I love the simplicity and versatility of using an egg in everyday meals.

Whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner – it can find a way to elevate any meal.

I mean just look at all that COLOR! Also purple sweet potatoes are my new thing. I randomly stumbled upon them at Whole Foods and thought hey, why not? I love trying new things, especially produce! I know, I’m such a risk taker…

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 purple sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 gala apple, peeled and cubed
3/4 lb ground turkey breakfast sausage, cooked *I made the sausage the day before, because hello, lazy morning)
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 large eggs
EVOO
salt & pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1. In a cast iron skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of EVOO on medium to medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes to skillet and cook for about 10 minutes stirring constantly so potatoes don’t stick ;)
3. Add in the cooked sausage and cubed apple, add a splash of EVOO and salt & pepper, combine and cook for 2 minutes and then turn off heat
4. Crack 5 eggs directly into skillet over hash and pop into 400 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes until egg whites are set
5. Garnish with fresh parsley and add salt & pepper over eggs

I love rice. Guess what’s not apart of the Whole 30 program? Yeah, RICE.

Well meet my new, favorite form of “rice” featuring CAULIFLOWER! If you aren’t a fan of cauliflower, I encourage you to keep trying! Really try to transform the ingredient. Yeah, if you throw it in a raw salad – you probably won’t like it. If you toss it with olive oil, salt & pepper and bake it – you still probably won’t be all that impressed by it. Be innovative and find out ways to appreciate healthy, organic foods. Start with this killer recipe and make you some faux rice ;)

WARNING! You will need, need, need a food processor to create this cauliflower rice goodness. Otherwise you’ll have to chop by hand and I promise you will have cauliflower confetti all over your kitchen. I highly recommend the one that has changed my life forever, find it here! It’s one of the most inexpensive, yet high-quality food processors you’ll ever find. I use it weekly, it’s a great appliance to have!

for the salmon:
1/2 cup cashews, crushed/pulverized as much as possible
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
salt & pepper
2 salmon filets
coconut oil

for the slaw:
1 small cucumber, spiralized and squeezed dry with paper towels
1 carrot, spiralized
3/4 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (Trader Joe’s has the best!)
EVOO
salt & pepper

for the cauliflower rice:
1/2 head cauliflower, finely chopped using food processor
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
2 tablespoons coconut milk
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
half of a fresh pineapple, cubed
coconut oil
salt & pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (save some for garnish if desired)
1/4 cup green onion, chopped (save some for garnish if desired)

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, add all the ingredients for the cauliflower rice EXCEPT the pineapple and parsley. Cook or about 7-8 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked through. Set aside.
2. In that same skillet, add coconut oil and turn up heat to high. Cook pineapple for about 3-4 minutes or until slightly browned. Combine with cauliflower rice and chopped parsley. Keep aside.
3. Pat salmon dry with paper towels, dredge in cashew/sesame mixture
4. In the same skillet, heat and coconut oil on medium high heat. Cook dredged salmon about 2 minutes per side or until
5. Combine ingredients for the slaw and mix with your hands, add more or less EVOO or vinegar depending on your own personal palette/preference :)
6. Plate cauliflower pineapple rice, then add salmon, top with slaw and garnish with green onion and additional fresh parsley

One of the best decisions I’ve ever made…I bought a spiralizer! Let me just tell you how fun this little gadget is. I want to spiralize ALL THE THINGS! It will definitely come in handy to those of you on the Whole 30 or paleo diet.

You can find the one I bought HERE!  Side note, choose the right one because I aimlessly bought one a while back and it was TERRIBLE, I mean terrible. So not user friendly! Buy this one , I swear a monkey could use it.

I can almost promise you that my next recipe will have lots of fun, spiraled colors in it. I am too excited. It’s the little things! Any way so this recipe was using what I had on hand. I actually ran out of garlic and didn’t know it until I started cooking, so garlic powder it is. It works!

