healthy Archives - Salted Crown | Food, Fashion, and All things in between.

Entries Tagged as 'healthy'

Harvest Soup

10/15/2014

Soup season is finally upon us! Hooray! This year, this season has been much more bearable. The weather has surprisingly been warmer (YESSSSS!) and personally I just wish it would stay this way all year long. In my opinion, warm fall is the best kind of fall.

Fall always calls for warm, cozy soups and I’ve got one that fits the bill. This particular soup is one that just makes my heart happy. In making this soup, I did two things I hardly EVER do: 1) actually make soup and 2) use my crock pot. I know, it’s borderline ridiculous to admit that (especially the lack of crock pot usage) but if I’m being totally honest, I forget I even have a crock pot…and that it isn’t difficult to make soup, especially one like this. I think I have finally come aboard the crock pot train, though, and there ain’t no lookin’ back!

One reason I’m a huge fan of this soup is that it has a wide variety of veggies that can be easily interchanged to suit personal preferences. Is there such a thing as too many vegetables in a soup? I think not. It’s surprisingly sweet, hearty, and just so satisfying. It’s a recipe I’ll definitely be making many times during fall/winter.

What’s YOUR favorite fall soup? I would love to know! :)

roughly 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken (or substitute for equal amount of veggies)
1 and 1/2 c. quinoa
1 can white sweet corn
1 can diced tomatoes (I bought diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic)
3 large organic carrots, chopped
1 large organic sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1/4 c. diced onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
6 c. broth of choice (I used vegetable)
1 white chicken chili mix (or your preferred chili mix)
salt + pepper, if needed

Chop onion, carrots, sweet potato and add to crock pot.
Add minced garlic.
Drain corn and add in along with chicken, diced tomatoes, chili seasoning, quinoa, and broth.
Stir everything together and cook on high for 3-5 hours (mine took around 3.5 hours.)
Once everything has cooked thoroughly, shred chicken and add back into soup.
Enjoy! :)

Recipe adapted from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Cutting board – West Elm | Crock Pot – Target (on sale!) | Plaid Flannel – H&M | Wool Hat – Express

Chocolate Chia Cookies

05/12/2014

Would it be wrong to say that I could eat cookies for every meal of every day for the rest of forever? Cookies are the way to my heart (aka my stomach). If it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. I would love to wake up every single morning to a plate of freshly baked cookies without the guilt of all the sugar and calories that eating 342087495 cookies would do. A couple of cookies for breakfast, about 4 for lunch, and 3 or 4 for supper would do me just fine. Let’s be real though. Cookies unfortunately are not known for having fantastic nutritional value. I would love to say I have a cookie here that would fill all your nutritional needs throughout the day (who WOULDN’T want that?!), but I have something that would make you feel quite a bit less guilty about eating more than one at a time. Not only does the recipe contain ingredients that are super good for you, they taste amazinggggggg.

I had a handwritten recipe laying around for forever it seems and I put my own twist on it. Instead of adding an egg, I used a chia “egg”. If you aren’t familiar with that, it’s a dairy free substitution that works just like an egg would (directions for making them in the ingredient list below)! Also, the batter for the cookies is so good that you might want to use it for a fruit dip or you just grab a spoon and go to town, which is my preferred option. These cookies are so good and so satisfying, you’re guaranteed to run out of them REALLY quick. ;)

1 chia “egg” (1 tbsp. chia seeds + 2.5 tbsp. water; mix & let set for 5 minutes to activate)
1 c. blonde coconut sugar
1 c. White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (for vegan cookies, use cacao nibs or vegan chocolate chips)
1 tsp. ground flaxseeds
splash of vanilla coconut milk (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, make your chia “egg” and let it set.
In a mixer, add the coconut sugar, peanut butter, flaxseeds, baking soda, and chia “egg”.
Mix well.
If mixture is too dry, add a splash of coconut milk or your preferred milk and mix well.
Add in the chocolate chips and mix until combined well.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place scoopfuls of batter onto it.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy! :)

Stand Mixer – Kitchenaid | Measuring Cups – West Elm | Measuring Spoons – World Market | Ball Jars – Amazon | Shirt – J Crew

White Peach and Chia Seed Spread

04/01/2014

I’ve done it again, y’all. I feel like I should change the blog name from “Salted Crown” to “Happy Accidents” with the way things have been going lately. I was piddling around in the kitchen thinking I was making a peach jam and I was so stinkin’ excited about it. I just knew deep down in my soul that it was going to be so amazing that everyone would fall in love with it. People all over the world would hear about how magnificent this jam was. I would be contacted by the owners of Smuckers and they would say,”Hey, you totally have this jam making stuff down, girl. You make it way better than we do so why don’t you come run our company for us?” Obviously I would take them up on that and we’d all live happily ever after. Well, okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but hey, I was just trying to be optimistic. It’s time I get back to what actually happened. I’m making the jam, it’s smelling amazing, it’s tasting amazing, but something’s a little…off. The consistency wasn’t nearly what I had imagined. When I think of jam, I think of a thinner, more runny consistency that just drips off of toast and makes a mess in the best way possible. I had never had a jam like this, that’s for sure…and it turned out to be a good thing! I would not consider this a jam but more of a spread. My initial name for this was going to be “White Peach and Chia Seed ‘Applesauce’ Jam” but I thought that was borderline ridiculous because no one can remember a name that long. It does describe this perfectly, though. It’s great on an English muffin, toast, or a warm, fluffy biscuit. When eaten alone, it has an applesauce consistency which makes for a fantastic snack (my recommendation). I’m eating it straight out of the jar as I type this and I can’t seem to stop. SO GOOD!

