I rarely cook any type of fish at home, unless I’m entertaining, because my kids don’t like any of it. But I spied this super simple recipe for teriyaki salmon recently and decided to make it anyway, haters be damned. It seriously took less than fifteen minutes to make and was delicious served over steamed rice. Swipe left for the recipe - I made it as written but subbed Japanese cooking wine for the sake because I googled for a substitute while standing in the Asian grocery store because I was too cheap to buy sake for one recipe that I may or may not love. The cooking wine was listed as an acceptable substitute and it seemed to do the trick! Oh! And I also removed the skin. If you like salmon, save this recipe when you want a simple and healthy way to make it.
“If you can’t control your woman, you’ve fou “If you can’t control your woman, you’ve found a good one.” I told someone last week that I feel pretty much like a plant … needs plenty of sunshine and fresh air, occasional watering and feeding, and a steady stream of kind words. It’s not really that complicated. 💛
Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?
Weekend photos in review, old school edition. Cont Weekend photos in review, old school edition.
Context: 1) Lola has zero chill in the car, 2) fulfilling request for Chicken Parm Penne with Vodka Sauce, 3) Sunday vibes 4) my favorite porchetta sandwich 5) from @butlerandtheboard 6) affirmations, 7) the sun was out today
Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what phase you’re in. ✨ Got this one back in September and it’s one of my favorites. I sometimes forget it’s there until I get a random flash of it.
Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to ca Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to call Clifford an asshat, because he basically was. But there’s a new asshat in town… 🙄 Clifford is now a freaking rockstar. His tumor and age have slowed him down a LOT and he virtually never misbehaves, and we are seriously so proud of him. Lola, on the other hand, is still full blown PUPPY. Tonight I’m assembling a gate to replace the wooden one she ate through. 😂 Berners love wood and she is OBSESSED with being in the kitchen. So one new metal gate coming right up as soon as I can figure out how to put it together.
Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Planning and Preparation: Keys to Success {Eat.Live.Be.}

January 9, 2013 · Narrative

Untitled
I don’t profess to have all the answers when it comes to fitness and consistently making healthy choices.

Because I don’t.

I struggle some days just like you and you and you.

Trial and error. Rinse, lather, and repeat.

But I do know, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the keys to success.

When it comes to keeping yourself on the straight and narrow, planning and preparation is huge.

Like Justin Bieber to my almost-five-year-old daughter huge.

How can you be expected to make a good snack choice when you open up your kitchen cupboards and are faced with cookies, chips, and candy?

You just can’t.

So don’t bring it into your house.

Why have the unnecessary temptation to lure you in a weak moment?

A friend of mine sometimes struggles with making the right food choices, so one night last week, she came over and we put together a meal plan. Just three dinners. To get her toes wet. And then the next day, I took her to a vegetable market we like and she bought all the ingredients to make those three dinners. And more items so she could stock her cabinets with good snack choices.

And by doing this, it became just a little bit easier.

On Saturday, another friend came over and we made a bajillion soups. And froze them all, so we had easy, healthy, grab-and-go lunches for weeks.

And by doing this, it became just a little easier.

These are not monumental tasks. But they are little tasks that add up to monumental changes.

Those little keys to success.

Baby steps, people, baby steps.

elb

Yesterday Madeline announced that she would like to become a vegetarian. We had a long conversation about it, what she could and couldn’t eat. I suggested perhaps trying it for one or two days a week to start off small, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She asked about vegetarians that we may know, and I mentioned that Joanne was, and that one of her Aunts was a vegetarian for a few years when she was in high school.

Madeline can certainly become vegetarian if she’d like, my only hesitation is that she get enough protein from other sources if it’s something she actually sticks with. Because you know, she’s only four. This could just be a Tuesday topic of the day.

As we went to pick up Nick from an after-school activity, she asked why sometimes vegetarians stop being vegetarians.

“Well, sometimes you just want a cheeseburger. You get a craving and just can’t squash it.”

I can’t have cheeseburgers?

“No, the meat is from a cow.”

And it was then that she decided that she was going to wait a day before becoming a vegetarian, so she could have one last cheeseburger on the way home.

A last hurrah, if you will.

