Tag: healthy

Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup

January 29, 2016

Our friend Aaron arrives tonight to visit us for the weekend. Before trekking out Boston to pursue his dreams, all the boys use to spend nearly every evening in our apartment.  They always made sure to come just before dinner.  So I had to make sure I scrounged up a good, home cooked meal for his arrival. I opted for a healthy, hearty Chiptole Chicken and Rice soup that is an excellent way to use up leftover chicken in your fridge. This dish is flavorful and rich; it’s perfect for a chilly January evening.  Continue reading “Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup”

Quick, Vegan, Gluten-Free Vanilla Zoats

January 19, 2016

Jameson just started a new job with Johnson and Johnson (yay! go Jay!) and is back in full swing of constant travel.  On the nights he is out of town I take the opportunity to experiment with new vegan recipes.  Over the passing months I had been seeing a plethora of instagram posts of “Zoats” pop up in my feed and got curious. Now I must confess I don’t actually like oatmeal. What I do know it is an excellent source of fiber and trace minerals that aren’t commonly found in most foods but the struggle is real for me to eat it in any form but cookie form. So I figured I should step out of my comfort zone to try out Zoats (Zucchini+oatmeal) and see if I could wrap my palate around porridge. Turns out it isn’t terrible, was really quick to whip up, and kept me full. Best of all this vegan, gluten-free dish packs in a solid serving of veggies.  Give it a whirl and see what you think! Continue reading “Quick, Vegan, Gluten-Free Vanilla Zoats”

A Whole 30 Friendly, Paleo Vegetable Frittata

December 9, 2015

Here is another gem from our Christmas Brunch. In January some of you may be doing the Whole 30 challenge. I know a lot of us at Crossfit NYC will be.  To learn more about the Whole 30 challenge head over the CF NYC website where they break it all down for you.  It is worth exploring.  If you decide to jump on board, we have a a few Whole 30 approved recipes to help you with your clean eating mission.  This savory frittata is yet another fast, easy meal that is also whole 30 friendly.  It doesn’t look like much but it requires minimal hands-on prep time. It has a pretty easy clean up making it is perfect for busy New Yorkers.  Enjoy and good luck to all the Whole 30ers out there 🙂 Continue reading “A Whole 30 Friendly, Paleo Vegetable Frittata”

Creamless Cream of Vegetable Soup

November 13, 2015

 We have been busy travelling, renovating, working and scheming.  New York City is always a rush, but it feels as if life whizzing by with even greater fervor in the last few months.  However, it is been all been the best kinds of busy. Our days have been brimming with birthday celebrations, weekend escapes, social events, holidays and long adventures. Tomorrow we set off with a few of our nearest and dearest for nine days in Costa Rica. We are living life and living it to the full. In the face of all the crazy, we are fulfilled and we are happy. That being said we have been mindful to take few moments to slow down and home cook some good, hearty fall meals. Which brings me to today’s newest recipe for a creamless creamed soup.  It is fast and it is tasty. Enjoy, and happy fall all! Continue reading “Creamless Cream of Vegetable Soup”

Vegan Red Lentil Peanut Stew

November 8, 2015

Jameson hasn’t stopped talking about this dish.  The recipe yielded us leftovers for day, and each afternoon I have recieved a text proclaiming its awesomeness beyond compare. It may be because lentils are a rad super food. They’re low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. But high in protein (18 grams per cup of cooked lentil) and Iron.  Lentils are also an excellent source of fiber, folate, phosphorus, copper and manganese. But all that nutritional goodness aside, this stew is bar none. It is warm, rich and hearty making it the perfect autumn meal on a cold blustery day.  Enjoy! Continue reading “Vegan Red Lentil Peanut Stew”

Sweet Potato, Cauliflower And Buffalo Chicken Casserole

November 4, 2015

 This is a fast, but flavorful Paleo meal for a busy work night. It takes some time to roast but requires very little hands on time.  This dish is flexible and tastes great if you skip the chicken and go vegan.  If you are adhering strictly to the traditional Whole 30 by steering clear of yams, you can forgo them and add some extra cauliflower.  Continue reading “Sweet Potato, Cauliflower And Buffalo Chicken Casserole”

