Single Serving Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe and Tasty Tuesday Linkup Party

Hey guys! Happy Tuesday! Happy Tasty Tuesday!

Did you think there will be no Tasty Tuesday linkup this week because I’m travelling? Did ya? 🙂

It’s happening! And here’s what it is:

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back to this blog or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more people checking out your posts next week!

tasty tuesday

We also now have the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest Board where you can pin your posts every week. To be able to do that, please follow me on Pinterest and let me know in comments that you did, and your Pinterest username so I could send you an invite.

So! On to the tasty stuff now 🙂

Continue Reading

Sweet Potato-Squash Soup Recipe

Hey my foodies! Happy Tasty Tuesday!

Are you ready for some tasty recipes? Me too!

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back to this blog or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more people checking out your posts next week!

tasty tuesday

Continue Reading

Whole30 Days 11-20 Recap – What It Really Feels Like

Hey-hey! Happy Sunday, guys! Having a good weekend so far?

It’s time for my Whole30 Days 11-20 Recap.

This time, instead of showing you just what I ate day-by-day, I wanted to share more of how I felt during my Whole30 Days 11-20. And some things I ate, too 🙂

Here we go!

whole30 days 11-20

Continue Reading

Whole30 Days 1-10 Recap: Program Friendly Meal Ideas

So I am 1/3 of the way through – done with my Whole30 Days 1-10.

In case you missed the beginning – after some thinking I decided to try this program with my buddy over in the Netherlands – Yuliya.

Ok, now that you have all the links, go ahead and read – I’ll wait 🙂

Welcome back!

So. 10 days later I decided I’d recap the highlights of the first 10 days of the program, let you guys know how it feels and what it takes.

whole30 days 1-10

Continue Reading

Curried Chicken and Vegetables Recipe and Tasty Tuesday Linkup

Hey-hey, my foodies! It’s time to talk about tasty stuff on this Tasty Tuesday 🙂

tasty tuesday

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back to this blog or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more participants checking out your posts next week!

Remember that there is now the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest Board where you can pin your posts every week. To be able to do that, please follow me on Pinterest and let me know in comments that you did, and your Pinterest username so I could send you an invite.

This week, in light of my latest challenge which is Whole30, I am posting a Whole30-friendly recipe again.

This curried chicken and vegetables are super quick and easy to make – ideal option for a quick week night dinner for the whole family, and a great way to use those veggies in your fridge/garden.

CURRIED CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

curried chicken and vegetables

To serve 2, you will need:

  • 1 chicken breast, cut into pieces – the size of your choice. I like mine chunky.
  • 1 bell pepper of any color, cut in chunks
  • 2-3 Bok Choy leaves, cut in chunks
  • 1 small zucchini, cut in chunks
  • 4-6 bella mushrooms, halved
  • 1/2 yellow or red onion, cut in chunks
  • 1 tbs yellow curry powder
  • Salt and white pepper to taste
  • Oil of choice (I used olive oil)

Instructions:

Prep the chicken – cut, add curry, salt and pepper, mix until the chicken pieces are coated in spices and set aside for as long as you can – the longer the better.

Cut up all the veggies.

Heat up the oil in your wok (or pan if you don’t have a wok) until light white smoke just starts coming from it. It is very important to heat the oil and the wok/pan properly.

Once that is done, things are gonna start happening pretty quickly, so make sure you have all the ingredients handy.

Add chicken to the wok and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until it is almost cooked through.

Remove chicken from wok.

Start adding vegetables – one at a time starting with the ones that take the longest to cook.

Stir constantly.

Add some white pepper and salt when the veggies are almost done and stir.

Return chicken to the wok (just to heat it up), turn the heat down to low and stir everything together for another minute or two (depending on how well the veggies are cooked at that point).

You don’t want to overcook the vegetables, the need to be a little crunchy.

Serve hot and enjoy!

curried chicken and vegetables

And once again – how easy was that? This dinner takes 20 minutes to throw together. You’re welcome, busy working people 🙂

Spread the love?

Now it’s your turn! Show me what’s been cooking in your kitchen lately 🙂

Hugs,

Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

Turkey-Ginger Breakfast Patties Recipe – Whole30 and Paleo Friendly

Hey, my foodies! How is your week going so far? Hope you didn’t have too bad of a Monday 🙂

Well, you know what day it is, right?  Yep, Tasty Tuesday!

