This soup was a total accident. And also one of the greatest tasting meals I’ve made in a long time.

It’s so funny how that works, sometimes. You have this vision in your head of what you want it to taste/smell/look like, and then you realize that just is not going to happen. Or maybe this just happens to me…

I never follow a recipe completely. This is likely the reason that I am not a good baker- I don’t bother to really measure out a lot of things that I should measure out, and my experiments sometimes fall flat (literally.) Mostly I just add more vegetables and less salt to dishes that I see on various social media sites. (Pinterest, Instagram, or Snapchat)

A note about Snapchat. I used to never watch the “Discover” Snaps (Buzzfeed, CNN, ViceNews, Food Network, Cosmo, etc) but now I am completely hooked on TasteMade’s Discover Snapchat. And every single thing that I’ve made so far from it, including last nights Miso Brown Butter Pasta (check my Instagram for that one), has been delicious.

But this recipe, I found on Pinterest 🙂 Pinterest is great for these types of things, as well as how to clean gum off your shoes, make-up contour tutorials, and snowman cotton swabs- to name a few. But one thing I do like about Pinterest, is that its algorithms are (mostly) in tune with your current interests. Mine has evolved from a feed packed with chocolate desserts and fluffy cats in its infancy to what it is now- mostly healthy meals (now more and more vegetarian/vegan) along with yoga inspiration, nutrition infographics, and the occasional lifestyle article about periods or something.

BTW- Here is my Pinterest page

So the original recipe I was somewhat intending to make was Lentil Chili from Little Broken which caught my eye on my Pinterest feed, which I have a bit more discretion on now. I had purchased about all of the necessary items, when I decided to add beans into the mix. While I respected the idea of a full-blown lentil chili, I felt like beans would have given me the actual chili experience, still without having meat in it. (PS: I’m a liiiittle bit vegetarian at the moment, well really plant-based. check my previous posts for more info). I also thought it was interesting that the recipe was focused so entirely on being meatless, but why ditch the beans too?

Side Note: I actually googled “Meatless Meatballs” recently for the dinner I’m planning on making tomorrow. So yeah, Meatless Meatballs are apparently a thing, stay tuned for how that goes.

So adding beans was my first addition. Then I realized I didn’t have chili powder. I didn’t think it would be a huge deal to just use cayenne instead, but after tasting it, I realized it didn’t have the flavor I wanted. So I added cumin, hoping that it would give it a little deeper body. This was the turning point for the nationality of this soup. The cumin did help, but it gave it a real Hispanic flavor (along with perfectly seasoning the onion and red bell pepper). Mexican food is basically my favorite, and I might honestly have previously stated that Tortilla Soup is my favorite soup. HOWEVER, this is my new favorite soup!

Rich, flavorful, satisfying soup. It’s a real thing. And it doesn’t have to be loaded with fat, I’m looking at you, Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

While I may have strayed from the original recipe, I did follow her lead on “thickening soup with soup” aka: taking a little of the soup out, pureeing it in the food processor, and adding it back to the soup for thickness.

That was definitely the move.

So are the toppings. I used what I had on hand- avocado, thinly sliced radish, cilantro, cheddar cheese, scallions, and croutons. I’d definitely recommend something crunchy (tortilla chips would be good, I had bread laying around so I made some croutons) as well as something creamy (sour cream, avocado, cheese) and something green (sliced green onion, cilantro, etc.).

Mexican Lentil Chili

Ingredients: (Feeds 4- Double up if you’re bringing to a party. They’ll thank you later)

• 1 TBSP EVOO
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 large bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spice)
• 1 tsp fresh black pepper
• 6 oz lentils
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carton (32 oz) vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Additional toppings: shredded cheese, avocado, sliced radish, tortilla chips, croutons, sour cream, etc

Instructions:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, stirring until slightly browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add in minced garlic, cayenne pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Stir and saute for about 1 minute.
• Add vegetable stock, lentils, beans, tomatoes, and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then let simmer covered for 25-30 minutes, or until lentils are tender and have expanded.
• Take off heat, remove bay leaf and take 1-2 cups of the liquid (depending on how thick you like it. I go for about 1.5 cups) and place into a food processor or blender. Process until pureed. (Alternatively use an immersion blender). Add the pureed soup back into the chili and stir together. Mix in about half the cilantro and the whites of the scallions. Taste and season.
• Top to your hearts desire with avocado, radish, shredded cheese, cilantro, tortilla chips/croutons, sliced scallions, and a squeeze of lime.

