OhYaGood

Whole Food Lover + Recipe Hacker

Wilted Spinach Salad

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Wilted_Spinach_SaladAnyone else wishing for snow to cover all the grayness? I’m fighting the lack of sunlight and brown, dead ground with some green-action in the kitchen. Seriously, I bought poundssss of spinach this week. It’s a miracle cure.

I had never eaten a wilted spinach salad till working at an italian restaurant in my early 20s. I was instantly in love. While back in Iowa over Thanksgiving, my Mom served almost the exact same salad I remember from the restaurant so I asked her to share her recipe so I could dissect it and of course, make it my own. It’s really the perfect salad during these cold-ish December days.

Wilted Spinach Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 4 slices of thick bacon
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • ⅓ cup champagne or white wine vineagar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons mayo
  • 6-7 cups spinach
  • ½ pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
  1. Render bacon until cooked to your liking (I prefer the oven for 10 minutes at 400ªF on a foil lined baking sheet)
  2. Use one tablespoon of the bacon grease to oil a frying pan and set to medium heat
  3. Sauté onions until softened, about 10 minutes
  4. Add vinegar and honey and bring to a simmer
  5. Add bacon, cut into small strips
  6. Add mustard and stir until dissolved
  7. Remove from heat and add mayo, stir until dissolved
  8. Drizzle the mixture over 2 cups of spinach for each serving and garnish with pine nuts

 

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes

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Brussels Sprouts with GrapesFood and the internet are such an amazing marriage. I remember even a few years ago it was hard finding dairy-free recipes or any kind of whole food recipe besides what I could dig up on the almighty epicurious. Look how far it’s come! Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos for one, are knocking it out of the park. Even the ones I have no desire to try, I become memorized by. I love it all.

You know what else the internet just taught me? It’s brusselS sprouts. I didn’t know brussel was plural. How have I gone this long without knowing that? I’ve worked in restaurants with brusselSSSS sprouts on their menu for god sakes. Ah thank you internet, for all you do.

This is side dish is so damn good. They are shredded and roasted to a slightly charred salty chip. The best. Let me add that I buy them shredded in a bag because why the heck wouldn’t you.

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes
 
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Recipe type: SIde Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 10oz (or 1½ cups) Trader Joes shredded brussels bag
  • ½ Tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup sliced red grapes
  • ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F
  2. Pour the oil into the bag of brussels and toss
  3. Arrange them onto a baking sheet large enough to spread them into one layer, salt and pepper them and put them in the oven
  4. After 15 minutes, add grapes and walnuts and stir
  5. Roast for another 5-10 minutes, or until brussels are slightly charred

 

Broiled Grapefruit

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Broiled_GrapefruitI’m feeling uber-inspired these last few days. Last night I listened to J. Kenzi Lopez-Alt on the Freaknomics podcast about the science of food and Jo Robinson talk about the nutrition of food. Both really great conversations that inspired me to immediately buy their books, The Food Lab and Eating on the Wild Side. Lopez-Alt’s site Serious Eats has been a great resource for me when trying to find the best way to prepare something. Check it out if you feeling like geeking out on food.

Since sickness has been spreading slowly through my family these last few weeks, I’ve been pushing citrus down their throats. Grapefruit being one. I had heard of broiled grapefruit some time ago but had never tried making it. One try was all it took for me to fall in love.

Broiled Grapefruit
 
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Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • ½ of a grapefruit, cut crosswise
  • 1 teaspoon honey (optional, omit for whole30)
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut milk
  • 1 sprig of mint
Instructions
  1. Preheat broiler.
  2. Cut a thin slice of the bottom rind so the grapefruit stands upright. Cut around the meat of the grapefruit to loosen the segments from the rind.
  3. Drizzle with the honey and place upright on a cookie sheet.
  4. Place in oven about 5 inches from the heat source.
  5. Broil for about 4 minutes.
  6. Drizzle with coconut cream and garnish with mint.

Monster Noodles

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Monster Noodles BologneseI’ve never eaten so much zucchini in my life. I love these little “monster” noodles and they are so damn easy. I should clarify, I named them “monster” so my kids would eat them and I think it helped. I did the same with broccoli calling them “little trees” which for some reason made them eat them like candy. I guess it’s a form of playing with their food.