This is my perfect idea of a light and bright meal. You can’t go wrong with any form of basil, lemon, garlic. You just can’t. One of my favorite flavor profiles for sure. It’s simple, yet vibrant and full of finesse – try it out! Also this recipe is whole 30 approved, woop!

makes two servings

1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, spiralized and squeezed dry removing excess water
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 lemon, halved
16 raw, large shrimp, peeled & deveined
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
EVOO

1. Season raw shrimp with salt, pepper and garlic powder and juice from half a lemon
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine salt, pepper and EVOO with broccoli on a large baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes until crispy and browned – you might have to go longer depending on how big your broccoli florets are. Be sure to flip the broccoli halfway through for even cooking. And try real hard not to snack on it when it’s done ;)
3. Heat EVOO in medium sized skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes per side until pink and no longer translucent. Remove shrimp from pan
4. In that same skillet, add the zucchini and squash spirals, juice of the other lemon half, and lots of salt and pepper – you may have to do this in shifts, don’t overcrowd your pan! We want evenly cooked “noodles” :)
5. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until they are “al dente” aka taste as you go and see if you like the texture, just like you would pasta!
6.. Transfer zucchini and squash noodles to a strainer to release any excess water
7.. Combine noodles, broccoli, cooked shrimp and and fresh basil, feel free to garnish with chopped basil and/or lemon zest!

As much as I LOVE PASTA, this is a pretty darn close alternative. AND you can still twirl it around your fork just like spaghetti noodles. Fine by me!

I have been wanting to roast grapes for a long time. Like a reeaaallly long time. Random I know, but it’s been a daily thought of mine recently…”dude, I gotta get home and roast some grapes ASAP….” literally. every. day.

AND TODAY WAS FINALLY THAT DAY! And boy was it worth it you guys. I have a strong feeling I will be doing this more often for sure. It’s almost like a warm, smokey but naturally sweet grape jelly. And when you pair that with crispy proscuitto, you can’t go wrong! I ate this tonight for my dinner (yay, whole 30 approved!) but I could also see these being adorable little appetizers to bring to a party or get together.

makes two servings, yields about 15 rounds

1 large sweet potato, skin removed if desired
EVOO (I almost never measure this – just enough to coat the rounds!)
salt & pepper, to taste
1 teapsoon rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
handful of fresh arugula
about 2 cups red grapes
5 slices of proscuitto, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Thinly slice sweet potato into 1/4 inch rounds. Throw them in a mixing bowl and toss with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme.

2. Bake at 450 degrees on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper for total of 20 minutes – 10 minutes on one side, flip rounds, 10 minutes on the other
3. Reduce oven to 400 degrees, toss grapes in EVOO on baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until grapes are soft (some may burst, YUM!)
4. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a little EVOO over medium to medium high heat, add proscuitto. They will shrink and get super crispy really fast so watch and flip frequently, it will only take about 1-2 minutes ;)
5. Assemble each sweet potato round with fresh arugula, proscuitto, 3-4 grapes and top with slivered almonds

Here we go again with another healthy recipe! This one’s a keeper for sure. It’s so random how this came about and I won’t go into the details but since you asked, okay I will! My mom so graciously pawned off some grapefruit on me a while back and they have been sitting in my kitchen all lonely and what not. I kept waiting for the perfect opportunity and then it dawned on me…SALSA! I mean why not?

Yes, grapefruit is an odd fruit. It’s sour, bitter, crazy acidic and most people I know either douse it in salt or sugar. But this salsa…will make you love grapefruit. I can promise that! It enhances all the bold flavors of a grapefruit by pairing it with spicy jalapeno, zesty lime and fresh cilantro and basil. Just DELISH.

makes 2 servings

3 stalks hearts of romaine lettuce (feel free to tear off as much of the white stalk as you like)
24 pieces of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons paprika (I used sweet Hungarian, found it at Penzey’s spice shop in Cameron Village in Raleigh…small PSA but they have the best spices ever)
salt & pepper
1 cup almond flour (you can use regular flour, but if you’re on a paleo/whole 30 diet you need to use almond flour!)
EVOO

for the grapefruit salsa
1/2 large grapefruit, peeled and segmented, rough chopped
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
juice and zest of half of a lime
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
3 sprigs of fresh basil, chopped

