Almond Berry Smoothie

There aren't many things I crave more in the summer than a smoothie. The cold, creamy, icy texture combines perfectly to counteract the hot, muggy, blistering summer heat. Summer days can get as hot as 115 degrees in Oklahoma, so anything that can help combat that is instantly welcomed.

My husband and I have gotten in the habit of buying large quantities of berries from Sam's and freezing them in batches so we can always have a smoothie option on hand. This summer, we had pretty much every combination of strawberry - blackberry - blueberry you can imagine.

One of my favorites was one that combined blackberries and strawberries at the height of their seasons, alongside some almond milk. It was cold, it was crisp. Not only do I not want a lot of food in the middle of summer, but I also don't want to have to put a lot of effort into my food. I want light. I want easy. This recipe is all that and more.

Almond Berry Smoothie

1 1/4 cup frozen blackberries
2 cups frozen strawberries
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup almond milk
1 Tablespoon Agave

Combine ingredients in blender. Blend until desired consistency, adding additional yogurt or almond milk as needed.

Savory Cauliflower Waffles

Let's be honest here. My husband is not always excited by my dinner ideas sparked by Pinterest. This was one of those times. "Honey! Look! Savory waffles with cauliflower! Yum" was met with a stern look. He's such a good sport so he let me go ahead and try the recipe. We had a backup meal planned just in case it didn't turn out as yummy as I hoped.

It turned out better. Honestly, we spent the whole meal around the waffle iron. One would come out, and we would pounce on it. Once we finished one, another was ready to come out of the iron!

I'm always one for adding avocado. I could eat avocado every single day and be as happy as can be. While we were attacking the waffles, I saw some avocados out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was meant to be. We decided to fancy up the dish a bit. Breaking the waffles at the creases, we then topped with mashed avocado and a shake of cayenne pepper. Sweet bliss. The flavors melded together like I could only hope.

AJ now requests this meal every few months. It's fancy pub fare and it's packed with flavor. You can serve it as an appetizer, or just eat it all like we do.

Savory Cauliflower Waffles
Adapted from The Lighter Side
2 cups cauliflower
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2/3 cups shredded parmesan
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 avocado
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
cayenne pepper, for garnish

1. Mash avocado and sea salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In a food processor, pule the cauliflower and mozzarella until it looks like course crumbs (picture above).

3. In a large bowl, stir to combine the first 9 ingredients (cauliflower to parsley).

4. Scoop 1/2 cup of the mix into a hot waffle iron (We have a belgian waffle iron. If you have a smaller iron, you may need to use less. It should mostly fill the iron). Cook in waffle iron for 4-6 minutes. It's done when it comes out easily with a fork.

5. Cut along creases. Top each section with a spoonful of the mashed avocado and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Zucchini Black Bean Chili

I know it's summer. I know I'm supposed to only be craving light cold items...but I'm not. Despite 90 degree days, I have been consistently craving chili for two weeks. You heard right. Chili. For two long weeks I tried to deny the craving ('I'm not REALLY craving chili in July'). Then I tried to convince myself the error in my craving ('No! You want a smoothie! You want ice cold! Think of how hot it is!'). But it was to no avail. I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it when I wanted it.

I've never really understood the whole craving concept. I mean, why would I crave one thing even IN THE MIDDLE of eating some other equally delicious meal?

Oh well. If what I REALLY want is chili, I can have that. Then I was presented with a new dilemma. If you've made chili before, you know - it makes a lot of chili. I should just freeze some, but inevitably we just end up eating chili for 3 or 4 days straight until it's finally all gone. While I wanted chili, what I didn't want was beef for 3 or 4 days straight. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for beef, but there is a time and a place for it and 4 days straight is not the time and my belly for those 4 days is most certainly not the place.

I hopped on over to my handy dandy Pinterest. I knew I had pinned several veggie-friendly chilis, so I casually perused until one caught my eye. Zucchini and Black Bean Chili. 'That's it!,' I thought. I opened the recipe, nodding along as I read each ingredient out loud...until I saw "two pounds ground beef." Well, there goes that idea. None of the other recipes I saw were satisfying my fancy, either. I wanted real chili and real chili taste without having to put greasy fatty beef into my system for several days.

