Cook once, eat twice

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you get to share part of your day with someone you love. In school, Joshua (the founder of IIN) would talk about this concept cook once, eat twice. When you go through the motions of making something you might as well be able to get two meals out of it. These days people do the opposite. They cook twice and eat once-- meaning they make one meal for one person and another meal for another person. On Tuesday I made this easy dish... forbidden rice, shrimp, pistachios, celery, cranberries, apple and kale. Then last night we used leftovers as one of our sides. I love making dishes like with one with lots of different flavors and textures. Try it out and substitute to please your palate!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Have you ever had someone ask you if you've heard of something and you haven't and then you see it everywhere? It happens to me all the time. Yesterday I was texting with my Aunt who lives in Texarkana and she was telling me I should check out The Chew- a show on ABC. I have never seen it and never heard of it. Fast forward to right now...  I'm looking for the recipe for my favorite Chinois Chicken (or shrimp for me) Salad and wallah there it is- The Chew! I grew up eating this salad when Chinois was in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and although I think it has changed over the years (or maybe Spagos just does it differently) it is still a winner in my books.
Check it out:
 http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Chinois-Chicken-Salad

Spaghetti squash

Spaghetti squash is one of those foods I forget about and then I make it and think to myself 'why don't I do this more often?' It is so easy, so tasty, and so good for you. Because we don't have a microwave, I boiled ours (30 minutes). You can also bake it but that takes longer (over an hour). I threw together a red sauce consisting of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (basil leaves, garlic powder, pepper, etc). Topped it with goat cheese, mushrooms, and toasted pine nuts. I'd recommend adding some shrimp and/or a piece of homemade garlic bread!

Juicing

Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Marshall gave us their old (but it looks as good as new) juicer and Adam and I LOVE it! We've been playing around and find it hard to make a juice that isn't good. My favorite so far is apple/celery/carrot. Smoothies are great but juicing is a welcomed change for us. Thanks AM & UM!

Ants on a log

When I think of my friend Kathryn, I think of her sitting at the desk at Pure Barre eating ants on a log. It wasn't long before I was hooked on this delicious and satisfying snack too. I love making lady bugs on a log (cranberries) and bumble bees on a log (yellow raisins). You can also try goji berries or dried blueberries! Crunchy, check. Chewy, check. Creamy, check. Sweet, check.

Sunday Funday

Sundays have become my favorite day of the week. I get to spend the entire day with my husband and that is the best! Usually we workout, cook, and either have a lazy day watching our shows or a productive day working on the house. Either way, we like to be at home with our dog Winnchester. Yesterday we did yoga and made a delicious lunch (salmon and kale) which we picked up in Dallas the day before. It is truly amazing how much more appreciate I am nowadays when I walk into Central Market or Whole Foods. Three types of kale... what a luxury :) 

Salads

I love salads and could eat them at almost every meal. If you are anything like the rest of the world, you're probably trying to eat a little bit healthier this month. Check out my grapefruit/avocado/goat cheese salad and kale/tuna/apple/toasted almond salads I made this week. The dressing is more often than not, EVOO/lemon/salt. Enjoy!

P.S. Baking or toasting the nuts is really worth it!