Slow Roasted Cranberry Coconut Granola

I think some things are just better when you slow them down.  

Thinking of food, imagine savoring slow braised short ribs, or smelling the aromas from a pot of spicy chili that has been simmering away on the stove all day... But the beauty of taking things a little slower is not just restricted to the kitchen - I love spending a long afternoon just walking around in the park, or lingering over my morning latte on the weekends.  With those sorts of things, it is easy for me to be lazy and enjoy them, but other times I have to remind myself to take it slow. For instance, when I am reading a good book, I just race through it as though I have no discipline to tell myself to put it down and do other things, like you know, eat and sleep.  Many times, it is easy to just run through life at a breakneck pace, but then you end up missing out on so many little things.  

So when I saw a recipe for slow-roasted granola on Healthy Green Kitchen, I loved it not only for the practical reasons for slow roasting (keeping the dried fruit soft), but also because it was the perfect recipe to make over a long relaxing weekend. Having just come back from camping in Sequoia, I was really excited about making something healthy that also keeps well and is perfect for snacking.  

The original recipe that I saw on Winnie's site was a slow roasted granola sweetened with honey, and with bits of dried persimmon and crunchy pistachios. Now while I adore both persimmons and pistachios, I know someone (ie. the best sister ever) that really loves cranberry and coconut, so I decided to switch up the flavors to make something for her.   

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Dip

Not that I think you are dense or anything, but I am just going to say it right off the bat: you need to turn on your oven to make this.  If that turns you away, so be it, but all I can do is offer my promise that turning on your oven to make this is so worth it.  

Any other time of the year, I wouldn't need to give this disclaimer, but I feel like everyone is sweltering lately.  Even living here in San Diego where we supposedly have a 'mild' climate, it is HOT.  (I finally broke down and bought my first fan!  Please don't make fun of me that I didn't have a fan before.)  You probably think I am crazy, telling you to make a Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Dip when your house is already a heat box, but I have to tell you, this is one of my favorite things to make in the summer.  

This dip tops my list of summer favorites because it is easy, healthy, and very quick and inexpensive to make.  So naturally, when my sister came to visit last weekend, we whipped up a batch to take to the beach.  She specifically asked me to show her recipes we could make together that she would be able to recreate back at home in Colorado.  My sister cooks, but isn't as passionate about it as I am and doesn't have a lot of time on her hands (and really just prefers ice cream and brownies), so easy recipes like this one are perfect for her.    

My sister also asked me the right way to cut an onion and other veggies, and I felt like a proud teacher with a star pupil as she sliced and diced like a pro.  

So here is just how easy this recipe is: You slice up the veggies...

Curried Green Lentil Soup

I know, I am late to the game.  Everyone has been talking about about Heidi Swanson's new book for weeks now, and so it is probably old news.  I am sure those of you who were savvy enough to buy her book hot off the press have made a dozen or so recipes from it so far and have bookmarked even more.  Me?  I have about ten or eleven little neon pink and yellow tabs sticking out of the pages of my copy, but yet, I have only made one single recipe - her Green Lentil Soup.  

Super Natural Every Day:

Well-loved Recipes from my Natural Foods Kitchen

By Heidi Swanson

See here is what happens... I keep flipping through the book, my mouth watering with the turn of each beautiful page and my mind swirling with ideas as I am inspired by Heidi's natural pantry.  

But then I flip to the page with the bright green lentil soup.  

And I remember how much I loved it.  How it was sooooo good.  How I had fragrant, satisfying soup without so much as lifting a finger.

And then I make it again.  

And again. 

And oh my friend is coming over?  I think she would like this soup, I suppose I can make it again. 

Yeah I have made it four times.  Although I haven't quite revealed this part of my personality to you before, I can tell you with certainty - when I find something that works, I stick with it.  And this recipe works.      

Green lentils in the back, green split peas in the front. 

Let me tell you why I think this recipe is my new favorite.  

First off, it has lentils which are super healthy - they are rich in fiber, high in iron and protein, and and also a plant chemical called lignan, which I just read might lower the risk of breast caner and fight PMS.  Pretty cool ladies.  Also, I know this recipe works with green lentils and green split peas, and one of my friends just tried it with regular brown lentils - it works with them all.  

