Pasta-less salad!

Pasta-less salad

Here’s another attempt to take back week nights! It’s Monday, and we can’t forget to fuel our bodies with delicious, whole foods. Here in Mississippi summer is officially upon us. I’ve really been craving pasta salad, but it’s already too hot to even boil water so the spiralizer saved the day. I wanted this salad to have that traditional Zesty Italian dressing flavor but without all of the store bought additives. I combined fresh and dry Italian herbs and tried to get close. This “pasta” salad is just as delicious and filling as the carby kind. All of these ingredients were easy to come by at Kroger, and while there is a bit of involved chopping, this is mostly a straightforward salad. Eat well tonight, friends.

Ingredients
Salad
2 raw zucchinis either spiralized or chopped into very thin one inch rectangles*
1/2 cup black olives finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper finely chopped
1/2 a yellow or orange pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped in half
1/2 red onion finely chopped
4 pieces of bacon cooked, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (optional)*

Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons red white vinegar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp of any fresh or dried Italian herbs on hand – oregano, parsley, thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper each
1 clove garlic minced (optional)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan (optional)

Directions: Prepare 4 pieces of bacon! I prefer the oven for ease and speed – typically about 20 minutes at 350 but if you are celebrating meatless Monday, this salad is just as good without the meat. Chop all veggies and mix with your hands in a large bowl. Sprinkle chopped bacon on top or mix in.
Make the dressing: Add all ingredients into either a salad shaker or mason jar and shake until combined. Toss the veggies with the dressing and either chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately!

*Makes about four servings and is even better the next day after veggies have marinated in the dressing!
*Grilled chicken or shrimp would also taste great in this salad! I just happened to only have bacon on hand, and I like to have a protein of some kind in every meal.

Strawberry rhubarb pie (Grain & refined sugar free!)

Happy summer! I’m loving these warmer days but in the midst of the end of school year crunch, I got a little off track on my food lifestyle. I’m going to spend the next month trying to get reset and away from refined sugars and grains. I’ve been missing home and thinking about summers with garden fresh rhubarb. People have been telling me it’s too hot in Mississippi for rhubarb to survive so I settled for store bought. I did a little research on grain free pie crusts and I attempted two different rhubarb recipes. As I experiment more and more with refined sugar free baking, I’m continually impressed with how little I miss the fake stuff. Hope you’ll give this pie a try! It’s a taste of my summers of yore that I can eat without a major sugar hangover.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ingredients Filling 1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries 1/2 cup finely chopped rhubarb ( 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder Crust 2 cups blanched almond flour 1/4 teaspoon of salt 2 tablespoons ghee (or coconut oil) 1 egg Crumble 1/2 cup almond flour 1/8 cup coconut flour 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 tablespoon ghee Directions Crust: Preheat oven to 350. Either with food processor or by hand, mix salt & almond flour until blended. Add melted & cooled ghee and egg and mix until forms a ball. Place in very lightly oiled pie dish and press into dish. Filling: Mix all ingredients in sauce pan over low heat. Stir occasionally until mixture thickens about 15 minutes. Pour filling into pressed pie crust. Crumble: Mix all ingredients together. Stir lightly until mixture is crumbly texture. If mixture is too moist, add small spoonfuls of almond flour until “crumbly.” Sprinkle mixture on top of filling. Bake pie for 10 minutes at 350 until edges are brown. Let it cool, if you can! The longer it cools the more the pie pieces will hold together. Enjoy!

Taking Back Weeknights: Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup

Hi friends!

Last week, while I was fighting a summer cold, I made a killer Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup that was so quick and easy and packed with flavor and veggies and protein that I just had to share it. This recipe uses spiralized squash noodles instead of ramen noodles, and I promise you won’t miss the grains in the least. Also, there is lots of room for mixing and matching in this recipe, so take the base recipe below and make use of whatever you have on hand – it will turn out delicious, I promise!

Don’t you feel better just looking at it?

