Healthified Taco Salad

April 4, 2019 Amanda Plott

This is a quick and easy salad to toss together for a weeknight meal that everyone in the family can enjoy! Yes, even the little ones. All in all I would say that the meal takes just at 30 minutes to prepare and cook in it's entirety. That's it!

Taco salad is one of those great ways to enjoy all the flavors of a taco without quite so much guilt as you would have if you scarfed down 3-4 regular tacos - shell and all. I've kept this recipe light and yet still very filling and satisfying...

Italian Couscous Salad

February 21, 2019 Amanda Plott

This Italian Couscous Salad is as quick and easy as a ‘pasta’ salad can come. With a few chops here, some dices there, a good hefty few stirs and a little while in the fridge, this salad is ready to go and full of flavor! It’s pretty loaded with fun bits too such as salami, fresh mozzarella, basil, olives, and plenty of Italian veggies.

I’d like to think that it’s sort of a fun twist on Antipasto. It’s light, it’s pasta based, and it’s served cold. While usually it’s as a side, I’ve enjoyed eating this for lunch with a hard-boiled egg on the side. But it would also be great served as a side at dinner. Say… paired with a pesto marinated grilled chicken breast…

Quinoa Pesto Bowl

January 30, 2019 Amanda Plott

This post has been sponsored by Great Day Farm Eggs. All opinions are mine alone. #EggceptionallyGreat

Bowls are all the rage right now. Breakfast bowls. Lunch Bowls. Dinner bowls. Healthy bowls! Fortunately, this bowl can be either of those. One of the best parts about this bowl though is that it’s super easy to put together. This bowl starts with some cooked quinoa and is layered with greens, avocado, pesto, and of course - an egg!

Everything’s better with an egg on it, right?…

Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Salad

January 3, 2019 Amanda Plott

Who the hell ever said that black-eyed peas had to just be a New Year’s day thing? Yes, I’m deliberately posting this recipe AFTER the first of the year to be a bit of a rebel.

Every year in my house, it’s the same old debate. What do we do with black-eyed peas to make them more edible. Let’s face it, black-eyed peas earned their nickname ‘dirt peas’ for a reason. Over the years, I’d like to think that I’ve come up with a few clever ways.

This year though, with a cold running rampant through the house… something FRESH and light sounded like what we all needed…

Rustica Salad

October 30, 2018 Amanda Plott

Well, I guess I spoke too soon about the weather cooling off. It’s been cooler, yes… but we’ve still gotten well up into the 80’s for a couple of days this week. It’s been nice for the most part, crips mornings, warm days, and cool evenings to follow. And while I’m completely set on Fall and Winter meals now, I still needed to toss in a light salad into the mix this week.

I’m calling this the ‘rustica salad’ because that’s the name of the salad that I got the idea for this one from. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it with a homemade dressing and plenty of toppings. The homemade Skinny Balsamic Vinaigrette is one of my favorites. I make a double or triple batch of it up at a time and keep it on hand in the fridge quite often…

Southwest Couscous Salad

September 7, 2018 Amanda Plott

I love couscous. I love it in traditional form and I love it Israeli style too. What's the difference though? Traditional couscous is smaller grained and the Israeli one is more of a 'pearl' couscous. Small little beads of 'pasta' that are extremely versatile and can be amazingly delicious!

The lunchtime struggle is real, and I know it is. I've found that if I don't have something prepared ahead of time for lunch, that I'll often go without or end up eating a less than stellar choice. With couscous being one of my favorite things, and pasta salad on the mind, I thought it would be a great time to make a couscous 'pasta' salad!…