My new-found love: Coconut oil.

Second, I am loving this recipe because it uses coconut oil.  I don't know if this is also a place where I am late to the game, but I had never tried coconut oil before this I tried this recipe, and I can say I was totally missing out.  I really feel like the world shifted a little bit when I decided to give coconut oil a try.  The fragrance when you cook with it is transcending, and it gives an awesome nutty flavor to sauteed vegetables.  In this recipe, it reinforces the flavor of the coconut milk.    

Sweet onions from the farmers market.

Ana's Weeknight Broccoli Soup

I only recently decided that I actually like broccoli.  

For years, I despised it, avoiding it on veggie trays, picking it out of soups, and steering clear of casseroles and pastas with those pesky green crowns.  My boyfriend even used to make jokes about it - when we would go out to eat and I would order something that might have broccoli, he would smile and say, "I'll be sure to tell them you want extra broccoli."  I would usually roll my eyes, smile back, and reply with, "Ha, ha.  I know you think you're very funny."  (Incidentally, he is usually quite hilarious.)  

My aversion to broccoli was pretty strange, considering I am really not a picky eater, and I do enjoy most vegetables.  Plus, I am a big girl.  I know vegetables are good for me so I don't need to be coerced into eating them.  But still... Broccoli was always a sticking point for me.

Broccoli cut up and prepped the day before to make this soup even easier.

But now I would say I like broccoli.

I honestly don't know if my tastebuds suddenly took a liking to this veggie, or if it was just the fickle winds of change, but there was a definite turning point.  One day I hated broccoli, the next day I liked it.   

I can't say I love it yet, but I like it.  Sort of like with any new relationship, I am still trying to decide exactly how I feel about it, but broccoli is growing on me day by day.  We haven't had our first fight yet, so we are still in the honeymoon phase, but so far things are looking good.  

So in the spirit of celebrating my new found feelings for broccoli, I thought I would share an easy, satisfying way to enjoy this lovely veggie.  This recipe is from my good friend and super-mom, Ana.  She makes this recipe on busy weeknights, and believe it or not, her 2 1/2-year old daughter actually requests this soup all the time!  She looooooves her broccoli soup.  

I got to try Ana's Weeknight Broccoli Soup right after her second child was born - I was over at her place one evening, and she was chatting, entertaining her daughter, making this soup, and cleaning up the kitchen while balancing her newborn on her hip.  Yes, I did say she was super-mom.  But basically, the fact that Ana can multi-task and make this soup at the same time is just a testament to how easy it is - and that is something that any busy guy or gal can appreciate.       

Smashed Peas and Fava Beans with Fresh Mozzarella

Seeing as this is a recipe that embodies spring, it might surprise you to know that the first time I saw this recipe was almost three years ago in the dead of winter.  

I was in Tonsberg, Norway, with my boyfriend and we were browsing around in a popular bookstore.  Naturally, most of the titles were in Norwegian, but there were many English language books as well.  I'm not sure why, but I was surprised to find a huge shelf with American cookbooks - especially those by celebrity chefs.  My eyes scanned the titles and passed over books by Mario Batali, Rachel Ray, and Emeril Lagasse.  But the one book that really caught my eye was Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life, by Jamie Oliver.  I really liked Jamie Oliver back then, and that was even before he started his Food Revolution and I liked him even more.        

I reached up, slid the book off the shelf, and and turned back the tan hardcover to reveal colorful pages filled with beautiful recipes.  The book was divided into larger chapters based on the seasons - which I loved - and since I was freezing my butt off in the cold and snow, of course I thumbed ahead to the recipes for spring and summer.  

My mind danced around daydreaming of warmer weather when I could enjoy asparagus and fresh eggs, rhubarb, and strawberries all while basking in happy sunshine.  But it was when I turned the page and saw a recipe called, "Incredible Smashed Peas and Fava Beans on Toast," that I was really intrigued.  You see, I had never eaten a fava bean before (or actually ever seen one for that matter) and I am naturally curious about most things.  But I had one problem - I was convinced that I hated peas.    

