Today’s post comes in the form of chewy, nutrient-rich kale. Raw kale, if you can believe it.

I’ve heard of raw kale being used in salads, but I’ve never been convinced that it could work. See, I always figured that it would be too tough in its raw form. However, when I came across this recipe from HelloGiggles I discovered that this isn’t the case. The reason why? You massage the crap out of it!

I’m so stoked with this recipe. Not only is it delicious, but it lasts up to three days in the fridge, unlike most salads. The only critique I have is with the salt content of the dressing. I recommend cutting it down from 1 Tbsp to 1 tsp.

I’ve already had two bowls of this delicious salad, and although I could eat more, I better save room for my Jalapeno Cheddar Pull-Apart Bread that’s rising right now (pictures to come!).

Anyway, it’s been over an hour since I ate, and I’m not upchucking yet, so I give this dish four stars (out of five, if you’re wondering). For the recipe, check out the Enchanted Cook here.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

For those of you who don’t know, alive magazine has been around for over 35 years and is Canada’s trusted source for natural health and wellness (no, I don’t work in marketing. HA!). It really is a great magazine though–so pick one up at your local natural health food store for–wait for it–free! Yes, free! (You’re jumping up and down with excitement, aren’t you?)

Anyway, back to dinner–my favourite part of the day. I don’t know why I haven’t already added this recipe–I’ve made it so many times (or some variation of it, since I never refer to a recipe). All instances have elicited moans of enjoyment, so I recommend you try it out yourself. Plus, it’s like ridiculously easy, and requires only one pan. AND it’s packed with veggies, and eggs, obviously–so it’s a great meal to have post-workout.

Tomato and Basil Frittata

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
2 medium-sized waxy potatoes, cut into a small dice
1/2 small red onion, cut into a small dice
1/2 green pepper, cut into a small dice
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 free-range eggs, beaten
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
3/4 cup cubed feta cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
6 basil leaves, chopped

1. Preheat oven broiler.
2. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced potatoes and cook, stirring often, until slightly browned. Add onion and green pepper and continue to cook until mixture is browned and cooked all the way through. Add garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of skillet.
3. Meanwhile, beat eggs in medium-sized mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and gently mix together.
4. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in skillet. Cook until eggs are relatively set, about 10 minutes.
5. Place skillet into oven on bottom rack. Once eggs are completely set, transfer to top rack and cook until browned on top.
6. Cut into wedges and serve.

Although my dress zips up, I wouldn’t say it does so without effort. Thus, I’ve decided to go on a 10-day cabbage soup/fruit smoothie diet prior to the nuptials. Now, I’m not really one for “diets.” And just to prove that to you all I’ll tell you what I bought today after rolling into town post 1h 10min commute home: a 220 g bag of Old Dutch Sour Cream & Green Onion potato chips and a $13 bottle of Cono Sur Gewürztraminer. It’s 8:11 pm and both are very nearly gone. I’m preparing for the 10 days of torture I’m about to endure.

But alas, I’m not yet on my fast diet, so (after downing two glasses of cheap wine and half a bag of chips) I whipped up something oily and carby to shove down my throat as I mourn the food that I will not pass through my longing mouth for 10 days.

Dinner tonight was inspired by a beautifully styled dish from Donna Hay magazine, issue #56. The star of the dish is the humble chickpea, an ingredient I like to eat often. I chose to make the dish for two reasons: one, because I had most of the ingredients already stocked in my kitchen and two, because Connor picked some fresh green beans (another key ingredient) from our garden (which is actually at his parent’s so not easily accessible).

However, when he said, “I went to my parents. We have a crapload of nearly overripe green beans,” I should have not assumed that he actually picked them and brought them home. Riiiiigggghhht …

Anyway, add a few this, substitute a few that and voila! you’ve got a fantastic green-beanless pasta dish!

Pesto Pasta with Sautéed Veggies, Chickpeas, and Arugula
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1 box whole wheat spaghettini
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
2 large carrots, julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 large can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 handfuls arugula or spinach (I used a mix)
1/2 cup store-bought pesto
Zest from 1/2 lemon
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded parmesan
Parsley for garnish

1. Bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, add Earth Balance butter to cast iron skillet and heat over medium heat. Add carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add pepper and sauté for another 5 minutes until veggies become tender. Toss with chopped parsley, top with cracked fresh pepper and remove from heat.
3. Once pasta is done, return to pot along with chickpeas, arugula, pesto, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper. Toss until everything is incorporated.
4. To plate, spoon veggies onto bottom of bowl and top with pasta mixture. Garnish with cheese and parsley.

Anyway, due to my current (but also lifelong) obsession with carbs and cheese, I had only two possible dishes in mind for dinner tonight: macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese.

I settled on the grilled cheese, but with a twist.

Sicilian Grilled Cheese

2 slices of your favourite crusty bread
2 slices of provolone
prepared pesto
roasted red peppers
spinach
Earth Balance butter

1. Heat a skillet over medium.
2. Spread a generous layer of pesto onto one of the slices of bread.
3. Layer the cheese, roasted red peppers, and spinach on top of the pesto.
4. Place the other piece of bread on top and spread a thin layer of butter on either side of the sandwich.
5. Grill until both sides are golden and the cheese is melted.

The sun has finally shown up to the party (fashionably late, of course) and suddenly I’m feeling inspired again! Food just looks soooo much better photographed in natural light. And eating outside on our picnic table somehow makes the food taste better also.

Tonight I tried out a new recipe, inspired by 101 Cookbooks‘ Japanese Pizza. I call it Cabbage Pizza. What an oxymoron, right? Cabbage. Pizza. But I swear to you, it will surprise you with its rich sophistication. And yet, you can still eat it with your fingers!

