‘Clean Eating’ Articles at Sweetnicks, Page 3

4 of the Best Things I’ve Eaten While Doing Whole30 {ThatBassTour}

February 16, 2015 · Ad-Free, Narrative

This post is sponsored by HP. Despite that, all thoughts and opinions are totally mine.

Today marks my first full week on Whole30, and I will be the first to admit, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

But it’s kind of like childbirth.

After you’re past it, you have a different perspective.

Because Day Four was rough.

As I mentioned, it’s basically like clean eating, which I know and love, kicked up a notch.

Because it also means no gluten, grains, dairy, or sugar.

And on Day Four, that sugar detox was legit.

Researchers say that kicking your sugar habit is eight times harder than kicking cocaine.

I think I believe them.

And aside from the sugar in my coffee and an addiction to sugarless gum, I consume very little sugar.

Which means this would have been way harder for someone with a sweet tooth.

But I’m here to tell you, it’s ok on the other side.

Of course I’m not done. Twenty-three days to go. But I think I’m coming into an easier week.

So I thought I would share Four of the Best Things I’ve Eaten While Doing Whole30.

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Recipe: Bean and Barley Soup

January 27, 2015 · Narrative

Super healthy, super simple, and most of all, a delicious Bean and Barley Soup. It’s pretty much what winters were made for.

I have been on a soup kick lately, working my way through Split Pea Soup, Cauliflower Soup, a knock-off of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup and, most recently, this Bean and Barley Soup.

Repeat.

Besides being the perfect thing to ward off those cold Winter temps, this soup is also great to portion off into small containers with individual servings for lunches for the week.

Which is exactly what I did.

Would you believe this was my first time cooking (and eating!) barley? The recipe calls for quick-cooking barley, which I couldn’t find anywhere. If you run into that same problem, just buy the regular barley, cook it separately, and then add it in.

Fennel, beans (I used small white), tomatoes, spinach, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Although there is a little bit of simmering timing, outside of cooking the barley, it is a pretty quick recipe to make. And easy! Basically adding a bunch of things to a pot, chopping only a few, and letting the soup do its thing.

Which is my favorite kind of soup.

The low maintenance, doesn’t-really-need me kind.

Quick enough to make on a weeknight, and paired with a salad and a loaf of warm, crusty bread, you have a delicious and filling dinner.

Or lunch for days.

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Recipe: Homemade Mayonnaise {Paleo}

December 16, 2014 · Narrative

Healthy, homemade mayonnaise that you can whip up with on-hand ingredients in a matter of minutes … and it will blow your tastebuds away.

Mayonnaise is one of those polarizing things. People seem to either love it or hate it.

Then there’s me.

And maybe you too?

It’s an occasional swipe on a sandwich for the kids.

Or an ingredient in a recipe.

And that’s pretty much … it.

I used to use it more religiously for sandwiches and the like, until I started clean eating in 2010. And then it went by the wayside in favor of mustard or smooshed avocado.

But there’s still always a jar in the fridge for the occasional sandwich.

Last week, I was nearly out, and in my ongoing effort to replace processed items with more homemade items (and save money to boot), I remembered I had seen an easy-to-make recipe for mayo in a Paleo cookbook I like.

And here we are.

I used my mini blender and whipped this up in just a few minutes.

With a handful of basic ingredients I bet you have on hand, you will be rewarded with the creamiest, lightest, most awesome tasting mayo ever.

Like, for real.

Almost like an aoili, as opposed to the thicker consistency found in name-brand mayo.

Lemony, silky, just so good that you have to try it yourself.

I’ve had it with a bit of baked ham. Alongside grilled chicken. Spread on Madeline’s lunch sandwiches. Made deviled eggs with it.

Seriously amazing stuff, and you’ll never go back to store-bought again.

And besides the fact that it’s cheaper and healthier to make it yourself, you never have to worry about running out – you have everything you need to make it!