And to say she inhaled it would be an understatement.

She loves broccoli and cauliflower, so I knew she would be all over this recipe I made last week (coincidentally from Joanne, and also one of the recipes I suggested to my friend during our menu planning evening … see the smooth lead-in?). This is a dish that is just so satisfying, you can’t help but look forward to your meal when you know it’s on the menu.

I’ve made it twice within the last week.

Because it’s that good.

Two caveats before I leave you with the recipe. The picture above shows guacamole because the store didn’t have any ripe avocados. It’s definitely way better with avocado. The recipe below is as it was written from Joanne, but I made it slightly different (and easier, I think), by first roasting a sheet pan of broccoli and cauliflower (instead of cooking the broccoli on the stove top and roasting the cauliflower), and then going from there.

The broccoli pesto is amaze balls.

So whether you’re becoming vegetarian today like Madeline, or need a fulfilling feel-good meal for dinner, this recipe is just about perfect.

And a great key to your success in healthy (and clean) eating.

Do check in with Joanne, Patsy, and Sarah to see what they’re up to for Eat.Live.Be. this week.

And check the #eatlivebe hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Goat Cheese
Serves 4-6, adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 5 cups broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I skipped)
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 big pinches of salt
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup light cream
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

  1. In a small pot or pan, heat the quinoa, two cups of water, and a few pinches of salt.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.  Drain any extra water and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 400.  Place cauliflower on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and roast for 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower starts to brown a bit.
  3. Barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer.  Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli.  Cover and cook for a minute.  Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking.  Set aside.
  4. To make the broccoli pesto, puree two cups of the broccoli, 1/2 cup of the almonds, the Parmesan cheese, salt and lemon juice in a food processor.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse to combine.
  5. Just before serving, toss the quinoa, the remaining broccoli florets, and the cauliflower with the dressing.  Top with avocado, goat cheese, and remaining almonds.
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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: broccoli, cauliflower, Eat. Live. Be., pesto, vegetarian recipes

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    January 10, 2013 at 7:41 am

    Haha Maddie is too cute! the way I feel about vegetarianism is that if you crave meat and really want it, you should just have it. I haven’t craved meat or wanted it in two years, so I haven’t had it. Plain and simple. Now if only I could get myself to not crave chocolate…

    I LOVE this post and it’s definitely true, the key to getting a healthy meal on the table is to be prepared! So glad you liked this dish!
    Joanne recently posted..Recipe: Vegetable Eggs Benedict {eat.live.be}

    Reply
  2. patsy says

    January 10, 2013 at 9:26 am

    You are so right about preparation and planning being keys to success! I know when I’ve got my meals and lunches planned, I always do much better than on weeks where I just wing it!
    patsy recently posted..Barley and Sausage Stuffed Peppers #EatLiveBe

    Reply
  3. Meg says

    January 10, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    This sounds delicious! I’m definitely on a veggie kick lately, and my fiance and I trying to get “wedding ready” by changing our eating habits and making some lifestyle changes. We’ll see how that goes, but absolutely agree that preparation is the key to healthy success . . . I know enough to never bring salt and vinegar chips into my house, for example, because those healthy lil’ carrots will waste away in the fridge in favor of salty snacks every time.
    Meg recently posted..Getting the sparkly wedding ball rolling

    Reply

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I rarely cook any type of fish at home, unless I’m entertaining, because my kids don’t like any of it. But I spied this super simple recipe for teriyaki salmon recently and decided to make it anyway, haters be damned. It seriously took less than fifteen minutes to make and was delicious served over steamed rice. Swipe left for the recipe - I made it as written but subbed Japanese cooking wine for the sake because I googled for a substitute while standing in the Asian grocery store because I was too cheap to buy sake for one recipe that I may or may not love. The cooking wine was listed as an acceptable substitute and it seemed to do the trick! Oh! And I also removed the skin. If you like salmon, save this recipe when you want a simple and healthy way to make it.
“If you can’t control your woman, you’ve fou “If you can’t control your woman, you’ve found a good one.” I told someone last week that I feel pretty much like a plant … needs plenty of sunshine and fresh air, occasional watering and feeding, and a steady stream of kind words. It’s not really that complicated. 💛
Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?

