Savory Roasted Carrot Clafoutis

Eat the rainbow- this should be our mantras every day, at every meal, to help keep our bodies in tip top shape. There is a plethora of colorful vegetables available to us so why not? It's good for you and it makes food just flat-out more interesting.

Rainbow carrots are one such option - purple, red and yellow hues dance across the root vegetable to grab our attention. Is it the tantalizing color of these carrots that make us believe the taste is slightly better, more effervescent, than a typical orange carrot? Perhaps our mind plays trick on us but purple carrots are said to be a slightly sweeter while yellow carrots are more mild and less earthy. The resulting mixture of them is eye catching and inspiring- perfect for a Spring morning.

I was inspired by this recipe, mostly for the colorful layout of the vegetables. In my version, the final dish offers the intriguing line up of hidden color, only revealed after cutting and serving. Similar to a quiche, this savory clafoutis is less complicated, a bit richer and a bit more refined. Try adding a touch of sriracha or pesto to add a bit of punch.

Eat with your eyes and your mouth for a full sensory meal!

Roasted Veggie Tortilla Pizza with Kale Lime Pesto

Pizza is a funny thing - most people love it and would say it's their favorite thing ever in the whole world! And there are a few who actually don't like it. What's left is someone like me. I like the idea of pizza, but prepackaged, sugar laden sauces, cheap cheese and mile hi crusts don't do it for me.

A thin crust loaded with veggies and bursting with flavor sauces are more my style. One of my most popular cooking class is my Grilled Flatbread class. But the grill is not always accessible (especially it it's covered under 19" of snow!) and sometime you need an even quicker back up. Enter the tortilla. Tortilla's aren't just for tacos anymore. I've been making a pizza crusts out of them for years and it's time you started too.

Raw Chocolate Crunch Energy Bites

Binge season is upon us; there is no reason to try to deny it. But you can fight it, deliciously.

These little raw chocolate balls are not new, but my version adds in crunch to help satisfy that crunchy, cookie need with popped millet. It takes a few extra minutes to pop the millet, but it's so worth it for the addition of gluten free crunch.

The bonus with these balls is that they don't just satisfy your sweet craving but they do it with natural sugar and energy from the dates, good fat from the coconut oil and antioxidants from the cacao and they help to regulate blood sugar with the cinnamon. Set these out but don't tell anyone what they are until after they try them and comment on how good these are.

Indulge if you must right now, but keep these babies in the fridge or freezer year round as your go to healthy, sweet, energy option.

Five Spices Pumpkin Soup with Orange Pepper Cashew Cream

Pumpkins are a dime a dozen this time of year, hence the many of them adorning my counter tops right now. I've been playing with a crazy number of recipes that you will be seeing here soon.

Since our biggest eating holiday is coming up next week, I'm going to post a simple pumpkin soup recipe first. In this soup I used a touch of Chinese Five Spices to give a little flavor twist over the typical pumpkin soup. It's an interesting mix of cinnamon, clove, pepper, fennel and anise. It marries quite well with meats but you'll find it sweet, savory and complex in this soup. If you haven't tried this spice blend before, you may find yourself become immediately addicted to it and find yourself putting it on everything. It's quite concentrated so a little goes a long way.

Orange Pepper Cashew Cream tops the soup in a creamy, non-dairy way. If you haven't made a creamy, dairy substitute out of cashews before, now is the time to try. It's super simple, just add cashews and water and blend.

Instead of ending your Thanksgiving meal with a pumpkin, perhaps this is the year to start with it. Pumpkin 5 Spices Soup with Orange Pepper Cashew Cream, a deliciously healthy pumpkin soup.

Mini Peppers Stuffed with Apple Rice Salad

One of my favorite time saving tips is to make a big batch of rice or quinoa at the beginning of the week; then I use that as a base for a hoard of other dishes.

This week I had a bit of cooked  brown rice on my hands and I needed  a super quick and simple appetizer to welcome a few guests into our home. Using what else I had available, this yummy little dish came together in a snap.

It's the green apple that really sets this apart. Tart, crisp and fresh. The  hummus helps the rice stick together slightly and stay inside the pepper a bit better. For a warmer option, check out the Happy Healthy Tip below to turn this into a cheesy warm grilled version.  Either way, it's delicious!

