Wheat Berry Salad with Kale, Orange, and Olives

Over the past few weeks, I've had to opportunity to share some of my favorite healthy eating tips on my favorite store's blog. If you've been reading a while, you may know that I have a major crush on Terrain, Anthropologie's Home + Garden Store. It's got a pretty amazing online presence, but it also has the most beautiful store in Glen Mills, PA. It also has a super special place in my heart because it's where my husband and I got married last April. So, when they asked me to contribute to their blog in the spirit of wellness, I was so honored. 

In this third post, (my first and second are here and here), I talk about grain bowls. It's no surprise that I rely on them as part of my weekly pseudo-meal plan because they are so easy to throw together, are nourishing, and can go in all sorts of directions depending on what's in season and what I'm craving. 

In coming up with this particular grain combo was inspired by these gorgeous nesting bowls Terrain has in their store now. Seriously, I want a whole set of them. Maybe two. They're beautifully rustic and glazed in earthy hues. I wanted to create an equally rustic salad, but with bright flavors, and colors that would complement the blues and naturals. 

Citrusy with a salty punch and nutty finish, this salad is one for bookmarking. I made it three times in two weeks because I couldn't get enough. I think you're going to love this. 

Head over to Terrain's blog to check out the recipe! 

And if you're wondering, this post is in no way sponsored. I just love working with a company that's putting out some amazing things. Oh, and the photos? Those were shot by the talented Katie Hennessey for Terrain.

Roasted Beet and Za'atar Socca

The farmers’ market has been looking a bit sparse these last few weeks, and I’ve found myself buying lots of beets. And carrots. And more beets. I wouldn't I wouldn’t be surprised if I turned into a little beet myself soon.

One of my favorite dishes with the red root veggies is this beet and tahini relish that a local Mediterranean restaurant serves here on their mezze platter. The sweet earthiness of the beets plays so well with the creamy nuttiness of the tahini. It’s supposed to be a dip, but I take my fork to it like the very (un)classy lady I am.

Using that as a jumping off point, combined with my other favorite thing, chickpeas, or more specifically chickpea flour, I thought I’d make a beet socca with tahini and za’atar, an Israeli spice blend with oregano and sesame seeds I fell in love with on a trip to Israel a few years back.

If you haven’t heard of socca. That’s totally cool. But it just may change your life. It’s a chickpea flour and olive oil-based flatbread that comes together in no time and has a distinctly nutty flavor that I find addicting.

To make quick work of this, get your beets roasting first. Then mix your socca batter. Combine your za’atar sauce, cook your socca, and then peel and chop your beets. Maybe make a nice green salad in between some of the oven time.

I made little ones because I happen to have little cast iron pans, but you could make larger ones and you’ll have pretty pizza-like things gracing your table.

To save even more time, but still get a really nice flavor, ditch the socca and use store-bought pita. Toast it, slather on the za’atar mix, top with beets, and drizzle with tahini. It will still be delicious. Promise.

Roasted Beet and Za’atar Socca

Socca
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for pan
1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 large beet or 2 medium beets, washed
½ lemon
2 tablespoons za’atar
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for the beets
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, optional (I used 2%)
2 tablespoons tahini, plus more if desired
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Sea salt, to taste

Roast beets. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Drizzle beets with a touch of olive oil. Wrap in foil and place in oven and roast until knife pierces through easily, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully unwrap, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove peel and chop beets into ½-inch pieces. Toss beets with zest and juice of ½ lemon.
Meanwhile, make socca. Mix chickpea flour with water, olive oil, and salt. Stir to combine and allow to rest 20-30 minutes. Grease bottom and sides of 12-inch cast iron skillet with thin layer of olive oil until well-coated. Preheat pan in 425 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove pan, and swirl in batter to coat bottom in ¼-inch layer. Return to oven and allow to cook for 12-15 minutes or until beginning to crack on top and springy to touch. Remove from oven, use spatula to lift socca from skillet, and repeat with remaining batter (if using smaller skillet), greasing pan generously with olive oil as necessary to prevent sticking.

Make za’atar sauce. Mix za’atar with yogurt, olive oil, and generous pinch of salt.

Assemble socca. Spread sauce over socca rounds. Sprinkle chopped beets over top, drizzle with tahini, and sprinkle with cilantro and pine nuts. Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Creamy Coconut and Red Lentil Soup

I came down with a cold recently, and I was craving soup. As much as I love a fragrant, brothy soup like pho when I get the sniffles, my body wanted something more substantial (i.e. something that wouldn’t leave me hungry in two hours...does pho do that to anyone else but me?). Also when I’m sick, I go from having no appetite at all to suddenly wanting to devour everything in sight. Thank you, robust and raging immune system. I wanted soup, and I needed it fast.

