Tag: nutrition

Categories
food

introducing ‘love food again’.

if you follow me on insta (@livelaughyum), you are fully aware that i’ve been working on something SO special. when quarantine started, i knew i had to fill my time with something valuable. this is what i came up with – an ONLINE COURSE paired with 1:1 COACHING! but not just any online course – it’s a course that is geared towards finding your unique food freedom. the course is called love food again.

i honestly couldn’t have thought of a better name if i tried. my journey of overcoming an eating disorder, to being obsessed with eating ‘clean’, to now finding my food freedom is defined as just that – i love food again. i’ve always loved food – i would wake my parents up for breakfast every morning when i was little because i loved breakfast SO MUCH. i was determined to get back to that point – to loving food again like i did when i was a child. but now, i know so much more. i am gifted with the knowledge of nutrition! i can use this knowledge to eat what i want based off my internal body cues and awareness of nutrition and food labels. there’s a fine balance you must find for yourself and i can’t necessarily sit here and tell everyone the same thing – because everyone is different!

i can certainly tell you the components that make up food freedom – but i have to really hone in on each of you individually to work through how you can do that for yourself. and that’s exactly why i created this program – love food again.

LAUNCHING SOON – join my mailing list above for updates and promotions!

Categories
dinner poultry/meat/fish

egg roll in a bowl with sweet chili aioli.

I’ve seen the ‘egg roll in a bowl’ recipe everywhere on pinterest and Instagram – so I decided to create my own! I added a delicious twist by drizzling my bowl with a sweet chili aioli because you always have to dip an egg roll in some sort of sauce – whether it be duck sauce, spicy mustard or sweet chili sauce!

Recipe:

  • 1lb ground chicken or pork
  • 1lb coleslaw mix
  • 1 bag bean sprouts
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or liquid aminos
  • 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
  • sweet chili aioli – 1:1 mayonnaise & sweet chili sauce (store bought) + Sriracha to taste
  • bunch green onions, sliced thin
  • olive oil, salt & pepper
  • sesame seeds for topping
  • brown rice

Instructions:

  1. In a large pot on medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil and add garlic and ground chicken.
  2. Stir occasionally until chicken is browned, then add soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and ginger and stir to combine.
  3. Add coleslaw and bean sprouts – you may want to add in batches because it looks like a lot but it will cook down!
  4. Once the cabbage is cooked down and wilted, add half the green onions and stir.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together ingredients to make sweet chili aioli. Add as much Sriracha as you like – as spicy as you want it.
  6. Serve with brown rice and top with green onions, sesame seeds and sweet chili aioli.

Categories
dinner poultry/meat/fish

vegetable chicken chili.

I love making this to have in my fridge for lunches to bring to work. It doesn’t take that much time to make and you can customize it the way you want. For this batch, I added diced zucchini for more nutrition and volume – and because of the spices and tomatoes, you can’t even taste it! But for me, it doesn’t matter because I love zucchini 🙂 and you can use any vegetables you want!

Recipe:

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
  • 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 large zucchinis, diced small
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional for spice)
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch + 2 Tablespoons very cold water
  • Olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a large pot, heat to medium-high heat and add about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.
  2. Add your onion and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and ground chicken.
  4. Cook chicken until browned and cooked through.
  5. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste vegetable broth and stir until combined.
  6. Add diced zucchini and bring to a simmer.
  7. Cook for about 10 minutes until zucchini is tender.
  8. Add black beans and your cornstarch/water mixture and stir until combined and thick.
  9. Add salt & pepper to taste.
  10. Serve with shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, sour cream, tortilla chips or ALL of the above!

Categories
breakfast food muffins sweet breakfast

banana cardamom crumble muffins.

I’m obsessed with cardamom… it’s seriously the BEST flavor. Adding a little to my banana crumble muffins gave them a whole new level of flavor. These are made with Kodiak Cakes mix, but you can definitely use all-purpose flour if you don’t have the mix on hand!

Watch a video on how to make them HERE!

Recipe:

  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 & 1/2 cups Kodiak Cakes mix OR flour
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • crumble:
    • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
    • 2 Tablespoons Kodiak Cakes mix
    • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
    • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and melted coconut oil.
  3. Mix together until smooth.
  4. Add Kodiak Cakes mix, baking powder, cardamom, and salt.
  5. Mix together.
  6. Add almond milk and finish mixing until the batter is smooth.
  7. Divide batter into muffin liners – about 1/3 cup of batter in each.
  8. Make your crumble topping:
    1. In a small bowl, combine oats, Kodiak Cakes mix, brown sugar, vanilla, cardamom and coconut oil.
    2. Mix (with your hands if you need to) until crumbles form.
  9. Top muffin batter evenly with the crumble.
  10. Bake for 15-18 minutes until toothpick comes clean.
  11. YUM!!

Yield: 12 muffins

Nutrition: 193 calories, 8g fat, 28g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 15g sugar, 5g protein

Categories
dinner food poultry/meat/fish

poblano chicken tacos.