 

tasty tuesday

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more participants checking out your posts next week!

First off, I wanted to let you know that there is now the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest Board where you can pin your posts every week. To be able to do that, please follow me on Pinterest and let me know in comments that you did and your Pinterest username so I could send you an invite.

This week, in light of my latest challenge which is Whole30, I am posting a Whole30-friendly recipe here.

Whole30 pretty much bans all my favorite breakfast foods (oatmeal, avocado toast, PB toast, breakfast sandwiches) – I had to come up with a plan “B” when it comes to breakfast.

So last Sunday I made a bunch of turkey-ginger breakfast patties for an easy grab-and-go breakfast. Add some boiled eggs and vegetables of your choice and you got yourself a wonderful breakfast free of processed crap. Here’s how:

breakfast patties

INGREDIENTS:

  • Ground turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped coarsely
  • 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

HOW TO:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined

Line a cooking sheet with foil and lightly grease with olive oil

Form patties and place them on the sheet (I made 6 big ones, remember they’ll shrink when cooked)

breakfast patties

Bake for 20-30 minutes (10-15 minutes on each side).

Broil for the last 5 minutes.

Let cool down, refrigerate or freeze for later.

Enjoy!

breakfast patties

And that’s it! How easy is that? Mix, pop them in the oven, take out, eat! 🙂

Spread the love:

Now your turn! Link up your tasty posts below, my dears! I can’t wait to read what tasty foods you ate 🙂

Have a wonderful week and eat well.

Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

So…Whole30 Gets a….YES!

After careful consideration, my Whole30 Challenge is a go!

Won’t go into much detail as to why – I guess there’s both pro and con opinions out there – and plenty of both, too. I just feel it’s the right thing for me to do at this point in my health journey.

I’m missing something. And I’m hoping that Whole30 will help me find that “something”.

Anywho. It just so happens that Yuliya over at Welcome to Mommyhood is starting another round of hers over there in the Netherlands as well. How exciting is that? I have a Whole30 buddy!

We decided to cheer each other on and post recaps on our blogs for every 10 days of the challenge.

We will also be posting daily highlights over at Lean Lena and Welcome to Mommyhood Instagram pages.

Make sure you follow both our blogs and Instagram pages if you would like to follow along and find out what the first Whole30 feels like (that would be me telling you that) and how to make it enjoyable with Yuliya’s recipes and previous experience with this program. 🙂

Don’t miss out on the real experience and true recaps!

So… Whole30.

whole30

This weekend I sat down to plan my meals for the week. I’m saying “my” because my family is not following me along. They’re not crazy enough 🙂 Joking. They are. They just love pizza too much 🙂

The good thing is we don’t have the kids with us for the first 7 days of my Whole30, my husband is very flexible with food so we can eat program-friendly meals and hopefully, I will ease into it pretty quickly with less temptations.

So, back to the weekend prep.

On Saturday we went berry picking. It was so awesome! The place is wonderful and we had so much fun. If you’re in the area, check out the Yellow Hill Farm.

We picked a ton of blackberries.

whole30

We made blackberry cobbler that night, and I lie to you not – on Sunday morning my family sat down for breakfast and put away the whole 8″x8″ of it – right out of the pan 🙂 Ok, well…that wasn’t very Whole30 friendly 🙂

Back to the good stuff now.

On the way back from the berry picking we stopped by at the Peach Festival, and got a whole huge bag of peaches!

whole30

On Sunday our hot water heater said “I’m done!” My husband and the girl worked on it all day and ended up replacing the whole thing, while I was getting busy in the kitchen.

I made these awesome Turkey Ginger Breakfast Patties (stay tuned for the recipe tomorrow):

whole30

Got the pork roast in homemade marinade ready and in the over for dinner.

whole30

Cut up some fruit for my smoothies during the week:

whole30

Boiled some eggs, too.

I may or may not have made another 2 cobblers (peach and blackberry) for my hungry family 🙂

So, there you have it, guys! I’m ready for the Whole30 and I feel good about it. Bring it on!