Where this imaginary pea-hatred stemmed from, I have no idea, because as far as I can remember we never ate peas growing up.  (Unlike those awful steamed brussels sprouts that I am sure I hated and had to force down by drowning them in milk.)   When I finally did eat peas as an adult, I was prepared to leave them squarely on my hated-foods list, but my aversion to them disappeared into thin air after I popped one tiny, fresh, springtime pea into my mouth...  

It was perfection.  

It was dense and sweet, not soft but not too hard either, and I adored the way the small kernels just 'popped' in my mouth.  I was in awe.  (Not to mention, those little pea pods are just too cute.  Seriously, who can resist those?)

Peanut Butter and Oat Energy Bites

It is Sunday morning.  Hopefully you will wake up well-rested, stretch out your arms, and open your eyes to a sunny day.  Maybe you will have a warm cup of coffee, some eggs with toast, or maybe you will even get really lucky and have some homemade pancakes.  After that you might relax with the Sunday paper, catch up on the news, or watch some cartoons with your kids.  Of course, you will do all that while still in your comfy pajamas.  On Sunday morning, you can rest easy because the next work week is still a distant 24 hours away.  

As the day wears on, you might run some errands, meet a friend for lunch, or do some laundry.  But by Sunday evening, you will have the unfortunate revelation that Monday morning and that-thing-that-shall-not-be-named (ie. work) is right around the corner.  You will start gearing up for the week, thinking about what you need to accomplish, what you will wear for work, and hopefully you will think about what you will eat for lunch during the week.           

Maybe you have a catered meeting on Tuesday, and lunch with a co-worker at that new burger joint on Friday.  The other days you will probably bring your lunch, and I would wager a guess you will eat sandwiches, leftovers from the night before, or healthy portable foods like fruits, yogurt, or hummus.  Some days if you are extremely busy, you might not even have time to eat lunch at all!  Am I describing your week about right?  

I wouldn't call myself a fortune teller, but I can also reasonably predict that by the time 3 or 4 o'clock comes around, you will be looking at your watch - your eyes will bulge with astonishment as you realize there are still several hours to go and lots of work to be done before you can eat dinner, and you are hungry.  Your energy from lunch is gone (if you had time to eat anything at all) and you are seriously contemplating a vending machine run.  It is a situation of serious food desperation, and we have all been there. 

At the root of this problem lies the simple facts that: 

A.) You are hungry. 

B.) You have failed to anticipate you would be hungry. 

C.) As a direct consequence of B., you have no food on hand.  

You could also make the excuse that: 

D.) You anticipated the hunger strike, but had no time to rustle up some grub.

Ok fair enough.  But since this problem occurs on a daily basis for most people (and amnesia is not currently an epidemic), fact B. is clearly ridiculous.  If you are honest with yourself, I am sure you can agree that you know you will be hungry.  So really, the reason we suffer through these late-afternoon snack monster attacks is that we don't take the time to prepare.  

I know we all have busy lives full of very important things to do, but let me tell you how you can feed the snack monster with something healthy and delicious that will give you the energy you need to finish the day strong.  You can make it in 5 minutes over the weekend, and these snacks should last you for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.  Now that sounds like quite the payoff doesn't it?

Easy Herbed Yogurt Dip, and another Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway

Lately I have been craving healthy food.  

I don't know if I overdid it with birthday celebrations last month, or if I indulged in one too many brownies, but overall I need to lighten my load.  In case you don't catch my drift, what I am really saying is I think I need to shed a few pounds.  I used to be an avid runner, working out at least 4 times a week, and I felt fit and full of energy.  When I worked out regularly, I could eat whatever I wanted - cakes, chocolate, ice cream - and not really feel any guilt because I knew I would easily burn off those indulgent calories.  But with workouts on the decline and sweet treats on the rise, I don't feel fit, I don't have as much energy, and I don't like it one bit.  

Time to whip myself into shape and get back the healthy balance that I loved.     