Pinterest

I rarely cook any type of fish at home, unless I’m entertaining, because my kids don’t like any of it. But I spied this super simple recipe for teriyaki salmon recently and decided to make it anyway, haters be damned. It seriously took less than fifteen minutes to make and was delicious served over steamed rice. Swipe left for the recipe - I made it as written but subbed Japanese cooking wine for the sake because I googled for a substitute while standing in the Asian grocery store because I was too cheap to buy sake for one recipe that I may or may not love. The cooking wine was listed as an acceptable substitute and it seemed to do the trick! Oh! And I also removed the skin. If you like salmon, save this recipe when you want a simple and healthy way to make it.
“If you can’t control your woman, you’ve fou “If you can’t control your woman, you’ve found a good one.” I told someone last week that I feel pretty much like a plant … needs plenty of sunshine and fresh air, occasional watering and feeding, and a steady stream of kind words. It’s not really that complicated. 💛
Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meal Truth be told, these are my favorite types of meals… platters where you can just pick at them while sipping wine and catching up with a friend. Chances are, if you come over for a meal, you’re getting an assortment of things to nosh on, maybe a mix of homemade appetizers… but just an array of deliciousness you can snack on whilst enjoying the evening. 

I’ve been wanting to make a lox platter for awhile now, so here we are. I sprinkled some Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto smoked lox and then added sliced cucumbers and radishes to the platter along with sliced bialys and crackers. Dipping items are a must so I included hummus and tzatziki. A fun platter just to nibble from, but a bialys sandwich with everything stuffed in it was pretty perfect too. Hope that gave you a little bit of inspo for something you can easily whip up too!
I had planned another type of post tonight, but in I had planned another type of post tonight, but in light of today’s news, it just doesn’t feel right. Some days it can be hard to find the sunshine, especially a day like today. I can’t make sense as to why things like today continue to happen while people spend copious amounts of energy worrying about banning books and drag shows. Make it make sense. Just make it fucking make sense. It doesn’t. You can’t. Until it does, use your voice. Show up to meetings. Sign the petitions. Text ACT to 644-33 to get involved (I did). Be so loud that you can’t be ignored, until things change. Thirteen school shootings this year. When is enough, enough?
Weekend photos in review, old school edition. Cont Weekend photos in review, old school edition.
Context: 1) Lola has zero chill in the car, 2) fulfilling request for Chicken Parm Penne with Vodka Sauce, 3) Sunday vibes 4) my favorite porchetta sandwich 5) from @butlerandtheboard 6) affirmations, 7) the sun was out today
Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what Just like the moon, you’re whole no matter what phase you’re in. ✨ Got this one back in September and it’s one of my favorites. I sometimes forget it’s there until I get a random flash of it.
Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to ca Happy #NationalPuppyDay to these two. I used to call Clifford an asshat, because he basically was. But there’s a new asshat in town… 🙄 Clifford is now a freaking rockstar. His tumor and age have slowed him down a LOT and he virtually never misbehaves, and we are seriously so proud of him. Lola, on the other hand, is still full blown PUPPY. Tonight I’m assembling a gate to replace the wooden one she ate through. 😂 Berners love wood and she is OBSESSED with being in the kitchen. So one new metal gate coming right up as soon as I can figure out how to put it together.
Last week when I met the owners of the new French Last week when I met the owners of the new French bakery in town, I told them how happy I was that they were opening … because now I had an endless source for gifts for my mom’s future birthdays and Christmases. She was born in Paris and we’ve grown up with a healthy appreciation for French things … starting with their pastries and baguettes, but so much more. My daughter took her first trip to Paris last year and thoroughly enjoyed the croissants there and she deemed the ones at @chocolatinenj just as perfect. No surprise there since the owner is a French pastry chef! If you’re local and haven’t been, do make a point to stop in and visit. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday and have a wide selection of sweet and savory items and a few French retail selections as well. We’ve tried the macarons, the Croque Monsieur, the croissants, the tomato tarts, the baguette … basically we’re working our way through their display case in due time. Don’t miss this one - enjoy!

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