Take care and stay healthy. Come back tomorrow for the awesome breakfast patties recipe!

Lena

 

30 Days Active Challenge – Final Week Recap

30 days active

So, the 30 Days Active Challenge is over, guys.

It’s been quite a few weeks for me. If you think about it – the past few weeks were a demonstration of what life is all about when you’re trying to stay healthy – circumstances getting in the way of your workouts, birthdays and celebrations messing up your healthy eating plans. Weather forecast, 11-year-old girls and their dramas, work stress, stars lining up the wrong way – all that is always going to be there and will be getting in your way.

By taking on this challenge I left myself no way to back out. I had to stay active and make good choices every day regardless of all the above.

And that’s the biggest lesson I’m taking away from this.

You have to pick yourself up and keep going – after that extra piece of cake (no guilt, enjoy it), that drama, those stars, that stress…

So here’s the last recap for this 30 Days Active Challenge for you guys. I hope you enjoyed following my adventure!

{WEDNESDAY}

I totally rocked the dinner that night (hubby helped grilling):

30 days active

After dinner we went for a nice long walk. Good steps that day!

30 days active

{THURSDAY}

On Thursday we decided to go for a bike ride. Yours truly dresses up in all the bright colors to be visible on the road, put on the cycling shoes…only to discover that my husband’s bike had a flat that needed a while to fix. The time was 7:00 pm and we only had 1.5 hour of the daylight left. So we decided to go for a walk instead.

It was such a gorgeous evening! We walked to and around the college football/baseball fields, and it was just amazing out there! We ended up walking over 3 miles that night.

30 days active

Smoothie of the day was watermelon – peach goodness. Yum!

30 days active

{FRIDAY}

Casual Friday morning started with Vibrams and a watermelon-mint smoothie 🙂

30 days active

Friday night was a yoga night. My instructor had been gone for a couple weeks, so it was good to be back in his class and do some much needed stretching.

Funny thing about yoga – your body gets so used to it when you do it regularly that aches and pains come right back if you miss a few classes on your regular schedule.

Was awesome to be back into it on Friday!

{SATURDAY}

I was up bright and early to go to Megan’s cycling class.

30 days active

The sleepy “before”

I love her classes! I never asked, but I think she’s a cyclist – her classes are always built so realistically – just what you would do on a regular bike, no funky moves or profiles! And – they kick.your.ass. Big time!

30 days active

The sweaty “after”

Saturday awesomeness continued with a much needed 4 (!!!) hour nap and getting this in the mail:

30 days active

I can’t wait to go running!

And that was it for the 30 Days Active Challenge, guys. I’m done with it and back to my regular workout schedule with those “take-aways” I talked about in the beginning of this post.

I think I will continue with Wednesday workout recaps on this blog, what do you think? 🙂

Thanks for following along and cheering me on in the past 30 days! I couldn’t have done that without you!

Hugs,

Lean Lena

This post has been shared on Work Out Wednesday Linkup.

Cooking Class at Issei Noodle + Pineapple Curry Fried Rice Recipe

Hey, hey my Foodies! How was your weekend?

It’s that time of the week again – Tasty Tuesday!

Tasty Tuesday Badge 2000x2000

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more participants next week!

So! This week I wanted to share an amazing cooking class experience we had a couple weeks ago.

Cooking class at Issei Noodle!

But let me start from the beginning.

There is an Asian restaurant in my town called Issei Noodle. It is a family owned business and it is famous for it’s fresh and delicious food, honest ingredients and fast and courteous service. Any time you walk in – it’s packed with people, and nobody leaves unhappy. Yep, they are the ones who make my favorite Thai tea (now with bubbles!):

Thai tea

AND my favorite Chicken Pho:

chicken pho

Anyway, it is not far from our house so we naturally go there A LOT! 🙂 On one of our visits I noticed an ad at the check out saying they are now accepting sign ups for cooking classes. Imagine my excitement! Learn how to make their delicious food and get to know the family secrets of fine cooking we enjoy so much? 😉 Count me in!

I signed us up as part of the birthday present for my husband, and a couple Sundays ago we grabbed our cutting boards and knives and went off to the restaurant. I have to say, just being there at the time when they’re usually closed, walking through the restaurant with no guests in it, and walking around their open kitchen was an incredible experience!

