Kid Tested Healthy Recipes from Our Meal Train

 Hello there and happy Friday! Today's post is going to be short and sweet. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of a new recipe to test out over the weekend. Since my diagnosis we have had a Meal Train to help alleviate the burden of cooking/cleaning while feeling sick. The Meal Train has been wonderful and I am very grateful to live in 2023 where Meal Trains are so organized and easy for everyone involved! Anyway, we have had some REALLY good food delivered to us and I wanted to share some of the recipes. Not everyone has shared their recipes with us, which is fine of course, but I wanted to share with you our favorite healthy meals that we did have a recipe for. Starting with breakfast:

Plant Based Everything But the Elote Queso Dip

 Hello friends! Before I start on this recipe today I have to say that I cannot take credit for this one! I really just mashed up two recipes I liked, then tweaked them a bit in order to make my usual plant based queso a little bit tastier. The original queso recipe comes from Earthy Andy, and the Everything But the Elote comes from the Cooking Through Trader Joe's cookbook. Another caveat: while the Earthy Andy's recipe is 100% plant based, apparently the Mexican Style Roasted Corn sauce has a little bit of dairy, and you sprinkle cotija cheese at the end, so this is mostly plant based, but not 100%. Regardless, it's a "queso" that you can feel good about eating because it is loaded with vegetables but you feel like you're eating cheese. Not bad if you ask me!

A 4th of July Charcuterie/Smorgasbord

Hello there my friends! I hope that you all had a nice weekend. Dev was out of town so the kids and I held down the fort. In the interest of keeping it "fun" with Dev being gone (and also me getting a break!), we had a 4th of July themed charcuterie board for dinner one night, while picnic-ing on the rug in front of the TV. This isn't something we normally do, so the kids were all about it! Here's a look at our board before it got demolished:

Fall Harvest Salad

 Hello friends! Today I wanted to share the recipe I was telling you about last week. I have been making this salad for lunch on repeat the past few weeks and I just cannot seem to get enough of it. This recipe makes enough for two people, or if you're like me, enough for a salad at lunch today and a salad at lunch again tomorrow 😊. 

Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans

 Hello hello! I know I have been sharing recipes less frequently, but to be honest as we navigate this whole plant-based thing, I've been following other people's recipes more often than not. Today however, I have a quick healthy side item we've been whipping up pretty frequently. Bonus: it's kid approved!

Homemade Nutella Covered Bananas

 Good morning friends! This week is crazy busy for us and the week is getting away from me already. I don't normally do a recipe on a Wednesday, but it was all I had time for this week-- so we're sticking with it! This is one of our favorite plant-based desserts lately.

Protein Packed Acai Bowl

 Good morning! One of the questions we have been getting asked the most since we switched to a plant-based diet has been "how do you make sure you're getting enough protein?" This was my biggest concern with making the switch too and I am happy to share some ways that we make sure we are getting enough protein in our diets. The example I'm sharing today, an açai bowl, is nothing new.. but by making it a little bit differently we are able to pack as much protein into it as possible. Let's have a look:

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Sweet Potato Fries (Air Fryer!)

 This is Lily Grace's new favorite food-- she told me these sweet potatoes tasted like candy! I also made them for my family at the beach and they were a big hit there too. If you give them a try, let me know what you think!

Strawberry Watermelon Lime Slushie

Anyone else a big watermelon junkie in the summer? We love to buy a big ole watermelon and snack on it throughout the week. Sometimes on a hot afternoon we throw some into a blender and make it into a slushie. The kids love them, the adults love them, and they're healthy! It's a "win" on all accounts. For an "adult" version, scroll all the way down to the bottom!

Lemon and Arugula Salad

 Good morning friends! I am FINALLY back with another recipe. I took a little time off from blogging my own recipes but am feeling motivated to get back into it. I have several healthy recipes coming your way over the next few weeks. Starting with today's lunch: lemon and arugula salad!

Mango Dreamsicle Smoothie

Good morning! This is one of my favorite go-to smoothies lately. Super healthy, easy, and delicious. Exactly what I love in a smoothie!