 

Study snack or night time munchie, this yogurt bowl satisfies an empty stomach and a sweet tooth.  

 

To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed in myself. This is the first dessert I have ever written a recipe for. That is insane to me because I absolutely love dessert and eat it at any time of day. When I first made this recipe it was 3pm. This yogurt bowl is really just a snack with chocolate, so enjoy it at any time of the day 😊. 

The key to having chocolate in the house and not eating it all in one sitting is to just have little wrappers of them. The chocolate pictured above is just a Dark Chocolate ghiradelli square that is sliced super thin with a knife. This also works with the little Dove chocolates that people have in their office or even leftover Halloween candy! Just a little shave of chocolate goes a long way. Above is only 1/2 of the individually wrapped square. Full disclousure: I ate the other half while making the bowl. 

An important step in this helps to utilize chia to its full potential. (Did you know it can absorb up to 10x it’s own weight in water?) Let it absorb in the Greek yogurt for about 10 min prior to eating. This also helps the chia seeds texturally, when totally dry, they can be a little grainy. 

If you’ve got regular (unflavored) Greek yogurt, no problem. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to make it a bit more flavorful. If you’ve got another flavor (strawberry, etc) just use that! No need to discriminate. 

  
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (vanilla) Greek yogurt 
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp granola
• 1/2 dark chocolate square, sliced very thin or shaved 

Directions:

• Mix Greek yogurt with chia seeds and let sit in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. 
• Do something active for those ten minutes (my faves: quick yoga flow – slow sun salutations, squats + push ups, or a walk down the street)
• Remove yogurt from fridge, top with granola and shaved chocolate and enjoy 🙂 

  

Ooooof, y’all it’s been a while. And for that, I apologize. A lots happened in the month that’s taken place since my last post, however I’ll just spare you the details and say I’ve been super busy. 

Had a wonderful break in Florida with my family and friends, followed by a stagnant period of readjusting to my only-slightly-different-single-status in Alabama. But it feels great to be back just doing me. Today I cleaned my apartment, read, meditated, had a sweet and relaxing yoga sesh, and made two bomb ass meals. (Lunch pictured below)

  
I’ve been eating pretty “vegetarian” lately as a result of trying to go more plant-based in general coupled with the sad loss of two of my family’s chickens. I’ve been able to emotionally distance myself from my family’s pets and my favorite food in the world – fried chicken. But their brutal death by raccoon made me think- I was genuinely saddened by their deaths but at least they lived a good life plucking around my yard instead of living and dying in a cage like so many other chickens…  I digress. Point blank- I am eating less meat. 

By less meat I mean less meat. Not going cold turkey (get it? Bad joke.) but really making an effort into making meals that are so delicious on their own, they don’t even need meat! However, in the past week, I still have had meat about 3 times. Most of this was the result of being out with friends and feeling no desire to restrict myself (something I am adamantly against). But that is considerably less than usual for me. I don’t feel drastically different, but I wake up feeling lighter, I’d say that’s a win. 

  

And being the dietitian that I am, I’m having to make a conscious effort to get enough protein. Beans, yogurt, and cheese (arguably my other favorite food) have been consistently in the repertoire, so I think I’ve got my bases covered. 

Ramble aside- this Collard Green Bell Pepper Hash is one of those aforementioned meals that is so delicious and satisfying on its own that meat is simply unnecessary. I added portobella mushrooms into mine because I like the umami-ness that it gives and makes me forget there is no meat. 