The owners (Robert and Naomi) are super nice people! It was the very first cooking class they held, and there were 4 other couples there (total of 10 people).

The first dish we made was Pineapple Curry Fried Rice. With all the ingredients on the table, it didn’t look all that difficult to make at all.

cooking class

Before we knew it, we learned how to peel and slice a pineapple, and got everything ready to go for the actual cooking process.

cooking class

Both teachers were guiding us along the way as we prepped the vegetables (yep, that’s us in the actual kitchen):

We got to use the wok, too! It was pretty heavy so I let my husband “do the shakin’ ” 🙂

cooking class

All that shakin’ resulted in this beauty:

coocking class

It was super delicious! And the fact that we made it ourselves made it even better 🙂 We enjoyed the plate of fried rice while other couples were cooking theirs (we were the first to go).

So, without further ado here’s the recipe for the Pineapple Curry Fried Rice. My advice – since the only way of learning how to do it the right way is to actually go to their cooking class, do it if you get a chance! If you don’t – experiment! It’s a dish that leaves you a lot of room for creativity – other that mandatory ingredients, you can switch and swap pretty much anything! Fun-Fun!

So here we go:

You will need (makes 4 servings):
  • 1 bell pepper
  • Pineapple chunks (wither fresh, or canned. If using canned, choose the unsweetened ones and drain well)
  • 1 onion (either red or yellow – whichever one you prefer)
  • 1 lb marinated beef (cut of your choice, or swap with other kind of meet, chicken or tofu)
  • Vegetables of your choice (we just used onions and peppers)
  • 3 cups jasmine rice (cooked)
  • 2 tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp. sweet soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp. corn starch
  • 4 tbsp. oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
  • 4 tbsp. fine lemongrass
  • 2 tbsp. (more or less to taste) yellow curry powder
Instructions:
  1. Cut the beef to your liking. Add beef to a bowl and add ingredients from the list above: brown sugar – curry, and mix well. Keep in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking (the longer the better).
  2. Preheat the wok really well. Add 2 tbsp. vegetable oil to the wok and carefully slide marinated beef to the wok.
  3. Stir until cooked.
  4. Add vegetables to wok, cook for a bit, and then add pineapple chunks.
  5. Add fish sauce and stir in the cooked rice.
  6. Add the sweet soy sauce and stir well.
  7. Garnish with some green onions and dried shallots.
  8. Enjoy!

And that’s how easy it is, guys!

HUGE thanks to Issei Noodle for an incredible experience, sharing their wisdom with us and letting us have such a great time at their restaurant.

Take a moment to check them out on:

Now it’s your turn to share your Tasty Tuesday post, guys! Link ’em up!

Lean Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

Dinner Salad with Salmon and Grapefruit – Recipe and Linkup Party

Hey, my Foodies! Got a good start this week?

I had an awesome Monday! (more on that tomorrow).

Meanwhile, it’s Tasty Tuesday time!

What is Tasty Tuesday you ask?

Every Tuesday I post a recipe, a collection of recipes, a restaurant review or anything related to food. There is then a linkup at the end of the post where you can add links to your food-related blog posts! The linkup stays open for a week – right until the next one comes around. How awesome is that?

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more participants next week!

Tasty Tuesday Badge 2000x2000

So, today my contribution to the Tasty Tuesday is a dinner salad recipe.

This salad comes together in minutes and is ideal for hot summer nights when you don’t feel like eating much, or trying to take it easy after that huge meatball sub you had for lunch 🙂

Anyway, give this salad a try as a dinner salad or as a side – it is fresh and delicious!

dinner salad

You will need:

(pick your own quantities depending on how many servings you would like to make)

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Grapefruit
  • Avocado
  • Salmon
  • Sliced almonds
Instructions:

Before you begin, here’s a tip: don’t make this salad in a big bowl. It is much better to make individual servings to keep it nice and beautiful.

First, marinate your fish: all I use is a little bit of lemon juice, pepper and soy sauce. Make sure the fish is coated with the marinade and let it sit on the counter while you’re prepping other ingredients.

