HOLY COW, best granola bar ever and it is made with only healthy ingredients. They are grain-free, soy-free, paleo, gluten-free, dairy free, wheat-free, and oat-free. The Nola bar!
Nola
Nola Granola Bars
healthy
Raw Tortillas
Last December when visiting my brother in Seattle, I discovered raw tortillas while rummaging through his fridge. In a matter of seconds, I became a fan. These authentic and fresh tortillas are made from simple ingredients (only 5 of them!) and no preservatives. Sold in many stores on the West Coast (Safeway, Albertsons, Costco), it was a little harder to pin them down on the East Coast. Thanks to my sister who lives in New Jersey, we got some… from Wal-mart! And they are amazing.
Kale Caesar Salad
I have always loved kale (Ken even considered naming our son, “Kale” instead of “Cruz” — true story), but this kale caesar salad has taken my love of the dark leafy green to a whole new level. Like, I could eat four heads of kale in one day and be happy and content. This is an easy salad, with a super tasty homemade dressing that lasts in the fridge for several weeks. Once I discovered the recipe from Epicurious, I have literally made this salad 2-3 times a week. I can’t stop, won’t stop, why stop. So here is the recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Salad:
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
Every time I am at Whole Foods, I end up picking up a “Morning Glory” Muffin to snack on. Both my daughter and I love them: sweet, moist, and healthy. So I decided to bake a batch of them myself! After scouring the internet to find the recipe that suited my taste, here is the one I found on eatingwell.com. I modified them slightly and love the result! They are refined-sugar free, gluten-free (because I used gluten-free flour), and nutrient packed!
Healthy Banana Coconut Cookies
For the past couple of months, I have been more into *real* desserts than *healthy* desserts. But now that it is the start of a new, clean, fresh year, I am back to loving / craving / wanting / needing healthy desserts. And this dessert is the perfect one — incredibly healthy, no refined sugar, no wheat, real ingredients, easy to make, and super delicious. WIN WIN WIN — almost like digging into an overflowing ice cream hot fudge sundae. This recipe is from 101 Cookbooks, one of my all-time favorite food blogs. Check it out! And make these cookies! They are part banana bread — part oatmeal — part macaroon. All in one deliciousness!
Red Lentil Soup
Just like last week, I have copied yet another soup recipe from GOOP. Too good not to, so I did it again. Imitation is flattery. #CopyCat #SorryImNotSorry
Ingredients:
Broccoli-Arugula Soup
Theoretically, you could just go to the GOOP website and find this soup. But hey, it is more fun when I post, right? So full acknowledgement, this soup is copied EXACTLY from GP. AND IT IS SO GOOD! And healthy! And the perfect way to start the New Year! So go on and make it. And pretend that I was genius enough (or had the staff) to create it myself.
Ingredients:
Vegan Spinach Dip
This past weekend, we had our dear friend Katie Kaiser from Stanford visit. In addition to being a great friend, she is one of the most phenomenal cooks I have ever encountered — as I still remember all her dinner parties during Business School and the meals she put together. So I asked her if we could cook together so I could learn some of her tips, skills, and recipes. POT OF GOLD! We cooked up a storm and she taught me so much — stay tuned for her various recipes that will be featured on the blog, Thank you, Kaiser! We love you! And so here is one of her recipes, delicious Vegan Spinach Dip!
Ingredients:
Ingredients
Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Now that it is officially cold (FML) in NYC, I am craving warm, hot, filling, comfort food. So what could be better than apple steel cut oatmeal made in the slow cooker? The perfect go-to breakfast to keep you warm and satisfied.
Apples!
Homemade Granola Bars
As the self proclaimed Granola Queen (both in terms of the noun “granola” and the verb “granola”), I have played around with making granola bars. This granola bar is a winner. It takes under 30 minutes, requires no baking, has no sugar (unless you count honey and/or dates as sugar), and is delicious (obviously). MAKE ‘EM!
Ingredients:
Karlie’s Kookies
So, apparently when you follow supermodels on instagram, you start to think that you yourself are IN FACT a supermodel. Yep, that is right. I strut like one, dress similarly, resemble one, and I am a model now. OK. Not really, but I *do* eat Karlie’s Kookies which most supermodels boast about chomping down on instagram. So that makes us similar, right? What is a Karlie’s Kookie? Well, all the celebrities and fashionistas eat them (and post them on instagram), so they must be healthy AND delicious at the same time. And what do you know? They really are. Cross my heart, swear to god, these little cookies are made out of healthy ingredients and are so tasty good, too.
My goodie bag.
Mexican Chopped Salad
Mexican + Salad = Perfection. This is a must-make salad for the end of summer, beginning of fall, or quite frankly *anytime* of year. It is one of the dozens of delicious recipes in ‘Fried Chicken & Champagne‘ (highly recommend this cookbook!).