Can I just quickly say how much I LOVE poblano peppers? Peppers and onions in general are so tasty to add to anything, but poblano peppers have a slight smoky flavor.. which makes me like them a bit more. I roasted some poblano peppers and onions and added them to my chicken tacos. This recipe is super simple and includes an easy clean up 😉 YAY!

To see a full video on how this recipe is made.. visit my YouTube channel HERE!

Recipe:

  • 3 large chicken breasts, cubed
  • 4 poblano peppers, sliced thin
  • 1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
  • small mozzarella balls
  • paprika
  • cayenne pepper
  • cumin
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • corn tortillas

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, add your peppers and onions.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt & pepper.
  3. Toss to coat.
  4. Bake at 350 until peppers are tender – about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Season your chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and cayenne. (I approximated my seasonings, but don’t add too much cayenne if you don’t like your food that spicy!)
  6. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat.
  7. Add chicken and brown on all sides.
  8. Add chicken to the pan with the peppers and onions and spread evenly.
  9. Add your mozzarella balls and bake until cheese is melted.
  10. Serve on tortillas with salsa, queso, cilantro, etc. (whatever toppings you love!)
Categories
dinner poultry/meat/fish

spicy honey sesame chicken.

One of the most simple recipes I’ve made! I was having my sister over for dinner, but we were going to boot camp first. I had some chicken breasts already in the fridge and brown rice in my cabinet. All I had to do was get some broccoli florets and I was in business! I already had my soy sauce and toasted sesame oil – MUST HAVES for this recipe! I happen to use both of these a lot when cooking. Here we go!

Recipe: (serves 4)

  • 3 large chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon sriracha
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • sesame seeds, for garnish
  • scallions, for garnish
  • serve with broccoli and brown rice

note: I didn’t use much salt at all because the soy sauce has A LOT of salt in it. I reccommend tasting first before adding any salt.

Instructions:

  1. Cut your chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.
  2. Heat up a large skillet to medium-high heat.
  3. Drizzle some olive oil into your skillet.
  4. Coat chicken in flour and transfer to your hot pan.
  5. Brown chicken on all sides.
  6. Make your sauce – combine soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, ketchup, brown sugar, sriracha, garlic and ginger in a bowl and whisk together.
  7. Add to your pan with the chicken and turn down the heat to low.
  8. Let simmer until your sauce gets thick and chicken is cooked through.
  9. Add sesame seeds – as many as you want!
  10. Serve with your steamed broccoli and brown rice!
Categories
dinner food poultry/meat/fish

sun-dried tomato shrimp alfredo pasta.

My secret ingredient? Cauliflower. But isn’t cauliflower the secret ingredient in pretty much every “healthy” recipe nowadays? I guess it’s not so secret anymore! But really… I used whipped cauliflower for HALF the alfredo sauce in this recipe. So instead of filling your belly with a bunch of cheese and heavy cream, you’ll be replacing half of that with cauliflower.. but you can’t taste it 🙂

Click HERE for a video of the recipe!

Recipe:

  • 1 box Banza linguine
  • 1lb shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined (tail on or off – your choice!)
  • 1/2 bag frozen cauliflower
  • 5 sun-dried tomatoes, from a jar and liquid drained
  • about 1 cup Raos alfredo sauce (estimated)
  • paprika
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 cup white wine or white cooking wine
  • salt & pepper
  • olive oil
  • parsley, garnish

Instructions:

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Add your Banza linguine and cook according to instructions.
  3. Steam frozen cauliflower in a large pot or microwave until very soft.
  4. Add steamed cauliflower to a blender, add a little bit of water until it blends easily and blend until smooth.
  5. Add your sun-dried tomatoes – blend until mostly smooth.. you want to see small chunks of the tomato – set aside.
  6. Meanwhile, cook the shrimp in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
  7. Make sure your shrimp is thawed if it was frozen, and pat dry.
  8. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper.
  9. Drizzle olive oil in the heated pan and place shrimp season-side down.
  10. Season the other side of the shrimp and cook for about 2 minute per side until browned.
  11. Place shrimp on a plate and set aside.
  12. Deglaze your pan with white wine or white cooking wine – about 1/4 cup.
  13. Add cooked pasta to the pan, then add alfredo sauce and blended cauliflower and sun-dried tomato mixture.
  14. Toss pasta until coated and serve with shrimp and garnish with fresh parsley or fresh herbs of choice.
  15. Enjoy!
Categories
cookies desserts food

mint chip ice cream cookie sandwiches.

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I recently found a brand of ice cream that I cannot live without.. it’s called Cool Haus.  They have flavors like Milkshake & Fries, Balsamic Fig & Mascarpone and Street Cart Churro Dough.. I always get the Dirty Mint Chip!  Why is it called Dirty Mint?  Because the pint has fresh mint leaves in every bite.  This is what makes it super unique and tasty!  Cool Haus also sells ice cream cookie sandwiches, but I decided to make a cookie to match their Dirty Mint Chip ice cream.  I put fresh mint in a chocolate chip cookie!  The combination is just perfect.