1. Toss the raw shrimp with garlic, paprika, salt &pepper in a mixing bowl – let it marinate while you prep the salsa
2. Combine all the ingredients for the salsa. I did not measure here, just taste test it as you go, adjust salt/lime as needed
3. Coat a large sauce pan with EVOO and put heat over medium to medium high heat
4. Coat the shrimp in almond flour, shake off excess flour and drop into hot oiled pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side until crispy – you will probably end up doing 3 batches. Remember, shrimp cooks QUICK! Watch carefully not to overcook it or dry it out.
5. Assemble romaine stalks with 6 shrimp per wrap, top with grapefruit salsa

I know my measurements are a little wonky here because I didn’t measure…so don’t feel like you need to measure precisely to what I have outlined here in this recipe. You may find that you want more/less lime or cilantro, totally cool to change up the ratios! If you don’t have/want grapefruit, try pineapple or mango! Not eating paleo? Put these in some tortillas or over rice. Substitutions are always, always welcomed :)

 

Yeah yeah I know my last post was a sea of cupcakes…but it’s all about balance, right? I have always been a veggie fan, not sure where that came from but hey, I’ll use it to my health’s advantage when I can! Also, the paleo diet seems to be on the rise and I know several people who have adopted the paleo diet due to certain health conditions or concerns, so if that’s you then I hope you’ll give this recipe a try! AND, this recipe is also Whole30 compliant ;)

So instead of using crusty, buttery toast as my foundation for this creation (YUM), I went with a sweet potato – which was literally popped right in my toaster! Why haven’t I thought of this before? I might just eat toasted sweet potato slices for breakfast every morning…just might.

Side note – I finally mastered the perfect poached egg thanks to chef Bobby Flay. YouTube it, he’s my absolute favorite. The key is using VINEGAR, who woulda thought? And no, you don’t taste it a bit.

serves one :)

2 thin slices of a sweet potato
2 slices of cooked turkey bacon
1/2 of an avocado, sliced
handful of grape tomatoes, halved
handful of fresh arugula
2 eggs
splash of vinegar
fresh cilantro
salt & pepper

1. Fill a small saucepan 3/4 way with water, bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer (just below boiling point)
2. Add a splash of vinegar and stir with wooden spoon, crack eggs directly in the pot one at a time and let them cook for about 3-4 minutes (DO NOT STIR!), until the yolk is pillowy and just slightly firm to the touch. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon.
3. Toast your sweet potato slices in your toaster on medium at least TWICE. If your slices are a little more on the thicker side, you may want to toast them for another round.
4. Assemble sweet potato “toasts” with arugula, turkey bacon, tomato, avocado and poached egg. Top with fresh cilantro, salt and pepper.

Remember if you don’t have every single of one these ingredients on hand, that’s okay! Totally acceptable to substitute anything here for something different that you may have at home already. Don’t like fresh cilantro? I know a lot of people that don’t…try fresh basil, dill, or parsley. Don’t have any sweet potatoes? Try a russet or yukon gold potato. Swap spinach for arugula or bacon for the turkey bacon. Feel free to experiment here and simply use this “recipe” as at outline, have fun!

…because what better way to ring in the new year than with a glass champagne? PINK champagne. AND in your cupcake! too many good things goin’ on here I tell ya.

Baking is hard y’all. It’s literally a science…it’s not my favorite. But when it works out in my favor, I kind of love it. Exhibit A, these cupcakes! I really wanted the pop and bold flavor of the rosé champagne to stand alone in the frosting, but I was super tempted to add some fresh raspberries or raspberry jam in there…so somebody please try that!

for the cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)

for the frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
about 5-6 tablespoons rosé champagne, just eye ball it
1 drop of pink food coloring
gold sprinkles
raspberries, if desired

1. Combine first five ingredients and whisk until combined
2. Beat the last five ingredients until just combined and smooth but careful to not over mix! There will be chunks of butter still hanging around, no worries!
3. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 the way up and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Let the cupcakes reach room temperature before frosting
4. For the frosting, beat butter with whisk attachment until fluffy and whipped. Slowly add the powdered sugar.
5. Lastly, pour champagne 1 tablespoon in at a time until it’s smooth and creamy, then add in 1 drop pink food coloring
6.. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes (I used a large round tip) and top with gold sprinkles and a fresh raspberry…also serve with a side of champagne ;)

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

 