Never mind, I'll make it myself. And you know what? I WILL have Zucchini Black Bean chili - my own way. Since I'm making it up, I'm going to add one of my absolute favorite food items of all time - avocado. If avocado isn't your thing, you can obviously just leave that item out. Feel free to top with your favorite chili toppings. This has everything you love about chili - the thick consistency, the lumpy tomatoes, the absolutely wonderful taste...just without any beef. You may be surprised to find that you didn't actually need that beef.

Zucchini Black Bean Chili
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 big zucchinis (about a pound), diced
1 onion, diced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth (plus more, if needed)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons cumin
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream (for garnish)
1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder or other thickening agent, if needed

1. Combine all but your garnish in a crock pot. Be sure to add all the liquids from your canned tomatoes. The liquid should completely cover everything. If not, add more vegetable broth until everything is covered.

2. Cook in crock pot at low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

3. A few minutes before serving, taste and add more of the spices if needed. If you want thicker chili, add a tablespoon of a thickening agent (arrowroot powder, masa flour, corn starch). Mix to combine.

4. Top with favorite chili toppings. I used a tablespoon of sour cream and half of an avocado, diced. If you want to make this vegan, don't add sour cream or shredded cheese.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Lately I've been all about trying to eat healthier albeit yummy food. With regard to my eating habits, I was NOTHING like I am today when I was growing up. I didn't eat vegetables (literally - nothing green. I would order entrees "without the green things"), and ate very few fruits (think: apples, watermelon, cantaloupe. That was all the fruit I would eat).

What I DID eat was dessert, and lots of it. While I don't have much of a sweet tooth anymore, every now and then that dessert-only girl comes out and she demands wonderful treats to satisfy her cravings.

One of my guilty pleasures is banana bread. One day I saw a pin that would change my life, or at least my banana bread life. A girl posted a recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread. She actually put mini Reese's in her banana bread! While I applauded her ingenuity, I wanted to find a way to reach a similar taste with real peanut butter and chocolate chips rather than Reese's.

Enter Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. I like to throw my extra over-ripe bananas into the freezer for safe keeping just in case I need (yes, need) to make banana bread. My diligence was awarded one fateful day a couple of weeks ago when I decided to make this idea a reality. My mouth started watering as I mixed everything together. I won't make you wait any longer for the recipe because I am just that nice. If you don't already have some overripe bananas, you should probably go buy some now and make this in a day or two. Just don't be surprised if you can't stop eating it. My husband took it one step further - he warmed the bread up in the microwave and served it a la mode. Nom.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, but just use whatever you have on hand)
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Using a hand mixer, combine the peanut butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat until fluffy.

3. Add mashed bananas, oil, and egg. Mix to combine.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).

5. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture, beating to combine in between.

6. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan.

7. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until you can poke a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Margherita Spaghetti Squash

I've been on a bit of a spaghetti squash kick. I absolutely LOVE pasta, but have no portion control (or self-control!) when it comes to eating pasta. Here enters spaghetti squash - the flavors and textures of pasta that I crave with a calorie level that enables me to have second or third helpings without spending the rest of the evening clutching my stomach wondering why I kept eating.

I know I'm not the only one. If you're like me and love pasta but maybe need a healthier (but still yummy) option, I recommend trying to substitute with spaghetti squash.

I first found this idea on Hoopfinity (via Pinterest, of course). I altered the recipe a bit to meet our cravings and needs. To be quite honest, I think we used the biggest spaghetti squash imaginable. That was unnecessary. Lesson learned.

Margherita Spaghetti Squash
1 large spaghetti squash
4 roma tomatoes
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (plus more for topping)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. In a baking dish, fill about 1/4 inch with water. Place spaghetti squash cut-side down in water. Cook in oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The spaghetti squash is done when you can easily scrape out the flesh and it looks like stringy spaghetti.

