For most of my life, I have loved cooking, from following a recipe to creating concoctions out of the garbage I had left in my fridge it has always been a source of relaxation and creativity for me.  So, several weeks ago I asked those of you following me over on Instagram if you wanted to cook with me, and your overwhelming response was "HECK YES!". 

Before I even start talking about how easy and delicious this recipe is I want to warn that it doesn't make for the most photogenic picture once it is done roasting.    This roasted chicken is stuffed with herbs, lemon and garlic, which makes for one flavorful chicken, but not such a great photo. 

Well it's officially fall and with this cooler weather I have a challenging time getting excited to eat cold salads filled with leafy greens.   So in the interest of not dropping off the deep end when it comes to my consumption of vegetables I ended up in the kitchen doing my best to figure out how to incorporate some cool weather salads. 

If you are hosting a large fall gathering, like Thanksgiving, here is a great vegetarian and vegan friendly entree that is sure to please a crowd.  Not only are acorn squash (well all squash) in season during the fall they are a belly warming way to introduce some extra vegetables into your life, even if you aren't a meat abstainer.  

It’s summer time so it means potato salad! Unfortunately, most of the pre-made stuff in stores is loaded up with sugar, additives and preservatives. So I figured let’s make it a little fancy by roasting the potatoes and let’s keep it healthy and remove all those extra added sugars.

I always enjoy experimenting with new pastas and have really been enjoying this chickpea pasta these days. It provides a boost of protein or can actually act as your protein star in a vegan or vegetarian meal.

Been having a lot of fun with chickpea pasta these day. It’s been a super simple way of increasing my fiber intake and a great way to get some plant based protein in your diet.

The other day I had about 6 sweet potatoes laying around the house getting old and being neglected so I decided to put my tester hat on and see if I could come up with a tasty treat that would go well paired with guacomole, salsa or of course ketchup for you ketchup lovers out there.  The first couple batches of these really didn't want to hold together and the importance of truly letting the sweet potato cook became clear. 

I have had a spiralizer for a bit now and honestly it isn't something that I use regularly.   It is one of those kitchen tools that kind of have a cyclical life in my meal prep tool kit.   I get into these kicks where I want to turn all my veggies into noodles, then that settles down after some time I go back to chopping up my veg. Currently making vegetable noodles is my jam!

As of late the idea of reducing my environmental footprint has really been on my mind.  Not that I don't normally try to reducing my waste through only buying what I need instead of throwing half of my groceries into the garbage, I have a travel mug that I do my best to bring with me for my daily coffee needs and I have even started packing a reusable straw in my purse to reduce my reliance on single use plastics.