I was given a bunch of collard greens about the size of a small tree from one of my favorite farmers at the farmers market- Belle Meadow Farms. He actually gave me a “half batch” for a whopping $1.50 which was again, the size of a small tree. I told him whatever I don’t use, I will repurpose into a houseplant. (Top right of this picture shows about 1/4 of my batch.)

  
I’ve never cooked collards before, but have worked in quite a few kitchens that make them and I’m not gonna lie- I didn’t think I was a fan. I knew there had to be a way to use collards without boiling the crap out of them in fatty water. And the resulting recipe was my experimentation of keeping it light, crisp and delicious. I truly think it accomplished all of those things, and I hope that you will try it and agree.  

 
Collard Green and Bell Pepper Hash

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Two russet potatoes – diced 
• Half of one onion- diced 
• Three cloves garlic- minced
• One bell pepper (any color)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms 
• 4-5 collard green leaves, chopped 
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese- shaved 
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat generous drizzle of olive oil in pan on medium high heat. Add in potatoes and cook, tossing, for 4 minutes. 
• Move potatoes to outside of pan, leaving empty hole in middle. Add onion and garlic until fragrant, then stir in with potatoes for another 3 minutes. 
• Move everything to the outsides again, then add peppers just like above cooking for about 5 min. Salt and pepper to taste. 
• Move everything to the outsides again, and add mushrooms similar to above. Mix together. 
• Mix in collard greens and any fresh herbs you’ve got on hand (I used some fresh rosemary). Cook until slightly wilted but still crisp, about 2-3 minutes. 
• Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and more salt and pepper to taste. 
• Top with other half of Parmesan cheese and extra lemon zest. 

  
As always, feel free to play around with this. Omit or add roughly anything (including meat). Hashs are kind of meant to be a hodgepodge of different stuff. But don’t forget those collard greens! I promise they are much better than the ones you had in the middle school cafeteria. Promise. 

– Pam  

If you love tacos, you will love this taco recipe. Hands down. And I’m not talking about that tired, standard, ground beef, tomato, lettuce taco. I’m talking authentic mexican taco. Full of plenty of cilantro, lime, and fresh ingredients. That’s the Mexican food we should all be accustomed to, not the cheesy downgraded meat out of a hose kinda taco. (I’m lookin’ at you T-Bell)

On a real note, this taco is everything that you should want in a taco. Spicy, peppery (from that delish adobo) meat topped with completely fresh pico, lime, cilantro, radish, and a bit of cheese; wrapped up in a light (gluten-free) corn tortilla in order to hold all the ingredients without overwhelming them.

PS: While I use chicken as the meat in this recipe, feel free to experiment with beef, steak, shrimp, or anything really! I bet even Tofu can really take on that adobo flavor.

Honestly, I had no intention of blogging about these tacos, they kind of just came to me in an odd inspiration, and I decided not only that it was TACO NIGHT, but also MARGARITA NIGHT in order to use the bottle of Don Julio that’s been in my possession since my boyfriend gave it to me for graduation (6 months ago). I haven’t been avoiding the tequila for any reason, other than it kind of turns me into a psycho. But I decided that just one margarita would put me in the perfect mood to then get a beer with some friends at the jazz bar later, but that’s neither here nor there.

Point being- that these tacos were surprisingly amazing. Like topping the charts of all-time taco experiences. It helps that I added only ingredients that I like, but that’s the beauty of tacos! Put in what you love, and leave out what you don’t! I think we could learn a thing or two from that.

Ingredients: (for two)

• Two chicken breast
• 2 Tbsp Adobo sauce (or canned chipotle in adobo, you’ll use the rest. trust me)
• Corn tortillas
• Small bunch of cilantro- roughly chopped
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 radish- sliced super thin
• 1 small Tomato
• 2 Tbsp vinegar (any type is fine)
• 1/4 white or yellow onion
• 2 limes
• Shredded cheese (I used pepper jack)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

