We're bringing this recipe back for everyone who didn't get a chance at it the first go round! These muffins have no flour, no sugar, no butter, and yes, are still delicious!

​Not only is the taste on point, but they are way easy to make with very little clean up after. They are perfect as a to-go breakfast snack in the morning, post-workout snack, lunchbox item for kids or spouse, or substitute it for those store bought granola bars you keep reaching for in a hunger pickle. 

2 cups oats
2 large, very ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1-3 tablespoons honey (depending on how sweet you want your muffins)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
Optional add-ins: (up to ½ cup) chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, blueberries, or 1-3 tablespoons of nut butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 12 cups worth of muffin tin.
2. Blend all the ingredients (except add-ins) in a blender or food processor stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and stir the batter so all the oats get blended (basically into oat flour). Keep in mind it may take a few stirs to get the batter to blend smoothly. Once all the general ingredients are blended, stir in your desired add-ins by hand.
3. Divide the batter between the muffin tins, filling each cup up to ¾ or all the way full – depending on the size of the bananas you use you could end up with more or less batter. However, don’t be afraid to fill the cups full because the muffins will not raise too much or overflow, in fact the muffins may deflate slightly after they cook.
4. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place on a wire rack or turn the muffins sideways in the tins to cool. Enjoy whenever your heart desires!

Looking for a change up to your dinner tonight? This dish will bring a little Eastern flavor to your table by using a uniquely sweet/savory combination of cumin, lemon, and fish sauce while replacing rice, pasta, or potatoes with Israeli (pearl) couscous, peas, and a massive amount of heart healthy veggies. 

Meat & Miscellaneous 

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips 
• 1 cup pearl couscous
• 1 tbsp. cumin 
• Pepper (to taste)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce

Produce

• 1/2 lemon (fresh squeezed)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 package crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small bag frozen peas
• 2 cups fresh spinach 
• 1/2 onion
• 4 cloves garlic

Disclaimer, couscous is not gluten-free! Also called Israeli couscous, this pasta-like grain has a slightly chewy texture and bland flavor that is enhanced by the addition of sauces and spices.

​It is made by rolling durum wheat with salted water to form little balls. Finally, you can add it to so many things, from soups to salads, just be careful as it has a similar nutritional profile to that of traditional pasta. 

Colder temperatures and darker days personally leave me craving something warm and comforting that isn't going to give that heavy feeling after.

​If you're in the same boat, I have the perfect, guiltless and simple, recipe for you! 

Grilled Cheese (serves 3)

• 1 package Portabella Mushrooms
• 6 Slices of Dave's Killer Bread, or any whole grain bread
• 1.5 oz. cheese (visual: ~3 dies)
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Winter Squash Soup (serves 6)

• 5 lage Carrots
• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1/2 Onion
• 4-5 Cloves Garlic
• Fresh Ginger (to taste)
• 32 ounces of Unsalted Vegetable Stock (1 carton)
• Plain Greek Yogurt, 1 cup
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)

If you've followed or tried any of my recipes before, you know I'm a pretty simple gal and need things to be straight forward, fairly quick to make, and tasty to eat. Luckily, this recipe met all of those criteria! ​

1. Peel your carrots, dice into equal chunks and set aside.
2. Dice your onions and press your garlic into a large pot with about 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Let that sautee for 1 minute, then add carrots and a bit of stock and let simmer for ~5 minutes. (The carrots will take longer to cook than the butternut squash).
3. While your carrots and what not are taking their bath, peel your squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and then dice into equal cubes. Finally, grate the ginger and then add all of this to the pot with the remainder of the vegetable stock and let simmer for ~30 minutes, or until everything feels soft.​ 
4. Take the soup off the heat and get out a smart stick hand blender (see picture below), if you don't have one of these a) I would definitely request one for Christmas if you like to cook, and b) you can use a blender or smash them up by hand if desperate. And by hand I mean some sort of mashing utensil, don't use your hand and blame me for your 3rd degree burns, thanks. 
   
5. When the soup is about half way blended, add the cup of plain greek yogurt and finish blending till relatively smooth. Soup, done!

Grilled [Portabello Mushroom] Cheese (serving size: 1 sandwich)
​350 kcal
10 g fat
550 mg sodium
11 g fiber 
20 g protein 

Dietitian Tip
Dave's Killer bread has a good content of protein and fiber, but someone could also make this sandwich on "regular" whole wheat bread and save 260 calorie! SaraLee for example has a multi-grain bread that has 90 kcal for 2 slices.

Winter Squash Soup: (6 servings)
125 kcal
0 g fat
235 mg sodium
4 g fiber
6 g protein

This recipe is so many things: delicious, effortless, nutritious, colorful, and great for any meal. I made a big batch of these to have with grilled chicken for dinner, and then used the left overs with eggs and spinach the next morning.

When I opened up my pantry the other day, I remembered the lonely and giant bag of sweet potatoes I had bought from Costco.

It sat there unopened, all of them staring at me saying "Eat us now before we sprout and die ugly!" I thought, what on earth am I going to do with all of these?! I love you but sheesh, there is a small army of sweet potatoes here.

​Then the answer became obvious, abandon all of them into a slow cooker (that was literally sitting on the next shelf up)!

I mean c'mon, there is nothing better than coming home after a long day and knowing your food is just sitting there, ready to get in your tummy after cooking all day.

​The downfall of course, is it requires a little extra thought and prep time before you head out the door, so a recipe as simple as possible is always appreciated. Thus, the following:

Set aside ~10-15 minutes before you start your day to prep this.

1. Rinse, peel, an slice the sweet potatoes into medallions. 
2. Add your coconut milk, vegetable stock, oil, and spices. Cover with a lid and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. 
3. If possible, give it a little stir an hour in. 
4. Once cooking time is up, the potatoes should be soft enough to mash together. Stir in greek yogurt and serve!

• Fry into pancakes 
• Assemble into a breakfast bowl (as shown)
• Bake into rolls
• Make them into waffles 
• Turn them into a shepherd's pie​
• Mold them into potato balls​ and fry

There's nothing like being able to walk up to a local taco truck and grab yourself a batch of tasty tacos; however, when made a habit, this can get a bit heavy on the wallet and calorie count.

​It's an important to skill to be able to throw something quick and healthy together, especially when you have a demanding schedule, and tacos are so simple it will have you wondering why you've been relying on your food truck guy all these years. 

If you've been doing lunch boxes for your kids, making the same boring sandwiches for your own lunch, aspire to eat healthier but don't know how, or are meal prepping for the week on Sundays only, this recipe is perfect for you!

​Simple ingredients, fast assembly time, left overs for the next day, etc. Check this out:

Mains (probably already in your fridge or freezer)

Step One
Complete this at any point, could be 5 minutes before cooking or two days.
I pulled my halibut out of the freezer and slightly defrosted it for 10 minutes in lukewarm water. Keeping it partially frozen made cutting it into cubes way easy and I would highly recommend this for whatever protein you chose. Put cubes into a Tupperware container, add olive oil, garlic, a handful of cilantro, juice from half a lime, 1 tbsp. of Johnny's, 1 tbsp. of Fajita seasoning, and pepper to taste. Put the top on, shake everything so it coats evenly, and put into the fridge to take out before you cook.

Step Two
Very important.
Wash the fish or chicken gunk off your hands while looking in the mirror and telling yourself you are a gourmet chef and this is going to be the best lunch you've made in awhile. You're totally worth it.

Step Three
Chop your red and green cabbage, and any other veggies you'd like. Bell peppers, onions, or avocado may be nice! I lightly sautéed my cabbage with a little salt and olive oil to add a bit of flavor and cut down on the bitter cabbagey taste. Put these into their own Tupperware.

Step Four
I love Tortilla Land's Uncooked Flour Tortillas, so I was willing to spend the extra few minutes cooking these, but with whatever you choose, wrap your tortillas up in foil. You don't want to preassemble everything because then it will all be soggy when you go to eat it later. 

Step Five
Make the easiest yet most amazing cilantro lime sauce you've ever had. ​