Don't you love when a good friend is visiting? This weekend my best friend from childhood came to Brooklyn and stayed with me - it was awesome! She and her husband are leaving in two weeks to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (wish them luck!) and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible since I won't see her for a good 7-8 months. This included wanting to cook her some awesome food without having to focus on the cooking too much.
So I made this amazing broccoli dish! It involves minimal prep. Cooking = simply pop in the oven. It is such a pleasant combination of flavors! The earthiness of the broccoli, the saltiness of the pecorino, the smokiness of the bacon...all brought together by the deep tones of extra virgin olive oil. I LOVE beets. Roasted, pickled, pureed...whatever cooking technique is used I'll eat them right up. My boyfriend, on the other hand, strongly dislikes them. In a perfect world this is ideal because then I can have all of the beets. But this is not a perfect world and what this actually means is I rarely eat beets because we are always cooking for two.
I've always told him I will get him to like beets someday. It may have taken nearly five years, but I've finally done it in the form of beet chips! This was a total win for me. He ended up eating more of the finished product than I did! So if you already like beets or think you dislike them, let this recipe nurture your loving taste for them! I don't know about you, but sometimes I just get tired of the same old breakfast foods. Eggs, oatmeal, pancakes...they're all great, of course. I like to change it up every now and then though by taking one typical aspect of breakfast and doing something less common with it.
Easily one of my favorite parts of my first meal of the day is toast. A good, grainy, satisfying piece of toast. The best part about toast? The possibilities of what you use as spreads or toppings are endless! In this recipe I use the bright, refreshing flavors of lemon and apple to wake me up and get my day started on a delicious note! At any given time, there is an obscene amount of canned beans in my kitchen cabinets. Sometimes it's a nice assortment, other times it's seemingly all the same. Right now is one of those seemingly all the same times, with the "featured item" so-to-speak being chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, if you prefer). At this point, I've just about had all I can take of chickpea salads and hummus!
Luckily, I've been facing an unrelated dilemma that my giant bean collection ended up being the cure for. I've been on the move a lot lately and really lacking in the on-the-go snack department. Honestly, there are only so many times I can buy little bags of chips or packaged sweets from the deli before I start not feeling good about myself. "Chickpeas are small and finger-food friendly," I thought, "all I need to add is crunch!" And so became these crispy spiced chickpeas. It's hard to imagine fries being anything but potato. Though potatoes are perfect for being a fry, I think half the reason they are so addicting is because of their easy finger food nature and finger licking saltiness. But lets face it - all that grease and starch is doing nothing for my hips and already large behind.
Enter zucchini fries! They are easy to make and much nicer to my mid-region. They are delightful as a snack or as a side dish (I had mine aside homemade bean burgers!). I spike up the addicting factor with romano cheese and dried dill. Yum. |
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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