back to school = back to swell

After the best summer ever, my kiddos are heading back to school. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know what means-- it's time to start stocking the fridge and freezer with homemade goodness. But there's one difference this year…

I spent the plane ride home laying out how I was going to achieve my own goals in the time that they're in school. {Surely I am not the only one who thinks back-to-school rivals New Years in terms of fresh starts!} Yep, I tallied the hours they'll be in school, and then I started {totally anally} subtracting hours for all the things I need to do, and all the things I want to do. And the truth is, it didn't allow a lot of time to be running to the supermarket and playing Happy Homemaker each day.

Hmm… by now you know that family dinners are important to me. So, next, I laid out each day's afternoon chauffeuring schedule. Whoa. As much as I try to be thoughtful about after school stuff, that was all over the place-- some days family dinner could only happen at 5:00 {which means dad wouldn't be there}, some days it's at 7:30+ {which is dangerously close to my little one's bedtime}, and some days it's virtually impossible to get four people to the table even close the same time. And the real eye-opener was that there are very few days when I am home around dinner time {whatever time that may be} to do the cooking. Thankfully, I have some tools up my sleeve. {Exhibit A: The First Batch; Exhibit B: The Second Batch}

My plan to make this work starts slow. I've gone through both Meals in a Snap booklets, as well as some oldie but goodies from the blog and picked out 1-2 recipes to make each week. A stash of homemade meals doesn't happen overnight… but pretty soon our freezer will be well stocked.

The first two recipes I whipped up: a big {slow-cooked} batch of Bolognese for my 'meatarian' son, and a super quick and easy stash of Kale-Almond Pesto that my vegetarian son-- and all of us-- love.

I also have a few of the Veggie Calzones on hand in the freezer {made last May, from the Stock Your Freezer in a Snap - The Second Batch ebook} which make great "front seat to backseat" snacks or meals, if I'm in a pinch.

For those who want to follow along, I'll check back in and let you know what's getting tucked in the freezer next.

Here's to a great school year ahead, and to all of us busy moms getting fabulous homemade dinners on the table, while getting back to swell!

easy clean eating: banana-walnut chia pudding

Whipped this up to rave reviews this week...

As one commenter said on the Facebook page, "I love chia pudding  But I think you have to like tapioca pudding to deal with the texture. Just my opinion….." and I'd totally agree. We happen to love it around here.

As you can see, I had some ripe bananas just begging to become a wholesome snack, so this go round, I decided to make the chia pudding banana-flavored… but then at the last minute I added walnuts too for some extra good fat. If you have nut allergies, you can absolutely omit the walnuts, no problem, and you can use whatever milk your family enjoys-- be it dairy, seed, soy or nut.

OK, so the preparation is super simple-- first you blend 2 cups of milk {whichever type your using} + 2 bananas + 1/2 cup walnuts {optional} + 1 Tablespoon vanilla + 1 teaspoon cinnamon {or more, to taste-- I like our cinnamon-y so I added as much as a Tablespoon} + a dash of ginger {optional, start with a scant 1/2 teaspoon and go from there til you get to desired taste}. Once this mixture is smooth...

you'll simply pour it over 2/3 cup of chia seeds, then either stir well-- or shake-- and place the bowl into the fridge overnight. In the morning you'll have a thick pudding to enjoy for a protein-packed breakfast, or a special after school snack.  

Banana-Walnut Chia Seed Pudding

{makes 6 servings}

2 cups of milk {dairy, nut, seed, or soy-- your choice}

2 bananas

1/2 cup walnuts {optional}

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon {or more, to taste}

a dash of ginger {optional}

2/3 cup chia seeds

Blend all but the chia seeds until mixture is smooth. Place chia seeds in a bowl or jar large enough to hold whole batch of pudding. Pour banana mixture over the chia seeds and stir-- or shake-- to combine. Place container in fridge overnight. 

simple clean eating smoothie: blueberry-almond with ALOHA daily good greens

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. Same price of goods to you, but I am compensated for recommended products that my family and I genuinely enjoy. Thank you, in advance, for considering purchasing through these links and keeping The Full Plate Blog out of hobby status!

I know, from working with Dr. Hyman on the launch of his 10 Day Detox, that a well-made smoothie sustains me until lunchtime, leads to glowing skin, and gets my day off on a good note-- setting a pattern for healthy eating the rest of the day. This week, I am sharing a favorite of mine. If you have some ALOHA Daily Good Greens on hand, this is a perfect way of "sneaking" them in. 

