comment icon 161 more comments Palak: spinach. Paneer: cheese. Healthy Palak Paneer. It’s coincidentally also the ugly duckling of all food that ever existed. Niiice. Please, I beg you, I PLEAD with all my food-loving heart. Do not leave based on first impressions or on looks. I know it’s easy to judge that greeny-mushy part, but I’m telling you right now: this dish has the power to change your life, making you a creamy spinach lover and a paneer seeker and an all-around Indian food lover....

The answer is yes. With a few caveats. If you’re never tried sunflower seed butter, what are you waiting for? Make this on a week you have time for extra cardio. You’ll need it. I ate an 8 ounce jar the first day. Sunflower seed butter has the consistency of almond butter, and is noticeably thinner than peanut butter. While there’s no denying that there’s a sunflower seed taste, sunflower seed butter tastes less like sunflower seeds than peanut butter tastes like peanuts if that makes sense....

Easy Sweet Potato Side Dish How I love sweet potatoes. Let me count the ways. This sweet potato side dish is great because the edges crisp up slightly while the interior stays buttery soft and there’s honey butter on top. Swoon. They’re a cinch to make and you don’t need to bother peeling them. Since you don’t have to wait for a whole potato to cook, they’re faster which makes them a nice option for a weeknight dinner side dish....

Watch How To Make Buttermilk: Step 1: Pour one cup of fresh milk into a liquid measuring cup. Step 2: Choose your acid. This method works equally well with both white vinegar or lemon juice. Step 3: Measure one Tablespoon of your chosen acid and add to the milk. Step 4: Give it a quick stir. Step 5: Let milk and acid mixture sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes....

comment icon 16 more comments I’ve fallen out of a good breakfast routine in the last few years since having kids – mornings feel busy, I’m usually not very hungry, and more often than not, I just start the day with a coffee and a few nibbles of whatever the girls are having for breakfast. Not ideal. But our good friend OAT BRAN is bringing me back! It’s creamy and soothing, like a porridge....

I love the ease of cooking chicken this way, and there are so many ways to enjoy it, like in chicken enchiladas, white chicken chili, or BBQ chicken pizza. Have you tried cooking chicken breast in your Instant Pot yet? It is so easy and yields juicy chicken breast you can enjoy for dinner, meal prepping, or use in any recipes that call for cooked or shredded chicken. Once you try it, there’s a good chance you won’t go back!...

It might have something to do with the fact that it’s the most readily available vegetable in the Philippines that comes closest to resembling a sweet potato and a pumpkin. And when I think of sweet potatoes and pumpkins, I think of dreams coming true. comment icon 99 more comments Honestly, I am kind of shy about sharing this recipe. Yellowy squash lentil curry is not, um, pretty, really. But here’s the thing – it’s divine....

comment icon 280 more comments Let’s start by loading a soft flour tortilla with ridiculously tasty garlicky-n-gingery beef, spicy kimchi, steaming white rice, cilantro and basil and just generally herbs to the max, and a big dollop of yum yum sauce. Like a burrito mashup. And then we shall follow that up by loosely calling it a fusion-style Korean BBQ Burrito. The ultimate definition of food serious right there....

This veggie-loaded mountain features thinly sliced Korean BBQ steak, a rainbow of bell peppers, scallions, greens, wonton strips (!) because health means nothing unless it actually tastes good 👅, and a spicy sesame ginger dressing. So much flavor // so much crunch // 100% versatility. comment icon 104 more comments Some ideas for this combo, depending on your mood: Make it as a salad! Crunchy, cold, and filling. Ready whenever....

Want more grilling recipes? Try Steak Kabobs, Marinated Flank Steak, Cedar Plank Salmon, and French Onion Burgers! How to make Korean Beef Tacos: Marinate Meat and Make Salsa: In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili paste. Add flank steak to a gallon size resealable bag then pour in marinade and press it around to coat all sides of the meat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight....

