Paprika Popcorn Cauliflower

I can't say I've ever really been a big cauliflower fan, or even really eaten it much, but for some reason this recipe caught my attention. Maybe it's because it made me think of my Grandma, whose favourite meal is chicken paprika (a traditional Hungarian dish). Not only is this recipe awesome because of the many health benefits of cauliflower, but it is so low on ingredients and so easy to make (not to mention vegan and gluten-free)! Makes a super healthy and hearty side-dish for any meal. It's also pretty tasty.

Slightly adapted from this recipe, my Paprika popcorn cauliflower consists of...
- a head of cauliflower
- olive oil
- paprika
- seasoning salt
- pepper

How to make it:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and cut your cauliflower into florets.
2. In a bowl, combine cauliflower, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of paprika, and a sprinkling of seasoning salt and some pepper.
3. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until florets become brown around the edges.

A Variation: For an added kick, try adding chili pepper or a hint of Tabasco!

Chipotle Lime Corn

It's odd how I never thought to add anything to my corn before I stumbled across this recipe. Say no to boring corn with this delicious Chipotle Lime Corn that just explodes with flavor! I swear it's worth the messiness. Makes a perfect side dish.

Inspired by this recipe, my Chipotle Lime Corn consists of...
- corn on the cob
- butter/margerine
- mayo (I like to use light)
- chipotle seasoning
- cilantro
- lime juice
- parmesan cheese 

How to make it:
1. Prepare your corn by either boiling it or cooking it in the oven.
a) To Boil: Place corn on the cob in a pot of boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Brush with  butter/margerine.
b) To Cook: Brush corn on the cob with butter or margerine and place in the oven covered in tin foil   for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
(Personally, I recommend boiling it just because it's faster)
2. In a small bowl, combine mayo, chipotle seasoning, lime juice, and chopped cilantro to taste.
3. Add a heaping spoonful of your mayo mixture to each corn on the cob, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Avocados

Here we have yet another recipe that I have modified from one I found on Pinterest (if you would like to see the original, it can be found here). This one was a great find, it really impressed me- it is one of the easiest, healthiest and tastiest dishes that I have made in quite some time. It's even gluten-free!

Have as a nice and healthy lunch, lighter dinner (I actually just had it for dinner and found it quite filling!) or even serve as an appetizer or side-dish. These consist of...

- avocado
- quinoa
- corn
- red pepper
- red onion
- chopped fresh cilantro
- seasoning salt
- chili flakes
- Tabasco sauce
- lime juice
- sour cream

How to make this:
1. Cook your quinoa- in a small pot combine 1/4 cup of quinoa with 1/2 cup of water, bring to a boil then cover and let simmer until all the water is absorbed.
2. While your quinoa is cooking, chop up your red pepper, red onion, and cilantro. Combine in a bowl with corn, and add seasoning salt, chili flakes, and a dash of Tabasco sauce until you are satisfied with the flavour of your mixture. Add your quinoa to the mixture when it is ready.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine sour cream, lime juice and cilantro.
4. Cut your avocado in half lengthwise, remove the skin and pit, and scoop out some of the center to turn your avocado-halves into small bowls. Add what you've scooped out of the avocados to your quinoa mixture.
5. Spoon your quinoa mixture into the avocado-halves, top with cilantro-lime sour cream and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

So you've got some leftover broccoli, cheddar and potatoes, but you don't want to make more broccoli salad twice baked potatoes because you just had those! What do you do?! Well, you could try making some broccoli and cheddar soup!

This is another recipe that I found on Pinterest. The only revision I made to it was reducing the amount of cheese, because as much as I do LOVE cheese, I still found that it called for a somewhat excessive amount (if you would like to see the original recipe, go here). This nice, hearty soup makes a great side for any lunch or dinner! It consists of...
- broccoli
- a medium-sized potato, peeled and chopped
- chicken broth
- milk
- salt
- shredded cheddar cheese

How to make it:
1. In a large pot, bring 1 3/4 cups of chicken broth, potato chunks, and a dash of salt to a boil.
2. Finely chop up your broccoli, add half of it to the pot and set the rest aside for later. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until potato is soft.
3. Transfer pot contents to a blender, puree, and return to pot.
4. Add the remaining broccoli, 1 cup of milk and 1 and a half cups of shredded cheddar to the pot. Continuously stir and cook on medium for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted in. For the final touch, garnish with a small piece of broccoli.

Broccoli Salad Twice Baked Potatoes

Once again, I know it's been some time since I posted- I haven't been getting too creative with my healthy meals lately. But fear now, because now that I've found Pinterest (which may just be my new favourite thing on the internet!) the creativity and motivation are a-flowin'! So many new ideas on there I barely knew where to start! I somewhat arbitrarily chose to begin with a twice-baked potato recipe that I have put my own little twist on (the original recipe can be found here). So next time you can't decide between salad or potatoes, why not just combine them?!