A Healthier Elote in a Cup

Find this recipe on our Happy Eats Healthy Website:

Healthy Elote in a Cup

Lemony Red Lentil Hummus Spread

Having an array of sauces and spreads in your kitchen repertoire is key to elevating flavor in your dishes. Equally as important is creating those items in a healthy manner.

Sure, you could just purchase a pre-mixed, pre-packaged spread from the grocery store, but what you get with that is a whole bunch of sugar and chemicals that are going to wreak havoc on your body. Plus it's really easy to make your own, especially of you happen to have some pre-cooked lentils around.

This isn't a true hummus, which calls for chickpeas and tahini, it's a lentil spread or dip or salad topper - perfect for sandwiches and snacking. The lemon adds a brightness which is perfect on grilled chicken and veggies (I used it on a lettuce wrap filled with just such items.)

Light, super healthy and super delicious- this lemon and red lentil dip spread is a perfect addition to any meal.

Watermelon Feta Salad with Spicy Vinaigrette

This recipe is now at Happy Eats Healthy

Spicy Tomato Peach Jam

Tomato season- it's the time of summer we wait patiently all year for. Maybe patiently isn't exactly true. Buying those off-season tomatoes and then complaining about the lackluster flavor happens all too often, yet we rinse and repeat.

But now, now is the time to yank that fresh tomato off the vine (or off your farmers market table) and directly insert into mouth. Ah, a mouthful of heaven.

However, sometimes we are a tad overzealous in our planting (and purchasing) and find we have more tomatoes than we can chow on. This is an important time to decide what to do with your deliciously colourful bounty.

Two words: tomato jam. A lovely mixture of tomatoes and peaches with a hint of honey and spice. Earthy with just the right mix of sweet; super fantastic on grilled meats, sandwiches, crackers or on a simple piece of bread.

Save some of your next tomato haul for this delicious tomato jam, it's a happy and healthy addition to any meal!

Turkey Salad Stuffed Pears with Mustard Vinaigrette

  Turkey and pomegranate seeds really remind me of the winter holidays, but his is a recipe that could be great year round. Yet I served these adorable stuffed pears
at a summer brunch recently and  they stole the show; fresh and delicious with no heavy winter feel.

I'm rarely interested in most turkey salads because of the use of mayo; notice there is no mayo in this one. Simply whisking together mustard with lemon juice and olive oil gives a rich and creamy dressing without all that extra fat and chemicals (assuming you are using jarred.)

Chop, whisk, toss and assemble. Pretty simple for such a WOW happy and healthy dish!

Avocado Citrus Salad

I created these adorable little devils when catering a baby shower recently- not only are they healthy and delish, but they are super gorgeous and perfect for a brunch appetizer.

Let's get something out of the way - Avocado is GOOD fat! It lubricates the body

keeping your hearth healthy and brain running efficiently. The avocado helps fight inflammation as well and is known to help with arthritis in particular.

No cooking required, just whisk, cut and assemble. Eat healthy, get happy!

Spinach Fig Hummus

Ever get bored of hummus? It's everywhere; probably because it's a basic go-to when you need a quick appetizer option. Don't get me wrong, I do like hummus, but I also like flavor.

I found myself with a lot of spinach the other day, even after making a spinach salad, sauteed spinach-stuffed potatoes and this super yummy spinach and  mushroom dahl, I was beginning to wonder if I could eat any more spinach. But then I found myself in need of a quick dip to go with veggies and I just happened to have some dried chick peas soaking, it seemed like a blender marriage.

The result is a beautiful green hummus with hints of sweet from the fig jam. A wonderful break from typical hummus and perfect as a dip or a sandwich spread. This makes an enormous amount of dip, great for a large party; cut the recipe in half if you are making this for yourself or a small party.
No matter how much you make, it's a Fat and Happy and Healthy delicious!

Pesto meets Vinaigrette: Herbed and Minted

Recently I stumbled upon this Green Chermoula recipe because of a photo that look interesting, but the reviews of it were seriously lacking. And even though I'm still not a fan of cilantro, the ingredients looked intriguing, using both parsley and cilantro with a side of mint and jalapeno.  So I decided to give it a go, knowing I could doctor it up as needed.

Turns out the recipe did need a little help; a splash of lemon and a doubling of the mint and ginger did the trick. The result is an interesting herby, minty, slightly spicy pesto-like vinaigrette that grows on you. The first few tastes didn't totally hook me or my guests, but half way through our meal people were asking for the recipe (and that has happened twice!)

