Category Archives: Sides/Veggies

Lemon-Herb Asparagus

These little nutritious trees are so easy and quick (of course) to make, so good for you, and so tasty to eat- you cannot go wrong.

Talk about a kid friendly, finger-food side that hits the tastebud spot every time.

Make some for the whole family and enjoy your asparagus! 

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Here’s what you need: 

1 bunch Asparagus (preferably thin ones as the kids like these better than the thick ones)

1 tbsp Herbs de provence

Salt

Pepper

1 Lemon

2 tbsp coconut oil

Here’s what you do: 

1. Keep the rubber band on the bunch of asparagus and cut the last 1 inch off. Discard.

2. Cut asparagus in half. (this makes it nicer for the kids)

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in pan on medium heat.

4. Add asparagus to pan. Brown and stir for 10-15 minutes until soft yet still bright in color.

5. Sprinkle with herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze lemon juice on asparagus.

Plate and enjoy hot! 

 

Carrot Sticks

 

I’m becoming more and more a fan of carrots lately. Not only are they full of nutrients, but they are full of flavor. At our house we love sweet potato fries and my kids could hardly tell the difference between the two. These sticks are delicious, sweet, crunchy, and great for us. Next time you want a side to your bun-less burger try out these carrot sticks, you will love them!

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Kickin’ Kabbage

We all know that cabbage is good for us but, if you’re like me, you never quite know what to do with it. I didn’t grow up eating cabbage, or wanting to try it, so it’s always been a food that I’ve steered away from. Well, let’s say, it’s growing on me. I’m starting to like coleslaw, thinking about trying sauerkraut, and here I am, making new recipes with none other than: cabbage.

Actually, I meant to make coleslaw…forgot I needed mayo…which has eggs in it….we’re taking a hiatus from eggs….again, I forgot…and here we are. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: “Kickin’ Kabbage”. And yes, it’s dee-lish.

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Southern Seasoned Okra

Being a through and through southern boy, my husband loves his southern food. You can see his mouth watering the as we drive up to his mom’s house in Arkansas, knowing she has an amazing home cooked meal ready for him.

Every year at Thanksgiving everyone has their favorite requests of what they have to have as a side to the turkey. One of the main requests is fried okra. Everyone makes sure to remind Bernice to fry up a bunch of okra, and yet somehow she never quite makes enough. I had never eaten okra before I met Brandon and the only time I have it now is at Bernice’s house. It really is pretty darn good.

At the farmers market last week my friends were selling bags of okra and urged me to take some. I picked up a bag figuring I would think of something to do with it. I did. I had an idea in my head and went with it. I had Brandon as my tester and on my third batch I finally got a, “Dang! That okra is incredible!” Yep, I got it.

 

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Sweet Potato Cinni-Mash

When I think of Thanksgiving I think of the food. I think of family too, but right behind family is the food. I can smell the cinnamon and nutmeg in the air. I can smell the pies being baked and I am at the Thanksgiving table once again. Yesterday was a day of thanks for us, not Thanksgiving, but a day of thanks and this dish fit right in.

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Sweet Potato Coins

Our family’s favorite way of eating sweet potatoes is before you. Sweet Potato Coins!

My kids come running for these and can eat them in record time. I eat a good amount before they even hit the table. They’re crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, salty like potato chips and sooo good for you. They’re perfect! We eat them with hamburgers for lunch, with eggs at breakfast, by themselves as a snack, and anytime we can get away with eating our favorite food! And the good news is they’re beyond easy to make.

Here’s what you need: Continue reading →

Whole Family | Sweet Potato Cinnamon Hashies

Our family loves sweet potatoes in all forms and fashions. We make sweet potato fries, sweet potato coins, mashed sweet potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes….you get the point. This morning I was looking for a new way to make sweet potatoes and WOW, did I come up with something spectacular.

Sweet Potato Cinnamon-Hashies! 

Check out my super easy and super tasty recipe. Make sure you make a whole bunch of these, your family won’t be able to get enough!

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Whole Family | Mexican “Rice”

In my house, growing up, spanish rice accompanied most every meal. Since getting on the healthy train rice has, unfortunately, fallen by the wayside. I am very happy to re-introduce my version of spanish “rice” and I must say, it works!

