Sweet Goodness

Hey Foodies!
I know it has been a long time. I want to thank you all for still rocking with me, as I continue to whip up tasty dishes in my kitchen.  The recipe that I am going to share with you is sure to be a nice addition to your dinner table. It is an unconventional twist to the sweet potato.  Growing up, I used to watch my mom and grandma make sweet potato pone at every major holiday family function. It is a staple side dish. I wanted to challenge myself to explore new ways to cook sweet potatoes without losing that certain something that we all know and love.  I went to a friends house not to long ago and she served roasted sweet potatoes and they were delicious! I modified her recipe a bit to make it more my own.

Here's What You'll need:

3 large sweet potatoes peeled and quartered
1 1/2 teaspoons of pink salt
1 tablespoon of raw sugar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary


Here's What You'll Do:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a baking sheet, place a sheet of aluminum foil coat with non-stick spray. Arrange the quartered sweet potatoes on the aluminum foil, leaving some space between them. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and coat them evenly. Then lightly coat the sweet potatoes in the pink salt and toss. Do the same with the raw sugar and toss again. Once the potatoes have sugar and salt on them, crush the rosemary needles in your hand (this helps bring out more of its natural flavor and is guaranteed to make your house smell AMAZING!) Sprinkle the now crushed rosemary over the sweet potatoes and place in the center of your oven rack. Cook them for 35 to 45 minutes tossing them periodically for an even distribution of flavor and browning.  Serve Immediately and Enjoy!

Bowl-O-Flavor

Hey Foodies!!!

So you know how when you get off of a diet or cleanse, you want to eat everything in sight? Well, that is exactly what my flesh wanted to do, but this summer I've really been focusing on the scripture that says, "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19). I want to keep my "temple" clean and healthy, and not toss out all of the good eating habits that I've adapted while on my cleanse; so I am preparing dishes in my kitchen that have lots of flavor, beautiful color, but little to no salt.

Today was my official first day off of my green smoothie cleanse. I didn't want to eat anything too heavy, rather, I wanted to ease my way back into a more balanced diet. For lunch I made a "Bowl-O-Flavor"

Here's What You'll Need:

Brown rice
Frozen Latino blend vegetables (corn, peppers, onions and black beans)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded rotisserie chicken
Jalapeño peppers in the jar
Diced fresh tomatoes
Black pepper
Cayenne Pepper
McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb SALT FREE seasoning
Minced garlic

Directions:

The nice thing about this dish is that you can make it as a single serving size or stretch it out to feed more people without too much hassle. Plus it's quick and easy.

Cook your brown rice as directed adding a little bit of olive oil to keep the rice from sticking (let it boil and then turn down the heat and cover and simmer for about 25 minutes) In a medium sized pan drizzle some olive oil over medium low heat and add a teaspoon or so of minced garlic. Then once the garlic starts to sizzle and the oil is more loose, add the frozen veggie mixture along with dashes of black pepper, the garlic and herb SALT FREE seasoning, and a little cayenne for some kick and mix together.
Once your rice is cooked assemble your serving bowl with the rice, the shredded chicken, the veggies, roughly chopped jalapeno peppers, a little cheese and drizzle some Siracha chile sauce for flavor and color. Pop it in the microwave to melt the cheese (1minute and 30 seconds) and enjoy!

Whipped

Hey Foodies!
Summer is just around the corner which means swimsuit season is almost in full effect. I don't know about you, but I want to be healthy from the inside out.
Who says healthy can't also be pleasing to your taste buds? I'm on spring break and I can't wait to get back into my kitchen and start whipping up some yummy recipes for us all to try.

This morning, I made an Energy-Boosting Green Smoothie that I'm excited to share with you guys.

Here's What You'll Need:
1 handful of washed, loose leaf spinach
1/2 cup of spring water
1 Honey Crisp Apple sliced
5 Strawberries
1 tbsp of Chai Seeds
1 medium sized orange pealed and sectioned
a dash of Ground Cinnamon
a dash of Ground Ginger

Step-By-Step Directions:

In a Nutribullet, add the washed loose leaf spinach about 5 cubes of ice and the water and blend until smooth. Then add the additional ingredients: apples, strawberries, orange slices, chai seeds ground cinnamon and ground ginger and blend the mixture together (add more water if needed, if the mixture is too thick).

Drink and Enjoy! I promise, you won't even miss the sugar!

Rustic Chicken Salad

Hello My Beloved Foodies!

Over the past week, I have been whipping up unique and delicious (if I do say so myself) that are super healthy and really flavorful. My mom and I decided that we were going to fast from STARCH (bread, pasta, chips, French fries, and rice), and adjust our diets to a green and protein lifestyle for (10 days). Now, if you all know me, you are well aware of the fact that FRENCH FRIES are my guilty pleasure, so initially this was VERY hard for me; but like any diet the first 3 days are the worst. Eventually though, I got to be more creative with the meals that I was making for my mom and me and any time I get to be in my kitchen and challenge myself with new recipes, I am all for it. So I have been making a lot of  simple breakfasts, Green Smoothies and different types of salads.

Here are a few examples:
Parmesan and Turkey Bacon Bits a top Lemon Pepper Asparagus with Eggs
Tuna and Tomato over mixed greens
Pesto Shrimp over mixed greens
Warm tomato and onion salad a top Chicken Breasts
Spiced Almonds
and Green Smoothies (spinach/kale, with a varying combination of strawberries, peaches, apples, black berries and chai seeds)

As Autumn approaches, I wanted to create a healthy, flavorful and hearty dish with little to no fuss. So I went into my kitchen and started creating...and came up with a new Chicken Salad Recipe!

Rustic Chicken Salad:

Here's What You'll Need:
A handful and a 1/2 of raw almonds (chopped)
1 tbsp of Grapeseed oil
1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp of Minced Garlic
1 tsp of black pepper
1/2 of a Honeycrisp Apple (fine rough chop)
1 can of Chicken
1 tbsp of Kraft Mayonnaise
1/2 tsp of Season Salt
1/2 tsp of garlic salt

Directions:
Drain Canned Chicken. Then despense chicken into a small to medium sized bowl and set aside. In a small pan over low heat add the grape seed oil and almonds the and the minced garlic, cayenne pepper and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Stir the mixture together for approximately 3 minutes and remove from heat. To the bowl of chicken that you have set aside add the mayo, season salt, garlic salt, and 1/2 of black pepper. Then add the finely rough chopped Honey Crisp apple and the spiced almond pieces to the bowl. Lightly mix together, chill (in the refrigerator for approximately 10 minutes) and serve!

Cooking Is My Escape

Hello Foodies,

My goodness it's been a long time. My apologies. I am in the throws of graduate school and I am also in the process of building my journalism brand, Simply Ari. Although my days and weeks seem to run into each other, I still find such peace and solace in my kitchen; creating recipes from scratch without the restriction of measurements.

Haven't really created any new recipes that aren't already here on the blog, but I am teaching myself how to make homemade soups and I want to try to dabble in making more Asian inspired dishes.

Have you tried any new recipes lately? I want to hear from you!!!

A Little Spice is Always Nice

Hello Foodies!
I know that I haven't been posting anything lately, but I promise I have not forgotten about you! I am in the throws of grad school, building my journalism brand and working on music with my sisters, but I still escape to my kitchen whenever my reality gets to be a little overwhelming. I love this blog and I appreciate all of you so much. I recognize that I have to do better!

With that being said, let's talk about the latest food trend:

The Fall Season is where chef pull out all the stops as it pertains to spices. The most recent trend is Pumpkin Spiced foods and beverages. They have pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin soup, pumpkin spiced cheesecake, coffee, cookies, ice cream etc. you name it, they have it! Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good pumpkin spiced latte every now and then but I think we are all a little pumpkin crazed lol.

As the weather gets colder though, I figure now is the perfect time to create some new recipes for November and December. Normally, I am not a big fan of popcorn, but I found a way to eat it that is really yummy to much on throughout the day and is super easy to make:

Ingredients:
1 bag of Skinny Popcorn
1/2 tsp of Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp of McCormick garlic salt with parsley

Directions:
Pour the popcorn into an 8 oz cup
Add the Cayenne Pepper mix lightly
Next add the garlic-parsley salt in slowly
Mix together and enjoy!

I have few recipes up my sleeve and I will be sure to share them with you soon!

Healthier Me

Since the Lenten Season, I have been working on creating a healthier lifestyle for myself. I am eliminating white from my diet and eating more wheat. This has helped me to limit my intake on food in general and I have found that it  also makes me fuller faster

Here are some of my tricks of the trade

Like Snacks?

I have a really tasty recipe for you to try:

Hearty Trail Mix:

1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup of cashews
1 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Mix everything together and enjoy!

Light Lunch Options:

Salads are the way to go! My favorites are:

1) Iceberg Berry Frenzy:

1/2 head of chopped iceberg lettuce
1 cup Sliced Strawberries
1 cup Blueberries
1/2 cup Pine nuts (could substitute with walnuts, pecans, or almonds)
1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup of raspberry vinaigrette


2) Spinach Red Onion and Black Bean Salad

1 cup of spinach
1/2 of a sliced red onion
1/2 cup of black beans
1/2 cup of raspberry vinaigrette

Try these recipes and let me know what you think!