Restaurant Salsa

Love this recipe. I'd do less garlic next time.

3 healthy berry desserts

My family went for seconds and thirds of these lemon blueberry bars. I was lazy and didn't do the lemon zest, and we had mixed berries rather than only blueberries. I used maple syrup. Good stuff. Wished for whipped cream on top; I've been wanting to try the whipped coconut cream. Note: I tried this again with fresh peaches and I need to confess--I don't love almond flour. I think I'd rather use oat flour. I know it's not as protein-y and super packed, but I'll try oats blended up in the blender next time I try something like this.

Here's a festive fruit salad that I wish I had made yesterday!

Strawberry Colada
Blend:
½ cup canned coconut milk (lite or full fat)
1/2 scoop protein powder (I use unsweetened, unflavored, but you can use vanilla
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (the more fat the better, I say)
½ tsp. coconut extract
5 oz. total strawberries and pineapple (can use frozen)
ice cubes
If you need some more sweetness, add a few drops of maple syrup or puree a pitted date in it!

Turkey Meatballs

I have perfected turkey meatballs.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine well:
1 lb lean ground turkey
shredded/grated veggies--I usually do carrot and spinach (sorry I have no exact measurement for this yet. I just grab a couple handfuls of baby carrots and spinach and put them through my grating food processor)
2 eggs
1/8 c minced onions
1 TB parsley
1/2 TB oregano
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (I usually just sprinkle garlic powder)

Using a small cookie dough scoop, make them into balls and put them in a 13x9 glass dish (no need to grease the dish). They shrink as they cook. Cover with foil and cook for about 40 min.

Italian Wedding Soup

We had lunch with my grandma a while ago. She lives in a great home where we can join her for a yummy lunch. We were served Italian Wedding Soup, which I'd never heard of. It's full of veggies and sausage (my favorite!). I've made it twice now and think it's awesome. My kids likened it to chicken noodle soup the first time I made it. For me, I'd take it over chicken noodle soup anytime. For this recipe, I'm actually going to try to remember to prep a few things before actually cooking :).

1.5x this recipe served 6 last night. Homemade rolls would have been an awesome accompaniment.

PREPARATION--AND START EARLY ENOUGH (5 pm?) THAT THE SOUP ISN'T SCALDING WHEN IT'S TIME TO SIT DOWN TO DINNER :)
Do some chopping and set these aside:
1 c chopped carrots 
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
any other veggies (I've done zucchini)

Form 1/2 inch balls out of:
6 oz turkey sausage (or was it chicken sausage that I bought?)

COOKING:
Saute your veggies in olive oil in your soup pot (or skip this step and cook veggies in the broth). Vegetables do need longer than the meat and pasta if you want them tender (see bottom note).

Add and bring to a boil:
4 c chicken broth (if watching salt intake, use low sodium)

Add your sausage balls and let simmer for 4 minutes or until just cooked through.

Add and simmer for 12 minutes:
3 c baby spinach, chopped if desired
1/2 c Acini di Pepe

Use fresh parsley and shredded Parmesan for garnish.

Update: I made this soup again just for myself without the Acini and without sauteing the veggies. It was great. The very first time I made it I added pepper, but the sausage is spicy enough for me. No pepper needed. Since I wasn't doing pasta in it, I just cooked the sausage balls for 15 min or so with the veggies and everything was perfect. Another note: carrots and broccoli are really good after 12 minutes, but I prefer my celery a little more cooked, so I'd saute celery and onions very first and then add everything else. And, if you cook the acini di pepe separately you can choose how much you want and avoid the noodles soaking up too much of your broth! Next time I make it I should just redo this whole recipe write-up, huh?

Apple Oat Pancakes

Found this happy pancake recipe.

Goodness Hot Cocoa for One

Hot Cocoa is so satisfying. It might be my favorite drink in the whole world. This is how I like it lately.

Fill a mug halfway with coconut milk (from a can) and the rest with whole milk. Put in 2 or 3 pitted dates. Microwave that for 1 1/2 minutes. Let the dates sit in there to soften. Dump your mugful in the blender, add unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao--sorry, I've never measured but use a regular little spoon) plus some sprinkles of turmeric, if desired. Blend and strain back into your mug. It's delicious and frothy and creamy. Add maple syrup if you want it just a tad more sweet.

Update: lately I do half coconut, half almond milk for a lighter version.

Maple Coconut Granola

I tried a new combination for granola and was very pleased.

Preheat oven to 300.

Mix up:
3 c oats
1 c unsweetened coconut
1 c nuts, chopped however small you want
1/4 c other mixins (I did a mixture of flax and quinoa--could do sesame seeds.)
1/2 tsp coarse salt (maybe less)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add and mix well:
1/4 c coconut oil (warm up so it's liquid)
1/2 c pure maple syrup

Spread out on a cookie sheet. Bake for 40 min., stirring 2 or 3 times (is stirring really necessary?)

Add raisins if desired (I like them fresh; they get bitter when toasted, I think).

Notes: Ali hates nuts, and Hans and Ali don't like the quinoa in it--it is a little bitter.