Paleo Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Broth:

• 2 cups stock (any will do, I used chicken)
• 1 TBS Sesame Oil
• 1/3 cup Coconut Aminos
• 1/3 cup orange juice (I use this primarily as a sweetener; you could also use honey, molasses or brown sugar, depending on your dietary preferences, or leave it out entirely and see how that tastes)
• 1 TBS hot sauce (sriracha would be good here, but I just used my trusty Louisiana Hot Sauce)
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 TBS minced ginger
• 1 TBS rice wine vinegar

Add Ins and Toppings:

• 1 thin pork chop (beef or shrimp could also work here!)
• 1 summer squash or zucchini, spiralized (or rice noodles or spaghetti squash noodles, depending on allergies and preferences)
• 1 or 2 eggs
• Snap Peas, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, shaved carrots, bell peppers
• Chopped Cashews or Peanuts, lime wedge, jalapenos, fresh cilantro or basil

Directions:

• Prepare your protein: In a medium sized wok sear your pork chop on all sides over high heat. Err on the side of underdone with your protein, because it will continue cooking in the broth. Remove the pork chop from the pan and allow to rest for a moment.
• Prepare your broth: Turn the heat down to medium and toss your garlic and ginger straight into the wok and allow to caramelize a bit. Then add in the broth, coconut aminos, sesame oil, hot sauce, vinegar and orange juice. Stir well and give the broth a taste. Adjust as needed to your preferences.
• Mix and Match Ingredients: This is my favorite part, friends, because it is basically a choose your own adventure story in a pot. First, thinly slice your pork and spiralize your squash. Then throw your protein, noodles, and whatever add ins you have on hand straight into the pot and let simmer until all ingredients are cooked through. I like to crack an egg straight into the broth and let it cook until it is soft-boiled . If that weirds you out, you could also fry an egg in a separate pan and add it on top or you could skip the egg all together, although that would be sad. So so so sad. You’ll want to be strategic with your cook times here – fresh, delicate, veggies should go in last (think snap peas, peppers, etc), but eggs and carrots will take longer. Your protein can also be a bit tricky because you don’t want it to get over done and become tough. I usually throw it in right at the end unless it is much less done than I prefer or is safe, in which case, I’ll put it in when I put the egg in. All told, you’ll probably need to let things simmer for 3 to 6 minutes.
• Add Toppings: As a bonus, you can top this with chopped peanuts or cashews, a lime wedge, fresh basil or cilantro, jalepeno slices, avocado slices or a fried egg. #nom

Sunday Food Prep: Blueberry, Lemon and Mint Tea

This week is going to be delicious!

This morning, while my brunch (parsnips, sweet potatoes and carrots roasted with bacon and topped with a fried egg and some avocado and hot sauce #sogood) roasted away in the oven, I tackled all of my weekly food prep. Today’s prep included hard-boiling eggs, chopping veggies for roasting (carrots, sweet-potatoes and butternut squash), cutting up an entire watermelon, making a big salad with lots of bell peppers, and making a pitcher of blueberry, lemon and mint tea (recipe below!)… For whatever reason, all of these tasks feel easy on Sunday mornings and so so daunting when I get home late from work on Tuesday nights. Anyone else know this struggle??

Food prep also involved organizing the fridge to make sure that healthy foods are in sight and easily accessible. Here is the end result:

Strategic Fridge Moves: When I open the fridge, I want to be visually triggered to eat healthy things, and there should be lots of healthy options that are easy to grab, so I put the food I need to eat in the most visible and accessible locations.

This week, I decided to make a batch of Blueberry, Lemon and Mint tea that will be great for taking on the road in the morning. This recipe takes 10 minutes or less to come together and will make your mornings 25% more joyful!

Blueberry, Lemon and Mint Tea

Ingredients:

• 8 cups of hot water (straight from the tap is fine) plus 1/2 a cup for the blueberry mixture
• 3 large cold brew iced tea bags (you can swap out hot brew bags, but just follow the directions on the package)
• 1 quart of blueberries
• 1/3 cup of lemon juice
• 6-8 large mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Ice
• Optional garnish: lemon wedges or more mint sprigs
• Optional sweetener: honey (personally, I find the berries sweet enough, but taste it and adjust to your preferences!)

