Deliciously Nutritious

   I worked at this little restaurant in college that made a delicious chicken salad. The shop specialized in juices and smoothies so this dish was hidden gem. I used to enjoy it as a chicken melt. Lately, I'd been craving one, so I set out to create my own version of this chicken salad. Chicken Salad One rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off the bone One cup walnuts, toasted then chopped One cup grapes, sliced in half Three ribs celery, finely diced, totaled one cup One small bunch of green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced 1/2 of a shallot finely diced 1/3 cup plain yogurt 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion 1/4 teaspoon dried dill Freshly cracked black pepper to taste and kosher salt, if needed   Directions  1. Take the walnuts and put them over low heat to toast. While the nuts toast, you can work on other components of the dish just make sure to shake the pan to avoid any...

 Having New Years in the month named after Janus, the two faced god who looks into both the past and the future, I find myself reflecting on 2023 while planning ahead for 2024. Here are some of my highlights for 2023 I started my blog! I didn't post nearly as much as a wanted, but I was consistent for longer than I thought.  I finished my nutrition coaching certification with Precision Nutrition. Now I can help clients reach their nutrition needs. I started writing a book on meal planning to help families get dinner on the table during the week.  Here is what I am looking forward to in 2024 Finishing my book and making my first sale. I signed up for Hungry Root grocery delivery. I am going to try that out and see if this is something I would recommend for people to try. I am stepping way out of my comfort zone to shoot a cooking video and post it to Youtube.  Here are just a few of my goals for the new year. What are yours?  

I like that this granola is easy and versatile. I sprinkle this over yogurt with berries for breakfast, add dried blueberries and milk for homemade cereal, or spoon over an assortment of fruit and berries for a crumble. Ingredients 3 cups of oats   (I prefer rolled oats, but have used steel cut oat) 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds 1 cup of walnuts 3/4 cup of almonds 1 cup of pecans  4 Tablespoons of butter 1/2 cup of maple syrup 1/4 cup of water 1/2 tsp of kosher salt 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon is okay, but I didn't have any! 1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)  Preheat oven to 300 °F Directions In a medium sauce pan, over low heat, melt to combine the butter, maple syrup, and water. While that melts, measure out your nuts and oats into a large mixing bowl. I did cut the nuts to bite size pieces. I wanted to end up with a product that would give me a variety of nuts in each bite. So the walnuts, almonds and pecans were chopped, and the pumpkin seeds remained intact. Ad...