• Make the pico de gallo: Dice tomato and onion together with a good chunk of chopped cilantro and juice 1/2 of the lime onto it. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix.
• Pickle the red onion: mix  2 Tbsp vinegar (I prefer wine vinegars), 2 Tbsp water, 1/2 Tbsp honey and 1 tsp salt in microwave for ~30 sec, pour over sliced red onion and let cool in fridge til ready
• Make the adobo skillet sauce: Mix 2 Tbsp adobo paste/sauce with other 1/2 lime juice and 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Slice chicken into thin strips and toss with plenty of adobo skillet sauce

Cook:

• Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan on medium heat and spread around
• Add adobo chicken and saute until cooked through, flipping as necessary (Inside temp: 165. About 5-7 minutes)
• Warm tortillas: For a big batch- cover a stack completely in a damp paper towel and microwave for 10-15 seconds. Alternatively, heat one at a time on stove.
• Once tortillas are steamed, add the adobo chicken. Top with cheese, shaved radish, cilantro leaves, fresh pico de gallo, pickled red onion, and squeeze of lime
• Serve alongside extra lime slices, cilantro for garnish, and a fresh limey margarita if you’re feelin it (like I was)

And there you’ve got it! While my recipe is only written for two, this would make an awesome taco display for a group. Simply plate the chicken, tortillas, and various toppings in separate containers for your guests to use at their leisure 🙂 I’d recommend you add margaritas into the mix as well.

Enjoy!

-Pam

Sweet Potato gives this breakfast a satisfying feel without the heavy carb-loaded blood sugar rush, while eggs, avocado, and goat cheese pump you up with healthy fats to keep your heart happy.

So I just realized my last recipe was about sweet potatoes too. I’ve been on a sweet potato kick recently, and it’s not really because I am crazy about sweet potatoes. It’s because I have a reeeally hard time saying “No” to people, especially at the farmer’s market. Just yesterday, one of my favorite people to buy produce from was trying to convince me to buy a huge bunch of collard greens even though I’m leaving town in a few days for Thanksgiving break and I knew in my heart they would go bad. I ended up staying on the fence and promising that I’d be back after my Advanced Vitamins and Minerals class. I wasn’t. 😦

Just a few weeks prior, the same farmer loaded me up with about 8 sweet potatoes just for lil old me. Now I like sweet potatoes and all, but I can only think of a few ways to really use them. Well, not anymore!

Thanks to my wonderful spiralizer, I was able to make sweet potato hashbrowns! Y’all, they are incredible. This was my first attempt with them, and I am so very pleased with the result.

Essentially, spiralize the hashbrowns and saute them along with some onions for flavor. Once they’re nice and crispy, make a well in the middle for an egg. Pop in the oven for a few minutes to cook the egg through, then top with whatever fresh ingredients you’ve got on hand, and you’ve got yourself an instagram-worthy breakfast hash.

I had mine with some GT’s Kombucha, because I seriously love it. Kombucha freaked me out at first (SCOBY sounds a lot grosser than it really is) but now I really enjoy the flavor along with the probiotics and effervescence.

This breakfast took me under 15 minutes to prep and cook, which is a real time-saver in the morning. I’m not gonna lie to you like I did to that poor farmer, but I rarely eat breakfast. However, meals like this would (and probably already have) change my mind!

Alright, let’s get cooking.

Ingredients: (for one, double up for two)

• One large sweet potato
• One large egg
• 1/4 cup onion
• Large slice avocado
• One green onion- sliced
• Goat cheese
• Sriracha (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cook!

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
• Spiralize the potato (I kept mine on the thin setting) and dice the onion
• Heat some oil in a pan, and add the onion until softened, then add the potato hashbrowns (don’t feel the need to keep it all tight and together, it browns best when it’s all a mixed mess anyway)
• Once hashbrowns start to get crispy (after about 5-7 min), make a well (hole) in the middle of the pan, add another small bit of oil, and crack an egg into it. Season with salt and pepper or whatever other seasonings you like.
• Pop entire skillet into oven for a few minutes- depending on the consistency you like your eggs. If you like them super runny take it out after about 3 minutes. I ended up leaving it in for about 8 min, because I like my egg firm.
• Using a large spatula, transfer the entire hash onto a plate. Top with goat cheese, avocado, sliced green onion and a drizzle of sriracha if you’re into that kind of thing. Season again with salt and pepper if desired.