Directions:

Follow directions to steep tea as usual (for me, this meant steeping three large tea bags in 8 cups of hot water for about 5 minutes, but may be different depending on your tea brand). While tea steeps, heat blueberries, lemon juice, mint leaves and 1/2 a cup of water over high heat in a medium sauce pan. Allow the mixture to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and either:

• Blend the mixture in a blender until very smooth, and then pour the whole thing straight into your tea. This option gives you the benefit of all the nutrients in the berries, but will make your tea a bit thicker.
• Use a mesh sieve to strain the juice from mixture (use a spoon to get as much juice as possible out), then pour the juice into your tea and discard the solids.

Stir your tea, taste it and add honey or another sweetener if desired. Serve over ice and garnish with sprigs of mint or a lemon wedge.

Local Prawn Scampi with Zucchini Linguine

MAKE. THIS. NOW.

I live in catfish country. Catfish farm country, that is. The Mississippi Delta has historically been home to a huge number of catfish ponds and processing plants, so much so that a nearby town, Belzoni, MS, has been declared the Catfish Capital of the World. In recent years, however, the US catfish industry has suffered due to competition from foreign producers and catfish farming is becoming less and less common in the United States. In fact, between 2007 and 2013, US catfish production dropped from 164,000 acres of catfish farms to just 83,020 acres. Some of those newly available acres are located in my town, and a family of local entrepreneurs have repurposed their catfish ponds to raise freshwater prawns. I”m inspired by the way that the folks at Lauren Farms are innovating and building on the strengths of our community to provide greater access to healthy, local, delicious food!

I grabbed a bag of frozen, extra large prawns at the Leland Pop Up Shops last weekend, and was excited and a little intimidated, to try cooking with them this week, since I’ve only ever cooked with shelled and de-veined shrimp before. (For the record: prawns are very similar to shrimp, except for a few small things about their shells. My prawn-monger (lol, I have a prawn-monger. #fancy.) told me that they have a lighter, almost lobster-like flavor, but I think she is partial. Gross but important fact: she also told me that prawns don’t have a sand vein that you have to remove. I’ll be honest: peeling the prawns was gross enough for me; I don’t need to add veins to the mix. #nosir

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is actually my second attempt with prawns. For my first dish, I revisited my Pesto and Squash Noodles Recipe with very delicious results. I recommend Pesto Prawns with Squash Noodles so so much, but you smart people can figure out how to add prawns to your pesto dishes on your own, so I’m not writing about that today. Instead, I have a prawn version of shrimp scampi that is pure magic:

Local Prawn Scampi with Zucchini Linguine

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Extra Large Prawns/Shrimp per person (thawed and peeled. To peel, pull of the legs, use your thumbs to peel off the sides, and then you can leave the tail on or take it off depending on your preference. For a tutorial on deveining shrimp, head here.)
• 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash per person, spiralized or sliced very thin
• 2 TBSP ghee or butter (depending on your tolerance for lactose)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP Minced Garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• optional: lemon zest and thinly sliced lemons
• lemon juice, sea salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat.
• Add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, being careful to not let it burn.
• Add the prawns, and season with salt and pepper and saute until they have just barely turned opaque (this will just take a few minutes!).
• Toss in your spiralized noodles and let them wilt just a bit (takes about a minute) and then remove the pan from heat. By this point, your prawns should be just pink.
• Toss in the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes.
• DEVOUR A.S.A.P. #nom

Breakfast of (Whole Food) Champions!

MC and I got together yesterday to make an awesome grain-free brunch, where MC made this life altering breakfast pizza and I made the Carrot Muffins from Practical Paleo. All that brunching got me thinking about the quick and delicious (and hearty and protein-packed!) breakfasts that I’ve been eating lately. In the Whole 30 world, one of the common pieces of advice that is given is to stop thinking of breakfast as breakfast, and dinner as dinner, or, in other words, you can eat chicken and leftover soup for breakfast and it is fine as long as your body is getting the nutrients it needs. That being said, I still really love breakfast foods (and bacon. Lord, do I love bacon.), so I thought I’d do a quick round up of breakfast hacks that save my day on the regular.

Roasted Veggies + Avocado + Egg + Hot Sauce = Oh. Em. Gee.

1. Roasted Veggies and Breakfast Sausage: This has been my go-to breakfast this week because it is so easy – a one-pan dish that basically cooks itself. I prep it first thing when I wake up, before I do any other parts of my morning ablutions (10 points to Gryffindor for word choice??), and then it does its magic while I’m in the shower.

