healthy eats

Life just seems to get busier as the days pass! With working full time, figuring out what courses I will be enrolling in this semester, and still making time for my family, I feel like I will never stop!

Easy and quick dinners have been our best friend around here lately since Eli's new trainer requires him to work out for what seems like 5 hours every night.  Here are some recipes we will be trying soon! They look so delicious, I couldn't wait until after we try them!  

Stir Fry Asparagus-Indian Style

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups trimmed and cut asparagus

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp chaat masala

1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes

salt to taste

1/2 tsp oil (we will use olive oil)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix lemon juice and chaat masala and pour over asparagus.

2. Heat (olive) oil in a pan and stir fry until done.

3. Remove from heat and sprinkle salt and aleppo pepper flakes and stir to evenly coat the asparagus.

4. Serve and enjoy!

I really love a simple, yet creative side dish. Side dishes are easy to repeat, so it's nice to find something different!

Speaking of simple side dishes.....

Sweet Cucumber, Red Onion and Dill Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar*

1 packet Stevia (or 2 tsp sugar)

1/4 tsp salt

2 cucumbers, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 tbsp thinly sliced dill

*i have red wine vinegar on hand, so i'm going to use that instead...

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, sweetener and salt

2. Toss in your cucumber, onion, and dill

3. Cover and chill for 30 minutes

4. Enjoy!

Soy Glazed Salmon

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp dry white wine*

salmon filets

lemon wedges, for serving

*instead of wine, i will substitute for water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400*

2. Make the glaze by combining the brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, white wine (or water) until the sugar dissolves

3. Cut salmon filets, if necessary and arrange on a baking sheet-skin side down.

4. Evenly coat the salmon with the glaze

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, basting every few minutes to ensure the glaze is cooked into the salmon

6. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!

Chicken Caprese

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb chicken breast

2 tbsp lemon pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large tomatoes, sliced

6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into slices and patted dry

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

*balsamic vinegar, if desired*

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 300*-350* (i will probably do 350*..that temp never fails!)

2. Season chicken with lemon pepper and drizzle with olive oil

3. Place chicken on a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink

4. Transfer chicken to serving plates and top with tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and optional balsamic vinegar.

5. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Cabbage Steaks

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of cabbage

salt

pepper

garlic, freshly chopped or granulated

olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees*

2. Pull outer leaf off of cabbage head

3. Cut cabbage into 1" thick slices and place on baking sheet lined with foil

4. Rub both sides of cabbage slices with oil then sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic

5. Place baking sheet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove and flip "cabbage steaks" and cook for an additional 10 minutes

6. Allow cool time and enjoy!

I hope you're enjoying your week. It's already Thursday, so we're almost there!

xoxo

Haley

healthy eats

One thing I want to talk about on Laughing With Liam is healthy eats.  In our house, the majority of the food we eat is organic.  Even Liam munches on organic snacks!  A few years ago, I didn't really have an opinion about buying the organic stuff.  I'd pick out the cheapest broccoli and continue my grocery shopping.  After about a year of cooking with Eli, he decided it would be best to eat all organic food items (when possible) because they are loaded with benefits.  Turns out, they are full of nutrients, they have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones, and they are so delicious when they're fresh! 

Two weeks ago, I started the Atkins diet in hopes to help with this last bit of baby weight I was suppose to lose months ago. So far, so good..but limiting myself to 20 net carbs a day has been quite the challenge!

Here are a few healthy eats recipes we are loving lately.

Quick and Easy Cilantro Lime Chicken

3 chicken breast, cubed

a handful of cilantro, chopped (to garnish once the chicken is cooked)

a sprinkle of cayenne, pepper, salt, garlic, and cumin

a squeeze of lime juice

olive oil (to coat the bottom of the pan)

directions:

1. Cube your chicken breast and heat up a little bit of olive oil on medium heat.
2. Toss your chicken into the pan and add the dry seasonings. (For cleaning purposes, I find that it's easier to season the chicken once it was already on the stove)
3. When the chicken is almost done, squeeze the lime juice onto the chicken and let it finish cooking on high heat to get a good crust.
4. Plate the chicken and garnish with cilantro. ENJOY! 

Garlic Shrimp with Avocado Dip

2 hass avocados, pitted and peeled

1 jalapeño, chopped

shrimp, peeled and deveined

olive oil (to coat the bottom of the pan)

garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt

directions:

1. Cut up the avocados and place them directly into a blender or food processor. Liam broke our blender, so I did this by hand.
2. Add the chopped jalapeño and salt then puree until smooth.  (To give it a little kick and to help with the blending process, I added a couple tablespoons of Louisiana Hot Sauce)
3. In a bowl, mix the shrimp, oil, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
4. Toss the shrimp into a medium heated pan and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with avocado dip and ENJOY!

This next recipe I got from one of my favorite mommy bloggers! Megan at Hello Newlywed Life always posts simple ingredient and yummy recipes that I am always tempted to try! I was reading her blog one day and I KNEW we had to try this recipe.

Southwestern Avocado Salad

2 ripe avocados, cubed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

5 ounces of white cheddar cheese, cubed

1/4 cup chipotle ranch dressing

splash of lemon juice

salt and pepper

directions:

1. Mix everything in a large bowl and ENJOY!

If that isn't easy, I don't know what is!

Now, Eli doesn't like tomatoes or any type of ranch dressing so I mixed everything that we both liked first and plated the basis of the meal.  I added tomatoes and chipotle ranch dressing to mine, while he left out the tomatoes but added caesar dressing to his.  Both were DELICIOUS! Thank you so much, Megan, for that super easy and tasty recipe!

Follow me on IG (@eliandhaley) to see more of our healthy eats!

Happy Good Friday! I hope all of you lovely ladies are enjoying a day off!

xoxo

Haley