(Vegan) Crock-Pot Thai Red Curry Lentils

Guys, I have a brand new crock-pot.
I found it under the Christmas tree, all wrapped by Santa Claus. How awesome is that?
But let’s start from the beginning.
About a month ago my old crock-pot died an unnatural death (I won’t tell you how though).
Since that day I felt lost and alone.
You see, I use my crock-pot many many times a week. I make a bunch of things with it: chicken tikka masala, pulled pork, roasted red pepper sauce, bolognese sauce, just to name a few.
I consider it one of the best inventions ever. I can't fathom going through a winter without a crock-pot.
So imagine how I was feeling. Mike without slow cooker -> disaster.

Loaded Superfood Chocolate Bark

Are you in need of a last minute gift idea?
Don’t worry, I have the solution for you guys.
This Loaded Superfood Chocolate Bark is the perfect festive present.
A ridiculously easy no-bake treat with Medjool dates, almond, goji berries, hemp seeds, and sea salt flakes all embedded into dark chocolate.
It’s salty, sweet, and crunchy with so much texture and so much good-for-you stuff in every bite. The perfect healthy-delish present or for impromptu holiday parties.

(Paleo & Vegan) Chocolate Pistachio Mousse

All I wanted to give you for Christmas was some chocolate mousse.
My logic was simple: Christmas means decadent meals and rich desserts. But in reality, more often than not, after a feasting on baked ham, roasted turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy I find myself too full even for a cup of ginger tea, quite tired and, while we are being honest, like I need some Pepto and at least a solid 10k run.

New Year's Eve Beef Chili

What’s your ideal New Year’s Eve?
Mine is eating a delicious dinner with a group of friends at home.
Forget expensive venue tickets and long lines for food and drink. And don’t even get me started on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I never go to Times Square unless I have guests.
To be honest, New Year’s Eve in Times Square is my own personal nightmare. Shoulder to shoulder masses, screaming drunks, and — worst of all — having to pee with no chance of getting to a bathroom just to watch the ball drop? No.Thank.You.
Partying at home with friends is definitely how I like to roll.
Cheaper, easier, and definitely safer than being out on the town.

(Gluten-Free) Almond Pecan Bars

 If you’re anything like me, then you don’t eat purely for sustenance.
Delicious food makes me happy and sometimes even changes my perspective on life.
Then there’s the social aspect of food: a rally point for being together, either in preparing and cooking, or in enjoying the meal.
Nothing brings family and friends together like great food, especially during the holidays.
It’s hard to remember a holiday that didn’t involve gathering around a table.
Holidays are about spending time with family, embracing a new year, exchanging thanks and gifts, but more importantly, it’s the time for yummy food.
That’s right you guys, if there’s any time to indulge, this is it.
Everyone’s baking and holiday sweets are practically thrown in your face.
So why fight it, when you can enjoy it.

(Vegan) Red Lentil and Spinach Tikka Masala

 As you may have noticed, I’m not the kind of person who just throws together things in the kitchen without at least a map, a compass, 1001 enthusiastic reviews on AllRecipes or an old friend’s sworn solemn oath in written from, that a certain recipe is 100% guaranteed to blow my socks off.
Sure, I’ll make numerous adjustments while I work on something to meet my personal preferences, but aside from grilled chicken, eggs, and casseroles, I rarely go on my own intuition.
Because you see, my intuition has often led me to all kind of kitchen disasters: a strawberry pie that had exploded in the oven, a caldo verde that looked like vomit, Crock-Pot meat that was cooked to shoe leather, etc…
So, as you see, these days I tend to use recipes, possibly true and tried recipes.

Quick Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet

Surely, you didn’t think I was going to let this year end without populating the broccoli archives with one new recipe, right?
I mean, sure, the Broccoli and Mushroom Casserole is still a star. The Creamy Broccoli Soup always gets raves. And so does Chinese Chicken and Broccoli.
But when you have a nephew that likes broccoli — scratch that — LOVES broccoli, you’re always on the hunt for new and advanced ways to prepare the beloved green cruciferous vegetable.
These days, I’ll find a recipe for a broccoli dish in a magazine and be like “Man I have to make this for Nephew!”
I’m such an awesome uncle, I should get a medal...