So far I've used this on flat bread pizza, as a spinach salad dressing, drizzled across baked sweet potatoes and then as a light spread on a chicken salad wrap. Talk about versatility! It whips up in seconds, no cooking required. And with these great health benefits (see Happy Health Tips below), adding a second helping is almost a requirement!

Roasted Strawberries and Goat Cheese with Lemon Crostini

This recipe is now on Happy Eats Healthy.

Roasted Strawberries and Goat Cheese with Lemon Crostini

Chive and Goat Cheese filled Raspberries

The concept of Farm to Table has been taken a step further with cutting-edge, hard working entrepreneurs like the folks at Outstanding In The Field by taking the table out of the restaurant and placing at a local farm. Regular people get a chance to explore growing first hand and then enjoy the the farm goods as cooked by a local chef. It's fresh, upscale, informative and super delicious.

We attended one of these dinners last year in South Haven, Michigan where we first encountered these delightful raspberry nibbles. Creamy goat cheese and sharp chives cradled in a bright berry, nestled on top of a finishing crunch. A perfect bite.

Mine are slightly different from what I remember. They used a puffed rice for the crunch while I used a popped quinoa. They may have used different herbs in the filling, I happened to have fresh chives and love the little onion hit with the berries. All in all, it's a gorgeous little presentation and is fairly simple to put together.

Try these super tantalizing appetizers for your next outdoor party, then I highly recommend visiting your local farm to see what inspires you. I'm personally psyched for our farm dinner this year in Door County; good food and good friends abound.

Quick Honey Spiced Pickles

I love vinegar, from balsamic to apple cider to champagne. It's a taste I developed as a child and has stuck with me ever since. So it's no surprise I love anything pickled. Too bad I didn't develop patience too.

This quick pickle recipe is perfect if you are like me. It's quick, about as simple as it can get and (most important) crunchy and tasty! 

Using raw honey is so much healthier than a refined sugar. Refined sugar is a "negative" nutrient, this means it literally does not have any nutritional value and eating it actually makes your body use up stored nutrients to process it. Honey on the other hand has many beneficial nutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants; raw honey is best as typical honey processing (the kind of honey you'll find at your grocery store, often shaped like a bear) destroys many of the enzymes and antioxidants that give the benefits of raw honey. Save a bear, use the raw honey.

Next time you have an extra cucumber or two, slice them into these delicious honey pickles for a super Fat and Happy addition to any meal.

Delicious Mushroom Grain Veggie Burger

This post has move to Happy Eats Healthy Mushroom Grain Burger

Pine Nut Romesco Sauce

This recipe is now at Happy Eats Healthy

Pine Nut and Sherry Romesco Sauce

Pineapple Red Pepper Salsa

 The Pineapple Red Pepper Salsa in now at this link.

Cheese Grapes and Champagne Gelee

You can't have too many appetizer recipes, you just can't. Hummus is great but it isn't exactly elegant, and how many times do you feel the need to 'take watch' to ensure no double-dipping is going down?

These adorable little cheese-stuffed and covered grapes are cute and require one bite, a bonus for those times you don't want to carry around a plate with you (you need those hands for drinks and shaking.)
When I put this tray together I wanted something special on it - like edible flowers. But since we are in the midst of a polar vortex, even non-edible petals are hard to come by, that wasn't going to happen.  The tray didn't really need more food on it, but it needed just a little something to set it apart. The guest of honor and I have a penchant for Champagne, I began to look for ways to incorporate.

Yes it was a fancy and stylish party and yes, jello shots (or in this case gelee) fits right in. These aren't the nasty little neon jello shooters you get from a half-naked girls at the local club. These Champagne gelee cubes are light, tender and the perfect accompaniment to the grapes. Just a little square or two is needed; though a couple of us polished off the remainder of the pan in record time later in the night.

Below I've listed two flavor options for the grapes and a couple of options for how to put them together too. My goat cheese and lemon with toasted pine nuts version is super lovely while the more traditional blue cheese and walnuts arrangement is just a classic taste combination. In both cases, the grapes are a wonderful sweet vessel for the ingredients.

Take your next appetizer tray to a new level with Fat and Happy Grapes and Champagne.