Broil Roasted Squash with Chimichurri Dressing

I cannot stop coming up with squash recipes! Gotta get them in while we can right? One of the ways I've been enjoying squash these days is charring the skin, either on a grill or in the oven. It's delightfully crunchy and tasty, especially next to a slightly acidic sauce.

This dish plays like a warm salad but feeds like a hearty, meaty dish. I've used both acorn squash and butternut squash and they are both great in this dish; use both for the best variety. Any grain would work in this salad; try brown rice, farro or or wheat berries.

Grill, roast or broil your squash for a super delicious, healthy and hearty meal.

Leftover Turkey Pasta with Roasted Poblano and Avocado Tahini Sauce

Aside from the craziness of Black Friday shopping, the day after Thanksgiving begins the drudgery of what to do with the leftover turkey. Sure you could make a sandwich or eat them plain as is, I also highly recommend this Potato Cake with Champagne Mushroom Ragu, or this Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette. If you are looking for something a bit cheesier you might try this Horseradish Mac n Cheese dish.

But perhaps this year you want something a littler and healthier?  This is the dish for you. Loaded with veggies and topped with a super yummy poblano 'cream' sauce that is filled with the good fat that will keep you nourished from the inside. Toss in whatever veggies you have, from tomatoes to left over brussel sprouts.

The sauce is so creamy you won't believe that there isn't cream or cheese in it. Just healthy avocado, roasted pepper and raw pumpkin seeds. Yes, pumpkin seeds. I used them as my tahini base instead of sunflower seeds; it's a tasty way to get your zinc in. Once you make this sauce, you might start using this on your salads, as a sandwich spread or as a dip!

You'll be so excited for this pasta, you might just throw a another turkey in the oven~ who knew leftovers could taste soo good?

Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin Lime Dressing

It's no secret I'm a fan of salads. Raw, roasted, grilled, fresh, tossed, chopped, stuffed or layered. Different vegetables, different proteins, all make for the delicious base. But isn't really the dressings that entice us?

The nutty, earthy, warm and peppery flavor from cumin comes alive with the sharp, sour, freshness from the lime over the roasted cauliflower. Don't stop there, this Lime and Cumin Vinaigrette is great on a number of other dishes as well, try it on any salad, grilled tuna or even over a burger.

Simple store bought dressings appear so harmless, but the truth is they are filled with sugar, chemicals and  lots of other fake ingredients that ultimately hurt your body deep inside. Save yourself by spending just a few extra minutes preparing your own dressing. Your body, and your taste buds, will thank you for it!

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!

Grilled Pepper, Bacon and Brown Rice Salad with Dill Dressing

Interesting summer salads are key to quell summer boredom. I'm a huge fan of greens and urge you to get them into your daily intake.  But for a little variety try moving away from the world of lettuce and toss in something grilled.

A sticky brown rice mingling with grilled peppers, all coated with bright fresh dill dressing - it's hearty, fresh and delicious with a touch of smokey. A great option that matches anything else you're grilling.

Kiss your salads with a taste of the grill- your guests will thank you for it.

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!

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!

Fall Endive Cup: Butternut Squash and Apple Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing

I received a call to cater a Women's Health event recently; how could I say no too an opportunity to whip up healthy delicious food for a group that would totally appreciate it?

This Fall-filled Endive Cup was the hit of the night! For the event I used endive cups (see the images at the bottom of this page); you can see I used kale leaves for these photos, butter lettuce would work really well too. Kale is NOT for everyone so go with what you like. You could even toss this with lettuce or spinach and serve as a side salad (would be perfect on your Thanksgiving table.)

Roasted butternut squash just pairs so well with fresh apple. The maple balsamic dressing screams warm fall flavors with a breeze of sweetness. Since maple syrup is derived from nature, it offers nutrients like iron, calcium and zinc with fewer calories than refined sugar which is void of any nutritional content. Maple syrup also has a low glycemic index making it ideal for those with diabetes.

