I am currently tapering (Chicago marathon is this Sunday!) and so I am not doing my normal workouts which means I have even MORE time on my hands…..so baking healthy concoctions it is! Healthy and delicious energy balls!
Aren’t they pretty?
While in my happy place this summer (the grocery stores of Oregon), I bought some apple (and pear) chips that turned out to be the most delicious snacks I have ever eaten. Sister’s Fruit Company. Made by a small family company in Oregon, these all natural fruit chips are made out of USDA Grade A Pacific Northwest fruit, that are sliced and dried in an all natural process. The chips just have a touch of pure cane sugar but are not overly sweet. You can eat them on cereal or oatmeal, but I tend to eat them just straight out of the bag. The kids are also huge fans and we can polish off a bag in one sitting. Mainly sold on the west coast, you can also buy online (thank you, internet).
All of the flavors are good — you can’t go wrong! Except for once you start, you cannot stop.
Back to the routine and life in the city…also back to the kitchen and looking for yummy and healthy recipes to cook. I came across this Red Cabbage salad from my favorite salad cookbook, Leon Happy Salads. It did in fact make me happy — super delicious.
Ingredients:
Earlier this week, we went peach picking (one of my favorite pastimes in Oregon…. fun, beautiful, and super inexpensive. WIN WIN all around). In 20 minutes, we gathered 35 pounds of delicious and perfect peaches. As much as I love peaches, that is a WHOLE lot of peaches to eat….especially since they go bad very quickly. So within minutes, I made two crisps (a little bit of oatmeal, a little bit of butter, a little bit of sugar and VOILA). But there was still 30 plus pounds left….so we decided to dehydrate them and they are oh so good.
Me and my partner in crime. She weighs just slightly more than the peaches.
The other day, my mom made the most incredible pesto — the typical basil, pine nut, parmesan combination. It was so delicious, I found excuses to eat it (chip, carrot, spoon, you name it). But because everyone KNOWS how to make pesto, I decided to find a more creative (and cost effective) vegan pesto. Instead of pine nuts and parmesan, hellloooo cashews. Instead of basil, welcome cilantro and jalapeno. It is green, healthy, and has just a minor kick to it (next time, I want to add more jalapeno). Enjoy!
Ingredients:
I live for my hot brewed coffee every morning — and I can’t imagine life without it. But every so often, I want an iced coffee mid day. Not only for the extra oomph and caffeine boost, but also for the flavor. Nothing is as good as coffee (except maybe tequila). I recently found this bottled iced coffee made with oat milk — it’s like all my dreams come true! Rise Brewing Oat Milk Latte –a dessert in a can! Oh so delicious.
Slender, petite, and the right size.
I was introduced to my new favorite pizza place by my out-of-town-brother this past week and now I am dreaming of the pizza nonstop. My brother is one of those people that knows everything about a place even when he doesn’t live there. He also loves food, reading about food, and is always right. So when he was visiting this past weekend and suggested trying Prince Street Pizza — I knew that it was going to be good and worth the trek down. And YUP, sure enough, this tiny little pizza shop is where it is at. I can’t wait to go back.
Located in Nolita, on Prince Street, this tiny little shop is c harming, crowded, busy, and has oh so delicious pizza.
SO easy, so simple, and oh so good. Roasted miso sweet potatoes! Great as a side dish, perfect for leftovers!
Who doesn’t love the color orange?
I always love Gwyneth Paltrow cookbooks as they are simple, easy, healthy, and delicious. So when she came out with her newest book, The Clean Plate, a couple weeks ago, I was so excited to try out all the different recipes. And sure enough, everything I make from it is a WIN and I love them all. Randomly this past weekend when it was Arctic temperatures outside and there was nothing to do besides be cooped up and freezing, I decided to make the black rice pudding from her book. It was suuuuuper easy and extremely tasty. I plan to eat it as a dessert or as a hearty winter breakfast or both.
Ingredients:
I have always been a Peanut Butter Princess, devouring spoonfuls of peanut butter by the gallons. Especially during marathon training, I crave the richness and fattiness of peanut butter, almond butter and any nut butter even more. So when I came across “Chai Cashew Butter” in the new Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow cookbook, I knew that it was something I was going to fall in love with. And sure enough, once I made it, I could not stop eating it. It is rich, full of protein and good fats, sweet and filling. The perfect snack before a run, or to keep me going on a given day. Creamy, smooth, and tasty. A must eat and a must make!
Final product. I could sell this on the street and people would line up for it — that good!
My favorite cookbook (Run Fast Eat Slow) now has a sequel and I couldn’t be happier! I am so excited to get back in to the kitchen and cook / bake / create some of the recipes from the new Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow.
So excited!! Shalene Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky and their second cookbook! Some of my all time favorite recipes are from their first cookbook, so I am super happy to find new favorites in this one, too.
My (and everyone else’s) summer drink, the Aperol Spritz, has been consumed in many different ways. But I think I have found my favorite… the slushee. I may never drink anything else again: this slushee is the most incredible, light, fruity, delicious, buzzing, refreshing, oh-so-good drink. It is truly perfection.
