For the past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time in prayer and contemplation regarding the foods I choose to eat and the foods that I choose not to eat. And in the last week, I’ve decided to fully shed the “vegetarian” label and shift my diet to incorporate seafood. Technically, I guess my new label would be “pescatarian” though I’ve never been a huge fan of food labels since they seem to be less about what is best … Read More
Almond Meal Everything Cookies
I think it’s safe to say that breakfast cookies, however you want to define them, have become a thing over the past couple years. Go into any grocery store or gas station and chances are you can get your hands on a cookie that’s billed as being an acceptable form of breakfast. I like cookies and I love breakfast, but I’ve never really been a fan of breakfast cookies mainly because they are usually not all that more healthy than … Read More
Cooking with Farro: Breakfast Edition
Good morning, friends, and happy Monday. I’m entering the home stretch of my break between jobs. This week is my final week at home before I start the new gig next week. And while I was pretty nervous about being bored or restless during my time off, I have been loving my down time, staying busy with errands, blogging and things that needed to be done prior to our house closing this Friday. One of the biggest perks about my … Read More
Vegetarian “Meatballs” with Spaghetti
Lately, I’ve fallen into a bit of a cooking rut. It’s not that Joe and I have been eating takeout every night, but I haven’t really been cooking anything interesting. Most nights, I find myself falling back on easy staples like roasted veggies, baked chicken breasts for Joe, and some whole grain, such as quinoa, whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Tasty? Sure. But I’ve hardly been pushing myself out of my culinary comfort zone. This week, I set out … Read More
Everyday Lunch: Avocado, Tomato and Feta Salad
Since we’re enjoying that time in the season where the last of summer produce co-exists with the beginning of fall favorites, I’ve been trying to enjoy both while I can! We still have a container filled with fresh tomatoes from my mother in law’s garden (so much more flavorful than anything you could buy at the store) and I’ve been stocking up on the ripe, creamy avocados that don’t cost a fortune right now. My favorite part about the days … Read More
Breakfast Bran Muffins
I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! I can’t believe that summer has come and gone already. Where in the world did the time go? I feel, like everyone else, that I was just looking forward to summer and kicking things off with Memorial Day weekend, and now we’re getting all things fall underway. Is the rumor about Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks true, too? If so, I’m going to need the weather to cool down so … Read More
Everyday Lunch: Quinoa Salad with Broccoli
Last week when I posted this salad that I take to lunch each week, lots of you responded saying you wanted to see more lunch ideas on Espresso and Cream. Sometimes my lunches are just a random assortment of whatever is left in the fridge, but other times I take a few extra minutes to prep something more reminiscent of a meal. One of my favorite strategies for lunchtime success is to prepare a large batch of whole grains at … Read More
Spring Green Salad
Lunches are difficult for me. Are they difficult for you? The whole process of packing a lunch, trying to find something in the fridge that will transport well and keep me filled throughout the afternoon. Something that’s not going to stink up the office fridge (which is already its own kind of disgusting). It’s really a drag, isn’t it? But since I’m trying to eat out less during the week and save us a little extra money, brown-bagging it … Read More
Chopped Green Salad Wrap
I’ve received a lot of questions from readers about what I pack for lunches and snacks when I go to work each day. I’m not going to lie, I struggle just as much as the next person. But since I would much rather spend money going out to eat with my husband on date nights, taking a packed lunch and snacks is the norm. A few of my favorite snacks being: *Lara Bars (cashew cookie, peanut butter cookie, … Read More
Sweet and Sour Tempeh Salad
I got an e-mail from a reader last week asking about how I eat vegetarian even though my hubby doesn’t. When we first got married, I was wondering the same thing! Since I do most of the cooking, figuring out how we could still eat healthfully at home within our dietary constraints was up to me. This salad is a perfect example of how we eat together. My protein source for this dinner salad was tempeh glazed in a super … Read More
Caramelized Onion Bean Dip
A couple weeks ago when Joey asked how I wanted to celebrate my birthday weekend, the answer was simple. All I really wanted to do was watch the Gators play football and have a weekend filled with relaxing, exercising, and eating some great tailgating food. For Joey, that meant me making his mom’s cheesy beef dip. I’ll admit that I had a hard time buying Velveeta at the store, but seeing his face light up when I served it for … Read More
Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
It’s been hot in this part of the country lately. We’re talking majorly hot for Iowa, and pretty humid, too. But that hasn’t stopped me from firing up the oven and roasting some asparagus. Thank goodness for air conditioning. Summer or winter, it doesn’t really matter to me. Roasting is an absolute necessity in my everyday cooking, mainly because it’s easy and requires very little hands-on time. But you already know how much I love roasting, don’t you? I make … Read More