Paleo Chicken, Lime and Avocado Soup

April 10, 2015

Simple, one pot dinners are my jam.  When we get home from the gym every night we are ravenous, and after we feast neither Jameson nor I have much ambition to tackle a lengthy clean up.  So I am always looking to create flavorful meals that adhere to our dietary preferences, and can be accomplished quickly and painlessly.  This soup meets all our lofty, stringent criteria.  Also, if you are like me and don’t eat meat you can skip the chicken all together- it will still be spectacular. Or if you reside in a household (like ours) with a mix of herbivores and carnivores, simply cook the chicken in a pan on the side and stir into the soup when you add in your avocado. This is the perfectly effortless meal that is flexible enough to meet everyone’s needs. Continue reading “Paleo Chicken, Lime and Avocado Soup”

Paleo Shrimp and Sausage Stir-Fry with Kale, Broccolette & Homemade Peanut Sauce

March 21, 2015

I know I have mentioned the busyness of our everyday life recently, followed by sincere promises that we were still managing to cook all our meals from scratch and that it is merely lack of time that has kept me from sharing them with you.  However, we have been trying to intentionally slow our pace and carve out time for the things and people that matter. For me that has meant allocating ample time for concocting new recipes, as well as to photograph and pen them. It has also meant connecting with the friends we love most. Sometimes we combine the two. So last Friday our nearest and dearest, Jens, wasn’t feeling well, and I have also just been getting over a cold so we decided to pit in, cook dinner and watch the latest hunger games. I know, we get real wild and real crazy on Friday nights 🙂 It was a perfectly quiet time of good food with even greater friends.  Continue reading “Paleo Shrimp and Sausage Stir-Fry with Kale, Broccolette & Homemade Peanut Sauce”

Canadian Thanksgiving: Vegan and Gluten Free Stuffing

October 21, 2014

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Another dish from our Canadian Thanksgiving feast.  This stuffing is a staple in all our holiday dinners. Whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter if there is a turkey being cooked this stuffing is by its side as an accompaniment.   I normally render this side with traditional, old fashioned fully glutenized bread.  However, this year we had guests with different dietary needs.  When I am hosting I want everyone to come and be able to eat to their breaking point.  So I decided to play around with a gluten free version, resulting in a stuffing that Jay and I actually both liked a whole lot more!  This stuffing is flexible in that you can use it to stuff a bird or you can cook it independently in a dutch oven or casserole dish.  We normally do the latter because it allows you to prepare the dish the day before thus freeing up valuable kitchen real estate on the day of the dinner. Continue reading “Canadian Thanksgiving: Vegan and Gluten Free Stuffing”

Canadian Thanksgiving: Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Ginger and Pear

October 14, 2014

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We all know how much I love to host, and that I jump at any opportunity to fill my home with those I cherish most.  So needless to say I wrangled 15 of my nearest and dearest to come celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with us.  Since moving to NYC I have only gotten more patriotic so naturally I love showcasing some of our Canadian culture (even if Canadian thanksgiving is merely a carbon copy of the American version save for the pilgrims and Plymouth rock). This year we were so, so fortunate to have two very exceptional Canadians in town visiting, bringing the Canadian representation up to five speculator people.  We love guests, and getting a chance to connect with Rachel and Courtney was a real treat (thanks guys for playing with us!)

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We had an amazing time eating ourselves into a turkey coma while savoring the exceptional company.   Now undertaking an entire turkey feast is always a touch daunting because I have spent every Thanksgivings at an my aunt’s home.  So this year not only was I longing to be there to snuggle all the new babies, but I was very rightfully concerned that my meal just wouldn’t be up to snuff.  That woman knows how to host something fierce, and so the bar of excellence has been set high.

However, I managed to pull out a meal that was lauded by everyone.  Not only was everyone angling for seconds (the highest form of praise) but is was a super healthy supper that met all the varying dietary needs of our beautiful guests. As such, most of the dishes were either vegan, paleo or gluten free.  I will be be sharing a bunch of these recipes over the course of the next few days and weeks (some Americans you can steal them for your approaching Thanksgiving feasts).   Furthermore, I would also like to give myself some self praise in that this was the first time I tackled homemade bread and cheese cake without my Kitchenaid mixer (which is safely stowed in storage back home) which is no easy feat.  This whole meal was prepared from scratch the tech-free, old school way.  So needless to say I got my upper body workout in. Overall the meal was a success, but by far the brightest part of the evening was being surround by our New York family.  Although it didn’t completely erase my homesickness for those back home, at least my heart and home was filled with so much love nevertheless. Continue reading “Canadian Thanksgiving: Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Ginger and Pear”