To add extra color to the side dish, I used both red beets and golden beets. You could try only red beets or get a bunch of mixed beets.

As someone with immune issues, I look for as many ways as possible to boost my immunity. I use essential oils daily to give my body antioxidants, but I also like to add vitamin C to diet with beets and oranges.

Beets have been shown to help lower blood pressure, boost stamina, fight inflammation, and are full of detoxification properties. Since they can help to purify your blood and your liver, you’ll even find them throughout the meal plan within my Detox Your Body program.

Seriously look at how pretty this looks before we put it in the oven! This versatile roasted beets side dish is perfect for the holidays or just your typical Tuesday night.

We enjoyed these roasted beets with a pesto chicken. It would also blend well with red meat, pork, fish, or a lentil dish depending on your protein preference.

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It took me years to be brave enough to try chia seeds. They’re a superfood. That label can be a little daunting. During my studies at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I learned more about the benefits and took a step out of my comfort zone. Now I eat them a few times a week in my smoothies, puddings, and even as an alternative to other gluten free breakfast options.

Smoothies are a nutrient dense way to start your morning, but I usually turn towards warm meals in the winter months. Sometimes a smoothie just doesn’t cut it.

That’s where this overnight chia seed pudding recipe comes in like a warm cozy blanket wrapped in cinnamon.

Antioxidants are another reason to load up on chia seeds during the winter. Chia seeds score about 9,800 on the ORAC scale and that value almost doubles when you soak them overnight (like we do for this recipe). They’re also full of protein, high in vitamins, dietary fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids.

Since chia seeds are high in fiber, it’s important to drink water throughout the day to flush the fiber from your body.

When I love something, I tend to make it a lot!

What’s even better about this recipe?

It can even be served as a dessert when chilled.

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With a busy baby at home who is quickly learning to crawl, time is limited at home. This makes the philosophy of cook once – eat many times important at our house. For dinner I made quinoa with garlic and onions. The next morning I was digging around in the fridge wondering what to make for breakfast and decided to get a little creative.

What if I used the leftover quinoa to make muffins?

All of the recipes that I had found online to make quinoa muffins used quinoa flour. Instead I wanted to use cooked quinoa.

So, I grabbed my muffin pan, a few eggs, and some naturally sweet foods like strawberries and dates.

Before I scooped the mixture into the muffin pans, I added paper muffin wrappers. Remove the paper wrapper as soon as they are out of the oven to prevent sticking or skip the paper, grease the pan with coconut oil, and add cook right in the pan.

If you’re someone that likes a little bit of a crunch, then sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top before you bake. Along with the crunch, you’ll get a few extra added health benefits by adding the pumpkin seeds. Including:

• magnesium for your heart health
• plant-based omega-3 fats
• zinc for immune support

Quinoa has a way of absorbing the flavors that you cook it with. The sweet taste of strawberries was a perfect combination of the garlic, and the dates made it seem more like a ‘traditional’ muffin.

This recipe made 12 muffins. I kept out enough muffins for breakfast during the week, then froze the rest for an on-the-go option especially while I’m traveling.

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That’s why I prefer to caramelize.

Caramelized bananas actually taste sweet and wonderful. The texture is still semi-firm, but the taste is so much … better. Could it be because I drench them in butter and brown sugar while caramelizing? After all, isn’t that what caramelizing is all about?

I love sausage. I love a good brunch. And I love my friends. And I really love a reunion with friends who I don’t see more than a few times each year. And ultimately, if that reunion could include a brunch that includes sausage? Power combo.

Ruts, in food, exercise, and life in general, happen. We truck along doing what works because well, it is taking the path of least resistance, and life throws enough hard stuff at us without having to deal with something as mundane as switching up a smoothie. But why do we keep on keepin’ on when things stop working?

Oh! Guess where I got these childlike straws? I’m sure you don’t even need to guess. Target owns my soul. I swear that they sprinkle pastels and neons and glitter and black and white pillows in the middle of the aisles along with a few mirrored vases and new papyrus cards to entice me further and further into the store. I never grab a cart and then end up dumping my pile o’ crap-I-don’t-need (almost always including straws of some sort) on a shelf while I go back to the front of the store to grab said cart and probably grab a scarf along the way.

At least it’s a good workout.

I don’t care if these straws make me look five or fifty-five (and I can’t really decide either) because they distract me from real life. Need a boost? Put a kid straw in your drink.

Kale is wonderful to eat raw, as it retains all of it’s nutrition and enzymes keeping you feeling fresh, healthy and looking vibrant.