Then, tear up your lettuce. Don’t cut it with a knife – that’s how you get those rusty brown edges on the lettuce pieces on your plate and the leftover lettuce head in the fridge. So, tear it up and layer the bottom of the salad bowls with it.

Peel and cut avocado, and put on top of the lettuce.

Since grapefruit will probably take the longest to prep, do that next. Peel it, take the flesh out and tear into chunky pieces. Another tip: do it over the salad bowls with lettuce – that way you will keep the grapefruit juice in the salad. It also helps keep avocado from turning brown.

Cooking fish: I used my wok, but you can use a regular frying pan. The key is to heat up the oil in your wok/pan nicely (I use olive oil). Once that’s done, throw the fish in and stir constantly but gently so the fish doesn’t fall apart. Ideally, you want the fish to be rare on the inside and just have a cooked crust on the outside for this salad. If you’re not comfortable eating almost raw fish, just cook it through.

Put the fish on top of your salad and sprinkle the sliced almonds over it.

Serve warm or cold.

I generally don’t add any dressing to this salad because of the grapefruit juice + juices from fish on it, but you can add some olive oil or any other dressing you like to this salad.

dinner salad

Enjoy!

And that’s about it for this week’s Tasty Tuesday, my friends.

Your turn: link up your tasty posts below! And don’t forget to share and spread the word!

Lean Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

This post was linked up to: Recipe of the Week,  Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday

Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe – No Guilt and Lots of Flavor!

Hey my foodies! How was your weekend?

Mine was an emotional roller-coaster, but I don’t want to go there right now – more on that on Wednesday!

I hope you enjoyed yours and are ready for some tasty stuff!

As always, it’s Tasty Tuesday Linkup time!

Don’t forget to check out other link up participants and there’s only one rule to the linkup – link back or grab the link up badge from the sidebar. Let’s spread the word so we can have more participants next week!

Tasty Tuesday Badge 2000x2000

My tasty find this week – Cheesecake Cupcakes.

Do you love cheesecake? Is it hard to stop before you finish the whole piece once you have it on your plate? You bet it is (for me)! These cheesecake cupcakes are going to save your calorie budget 🙂 They are bite size, and I made some healthy substitutions to the ingredients on the original recipe (which was shared by a co-worker of mine). So here you go – paradise on earth – cheesecake cupcakes!

cheesecake

You will need (for 12 cupcakes):

For the crust:

1 cup Graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup very ripe avocado (who needs butter when you have avocado?)

For the filling:

1 block Philadelphia cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 can condensed milk

1/4 can evaporated milk

Strawberries and fresh mint leaves (to garnish), or

1 can of crushed pineapple and 1/4 cup condensed milk (to top)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350° F

Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners

Mix Graham cracker crumbs with avocado until well combined

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners (about 2 tsp per liner), and press down with the spoon to make crust:

IMG_6369-1

Bake crust for 10 minutes at 350°F.

While the crust is in the oven, prep the filling by combining all the ingredients for the filling and mixing until smooth and creamy.

Pour filling into the cups over the prebaked crusts when they are ready. Normally you’d fill the cups until they are 2/3 full (for regular cupcakes). However, cheesecake normally rises pretty well, but falls back when you take it out of the oven. So, I filled mine almost all the way to the top:

IMG_6370-1

Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F.

They should look like this when they’re done and just out of the oven (cracked on top).

cheesecake

Slice the strawberries, and put on top of the cupcakes while they’re still hot, garnish with fresh mint leaves if you like. Another tipping idea: mix crashed pineapple and some condensed milk and spread on top:

IMG_6374-1

Refrigerate for at least a couple hours before serving.

Enjoy!

cheesecake

Your turn, guys! Link it up!

Lean Lena

This post was shared on Healthy Tuesday Hop, Recipe of the Week Linkup

 Loading InLinkz ...

Tasty Tuesday Linkup Party and Quinoa Taco Salad Recipe

Hey, guys! Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!

I had a great weekend! Full of family time, laughs, fun activities and good food. Yep, there were fireworks, too 🙂 Back to the salt mine today, but all recharged and ready for it.

As always, it’s the Tasty Tuesday Linkup Party time here on Lean Lena. Here’s the new badge (you can grab the code for it on the right sidebar), and I’m hosting it alone for now.