3. While the squash is cooking, dice your tomatoes, chop the basil, and shred the mozzarella if it isn't already shredded.

4. Scrape out the flesh from the spaghetti squash and place in a big mixing bowl. Add the diced tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and 1 1/2 cup mozzarella. Stir until well-mixed.

5. Scoop mixture back into the spaghetti squash skins. Top with more mozzarella. We really like cheese, so we added another half cup on top.

6. Broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese starts to brown.

7. Serve immediately either from the squash skin or in a bowl.

How many people this will serve really depends on how big of a spaghetti squash you use and how many other sides you have. We used ours as a main dish and were able to feed 8 people.

Garlic Roasted Veggies

I'll be honest. When I was growing up, I absolutely HATED vegetables. I'm not joking. I literally wouldn't eat a vegetable unless is was fried or (sometimes) cooked into a spaghetti sauce.

I'm not sure when exactly I took such a complete turn in this. It was some time in college. Actually it may have been when I studied abroad in Vienna. My roommates and I had reached the point of not being able to consume any more butter, fried food, or red meat. Seriously - there's so much of that in German/Austrian cuisine. Anyways, a few of my roommates and I took turns cooking. Not wanting to be that one person who was super picky, especially since we were in another country and already having to figure out how to cook there, I ate pretty much anything my roommates made me. One of my roommates, Whitney, was a wonderful cook (she still is) and love love LOVED vegetables. I found myself consuming - and LIKING - more and more vegetables!

I was astonished. So was my family. They still can't believe how much I now love vegetables. My love for these lovely colorful vegetables has simply intensified with each year. Most recently, I have found that I like asparagus. I think I had judged asparagus a little prematurely because it always surprised me in my sushi. I'm not really big on bacon, so the asparagus-bacon combo didn't d anything to entice me. My love of vegetables has grown so much in the past few years, that I decided to actively pursue other vegetables. I decided I would try fresh asparagus and green beans this summer. I went to a friend's house a couple weeks ago and lo and behold - she had made asparagus! Never wanting to be the ungrateful guest, I put a little on my plate (but not too much!) just to try. The first bite, and I was HOOKED. I couldn't wait to add asparagus to my veggie repertoire!

All that to say that I, too, now love love LOVE vegetables. Today's recipe is Garlic Roasted Vegetables. I made these tonight ahead of the rest of our meal. AJ and I literally had to walk into another room to keep from consuming the entire pan before dinner! Of course, you can change this recipe to include/exclude the vegetables you like/don't like, but it is just so yummy!

Garlic Roasted Veggies
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped (the bigger, the better!)
10 asparagus stalks, cut into 1 1/2" to 2" pieces
3 carrots, cut into 1 1/2" - 2" pieces
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz mushrooms, quartered

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a greased cookie sheet, combine all vegetables but tomatoes and mushrooms. Evenly spread olive oil, sea salt, red pepper, and lemon juice on top.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms, bake for an additional 10 minutes.

5. If you like your veggies more on the crisp side (like me), increase heat to broil for two minutes.

Serve immediately. Delicious by itself, or serve on the side of chicken or fish. Pictured at the top of this entry with Captain Hook Coconut Cod (recipe coming soon).

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

To me, summer eating means more veggies, lighter and simpler meals. Last week I was all set for a simple easy favorite of mine - sliced Roma tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and sweet potato fries. But then the whole way home all I could do was think about other yummy ways I could fix the sweet potatoes. I wanted spice, but couldn't shake the idea of some cinnamon to offset that spicy. As I drove, I created the recipe and I knew exactly what I wanted to make when I got home.

These turned out a little spicier than I had anticipated, but they have so much flavor. If you need to cut back some of the cayenne pepper, just make sure to cut back the same amount of cinnamon so they don't get too cinnamon-y or sweet!

Spicy Sweet Potatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix ingredients until well-combined. Place in greased dish.

3. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.