At this moment, I know exactly why I love this season. I’m sitting here in my living room, cozy knee high socks on my feet, while my Christmastime candle crackles on my kitchen counter. This is the best I’ve felt since the cold weather came in and I think it’s because to top this moment off, the aromas of these amazing sweet potatoes still lingers in the air. You’re going to feel as amazing as I do right now when you make these this week, I can guarantee it.
I had Chipotle for lunch and I don’t regret it one bit. I got the full treatment: sour cream, cheese, extra cheese, hot salsa, and barbacoa meat along with the usual rice and beans. If you don’t like Chipotle, I’m not sure we can be friends. Well, unless you make your own burritos, burrito bowls, other Mexican inspired food at home. In that case, we can be BEST friends because you’re going to love this easy recipe using the ol’ slow cooker barbacoa meat that I shared with you all a couple weeks ago.
You know those days when you want something really light and fresh? Well this peperonata made with flakey cod hits the spot. You’ve heard me rave about salmon because it’s my favorite food of all time, right? Well I feel like I didn’t give white fish enough credit. White fish such as cod, mahi mahi, and tilapia is so versatile and so light that you can make it into a light lunch or a satisfying dinner. For this recipe, you can substitute any of the fish I mentioned and I promise it’ll be amazing.
I like to think of myself sort of as a lentil hipster. I used to eat lentils wa-hayy before they became cool. That’s because lentils are a huge part of Indian cuisine, no matter which region the cuisine comes from. I’m sure you’ve seen the word “daal” at an Indian restaurant’s menu. It literally means lentils. When my mom would ask me if daal sounded good for dinner, I’d always ask “what kind?”. And even though we were a meat-eating family, lentils were common at the dinner table because they are cheap, healthy, and very easy to make.
Remember I told you I went to the apple orchard? Well the apple orchards have closed down for the season and the first snow has already fallen in Minnesota. The winter weather is slowly creeping in and that is what makes this recipe so timely. What’s better than warm cinnamon and nutmeg aromas in your kitchen on a cold, windy evening? Nothing, that’s what!
You know when you go to your favorite Mexican restaurant in town, and they give you an option of refried beans or black beans with your plate of spicy and cheesy enchiladas? I always get black beans but as soon as I put the last creamy spoonful in my mouth, I realize that it might be another month or two before I get to eat those amazing beans again. Because, let’s face it: I don’t care how good your metabolism is, you cannot do that sort of damage to your daily calorie intake on a regular basis.
Mmm the smell of freshly baked, sweet bread in my apartment makes me feel so cozy right now. The amazing thing about zucchini bread is that I can have it for breakfast or dessert and that II get to call it healthy because it has a vegetable in it. But that’s not the only reason this bread is healthy. I actually made this zucchini bread with applesauce instead of oil! Yup, I’ve become one of those people who substitutes healthier ingredients for the traditional stuff.
Juicy. Healthy. Spicy. I’ve always wondered why people think healthy burgers have to be dry, rubbery, and bland. Probably because most people get their “healthy” burgers in the frozen section of the supermarket. But once you try this recipe, you will no longer be reaching for those frozen “healthy” patties in the frozen aisle.
More often than not, I get a craving for some good old burgers and fries. I could go to the local bar and order myself a big juicy burger with a basket of fries big enough to feed a family of four. But after I think about it for a while, I remember how I usually feel walking out of that bar after my meal: overly full, bloated, and like my skin is covered in grease. Yuck. Nobody wants to feel that way, so that’s why I figured out a way to make baked fries that actually taste really, really good and are at least 10x more healthy than the usual stuff you get in that greasy basket.
Here’s some quick information on a spice that I frequently use in Indian cooking. “Garam masala” is a spice that is simply a ground up combination of several different spices such as clove and black pepper. I would compare this to something like the pumpkin pie spice bottles you can find at grocery stores. You could buy ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg all separately and combine them yourself to use in pumpkin pie. Or, you could buy pumpkin pie spice.
