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joyfalzone
spring quinoa salad
No CommentsRead moreAs I’ve mentioned before, quinoa salads are one of my favorite dishes to bring to family gatherings or parties because they are easy, filling, healthy and delicious! If you are unfamiliar with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), it is a gluten free grain-like seed that originated from South America. I love that it is versatile, easy to prepare and best of all is a complete protein; meaning it contains all nine of the essential amino-acids that our bodies need to thrive. Quinoa is also considered a valuable source of heart-healthy fats as well as packed full of vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.
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joyfalzone
shaved asparagus salad
No CommentsRead moreOne of the very first spring vegetables to emerge on the east coast is one of my favorites, asparagus! One cup of asparagus provides you with 100% DV of vitamin K and 67% DV of folate, both super important for women who want to become pregnant or are pregnant. It’s also an excellent source of copper, vitamin B1, selenium, vitamin B2, vitamin C and vitamin E. Asparagus is sensitive to heat so to get the most nutrition out of it, it’s best to eat it raw or steam it only for a few minutes. The first time I heard of shaving asparagus and eating it raw was probably six years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since!
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joyfalzone
not sad desk (or sahm) lunch
No CommentsRead moreOne of the things I love most about traveling is being inspired by the food! On my recent trip to Hawaii one of my friends told me about a great take-away place in Kona called Laulima Food Patch. If you are visiting the Big Island you must go there – they have awesome whole food bowls for breakfast and lunch. We stopped there as much as possible on our trip. I ordered their “wholey protein” bowl twice because the green goddess dressing was amazing! They used a buttermilk base so I decided to recreate a vegan version at home. This dressing will make any salad taste better!
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joyfalzone
tropical green smoothie
No CommentsRead moreAloha! I just got back on the mainland after two amazing weeks in Hawaii. Before leaving for Hawaii, I dreamed of the freshest and cheapest pineapples imaginable. Come to find out, pineapples are even more expensive in Hawaii than here on the east coast! I grabbed what I thought was a .99 cent Dole pineapple at a local grocery store on Oahu but my husband later pointed out to me it was actually .99 cents per pound! We did however score lots of free papayas and avocados which are basically considered weeds over there. Since I’m still in an island state of mind, I’d like to share one of my all time favorite tropical green smoothies with you which if you haven’t guessed, contains pineapple!
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joyfalzone
roasted spring vegetables & brown rice
No CommentsRead moreI like the motto “cook once, eat twice.” Making a large batch of roasted vegetables and quinoa or brown rice and using it for multiple meals makes eating healthfully a whole lot easier. We are all busy people and if there’s not something healthy easily available, we’re much more prone to go without eating or buy something unhealthy on the go. Eating whole foods is as simple as chopping up a variety of seasonal vegetables, sticking them in the oven while your whole grain of choice simmers away on the stove, and there you have a handful of meals all ready to go!
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joyfalzone
blender sweet pea pancakes
No CommentsRead moreI’m not one to celebrate holidays with kitschy decorations and such but I thought you all would appreciate a special post for St. Patrick’s Day. These green pancakes are a fun way to sneak vegetables into your kid’s breakfast (and yours). They’re mostly made of peas which are probably overlooked for their nutritional value. Did you know one cup has 15% of your daily value of protein? They are also a very good source of fiber, vitamin K, manganese, vitamin B1, vitamin C, copper, phosphorus and folate among others! Recent studies also show their unique phytonutrient content helps protect against stomach cancer.
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joyfalzone
anti-inflammatory banana muffins
No CommentsRead moreI recently realized I haven’t shared any baking recipes with you here on ‘hello wholefoods’ so today I will change that! My family pretty much always has a steady stock of either a version of these banana muffins or breakfast bars (which I will share another time). These are easy to make and happen to be gluten free, dairy free, egg free, can easily be made nut free for those with allergies, and are kid approved by my 17 month old and by my 2 and 5 year old nieces! I mean, who doesn’t want muffins for breakfast?
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joyfalzone
healthy snacking: spiced cashews
No CommentsRead morePacking healthful snacks to bring to work or on the go is important to avoid temptation of buying something processed and unhealthy. Nuts are perfect to grab and go but it’s also easy to get bored of snacking on plain nuts every day so today I’m sharing a recipe that makes nuts more exciting!
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joyfalzone
kale & brussels slaw
No CommentsRead moreToday I’m sharing my new favorite salad with shaved brussels sprouts. I have been obsessed with eating raw shaved brussels ever since this recipe came out in 2009. If this concept is new to you I know you’re skeptical, but believe me this is delicious and I’ve had a handful of people ask me for the recipe since I’ve been bringing it everywhere with me! There’s not really anything healthier than eating raw cruciferous vegetables so why not make them taste amazing!