It is even better than it looks. SERIOUSLY, so good.
As many of you know, I love butter. Not just ‘like’ butter, but LOVE butter. It is actually my go-to snack. I smother it on bread, croissants, rice cakes, anything… And because of this, I am a butter snob. And here in Oregon, the land of hand batched, artisan everything, there is GREAT butter. Thanks to Butter Culture, I am now eating more butter than ever.
Butter Culture. Not only does it taste great, but the packaging is spot on.
Although late to the game, I am now fully invested in the summer “It” drink, the Aperol Spritz. Last year, I saw the bright orange drink everywhere I went, but never tried it. I started during our recent trip to Europe, and now I can’t stop. Aperol Spritz is made with aperol (a liquor), prosecco, a splash of soda, and some fresh orange. It is refreshing, zesty, sparkly, and basically makes you feel like you are drinking an orange Fanta. OH SO GOOD.
Yes, I am a dufus. But can’t stop, won’t stop.
Last week, one of my biffles introduced me to La Colombe “black and tan.” And now, I can’t stop thinking about it. Literally, every morning and afternoon, I dream of getting a black and tan from La Colombe. Although there are 30 locations nationwide, and 8 in NYC, none are in my neighborhood. So when I was talking to her the other day complaining about how much I wanted this drink, she said that I should take the canned version and create my own version of it. And then she made fun of me about how I was going to make a blog post out of it — and even got the exact phrasing and thought process of how I write blogs. And so, YEP, she knows me well. And so here we are, and I am doing exactly that. I am writing a blog post on my new favorite drink and thanks to Fresh Direct, I can create it without going downtown. Thanks, B, for being my editor, content contributor, and supporter of my caffeine intake and the Josie Girl Blog.
Dynamic Duo.
I am always looking for something sweet that doesn’t have much sugar, so when I found this recipe in my new favorite cookbook, Healthyish, I made it right away. And since last Friday, I have made it officially seven times (#obsessed). It is super easy, delicious, vegan, and curbs my sugar craving without involving sugar! Win win win!
This is not the banana date smoothie. This is a vanilla milkshake — which is what it is supposed to be similar to. Kinda. Sorta. Similar. Maybe not. Ish. Still great.
Adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Leon Happy Salads, this cabbage salad is crunchy, tasty, and super easy.
Rainbow salad!
For the past 12 years, I have been drinking the same morning shake / smoothie. Here it is!
Sometimes it is green….
In the past month, we have been gifted Royce’ Chocolate by two different couples. I had never heard about it before and now I am a fan. Made in Japan, this chocolate is unique, beautiful, and delicious. Definitely different than a normal chocolate bar — more special and rich, making it a great hostess gift.
This one is one of their specialties: Ghana bitter.
As discussed last week, one of my favorite new cookbooks is The Wellness Mama Cookbook. This week, I took on my first recipe: “Angel-ed Eggs” — avocado deviled eggs. Although I love deviled eggs, I have actually never made them myself…so I loved this take on deviled eggs with a healthy angle of avocado in them (good fat). They were super easy to make and uber delicious:
And who doesn’t love green?
One of my biffles is an amazing cook — even though she claims she hates cooking. She can easily throw together a five course meal for her family where *everything* tastes divine. Although she likes to experiment and try new recipes, she also has a set of ‘go-to’ recipes that she makes throughout the week. This is her go-to-kale salad. It is so good that this past week, I made it THREE times. So easy, and so delicious!
Ingredients:
Spice, zest, tart, and sweet — the perfect bite. And with good salmon, it is truly perfection. This sriracha salmon recipe is from Gwyneth Paltrow and is a must make. Although I have had the cookbook for years, I had never made the salmon until this week. And in six days, I made it twice. OOPS. But so good. Make it, trust me.
Ingredients:
A new year and a new dedication to eating green! I love having homemade salad dressing in the fridge as an easy snack, and this recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow is one that I make frequently — so delicious and easy. A must make and a must eat!
Ingredients:
The only difficult part of this recipe is buying all 0f the ingredients for it.
Last week, I had a Mexican themed dinner and made the most delicious corn quinoa salad! It was cheese-less, oil-less, but full of flavor, spunk, color, and taste. You must make it — even if you don’t like quinoa or corn, make it! (I served it along with a green salad, kale-chicken enchiladas, and salsa….yum!)
When I cook, I am a mess. But then I clean up. And hello tequila in the background. You must serve tequila when eating Mexican food.
This summer, we have gone to lots of local Oregon farms to pick our own fruit. The best trip was to the raspberry farm, when we came home with 9 pounds. I wanted to make a raspberry crisp but couldn’t find a recipe anywhere, so I improvised and made my own! It was so good that I made not one, not two, but THREE! This recipe is low sugar, tart, but oh-so-good.
First, you pick.
Toosh is officially my picking partner. She never wants to leave.
