Mixed Greens Topped with Roasted Yams, Feta, and Kalamata Olives

Since having a baby 4 months ago, I have been trying very hard to eat healthy and lose the extra baby weight, Superbowl indulgences aside. I've made a lot of progress so far (28 lbs down!), but, if I'm going to be honest, it's much, much harder than I anticipated. I've fluctuated with my weight over the years, so I'm no stranger to having to lose it, but the added stress and lack of time with having a new baby really makes it more challenging than it's ever been. When I do have a minute to eat something, if it's not already prepared and ready to go, or something that can be made without much effort or commitment - forget it. Suddenly the bread on the counter looks good enough, and the number on the scale stays the same.

One thing that has helped is having healthy food in the house and lots of options for salads. They are easy to throw together, or make ahead of time, and lots of options mean I don't get bored. One of my faves right now is this yummy concoction of mixed greens, roasted yams, feta, and kalamata olives. I top it with my favorite vinaigrette, and that's all there is to it! I'll tell you how I roast the yams to perfection, so you can make one of these yummy salads too. Whether you're trying to lose baby weight, eat healthier, or just like yams and salad, I know this will be a hit.

Mediterranean Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Green Olives, Walnuts & Herbed Feta

I've never been much of a salad person, believe it or not. I know they're good for you and all, but I've just never been a huge fan. When we're at our local pizza place and they ask if we want salad, Dustin almost always says yes, but all I can think about is how I won't have as much room for pizza. When I'm out with friends and we end up at a restaurant with salad as the only vegetarian option, I immediately think about where I will be stopping on the way home to get food. But this salad is different; it's really good, and it's making me rethink my salad-hating ways.

Quick Post: My New Favorite Sandwich

Oh man, this sandwich is my jam right now! It's so good I think about it during other meals, and wish they were this sandwich instead. I really love things that are spicy and tangy, so this kind of hits the spot for me.

Here's the deal: spread the olive mix on one side of the roll and avocado on the other; then pile everything else in between and mash together in a futile attempt to hold in all the deliciousness. Note: I cut the pickle and okra into strips and alternated them to make one layer - it was too overpowering to have a row of each.

Warning! This sandwich can get a little messy - proceed with napkins!

Kaiser roll (ciabatta also works really well)

1-2 Tbs MediterraneanBruschetta Olive Mix (I picked up a jar at Raley's)

Cucumber slices

1 pickle slice (sandwich style), cut into about 4 strips

1 spicy pickled okra, cut into fourths longways

Pepperjack cheese

1 Tbs feta cheese

Lettuce to taste

1/4 avocado

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Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes with Black Beans & Olives

Have you ever bought a bag of potatoes, but couldn’t think of anything to do with them? Of course not! You can do practically anything with potatoes! Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew (sorry, I couldn’t resist). They can be initially time consuming, but if you bake them in advance, you can quickly make roasted potatoes, homemade French fries, potato salad, and now these delicious twice baked potatoes. You’re welcome.

I got the idea for these from a cheesy bread recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. She would scoop out the inside of a long piece of French bread, mix it with cheddar cheese, red onions, olives, and mayonnaise, then put it back in and bake it until bubbly and delicious. It was always the first thing to go at any party, and I thought it would be easy to adapt to twice baked potatoes. I was planning to make them ahead of time for dinner tomorrow, but we ended up eating most of them tonight. I think that means they’re blog worthy!

Perfect Pasta Salad

Right now I’m on a serious pasta salad kick. I love it. I eat it for lunch every day…then I come home and have it again for dinner. Every day, you say? Yes (well, mostly for the last week anyway). Why, might you ask? Because it’s delicious! Also because it’s super-duper easy to make, and it’s ideal for leftovers (you don’t even have to heat it up, for goodness’ sake!). Are you crazy, you might think? That is yet to be determined, BUT, in my defense, this is a much better kick than the strawberry cake kick I was on a few weeks ago, or the McDonald’s dipped cone kick before that, or the hummus and spicy pretzel kick before that – none of those were doing me any favors. I’m also on a grape kick, and a carrot/cucumber kick at the moment, but I don’t have any recipes for those. You may or may not have come to a conclusion about my sanity at this point, so I will move on.

This recipe is pretty simple – the only thing you have to cook is the pasta! (are you on board with me yet?) I use a mix of fresh veggies and some favorite preserved items, like kalamata olives and marinated artichoke hearts. The thing I love is that it’s really adaptable for your taste preferences; and there’s nothing better than coming home and NOT having to cook dinner because it’s already waiting in the fridge.

Pasta Malafemmina

Although fall is just around the corner, inspiring visions of the pumpkin pies, simmering soups, and steaming cups of hot chocolate to come, summer is still very much clinging on, outside as well as inside my kitchen. Usually I am ready for fall within the first couple of weeks of the sweltering Central Valley summer, but this time I'm holding on a bit - mainly because I'm still enjoying the myriad of produce the summer brings.

Indeed, I'm not quite ready to give up my favorites, such as the beautiful red, yellow, and orange tomatoes I used for this dish. But, luckily, I still have a few more weeks to get my fill before jumping headfirst into fall!

This recipe was inspired by a pasta dish I had while in Italy (Check it out here!). The original dish I had was literally one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. I didn't know exactly what went into it, but I of course wanted to try it out as soon as I got home. I knew the original had a very light tomato sauce, which was probably more olive oil than tomato, so I started there. Then I added in a healthy helping of capers, some kalamata olives, and a few other ingredients I discerned from taste and picture. It turned out very yummy!

Pesto Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Kale

After taking such a long break from the blogging world, I decided to ease back in with a simple recipe that’s easy to throw together and takes very little time to prepare (basically the time it takes to boil pasta). I used whole wheat spaghetti and loads of vitamin-rich kale to make it a healthier dish that I can make regularly without hurting my waistline. Earthy, meaty mushrooms provide some bulk, fresh lemon juice brightens everything up and compliments the mushrooms amazingly well, and the rest of the ingredients just kind of happened as I was going along, as most of my recipes tend to do. I think it turned out pretty well, and I hope you do too.

Let’s get cooking!

Penne Pasta with Quick Homemade Tomato Sauce

Usually when I make pasta sauce from scratch, I’m in the kitchen for an hour or longer roasting veggies, chopping ingredients, and standing over a bubbling pot, breathing in the aromatic fumes (I’m convinced that standing over a steaming pot of tomato sauce is good for your skin!). However, yesterday was a long day and by the time dinner rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was cook an elaborate meal! 

Instead, I opted for pasta with a simple tomato sauce that I could add fresh and easy ingredients to. The whole meal literally took 20 min to make, and the result was a dish that was as vibrant and full of flavor as it was satisfying and easy to make. To finish it off, I added tangy kalamata olives, feta cheese, and marinated artichoke hearts - yum!