Because it does have a raw egg in it, your homemade mayo will expire whenever your eggs’ expiration date is, so you’ll need to keep an eye on it, but since this recipe make just a cup and a half, you should be fine.

And yep. I totally reused the, ahem, store-brand jar to store this homemade goodness in. Shh. Don’t tell.

When I mentioned to my mom that I made mayonnaise, she said that my grandmother did as well.

If you have kids, let them watch as you make it – it’s a pretty cool science experiment to watch it as it turns from the liquid to the more-solid mass.

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Recipe: Zucchini Pizza Crust

December 1, 2014 · Narrative

Craving pizza but trying to stay away from carbs? This super simple recipe for a zucchini crust pizza is just what you need.

My refrigerator is currently bulging with leftovers from Thanksgiving (at my sister’s) and a Friendsgiving party we had here last night.

And I am eschewing all that, for the moment, and purging my holiday sins with this zucchini pizza crust.

Staying away from carbs doesn’t mean you have to give up all of your favorite foods.

It just means you have to get creative and come up with new ways to indulge.

Without quite indulging.

If you know what I mean.

And pizza, well, the feelings are strong.

I could have Buffalo Chicken Pizza weekly and never tire of it. But, well, I don’t, because I am keeping the carbs at a minimum.

So that’s where something like this recipe for zucchini pizza crust is ideal.

It comes together in nothing flat, taking no more than just a few minutes to grate the zucchini, squeeze the moisture out of it, mix it with a few other ingredients, form into patties, and bake in the oven.

And yer done.

A little sauce on top and a few of your favorite toppings. Pop it into the oven to let the cheese melt and the toppings warm up.

And winner winner, pizza dinner.

I used leftover turkey sausage and turkey bacon that we had, and it was perfect. While you obviously can’t fold your zucchini pizza in half like a more traditional pizza (as if), it does crisp up nicely to give you the crunchy little edges and it’s almost the next best thing.

Carb free.

Guilt free.

Mix and match your flavors with the toppings.

Clean out your refrigerator and use leftovers.

GO WILD.

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Recipe: Gnocchi with Baby Zucchini, Crispy Squash Blossoms and Lemon Brown Butter Sauce {Blue Apron Meals}

June 16, 2014 · Narrative

Delicious ingredients delivered to your door, making a perfect and quick dinner that you can feel good about eating and serving. Gnocchi with Baby Zucchini, Crispy Squash Blossoms and Lemon Brown Butter Sauce … let’s go.

One of Nick’s favorite shows is Shark Tank, which I will happily watch with him any time. It’s a weird but awesome phase we’re in where there is little to no animation on the tv and we’re all agreeing on what we watch together. I’ll take it.

A few months back, one of the businesses profiled on the show was Blue Apron. The concept is pretty awesome. For $9.99 per person per meal, you will get a box delivered to your doorstep that includes all the ingredients to make a fresh, easy, and delicious meal. When you’re building your profile, you can note allergies, strong dislikes, whether you’re vegetarian or not, and other preferences, so you can be fairly certain that you’re getting meals you’ll actually eat.

Because, really, that’s kind of the point.

Using fresh produce that is in season, the meals are relatively simple to prepare. Your Blue Apron delivery includes large recipe cards, guiding you through the recipe step-by-step, and all the ingredients are neatly packaged up (this is how the first meal looked when it arrived). Whether you need a quarter cup of rice flour, or just a bit of butter, it’s all in there (so far, every single ingredient with the exception of olive oil; not sure why they don’t include that). Which is wonderful in terms of waste and cost effectiveness – no buying a four pound package of rice flour when your recipe only calls for a quarter cup. Your package includes three meals for the week, and you can get a peek at what recipes/food they will send you for the upcoming week.

Our first box arrived last week, and as soon as I opened it, I figured out one of the things I love most about Blue Apron.

It includes items I’ve never had before. So it became an exploration of sorts. Squash blossoms? Drum (fish)? Rice flour? All in that first box.

