By I’m sharing recipes I’ve found and loved, not my own creations — though I have taken creative liberties with them. I have also shared commissionable links in this post. as an Amazon affiliate, I may earn commission if you purchase something I recommend in this post. You don’t have to do anything different and it doesn’t cost you any extra.
We kicked off 2021 with the usual plan to eat healthier. Overall, we eat pretty healthy — though the other day, L pointed out a car going by and said “mommy you’re gonna want to see this. It’s your favorite!” It was a Domino’s delivery. I think I’ve ordered Domino’s once in the last 15 years and it was for my in-laws but it gave me and Landon quite the laugh. Total side bar but Landon says I’m a pizza snob and only like fancy pizza or real Italian pizza — which is true. If that makes me a pizza snob then I own it. I still drool when I think about the pizza we had in Italy, especially the one in Sorrento that I got multiple times.
Anyway, we have been doing a great job of not eating out as much — especially since COVID. I would say we used to eat out 3 times a week (including weekends). We enjoy going to restaurants and especially having a beer or two while out. Early on in this mess, we were doing takeout/delivery a few times a week still but now I think we’re down to one or less on average.
However, that means more groceries and more cooking. Here are a few things we’ve loved lately and put on repeat. I’m going to include my favorite soup but should note that upon the 3rd time making it since December, Landon informed me he does not actually like the soup so I will make smaller pots in the future just for me because I do enjoy it.
Lemony white bean & kale soup
This is a great “healthy” option and cold weather meal! It’s full of anti-inflammatory ingredients like white beans and kale. The flavors work so well together.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
I don’t cook a lot with soy sauce even though I love Asian food and inspired dishes. I actually picked up some coconut aminos to use instead of soy sauce in this one and I added in 1/2 a bag of Seeds of Change rice to each of our bowls. For the meat, I did 1/3 pork + 2/3 ground Turkey. I love an easy dinner. The flavors were great and a nice change from our “usual” meals. Definitely adding this recipe to our rotation more often.
Greek Meatballs and salad
My love for Greek food is well known. I often I have a “Greek platter” for lunch that just includes hummus and tzatziki and veggies (plus all the olives). We will go back to Greece one day when I’m not pregnant so I can truly enjoy all of the food. I was so sick when we went in 2016 that I ate very little while Landon was super adventurous.
I made these 50/50 pork and Turkey, a little more fat and flavor from the pork but not all of it when you add in the healthier Turkey. The seasoning was excellent. I also didn’t make my own tzatziki. I regularly buy it and we had some on hand. I added quinoa since it is a great extra protein and so filling. These meatballs would be so easy to make on a Sunday and have on ha d through it the week.
One pan flank steak and veggies
We made this last night and the flavors were really great, though I’d love to see the veggies get roasted more in the same time. Since it’s “one pan” the juices from the steak drip onto the veggies. I added some worchestershire sauce to the steak in addition to the spices. We used Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. I did cut half moon wedges like the book suggested but they were still a bit hard, fortunately, I also cut sweet potato fries because I knew L would eat them and Landon said they were the best we’ve ever made! I did have to leave the veggies in for about 5-7 minutes longer than the steak — which in the future, I’ll put them in the oven first and then put the steak in. Anyway, flavors were excellent, highly recommend.
I love to work my way through a good cookbook and this year’s pick is Meals that Heal. I’m trying to add more intentional anti-inflammatory meals into our life. We typically eat a lot of these things anyway, but let’s be honest, I made a lot of muffins and bread in 2020 which are most definitely not anti-inflammatory. I’m not sure I can go dairy-free, I love my cheese boards and chocolate milk but maybe I’ll cut back.
Slow cooker roast and potatoes
I got this recipe from Anne Snow and it is so good.
- 1 roast
- Baby red potatoes
- Baby carrots
- 1 white onion, diced
- 4-5 pepperoncinis
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 1 packet au jus gravy
Put in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. We served with steamed green beans. Have made this twice now and loved it.
As part of the anti-inflammatory stuff, I also made celery juice. It supposedly has a bunch of health benefits. I can’t say it’s great to drink but it’s also not terrible. Just doesn’t go down quite as easily as cucumber, spinach and pineapple juice. And you’re drinking a whole bunch of celery when you drink 8 oz. anyway, if the benefits are really there then I suppose it’s worth it. I have 2 more bunches so I’m going to make more today. this is the juicer I use — it works really well but does have a bit of clean up afterwards.
Have you found any new recipes this year? Drop them in the comments. My next up is an apple, goat cheese, pine nut salad.
Chapel Hill Baby 