Image and recipe via Katom

Lately I have been trying to reduce the amount of red meat (beef and pork) I have, because it's likely not healthy .

Years ago I use to buy avacados on sale and freeze them, only to find them months later in my freezer brown with freezer burn. Whoops in an effort to save money I spent time and precious freezer space and actually lost money. Of course I threw them away and vowed to only eat avacados fresh from now on .......until recently.

I hosted Thanksgiving again this year which means I had access to all the leftovers.  Which resulted in me gaining about 3 pounds.  Not good when were just starting the holiday season!  This might not sound like alot but it was just enough to put me into what I call my weight danger zone.  My weight danger zone for me is when I reach my highest weight I've ever been and am in danger of going up a size.  I pretty much don't think much about calories unless I am in the danger zone, then I am very careful to eat low calorie and exercise any chance I get.  I also try to be really careful about cutting out sugars and grains (unless it's high fiber) and basically trying to recreate that magical time in my life when I lost 15 lbs effortlessly. 

A few years ago I created an over night crock pot apple pie oatmeal recipe that was truly life changing for my husband and I.  Simply put steel cut oats in a crockpot on warm the night before you go to bed and you will wake up to perfectly cooked healthy oatmeal.  This is great if you don't have time to make breakfast in the mourning, or need to cook breakfast for a lot of people (simply double or triple the recipe).  My husband has made oatmeal in a crock pot the night before for breakfast since I first wrote this post.  This has also been one of our most popular recipes, so when Columbia Empire Farms sent me a sample of their pumpkin butter of course I had to make a pumpkin pie version with it!  

My husband needed to bring a dessert for an office potluck, so I wanted to make something everyone would like (who doesn't like chocolate and peanut butter), uses simple ingredients (uses ingredients in most peoples pantry's), not too unhealthy (I wouldn't call this health food but it is healthier than normal Rice Krispy bars), is easy to make (no bake all you need is a microwave and a bowl an spoon), transports well (my husband commutes on a train to work), and doesn't need refrigeration.  Or in other words the perfect potluck dessert.  This would also be great for lunches, picnics, road trips, holidays, gifts, etc.

This Labor day weekend here in Minneapolis has been down right tropical.  Highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s, and humid.    I know this is likely the end of summer here.  In fact it could likely go from 90s to 60s here soon, so I am going to enjoy summer while it's still here!  What better way than with a cucumber Lime cooler?  This is so refreshing it's perfect for a hot day.  Even better it's light enough you can have more than one!    

I often have a cantaloupe around in the summer.  I love cantaloupe and I love that they are so inexpensive and just the perfect size to pig out on for 1-2 people (I married with no kids).  Cantaloupe is also very high in vitamin C and A.  I cup has 95% of RDA (recommended daily Allowance) and 106% of vitamin A along with other vitamins and minerals.

Every June we have a huge abundance of strawberries from our extensive strawberry plants we have as ground cover.  We often pig out on our strawberries fresh with a chocolate dip  I make by adding milk with chocolate chips melted in the microwave.  What we don't eat fresh we freeze and use in smoothies and preserves.  So I make jam once a year.  My husband has peanut butter jelly sandwiches for lunch every day, so we go through a lot of jam!

My husband and I were invited to a cook out at our friends house.  They were making burgers on the grill and a salad.  While they didn't ask us to bring anything I thought it would be nice to make something.  The tricky thing is the couple hosting follows the Paleo diet and one of them hates all veggies and fruit.   Hummmm...   So I had to think what would be Paleo that most people would like, that wouldn't need to be refrigerated, and doesn't have veggies or fruit?   I scoured through my pinterest boards, (finally all my time putzing around on pinterest has paid off), and then I had it, brownies.  Who doesn't like brownies? They're always great for a picnic or pot luck!

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Ever since I stumbled upon Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscano, I've been in love.  I'd often order only soup and salad so I could have all the Zuppa Tuscano I could eat.  Seriously one of the best soups I've had to this day.  Long before the days when I became accustomed to looking for recipes online I attempted to make my own version.  I was pretty proud and surprised that I actually felt it was a pretty good ringer for it.

Image credit

While I've tried to lean towards a Paleo diet.  There are a few things I would honestly miss far too much too ever go fully Paleo.  Mainly cheese, cream, and potatoes.  I still have cream, cheese, and potatoes, just as a treat now.  I figure if that's my ideal of being bad I guess my diet isn't too bad :).  This au gratin recipe from Allen Dikker founder of the restaurant Potatopia in NYC has cream, cheese, and potatoes, so you know it's right up my alley. 

image via Testosterone

I think it's fair to say that most people celebrating Valentines day either go out to eat or make a romantic dinner for two at home.  Since I don't work outside the home my husband and my usual routine is that I cook dinner every night Mon-Fri, Sat is our date night and we go out to eat or at least do take out, and Sunday night my husband cooks dinner.  So we plan to go out for Valentines day since that's our date night anyway!

Bacon wrapped Pickles with spicy cajun mayo recipe at Abbey's Kitchen

I won't be hosting a super bowl party, but I do love a good snack recipe.  At this time of year I always hear a ton of great ideals for snacks that gets me wanting to make some.  When I have hosted a party in the past I've found way to many interesting appetizers to make that sounded easy at first....until it came down to making all of them at the same time!  Now that I'm older and wiser I know that with appetizers it's best to keep it simple.  Which is why I'm sure you will love my favorite appetizers too.

This chocolate peanut butter popcorn is so easy to make from home!  This popcorn is perfect for movie night, game day, or any day really.  I know I could eat a big bowl every day.  It's super addicting!  :)  Not a fan of peanut butter?  No problem just substitute it with almond butter.