And voila! I told y’all that was easy!

Side Note: made this again for my boyfriend the next morning, only about three times as large. He thoroughly enjoyed it. And I thoroughly enjoyed how easy it was for me to make again, only I ran out of goat cheese and he got…. feta. The horror, (jk: I love feta too)

Unfortunately for me, this one ended up photographing 100 times better, and I had already written this blog post full of pictures of my single sad little egg. Moral of the story, invite some friends (or a hungry cute boy over) and just cook a big version of it, like the one above. It makes for a better Instagram picture at least 🙂

Sweet Potatoes are more of a Southern thing, I get it. Recently, my campus farmers market actually had “Sweet Potato Fest” and I picked up A LOT of sweet potatoes from one of my favorite farmers. Like way more than I could use. So I decided to get a little creative with them.

I typically see sweet potato chips with barbeque- yet another Southern thing, but I decided it was totally going to work with Mexican nachos, one of my absolute favorite things in the world. Nachos were one of the first “meals” I made as a kid, because it was so easy and I could do it in the microwave. Half the time I said screw the microwave, and just ate tortilla chips with cold shredded cheese. I loved cheese as a child, and still do to this day.

While the homemade sweet potatoes definitely take the most effort in this dish, the real shining stars are what you choose to put on. At my disposal I had: avocado, radish, pico de gallo, green onion, black beans, and ground turkey. (Most of which came from the farmers market). So I am writing this recipe based on that, but as always feel free to do whatever you’d like with them. The beauty of nachos is that they really work with just about anything.

One reason I did choose to use turkey and black beans (aside from the fact that I just had leftover turkey from meatballs I made over the weekend) was that they are incredible sources of protein! Protein is important for so so so many bodily functions, but from a culinary standpoint- protein keeps you full. I couldn’t finish this plate of nachos. But I’m willing to bet if you’re reading this, you’re going to try!

However, if you’re more the vegetarian type, feel free to omit the turkey completely and maybe double up on the black beans. If you’re gluten-free, good news 🙂 this one is perfect for you!

Ingredients: (for two-three servings)

• Two large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 cup cheese
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup avocado
• 1/4 cup pico de gallo
• 2 small radishes, sliced super thin
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• Olive oil
• Lime and cilantro for garnish

(Note: While I did put measurements to make prepping easier, feel free to use however much of whatever you’d like. Don’t like radish, don’t use it! Like your nachos extra cheesy? Load it on up!)

Cook:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into very very thin slices. Use a mandolin on the smallest setting if you’ve got it. (Tip: once sliced, soak the sweet potatoes in cold salty water for an hour or two prior to cooking. This makes them leech some of their starch content, resulting in a crispier sweet potato chip!)
• Drizzle the sweet potato slices with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and whatever else you’d like. Place them on a tin foil-lined baking sheet that is sprayed with light cooking spray.
• Pop the sweet potatoes in the oven. Check on them after about 8-10 minutes and flip for another 3-5 min.
• While the sweet potatoes cook, brown the ground turkey on medium meat until cooked through.
• Once sweet potato chips are sufficiently crispy, let cool for about 5 minutes (they’ll crisp up more this way)
• Arrange chips how you like, I clump mine in a generally flat pile, and add on a layer of cheese. Place back in the oven for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Add cooked turkey and black beans. Add another layer of cheese, if desired. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
• Once nachos are ready, place on serving tray or plate using a metal spatula. Then top with diced avocado, sliced radish, pico de gallo, scallions, extra cheese, cilantro, whatever you’ve got! The more the merrier when it comes to nachos!

 

And there you have it! Fresh, healthy sweet potato nachos with some serious protein power! The lovely mix of vegetables in here gives it wonderful color as well as an awesome array of nutrients. Colorful plates are typically the healthiest! (Someone must have told that to whoever made that awful purple ketchup.)

-Pam