Ooey-gooey and super crisp all at once, the grilled chicken cheese melt of my Hollywood diner day yesteryear's was a flavor I still craved post diet change. 

After I began to include a little yeast back in my diet, after 7 years without any, I found a few breads that I like to include from time to time in my lunch rotation. My favorite brands are listed below with the recipe. 

This gluten-free, dairy-free rendition is as flavorful as I remember the traditional nosh being and it's a craveable home menu item FOR SURE. 

I've always loved weekends. My husband (my favorite human) works a corporate Monday-Friday position so our weekends have always been a blissful time to connect, travel and pursue passions side by side.

Now that we are parents to our little guy, weekends get sweeter the older Grey gets. We play, shop, travel, dress up, read, watch movies and cook together. Simply making sweet memories. Now that it's summer, I have flashbacks of my own childhood summers daily and I just love these little moments with my guys. 

Always one to want to mix it up in the kitchen, making different new dishes EVERY night, EVERY week was wearing on me. It was taking time from my family and made meal planning and grocery shopping stressful each week. So a couple of weeks ago Doug and I made a new plan. We would make a seven day meal plan and stick to it EVERY week until we got bored. We are on week four of one rotation of seven meals and it's the best decision we've made in a while. 

For our Sunday night meal we decided stuffed potatoes are a win because they are quick and we want time to really soak up the end of the weekend before my husband goes back to work. It also allows us to be creative and mix up different flavors. We made these Vegan Chili Cheese Potatoes tonight and they came out SO yummy and so pretty that I had to grab my camera and share them with you guys too! 

Share your favorite potato toppings below to inspire us and keep these babies in our weekly rotation! 

Ingredients:
2 Russet Potatoes
1 Can Annie's Black Bean Chili (its sweet + savory! Not spicy.)
2 Slices Follow Your Heart Vegan Provolone
Sea Salt 
Chives, washed and diced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 
Wash potatoes and pierce 3-4 sections with a fork.
Sprinkle sea salt on skins and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour until tender. 
While potatoes are cooking, cook chili over medium on the stove until bubbling. Remove from heat and set aside. 
While still warm, cut open carefully and insert vegan cheese to melt. 
Top with chili and chives. 
​Enjoy! 

Last week we had one of those moments.
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You know those idyllic parenting moments you dream about and then you become parents and sometimes the moments you pictured in your head don't quite turn out because #reallife. Well this wasn't one of those. It was one of those beautiful, just-as-I-always-pictured-it moments and I am so thankful for God for the memories we got to make when we took our one year old to the pumpkin patch this year. 

Grey adored EVERY part of the day at the "Pum Pum" Patch, that he so affectionately calls it, which in turn made ME enjoy every part of the day and made my mama heart extremely happy. He played in corn (yay sensory activity I didn't have to clean up, haha), fed a goat, rode a massive tire swing, slid down a huge slide with me and Mr. Charming, picked a baby pumpkin and ran until his cheeks turned pink and his legs grew tired. 

Yes, it was a beautiful Fall day indeed. And for those of you in Arizona, we drove up to Dewey (just outside of Prescott) to Mortimer Farms and its by far my new favorite fall spot. 

We've been trying to be more intentional this season. Intentional about our quality time together as a family, intentional about how we care for our marriage, our home, our bodies. 

I've been doing a life changing Proverbs 31 Study this month and it's motivated me to spend more time with God, purge our home of things we don't need and up my game again in the kitchen to get nutritious, home cooked meals in me and the boys. 

Even as a nutritionist, I was falling short (and can totally admit it) when it came to putting the best food on the table when I was in new mama territory. 

This Quinoa bowl was ACTUALLY a total accident, as I had white quinoa in the freezer and my husband was on his way home for lunch and I wanted to give him something healthy as we're trying to keep our immune systems boosted and our calories down and this bowl was born.

And. It. Was. Gosh. Darn. Amazing. 

The flavors came together SO beautifully. I love when you throw together what you have left in the fridge and you make an epic creation. This bowl needs to be made and enjoyed. The hot quinoa and roasted sweet potato with the crunchy cool tomatoes and avocado play with your senses, while the olive oil, sea salt and pepper enhance the natural flavors in the dish. 

A simply and easy meal for any weeknight or lunch hour. Recipe below per usual. 

Our menu has been a rotation of about 8 meals that are easy lately.

It's simply the season of life we are in with a baby. But today, as my little one year old guy took to playing independently for over a HALF AN HOUR, I was able to cook something outside of the norm.

