Szechuan Zoodles

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This recipe will actually make you feel cooler and calmer…

It’s holiday season, but in my book that doesn’t mean everything we eat has to be heavy and traditional. This dish is neither, but it’s awesome. When I brought a big bowl of these Szechuan Zoodles to my family’s Hanukkah party, they certainly looked non-traditional next to the latkes but they made everyone happy. I’m all for healthy and happy, so if I were you, I’d give this dish a shot at your holiday party!

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Half Baked Harvest and the beautiful pics kind of called to me, so I knew I was going to have to make some version of them!

I’ve made zoodle dishes before and some have them have been great, while some have been only so-so. While I do love these vegetable noodles, I am a …

Creamy Lentil And Kale Stew

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This creamy lentil and kale stew will warm you up and keep you healthy…

I follow lots of vegan food bloggers, and let me just say that so many of these blogs are drool-worthy. As soon as I saw a recipe for lentil stew from Veggies Don’t Bite I knew I’d be making it soon. This recipe is awesome. I learned from Sophia’s awesome blog that the original recipe is from one of my all-time favorite vegan blogs, Oh She Glows… wow, these women are talented.

Anyway, I made the recipe with a few minor changes (because I’m just always have to take a little creative license…). It’s so good. I use cashews in so many recipes, but I would never have thought to use them here! This stew is so creamy (thanks to the cashews) that it tastes like heavy cream was added… but it’s vegan and so healthy!…

Paleo Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs

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Eating a little bit of beef can help ease that holiday bloated feeling you may be suffering with…

I love meatballs. When Meatball Mondays became an actual thing that people were doing, I thought here is something I can get on board with — no questions asked.

Meatballs are so adjective-worthy: Delish. Fun. Simple. Comforting. Changeable. Delectable. Delightful. Enticing. Multi-generational. Multi-tasking. Yummy.

So, awhile ago I started making balls of all kinds. There were vegan balls, Italian balls, Asian balls, mini balls, gigantic balls… well, you get the picture.

It turns out that paleo meatballs were my biggest challenge. Oh, they were easy to make, but they required more thought than a regular ball. No grains meant I had a lot of crumbling balls. Then I overcompensated and ended up with some overly moist balls.

Then, once I figured out the perfect recipe (which this recipe for paleo cheese-stuffed meatballs …

Paleo Brussels Sprouts Gratin

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Brussels Sprouts have been shown to protect against Alzheimers and they are great for weight loss… what an awesome veg!

For years, everyone in my house would sit at the table making horrible, distorted faces whenever I tried to serve a dish with vegan cheese. But, wow have the times changed! The vegan cheese options are now so amazing that even the haters have become lovers. This paleo brussels sprouts gratin is so cheesy and gooey and rich and decadent and lots of other adjectives that I can’t think of right now…

Originally, I had planned to make this dish to serve as a Thanksgiving side. So, I started experimenting several weeks before the holiday.

We ate so much of this in the weeks before the actual day, that there was no way I could get myself to serve it at the holiday table — I was literally afraid of …

Raw Corn And Vegetable Salad

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This raw corn and vegetable salad is a great way to incorporate more raw foods into your diet…

Here it is the day before Thanksgiving. Eating  light and healthy just seems like the right thing to do. Even more so than usual. It’s like going into survival mode. If I want to eat all that I want to eat tomorrow (and that’s a lot), then I better stick to a smart plan today. This raw corn and vegetable salad is a big part of my perfect plan.

This year, I am not hosting the holiday in my home, so I don’t have as much control over the food as I usually do. If I had my druthers, I’d have a couple of raw dishes on the table, but the likelihood of this happening is next to none… so I did the next best thing and I made a big …

Salt And Pepper Roasted Green Beans

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These salt and pepper roasted green beans are a deliciously simple way to improve your digestion…

Sea salt is awesome. I don’t think it’s on the official superfoods list, but it should be. Did you know that if you don’t have enough salt, your body gets dehydrated? And if you are getting the right amount of salt, then your energy levels will improve. So, try these salt and pepper roasted green beans… they are a quick, delicious fix!

I’ve learned to put a big pinch of sea salt into my water in the morning. I’ve been doing this for years and now I’m seeing that this salted water is becoming an “in” thing. Maybe that’s because sea salt contains some really great minerals (think magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, and iodine).

Now, don’t start telling people that I said salt is awesome. I said SEA salt is awesome. Don’t go …

Paleo Turkey Meatballs

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Did you know that turkey can boost your energy…

I’m of the belief that any meatball is a good meatball. It’s kind of like any pizza is a good pizza. There’s just something about food in the form of a bite-size round ball that makes it taste awesome. But, not every ball is a healthy ball. And if you are a paleo eater, it’s sometimes hard to find a meatball with great taste and great texture. Enter… these paleo turkey meatballs.

Im my house, meatballs are not reserved just for a plate of pasta. Although, I do love my grain-free pasta… But, my absolute fav way to eat them is atop a huge bowl of steaming veggies. My current obsession is a bowl of garlicky broccoli rabe topped with meatballs. I think I just drooled a little bit onto my computer as I’m typing.

Usually I like my balls with …

Grain-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

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These grain-free peanut butter cookies will make you smile.

In our house, dessert is a must. And this is because Steve thinks he has to have some kind of dessert after every dinner. I don’t really go this route. I mean, if I’m full from dinner, I don’t need dessert. But, I get that a lot of people are like Steve. These paleo peanut butter cookies are perfect — paleo, delicious, and they only have four ingredients!

Having a healthy dessert that can be grabbed in an instant is imperative. I say imperative because I’m not made of steel. If I don’t have a “safe” dessert available, he will bring in all sorts of crap, and depending on what it is, I might be tempted.  It’s beyond me how a man who is so smart can think that because a box says “healthy” or “natural” that it must be so.…

Simple Roasted Butternut Squash

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Butternut squash can help reduce inflammation in the body… so if you are suffering from achy joints, here’s your excuse to eat more of this awesome fall wonder! Some of my best menopause-friendly recipes are made with butternut squash… it’s amazing!

Fall is my favorite season! I’m one of those people who just loves the change of seasons, so I’ve probably said that other seasons are my fav, but this time I really mean it. The colors of the leaves, the smell of a fireplace, all the cute boots and sweaters, and of course, the food. One of my favorite things that screams autumn is simple roasted butternut squash.

You can’t get simpler than this recipe.

Or more delicious.

Or prettier.

Or more fall-friendly.

People get put off by butternut squash because roasting a whole squash can be intimidating. I get this. I remember once, after roasting a whole squash, …

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

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Did you know that buckwheat is a seed and not a grain? There’s a debate as to whether or not it’s 100% paleo, but I think it is! And it can be a great fix for spontaneous sweating and high blood pressure… if you are looking for something that tastes and feels like a grain, you’ve got to try this!

It’s pumpkin season! And it’s pancake season! Okay, so maybe there’s not really a pancake season, but there should be…

These Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes are so perfect, you shouldn’t need a reason to make them, but they taste so decadent, that you might feel like you are cheating on your healthy eating lifestyle. But you are not. Really. These are so good for you!

Breakfast is my favorite meal.  Always has been.  I’m like a breakfast freak. Steve gets on my case all of the time because the second I …