• The Recipe: There isn’t really a fancy recipe here. Basically, I just roast sausage links and veggies drizzled in olive oil, garlic salt and cracked black pepper at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until those particular veggies are tender with crispy, caramelized edges. The magic of this recipe comes in its speed and versatility and how DELISH it always is when you are done.
• Notes On Veggies: I usually use frozen veggies (frozen broccoli, butternut squash, beets and brussels sprouts are all favorites), I also usually use part of a sweet potato, so I like to chop sweet potatoes in batches and keep them in a bag in the fridge or freezer to avoid sweet-potato-chopping-fatigue which is a real thing in my life. I also use baby carrots (usually sliced in half, to cut down on the cooking time, since carrots tend to take much longer than many veggies to get tender). On that note, the one thing that you have to be careful about is balancing the cooking times of different vegetables. You can do this by thinly slicing denser veggies like beets and carrots to about a 1/4 to an 1/8th of an inch thickness (a mandolin can help with this!). Sweet potatoes can be bigger – closer to 1/2 inch rounds. Broccoli, brussels sprouts and butternut squash should all be in as large pieces as possible so that they take a bit longer to cook. If you buy them pre-chopped and are worried that they are too small and are going to burn, you can substitute the sausage for bacon and lay the bacon over the more tender veggies to roast. The bacon will crisp up and will protect the veggies from burning as they cook.
• Notes on Sausage: I use Applegate frozen sausage links – they aren’t Whole 30 compliant because they have a little added sugar, but I love the flavor and I haven’t found an alternative in my area grocery stores. Read your labels!
• Add Ons: Top this with some Louisiana Hot Sauce, half an avocado and/or a fried egg if you are feeling fancy! Trust me, you’ll love your life if you do because the egg yolk and hot sauce will run all over everything to make a great sauce, but a bowl of veggies and sausage will be very delicious as is, too!
• Variations I’ve Made Recently:
  • Sausage, Sweet Potatoes, Baby Carrots and Broccoli with hot sauce (pretty standard for me)
  • Baby Carrots and Bacon with hot sauce (this is great for when you are running low on time or groceries because you can just dump some carrots on a pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, layer on some bacon and leave it, and I almost always have bacon and carrots in my fridge, even when I’m out of most other things.)
  • Butternut Squash, Cauliflower and Sausage (this one didn’t take long to cook at all because it had no dense veggies)
  • Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes and Bacon (#nom)
  • Beets, Sweet Potatoes and Sausage with hot sauce and an egg and avocado (Had a few extra minutes this day. So much deliciousness.)

2. Homemade Coconut Lattes: For me, one of the hardest things about doing the Whole 30 was giving up my daily McDonald’s McCafe vanilla latte (as I’ve said before, I know, I’m fancy.). Eventually, I acclimated to drinking black coffee (especially on the go, since there are no coffee shops in the Delta that sell coconut milk, and I’ve heard that Starbucks’ coconut milk isn’t Whole 30 compliant so that is out on the off chance I travel to a city with Starbucks), but for my morning coffee, I splurged and bought a very basic milk frother so that I could make my own coconut lattes at home – it takes 90 seconds and feels so luxurious compared to drinking my coffee straight.

• A note on what coconut milk to use: You’ll get different amounts of foam depending on what kind of milk you use. I use coconut milk from the can – usually Kroger brand full-fat coconut milk. I shake it before I open the can, use a little for my coffee, and keep the rest in a mason jar in my fridge for the rest of the week. I always have several cans of coconut milk in my cupboard, usually a couple of different brands because they all have different fat contents and therefore I use them for different things. For your latte, you want coconut milk that has actual cream in it – the stuff out of the carton usually won’t foam very much – but you don’t want a brand that has so much cream that it is completely solid (save those brands for making coconut whipped cream or frosting!).

3. Egg Cups: Growing up, my mom always made egg cups for special occasions. Her recipe uses bread, so it isn’t really an option on the Whole 30, but I’ve found many variations that are great. These make awesome breakfasts because they are so good right out of the oven, and they also keep well for the week.

• Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with olive oil or coconut oil. Line each muffin cup with ham slices, bacon, or prosciutto. Layer in veggies of your choosing: I like bell peppers and onions or asparagus and green onion. Crack a whole egg into each muffin cup and sprinkle each one with sea salt and black pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg has set. Eat one as soon as you can get it into your mouth without burning yourself. Save some for the week to eat with fruit for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack.
• Variations: There are so many possible variations, depending on what vegetables you want to put in there. You can also skip the bacon all-together and try Avocado Eggs (shout out to my roommie for the suggestion!).

Go forth and breakfast well, my friends!

-MM

How I Learned to Love Salads

One of the biggest lessons I learned from the whole30 is that often eating whole requires tedious organization and preparation. Because of that, I’m hoping our blog will be a place to help folks eat wholly with speed and ease. My newfound love of salads has been a lifesaver. To some this may be surprising because while I’ve always been a veggie lover, I’ve never been a huge lover of my own salads because no matter which delicious, fresh vegetables and homemade dressings I put on them, they’ve always lacked an element of “heartiness” for me. Before the whole30, my favorite go-to fast dinner was a huge pan of roasted veggies with roasted pecans or almonds for protein. In making this lifestyle change, I discovered that my love for a pan of roasted veggies is about the warm, rich, heartiness that unfolds when earthy vegetables are roasted. It seems like I should have learned this years ago but by adding any combo of warm, roasted veggies to those cold, crisp greens, salad takes on another meaning. Rich, hearty and filling. This can truly be done with any veggies you have on hand and meat or cheeses can be added based on dietary needs and restrictions. After many re-creations of Danielle Walker’s beet & bacon salad from the fabulous grain-free cookbook “Meals Made Simple,” I’m learning that veggies roasted with bacon take on all kinds of decadence. Use what you have, use what’s fresh, ready and easy. Here’s a recent roasted veggie concoction I made for a surprise visitors and have since recreated a couple of times. It’s whole, hearty and easy!

Roasted eggplant & bacon salad with easy honey dijon dressing
Ingredients (Makes 2-3 large salads) 
Greens of choice (spinach, field greens, fresh romaine or any combo)
1 eggplant – peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 sweet potato with skin on rinsed and sliced into thin, round chips
6 pieces of bacon (optional for roasting and topping salad)*
1 avocado
1 yellow onion sliced into rings
1 tomato thinly sliced
3-4 eggs (optional for extra protein)
Salt, pepper & olive oil for seasoning

For the dressing
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons homemade dijon mustard or store bought (Homemade mustard recipe coming soon!)
1 tablespoon of raw honey (leave out for whole 30)
Pinch of salt & pepper

What to do: Pre-heat oven to 375. After eggplant is peeled and cubed, spread it evenly on large baking sheet. On one side of the baking sheet, lay sweet potato chips evenly. Try not to overlap. (Note: You need a pretty large baking sheet to fit both eggplant and sweet potatoes and can use two pans if necessary but extra dishes, no thanks!) After evenly placing, eggplant and sweet potatoes on pan, lay slices of bacon over top the veggies. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until bacon is crisp. While veggies roast, chop tomatoes, onions and avocado. Remove sweet potatoes and bacon and set aside. Eggplant should be still on the pan, toss and spread and then place back in the oven for 5-8 minutes until crisp and brown.

While the tomatoes & the onions can also be roasted, I think they both have better flavor when sauteed. In a small sautee pan, heat a teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat, sautee onions first, for about 4-5 minutes until strongly aromatic, soft and golden. Set onions to the side. Throw in tomatoes and sautee for 4-5 minutes until soft and golden on the outside. If you like heavy protein meal, fry a quick egg in the same pan. To fry, crack egg in pan, cover immediately and let fry for 5 minutes and then take off heat immediately for runny centered egg.

Dressing: Whisk vinegar, mustard and honey together. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk until combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Deck it out: Layer on the goods. Stat with the greens, drizzle the dressing on the greens, then add your roasted veggies, onions, tomatoes, chopped avocado, bacon and egg on top. The yolk mixes with the dressing for a magical combination.

*Note on bacon: true whole 30 bacon should be cured without sugar. In our rural region, this is impossible for us to find. Both MM and I prefer no sugar or additives when possible but are flexible on this rule.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Recently, I came upon a recipe over at The Kitchn for a very delicious looking Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. This recipe looked amazing. I lusted after it. I drooled over it. I considered trading my firstborn child to the gods of processed sugars so that I could have just one bite.