Air Fryer Honey Balsamic Zucchini

Good morning friends! Sorry I haven't posted a recipe in awhile. When I posted my end-of-the-year survey about a month ago I learned that most of you genuinely like the recipes and wanted more of them in 2021. I cannot tell you how happy that made me! I feel like I am still learning more about cooking as I go, but every time we are able to make a new delicious recipe I want to make sure I share it. Now, I probably won't be sharing them every single week again, but just from time to time whenever we try something new that we really like. Just like this recipe here today, our air fryer honey balsamic zucchini:

 

Here's What You'll Need:

- 2 zucchini, chopped

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp honey

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- salt and pepper to taste

1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Add to air fryer basket (you may have to do two batches depending on size of air fryer).

2. Preheat air fryer to 375. Cook zucchini for 15 minutes, stopping to shake basket 2-3 times throughout. 

3. Enjoy! 

Lily Grace and Liam LOVE these! They are always the first thing gone on their plates 😀 I love it when my kids love a vegetable and know you all do too. Maybe try this next time you're looking to whip up something quick, easy and healthy?

Have a good day! See you back here tomorrow!

Air Fryer Garlic Butter Cauliflower

I'm here today with another super simple way to get your family to eat some more veggies-- and they'll be done in 15 minutes! Just like a few weeks ago, this one is so simple it feels silly to call it a "recipe". 

Air Fryer Southwest Sweet Potato Fries

 Hi there friends! So for the past few months I have been experimenting with our air fryer and have been trying to get comfortable with it. At first I only followed other people's recipes, but have recently started trying out a few of my own. Devin gets partial credit for today's recipe because I was all set to make them in the oven, then Devin said "why don't you try the air fryer? I bet that would be good". It turns out he was right! Not only are they delicious, but they cooked much faster too!

Greek Yogurt and Mango Papaya Boats

Yesterday I was taking pictures for a Day in the Life of Us post I'm planning to put out on Friday and I made a breakfast I have been making a lot around here lately: Papaya Boats

They are such an easy breakfast to make and are a good way to get some fruit and protein in and feel like you're mixing it up a bit. 

Super Simple Braised Broccoli

 Hi there! Earlier this week I was whipping up dinner for the fam and we needed a quick side item. I went to make our all time favorite broccoli recipe and it dawned on me that I've never shared it with you guys-- which is weird because we eat this probably twice a week! More than likely I've never shared this because it hardly seems like a "recipe". It's too easy. But that being said, this is my kids' favorite way to eat broccoli, and if it means helping one of your kids eat a vegetable too then I am happy to share our super simple "recipe".

Zuppa Toscana

 Happy Thanksgiving friends!!! Okay so true story about this recipe, the first time I made it I thought it was a complete bust. This was one of those "we are having pizza as a backup" kind of recipes because I thought there was absolutely no way this would turn out. So I sent Devin to run out to the grocery store and grab a frozen pizza, and by the time he came back, the recipe had come together and we ended up freezing that pizza to use another day. Not only did this turn recipe turn out okay, but we actually LOVED it and have made it multiple times since! So if you're making this and you think "there's no way this is going to be good", stick with it! I promise you won't regret it!

Boursin Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes

 Hi there friends! Last week we were talking about our Thanksgiving menus and I shared that we love to add Boursin Garlic & Herb cheese to our mashed potatoes. I decided to whip them up last night and double check the recipe so I could share it with you guys today. If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know!

Berry Kiwi Smoothie Bowl

 Good morning friends! I was on a big smoothie kick there for awhile and was making different ones for breakfast each morning. This is one I made a few weeks back but never got around to posting. Enjoy!!

Southwest Quinoa Bowl

 Hello there! I don't know about you but Mexican/Tex-Mex food is probably our favorite cuisine around here. We have some form of Mexican/Tex-Mex food for either breakfast, lunch or dinner probably 5 days a week, no exaggeration! Between Breakfast Burritos, Southwest Salads, Tacos, Quesadillas and Chipotle Bowls there's so much variety. It's convenient too since the various recipes use pretty all the same basic ingredients. Even the kids love it all, we just use less spices when we make theirs. This is one of my favorites to make for lunch-- it keeps me full for hours and I don't get that afternoon energy slump since it's all healthy/nourishing food.