My Aunt Mary sent me a lovely photo and accompanying recipe for ribollita, an Italian vegetable bread soup. Knowing my great love for soups, I had to post the recipe! Mary used a recipe from Ina Garten, found here.

Her changes:

1.  I used 2-15 oz cans of cannellini beans instead of cooking the beans.  You still need to drain and rinse the canned beans but that’s much faster than soaking beans overnight and cooking for one hour.
2.  I used fire roasted canned tomatoes.  I use these in all recipes calling for canned tomatoes - much more flavor.
3.  I used only 1/2 Tbl of salt when cooking the vegetables, allowing me to add more salt at the end if needed.
4.  I used a whole grain rustic loaf instead of sourdough.  I thought this would be healthier and added additional flavor.
5.  Because I did not cook the beans, I used chicken stock to puree half the beans.  I also had to add 8 cups of stock to the soup since I did not have any bean cooking liquid.
6.  I removed the crusts on only half the bread.  The half without crusts I placed in the soup per the recipe.  The cubes with crusts I made into croutons and placed on the soup when serving.  To make croutons, place bread cubes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt or garlic salt and toast in a 400 deg oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Keep an eye on the croutons because they can burn easily.

She suggests kale chips as a crunchy topping for the soup. Brilliant idea!

I’ve posted this recipe before, but when I posted it, it was made by my dad. This one’s all mine! I made it tonight to combat the winter blues I immediately picked up upon my return from Florida.

I basically followed my dad’s secret (err, not so much!) recipe, but left out the parsnips (didn’t have ‘em), and didn’t make the matzo balls.

I swear, you guys, this is the easiest recipe ever. You basically throw some chicken parts in a pot, cover it with water, and then add in some roughly chopped veggies, salt, and pepper. Let it simmer for 3 hours, and you’ve got yourself the most delicious chicken soup you’ve ever tasted.

Before everything cooked down (all the carrots sank to the bottom).

This stuff will soothe your soul, guys.

I had an inspiration for these bad boys while pondering what food we had left in the casa. I remembered I got a can of boneless, skinless salmon at Trader Joe’s a couple weeks ago, so I had my sis pick up another can (with skin and bone) and proceeded to envision delicious salmon patties coming my way. Here’s how it went down.

You’ll need (makes 8-10 patties):

• 1.5 large cans of salmon (with bone or boneless - the bones are edible/skin on or skinless)
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped finely
• 1-2 small onions, chopped finely
• 2 T dijon mustard
• 4 eggs
• about 1/2 C almond meal (you could also use bread crumbs)
• salt/pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except almond meal in a large bowl. Add almond meal until patties can be formed (the mixture will still need to be fairly wet). Form the mixture into as many patties as you want. In batches, brown patties on each side in a saute pan on medium heat (4-5 minutes on each side). You can use butter, coconut oil, or olive oil to do this. I used coconut oil.

So unexpectedly delicious! I ate two patties with a salad and homemade vinaigrette (white wine vinegar, oil, and more Dijon mustard) and a small portion of mashed potatoes.

Meanwhile, the fur babies were making trouble…

Dinner Problem: I only had a few minutes to get something to eat tonight, but I wasn’t that hungry. I did want to get a little snack in, though, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat again until late. I had no leftovers.

Dinner Solution: Take the leftovers from last weekend’s Chicken with Creamy Tomato-Basil Sauce and turn it into a refreshing, simple salad. I used the last of the grape tomatoes, the last few leaves of fresh basil, and some goat cheese.

Evidence:

This combo was just as delicious as the tomato/basil/mozzarella standard, if not more. Does goat cheese make everything better, or is it just me? Oh, and does fresh basil make everything better, or is it just me? They’re a duo of deliciousness! I didn’t even need any dressing.

Happy Valentine’s Day, guys and gals! Hope you’re having a day full of love, no matter your situation. My valentine surprised me with a hand-picked bouquet of flowers and (because what would a Nutritionista v-day be without a food gift?) a few sushi rolls. He knows I heart sushi!

In return, I whipped up a delicious Valentine’s dinner. What says “love” better than a rich, flavorful dish full of fresh ingredients? Try this at home, kids. You won’t regret it.

