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!

Thai Peanut Turkey Burgers

I had the pleasure of trying Sky Valley's organic Thai peanut sauce recently, and I really mean pleasure. Honestly, it's just so freakin' good. So obviously I've been wanting to put it on everything. I used it on salmon and tofu, and then the brilliant idea came to me - turkey burgers. I decided to take the Thai peanut theme and run with it, and it was definitely a good choice. Top the burgers with some extra peanut sauce, and you will not regret it.

Here's what you'll need:

-1 lb ground turkey
-3/4 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
-1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
-1/4 cup Sky Valley Thai peanut sauce

Instructions:

1) In a big bowl, mix together all the ingredients thoroughly with your hands. 
2) Form the mix into 5 patties.
3) Grill each patty for 5-7 minutes per side depending on grill.
4) Serve, top with desired extra peanut sauce, and enjoy!

I enjoyed mine with some baked sweet potato fries and broccoli one night and on a bed of greens with veggies the next day. Let me know how you enjoy your burgers and what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Mixed Berry Waffles (vegetarian or vegan)

I know, I know I am SUPER late on putting up this recipe. Truth be told, I planned to have this up over the weekend but was hit with some weird illness Friday night that I still haven't completely kicked.

But it's here! Better late than never right? And it really will not disappoint. It's literally like a PB&J in waffle form except the jelly part is actually delicious, fresh berries. Does it get much better than that?

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-2-3 tbsp creamy peanut butter (I use Crazy Richard's)
-1 egg or Neat Egg (vegan egg replacement)
-1/2 cup unsweetend almond milk
-1/4 cup water
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-Pinch of sea salt
-1/2 cup fresh mixed berries of choice (I used blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

Instructions:

1) Heat up your waffle maker.
2) In the meantime, mix together the quinoa flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3) Mix together the egg or Neat Egg, almond milk, water, coconut oil, and peanut butter in a separate bowl.
4) Combine the wet and dry mixes until thoroughly mixed. 
5) Add in about 2/3 of the berries to the mixture. 
6) Pour half of the mix into the waffle maker and cook according to waffle maker instructions. Repeat with the second half of the mix.
7) Top each waffle with half of the remaining berries and any additional desired toppings.
8) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!
 

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

There are a number of things that made me want to make these muffins. 1) I've been a banana bread kick (especially if it involves chocolate) 2) I had very, very brown bananas, and most importantly 3) I recently found out that someone in one of my best friend's family was recently diagnosed with a severe case of Celiac Disease. 

I recently learned a lot about Celiac Disease through the course I'm taking at IIN (ask me about it or click on the health coaching tab if you want to know more about the program). I'm by no means an expert, but my friend reached out to me to see if I knew of any food companies, bloggers, foods that were specifically gluten free. This along with just learning about and hearing other Celiac stories through my program made me want to go with a gluten free recipe.

I can't imagine what it's like to get that diagnosis, but there are really some great people, products, companies, and recipes that make the necessary transition to gluten free a little easier. So I was hoping to contribute just a teeny tiny recipe in the grand scheme of things to prove that you can still eat some damn good baked goods.

The recipe is also dairy free for my dairy-intolerant or just nondairy eaters and readers out there.

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 cup coconut flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-Pinch of sea salt
-2 bananas
-2 tbsp honey
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
-1 egg
-4 oz plain Kite Hill almond milk yogurt
-1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/2 dark chocolate bar (ideally at least 70% cacao), broken into small chunks

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray an 8+ cup muffin tin with cooking spray (the recipe yields 8 muffins). I use coconut oil cooking spray.
2) Mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt).
3) Mix together the bananas, honey, vanilla, coconut oil, egg, yogurt, and almond milk using a hand mixer until all ingredients are well combined and the batter is smooth.
4) Mix the wet ingredients into the dry mixture.
5) Fold in chocolate chunks, and mix until evenly distributed.
6) Evenly divide the batter between 8 cups of the muffin tin.
7) Cook the muffins in the oven for 25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
8) Let them cool for about 5 minutes, and then remove them from the tin.
9) Enjoy!

You can easily reheat these if you're eating them the next day. Actually, I recommend it! They're so delicious with that gooey chocolate. Let me know what you think!

Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Whole Wheat and Rolled Oat Waffles

If you follow me on Instagram, you know by now that I recently purchased a waffle maker. I've wanted to buy one for months after trying some frozen healthy waffles and literally thinking to myself, "I could do so much better." Soon after that experience, I stumbled upon more relatively healthy waffles that were actually really good, delaying my waffle maker purchase.

But it finally happened last week, and let me tell you, IT WAS WORTH IT! Also, WHAT WAS I THINKING? Waiting this long to buy my own waffle maker seriously feels like a crime. This baby turns out delicious, perfect looking waffles. Plus, I can play around with whatever recipe I want (added bonus). 

Another fun thing that happened last week, I received my first Cocoa Couriers box (I'll link my review here). So when waffle Wednesday approached, I knew one of those babies was going into my waffle. It was pretty much a no brainer because the Blueberry chocolate bar by Brasstown was pretty much the most delicious thing I've tasted in my life. Also, blueberries, chocolate, and waffles - need I say more?

Here's What You'll Need:

-1/3 cup whole wheat flour
-1/3 cup rolled oats
-1 tsp baking powder
-Pinch sea salt
-Sprinkle of cinnamon (probably like 1/8 tsp)
-1 egg
-2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
-2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
-1/2 Brasstown Blueberry chocolate bar, cut or broken into small chunks (you can use any dark chocolate bar of your choosing)
-1/2 cup blueberries
-2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions:

1) Heat your waffle maker.
2) In the meantime, mix together all of the ingredients (minus the maple syrup) in a bowl. You can reserve some chocolate chunks and blueberries to top your waffles, or just throw it all in. It's all going to one place, your mouth.
3) Pour half of the mixture into the waffle maker and cook according to your waffle maker's instructions. Repeat this for the second waffle.
4) Serve each and top with 1 tbsp of maple syrup.
5) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!