Letting go of my car. Letting go of my job. Letting go of a king-sized bed. Letting go of winter. Letting go of my favorite cereals. Letting go of Chipotle. Letting go of my jumbo computer screen. Letting go of hideous carpet that looks like hardwood. Letting go of a personal and spacious bathroom. Letting go of quiet. Letting go of my favorite running trail. {deepbreath} Letting go, but embracing what is waiting for us....

Easy, Cheesy Tater Tot Dip Recipe The best part of a baked potato isn’t really the potato. It’s the sour cream and cheese that tops it. This loaded tater tot dip is a bowl of everything fabulous that goes on top of baked potatoes, minus the baked potatoes. It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, it’s happy food. White carbs, cream, and cheese tend to have that effect and my family was oohing and ahhing about it....

Maybe these pictures will put a little bright side on your week. Bright Side #1: Nature in bloom, the sun is shining, the days are getting longer, and spring is in the air! I love how my neighborhood and neighbors have cute gardens and pretty plants to take pictures of for my blog for practicing my photography skills. Bright Side #2: A fast and easy dinner that makes planned leftovers and very little dishes because it’s a one-pan meal....

For those of you who have this book, do you have a fave recipe, or fourteen, that you love? I am gonna rock out some desserts first. Probably tomorrow. I know you will love me for that cuz I will post up the yumm pics. I think it rocks that Ani has not only her nose pierced, but also a Monroe. I think I love her even more. In case you haven’t noticed, I do kinda love the life on the edgier side....

I made brownies similar to Fudgy Nutella Brownies, added some Reese’s Cups, and continued to doctor them up even more. Suffice to say they’re “pretty good”. Sunshine and blue skies make a Saturday even better. And so does time with my family, yoga at home… …and baking. However, dirty dishes do not make things better. Excuse me while I clean up the baking dishes and then start on dinner. And then the dinner dishes… It’s a revolving door of dishes, but they were for a very good cause....

Actually I don’t need warm weather to enjoy margaritas, but it helps them go down extra easily. The margaritas taste like a tropical vacation. They’re fruity and sweet but not too sweet, and they pack a punch. There’s no margarita mix, no added refined (white) sugar, and the sweetness comes naturally from the fruit and agave. I use minimal ice because I use frozen fruit. There’s a time for fresh fruit but in blended drinks is not one of them....

I tried the kitchen. And made a mess and lots of dishes. The rain didn’t stop my neighbors’ cat from staring me down. I was surprised she let me take these pictures, actually. Cats, like small children, aren’t the best when it comes to posing for the camera. Read: horrible. The minute they see the camera come out, the change what they were doing which was the ‘perfect’ thing and you can kiss that Kodak moment goodbye....

Stuffed Savory Sweet Potatoes Healthy meals that are fast, easy, and don’t taste like health food are my kind of meals. And this is right up my alley for warm, hearty, vegan, gluten-free comfort food. After spending the day in the kitchen fussing over stacks of cookies and slices of cake, the last thing I ever do for dinner is create a fussy one. I could live on squash, steamed Brussels sprouts, and spoonfuls of Honey Roasted Butterscotch White Chocolate Peanut Butter, but for my family’s sake, I try to get a bit more creative....

The good luck streak in the mail continued with treats from Jess! I won her recent give away which allowed me to select any recipe from her site and she’d make it for me. Wow. What an offer! I spent a long time salivating over her recipes and decided on her Mounds Balls based on Mounds Bar candy bars. Except her recipe is “healthy”. Well, as healthy as chocolate, sugar, and coconut can get....

I made something delicious with this Recipe to be posted soon. Pumpkin Lovers, get ready. Hint: Something on the order of these I also can’t believe it’s October 1. Where has 2011 gone? I’ve never posted monthly goals before because honestly, I don’t really set monthly “goals” in my own head. Yes, I always have things I am working on, projects and tasks I’d like to accomplish, things I’d like to do and items on my radar screen but I don’t write them out because I just keep them all upstairs in my gray matter....