Joy the Baker’s Honey Oatmeal Bread

Homemade bread is one of those things that take a bit of work, but is so worth it.  I made this honey oatmeal bread as part of Joy the Baker’s “baking bootcamp.”  I’ve made honey oatmeal bread before, it’s one of my favorites, but decided to take part in this fun challenge and put a healthier spin on it with one of my favorite secret ingredients: coconut oil.

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Refreshing Ginger Grapefruit Juice

Hi friends! It’s been a while.  What have I been doing? Working, making lots of trips to Home Depot, and a little bit of travel in between.  This year is off to a busy start! This past weekend I busted out my juicer again to make use of all of the extra fruit I have around.  Since I live in Los Angeles, it is pretty much mandatory that I own a juicer.  Aside from the fact that you might ingest too much sugar if you make a purely fruit juice too frequently, I love experimenting with new juices and find that they make a great post-workout treat.  After participating in Cycle for Survival (click here to donate to this awesome cause) and a trip to Home Depot (of course), I recovered with this refreshing juice.

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Roasted Chickpea and Feta Kale Salad

This New Years Resolution-worthy kale salad is one of my favorite quick dinners.  It is healthy and the roasted chickpeas make it filling.  Not to mention the fact that the roasted chickpeas are an addictive snack on their own.  The spiciness of the red pepper flakes add just enough of a kick to balance out the feta cheese.

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Blueberry Protein Pancakes

I didn’t know “protein pancakes” existed until last year.  If you haven’t tried them, you’re missing out. Protein pancakes are an easy and healthy way to get additional protein and recover after a hard workout.  The best part about these? Since they’re healthy, I don’t feel bad eating one of these for dinner one night after a good workout.  An excuse to have pancakes for dinner? I’m in.  You can easily make whatever variation you want.  You can substitute raspberries or other fruit for the blueberries, add dark chocolate chips with the fruit or even just use dark chocolate chips depending on how you feel.

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Candy Cane Chocolate Fudge

When thinking up holiday gifts, everyone likes food.  This candy cane chocolate fudge is festive, smooth, and just the right amount of sweet. This is an easier fudge recipe than some you’ll find, but it takes a little bit of effort. Your loved ones are worth it though, aren’t they?  Wrap up this fudge with a colorful ribbon and you have an easy gift.  Or, bring this to a holiday party and make lots of friends.  You can’t go wrong.

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30-Minute Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Have you recovered from Thanksgiving yet? I’m still working on it, so I’m liking this cauliflower soup right now.  Lots of veggies and not a lot of work – just how i like it! Although I made this Meatless Monday soup with vegetable broth, you can use whatever you have at home.  Only have chicken broth? That’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.  As a side note, I pretty much always have some type of broth in my pantry and you should too.  You never know when you’re going to want some and although I live walking distance from a Trader Joe’s, I don’t want to make unnecessary trips to the grocery store.  Now, if you’re not a huge cauliflower fan, I still think you should give this soup a try.  I typically do not think cauliflower has much flavor, but this soup is on a whole different level and a tasty way to get some veggies into your diet in between all of the holiday unhealthy food!

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Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Candied Walnuts

Nothing says fall like butternut squash soup.  I’ve been pretending it hasn’t been 85 degrees in Southern California by making soups weekly.  Soups are easy comfort food and this one is no different.  If you haven’t made homemade soup before, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is.  If you haven’t made butternut squash soup, well, let’s rethink those life choices.  And if you’re reading this in Minnesota or somewhere else getting snow this week, I think you’re going to want to stock up on butternut squash soup…winter is coming.

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