I whipped this meal together a couple Fridays ago when Zak had dinner plans with some friends and I was home with the kids.

Zucchini noodles with pesto and sauteed shrimp

I felt a little guilty for making something so yummy when he wasn’t home to eat it with me.  Some how, some way, I did manage to save him some leftovers.  That’s love.

Zucchini Noodles with Homemade Pesto and Sauteed Shrimp

For the zucchini noodles:

1 – 2 Tbsp of butter, coconut oil or olive oil, enough to coat all the zucchini
2 large-ish zucchinis
garlic powder and salt to taste

If there is one thing that is perpetually on my list of Things to Get Better At, it would be meal planning. I always go to the grocery store and buy the same old, same old ingredients to make the same old, same old meals – not having any specific plan for the week  (Maybe I have one new or specific meal in mind.)  I rarely decide on what I’m going to make until it’s time to get started making dinner.  Sometimes this is fine, other times it feels very boring.

If you eat kale, do you remember a time when you didn’t eat kale?

I sure do.  Kale was totally a “No, thank you” food as a former only-iceburg-lettuce-eating lady.  But then I tried kale chips sometime in 2008 or 2009, and my love for kale began.  I’m fairly sure that kale chips are the gateway drug to dark leafy greens.  If kale seems dark and scary to you – try it in chip form.  It’s hard to say “No Thanks” when it’s warm and crispy and delicious after being baked in a little oil and salt.

This was supposed to be post #9 of 44 into this series of Healthy Eating on a Budget.  Cauliflower was on today’s agenda.  Unfortuantely, it wasn’t until after I made, photographed, devoured and sat down to write this post about Red Pepper and Cauliflower Bisque that I realized cauliflower is NOT on the list of affordable healthy food items under a $1 that I’ve been working from.

Can you hear me groaning from here?  Planning fail.  Well guess what!  I’m going make a case for cauliflower anyway, because that list of 44 healthy foods is not the boss of me.  More importantly though, this soup was too delicious to not share.

The Quinoa Bowl

January 9th, 2014 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (2 Comments)

I love this term “quinoa bowl”.  It just sounds so… cozy.  Like we should nestle right in and rest our heads on pillows of soft, fluffy quinoa and take a little nap.

Sweet potato spinach quinoa with cumin

Or just eat it.  That’s fine too.

Over the holidays I tried my hand at Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Cakes to take to a New Years Eve dinner party, but they were sort of a flop.  They tasted great, but they didn’t hold together very well.  Still, even though the quinoa cakes were a fail, the ingredients were a win and I was left wanting to make it as a dinner side – more specifically, a “quinoa bowl” that I’ve seen around the interwebs and have been excited to steal try.  A quinoa bowl is comfort food with benefits – warm and carby, but some nutritional perks you don’t get with rice or pasta.

Coconut Curry Chicken Stew

December 31st, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (5 Comments)

I’m on a mission to eat more turmeric.

Turmeric Powder

I don’t think it’s news that turmeric is a health food – but it’s one of the supplements recommended by Dr. Perlmutter in Grain Brain, so I’ve recently been thinking more about this pungent spice.

Turmeric is one of the spices that make up curry powder (among cumin, coriander, ginger) and it’s got a list a mile long (literally – if you write really big and use a lot of paper) of alleged health benefits.  It said to support your immune system, it has anti-inflammatory properties and is often recommended to those who suffer from joint and arthritis pain.  It’s believed to have a positive effect on cholesterol and contains curcumin, an anti-oxidant that can protect us from damage by free radicals and can potentially slow the signs of aging.

Turkey Sweet Potato Chili

December 3rd, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (2 Comments)

Maybe you’re turkey-ed out, or maybe Thanksgiving insanity threw off any sort of meal plan you had going and you ended up eating turkey four days in a row due to poor planning/holiday recovery. The pumpkin pie made me do it.

I’ve been making turkey marinara with spaghetti squash like it’s going out of style.  It’s easy and it’s good, and for these reasons I’ve been throwing a pound of ground turkey and a spaghetti squash into my shopping cart each week knowing it’s a (relatively) fast, go-to meal we enjoy.

Indian Spice Rubbed Pork Chops

November 4th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (Comments Off on Indian Spice Rubbed Pork Chops)

A few weeks ago I went out to dinner with some girlfriends and did my favorite thing: ordered something that I never make at home myself.

This time?  A pork chop.

Yes, pork chops – not terribly exciting, but the one and only time I made pork chops was as a newly married 20-something who knew very little about cooking, especially when it came to cooking meat.  Those pork chops I made in our little apartment more than a decade ago more closely resembled an old shoe than a juicy, great tasting piece of well cooked pork.

Zak is going strong with his 40 Day Paleo Challenge (although exceptions were made this weekend for his birthday!) and I’ve been keeping busy stocking the fridge with Paleo friendly meals and snacks.

I’m calling this a “Fall Favorite” because 1.) well, it’s fall – and  2.) I’ve made this for dinner once a week for the past three weeks in a row.  It’s on the dinner agenda this week again too.  It think it’s safe to call this turkey marinara and spaghetti squash a new favorite.

Ground Turkey Tomato Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

Oven Roasted Coconut Lime Cod

October 27th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (7 Comments)

This dinner was so unexpectedly delicious, I’m not sure how to best relay just how much we loved this coconut lime crusted cod.  Here goes nothing.

Baked Coconut Lime Cod

Zak and I both had the same thought while eating this: this doesn’t taste like fish, it tastes like a cookie!  A warm, coconutty, limey fish cookie!

(If seafood and coconut are your thing, you’ll love this fish cookie, I promise.)

This recipe came about because I was in the mood to do something a little more interesting than my usual approach to baking fish – i.e., sprinkling with salt and pepper.  I like cod, but it’s kind of a boring fish.  And I like my fish like I like my relationships: interesting, but not complicated.