I don't know how you do it, but when I really want to overhaul my eating, I turn to a plant-based diet.  I generally love all vegetables, but they take center stage when I want something healthy.  Unfortunately, I wasn't born with a cute pink nose and two floppy ears so I don't really enjoy munching on raw, unadorned veggies.  Instead, I make delicious salads dressed up with avocados, kalamata olives or figs, I roast sweet potatoes and beets, and I munch on crispy kale chips.  I am also a sucker for any sort of veggie dip especially since it is great to eat for a snack and I can take it to work.

Sometimes veggie dips can be deceivingly unhealthy, so I wanted to make an Herbed Yogurt Dip that would be low-cal and low-fat, delicious, and quick and easy to make.  Naturally, I turned to plain non-fat Chobani Greek Yogurt for the base, since it has an amazing tang that pairs well with vegetables, and is high in protein.  

I flavored the dip with some of my favorite herbs, a little lemon juice and garlic, as well as a small amount of goat cheese and extra virgin olive oil for richness.  The cheese also contributes some extra protein, while the extra virgin olive oil is a good source of monounsaturated fats.      

The amount of parsley that equals a 'handful.'

My Mom's Easiest Chicken Barley Chili

So I know it might appear as though I am posting this chili recipe because the Superbowl is upon us.  But lets be honest, if I actually wanted you to make this chili for the big game day, I probably should have posted this days ago so that you could get prepared, buy the necessary ingredients, and plan ahead how much time you would need for prep and cooking.  Right?  


Wrong.  Because this chili requires virtually no prep time, most of the ingredients are canned (gasp!  Yes, I said canned!), and the whole thing is done in 45 minutes total, you could decide to make this chili on a whim any day... including Superbowl Sunday.  


Growing up, I remember my mom used to make a traditional chili several weekends a month during football season; when I say traditional chili, I mean the hearty, meaty, deep-red stuff that is best enjoyed alongside a cold beer, a bowl of chips, and a healthy serving of masculinity.  It was the stuff that real men enjoy, and my dad loved it.  That chili had beef, lots of it, and sometimes beans (although chili purists think beans are the devil) and it was always spicy and rich.  However, about 5 years ago my mom started making this Chicken Barley Chili recipe, and she has never looked back.  This chili is a little bit different...ok, it is a lot different.

For starters, this chili is healthy.  It has chicken instead of beef, which automatically reduces the artery-clogging properties of traditional chili.  It has several forms of protein: chicken, black beans, and barley; the barley is also a whole grain and a good source of fiber.  Add in the antioxidants from the tomatoes and a vegetable source from the corn, and you have a shockingly healthy meal.

Pomegranate Persimmon Salad, and How to Remove Pomegranate Seeds

So today I am going to tell you about a salad that has two of my favorite full-bodied fall fruits (try saying that five times fast!).  But first, lets get some formalities out of the way.


Project Food Blog is still going strong, and in fact, voting for Round #7 is currently underway!  And what kind of dedicated gal would I be if I didn't make absolutely sure that you got to see my video entry for this round.  Have you seen it yet?  I hope so, but if not, be sure to check out my original post, or go directly to the Foodbuzz website (where you can vote for me, wink wink).  I made a delicious dessert for you and tied it all up with a pretty bow, and I hope you enjoy it.  If you like it, don't forget to vote for my entry!  Voting is open through Thursday, Nov.18th, 6pm PST, and I truly appreciate ALL your support. 

Now then, shall we get on to this salad?


This salad is extremely easy to make with just a few seasonal ingredients such as pomegranates and persimmons.  Pomegranates are an amazing fall fruit, and their health benefits are extraordinary; they are a rich source of B vitamins as well as vitamin C, and their seeds contain extra fiber and also heathy oils.  But about those seeds... it seems many people are in a quandary over how to actually get the seeds out of the pomegranate without looking like they were the victim in bad horror movie.  Pomegranate seeds have a lot of juice, and when you open it up and try to remove the seeds it gets everywhere!  So let me show you an easy, mess-free way to remove the seeds from a fresh pomegranate.








See, wasn't that easy?  I hope that quick demo will encourage you to go out and buy a fresh pomegranate to reap all its health benefits and its fantastic taste.  And just so that you know, once you remove the seeds from a fresh pomegranate, if you keep them refrigerated in an airtight container, you can enjoy those little jewels over the course of several days.