Turkey Sausage Rigatoni Bake

Warm and hearty pasta like this dish is great for fall meals! Pasta bakes are diverse, allowing you to bake ahead of time and warm up when you need it, or re-heat the leftovers. Also, easy enough to make anytime of the week. 1.Cook pasta 2. Cook sausage and onions 3. Mix all ingredients together and bake – done!

Sweet Potato Boats with Avocado Salad - $$

Sweet potato season is here!  In the fall they are easy to turn to for a healthy comfort food.  For me sweet potatoes are a standard during the holidays and have recently become a staple in my kitchen. They also make a great snack by themselves. Check out my chip recipe here.  Or baked – cut one in half and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes and then add a little butter. Easy. The sweet potato boat improves upon this 10-fold. This recipe takes one of my favorite healthy snacks to a new level – the dinner table! You could eat these by themselves for lunch or as a side with dinner (or I’ve eaten a couple “boats” as my dinner on a night I’m not super hungry).

Quinoa Veggie Salad - $$

I must admit, I haven’t been very creative using quinoa until now, partially because it’s still new to me. I put it on salads and even eat it plain with oil for a quick healthy snack, so creating this recipe was out of my comfort zone and I second guessed myself a hundred times. One thing I try to remember with my recipes is that it’s ok to mess up. Luckily this was not one of my mess ups.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing - $

This simple vinaigrette is quick and effortless, just like a salad dressing should be. I would describe it as light, sweet and tangy. I’ve tried this on different types of salad and it’s always good. For freshness I try to use hand squeeze the lemon, but lemon juice from the fridge is fine too. If you are using this dressing on a kale salad I recommend adding the dressing about 20 minutes before you eat to let the leaves soften (let the oil and ACV do their job!). 

Fruit & Walnut Salad - $$

Since I’ve been eating so many fruit smoothies lately, (checkout my top smoothie recipes here) I forgot how easy it is to throw together a fruit salad – there really is no rhyme or reason to what you include. Mix in your favorites and serve. This one started off as a melon salad and I added the grape for the color and the strawberries are just a must have for me. I’ve been adding them to everything this summer, from green salads and breakfast bowls to smoothies and desserts. It makes me wish I had kept up with the strawberry plants my dad bought me when I was a half-hearted 4-H member in elementary school. As always – if you grow any fruit you can save yourself some serious cash. If not this salad could easily cost $10 (but that’s for a large bowl that serves 4-6 people). I used about a half of the cantaloupe and melon so there was plenty of leftover un-cut for other uses throughout the week.

DIY Spicy Chicken Marinade - $

Just in time for the holiday weekend, here is a new marinade to try on the grill or in the oven. Quick and easy is the name of the game so this recipe doesn’t require a food processor for peppers or other ingredients, just a good old whisk.

Lean Green Smoothie - $$

Sometimes I just need to hit the reset button on a slow morning or post weekend after I’ve over indulged on treats. Why not drink your way to feeling better? With whole food ingredients, smoothies are a great way to get vital nutrients, especially when you are in a rush to quickly cleanse your body and give you fuel for the day. Hard to go wrong sipping one of these babies!

Red Cabbage Detox Salad with Ginger Vinegar Dressing - $$

Detox, detox, detox!  This is a home run, if you are looking for a cleanse or just a refreshing and healthy meal. Did I mention this is a detox salad? (haha)

Adapted from the Standard Process Diet recipe - Asian Slaw with Warm Ginger Lime Dressing, I’ve added my own twist. The original recipe calls for it to be warm and that didn’t sound great to me so this is just a tossed salad. If I ever try it warm, I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes, and you can do the same for me. Please and thank you.

Ratatouille - $$

What a classic dish. I’ve been making this since I did my Standard Process diet. Before then I think Ratatouille scared me. The french name alone makes it sound complicated, and this was not something my family cooked a lot growing up… if ever. If you are looking for vegetarian summer goodness – this is it!

Avocado Boats with Quinoa-Tomato Salad - $$$

Often times I find myself eating avocado by itself because I’m afraid if I wait another day it will go bad, or I’m in too much of a rush to think of something to do with it.  For a long time I only thought of using avocado to make guacamole or sometimes add to a salad. My energetic side said it was time to jazz up my meals with more avocados. So I present to you the Quinoa-Tomato Salad Avocado Boat.

Strawberry Mint Iced Tea - $

Perfect summer weekend drink! Enough said. Well I guess I should tell you some more about it, huh? I’ve been toying with the idea of a brewed iced tea for a while since I’m a regular hot tea drinker and I think you’ll like it.

Two Top Chicken Marinades - Spicy Red and Garlic Lemon

There are so many off the shelf marinades out there, from bottles of sauce to packets of spices. Too many to choose, and most loaded with processed ingredients. Here are two marinades I made to satisfy the needs of a summer BBQ or a week night dinner.  Both are healthfully crafted with vinegars and spices to help you avoid temptations at the grocery store. So grab a bowl and mix it up for yourself.  

Cold Seasme Thai Noodles - $$

On a hot summer day the last thing I want to do is cook a hot meal, which is why I created this simple noodle dish! This recipe is great for a summer day or for taking to a party so you don’t have to worry about keeping it warm. Yes, you need to cook the noodles, but once the steam has left the building the rest of the prep is “cool”. This is also a cheap way to get your veggies. Carrots, cucumbers and peas are usually the same price year round. The red pepper I look for on sale or you can switch out with green. 

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.