Tasty Tuesday Badge 2000x2000

We’ll see what happens 🙂

So! If you have a recipe on the blog, a restaurant review, a meal plan, a “what’s on my plate” kind of post or anything food related – you can link it up below.

This linkup is open for 1 week – right until the next one starts. So, if you didn’t get a chance to link up today – come back tomorrow!

Any shares and spreading the word is greatly appreciated!

Today I’m sharing yet another salad recipe with you – and this one is also quinoa based. I just love quinoa in salads! Have you seen my post featuring recipes with quinoa yet? Head over here to check it out in case you missed it.

Then come back inspired and make this super-salad!

tasty tuesday

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Quinoa, cooked according to package instructions – about 1/2 cup uncooked, and cooled down
  • Canned Black Beans (rinsed and drained well)
  • Fresh tomatoes
  • Fresh leeks or purple onion
  • Corn (I “shaved” my corn on the cob that I had handy but you can use canned corn as well, just rinse and drain well before adding to the salad)
  • Fresh cilantro
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil
  • Taco seasoning, salt and pepper to taste
  • Tri-Color Tortilla Strips to garnish (optional)

tasty tuesday

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine quinoa and all vegetables (except tomatoes) in a salad bowl.

Add lemon juice, olive oil, taco seasoning, salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

Fold in tomatoes.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

tasty tuesday

How wonderfully easy is this salad?

The best part of it is that the longer it stays in the fridge, the tastier it gets (within reason, of course 🙂 )

Now tell me, what was the tastiest thing you ate last week?

Got a post about it? Link it up below!

Happy Tasty Tuesday and I will see you tomorrow right here with my report to follow up on my resolutions I talked about in the Tough Love post last week.

Stay tuned!

Lean Lena

Be sure to check out the linkups this post was shared on:

Real Food Wednesdays

Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop

A Humble Bumble

FEATURED-BUTTON-Healthy-Hop-2501

 Loading InLinkz ...

Quinoa the Queen and 5 Ways to Easily Incorporate it into Your Diet

Happy Tasty Tuesday morning to you, my friends!

What fun things did you do this weekend? I was on a cleaning spree – so I scrubbed and cleaned, and washed and dusted, and vacuumed and what not 🙂

Love to have a clean house! Great feeling.

There was also some pool time on Sunday and hubby’s company picnic on Saturday.

FUN!

But back to tasty things 🙂 It’s linkup party time! Do you have something tasty you’re talking about on your blog? A new recipe? A restaurant review? Link it up below!

Don’t forget to check out other links!

Me? I am talking Quinoa today 🙂

Quinoa is a wonder-seed. Rich in protein (8 g, 16%), magnesium (118 mg, 30%) and fiber (5 g, 21%) it has become extremely popular among people with various dietary restrictions, preferences and tastes.

I personally discovered it about a year ago (thank you, Internet 🙂 ), and I have been hooked ever since I tried it for the first time.

If you’re looking into trying quinoa, here are some tasty ways to incorporate it into your diet.

{ONE} Salads

I usually make a whole batch of it on Sunday and add it pretty much to all my salads.

On a bed of fresh baby spinach

On a bed of fresh baby spinach

Here’s the link to my Quinoa Power Salad and ways to serve it.

Every salad (except the beet root salad) in this Sunday meal prep photo has white quinoa in it:

IMG_4428

{TWO} Baking

I haven’t tried baking with it yet, but this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Cake by Peanut Butter and Peppers looks super-yummy!

{THREE} Breakfast Recipes

Some people eat quinoa cooked as oatmeal for breakfast.

Or, you can make this awesome Quinoa Pudding by Honest Fare and have that instead!

{FOUR} Add to Soups

Add your quinoa to soups instead of that pasta! So much better for you!

This Black Bean and Quinoa Soup by The Post Punk Kitchen looks simply ah-mazing!

{FIVE} Add to Smoothies

Yes, you read that right! I can’t wait to try and add quinoa to my smoothie!

Check out the recipe for this beautiful Tropical Quinoa Smoothie by Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth.

And those are your 5 ways to incorporate quinoa into your diet.

Now it’s party time!

