Jul 19, 2014 | Gluten-Free, Healthful Eats, Quick and Easy Meals
When you’re working out, you want the right combination of energy to see you through. Bodybuilders tend to drink a lot of protein shakes and eat a LOT of baked chicken and sweet potatoes. This is because they want lean muscle — not extra fat. With grains off-limits and sugar a no-no, many Paleo enthusiasts avidly participating in the cross-fit craze, also turn to their fair share of chicken and sweet potatoes. In fact, so do other low carb dieters like diabetics, “It girl” actresses, and generally anyone with belly fat stores (NOTE: Having excess belly fat puts you at a greater risk for health issues and may be a sign of estrogen dominance or insulin resistance.) (more…)
Feb 8, 2014 | Comfort Food, Holiday Fare, Quick and Easy Meals
Some people hate Valentine’s Day.
I’m not one of them. For someone like me, whose idea of religion consists of food and love, it’s the perfect kind of holiday. In fact, Valentine’s Day is my second favorite holiday — right after Thanksgiving. And yes, I understand it’s corporate derived to get you to buy loads of chocolate, wine, flowers and jewelry — but like anything, I think Valentine’s Day is what you make of it.
I like to make it about cooking and love — MeatLove. (more…)
Jun 23, 2012 | Low or No Sugar, Luscious Desserts, Quick and Easy Meals, Spring & Summer Recipes
Around here at The Groovy Foody, we’re kind of known for doing more complicated dishes, for delving into alternatives like baking with whole grain quinoa or exploring world cuisine but even the most adventurous foodie among us likes to take part in the simple things. This is even more imperative on hot days, when you might not want to be hanging around a hot stove and instead enjoying a frozen treat to beat the heat. (more…)
Jun 16, 2012 | Healthful Eats, Quick and Easy Meals, Spring & Summer Recipes
Just another lunch at Casa de Groovy
For our daily lunch over here at Casa de Groovy, we often eat a variety of green salads or things like tuna, salmon or chicken salad on brown rice cake, served with assorted fresh veggies and humus. These lunches are always extremely satisfying, never weigh us down and also help us to avoid that dreaded mid-afternoon slump most folks get after filling up on starchy carbs. But the other day, the hubby felt like chicken salad and we had all the ingredients, except the red grapes we usually use and we had no apples or pears for substitution — what to do? Run to the store? — No way!
Be Inventive!
What we did have was a nest of ripe, red and juicy organic strawberries in the fridge. Would strawberries work? Would their sweetness be overwhelmed by the sharp vinegar of the mayo? I decided to forage through our staples and find this salad’s perfect partners. This is what I came up with:
Greek yogurt, mayo, orange muscat champagne vinegar, bleu cheese, green onions and hazelnuts!
Not only would it work — this might just be the best summer chicken salad ever!
Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Markets
That’s what I’m hoping the folks over at Whole Foods will think. They’re celebrating berry season over there and as part of it, yours truly entered a Whole Foods Berry Recipe contest with this recipe (Yay! I hope I win!) Besides that though, I get to take part in the celebration by hosting a berry party for friends (pics and recipes to come!) during the month of June — Coming soon!
Have you ever been out of a key ingredient and found a substitution that blew your socks off? Share your story in the comments below.
Summer Strawberry-Hazelnut Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- About 8 to 10 medium-sized ripe strawberries (chopped)
- 2 medium chicken breasts (fully cooked)
- 1/8 cup chopped (or smashed) hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
- 1/8 cup mild bleu cheese
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise or Veganaise
- 2 Tbsp plain greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp Trader Joe’s Orange-Muscat Champagne Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Squeeze of lemon to make the strawberry’s flavor pop!
- Salt to taste
Prep
Cook the chicken breast, in the oven, skillet or by boiling, and set aside to cool. Chop the strawberries, hazelnuts and green onions and crumble the bleu cheese, setting each aside, in a separate bowl. When chicken has cooled cut it into small, bite size pieces.
Whisk together the yogurt, mayo, vinegar and cinnamon to make the dressing, adjust seasoning to taste.
Mix all ingredients together with the dressing in a medium-sized bowl and chill for 15 to 20 minutes or up to 1 day. Serve on a rice cake, baguette, flaky croissant or a bed of fresh spinach or mixed greens for the perfect summer chicken salad.
Enjoy!
Perfect with fresh veggies and humus
May 31, 2012 | Grilling, Luscious Desserts, Quick and Easy Meals
Forget what Beck says — peaches and cream is NOT such a “dangerous dream.”
In fact, when it comes to summer fruits, eating healthfully never tasted so good. Summer fruits like peaches, plums, cherries, watermelon and pineapple taste great fresh but they’re even better baked or grilled and topped as simply as possible.
What could be better than peaches and cream? (more…)
May 19, 2012 | Comfort Food, Gluten-Free, Quick and Easy Meals
Psssst. . .come here. You want in on a secret? You want the recipe for the BEST tasting gluten-free pizza crust that will EVER pass your lips? Ok — well, listen — this crust is NOT really a secret. In fact, it’s been posted on countless sites BUT not with this method — I do one thing different from everybody else but this one thing, makes ALL the difference. So if you’ve tried a crust like this before and had it FAIL because it ended up soggy or you had to eat it with a fork, stay tuned for the recipe and the one simple change that makes all the difference. (more…)
When you’re working out, you want the right combination of energy to see you through. Bodybuilders tend to drink a lot of protein shakes and eat a LOT of baked chicken and sweet potatoes. This is because they want lean muscle — not extra fat. With grains off-limits and sugar a no-no, many Paleo enthusiasts avidly participating in the cross-fit craze, also turn to their fair share of chicken and sweet potatoes. In fact, so do other low carb dieters like diabetics, “It girl” actresses, and generally anyone with belly fat stores (NOTE: Having excess belly fat puts you at a greater risk for health issues and may be a sign of estrogen dominance or insulin resistance.) (more…)