Try these super yummy Fat and Happy squash and apple filled lettuce cups, it's a healthy way to enjoy the fall goods.

Squash and Pea Shoot Salad Bruschetta

Bruschetta is nothing more than a good piece of bread acting as a vessel for some yummy toppings. You almost can't go wrong with any combination you put together.

Today I pair the long awaited butternut squash with a light radish and pea shoot salad for a lovely Summer meets Fall version. Rounding out the flavors is the orange parsley dressing. It's light yet hearty, soft and crunchy all in one bite. Delicious.

This is definitely a 'use a fork and knife' brushetta over a simple 'pick it up and take a bite' one and that just adds to the dishs' depth and character.

Try this out as a plated appetizer or salad course at your next dinner party- you'll get some well deserved Fat and Happy kudos!

Tropical Gingered Spaghetti Squash

It's not secret that the Fall season is synonymous with hearty squash and pumpkins, which I adore! They lend themselves to creamy soups, pies and hearty gratins. But there is a squash that doesn't act like the rest, one that doesn't belong if you will.

Are you familiar with the Spaghetti Squash? Upon roasting, a fork is dragged across the flesh releasing long strands resembling spaghetti. It's really a pretty cool to do this the first time. The flavor is distinctly, though mild, squash-esque while still reaping all the nutritional benefits of its more dense counterparts: high fiber, low in calories and great amounts of folic acid to help our body convert food into energy.

In this recipe I added ginger and turmeric for their inflammatory fighting properties and for a tropical taste that kicks in thanks to the coconut oil.

Roast the lesser known Spaghetti Squash and experience the fun of the making long strands. Then toss it all together in this healthy Fat and Happy Gingered Spaghetti Squash dish.

Asparagus, Cabbage and Couscous Salad with Orange Sriracha Vinaigrette

Tis the season of outdoor concerts and movies and evening picnics in the park. It's also the time of year those of us living in the cold climates gain the opportunity to eat more raw food.

This is a fairly simple salad of raw cabbage and asparagus but it gains a bit of heartiness and chewiness from the couscous. The real kick is tossing the whole mix with the Orange Sriracha Vinaigrette- it's a great combination together and brings the vegetables alive.

Napa cabbage is a friendlier cabbage than most, in my opinion. It's high in antioxidants, folates, Vitamins A, K and C and it gives a great crunch to any salad. Asparagus is rich in fiber, supports our immune system, helps our fight against inflammation, has anti cancer benefits and helps to regulate blood sugar. Power packed nutrition in one fun and tasty salad.

Pack the basket, head to your nearest park and pull out this Fat and Happy picnic loving salad. It will leave the crowd comfortably satisfied.

Grilled Corn with Ancho Chile Pepper Cashew Cream and Citron Salt: An Elote Experiment

Elote, the ever popular Mexican street fare that is seen both on a stick and served in a cup with a spoon. Is it the golden charred corn or the the scrumptious toppings that lures peckish patrons in?  Honestly, the corn just becomes a vessel for the creamy mayo, crumbled cheese and lime. But just thinking about the juicy corn nibbles rolling down my forearms makes me want to lick them now.

It's in my DNA to tweak recipes so you know already my version is going to have a twist or two. First enter twist one - their are sad people out there who can't (or don't) eat dairy. It's torture to watch your friends slobber over their dressed up corn while you push around your naked cob. Until now. With the help of raw cashew it's a snap to make a dairy free cream. It sounds daunting, I know. The idea of  'soaking cashews' sounded challenging, difficult and not all that yummy, quite honestly, when I first heard about it. But once I finally worked up some ambition to give this a try, I've learned cashew cream is pretty simple. The hardest part is to remember to soak them before you need them. Add in chili pepper, garlic and some fixings and the results are sorta magical.

Twist number two- a package of Citron Salt landed in my mailbox as a strange ingredient. What if lemon replaced the typical lime in the Elote? The pale yellow nodules created  perfect harmony with the corn and pepper cashew cream, not to mention adding a real nice little crunch too.