I am going to teach you how to fake a latte…mainly because I don’t own an espresso machine. And it kinda sorta made me feel like a barista ;)

So eggnog – I feel like you either love it or you hate it. But even if you’re not all in with eggnog, this will knock ya socks off. It’s got just the right amount of eggnog, booze, coffee AND it’s topped with frothed milk! Which I just taught myself how to do off YouTube. It’s really that easy!

makes 2 lattes

2 cups brewed coffee
1 1/2 cups eggnog
1 tablespoon spiced rum
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
sugar, to taste (I think I used 1-2 tablespoons, but adjust to your liking!)
dash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk
mini marshmallows

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low/medium heat. Stir and let it heat up for roughly 5 minutes
2. Pour milk into a jar/cup with a lid and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds, remove lid and microwave for 30 seconds – the milk should double in size and create FROTH!
3. Split the latte mixture between two mugs and spoon frothed milk on top then add marshmallows and cinnamon

This dreary, cold Saturday consisted of a late brunch and lots of couch potato-ing by the Christmas tree :)

I love the simplicity of this recipe. You’re pretty much going to dump all things good & delicious into a cast iron skillet and finish it off in the oven. Easy! AND it’s not terribly terrible for you either, lots of fresh veggies with a little egg yolk running through it? I mean come on, YUMMMMM. And the way a cast iron skillet retains all the juices and flavors of the crispy prosciutto, it just can’t get any better.

2 cups butternut squash, cubed
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cups fresh spinach
3 oz prosciutto, rough chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 oz shredded cheddar Gruyere cheese (I got this block of cheese super affordable at Aldi, but any white cheddar will do!)
5 eggs

1. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat; add onions and garlic and cook until softened
2. Add a little more olive oil, butternut squash, salt and pepper, spinach, prosciutto and rosemary. Stir and cook until squash is soft, about 5-6 minutes
3. Add a little shredded cheddar Gruyere and then crack 5 eggs right on top of the butternut squash hash (or really, however many you want or can fit in your pan)
4. Place skillet in oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until eggs have reached desired done-ness. Hint, you can wiggle the pan to see how runny/stiff the egg whites and yolks are ;)
5. Top skillet with more shredded cheese & serve immediately

Optional – add diced tomatoes (ours were going bad and gave the plate a just a little fresh lift)

Sometimes I like to pretend that I eat healthy…

I’m not gonna lie, eating healthy is a daily struggle for me. I have always been somewhat of a “food snob”. But no matter who you are…eating healthy is hard. It’s such a challenge. I commend people that can avoid donuts on a daily basis (what?) or can eat raw veggies for a snack. I truly envy you, I just seem to have no self control :)

SO without further a do…here is a yummy AND healthy meal for you to try. EEEEK, IT’S GUILT FREE! Enjoy all the complex flavors, dimensions and layers of this dish without feeling the bloat or the shame.

makes 2 (hardy) servings

for the salad:
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
salt & pepper
4 strips turkey bacon
4 cups kale, torn and stems removed
2 cups cooked quinoa (room temperature or chilled)
2 salmon fillets
salt & pepper
olive oil

for the apple cider sage vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon Dijon
2 tablespoons mayo
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
salt & pepper

1. Toss sweet potatoes, cranberries, salt & pepper and coconut oil on baking sheet; bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, cook turkey bacon until crispy, chop and set aside
3. Make the vinaigrette by whisking together all of the ingredients, taste as you go and balance the flavors as you see fit! I didn’t measure so the measurements that you see above are just estimates – always taste as you go!
3. Pat salmon dry with paper towels, season both sides well with salt and pepper
4. In the same skillet add olive oil, cook the salmon over medium high heat cooking a few minutes on each side until slightly crisp
5. Combine sweet potatoes, cranberries, turkey bacon, cooked quinoa, kale and toss with as much/little of the vinaigrette as you want
6. Divide salad between two bowls, top with salmon and additional vinaigrette

This dressing is da bomb y’all. Save it for another day! Heck, I’m sure you have more kale leftover, create your own salad using the veggies that you DO like. Or use those sad lil vegetables that have been sitting in your fridge or on your counter all week long. Make a  kale and quinoa bowl…it’s a thing!