Caprese Pasta Salad

I have been SERIOUSLY slacking on the recipe front, and I totally apologize for that! But I'm back and just in time for Memorial Day Weekend! I'm hoping to get up a few different ideas throughout this week that you can bring to/make for any upcoming picnics and parties you might be attending over the long weekend. Starting it off with this super easy caprese pasta salad.

Here's What You'll Need:

-One 10 oz bag of penne (I used Modern Table Meals' mixed lentil penne)
-16 oz fresh mozzarella (I used two Buf Creamery containers), cut into cubes
-2 medium tomatoes, chopped
-10 basil leaves, chopped
-1/2 cup balsamic vinnegar
-2 tbsp olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Cook your pasta according to the instructions. Let cool until it reaches around room temperature, or you can just toss it in the fridge.
2) In a large bowl, mix together the tomato, penne, basil, and mozzarella.
3) Drizzle with the balsamic and olive oil and top with salt and pepper.
4) Enjoy!

I told you it was easy! And it's sure to be a crowd pleaser! Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Healthy Cobb Salad with a Spicy Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Cobb salads are a combination of some of the most delicious things. Their only downfall is they generally aren't particularly healthy. I was craving a Cobb but wanted it to fit into my normal eating habits without sacrificing flavor. So I decided to give it a little remix of my own.

I wanted to include most of the normal, delicious components. So this salad is all about moderation and healthier alternatives. I kept most of the whole, healthy ingredients, switched out bacon for turkey bacon, and still managed to get some blue cheese in there. I also decided to skip on the blue cheese dressing and replace it with a seriously delicious spicy honey apple cider vinaigrette. Trust me, the dressing makes the salad.

Here's What You'll Need:

-4 cups spring mix
-1 medium tomato, chopped
-2 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
-4 pieces turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
-1/2 avocado, sliced
-4 tbsp blue cheese crumbles
-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (with mother)
-1 tbsp Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey
-1 tbsp water
-1 tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Mix together the apple cider vinegar, honey, water, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
2) Split the spring mix between two bowls.
3) Top each bowl with 1/2 of the tomato, egg, bacon, avocado, and blue cheese.
4) Drizzle 1/2 of the dressing over each bowl.
5) Enjoy!

If you aren't a fan of spicy, you can switch out the spicy honey for traditional honey. But if you are a fan, you really need to try this. Spicy honey is SO good! Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Ginger Soy Turkey Stuffed Peppers Over Zoodles with a Rice Wine Vinaigrette

I had ground turkey sitting in my fridge that I needed to use, but I didn't want to do the standard tacos. I feel like this happens to me more often than it should. I'll buy it thinking oh this will be easy, and then I don't want tacos.

So it was brainstorming time, and stuffed peppers popped into my mind. But, like I said, I just wasn't in the mood for Mexican. So why not go more of an Asian route? My Sriracha Ginger Turkey Meatballs are one of my favorite recipes, so I knew that I could definitely come up with something delicious. And what better way to pair it than with a fresh, raw zucchini salad.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
-1 lb lean ground turkey
-2 green onions, chopped
-1/4 cup Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
-2 tbsp sriracha (if you don't like the heat just use one)
-1 tsp ginger, shaved
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 zucchinis, spiralized
-1 tsp olive oil

For the dressing:

-3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
-2 tbsp Tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp sesame oil
-1 tsp spicy brown mustard
-1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce
-1/4 tsp pure cane sugar

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2) Heat up the tsp olive oil in a large pan on the stove top, and add in the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
3) Add in the ground turkey and cook fully until it is no longer pink.
4) Add in the scallions, soy sauce, sriracha, and ginger, and continue to cook for another minute or so.
5) Place the bell pepper halves on a baking sheet, and fill each with the turkey mixture, using it all.
6) Pop the peppers into the oven, and cook for 30 minutes.
7) Mix together the dressing ingredients, and toss the zoodles in it. Split the zoodles between 3 plates, and top each with 2 bell pepper halves.
8) Enjoy!

You can easily use this dressing on any salad. I used on spiralized cucumber with some raw bell pepper and shrimp. I also want to try the peppers using lentils or faux meat, so let me know if you give it a try! I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

Greek Pasta Salad with Teff Penne

I feel like I always start out posts by saying so and so is one of my favorite foods. Maybe I have a million favorite foods. I don't know. But Greek salads literally are one of my favorite foods. I think I told this story in a previous Greek salad related post, but I will go to this one specific diner by me just for the Greek salad. They are just SO good and so refreshing. 

I had the pleasure of trying Gabriella's Kitchen Skinnypasta this week. I started out by trying their super food teff penne, and for some reason a Greek salad pasta salad just felt right. So I did it, and it was BOMB. I had it for lunch, but it could also be a great side, especially for the (hopefully soon) upcoming spring and summer picnics and parties. 

Here's What You'll Need:

-One 7 oz package of Gabriella's Kitchen Skinnypasta Superfood Teff Penne
-1 large tomato, chopped
-1 cucumber, cubed
-1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
-1/4 cup feta cheese
-1/4 cup garbanzo beans
-1/8 cup red onion, chopped
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1/2 tsp oregano 

Instructions:

1) Cook the pasta according to directions - about 90 seconds to 2 minutes in boiling water.
2) Strain the pasta, and run cold water over it. 
3) Make the dressing by mix together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and oregano.
4) Mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl with the pasta.
5) Top everything with the dressing.
6) Split between two bowls, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below and what occasion(s) you used it for!

Also, a nice benefit for my readers is that you can use the code allroadsleadtohealthy to get 25% off your order over on Gabriella's Kitchen's website! The code is only valid for the first 50 people to use it, so don't wait around if you're interested in trying it. They have a number of different kinds of pasta - gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, high in protein, super food, etc. All are super delicious and easy to make!

Spicy Shrimp Fajita Salad

I am probably one of the biggest fajita fans you'll ever meet. If I go to a Mexican restaurant or make my own Mexican food, 9 times out of 10 I'm going with fajitas. They just have such a delicious flavor, and I like that you make them yourself. You can easily skip on or add whatever you like to them. Not feeling the tortilla, just eat the meat and veggies. Not feeling cheese, don't throw it on there. You can make them as healthy (or not) as you'd like.

 Recently I really haven't been in the mood for a salad. Maybe it's the cold weather? Who knows. But I was suddenly really craving one, so I obviously had to hop on the train before it left. I figured why not throw some fajitas on top. Super easy, super delicious, and I get my salad fix.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3 cups of baby kale (or green of your choice)
-1 bell pepper, sliced
-1/2 medium onion, chopped
-6 oz shrimp, cooked
-1/2 avocado, sliced
-1/2 medium tomato, diced
-4 tbsp salsa
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp chili powder
-1/2 tsp cumin
-1/4 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/4 tsp paprika
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1) Heat up the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat, add in the garlic, and cook for about a minute.
2) Add in the bell pepper and onion, and let them cook down for about 3-5 minutes.
3) Add in all of the seasonings and the shrimp, and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4) Split the kale between two bowls, top each bowl with the fajita mixture, half of the avocado, half of the tomato, and half of the salsa.
5) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!