Blueberry-Almond Smoothie with ALOHA Daily Good Greens

(makes about 4 cups)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup water (or more to reach desired consistency)
1 cup frozen or fresh organic blueberries
1 or 2 packet(s) ALOHA Daily Good Greens 
1/4 cup raw almonds
hearty handful organic spinach (about 2 cups)
optional - 1 banana (if you like your smoothies sweeter)
optional - 1/4 avocado (if you like your smoothies creamier)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency. 

Looking for other smoothie ideas? Here are a few more favorites:

• Avocado-Mango Smoothie
• Green Machine Smoothies
• Ginger-Cucumber Smoothie

simple clean eating soup: bone broth + trader joe's healthy 8 chopped veggie mix

Wow, after a whirlwind two-week school break, and a lot of restaurant meals {achem… and fruity, frozen drinks}, I am ready to dial things back a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love it when someone else cooks for me. But, about this time each year I start to crave simpler meals. Recipes that take just a few minutes to make. Ones where veggies or some lean protein are the highlight.

Easy is key. And not just because today I don't have time to cook because I am picking one of my children's "airport treat" pack of Trident bubblegum off of an entire load of vacation laundry… don't get me started. Anyway, today I wanted-- and needed-- a quick quick quick and easy lunch. It's still pretty chilly here in CT, so soup sounded good. And in that department, I have a two-ingredient fav...

If you've been following me for a while, you know I am a big fan of bone broth. And, hopefully, you have some of your own kicking around your freezer. You do? Good. Recipe here, if you don't already have it.

Simple Clean Eating Veggie Soup
(makes about 8 cups)

1 quart (or two pints) homemade bone broth  
one 16 oz tub Trader Joe's Healthy 8 Chopped Veggie Mix*

In a soup pot, warm the bone broth and veggies until veggies are desired doneness. I take my broth straight out of the freezer, and it thaws while my veggies are cooking, so the whole process takes about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy warm with some good fat, like a little handful of nuts, for a complete "clean" meal. 

* If you're not near a Trader Joe's you can, of course, make your own 1 lb batch of chopped mixed veggies… but I'm a big fan of having someone else do the chopping for me, in this case. If you want to mimic the above mix, it's a combination of broccoli, carrots, green cabbage, red cabbage, jicama, green bell pepper, celery and radishes.

The red cabbage in that TJ's chopped veggie mix turns your broth a brilliant fushia… be sure to get all that bone broth goodness down the hatch. If no one is looking, it's perfectly appropriate to use a straw….

{almost Spring} break + link to GREEN foods

Spring is coming to the East Coast… gone are my YakTrax, big boots, and mittens,

but it's still very much winter when you look around. We'll give it a few more weeks!

So, we're still embracing the snow. A last hurrah, after what seemed like a very long winter.

My stash of homemade freezer meals is still very much appreciated-- especially recipes like Red Coconut Curry {pictured here after a full day of skiing}, Roasted Carrot-Cashew Pesto, Loaded Veggie Calzones, Enchiladas and Greek Stuffed Peppers.

Nothing beats being able to put a homemade dinner on the table in mere minutes, with minimal effort. I've got dinner 100% under control.

But, as the seasons change, I'm starting to peel off the layers and starting to think about how I can clean up my care routine a bit. The first thing I've done is get back on a regular vitamin routine. While I eat healthfully, it's still hard to get enough of important vitamins. But, honestly, I wasn't sure what to take on a regular basis. I've found a company-- ALOHA-- that makes it easy for me with their "Daily Foundation" packets.

And while you're checking out their products-- if you feel like you also want a treat-- I recommend their "Superfood Chocolate" too. Yum. Big fans of it over at our house. 

As an affiliate for Aloha, I have a 15% off link off of purchases over $50. Just click here and use code  15ALOHA50. Perfect for busy moms, like me, who want to perk up, but need someone to tell them what to take!

We're on school break for the next two weeks, so it's going to be quiet here on the blog but by the time I'm back, hopefully the snow will have melted, and we can celebrate Spring with some new, quick and easy recipes. In the meantime, a few of you have asked me for some good "green" ideas for St. Patrick's Day, and I've got you covered. Here's a Pinterest Board full of ideas! And here's a round-up  of green food ideas I assembled a while back, plus if you're looking for a clean idea, this is a fav. 

Please note, this post contains affiliate links. Same price of goods to you, but I earn a small commission for recommending products I use and honestly recommend to my friends. The small earnings keep the blog from hobby status… win-win for both of us. 

simple spring asparagus with olive oil fried eggs

Spring is finally here in the Northeast, and organic asparagus is popping up in the produce section. 