And to be honest, it made me feel like super woman, haha. 

Yesterday was just one of those good days.

When you wake up feeling super sunny after a good nights sleep (even with a new baby!) and you get good news throughout the day (like my French Toast being featured in the Today Show's weekly newsletter and that your mom is on the mend and going home soon) and you get to take the day at a slow pace and end it with some of your best friends who you haven't seen in months and enjoy good, good food.

Thanking the Lord for a soul refresher for sure. After a week of stress at work and my mom being in the hospital, it was just what we needed. 

Mr. Charming and I adore the couple we had over for our Friday Night Dinner last night. Our friends Karly and Zach and their adorable kiddos no longer live in AZ and we miss them terribly and soak in every moment we get to hang out with them. Karly and I have been friends for years. Before marriage. Before babies. And they are just those people who you just want to hug and beg to move back every time you see them because you just love doing life with them and love seeing their kiddos grow. 

Friends like that, I've found as I get older, are harder and harder to come by, which is why nights like last night are so very special.

And speaking of special, I wanted to cook them something SUPER yum to warm our bellies as we let the kiddos play and caught up on what was going on in our lives. I TOTALLY meant to get photos of the evening, but we were having too much fun and the food was just too good and so after snapping photos of the food post-enjoyment, the cameras and phones were pushed aside and we just enjoyed.

Which I believe needs to happen in social situations more often. I don't even think I knew where my phone was all night. Which was a very refreshing break for me. 

Their family eats like we do (gluten-free, dairy-free and clean) so it was easy to know that the ingredients I use are the same foods they eat at home. I was going to go easy at first and whip up a big pot of spaghetti, but then I found gluten-free breadcrumbs and vegan cheese, thus birthing my Reinvented Baked Ziti. SO good. 

I made food enough to feed an army. You should see how much we had leftover, haha. So I cut my recipe in half to make a more normal family dinner amount. Just double it if, you too, want a truckload of ziti to feed your family for a week. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Bag of Gluten-Free Penne or Rotini (Penne is traditional, we opted for Rotini for tiny hands)
• 1 lb. Organic Ground Turkey
• 1 Jar Organic Pasta Sauce (more if you like it extra saucy)
• 1/2 package of Daiya Mozzerella Shreds
• 2/3 C. Gluten-Free Panko Breadcrumbs
• Fresh Basil
• Sea Salt 
• Olive Oil 
• Minced Garlic

Directions: 
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• Brown turkey in a pan with minced garlic and sea salt to taste. 
• While meat is browning, bring water to a boil for pasta. Add a small amount of olive oil to the water to help keep the noodles slick. (I know this is an Italian no-no, but it helps keep the pasta slick to not stick together in the bake)
• Once meat is browned, set aside and warm sauce. Cook pasta per package directions in a LARGE pot and drain.
• Brown bread crumbs with 1 TBSP. of olive oil in a small sauce pan and set aside. 
• Add meat, sauce and fresh basil leaves, 2/3 of your Daiya Mozzerella shreds and drained pasta back into large pot and mix. 
• Add mixture to a large baking dish and top with remaining cheese shreds and browned bread crumbs. 
• Heat under broiler on low until cheese is melted and breadcrumbs are toasty. 
• Serve immediately with a spring mix salad, wine or sparkling water. 

I am having a winter love affair with bowls of all kinds. From my dimensional breakfast bowls like this one, to my daily lunch bowls that satisfy the deepest hunger of a breastfeeding mama I can't get enough.

As we continue to host our Friday Night Dinners, this past week my hubs and I were running late and pretty tired after a long week of a healing baby so Mr. Charming and our friend got Chipotle. Instead of getting one of their bowls, I decided to make my own for more options. 

Below is how I make my spicy, savory, ultra flavorful Chicken Burrito Bowl. So many textures, so many nuances of spice - a craveable must-have for your meal plan arsenal. 

Think of the possibilities you could incorporate. You could omit the beans and rice, add salsa and more veggies to make it Whole 30 and Paleo friendly. Swap out the sauce for a creamy cashew cheese. To make it vegan, lose the mayo and chicken and add bell peppers and spiced tofu. 

That's what I love most about bowls, the versatility. 

If you try it, let me know how YOU made it your own! 

It's amazing how delicious something can become when you literally just throw things together.

Still under the weather, I've been scrambling to make hearty, healthy meals without having to hit the store in this windy, chilly weather. Enter my Teriyaki Chicken Apple Bowl. Which not only took literally less than 10 minutes to make, it was actually AMAZING and I suspect will be something I now crave on the regular.