A Fat and Happy Elote experiment gone right. Oh, did I mention how much healthier my version is?

Basil Bison Flank Steak with Grilled Ramps

It's grilling time! When I smell that sweet smoke flavor lofting through the air, I'm like a cartoon character that gets picked up by the nose and floats over to the grill.

It's easy to lean on the same old standbys when grilling so I like to encourage some creativity. It doesn't have to be fancy or hard, it can be as simple as changing the type of meat you typically choose. For instance, have you tried Bison? It offers great flavor with fewer calories and more protein and iron than traditional beef, pork or salmon.

Taking advantage of left over Basil Dressing from the other night, I had a quick marinade on my hands (saving a little for a final post drizzle.) The ever classic, but short lived ramps rounded out the grilled meal. Ramps are a cross between an onion and a garlic and they are only in season for a very short time in the Spring. Hesitation is not a viable option. A few things you should know about ramps thought- they can be quite smelly as left overs and even worse if you put them down the garbage disposal so just plan to eat them all the night you cook them and be sure your significant other eats them too.

Try something new when grilling this month, you might add a new dish to your Fat and Happy repertoire.

Warm Squash, Quinoa and Kale Super Foods Salad with Lemon Goji Berry Dressing

I can't get enough of this salad; I've made a variation of it for three different gatherings in the last week and the reviews are glowing.

Warm comfort foods are a must of you live in a cold climate, but often those foods are covered in artery clogging, fat-laden meats, creams and cheeses. And they can be so overcooked that they leave you feeling full and lifeless.

Finding myself in the midst of a detox during the above noted gatherings and one them them landing on Meatless Mondays lead me on a quest to create a healthy comfort dish that was warm, filling and tantalizing to the taste buds.

The warmth of the squash and quinoa slightly soften the kale while the lemon goji berry dressing keeps the whole salad lively and fresh. And the salad is so versatile you can add and subtract other veggies based on your seasonal veggies and what you have on hand.

Stay warm, filled and fueled with this Fat and Happy Warm Squash, Quinoa and Kale Super Foods Salad with Lemon Goji Berry Dressing.

Lemon Pea Salad Stuffed Shells with Cashew Cream

I'm in charge of appetizers for an afternoon birthday party for a good friend of mine.

It's the dead of winter but a heavy app doesn't sound appealing (especially when chicken is the main entree.) I wanted to make something interesting without being too fussy. Elegant by not stuffy. Classic over molecular.

Pasta salad was running through my thoughts... but individual appetizers tend to be easier for guest to pick up and enjoy in standing party situations so portability is key.

Taking the pasta out of the salad and using it as a mini bowl did the trick. Jumbo shells, cooked just al dente, filled with a zippy lemon pea salad is a clever way to serve pasta salad as an appetizer.

Raw Carrot and Avocado Salad with Lemon, Garlic and Sunflower Seed Dressing

The beginning of November means it's time for another Recipe Swap. A group of intrepid food bloggers gather monthly (electronically) to recreate a recipe, chosen from a quaint recipe book, in our own versions.

Carrot pie, our chosen recipe, is a dish of carrot quiche. The carrot is so simple and inexpensive, I was more than excited to work with this bunny-inspired ingredient so I ordered a few pounds of carrots from my local farmer.

With the cold weather seeping into the midwest, my mind is turning to warm and hearty dishes. I set to work on a pasta carrot sauce, which turned out great. Then I used that sauce in a vegetarian lasagna. The photos are done, the recipe is written. All that was left to do was write up the post.

Extra carrots remained in my fridge though, and after all the heavy dishes I had just created I longed for lighter, summer fare. Plus I had a pile of shaved carrots leftover from the lasagna. So I tossed them into nutty, garlicky dressing and didn't look back.

I'm not entirely ready for heavy fall food and that's okay because we have a number of winter months ahead of us. This incredibly simple salad fills me up without weighing me down. It's another fat and happy recipe swap success!