Pair that with me wrapping up Mark Hyman MD's 10-Day-Detox, making a real effort to eat super healthfully and fill my plate with nourishing whole foods, and you've got my recent favorite: olive oil fried eggs over broiled asparagus. 

The recipe is quick and easy… but not one my children have warmed up to yet. So, on nights when I want this for dinner, I pull one of my homemade freezer meals out for them, like baked taquitos, chili, or power green pesto.

When my husband first saw me making this he announced that "there's no way I am eating all of that asparagus" and "is that all we are having?".

Note that he later proclaimed the meal, "really good" and "more filling than I thought it would be". 

The trick is to get really good eggs. If you have chickens or a farm near you, lucky you. I don't, but I did find Happy Eggs at our local market… and they happened to have a deal where you got 1/2 dozen eggs if you bought some amount of groceries, making dinner almost free! {Except for the exorbitant bag of speciality foods I purchased in order to get the free eggs… this is the sort of logic that drives my husband nuts.}

Anyway, back to our simple springtime recipe. You can absolutely roast/broil the asparagus ahead of time. I did this earlier in the afternoon when I was waiting on the school bus, then I just left it out on the counter {at room temp} so it was good to go when I came home from baseball, tennis and tae kwon do chauffeuring. 

When we got home, I warmed about 1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and fried the eggs until the whites were fully set, and the yolks would still be runny. {You can fry your eggs longer if you don't like the yolks runny. Of course, be mindful if salmonella is of concern to you.}

I served our eggs and asparagus with a side of the pickled red onion that I had leftover from Day 1's dinner from the 10 Day Detox (which was Roasted Salmon with the Onion Relish; that's my amazon affiliate link). If you're not doing the detox and/or don't have any of the relish leftover, you could also serve it with some jarred artichoke tapenade, a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan, some lemon zest, or crumbled cooked bacon. Or you could just serve them as is. If you leave your yolks a little runny they become a decadent sauce over the asparagus. 

Olive Oil Fried Eggs over Asparagus
(serves 2 as an entree)

• 1 1/2 lbs asparagus (usually 1 large bunch)
• olive oil
• 4 eggs
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• optional accompaniment(s): pickled onions, artichoke tapenade, lemon zest, Parmesan, bacon

Snap the tough bottom end of asparagus spears. Line them up, single layer, on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle asparagus with sea salt and pepper. Broil until asparagus is tender and lightly charred, about 6-8 minutes, shaking tray and/or flipping asparagus at halfway point. Asparagus can be made ahead, and served room temp, or chilled. Divide asparagus between two plates.

In a fry pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Crack eggs into pan, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and cover for about 2 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to cook eggs until whites are completely set and yolk is set to desired firmness. (For runny yolks, this will be another 2-3 minutes… longer if you want your yolks set too.) Transfer two eggs per plate, placed on top of your asparagus. Drizzle with cooking oil, if you'd like. Serve with pickled onions, or any other choice of accompaniment for extra flavor, or simply enjoy as is.  Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. 

spicy kim chi soup

We just returned from the most fabulous family trip. My parents generously invited us to stay in a home they'd rented right on a lagoon in Akumal, Mexico.

And when we weren't exploring the tidal pools,

reading under the palapa,

visiting Mayan ruins,

walking to the beach,

relaxing in a hammock,

or spotting iguanas, searching for fossils, trying to open coconuts, and making palm frond crowns,

 we were eating.

The food was amazing.

But after the last margarita had been enjoyed,

the vacation wrapped up, and we begrudgingly traveled home. That first day back in CT, I craved something detoxifying, light, flavorful and easy. Something that I could make a big pot of on Day 1 and enjoy all week, as I moved through a mountain of laundry, mail, and the misc to-do's of a week away...

Spicy Kim Chi Soup
(serves 6-8, will keep for several days in the fridge, but will not freeze well)

2 T olive oil (or your favorite oil)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
32 oz kim chi, not drained (I like the radish one from Sunja)
2 quarts organic veggie broth (I like this brand)
16 oz smoked tofu, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (I like this brand)

In a large pot, sauté the sliced onion and zucchini over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add the kim chi and all the fermenting liquid from each jar {just dump the contents of each jar right in the pot!}, the veggie broth and the smoked tofu. Stir, then lower the heat to a simmer and let the soup do its' thing (uncovered) for about 30 minutes, or until flavors are melded and veggies are soft. Serve warm. 

 This was the perfect re-entry meal from vacation. In fact, it's become one of my favorite soups to make and have on hand for easy lunches during the week. I hope that you enjoy this zesty soup as much as I do!