(Paleo and Vegan) Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

When I was a kid I always ate raw dough when my mother was making cookies (just as I ate raw cake batter). I used to beg my mother to let me have a whole bowl of cookie dough when she was making cookies — just for the record, my mother made the Toll House cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate morsels bag.
She never let me. I had to be content with spatula, the beaters, the bowl, and whatever I could spoon off with my finger when her back was turned.

(Paleo) Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

 If you know anything about me, I guess you know that my love for cinnamon runs deep as my love for soup.
I actually keep two different kinds of cinnamon in my pantry.
Yup, that’s right. I have two kinds of cinnamon — please, don’t act like you’re surprised.
It’s no mystery that I'm a spice freak. I have more than a hundred spices in my pantry and like to grind my own spice mixes using whole spices. I even broke two coffee grinders trying to grind spices in them before buying myself an (almost) professional Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder, that grounds hard and soft spices and breaks them all down in a few pulses.

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

I love enchiladas and I love enchilada casserole.
But sometimes I don’t feel like making enchiladas or enchilada casserole because, let’s be honest, it’s pretty time consuming (especially if you’re making (cauli) tortillas from scratch) and it might not be a great solution for a weekday night dinner.

(Paleo) Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

You guys, guess what?
As a thank you for being a TIY reader I made you a batch of warm, fresh, Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins.
I know, how kind of me.
Did I mention they’re paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free?
Meaning you can definitely eat more than one. Two, three, four, maybe even five.
Yes, plan to eat muffinS, plural.
They’re tiny and oh-so delicious, you won’t be able to stop just at one.
Trust me, they’re that good!

(Paleo) Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This time of the year, I’m thankful for memories of family and food that I loved as a kid.
For me, Mom’s Caramel Apple Blondies and cookies like these chocolate crinkles are a trip down memory lane.
Chocolate crinkle cookies were, and definitely still are, one of my favorites, especially during this time of the year.
There’s something about the dense, chewy, chocolate loaded goodness that I just can’t resist.
And the powdered sugar on my fingers and face reminds me of good ‘ol times.

(Paleo) Gingersnap Cookie Sandwiches

 As we are already in a festive mood with Thanksgiving approaching fast, it’s time to bake some cookies.
If there was ever a good time of the year to get busy in the kitchen, this is it.
And arguably gingersnaps (or ginger cookies, or ginger crinkles, whatever you want to call them) are the best cookies to make from scratch during the holidays.
They literally scream “HOLIDAYS!”

(Easy) Bacon Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Being a healthy food blogger (and a triathlete) is a give-in that I exercise.
And I do. Every day.
Although there are times when I feel like I’m not doing all I can, I always manage to fit in some exercise: run, or swim, or cycle, or practice yoga.
The other night I felt especially accomplished after completing a 10 mile run, followed by a 45 minutes HIIT cardio and abs workout, and a gentle stretch yoga class.
So accomplished that I decided I deserved a special dinner, a carb-o-licious dinner (also known as carbageddon).

Mom's Caramel Apple Blondies

Okay, maybe I’m jumping the gun, but the store across the street from where I live has had Christmas decorations in their windows since October 23, so I think it’s perfectly fine to officially declare November the beginning of the holiday season.
I love the fall/winter holidays more than anytime of the year.
I know it’s a busy time of year — between decorating, cooking shopping, and celebrations — and it’s definitely easy to get overwhelmed. But nonetheless it's an awesome time, except of course my birthday.

(Vegan) Apple and Butternut Squash Soup with Walnuts and Marjoram

 At last, I have a new recipe for you in the heavily neglected category of apple recipes.
How could this have happened, you ask?
Fall’s here after all, which means it’s apple season.
And why haven’t I posted a recipe with apples yet?
I dunno, I dunno…

Glazed Korean-Style Meatballs

 If you follow this blog, you know I’m obsessed with football, and not only the games but also the food aspect.
I love having friends coming over to watch the game on Sunday and serve up some goodness.
But at the same time I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen getting ready for the kick-off.
Enters these Glazed Korean-Style Meatballs.
This is a recipe that always scores major points and though the ingredient list is long, the prep is minimal and the cooking is (mostly) done by an oven.
Which means I’m always ready for the coin toss and I never miss a moment of the action!

