When we came back from our Christmas vacation, I was determined to make healthier meals and try to fix the tasty but impressive damage created in Quebec. People always make fun of New Years’ Resolutions but, honestly, I just see it as damage control after so much holiday indulging. The difficult part when you get to the damage control part is that, even if your body is tired of unhealthy food, your mind still wants something tasty. So you can’t go from fabulous holiday meals to bland healthy meals. I spent a lot of times finding recipes that were healthy but would still be exciting enough to stay on the health wagon. With this in mind, here is a look at some of the healthier dishes I enjoyed during the past month…
Homemade V8 Vegetable Juice
During our trip, I rediscovered V8 juice. My friend was very confused when I turned down a glass of wine and asked for a glass of vegetable juice instead. On our first day back home, I found a recipe and made my own version. I also portioned the veggies into 3 more bags that were ready to blend. Yay Vitamix!
Sweet potato, chicken and kale soup
My love for soup is no secret. This soup was improvised and inspired by tasty ingredients I found at Buford Highway Farmer’s Market: purple kale, sweet potatoes, onions and chicken breast. Add some chicken broth and season to taste. A lovely winter soup.
Stuff all the vegetables!
I have been obsessed with stuffing vegetables lately. The bell pepper was stuffed with chicken, gouda and broccoli, the spaghetti squash had a pesto veggie medley, the sweet potato was bursting with tasty vegetarian chili.
Kale Crust Pizza
My husband loves pizza so, as I tried to combine healthy habits with his happiness, I found this crust recipe. My expectations were very low and the result surprised us both. It tasted very good and it really wasn’t that hard to make. We will definitely make this one regularly.
Spinach Steak Salad
The day after the kale-crust pizza, we felt like we were on a roll. When I asked Jeff what he wanted for dinner, he said: “How about a spinach salad with steak, mandarins, shaved goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette?” So we did just that. It was so good, it even inspired us to buy new and bigger salad bowl to make meal salad a regular thing from now on.
Let’s see where this new healthy trend will take us and how long I’ll manage to keep it going this time. If we make healthy dishes tasty and pretty, it should help, right? Let’s hope so… 🙂
The Hungry Quebbie 