(Gluten-Free) Almond Pecan Bars

 If you’re anything like me, then you don’t eat purely for sustenance.
Delicious food makes me happy and sometimes even changes my perspective on life.
Then there’s the social aspect of food: a rally point for being together, either in preparing and cooking, or in enjoying the meal.
Nothing brings family and friends together like great food, especially during the holidays.
It’s hard to remember a holiday that didn’t involve gathering around a table.
Holidays are about spending time with family, embracing a new year, exchanging thanks and gifts, but more importantly, it’s the time for yummy food.
That’s right you guys, if there’s any time to indulge, this is it.
Everyone’s baking and holiday sweets are practically thrown in your face.
So why fight it, when you can enjoy it.

(Vegan) Red Lentil and Spinach Tikka Masala

 As you may have noticed, I’m not the kind of person who just throws together things in the kitchen without at least a map, a compass, 1001 enthusiastic reviews on AllRecipes or an old friend’s sworn solemn oath in written from, that a certain recipe is 100% guaranteed to blow my socks off.
Sure, I’ll make numerous adjustments while I work on something to meet my personal preferences, but aside from grilled chicken, eggs, and casseroles, I rarely go on my own intuition.
Because you see, my intuition has often led me to all kind of kitchen disasters: a strawberry pie that had exploded in the oven, a caldo verde that looked like vomit, Crock-Pot meat that was cooked to shoe leather, etc…
So, as you see, these days I tend to use recipes, possibly true and tried recipes.

Quick Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet

Surely, you didn’t think I was going to let this year end without populating the broccoli archives with one new recipe, right?
I mean, sure, the Broccoli and Mushroom Casserole is still a star. The Creamy Broccoli Soup always gets raves. And so does Chinese Chicken and Broccoli.
But when you have a nephew that likes broccoli — scratch that — LOVES broccoli, you’re always on the hunt for new and advanced ways to prepare the beloved green cruciferous vegetable.
These days, I’ll find a recipe for a broccoli dish in a magazine and be like “Man I have to make this for Nephew!”
I’m such an awesome uncle, I should get a medal...

(Paleo and Vegan) Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

When I was a kid I always ate raw dough when my mother was making cookies (just as I ate raw cake batter). I used to beg my mother to let me have a whole bowl of cookie dough when she was making cookies — just for the record, my mother made the Toll House cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate morsels bag.
She never let me. I had to be content with spatula, the beaters, the bowl, and whatever I could spoon off with my finger when her back was turned.

(Paleo) Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

 If you know anything about me, I guess you know that my love for cinnamon runs deep as my love for soup.
I actually keep two different kinds of cinnamon in my pantry.
Yup, that’s right. I have two kinds of cinnamon — please, don’t act like you’re surprised.
It’s no mystery that I'm a spice freak. I have more than a hundred spices in my pantry and like to grind my own spice mixes using whole spices. I even broke two coffee grinders trying to grind spices in them before buying myself an (almost) professional Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder, that grounds hard and soft spices and breaks them all down in a few pulses.

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

I love enchiladas and I love enchilada casserole.
But sometimes I don’t feel like making enchiladas or enchilada casserole because, let’s be honest, it’s pretty time consuming (especially if you’re making (cauli) tortillas from scratch) and it might not be a great solution for a weekday night dinner.

(Paleo) Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

You guys, guess what?
As a thank you for being a TIY reader I made you a batch of warm, fresh, Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins.
I know, how kind of me.
Did I mention they’re paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free?
Meaning you can definitely eat more than one. Two, three, four, maybe even five.
Yes, plan to eat muffinS, plural.
They’re tiny and oh-so delicious, you won’t be able to stop just at one.
Trust me, they’re that good!

(Paleo) Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This time of the year, I’m thankful for memories of family and food that I loved as a kid.
For me, Mom’s Caramel Apple Blondies and cookies like these chocolate crinkles are a trip down memory lane.
Chocolate crinkle cookies were, and definitely still are, one of my favorites, especially during this time of the year.
There’s something about the dense, chewy, chocolate loaded goodness that I just can’t resist.
And the powdered sugar on my fingers and face reminds me of good ‘ol times.

(Paleo) Gingersnap Cookie Sandwiches

 As we are already in a festive mood with Thanksgiving approaching fast, it’s time to bake some cookies.
If there was ever a good time of the year to get busy in the kitchen, this is it.
And arguably gingersnaps (or ginger cookies, or ginger crinkles, whatever you want to call them) are the best cookies to make from scratch during the holidays.
They literally scream “HOLIDAYS!”

(Easy) Bacon Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Being a healthy food blogger (and a triathlete) is a give-in that I exercise.
And I do. Every day.
Although there are times when I feel like I’m not doing all I can, I always manage to fit in some exercise: run, or swim, or cycle, or practice yoga.
The other night I felt especially accomplished after completing a 10 mile run, followed by a 45 minutes HIIT cardio and abs workout, and a gentle stretch yoga class.
So accomplished that I decided I deserved a special dinner, a carb-o-licious dinner (also known as carbageddon).