Butternut Squash Polenta with Crispy Sausage and Caramelized Onions

Look at this guys!
Can you believe that I’ve been eating this for dinner all week?
I’m serious.
And I still can’t get enough of it.
It’s creamy, sweet, fragrant, rich, and with a deep flavor that just begs to be savoured.
Honestly, I could eat just this for dinner for the rest of the year and never get bored.

(Vegan) Creamy Thai Butternut Squash Curry

I’ve confessed again and again that I’m just not the kind of person who likes to eat things repeatedly.
Sure, I make this chickpea tikka masala more than I’d like to admit and also this sweet potato hash happens way too frequently.
I tend to get bored of the same food easily.
And though humans are creatures of habit, when it comes to cooking I feel the need to explore the less familiar.
What’s worse than food monotony?
I dunno, I dunno.

4-Ingredient Deviled Chicken Thighs

This, my friends, is all the evidence you will ever need that you can never go wrong with Dijon mustard.
Because despite recovering from a horrible cold (not just any cold, more like the biggest, baddest and ugliest cold ever) with zero appetite, and even less inclination to walk to the kitchen and cook, an email from Mark Bittman dropped into my inbox the other day with a recipe for a super simple way to cook chicken thighs; so I dragged myself and made it for dinner last night and it was awesome.
Curative, even. I almost feel reborn today.
Apparently the delightful tang of Dijon mustard woke up not only my taste buds.

Green Machine Soup with Polenta Croutons

Can I get a “woot, woot” for green soup?
Anyone?
No, okay, okay, I get it.
Maybe green soup isn’t the sexiest food around or will get your stomach’s rumbling. But if there’s one thing I know is that this Green Machine Soup is a surprisingly delicious and velvety soup. And after eating one bowl you’ll feel like you just did something really good for your body.
In other words, this green soup maybe even be THE sexiest food around and after trying it your body won’t get enough of it.

15 Delish Casseroles To Warm You Up

 In terms of pure comfort, casseroles are high on the list of my fave autumn cooking.
Double points if they have a good amount of cheese and triple if they also contain quinoa.
In fact, I’m stoked that the chilly weather has brought casseroles back into my meal rotation.

Big batches of Baked Spinach Rice or Cottage Pie not only make the kitchen smell like a million bucks on a Sunday night, but they become easy lunches and dinners throughout the week.
And if a couple of friends swing by, no prob — there’s always plenty to share.

On top of that casseroles don’t deserve their reputation of being heavy and loaded with cream and cheese — don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely delicious when they are — but they can be just as warming and yummy when filled with veggies.

So without further ado here are my 15 fave casseroles: filling, nourishing, and all delish. And trust me there’s not a single can of cream of chicken soup in sight!

Tuna Burgers For Two

 If you’ve been following me you know that I love me a good burger.
But who really doesn't?
Who doesn’t dig a messy, delicious, and flavorful burger?
It’s America's quintessential comfort food and can now be enjoyed in an impossibly endless number of ways.
It doesn’t have to be made from beef to give satisfaction. There are ton of options — chicken, turkey, tofu, sweet potato, and all kinds of fish.

10 Recipes To Make When You're Sick

 It finally happened. After months of good health and high spirits, one of my friends has infected me with the cold.
I hate getting colds because there's nothing you can do about it, except let it run its course. I hate getting food poisoning, I hate getting fevers, but I hate cold more.
Have you ever tried reading a book, watching a movie or working with a runny nose?
It is perhaps the most frustrating thing ever.
Just as you start to enjoy yourself, your nose begins to drip like a leaky faucet. Completely killing any enjoyment you have, as you proceed to wipe your nose again and again and again.
Torture.

Anyways, instead of feeling miserable and sorry for myself, I decided to take action and bolster my immune systems with food.

Believe it or not the most authentic way to fight a cold (or flu) is to eat foods that will help you build the healthy cells you need to feel better.

So I went in and selected 10 recipes from The Iron You to make when you’re sick. Most are smoothies, juices, and soups — because, as you have probably heard it like a million times, when you’re sick you need to get plenty of fluids.
And it’s true. The body needs extra hydration when you’re trying to get well.
But there’s also a grilled cheese. Trust me, there's nothing better to do on a sick day than to put cheese between two slices of (cauli) bread and call it a day.
I also included a recipe for popsicles as it’s my favorite remedy for a sore throat.

I hope you'll enjoy it!