Cabbage Pizza
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 cup finely diced leeks, white and light green parts only
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
dash of fresh ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp grapeseed oil, divided
3 cups chopped fresh shiitake mushroom caps
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

1. Combine cabbage, leeks, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl and toss to coat. Add eggs to bowl and mix until evenly coated.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in skillet over medium. Pour mixture into skillet and pat down as flat as possible with a metal spatula. Cook until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Flip crust by sliding onto a plate and flipping back into skillet.
4. Cook for another 4 minutes or until both sides are golden brown.
5. Slide crust onto cutting board.
6. Meanwhile, in another skillet heat remaining oil over medium-high. Add shiitakes and garlic and saute until mushrooms have release their juices and begin to brown.
7. Sprinkle parmesan on crust then top with shiitakes and toasted almonds.
8. Slice pizza into eighths and serve.

I received Bal Arneson’s Quick & Healthy Indian for my birthday from my boyfriend’s sister, and tonight was my first time cracking it open! As most of you know I’m not huge into eating meat, so when I came across a curry dish with eggs as the main protein I knew it was the first think I had to make.

In a few words, it was AMAZING! However, I did modify it slightly according to what I had in my kitchen. I also added a can of chickpeas and some baby spinach to the mix to pump up the fibre and other nutrients.

Egg Curry
adapted from Bal Arneson’s Quick & Healthy Indian

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2  tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (although the recipe called for chickpea, which would be much better)
3 handfuls baby spinach
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 eggs

1. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high. Once oil is hot, add minced ginger, stirring for 15 seconds.
2. Add all the spices to skillet and cook for 10 seconds.
3. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
4. Add broth to skillet and turn heat down to low.
5. In a small bowl, combine flour and yogurt and whisk until smooth. Add yogurt mixture slowly to skillet, stirring constantly. Once incorporated, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once mixture reaches boiling point, add chickpeas and spinach and turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, place eggs in pot of boiling water and cook until eggs until hard-boiled (about 8 minutes for large eggs).
7. Peel eggs and cut into quarters. Place carefully in sauce.
8. Serve eggs and curry over a bed of basmati rice.

Serves 4 

I know it’s been so very long since I last posted. And I really do apologize for that. I’m just feeling a little uninspired lately. So, if anyone out there wants to lend me some inspiration, I’d be happy to have it. I’ll pay you back at some point. But you may have to remind me.

Anyway, I’m super excited about the dinner I cooked tonight and I thought y’all might appreciate hearing about it. As you’ve probably figured out, I’m a fan of Asian dishes. I may have mentioned at some point that I like sushi. In fact, I’m sure I’ve mentioned it. Actually, I love it! So, you can imagine my excitement when I found this recipe from 101cookbooks.com for a sushi bowl with a sweet citrus dressing. Yum-my!

It. was. perfect. Light, yet filling. Subtle, yet bursting with citrusy goodness. Tasty, yet also incredibly healthy. Try it out for yourself and tell me what you think!

Eat flexy, feel sexy!

Okay, so we didn’t exactly eat this for dinner tonight. In fact, we didn’t even eat it this week. But I had this post on reserve for a time such as this, when I had a few extra minutes and I figured my readers were getting a bit tired of checking up on my blog only to find I’ve done nothing with it!

So here it is. An adaptation of this recipe from Whole Living, made vegetarian, of course.

It’s not only yummy, but super easy too (I almost typed souper–which it is, actually). If you’re looking for something different from your typical chicken noodle or vegetable soup, this is it. Creamy, savoury, and relatively healthy, too!

Sweet Potato, Kale, Ginger, and Almond Butter Soup
adapted from Whole Living 

6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato (or two small) cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup smooth almond butter
1/2 bunch kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Add stock, onion, garlic, and sweet potato to pot; bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk almond butter and 1/2 cup of the stock in small bowl.
3. Add kale and ginger to pot; return to boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in almond butter mixture.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Garnish with lime wedges.

So we usually eat out on Fridays. But since I was a bad girl yesterday (eating pizza and such) I decided to cook tonight rather than spend more money that I don’t have and eat more calories than I need. Since I’m pretty good about planning my meals in advance, I had all the ingredients necessary to make a wicked tofu scramble!

Now, I know what you’re thinking: tofu scramble, sounds … delicious?? Well, it actually was. Holy cow, it was actually freaking amazing. In fact, it’s been officially added to my unofficial top 10 recipes ever. I’ll admit it, even I am sometimes hesitant about tofu, but this recipe was off-the-hook-incredible!

Am I rambling? Perhaps. Anyway, the recipe I made was adapted from a recipe I found on Little House of Veggies (my new favourite vegan blog, by the way). I made a few alterations based on my own tastes and what I had in the fridge. The recipe is below.

Southwest Tofu Scramble
adapted from Little House of Veggies 

For the tofu scramble:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/3 frozen corn
1/3 cup diced zucchini
4 mushrooms, diced
1 package extra-firm pressed tofu, crumbled
1/2 tsp each cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper
cracked black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
5 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 cup canned black beans
Handful spinach
1 tomato, chopped
Cilantro for garnish

1. Heat oil and Earth Balance butter in a wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, and corn; saute for 5 minutes until veggies are soft.
2. Add mushrooms; saute for another 3 minutes.
3. Add tofu, spices, nutritional yeast, and black beans; stir until all ingredients are heated through.
4. Remove wok from heat; stir in spinach and tomato.

For the potatoes:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
5 baby potatoes, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sea salt
cracked black pepper

1. Heat oil and butter in fry pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add sliced potatoes; season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and surfaces are browned.
4. Plate 1/4 of the cooked potatoes. Top with tofu scramble and garnish with cilantro.

I hope you like the recipe. I cut my finger chopping the cilantro, but it was still worth it!

Eat flexy, feel sexy!