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Recipe:

  • 3 cups Kodiak Cakes All-purpose baking mix OR AP flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 & 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, room temp
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
  • 1 salted dark chocolate bar – I used Alter Eco, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 pint Cool Haus Dirty Mint Chip ice cream, or your choice of ice cream
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips + 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil

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Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. With an electric mixer, cream softened butter and light brown sugar together until fluffy.
  3. Add vanilla and one egg at a time, mixing after each addition.
  4. Add chopped mint and mix until combine.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine Kodiak Cakes mix or flour, salt and baking soda.
  6. Add in flour mixture in thirds, mixing after each addition.
  7. Fold in salted dark chocolate pieces.
  8. Disperse cookie dough (about 1 & 1/2 Tablespoon per cookie) onto a greased baking sheet – I fit 12 cookies on a sheet.
  9. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until desired crispiness – I like mine softer, so I tend to under-bake them.  If you want them crispier, bake for 10-11 minutes.
  10. While cookies cool on a cooling rack, make your melted chocolate to dip your sandwiches.
  11. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, add dark chocolate chips and melted coconut oil.
  12. Microwave your chocolate and coconut oil for 30 seconds – 1 minute.
  13. Stir until chocolate is smooth.
  14. Once your cookies are cool, make your ice cream sandwiches!  Scoop desired amount of ice cream and sandwich it in the middle of two cookies.
  15. Dip 1/2 of your sandwich in melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt.
  16. Let chocolate harden on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.
  17. Place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes and serve!

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Categories
breakfast dinner food savory breakfast vegetarian

sweet potato hash.

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This is a delicious recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner!  I pair my potato hash with a runny egg.  You can absolutely substitute out regular potatoes if you’re not a fan of the sweet potato, but I just happen to love them!  The key to this recipe is to have everything diced small – the sweet potato has to be cut into small chunks.. the texture of the dish counts on it!

Recipe:

  • 3 large sweet potatoes, diced small
  • 2 green peppers, seeds removed and diced
  • 2 red onions, diced
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme, 1 Tbsp for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, optional (I LOVE maple syrup with anything breakfast so I decided to drizzle a little bit in at the end – it’s SO good!!)
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper

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Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place diced sweet potato on a large baking sheet, spreading evenly.
  3. Drizzle olive oil, salt & pepper on the sweet potato, mixing around until all is coated.
  4. Bake for about 15 minutes until sweet potato is tender.
  5. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat.
  6. Drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and add your diced pepper and onion.
  7. Add salt & pepper and cook until onion is translucent.
  8. Add roasted sweet potato to your skillet, combine and cook until sweet potato has a nice brown char.
  9. Add 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, cayenne and drizzle of maple syrup.
  10. Transfer to a serving bowl and add the rest of the thyme for garnish.
  11. Serve & enjoy!

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Categories
breakfast desserts donuts food sweet breakfast

grain-free strawberry donuts.

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I’ve been playing around with the idea of baking with different flours – to satisfy the gluten-free people in the world!  I found a fabulous flour called Cassava Flour.  Cassava flour is actually Yuca, which is a dense and starchy root vegetable. It is ideal for gluten-free baking because, unlike other gluten-free flours, it is neutral in flavor and not grainy or gritty at all!  I mixed cassava flour and almond flour to make these donuts because I LOVE almond flour, but the cassava flour balanced out the texture and taste.  With the addition of fresh strawberries, these donuts are a WIN!

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Recipe:

for the donuts: 

  • 1 & 1/2 cup cassava flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup refined coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced small

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine cassava flour, almond flour, flax seed, baking powder and salt.
  3. Whisk together until combined.
  4. Add eggs, almond milk, coconut sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined.
  5. Add melted coconut oil and fold in until batter is smooth.
  6. Gently fold in diced strawberries.
  7. Disperse batter into a greased donut pan –  you can fill up all the way because they will rise but not overflow.
  8. Bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick or knife comes clean.
  9. Cool on a wire rack.

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For the glaze: 

  • 1/4 cup diced strawberries
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1 & 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

  1. Place strawberries and lemon juice into a small sauce pan.
  2. Bring to a simmer and let strawberries liquefy.
  3. Transfer to a strainer held over a bowl and, using a spoon or rubber spatula, press the strawberry mixture down to strain out any big lumps – all you want is the juice!
  4. Add powdered sugar to the strained strawberry mixture, 1/4 cup at a time (so you don’t make a huge mess), until you get a smooth, thick glaze that you can drizzle or dip your donuts into.
  5. Dip cooled donuts into the glazed, and put back on the wire rack.
  6. Immediately sprinkle your choice of sprinkles onto each donut before glaze hardens.
  7. Serve!

Note: These donuts will not last more than 1-2 days because of the fresh strawberries in the batter – if you want them to last longer, omit the strawberries in the batter and just use them for the glaze.  OR you can use freeze dried strawberries for the flavor! 

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