Makes a great side-dish or have it on it's own for a lighter meal! I have always loved twice baked potatoes and they are actually surprisingly easier than you may have thought! Plus they are gluten-free! These consist of...
- baking potatoes
- broccoli
- shredded cheddar cheese
- red onion
- nuts (I used pine nuts, would also like to try almond pieces)

- craisins
- chives
- butter/margerine
- milk

How to make it:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peirce your potatoes using a fork, and put in the microwave on "baked potato" setting (if you do not have this setting, microwave on high for about 5 minutes).
2. While potatoes are in the microwave, cook your broccoli in a pot of boiled water, covered for about 3 minutes. Strain and set aside.
3. Cut potatoes in half length-wise and scoop out the insides into a bowl, leaving about 1/4" thick shell. Place empty potato halves on a baking sheet.
4. Mash or puree the potato insides, adding milk and butter/margerine until desired texture is achieved.
5. Dice up your red onion and mix into your potatoes with nuts, craisins, chives, and some shredded cheddar cheese. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.
6. Top your potatoes with the cooked broccoli and a little more cheddar. Bake in the oven for about 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Sweet Potato Hash

While at the grocery store recently I had noticed they sold pre-peeled and cut sweet potato and I was so excited because I LOVE sweet potatoes but hate a lot of prep! So obviously I bought them but didn't really have a specific dish in mind to make with them. After failing to find anything of interest in my cookbooks, or to actually execute any type of dinner meal during the week, and with the expiry date fast approaching, I was beginning to worry that my exciting find would go to waste. But with the weekend came new inspiration- sweet potatoes for breakfast! So I proudly present to the interweb my version of sweet potato hash.

This is a dish I am actually very proud of. This was my first time making anything like this and I think it turned out great (if I do say so myself), I thoroughly enjoyed it! It consisted of...
- sweet potato
- red onion
- green onion
- garlic
- pepper
- parsley
- feta
- olive oil

How to make this:
1. If you didn't buy pre-cut sweet potatoes like I did, peel and cut your sweet potato into cubes. Throw them into a pot of water, bring to a boil, and let simmer until tender.
2. Strain your sweet potato cubes and dry.
3. Chop up your red onion, green onion and garlic, sautee them over medium heat in olive oil and set aside.
4. Sautee sweet potato cubes over medium heat in olive oil, adding a bit of pepper and parsley (or whatever spices you like) for about 5-6 minutes.
5. Combine sweet potato cubes with onion and garlic mixture and top with a sprinkling of feta cheese.

Enjoy it on its own, or try with eggs and/or bacon to make it a meal! Great any time of day!

Asparagus Fries

Another collaborative experiment with Ellie that really paid off! And don't let the name fool you- these are actually baked, not fried!

A healthier and crunchier take on the original, these asparagus fries make a great appetizer, side, or snack! Very simple to prepare and make, all you will need are...
- asparagus spears
- flour
- egg
- panko bread crumbs
- salt
- veggie spray

How to make it:
1. Chop the icky ends off the asparagus and rinse them with water.
2. Roll your asparagus spears in flour.
3. Beat an egg into a shallow bowl, then egg wash your asparagus.
4. Coat your asparagus in panko bread crumbs, covering as much of the asparagus as possible.
5. Sprinkle with salt and spray with veggie spray.
6. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Suggestions to make this even healthier: Try skipping the salt to reduce the sodium!

And for a little extra flavour, try dipping your asparagus fries in lemon or chipotle aioli, or just some good old ketchup!

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

A big thank you to my dear friend Ellie for sharing this recipe- as I happen to despise tomatoes and thus always omit them from my recipes, this is a very welcome addition indeed (especially after my last not super healthy recipe...)! Nothing warms up a cold winter day quite like a piping hot bowl of soup, and you can even enjoy it for up to a week if stored in the fridge, or even longer if your freeze it!

Ellie's soup contains...
- 2 cans of whole tomatoes
- a white onion
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 cups of vegetable stock
- olive oil
- black pepper
- salt
- thyme
- basil
- milk (Ellie used 2%)

How to make it:
1. Strain the cans of whole tomatoes over a bowl (you will want to keep the juice) and cut the tomatoes in half.
2. Crush the garlic cloves and slice your onion.
3. Put tomatoes, garlic and onion on a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
4. Combine all ingredients except for basil and milk in a pot, bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Puree everything and add milk.
6. Season to taste and garnish with slices of fresh basil.

Suggestions to make this even healthier: If you're trying to cut dairy from your diet, try substituting milk with pureed potato to give your soup a creamy texture!

And if you're really into presentation, try drizzling some olive oil on top for a fancier look!