You’ll need (serves 2-3):

• 2-3 boneless chicken breasts (I use Amish chicken)
• 1.5 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2-3 cups baby spinach
• medium onion, chopped
• .75 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons pine nuts
• a few slices of bacon
• salt and pepper to taste (I used the black truffle salt Kallah sent me!)
• 3-4 tablespoons cream or half and half

Preparation:

• Saute a few pieces of bacon in a large pan.
• Remove the bacon and save it for another time (or eat it as a snack, like I did). You could also cut it up and use it in the sauce if you want.
• Saute chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper on medium heat in the leftover bacon fat (add more oil/butter if necessary). Each side will take about 15 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, begin sauteing the onion in butter or oil.
• When the onion begins to become translucent, add the cherry tomatoes.
• When the cherry tomatoes begin to pop and cook down (5-10 minutes), add basil, spinach, and cream or half and half. A little goes a long way!
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook everything together on low heat for another 10-15 minutes while the chicken finishes cooking.
• Add pine nuts and serve!

You could also serve the chicken and sauce over pasta, but we wanted to keep it simple and relatively light. Mmm, I think I’m in love.

We had leftover ingredients from the Green Curry Chicken I made a few days ago, so I thought why not make it again. This time, though, I made it with tofu. Tofu crispies (cubed tofu baked until it’s totally crispy on the outside), to be precise. I also added broccoli, because more veggies = more delicious in my world. This is definitely my new favorite stir-fry recipe!

Oh, also? This meal costs around $2.50 per serving. Not bad, right?

I’m on a roll this week with these five-ingredient dinners, aren’t I?

I never thought re-creating one of my favorite Thai dishes would be so simple! My boyfriend and I love to get green curry from a little hole-in-the-wall place by his house. They never listen to us when we tell them we want it super mild (even “no spice” at this place is almost too spicy to eat!) so we have to add some milk to cool it down.

Being able to add my own amount of green curry paste meant I could chow down without chugging five glasses of water. Win! Next time, I’m making my own green curry. None of this “hydrogenated soybean oil” in my curry! (Note that hydrogenated oil is not trans fat; Trans fat is partially hydrogenated oil.)

Anyway, I based my dish off this recipe from Cooking Light. Here are my five ingredients (bell pepper only counts as one!):

Yes, I used white rice. My boyfriend hates brown, so I compromised on this one (see? I do compromise!). Did you guys know that coconut milk (lite, in this case) makes everything better? Well, now you do.

Also, I always buy Miller Amish Country chicken when possible. I think it tastes better and is raised more humanely. The website says:

Our chicks are hatched at our own hatchery and placed primarily on Amish family farms.  The birds are raised inside naturally ventilated, curtain sided, houses and are free to roam on open floors.  They are fed an all-vegetable, drug free diet and are hormone and antibiotic free.

Miller chickens are raised in a stress-free environment where they have access to fresh water and feed with natural light and ventilation and are free to roam within the chicken house on open floors.  The chickens are cared for by peace loving Amish families.

And here’s the deliciousness simmering…

In other news, did I mention our kittens love each other? Oh, they do…

Charlie on the left, Olive on the right. Anyway, if you’re in the mood for easy Thai, make yourself some Green Curry Chicken!

How can I explain how obsessed I am with protein pancakes? I love them because they taste like pancakes, but they’re not full of empty calories like traditional pancakes. They are wayyy more satisfying than normal pancakes and keep me going all morning/afternoon. I think I perfected them today, though. The secret? Adding a whole, ripe banana. I didn’t even eat them with anything! They were that good. But they’d be absolutely delicious with some almond or peanut butter.

Here’s the whole recipe. I suggest making them, like, yesterday.

You’ll need (serves 2-3):

• 5 egg whites
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 scoops protein powder of your choice (I used vanilla-flavored)
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (or ground oats)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/4 C milk or milk substitute (I used almond milk)
• very ripe banana
• a few drops of vanilla
• sprinkling of nutmeg
• sprinkling of cinnamon

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Then, cook as you would normal pancakes. Done! Here’s the nutrition info for one serving if you split the recipe in half (includes the olive oil I used to cook them):

Tons of protein, of course, but also plenty of fiber and healthy fat. Big score.