Alina's Simple Chicken Caprese Sandwiches

This recipe is quick, simple, and foolproof. It's been a super busy week for me, so a recipe this easy was a lifesaver!

It's a classic recipe, and if you whip up some of these sandwiches you'll find that you can't go wrong.

Alina's Avocado Curry

I'm excited to announce that this post is our 50th, and a delicious one at that! 

My inspiration from this recipe comes from a recent visit to our favorite take-out Thai restaurant, Curry In a Box. I had their avocado curry and was pleasantly surprised. Instantly I knew that it was time to start searching for my own recipe so that I could make this again, and again, and again, and... You get the idea.

I found a great recipe from the Our Veggie Kitchen blog, which I only altered a little. The result was a creamy, delicious curry. Yum!!

Alina's Healthy Lentil "Coneys"



A "coney" is a Cincinnati-favorite. It's a hot dog piled high with heart-stopping chili, breath-mangling onions, and enough cheddar cheese that it only sort of melts. Check out this coney glamour shot from serious eats (and check out the link if you're curious to learn more-- such as what the differences between the Cincinnati and the Detroit brands of coney are):

This week my mission is to create a healthy dish that takes its influence from the iconic Cincinnati coney.

I know, I know. Two words that should never go together in a sentence include "coney" and "healthy." After all, the quintessential Cincinnati junk food is about as far from health food as you can get. When I was in college at Miami University (OH), I ate a disgusting amount of this Cincinnati favorite. I am fully aware that I might be putting my reputation as a foodie on the line here.... but I love them.

Today I was thinking about chili (a favorite in our house) and had a moment of inspiration. Why not make a healthy dish that pulls inspiration from the uber-unhealthy coney dog? Thus, the lentil "coney" was born.

Alina's Shrimp Avocado Wraps

This is a quick hor dourve with a high-class flair. Delicious, abounding with flavor, and can be enjoyed as finger food! What's not to love?!

As an aside, these are quite rich and should be enjoyed in moderation.
  

Alina's Colorful Beet Hummus "Pizza"

I'm not a huge fan of beets, but I'm a sucker for color. When I saw this beet hummus recipe, I couldn't resist whipping some up because it looked so pretty! I wanted it to be substantial enough for a meal, so I concocted a "pizza" of sorts.
As it turns out, the hummus flavor mellows out the beet flavor for a delicious and satisfying way to ingest such a super healthy (and beautiful) vegetable.

The beet hummus recipe comes from Simply Recipes and the inspiration for the hummus pizza comes from the Sabra website.

Mom's Cucumber Soup

My Mom makes a delicious cucumber soup that is as healthy as it is adorable. If you have extra cucumbers (exhibit A)...

Exhibit A

consider whipping up some of this simple soup (exhibit B):

Exhibit B

And if you really have an excess of cucumbers, you can use the extra to create some super refreshing cucumber water (exhibit C).

Exhibit C

Alina's Egg Topped Squash and Lentil Pizza

I love the movie Ratatouille. It has one simple message: "Anyone can cook."

And why not? As the main character Remy said, the right combo of flavors is "like music you can taste, color you can smell."

The trick is finding the right combo of flavors.

That's why I'm really proud of this recipe. Usually when I create a recipe I spend a lot of time brainstorming and planning and finagling, but this recipe just... happened.

I used only items I already had in my cupboard. Almond flour? Lentils? Eggs? Squash? Why not! 

This was one of my favorite creations to date. It had taste and color. There is no question about it. I'll make this dish again.