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Recipe: Nutella Smoothie

May 27, 2014 · Narrative

A delicious and simple smoothie recipe with only three ingredients … Perfection.

I was standing in front of the yogurt section at our Costco. When I spied the big containers of Greek yogurt, I remembered a smoothie recipe that I just saw over the weekend.

“Nick, I saw a recipe for smoothies that had Greek yogurt, bananas, and Nutella. Want to try it?”

Ew gross.

Which mostly didn’t surprise me. Because while he looooves smoothies and makes them daily, he doesn’t like Nutella.

I know. It’s just as surprising to me too.

But I bought the yogurt anyway because a) it’s heaps cheaper at Costco and b) I would still it eat myself if he didn’t like it in the smoothie (perfect with a sprinkling of crunchy granola and a drizzle of honey).

So yesterday, we were having a perfectly chill Memorial Day. The kind of day that straddles that balance between doing fun things in the neighborhood and doing nothing.

If “doing nothing” equates to the seven loads of laundry I did.

And while the kids were eating lunch, I quickly whipped up a batch of the smoothies, portioning it out into three glasses.

Minutes later I heard the unmistakable slurp of empty glasses.

“Hmm, I guess it wasn’t gross after all, huh Nick?”

No, it was good. Can you make more?

And Mom wins again.

Super simple to make and with only three ingredients, they are delicious without a ton of guilt. Just the right amount of chocolate flavor with a hint of the banana and Greek yogurt. For the second batch, I used half of the Nutella called for. While I love Nutella, it’s not exactly low calorie. Just two tablespoons still delivered all the chocolatey flavor we needed.

*This is our favorite mini blender for mixing up smoothies.

Hungry for more smoothie recipes?
Blueberry Peach Smoothies and a very little Madeline.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies are one of our go-tos.

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Recipe: Tomato and Avocado Chickpea Salad {Cinco de Mayo}

May 3, 2014 · Ad-Free, Clean Eating

A quick, fresh, and flavorful side dish that is the perfect accompaniment to Old El Paso Quesadillas and your Cinco de Mayo feast … let’s do this.

Sometimes the stars align and I get my act together enough to share holiday ideas BEFORE the actual holiday.

This is that.

So Cinco de Mayo is this Monday. And there is pretty much not a better time of the year to have some frozen Margaritas and a table filled to the brim with Mexican deliciousness. And guacamole. Something so good that it deserves its very own mention. We have been on avocado-on-toast overload here this past week, which means we have a counter full of ripe avocados.

So we are ready for Monday and homemade guacamole.

But it’s a work day. And a school day.

Which means I want to keep the meal prep time down to a minimum, so we have enough time to enjoy ourselves properly, but still have time to do homework and all those other niggly things that get in the way of Ole!

How do we best do this?

Well, we simply channel a little bit of *coughcough* Sandra Lee and go the semi-homemade route.

The table quickly gets filled with some store-bought items, and some made-from-scratch, but quick-to-table items, which is the perfect balance to allow us to enjoy our meal prep, our actual meal, and even some downtime before crashing from Margarita overload.

That would be me. Not the kids.

Natch.

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Recipe: Cheesy Baked Cauliflower Tots

April 29, 2014 · Narrative

Cheesy, crispy litter cauliflower tots — all the taste and none of the guilt.

My kids don’t especially like tater tots.

In fact, if you mention tater tots to them, I’m not even sure that they would remember exactly what they are. And given that tater tots are, um, slightly processed, I’m ok with that.

Because if you’re going to eat processed food, it might as well be an Oreo, right?

Kidding.

Sort of.

My kids also have not yet jumped on the cauliflower bandwagon with me. Shocking as that is. But despite this, coupled with their disdain for tots, when I saw Cheesy Baked Cauliflower Tots from Kalyn’s Kitchen, I thought there might be hope.

It turns out that I wasn’t wrong.

But, of course, I didn’t call them cauliflower anything when the kids asked what they were.

