Tag: what we cooked

The Cooking Light 3-Day Detox

Lauren6 Comments

Hear me out on this one.  “Detox” is dumb.  I have full faith that, unless you’re subsisting off alcohol, processed foods and sugar, your body is fully capable of “detoxing” itself.  That’s what your liver and kidneys are for, right?  But when Cooking Light published a 3-Day Detox meal plan in their January issue, I couldn’t resist, because I like being given a meal plan and I like when Joey and I get to do a little kitchen project together.  Like the Food Lover’s Cleanse, except way shorter, way easier and way less expensive.

Truthfully, I wasn’t even going to post about it, because it didn’t seem exciting or important enough, but I’m trying to take the time to write about those exact things.  They go by unnoticed, but they actually make up most of our lives, ya know?

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Things I Learned:

  • I’m not about a smoothie breakfast — something about not actually chewing food makes me feel like I haven’t actually eaten anything
  • Pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes are the best — I was not even looking forward to that dinner salad on Day 1, but then it was amazingly delicious and those sweet potatoes for breakfast the next day were so satisfying
  • My snack game could be way better — a pear and almond butter is so much better than a Larabar, so why don’t I take the time to actually prepare a snack more often?!
  • C.R.E.A.M., AKA carbs rule everything around me — as in, by the end of Day 3, I felt like if I didn’t eat something more than that 1/2 cup of quinoa for dinner I might actually cry

Okay, I like to think I eat pretty healthy and I don’t think I overeat all that often, but I was kind of starving by Wednesday so I don’t know who that meal plan was designed for, but those portions/meals weren’t cutting it.  While the food was all tasty as hell, it also wasn’t super filling and I so did not get into that “detox” to lose any weight.

In other words, we finished our 3-Day Detox with two big old chocolate chip cookies 🙂

Make This Now: Summer Favorites

Lauren2 Comments

We only have a few weeks left of summer and I’ve noticed that “oh my god, time’s running out!!!” mentality creeping into my daily thoughts.  I try to combat these freak outs by remembering there’s still a few summer days left, plus a whole lot of summers to come in this life.  Oh and taking a deep breath, because that always helps 🙂

Still, I’m doing my best to suss out the priority summer recipes.  Oldies but goodies that I meant to make all summer but just now got around to and new recipes that I was SO EXCITED about when I originally came across them but then left on the back burner almost to the point of forgetting them altogether.  Here’s the best from both categories!

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Grilled Corn with Sriracha Aioli

Would you even believe that creamy deliciousness is vegan?  I know, it doesn’t even seem possible!  I made a half batch of this and ended up having to add a bit more oil and water to get it to blend up, so my advice to you is to make the entire batch.  After tasting it, I totally wish I had!  It was the best grilled corn we’ve had this summer.

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Creamy Kale and Mushroom Quesadillas

Never underestimate the power of a quesadilla!  Especially this one that involves double cheese, mushrooms and kale.  It’s mega-creamy and utterly delicious.  Also, there’s vegetables in there so: healthy.  It’s science.  I’m only kinda kidding when I say I spend all day thinking about this recipe when I know I’m going home to make it for dinner.

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Lightened Up Summer Granola

I don’t know what makes this “summer granola,” but I know I’m taking it all the way back to 2011 with this one.  It’s almost always in my pantry!  The best part is that there are no hard and fast rules here.  Sometimes I use a tablespoon more applesauce or a tablespoon less maple syrup and I always always always switch up the nut butter/chopped nuts I use.  Whatever I have on hand!  And I’ve never ended up with a bad batch, which can only mean this recipe is magic.

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Spaghetti with Tomato and Walnut Pesto

Universal Truth: Food cooked for you always tastes better.  Here I was, watching the Olympics, thinking I was the happiest I could be, when Joey set this bowl of beauty down in front of me.  WHOA!!!  Not only did he plate this to perfection but it tasted SO INCREDIBLE.  Don’t be put off by the anchovies, they make the pesto.  This is the epitome of fresh.

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Pistachio-Yogurt Sauce

First, you make your own falafel but then you really up your game by making a delicious yogurt dip to go along with them.  My marbling skills could still use some work, but that pistachio paste was better than I had even imagined when I was drooling over the recipe photo.  I want to dip EVERYTHING in this stuff!

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California Turkey and Bacon Lettuce Wraps with Basil-Mayo

This recipe mostly caught my eye because it was the dead of summer and it didn’t involve turning on the oven but then it ended up blowing me away!  I mean what’s not to like about bacon, avocado, turkey and fresh tomatoes?  That basil mayo pulls the whole thing together so well.  We just made these again last week and the second impression was just as good as the first.

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Cobb Salad in a Jar with Buttermilk Ranch

This is our lunch this week and I know we’re only two days in, but this thing is majorly good!  There’s a reason Cobb and Caesar are on most restaurant menus and it’s because their tastiness stands the test of time.  The dressing is really easy to make and since this came from a website called “Skinnylicious” I’m going to assume it’s good for me.  Mostly it’s just really delicious though.