Funny how that happens isn't it?

The sauteed spinach MAKES this bowl, as does the teriyaki drizzle. And if you're not into teriyaki sauce loaded with soy and sugar and all that bad stuff, you're in luck because this is a teriyaki sauce made from coconut aminos and is clean and delicious. 

I also suggest making a double batch of this, which the recipe below reflects, because...  leftovers. 
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I realize that I am sharing a traditional Mexican food staple on the Fourth Of July, which may be unorthodox for many food bloggers today. Many, if not all, are sharing BBQ favorites like chicken, kabobs and red, white and blue confections. But, I do what I want. And I want tortillas. 

And tomorrow IS Taco Tuesday after all and I'm getting ready with these easy, soft and totally rollable gluten-free tortillas.

However, if you did come here today seeking a little American tradition, my Mini Apple Handpies are everything. 

I searched far and wide for a gluten-free tortilla that wasn't filled with preservatives and that didn't contain corn or yeast, but that would still allow me to bend and roll it and fill it with whatever ingredients my little heart desired. 

It was a fail time and time again. So, I decided to buy an inexpensive little crepe pan, a few ingredients and make them myself. And I'm so glad I finally did. I have used these for beef tacos, chicken fajitas, vegan cheese quesadillas (Daiya shreds pictured) as well as just rolled up with a little Earth Balance vegan butter.
​They are so good for a meal or a snack and easy to pack up and take on the go. 

Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1)
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
1⁄4 cup avocado oil (or other comparable high heat oil) 
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1⁄2-3/4 cup warm water


​Directions: 
​Sift your gluten-free flour, sea salt, cream of tartar & baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

Add oil into dry mixture & mix with a spoon to combine.

Add the water, working the liquid into the dough until a large, doughy ball forms.

Wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8-10 balls for taco size tortillas or 6-8 balls for burrito size and cover them again with a damp cloth.

Lightly dust a counter or pastry board w/extra GF flour & roll out each ball of dough into a circle or oval approximately 1/4" thick. (If you want nicely rounded tortillas, trim off any ragged edges & discard. Don't roll the dough out more than once or the tortillas will be tough.)

Heat an ungreased skillet or crepe pan over high heat for 5 minutes. Cook the tortillas 30 seconds on each side or until the dough looks dry & slightly wrinkled, with golden brown bubbles on both sides.

Wrap in damp tea towel to keep warm as the others cook. 

Serve warm and enjoy! 

This. Pasta. Is. Melt. In. Your. Mouth. Delicious. 

And I still can't believe I made a sauce oh so creamy that you'd swear there's no way it's dairy free.

But it is TOTALLY dairy-free guys. 

Mr. Charming has been craving alfredo sauce lately. #SadPanda for Mandi. And my eighth month of pregnancy is bringing about AWESOME heartburn so tomato sauce is an enemy of mine at the moment. So what's a girl to do when she wants pasta night? Create something wonderful of course. 

Chicken Apple Sausage has also been a spring staple in our meals and with baby cravings greens, so have crisp asparagus spears. 

The recipe for the Sweet Onion Cream Sauce is super easy and takes no time at all. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 
2 TBSP. Olive Oil 
1/3 Sweet Onion, diced (to cut the sweetness, use a white onion)
1 c. Cooked and Chopped Asparagus Stalks. (My video on cooking asparagus in under five minutes) 
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
2 TBSP. Tapioca Starch
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 1/2 C. Dairy-Free Coconut Culinary Milk (my secret in this is that I use the So Delicious Plain Coconut Coffee Creamer instead, but either works) 
1 TBSP. Lemon Juice 
Black Pepper To Taste 
1 c. Gluten Free Penne
1 Aidells Apple Chicken Sausage 


Directions: 
Cook pasta to package directions, drain and set aside. 

Heat a medium-large skillet over medium-high and cook diced onion and garlic until translucent. 

Add 1/2 c. of coconut creamer or culinary milk to a bowl and whisk together with the tapioca starch. 

Add 1 C. of the remaining coconut cream or culinary milk to the pan with the garlic and onions, mixing in the starch/cream mixture to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

While the sauce is thickening cook your sausage to desired doneness and cut into coins. 

Once the desired thickness has been reached, turn the heat to low and add lemon juice and asparagus. 

Toss the sauce with the pasta and sausage and serve hot. 

So delicious guys. So, so delicious. 
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