Here’s the the recipe for the bolognese sauce minus the slivered almond garnish.

Monster Noodles
 
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Recipe type: Staple
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • Oil of choice (I prefer coconut)
  • 3 med size zucchini
  • salt
Instructions
  1. Trim off zucchini stem
  2. Spiralize zucchini into a bowl
  3. Salt the zucchini with a few shakes and let sit for 30-60 minutes (This step helps eliminate some of the water from the zucchini so it's not so soggy after cooking)
  4. Press the zucchini with a few paper towels
  5. Use a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat
  6. Oil the pan
  7. Sauté the noodles for 5 minutes

Here are a few extra shots showing the spiralizer I have. I like it because it takes up little cupboard space and super easy to clean.Monster Noodles In ProgressMonster Noodles Finished

Roasted Acorn Squash

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Roasted Acorn SquashFall fare can be so lovely but I think I over due it every year and by Thanksgiving, I’m over it. I watched this Whine About It about Fall—ROFL “Pumpkin is like putting cinnamon on a sandcastle.” Matt Bellassai is pretty hilarious and his points are valid but I still embrace it. I won’t be drinking rum and cider—–yet, but I’m using a lot of this autumnal vegetable, acorn squash. It’s so warming on my belly. I love it and so do my girls.

If I could eat cheese, I’d top this with some pungent blue cheese or gorgonzola. If only..

Here’s a quick tip. Partially cook the squash in the microwave before roasting it in the oven to save some time. With this recipe, it saves about a half hour of cook time.

Roasted Acorn Squash
 
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
  • 1 acorn squash, cut length-wise and seeds removed
  • 1 T of pecans, chopped
  • 1 T of pomegranate seeds
  • coconut oil
  • maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
  2. Rub each half of the squash with coconut oil
  3. Place the squash on a microwave safe plate, face up and cook for 10 minutes
  4. Transfer the hot squash to an aluminum pan, face up
  5. Add more coconut oil and the pecans to each half
  6. Roast in the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes
  7. Dress with pomegranate seeds
  8. Drizzle with maple syrup

 

Cauliflower “Rice”

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Cauliflower Rice

Did you know if you plug your left nostril and breathe in through the right and exhale through the left for about 10 long breathes you will instantly feel energized? I’m not even joking. Try it and tell me it doesn’t work. I just did it myself because I was feeling very unmotivated to do anything after a long morning.

Now back to the food part. This is my new favorite side dish. It’s what I would consider pretty quick to prepare and even quicker to cook. Plus, I love that I can make different variations like coconut rice, lime cilantro rice, or fried rice. (recipes to come) For now, try this one out and enjoy it with whatever main dish you’re hearts desire. Bonus, my kids haven’t even noticed it’s not really rice.

Cauliflower "Rice"
 
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Paleo
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • medium head of Cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil or your fat of choice
  • 1 small onion or shallot, diced
  • 1 wedge of lemon
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Place the cauliflower in the food processor or blender and pulse till it's in rice like pieces.
  2. Heat oil in a sauté pan to medium heat and add the onion.
  3. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes
  4. Add cauliflower pieces and sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
  5. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes or desired doneness.
  6. Squeeze lemon over rice, salt and pepper.

 

 

Green Chicken Salad

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Green_Chicken_Salad

Some people hate leftovers. I am not one of those people. I LOVE leftovers. Mostly because clean up is minimal and I’m lazy. The ultimate leftover in our house has always been rotisserie chicken. There’s so much you can do with already cooked chicken but my favorite is chicken salad. I’ve made it numerous ways but this is one is super easy and delicious with ingredients I usually have stocked. I used cucumbers as a vehicle but you can use bread, lettuce, whatever your hearts desire (or stomachs can handle.)

If you’re doing whole30 or eating paleo, you can omit the mayo for just oil and vinegar or make your own paleo mayo. It took me a few attempts to make it but I did get it to work. Not as satisfying as I’d hoped.

Green Chicken Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • ¼ leftover rotisserie chicken, picked apart
  • ⅛ cup mayo
  • ½ avocado, diced
  • ¼ cup slivered almonds
  • ½ cup green grapes, sliced
  • 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix.