If you've ever heard of the establishment Tropical Smoothie Cafe (TSC), you might think they only carry smoothies (makes sense with the name!), however they also have other offerings including a delish sort of sweet breakfast quesadilla with peanut butter and banana. If you live near a TSC, I highly recommend trying one there just to see what the hype is all about, but if you don't live near one and/or want to recreate it at home, let's go through a copycat recipe. Ingredient

During these cold winter months it can be so comforting to have warm meals and sides. When it comes to vegetables if you’re only thinking about cold salads, this may feel like it’s missing the mark. Or perhaps you’re burnt out on having vegetable soup. May I suggest making a batch of escarole and beans? It can be a delicious side dish or a complete meal with a few additions. Escarole and Beans (with or without sausage) Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 p

If you’ve taken notice recently, it seems like the market for non-alcoholic (NA) beverages, also sometimes referred to as mocktails, is growing rapidly. And that’s correct, “according to forecasts, the market is anticipated to experience an annual growth rate of 4.56% between 2023 and 2027”. Perhaps you’re already someone who enjoys a virgin drink on the regular or you’re interested in pursuing this more going forward - either way this post is for you! Additionally if you’re

If you’ve been a reader here for a year or longer you might recall a post from the holidays in 2022 for creating festive appetizers on a budget and I hope that another installment might be helpful! Grocery store prices still remain high. According to the USDA, there has been a 2.1% food price inflation compared to October 2022; the USDA also shares that “food prices are expected to grow more slowly in 2023 than in 2022 but still at above historical-average rates”. It’s import

If you’re familiar with a previous post on the blog that discusses gentle nutrition through the lens of “nutrition by addition”, here’s another installment of just that. If you’re not familiar and want to check back on that one (all about pizza!), head here for the full post: Add Instead of Subtract to Increase Nutritional Value Today let’s talk more about a delicious breakfast item - French toast. This time of year you may be home more, hosting brunches or just trying to fin

After Thanksgiving this week, you might have leftovers from hosting at your home or containers that you got sent home with from loved ones. Either way, having leftovers in the fridge can be great because it means no need to cook another meal! Additionally, repurposing Thanksgiving leftovers is a practical way to reduce food waste, as well as an opportunity to discover new flavors and textures. If you’re wanting to dress up the holiday items a bit differently and/or need to su

Anyone else excited it’s officially #soupseason? I love how comforting a warm bowl of soup can be, however at times it may not be filling enough on its own. What we can do then is think about some gentle nutrition, and utilize the “nutrition by addition” mentality. More on this can be found in a previous blog post. Here’s some ideas for bringing more nutrient and energy density to soup: Depending on the type of soup/recipe, you can always add more to it. For example, take a c

This post is for all of the yogurt lovers out there! Or perhaps you’re not even much of a yogurt lover, but have found yourself with a container of it and aren’t sure how to use it up. Yogurt can be such a versatile ingredient beyond just yogurt parfaits or smoothies (which are great too but you may want a bit more flexibility with this ingredient). If you’ve been on social media in the last few months you’ve likely seen the trend of cottage cheese in everything going viral,

These final few weeks of summer mean it’s time to lean into all of the remaining opportunities for summer produce (#tomatogirlsummer). Whether you’re harvesting from a garden of your own, going to a farmer’s market or enjoying what’s still for sale at the supermarket, salads are one of the first ideas that come to mind when using produce. Now let’s preface this by saying salads are NOT the only way to enjoy produce! If you prefer roasted veggies, go for it! If you prefer to

If you’re a sushi fan and have ever wanted to be able to make it at home without needing to master the skills of sushi rolling here’s a recipe for you! Oh and did I mention you can make most of it in an air fryer and microwave? (If you’d like/have those appliances accessible, so it’s pretty simple recipe). Yields 2 servings Ingredients: 2 servings of microwave rice of your choice 8 oz of salmon, cut into cubes Veggies of your choice, suggested: cucumber, carrots, avocado and/