Protein Power Balls with Dark Chocolate and Almond Butter

If you want a protein-packed snack that tastes like cookie dough, look no further! I love to make these at the beginning of the week and keep them in the fridge for a quick and easy snack pre or post-workout, or if I want breakfast to go. The best part is that you can dress up however you like! Add some flax or chia seeds! Don't like dried cranberries? Use raspberries or craisins instead! I love this recipe because the texture and the shape appear like cookie dough. So, mentally and according to my taste buds, I am getting a treat when I am giving my body the fuel it needs. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups oats

• 1 cup almond butter

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate morsels

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Method:

Makes 16 balls, keeps in the fridge covered for 5 days.

1. In a large bowl combine, oats, cinnamon, and salt and stir together.

2. Spray a measuring cup with nonstick oil and measure out almond butter. Spray your stirring utensil with nonstick coating as well, and pour almond butter into oats. Mix with your coated utensil to help avoid sticking!

3. Add in chocolate, vanilla, cranberries, and coconut oil and bring together until it looks like cookie dough.

4. Scoop out into golf ball-sized portions and place into a covered container and refrigerate!

5. That’s it! Enjoy your healthy snack for the week!

Say "Pesto-Changeo" & you too can make Pesto!

“Abracadabra!” “Alakazam!” No, honey, you don’t need a magic trick to make pesto! Put down your magic wand and save your witch hat for next month. Go look outside!

Is your basil trying to go to seed? Grab those leaves and let’s make some pesto! Seriously though, grab them sooner rather than later because when herbs or vegetables go to seed, they turn bitter. Why you ask? Oh, it is this cool thing that the plant is trying to pass on its genetics, by turning bitter. This adaption keeps animals in the wild from eating them. Thus, their genetics are passed on. Enough about biology—back to Genovese Basil, which is the type that is best suited for pesto!

Okay, wait, one more biology lesson, or it could be considered horticultural. Either way, do you know how many types of basil there are? 21!! I had no idea either! Each has its own distinct flavor profile, so many of the variations cannot be used interchangeably. For pesto making, it’s Genovese Basil, which looks very similar to Sweet Basil-- probably the variation you are most familiar with. My basil grows like a weed in the summer so that means by late summer, it is starting to go to seed. Lucky for me I make a giant batch of pesto to enjoy well into fall. I divide the batch into a few vacuum-sealed bags and freeze them for quick and easy meals! I snuck a few extra greens into this recipe. Spinach for some extra vitamins and minerals and arugula to help give a lovely, peppery bite to the pesto. I love this pesto recipe so much and hope you will too!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups basil leaves

• 1 cup spinach

• 1/2 cup arugula

• 3 large garlic cloves

• 2 cups shredded parmesan

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 pound of cooked and drained pasta

  • Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before you drain the pasta

Method:

1. In a food processor, add in all of the ingredients, except the olive oil, and pulse until paste-like.

2. With the processor on, slowly stream in olive oil until pesto is smooth and homogenous. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

3. Scoop into a large bowl, cover, and set to the side if using immediately. Set in the refrigerator, if not using immediately. A note on flavor development—There are two factors when it comes to building flavor: time and temperature. Like a middle school grade dance, these flavors are standing on opposite sides of the room. As there is no alcohol in this recipe, time is going to be our ice breaker, and let’s give these flavors a chance to get to know each other. If covered and in the fridge, the pesto will keep for 5 days.

   Tip: To keep the top of the pesto from drying out, once in its container, add a drizzle of olive oil to the top, cover, and then, place in the refrigerator.

4. If using immediately, move on to step 5!

5. Bring a large of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.

6. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Scoop out 1/2 cup of pasta water and set it to the side.

7. Drain pasta and put back into the pot. Add pesto and stir it together. If pesto is not spreading easily, add a few drops of pasta water until pasta is covered in pesto!

8. Plate and add a little extra parm on the top!

You’ll notice that there are no pine nuts in this recipe. Nuts are hit or miss with me. It seems that everything but almonds causes an adverse reaction for me, so I steer clear of 99% of nuts. If you are missing them in this recipe, simply toast about 1/4 of a cup of pine nuts on the stove, until you can smell them, add them to the food processor, and proceed with step 1.

Summer Italian Pasta Salad

Meet the fridge-friendly lunch that is reframing how I see my midday meal! I am not a big lunch girl and generally have thought of it as “second breakfast.” As I am trying to add more greens into my lunch routine, the second breakfast mentality doesn’t exactly lend itself to that. So, I came up with this recipe to help meet that need—and it needed to be ready in a flash! This dish checks all the boxes. The only thing to cook is the pasta and you can do the minimal chopping it calls for while the pasta cooks! After the pasta is done, this dish comes together in under 5 minutes! What I love about this dish is that it can be modified to suit whatever you have on-hand or modified to your tastes. Need it to be gluten-free? Use a gluten-free pasta! Want to add olives or capers? Go for it, honey! Want a different type of cheese? Get mad with mascarpone or the ricotta! Watch these flavors come together in no time flat and voila your lunch is ready!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pasta, cooked and drained

• 1 cup San Marzano tomatoes, quartered

• `1 cup mozzarella (pearl size)

• 2 cups arugula, chopped

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup torn basil leaves (I prefer torn rather than chopped basil because the heat of your hand helps release the oils in the basil—making it more fragrant in the dish!)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

• Optional: shaved or grated pecorino, parm, or grana padano over the top

Method:

1. Rinse cooked pasta with cold water to help remove the starches—this will help keep the pasta from sticking together.

2. In a large bowl combine, pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula, and basil, toss to combine.

3. Add in olive oil and balsamic and toss again to thoroughly coat the pasta mix.

4. Once coated add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. (The oil mixture is going to grab our seasonings and help them stick!)

5. Optional: Add shaved or grated cheese of your choosing. Taste for seasonings and alter to suit.

6. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

7. Congratulations! Your lunch is made for the week! (Also makes a wonderful side dish for dinner!)

Watermelon Caprese Salad

I think we can all agree that when the temperatures rise (especially in Texas) that you rarely will crave a hot meal in the thick of summer. Unless that hot food is queso, which I crave 24/7. If I am seeing clients late, I rarely want to make a big expression with my dinner. Often times I am eating dinner at about 8:30 on my late client nights, and just want a quick dinner before bed. Enter Watermelon Caprese Salad. It’s quick, easy, delicious, and like the earth, watermelon is mostly made up of water (try 90%!) so it will help keep you hydrated in the heat of summer. Filling from the cheese and fiber from the watermelon, in addition to being hydrating and pretty to look at, this salad would graduate valedictorian. Serve as a quick, meatless dinner, salad option, or a side dish. Could also be styled on a skewer!

Ingredients:

-4 cups of cubed watermelon

-8 oz. of mozzarella

- large handful of basil, hand torn yielding about 1/2 c of basil

-2 to 3 second drizzle of olive oil (don’t count in Mississippi’s)…which gets you around 1.5 tablespoons

-a drizzle of balsamic reduction

-pinch of flaky sea salt and pepper (if it suits you)

Method:

Cube up a watermelon into bite size pieces (about 1 in. cubes). Then break the mozzarella into bite size pieces. Hand tear the basil (this is essential because the heat of your hand releases the oils in the basil, thus making it more fragrant/delish). Toss together and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt. Finish with a balsamic reduction, you can make your own on the stove or buy it at your grocer, and your preferred olive oil.

Buckle up, my friend. Your taste buds are going for a wild ride.

P.S. I’ve used peaches before too, and while good, the watermelon soaks all of these flavors up like a sponge.