Somehow, I resisted the siren song of that recipe and didn’t dive face first into all that sugar, but day after day, the thought of that recipe has haunted me. It calls to me. I dream about it. I want it. GIVE IT TO ME NOW.

I’m a firm believer that when cravings are that strong, you should give in to them… Preferably with a few swaps to make the choice a little bit healthier. In this spirit, I’ve been attempting to paleo-ify this recipe for the past two weeks. I’ve tried several different variations and had more kitchen mishaps than I’d like to admit (my sweet roommate has been so nice about trying each of these breads and telling me they weren’t awful, when, in fact, they really were the worst.) After much experimentation, though, I have a delicious and really not awful recipe to share with you! It is rich and chocolatey and moist (gross word, tasty results!) and full of sneaky vegetables. You can get away with eating a slice of this stuff for breakfast or with your afternoon coffee or for dessert. Even better news: this recipe comes together in 5 minutes in the blender. #winning

Give in to your cravings, friends, you won’t regret it!

What? I’m eating my veggies!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 3 Eggs
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 Ripe Banana, mashed
• 1 c (1 small to medium) Zucchini (scrape out the seeds)
• 1/4 c Coconut Oil melted
• 1/3 c Cocoa Powder
• 2 tbsp Almond Butter
• 1/2 c Chopped Pecans or Walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa, because that was the option available at my Kroger. If you can get a higher cocoa percentage or fewer additives, that would be better. Ideally, you just want cocoa powder, cocoa butter and a natural sweetener).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use parchment paper to line bread pan (or else grease the pan well with coconut oil).
2. Use a blender to grate the zucchini and banana.
3. Add in other wet ingredients and blend until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients (except chocolate chups and nuts). Mix in wet ingredients until well combined. Alternatively, you could jus add the dry ingredients straight to the blender. You have to watch for clumping (no one wants a clump of baking powder in their food), but I’ve done this and the bread was still delish.
5. Mix in chocolate chunks and nuts (if using).
6. Pour batter in greased pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Serve with a drizzle of honey, coconut whipped cream, raspberries and/or a dusting of cocoa powder, cinnamon and red pepper (sounds weird, tastes good), or just eat it plain!

Taking Back Weeknights: Squash Noodles with Homemade Pesto

Happy Wednesday, all!

If you are at all like me, you start off the week with such good intentions of work-life balance, nightly yoga, and involved, instagrammable dinners, only to get sidetracked by late nights at the office or an out of control to do list. By the time Wednesday night arrives, there are lots of weeks where all I really feel like doing is ordering Chinese food and catching up on Scandal.

Anyone else know that feeling??

The Whole30 helped me to realize that I have an addiction to convenience foods – I’m not addicted to the foods themselves so much as the instant gratification and the not doing dishes. Fortunately for me, I live in a town where there are literally zero restaurants that will deliver. Less fortunately for me, I also live far far away from places like Whole Foods where there are healthy take out options.

I imagine I’m not alone in my weeknight dinner fatigue, so I wanted to share one of the 15 minute or less recipes that is helping me Take Back Weeknights this week. Combine this recipe with one of these quick workouts and you’ll be winning the weeknight game.

The Recipe: Squash Noodles and Homemade Pesto

What You’ll Need:

• A spiralizer (although, this would still be delicious if you just thinly sliced the squash and sauteed it instead of spiralizing). I have a cheap spiralizer like this one that I found at TJ Maxx and bought on a veggie-inspired shopping binge. It works great for squash but doesn’t work with sweet potatoes, so if you are hoping to use the spiralizer for denser veggies, get a stand spiralizer like one of these.
• 1 zucchini or yellow summer squash per person
• 1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil for sauteing
• 1 bunch of fresh herbs: you can use basil, cilantro, parsley or mint. Basil is most common, but I just cut bunches of everything in my herb garden. 2 cups ish total.
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of walnuts, pecans or pine nuts
• 4 cloves of garlic
• lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper to taste
• optional: nutritional yeast to taste (it takes the place of the traditional cheeses)