Share your tasty finds with me 🙂

Questions of the day:

Have you ever tried quinoa? How did you like it? What is your favorite recipe with quinoa?

Take care, my friends!

Lean Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

S’more S’mores: 5 Recipes You Will Want to Make

Hey guys! Happy Tasty Tuesday! I hope you had a nice weekend.

As usual – we’re partying today and celebrating all the tasty stuff in our lives 🙂 Be sure to hop over to Meranda’s blog to check out what’s cooking over in her part of the cyber space, and check out the party participants in the linkup below. Hey, got something to add to the party? Link it up!

IMG_4467

We went camping on Saturday. I. Love. Camping.

When I was a kid we’d go camping every summer for a week. We’d tent by the lake, swim, cook food over the camp fire and go fishing. I looked forward to it so much every summer! And that’s where my ability to start a camp fire came from, as well as my addiction to poking it with a stick all the time 🙂 🙂 🙂

camping

Thankfully, my husband loves camping, too – so we try to make time and go camping every spring/early summer as a family.

One thing I discovered about camping when I moved to the US was S’mores (I know, right?). Oh. My. God. How come I didn’t know this goodness existed for the first 30 years of my life???

camping

Anyway, no one can take that from me now – I love me some s’mores! 🙂 And because I love them so much – that got me thinking about ways to bring s’mores into my life any day I want – not just when we go camping. Check out what I found!

s'mores

Yeah, that’s my hand holding on to that S’more for dear life 🙂 Anyway, back to the recipes! Click on the recipe name below to view the original recipe on it’s creator’s blog. Some of the recipes are quick and easy to make, others – more complicated and sophisticated. But one thing I can tell you for sure – those 5 will bring the camp fire favorite to your table any time you want it!

{ONE} No Bake S’mores Pie by Brown Eyed Baker

This pie looks mouth watering good, and according to the Brown Eyed Baker you only need 20 minutes to put it together! It doesn’t get any better, does it? 🙂

{TWO} 5 Minute Chocolate Fudge S’mores Mug Cake by How Sweet It Is 

For all of you mug cake AND s’mores lovers out there. You’re welcome 🙂

{THREE} S’mores Stuffed French Toast by BS’ in the Kitchen

For this one, Bob over at BS’ in the Kitchen even has a video showing you how to make them!

{FOUR} S’mores Whoopie Pies by My Baking Addiction

Mmm….mmm…mmm… Right after I’m done with this post, I am going to look for a whoopee pie pan online so I can make these!

 {FIVE}  S’mores Fudge by the Novice Chef

Fudge AND s’mores? Yes, please!

And that’s how your get s’more s’mores, guys 🙂

Do share: Camping – yey or ney? Tent or cabin? Can you start a camp fire?

Take care, friends! And don’t forget to link up your tasty posts below.

Lean Lena

 Loading InLinkz ...

A Week in Food – Award Ceremony

Good morning, World! How is it turning today? 🙂 I bet it feels like it’s turning faster, because it’s Friday 🙂

Have you had breakfast yet? No? Well, I’m just about to make you hungry!

I’m talking food here today (again) – highlights of the past week and awards in 5 Categories! Ready?

SoBreakfast/Snack” category winner is…..

Granola

Granola and Yogurt

I usually make my own granola. This time I couldn’t resist this yummy looking all organic granola I found at TJ Maxx, so I bought it and enjoyed it ever since.

“From Hubs With Loves” Category winner is….

sandwich

Steak Sandwich

Just that – steak, provolone and lettuce on whole wheat bread – the sandwich hubby made me last Friday and left in the fridge with a note for me. Isn’t he the sweetest? 🙂

“Eating Out” category winner is…

chicken pho

Chicken Pho Soup from Issei Noodle

This is one of our most favorite places to eat in town – always quick, fresh, cheap and super delicious! And that place just got even better – they now serve Thai tea with bubbles!!!!

Thai tea

Mmmmm…I love me some bubble tea!

“Lazy Wife” category winner is…

pasta

Store-bought chicken tortellini with mushrooms

Our go-to meal when the wife is feeling to lazy to cook anything more complicated 🙂 What? I added veggies! 🙂

Do share: what’s cooking today?

Have a great weekend, guys!

Lean Lena