I’ve been a mom for long enough to know better.

But I also don’t lie to them when it comes to food.

Consider it an error of omission when I called them Cheesy Bites.

Which seemed to be just.the.ticket because both kids ate them.

SO THERE.

Using the microwave and a food chopper (I love my mini one and use it exclusively), you can make quick work of the steps below. With just ten minutes, if that, of actual hands-on work, it’s a very simple recipe that you can pop into the oven quickly while you get the rest of dinner ready.

And the end result?

Little bits of cheesy, slightly crispy cauli goodness that you’ll find yourself popping into your mouth again and again.

Even if you don’t like tots or cauliflower.

Hungry for more cauliflower recipes?
If you haven’t made this ridiculously simple Three Ingredient Cauliflower Soup, you are seriously missing out.
This Buffalo-Style Roasted Cauliflower is one I keep going back to. So good and so easy.
This Roasted Cauliflower Spread is a riff off one that Sarah and I enjoyed at Tom Douglas’ Lola in Seattle.
Visually, this Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower is a showstopper, and I made it for a cooking challenge at the CIA recently.
If you haven’t had this Cauliflower Steak with Homemade Caesar Dressing, I don’t know how to help you.
This super simple Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a great comfort food spin when you’re craving carbs and cheese.
These Cauliflower Bread Sticks were another great riff, and delish!
This Mock Shrimp Risotto was almost as good as the real deal.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza for fulfilling all your pizza loving dreams.
And lastly, Cauliflower Garlic Mashed Potatoes will satisfy your comfort food craving.

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Recipe: {Three Ingredient} Cauliflower Soup

April 9, 2014 · Narrative

Cauliflower Soup so creamy you’d swear it was bad for you. But it’s not. Three ingredients, ten minutes, and 100% guilt-free.

Last week, I was heading out to attend an evening fundraiser, but was cooking dinner nonetheless. I had just finished making grilled chicken for Madeline (Nick was out with a friend), when my eyes fell upon the head of cauliflower in the refrigerator.

Sadly languishing.

So with just a few minutes before I had to leave, I grabbed it and started to work.

I hate wasting food, but I had luckily seen a recipe for Three Ingredient Cauliflower Soup that I knew I could whip up fast.

Three ingredients. Only if you happen to count salt & pepper, and water as ingredients.

And I kind of don’t. I mean, those are throwaway ingredients, right?

Which means this is like a One Ingredient Cauliflower Soup.

However you call it, you must make it.

First, it could not be simpler. Cook the cauliflower. Throw it into your food processor with the salted water you cooked it in. Add enough water until it has reached soup consistency. Add a touch of butter.

And eat.

I kid you not.

THAT IS IT.

And it makes the most amazing Cauliflower Soup that ever was.

The kind that makes you swear there must be cream in it. Or half and half.

And it doesn’t have that. None of that.

Which makes it all the more awesome.

Creamy, full-on flavor, Cauliflower Soup with zero guilt.

Which is pretty much my favorite way to eat.

Make this one, folks. If you like cauliflower, you won’t be disappointed.

Hungry for more cauliflower recipes?
This Buffalo-Style Roasted Cauliflower is one I keep going back to. So good and so easy.
This Roasted Cauliflower Spread is a riff off one that Sarah and I enjoyed at Tom Douglas’ Lola in Seattle.
Visually, this Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower is a showstopper, and I made it for a cooking challenge at the CIA recently.
If you haven’t had this Cauliflower Steak with Homemade Caesar Dressing, I don’t know how to help you.
This super simple Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a great comfort food spin when you’re craving carbs and cheese.
These Cauliflower Bread Sticks were another great riff, and delish!
This Mock Shrimp Risotto was almost as good as the real deal.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza for fulfilling all your pizza loving dreams.
And lastly, Cauliflower Garlic Mashed Potatoes will satisfy your comfort food craving.

