Healthy Chicks

I love everything about fall, especially the fact that pumpkin pretty much goes with everything these days. Now that the weather is getting crisp, healthy comfort meals have pretty much become a staple in our home.

Last night, I experimented with Trader Joe’s new Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce to create this savory, heart-warming fall dish. Made with pumpkin, butternut squash, carrot, fall spices & some cream, this sauce embodied everything the season has to offer. Go ahead, give it a go!

Autumn Pasta with Turkey Harvest Meat Sauce

serves 6-8

• 1 box gluten free pasta (brown rice or quinoa)
• 1 package turkey burger
• 1 bag fresh or frozen organic spinach
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Pasta Sauce
• nutritional yeast, optional for seasoning

Cook pasta according to directions, being careful not to over-cook. In the meantime, cook the turkey burger in a large frying pan with a little olive oil. Once cooked through, add in the sauce and spinach. Combine with pasta, and serve with a dash of nutritional yeast on top.

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Late-summer is such a beautiful, magical time. The air starts to become a bit more crisp, and the sun goes down a little earlier. The harvest changes as well, with seasonal favorites like eggplant and figs coming into play.

So what do you do when you’ve got 2 pounds of cherry tomatoes hanging out in your fridge? You make gazpacho, of course!

Late-Summer Gazpacho

recipe inspired by Holli Thompson

• 3 c. cherry tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 shallot
• 3 tsp. coconut vinegar (or vinegar of your choosing)
• 2 tb. olive oil
• sea salt for seasoning (to your taste)
• spicy seasoning blend (we love “Slap Ya Mama” Cajun Seasoning)
• fresh peaches, tomato or sprouts for a topper

1. Soak all of the produce in water for 5 minutes, then train. Transfer to a high speed blender (I use a Vitamix).

2. Blend on high until mixture is smooth. Then add in vinegar, sea salt, and seasonings. Blend on low for another minute. Feel free to taste as you go to get the flavor just right!

3. Pour into mini shooters or cups, and top with fresh chopped peaches, sprouts or tomatoes.

Enjoy!… Read More!

During my days as a chronic, obsessive dieter, I knew my relationship with food was not normal, but I just couldn’t stop. It was like being in a toxic relationship — you know the dude’s not right for you but for some reason you stay. Meanwhile, all your friends are like get the eff out of that. Then years later, you look back and say “What the hell was I thinking?”

That was me with food!

When I was in college, I so envied my friends who could eat normal. They’d nonchalantly order a pizza after a long night out, get a salad whenever they felt like eating salad, and be able to have a bagel on a Sunday (with all the fixings!) without guilt. I wanted that. But instead, I sat there drooling over their meals, as I anxiously counted calories, picked apart my sandwich and ordered what I thought was “healthy.”

Years later when I decided to quit dieting once and for all — cold turkey — I subconsciously began to develop the mindset of what I referred to as a “normal eater.” I realized right then and there that it wasn’t about what or how … Read More!

As a child, I absolutely adored food. I was lucky to grow up in a household that valued good food, and sitting down for family dinners. My mom’s chicken parmesan, shepherd’s pie and chicken devan were absolutely to-die-for, and I cherished each and every bite.

I have fond memories walking into my grandmother’s house to the comforting aroma of a fresh pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I loved helping my grandma cook, plopping celery and carrots into the boiling water ever so carefully to assure I wouldn’t get burnt. She taught me how to make pierogies (making sure to pinch the dough juuuust right), and that there’s nothing sweeter than a tomato picked fresh from the garden with just a pinch of salt.

Food was love. And we all loved to eat.

Somewhere along the way, that all changed. I learned that food was “bad” and would in turn make me fat. And so the self-depricating, fat-shaming deprivation began. Food consumed me for a solid 6+ years of my life. It was always on my mind, and I completely let it dictate my life. I’d skip out on dates, dinner with friends, and fabulous opportunities all because of my … Read More!