Alternative Eats: French Fries vs. Sweet Potato Fries

There are tons of healthier alternatives for junk food turning up at the grocery store these days, you just have to know what they are.

Today’s alternative eat: Sweet Potato Fries

Which will win?

Left: Ore Ida Extra Crispy Fries ($3.50) 

Right: Alexia Sweet Potato Fries ($3.99)

4 Smoothie Recipes To Mix Up Your Routine

It's summertime and smoothies are the perfect healthy treat. This week a few of my co-workers and I hosted a smoothie bar at work where we crowd-tested 4 of our favorite recipes! Now I’m sharing them with you. Hopefully one of these will peak your taste buds and you can add it to your routine. Since going on my diet I've been drinking a smoothie/shake every morning as my breakfast. You can read more about that in my post here. 

Drinking your breakfast – Do meal replacement shakes work?

If you have been reading my blog you’re probably wondering “Does this girl eat breakfast?!”, because I haven’t posted a single breakfast recipe yet! I do love a good American breakfast of bacon and eggs and I will never say no to brunch, but since I started my diet earlier this year I have been making shakes and smoothies as my breakfast, (at least Monday-Friday). I thought this wouldn’t work for me at first. I mean seriously, I’m supposed to drink 16 oz of liquid and that is supposed to hold me over till lunch? Really? Yes, surprisingly this has turned into my routine and most days I’m alert and ready to take on the day when I take my last sip. I can’t lie, I usually supplement with a granola bar or small helping of veggies before lunch, but for the most part this has curbed my hunger in the morning and my stomach seems to agree, no more weird tummy grumbles mid-morning (common pre-diet after eating my old routine of yogurt and oatmeal!).

Anytime Lentil Stew - $$

I call this "anytime" stew for a couple reasons. For one, your can eat it as a snack, for lunch or dinner. Another is that the ingredients are not seasonal, (unless you are an overachiever and can your own tomatoes and grow kale) so you can make it anytime of the year. It looks like a bowl of mush at first but this dish is packed with flavor from the tomatoes, garlic and sautéed kale. 

Chicken, Spinach, Tomato, and Sun Dried Pesto Skillet with Pasta - $$

Do you like spinach? Do you like tomatoes? Then I think this dish will be a hit! This recipe shares similarities with Chicken Florentine but is dairy free! If you are looking for a hearty meal that doesn’t throw all your best intentions for healthy eating away, this dish is perfect, coming in at around 550 calories (counted courtesy of myfitnesspal.com).

Alternative Eats: Does Greek Yogurt Make Tuna Salad Taste Better?

This week I did a "Mayo Vs. Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad Experiment".

I've been seeing a lot of recipes lately for tuna salad made with Greek yogurt. Intriguing. Greek yogurt is either loved or hated in my observances. I like greek yogurt but the question remains - could tuna salad taste better with greek yogurt instead of mayo?  Will it make traditional tuna salad seem old and antiquated? I wanted to know for myself, so I did a test with a somewhat traditional tuna salad recipe: one batch using mayo and one using plain greek yogurt.

Red Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower is pretty bland by itself and gets overlooked against its competitors that are more tasty and colorful, but this recipe is full of flavor and gives it a nice red hue. This is the perfect side dish for chicken or fish. Sometimes I make this for a snack because it’s quick and little mess. I get stuck in a habit of only making broccoli and carrots, so this recipe is nice to mix it up.