5 white peaches
2 tbsp. maple syrup (or agave)
3 tbsp. chia seeds
1 1/2 tsp. coconut sugar
1 tsp. organic vanilla extract

Cut white peaches and remove pits.
Place cut peaches into a food processor or blender and pulse until you reach your desired consistency.
Transfer peach mixture into a pan and mix in maple syrup, sugar, and chia seeds.
Cook over medium/high heat until it begins to simmer. Lower heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
Let cool before storing.
Enjoy however you wish! :)

Banana Lemon Tart

03/05/2014

Sometimes I like to be boring. I’m a self-proclaimed creature of habit actually. I know what I like and how I like it. Instead of venturing out of my little “food comfort zone”, I like to eat the same things in different ways (I’m sure I don’t have to tell you though. You’ve probably picked up on that already.) If I like something, I stick with it. I’m loyal to my favorites. I can’t help myself. Sometimes, though, I have rare moments of bravery where I venture out into the unknown. This time, I went for something that’s popular (and quite frankly, I’m somewhat afraid of) –VEGAN COOKING. Let’s all take a moment to let that soak in. Yep, it happened. Am I now vegan? No way, Jose. I couldn’t do that to myself. I have a hard time of letting go to my beloved foods such a dairy, meat, and all things non-vegan. For all those who are, you ROCK! It takes a lot of will power to give up those certain types of foods so y’all have my utmost respect! For real. This was an attempt to create a tart, and honestly, I think it turned out pretty darn good! At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to call it. My husband tried it and he agreed that a tart would be the most accurate description of it. Hope y’all like it!

Now, since this is my first go at this type of recipe, be gentle. I’m still learning! :)

3/4 c. tapioca flour
3/4 c. raw cane sugar
1/4 c. coconut oil, softened
1/4 tsp. salt
2 small bananas, mashed
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 grapefruit

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together coconut oil and sugar.
Add in mashed bananas and mix well.
Mix in grapefruit juice and lemon zest.
Mix in flour and salt.
Pour into a greased or lined 8×8 brownie pan (or something similar) and bake for about 25 minutes.
**Optional: can make a crust for the tart (I didn’t get that adventurous) and can add ice cream or “nice cream” of choice :)
Enjoy!

Mortar and Pestal – West Elm | Glass Beaker – West Elm | Ceramic Plate – Target

Spinach and Brussel Leaf Salad

01/07/2014

Hey y’all!! I’m back FINALLY! So sorry for that super long sabbatical. December was an incredibly hectic month to say the least. Between wrapping things up at work before the holidays to bouncing from one side of the country to the other makes things difficult. But, nobody likes excuses, so nevertheless I’M BACK and ready to go! I truly hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. This year is going to be great…I just know it! I hate New Years resolutions because I can’t stick with them and normally forget what my resolution even was to begin with. I’ve really got it together if you can’t tell. I have made one resolution that I am going to stick with no matter what: I’m going to stay consistent and bring the most amazing posts everrrrr (well, I’m sure our ideas of amazing might be slightly different, but you feel me). That’s not an impossible resolution. I mean it’s not like I’m promising to go to the gym 6 times a week.

My darling husband is one of the best gift givers in the history of ever. He got me several cookbooks, all of which I had on my secret wishlist that no one knew about. He’s just that good. One book in particular was a book from The Sprouted Kitchen. I haven’t had tons of time to look at it, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s amazing. While scanning through it one day, I came across a recipe that I’m literally obsessing over right now. It’s not something I would typically go for but it was rather intriguing to me. I will be the first to admit that I absolutely do not like brussels sprouts. Never have, and honestly thought I never would. Then along came this recipe and it rocked my taste buds. I’m a brussels sprout fan and I don’t care who knows! I’ve changed some things around to better suit my liking and it’s phenomenal. I want to eat it every single day until the end of time. Did I happen to mention it’s like the fastest cooking meal of all time? I will never bad mouth brussels sprouts again as long as I live.

1 lb. of brussels sprouts, trimmed and leaves separated
3 1/2 c. baby spinach leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
bacon bits
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. organic agave nectar
Parmigiano Reggiano, for topping
sea salt + pepper, to taste

Warm olive oil a large pan over low-medium heat.
Add garlic to pan and cook for about a minute or so.
Add in brussel leaves and saute for about 30 seconds.
In a small bowl, mix together vinegar and agave nectar and add to pan.
Toss to coat.
Add spinach and bacon bits to pan and cook until just wilted.
Top with Parmigiano Reggiano and salt + pepper (if needed) and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook

salad servers – IKEA | bowl – Christmas gift from my AMAZINGLY thoughtful brother [handmade in an Ecuador market] – similar here |
Pot holder – West Elm

Sweet Potato, Apple, & Kale Salad

11/09/2013

Check out this recipe video!

I feel like I don’t even need to say anything about this recipe. The name completely speaks for itself here. THIS IS SO GOOD! I was recently asked to do a recipe demonstration at church for our monthly Ladies Night. The only instruction I received was,”Make sure it’s something easy, healthy, and fun!” Well let me tell you, this is all the above and then some. I mean, when you throw sweet potato, apple, and kale in a bowl together, you just can’t go wrong. They’re like the Three Musketeers of deliciousness and satisfaction. I mean, how often do you get a meal that’s both super healthy, filling, and so glorious that the “Hallelujah Chorus” plays in your head while eating it? Uh huh, that’s what I thought.

2 bunches kale
2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
1 Fuji apple, thinly sliced
shredded Manchego cheese
extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1 Meyer lemon
salt + pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss sweet potato cubes in olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are softened. At the 10 minute mark, flip the sweet potatoes to make sure they cook evenly.
Mix juice from lemon, apple cider vinegar, and honey together in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, add kale, cooked sweet potatoes, and sliced apple.
Toss dressing mix into salad to evenly coat.
Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
Top with shredded Manchego cheese.
Enjoy!