After shot. Rainbow veggies.
Short Stack Cookbooks
One of my besties is someone whose style and taste is impeccable. Everything she wears, owns, makes, likes and buys is top quality and perfect. She offers great outfit advice, gift options, and decor styling. This is in addition to being the most loyal, fun, funny, beautiful and loving friend. I am lucky to have her in my life. I am also incredibly lucky that she gifted me these hip and up-and-coming short stack cookbooks. Check them out!
short stack
3 Ingredient Cookies
Nothing better than a QUICK and easy dessert to make and devour! 3 ingredients.
Ingredients:
Mexican Cheese
My family loves cheese — cheddar, soft , fancy, creamy, stinky, messy, and Mexican. I know, right? Who knows about Mexican cheese? Definitely not the French. But it is delicious and perfect for everyday eating. Our newest type of Mexican cheese is the “Oaxaca.” It’s similar in looks and flavor to queso fresca, and also has a string cheese like quality to it. Basically it is a saltier and more flavored version of string cheese, rolled up into something equivalent to a ball of yarn.
Softball?
Mushroom Torte
Torte / Quiche / Pie = All the same deliciousness. Especially when made by my Mama. Yep, the best cook in the world gave me a lesson on how to make tortes. Unbelievably tasty, and a home-run for any dinner / lunch / brunch dinner party. (My mom is such a pro in the kitchen that she made 8 of these tortes — all different fillings — in ONE afternoon. IF ONLY I had the charisma, talent, and energy that she has!) This torte was one of my favorites: mushroom. It is not simple, not vegan, gluten-free, or light — but it is full of flavor and a perfect addition to your plate. Center stage. This recipe was found from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook, which is amazing.
Raw Chocolate Coconut Bites
I know I have a lot of haters of my healthy desserts (mainly, my husband, father, and brother…see the pattern), but THIS HEALTHY DESSERT is a must-make and must-eat. And not to be hated on. Even my father ate it and asked for more (true story). So, do me a favor and make it. I found the recipe off of my new-to-me-favorite-healthy-food-blog, Deliciously Ella. With a little bit of creative editing, here is the recipe for Raw Chocolate Coconut Bites. Yes, they are vegan. No, they are not nut-free. Yes, they are delicious. Yes, I promise.
Ingredients:
Mango Chia Pudding
Chia seeds are a super food. Incredibly healthy and nutritious, they also make an awesome pudding. Try it!
Chard Apple Salad
Made it to Oregon after an oops-where-is-the-airport-bathroom-uh-oh-kid-had-an-accident type of situation. That = unfun. Oregon = Green, calm, rainy forest (Oregon, didn’t you get the memo? I came out for SUMMER not Spring-Fall-Winter rain!). My mother is a cooking machine and since we are so many at the house, she is now a member of not one, but TWO CSA boxes. Yep, ladies and gentlemen, more greens and kale and chard and spinach than you can ever imagine. Wednesdays *and* Fridays! Not that I am complaining because there is nothing better than fresh farm vegetables, but my mother has to get creative with all the greens in the house. And this recipe (random concoction created by Nana Proskurowski) was unbelievable. So good that I had to recreate it the next day!
Ingredients:
Celery Salad
I don’t love celery. Actually, I dislike it. But for some reason, I love this celery salad. Weird because the salad is celery plus a little parsley and shallots. Call me crazy. But trust me, this salad is crunchy, refreshing, summery, and tasty.
Two Ingredient Pancake
OK. I’m jumping on the bandwagon. In recent weeks, I have seen a couple blog posts on “two ingredient pancakes.” I tried them, and you MUST give them a shot. They taste and look like pancakes, but they aren’t. Truly magical.
Ingredients:
BOOM. Two ingredients.
Green Bean Salad
All of my favorite recipes are originally made by my favorite chef, my mama. My mother is hands down the most inventive, creative, and talented chef in the kitchen (among many other traits and accomplishments). And this green bean salad has been in her repertoire for years, and as a result has become one of my go-to-salads. It is fresh, easy, healthy, and good in any season. Enjoy!
Aloha!
Aloha! Dried Green Juice! Aloha!
I am hooked on this dried green juice. Not only do I love the packaging (so modern and cool) but the product itself is a winner. At first, I was terrified of drinking it — 14 healthy, natural, organic ingredients — so healthy that even I was a little worried. BUT I WAS WRONG. This powder is GOLD (well, it’s green, but you know….). What’s in it?
Tuna Artichoke Salad
GP’s Lalo Cookies
Yep, another Gwyneth Paltrow recipe. I can’t help myself!!!! I love her recipes and ingredients so much!!! Plus if I eat like her, I will look like her, right? These cookies are the bomb (yep, used that word, say what 2003). They are dense, sweet, healthy, and hit-the-spot. They are more like a granola bar than a cookie. But healthy snack trumps oreos anyday.