What to Do:

• In a food processor or blender, pulse nuts, garlic and herbs
• Add in the oil slowly and blend until smooth
• Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste (pesto is all about finding the balance that you prefer, so taste lots and don’t hesitate to go outside of the recommended ingredient amounts if that is what your taste buds call for)
• Once you are satisfied with the flavor balance, heat a TBSP or olive oil in a wok or a frying pan and spiralize (or slice) your squash straight into the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper, and let the squash cook through long enough that it isn’t raw, but still holds its texture (timing will depend on how you cut your squash).
• Toss in some pesto (and possibly some nutritional yeast and fresh basil leaves) and devour.

The Workout Roundup: Choose Your Own Adventure Style

• Option 1: Grab your running clothes and your favorite furry friend and go for a run or a walk. I love to run at night (the stars are out! It is cooler and quieter!) with one of my dogs – they love the exercise and are super alert jogging companions #safetyfirst. Beginners, start with a brisk walk or snag this couch to 5K app (and no shame if week 1 turns into month 1 – listen to your body and your doctor, not the schedule on the app!). Everyone: track your outing on MapMyRun and keep pace with the beats in an awesome Songza playlist. Bonus points: throw in some lunges and squats whenever your pup stops to sniff.
• Option 2: Sign up for a free trial of an online fitness studio. I love Yogaglo (first 15 days are free): they have dozens of online classes from many different styles and for all different body types and experience levels. I also think Daily Burn is a great, affordable, basic option because they offer several different series aimed at different fitness goals and experience levels. If you are just starting out, consider the True Beginner series or their solid yoga series.
• Option 3: If you are looking for a fun, fast and potentially butt-kicking workout, check out Greatist’s list of 21 Free Workout Videos on Youtube. These aren’t necessarily for every body, but they are guaranteed to get the endorphins flowing quickly. Also, the Greatist Workout of the Day is a great place to go for quick but challenging, do-anywhere workouts.

Yours in Taking Back Weeknights,

Marisa

Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

Hi. My name is Marisa and I am addicted to sweet potatoes.

Like… If I could, I’m pretty sure I would eat them at every meal. In fact, there were days during the Whole30 when I DID eat them at every meal and I have definitely made a mid-week run to the grocery store JUST to pick up sweet potatoes. Not milk. Not bread. Sweet potatoes.

It’s excessive.

Given this predilection of mine, you can imagine that when I first heard about sweet potato hummus (through this post over at the Not So Desperate Housewife) I was enthralled in the “come to me, my precious” kind of way.

After some experimenting, I have a recipe for Pure Magic Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus to share with you today! This stuff makes a spectacular finger food for parties or simply a delicious snack, and it is especially awesome because you likely have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry already!

Afternoon delight? Hummus stuffed bell peppers, carrot chips, root vegetable chips, and a big bowl of hummus makes an easy tray for a party or a delicious afternoon snack. #nom

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, baked in oven at 400 degrees until very tender

3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled

2 TBS Red Pepper Flakes (start with less, and then add it in to taste)

1/4 c Lime Juice (lemon juice will work, too, but I prefer the lime with the red pepper)

1/4 c Almond Butter or Tahini (Tahini is more traditional, but I used almond butter today and it was delish!)

1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bake your sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees (poke them several times with a fork to vent). They will take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on size, so keep an eye on them. Once the sweet potatoes are very soft, set them aside to cool.
2. When sweet potatoes have cooled, cut them into large chunks (to make them a little more manageable for the food processer/blender), add all other ingredients, and run the food processer until smooth. Note: you can use a blender if you don’t have a food processer, you’ll just want to work in batches because blenders tend to get stuck with foods this thick. As you are blending, you’ll want to stop to check the balance of flavors fairly often to find a balance you prefer:
   1. If it is too sweet, add lime and/or red pepper
   2. If it is too salty, try adding a little more tahini or almond butter (depending on how salty your particular brand is). Otherwise, you can add some more sweet potato or some mashed carrots or some canned pumpkin.
3. Serve as a dip with fresh veggies or root vegetable chips, or stuff hummus into mini-bell peppers for an easy finger food. This would also be great as a filling between slices of cucumbers for mini-sandwiches.

Enjoy!