Red lentils to the rescue. They cook in 20 minutes, take minimal effort for my cold-fighting body to breakdown, and they’re full of fiber and protein that keep me satisfied. I also tossed in coconut milk for added oomph, vitamin-rich carrots because I believe veggies of any kind are instant healers, and warming spices for extra comfort. A little apple showed up for a tart-sweet flavor and because we all know that vitamin c is a force when it comes to conquering illness.

I served it with brown rice, but any hearty bread would do. It also freezes well, so make a big batch and save some for later!  

To get the recipe, head over to Anthropologie’s blog. It’s a beautiful soup, but I must say it looks even prettier in their fancy bowls.

Winter Quinoa and Sprouts Salad with Tahini Dressing

It's in teens here, and while I may have been cooped up inside for the past few days, I'm growing things. Like real green things that I can eat. Sound too good to be true?

I'm talking about sprouts as in hippy-dippy alfalfa sprouts that crunchy, granola-loving peeps ate back in the sixties, then again in the nineties, and then again now. Except they're way cooler now, if only because I said so. I'm telling you—they're back.

Why am I telling you about sprouts in the middle of winter? For one, they are super-easy to grow inside, right on your counter top—trust me, I have a black thumb and I can grow oodles of them—and two, they are an amazing way to get that much closer to eating healthy. In my second post for Terrain, I discuss how growing your own food can actually help you check off that New Year's resolution to get healthier (here's the first post in case you missed it). I give simple growing instructions, and while all you need is a jar, a few days, and a few rinses under the sink, Terrain sells these cool sprout growing contraptions that enable you to always have sprouts on hand.

There are so many different types of sprouts if alfalfa isn't your thing, like mung bean, broccoli, radish, lentil. They add a pop of brightness to sandwiches, but I also love them tossed in salads. In this post, I share a recipe for a Winter and Quinoa Sprouts Salad with Tahini Dressing that features some of my favorite winter vegetables like radicchio, beets, and sweet potato alongside quinoa, creamy avocado, and a medley of sprouts. I hope you find it as addicting as I do!

You can find my tips and recipe on the Terrain blog.

Missed the previous Terrain post? Find it here.

Apple, Date, and Almond Butter Overnight Oats + Terrain!

I love making resolutions. As a list-maker and checkbox-ticker, resolutions are my jam. I love the idea of making goals that are so much bigger than what my day-to-day lists consist of like laundry, water plants, call insurance company, and confirm dental appt. Yeah, those lists are way less cool.

While I'm not going to share my full list of resolutions, I do have a few things that I'm focusing on like eliminating mind clutter, staying more connected to friends and family, and being more strategic about grocery shopping. For the last one, I'm not talking about strict menu planning, but rather, I'd like to start cooking many of the recipes that I've dogeared in the cookbooks I have, recipes I've pinned from blogs, or copied and pasted in some long lost file on my computer. This has been a struggle in the past because I tend to go to the market and grocery store without a list, buy what looks good, and then come up with a recipe when I get home. Fun stuff because I love creating new recipes and cooking by the seat of my pants, but I know that I can also learn a lot about more complex flavor development and more unfamiliar spices, etc. if I were to actually follow a tried and true tested recipe.

In the spirit of resolutions, I've teamed up with Terrain, Anthropologie's beautiful home and garden shop (and where we happened to get married), to bring you a series of tips to make healthy happen in the kitchen. No matter where on the healthy eating spectrum you lie, we can always use a little reminder and inspiration for how to make healthier decisions in the kitchen and tips that are easy to incorporate into your every day. Many of us know how to eat healthier; it's usually a question of how to fit it into the craziness of real life.

In the first installment, I talk all about why I love overnight oats, and finish with a recipe for Apple, Date, and Almond Butter Oats that I know you're going to love. It's been a favorite around here since I could buy apples at the local market. The best part is that you can make a big batch on the weekend, store it in cute jars, like Terrain's Weck jars, and then enjoy a nutritious breakfast (or snack) ALL WEEK LONG. Amazing, right?

Check out Terrain's blog for the recipe and my tips.

For more recipes for overnight oats, check out my pumpkin pie oats, coconut oats, and chia seed variation.

What New Year's resolutions did you make this year?