Here’s what you need:

1 head of cauliflower

1 tbsp olive oil

Half a small can of tomato sauce (with naturally derived citric acid and no added sugar)

1/2 tbsp comino

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper Continue reading →

Real Food Munchies | Whole Family

A frequent inquiry I get from friends about eating Paleo is: “What about snacks?”

Everyone wants to know, when you get the munchies, what can you eat?

I think this is a fantastic and very valid question that I am happy to answer. I’ll even answer it with pictures! But first, a word….

1. My first and utmost recommendation when it comes to snacks is to have a MEAL. If you are hungry mid-afternoon instead of mindlessly eating and, by the time you’re done not be sure of how much you really ate, I suggest eating a MEAL. If lunch was my favorite chicken curry, eat a small bowl of curry. If breakfast was egg muffins, eat a leftover egg muffin. If your body is hungry, feed it! Feed it real, whole food.

……….

2. My second recommendation is: kabocha. If you have read my blog for more than a minute you are already aware of how much I LOVE kabocha. My dear friend, Ayumi, introduced me to kabocha a few months ago and I haven’t looked back since. Kabocha is a japanese pumpkin that is sweet and flavorful and the perfect alternative to over-indulging in fruit.

I’m sure there are many ways of making kabocha but my favorite way is to bake it. I slice it up pretty thin (and it makes A LOT) with the skin and all, lay them flat on a baking sheet, drizzle in olive oil and bake on 425-450 for 15-20 minutes. The minute I pop them out of the oven I sprinkle them with salt and voila, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside kabocha. There are many days these don’t make it to a plate, we eat them so fast. They do make a great snack for the whole family, even cold. We just can’t get enough of our kabocha. Continue reading →

“Shloam-shloam” slaw | Whole Family

I wanted to try something new. Something with a bunch of vitamins and minerals and something that had the possibility of the family actually liking it. What did I find? Coleslaw! Haha.

I looked for a recipe and looked and looked and looked. It seems most recipes for coleslaw include sugar or milk or other ingredients that end up making it not healthy at all. So I did the only logical thing there was to do. I made it up! And it was GOOD.

Start with half a head of cabbage and slice it up as thin as you want it. For our family we needed about 5 cups.

Next, grate one small carrot into the cabbage. I had a ginormous monster carrot from the farmers market so I just grated on it until I had enough. You want about a third the amount of carrots to cabbage. Don’t worry: You can’t mess this up! Continue reading →

An Oldie but a Goodie | Ants on a Log

We were in the mood for a snack today and thought we would try something new. Well not exactly new…it’s actually been around forever… but it’s new to us. Introducing: Ants on a Log.

I was worried the kids wouldn’t end up liking these but they were so excited to make them that we made them despite my fears. I held my breath (figuratively, of course) the whole time we made them. I even put them on a plate and walked away so they wouldn’t see my anxious face. Then I listened. What did I hear? “Yum!” “These are SO good!” “More, more!” “Mommy, can you make some moooore?!”

Success!  They LOVED them! Go figure Jeremiah liked them the most and he is definitely the pickiest one of them all. Continue reading →

Whole30/Paleo Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli

1 head of cauliflower

1 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp herbs de provence (of course)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp minced garlic

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut up broccoli and cauliflower into florets and put on a baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and herbs.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 mins. Uncover, toss and cook for 30 more minutes.

Enjoy!

Grilled Veggies

This is another one that most people probably know how to do, but since I didn’t until recently I thought I would share it in case you are like me!

Ingredients:

Any veggies you want!

I used asparagus, zuchinni, and yellow squash.

Salt

Pepper

Herbs de provence (or any fresh or dried herbs you have available)

Coconut oil (or olive oil)

Directions:

Cut the bottom inch off the asparagus stems and set aside. Cut the zuchinni and squash in half and then in strips lengthwise. Heat a pan with coconut oil. Put a handful of veggies in at a time and cook for about 5 minutes so that they keep a bite to them. Remove from heat. Continue until all veggies are cooked. Enjoy!