A healthy salad for a holiday weekend :)

Wooo! TGIF and a 3 day weekend.. how amazing :) I am sure all of you are already on your way to where you are going for the weekend, but hopefully you may get this before you go OR if you are attending a holiday picnic this is SO super easy to bring!! My friends loved it when I brought it to the shore, even stubborn husbands ;)

SO here it is - real, natural, simple, and yummy .. I don't have a picture, but you will get the idea !!

Ingredients...

1 can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained *buy the organic in water*
1 can of black beans rinsed and drained *again organic*
2 ears of corn on the cobb, cut the corn off the cobb
2 cups of peas (I buy the organic frozen if I cannot get the fresh)
1/2 red onion chopped
1 pepper of choice chopped
1/2 cup of chopped almonds
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds (remember to buy the nuts raw)
1/2 cup of feta cheese
the juice of half of a lemon
olive oil (guesstimate the amount!!)

*optional, feel free to add any other veggies, I have used avocado, cucumber, carrots, celery, and even added some olives..

So ready for this super simple method??

All you have to do is prepare all of your ingredients first and have them all separate.. If you are bringing this to a party or want to make a large batch of it, you can put them all together in one container, and use the olive oil and lemon as a dressing and add salt and pepper of course! You can use a whole lemon or more olive oil, just be your own judge here -- If you like it more lemony use lemon, more olive oil, use it ;) just don't use too much olive oil b/c it will ruin the taste.. Its just to have a little something on it and the lemon will help preserve the veggies..

SO the first way is just to put it all together - this is easy and if you don't eat it all in one day it will keep for about a week.. I make this a lot on Sunday's and use it for lunch for Cort and I (I will be posting soon with healthy packed lunches).. If you are one of those people who doesn't like food that sits.. put all of the ingredients in a separate container and scoop a little out into a single serve bowl to have for a snack or serve with a dinner or you can do it for lunch that way.. just add the lemon and olive oil to the single serving.. You really can't get much easier can you?

This is like the most versatile meal ever!!! Its great for lunch, great for entertaining, great for snacking.. and guess what.. its REAL food :) WOOO!!

Hope this finds you all well, I wish I had pictures, but I figured I would rather give you the recipe and sacrifice the pictures than wait until I made it again!! I wish you all an amazing long weekend!!
Live Well xoxo

Simply Spaghetti Squash ..

So, I had no idea what I got in my CSA last week - all I knew was that I got a veggie that looks like a pumpkin! So I texted my awesome resource - Jackie and she let me know it was spaghetti squash! I'm glad it was because I have been meaning to buy it and try it out :)

So here the super simple spaghetti squash recipe that even stubborn husbands will eat :)

Ingredients -

1 spaghetti squash, cut length wise and seeded

1 onion, cut up in small pieces

1 clove of garlic minced

2 cup of kale leaves

1 large tomato, chopped or cubed

Half cup of black olives, sliced or halved

Olive oil, salt and pepper, feta cheese

Ok - so now that you have all your stuff - we can simple cook it :)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare your squash and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and grease (be sure to use olive oil or an organic oil) the foil. Place the squash skin up, cut side down on the foil and bake for 30 mins (be sure you can put a knife in the squash easily - thats how you know its cooked).

3. Meanwhile, heat a skillet and some olive oil on medium heat. Start with garlic and onion. Cook until onion is soft and and add kale leaves. When kale leaves are dark green they are finished - be generous with the olive oil bc it is part of the 'sauce'.

Heres the catch - keep stirring it all bc it will stick and get all yucky! I wouldn't start this step until the squash has been cooking for at least 15 mins bc once it comes out it will have to sit for a few mins so you can handle it - so you will have plenty of time!!!

If the squash is still cooking, turn the heat down and just keep stirring the veggies.

4. When the timer buzzes - take te squash out and let it cool. At this time, put the tomatoes in the skillet and stir, you don't want them to get mushy just warm and a little juicy.

5. Scoop the inside of the squash onto plates and top with the veggie mixture, olives, and feta cheese.

Serve with a salad or corn on the Cobb and feel free to experiment with other veggies! This was so simple and even Cort loved it! What a great meal!!

Below are some pictures including a picture of the finished product! Enjoy!!!

Live well xoxo

Back to the grind...

Hello.. Hello.. Hello... AH it has been a little bit of a long time since I blogged last and I am SO sorry!!! Costa Rica was totally amazing and I got sucked in to the tico "carefree" lifestyle so again I am SO SO sorry about not blogging!!

Cort and I had an amazing experience while away. I stayed with an amazing family while I was there, got to take Spanish classes, met some awesome ticos and other friends, and enjoyed the culture and beaches and nature. When Cort arrived we got to travel throughout the whole country and saw some really awesome places. Some of our highlights were hiking (a LOT of hiking), surfing, beaches, ziplining, more hiking :), the arenal volcano, awesome waterfalls, going out to cool local hotspots and restaurants, and spending time together. It really was an amazing experience!!!

Anyway! I hope I didn't miss out on a lot of my followers because I am back in action. I am so excited to get to blogging again, I really missed cooking and eating healthy. Although, I did eat pretty healthy in CR because EVERYTHING is so fresh!!!!

There is so much going on here though because the seasons are changing.. New veggies and fruits will be in season and ripe and that means new recipes! WOO HOO :) I cannot believe it is almost Septemeber, we are approaching labor day weekend, AND its almost FALL (my favorite season!!).

I have a lot of recipes that I have been stocking up to post about, and I plan to post later today about my new found love - Spaghetti Squash!! I have a great recipe that I made for Cort and I and it turned out delicious! I am not going to post right now b/c I am on a different computer and I want the pictures for the Spaghetti Squash recipe, but check back in about an hour for a new post!!

I am so excited to be back at it and working with everyone on simply living easy! WOO :) Here's to another beginning!!

Live Well xoxo