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Recipe: Roasted Broccoli and Portobellos with Soy Dressing

January 23, 2014 · Narrative

Tonight was the first time I’ve cooked since I got sick. Surviving on take-out, meals cooked by the babysitter, and lots and lots of soup, it felt good to get back into the kitchen. Although I’m still taking it slow, for fear of going backwards. It would have felt even better if BOTH my kids ate dinner tonight. Madeline demolished her plate. Haven’t seen her eat like that in forever. Nick just pushed everything around and ate broccoli.

Whatever.

Because I’ve been subsisting largely on clear soups and saltines, to say I’ve been craving something green lately would be an understatement. And, well, it doesn’t get easier or better than roasted broccoli. And it’s a crowd favorite, so there’s that. Neither of the kids will eat mushrooms (yet), so when I made this dish, I put aside some roasted broccoli for them, before adding the mushrooms for me.

As long as you can roast vegetables, this recipe is dirt simple to make. And if you can’t, well, it’s time to learn because roasting anything makes it better.

Swear.

A couple ingredients mixed together for the dressing, add to roasted broccoli (oven at 425, single layer of bite size pieces, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, twenty minutes) and grilled portobello mushrooms, and you have yourself a completely guilt-free, full-on flavor side dish that will be hard to pass up.

Well, unless you hate portobellos… And then there may be no hope.

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Recipe: Broccomole

September 17, 2013 · Clean Eating, Narrative

When I posted a picture on Instagram of the broccomole I made a week or two ago, a friend texted me to ask if all my taste buds had died.

Admittedly, broccomole might sound a little weird, but it’s actually not a new thing. My bestie Google has tons of recipes for it.

And the impetus behind me making it? I’m currently not eating avocado or guacamole, and this sounded like the next best thing.

And it pretty much was.

The recipe I created for it was healthier than some of the other versions floating around the interwebs, but I’m sure it was just as tasty. Take some cooked broccoli (I made it in a Ziploc steamers bag to make it even simpler), and whirr it around with a few other simple ingredients. And then get creative.

I just served it alongside some roast chicken (and another time, turkey sausage), and with each bite, I took a bit of broccomole and a bit of meat. Heaven. The broccomole would also be pretty awesome if it was stuffed inside a flattened, and then rolled up, chicken breast or a piece of firm white fish. Or as a dipper with some chopped up raw vegetables.

While it doesn’t completely cure my avocado craving, it’s almost like the next best thing.

And I totally swear my taste buds have not officially died. Not even close.

*And if you happen to be on Take Shape for Life, this is absolutely on plan.

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Recipe: Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

September 11, 2013 · Clean Eating, Narrative

I could happily eat mushrooms every day. Unfortunately, the kids have yet to jump on that bandwagon.

But I have hope. After all, it wasn’t until my mid-to-late 30s that I started to like salmon.

I don’t buy into the hype that mushrooms taste beefy, and can fool you into thinking you’re having a burger. Because that’s just ridiculous. Mushrooms taste like … mushrooms.

True, they taste heartier than some of their vegetable counterparts, but to say it tastes like meat is a bit of a stretch.

IMHO.

Hear that, Rachael Ray?

When you hear of a stuffed mushroom, it’s usually with a crab stuffing, or other sometimes heavily breaded, often unhealthy, filling.

This is not that.

Filled with a mixture of chopped, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and cheese, it’s a perfect bite that you can feel good about. It takes 10 minutes to make, start to finish, which is perfect because it allows me the time to make something else for my resident mushroom haters, without running around feeling like a short order cook.

And really, after that, what else do you need?

Hungry for more mushroom goodness?
These Portobello Cap Pizzas are equally super simple to make and quite filling.
Mushroom-Crusted Chicken Burgers were a delicious way to sneak a few mushrooms past the kids.
And lastly, these pan-fried chicken thighs with mushrooms were a total win, and appearing on our table this weekend as we entertain friends.

*If you’re on MediFast, this is perfect, and makes two servings.

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