weeknight recipes, delicious snacks, or want to try something new, Ali's recipes are easy to follow at all skill levels! For more info about Ali and her offerings, check out the About page.   Categories
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