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The Balanced Kitchen

Time for food. Time for Life.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

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Six years ago, I was struggling with the path my life had taken. I had two very small children, I had left my career working with trauma survivors, and I was doing erratic consulting work that bored me to death. I knew I needed a change and so I wrote an email to my closest friends and former colleagues and asked them a question: “If you could see me doing anything, what would it be?” I encouraged them to be creative, to be crazy, to think outside of the box. Every single person responded, and everyone said the same thing: something with food! As soon as I saw the word food, I knew I had found my answer.

Within the year, I completed a training program to become a health coach and launched The Balanced Kitchen. I had found my true calling! I was able to share my belief that cooking could be a simple, easy, healthy, and delicious part of life. I got to help people who really wanted to eat a healthier diet and cook for themselves and their families, but didn’t know where to begin. In short, I had the best job ever!

Today, I am sharing the latest development in this wonderful, challenging, exciting journey. I am SO excited to announce that I have become the new CEO (and owner) of The Six O’Clock Scramble!

 

What’s The Scramble?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, The Six O’Clock Scramble, founded and run by the amazing Aviva Goldfarb, is an online meal planning service committed to helping busy people get quick, easy, and delicious meals on the table every night. Aviva and I share the same philosophy: making dinner should be a low stress and enjoyable experience and that family dinners are one of the most rewarding and important opportunities to connect with and nourish the people we love and ourselves!

The Scramble will give me a platform to encourage even more people to get back into the kitchen, to experiment with new tastes and cooking techniques, and to feed their friends and families healthy, delicious meals that are simple to prepare.

 

But What About The Balanced Kitchen?

Some of you may be asking, what will happen to The Balanced Kitchen, to the recipes found here, and to my weekly musings on food, feeding kids, feeding ourselves, and life balance? The answer is twofold: my recipes will stay archived here on The Balanced Kitchen, but my new recipes and posts will all be on The Scramble.

I invite you to join me at The Scramble to continue getting inspiration and ideas for feeding yourself and your family well. In an effort to make that as simple for you as possible, I will be merging my list with The Scramble’s. What this means is that you will continue to receive emails from me from time to time with recipes, cooking ideas, and lots of other opportunities to experiment with cooking and eating, just from The Scramble rather than from The Balanced Kitchen.

 

Join The Scramble Family!

Finally (and perhaps most importantly), as an enticement and in celebration of this big change, I am offering a Friends & Family discount if you’d like to join The Scramble’s meal planning service. I love and believe in this service because it helps to make cooking that much easier and more accessible. So, if getting a meal plan delivered to your inbox or phone each week sounds appealing, if a generated-for-you shopping list sounds amazing, if access to a database of over 1,000 carefully curated recipes sounds wonderful, then join us! (And if you aren’t sure we have a 2 week free trial, so there’s no risk!)

Thank you for your support of The Balanced Kitchen over these past years. I have loved carving out my space in the food and cooking conversation. I have loved working with you as clients, meeting you at workshops, and sharing ideas with you online. I look forward to our relationship growing over at The Scramble! Sign up for a free trial now (and use the code FANDF17 to get 25% off all memberships now through August 16th).

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating, and Happy Scrambling!

Grilled Fennel and Red Onion Salad

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Over the past year or so my sons have shown little to no interest in what I choose at the farm share each week. This has been a source of disappointment for me for two reasons: 1) I love walking through the selections with them and talking about their favorites as well as about new fruits and vegetables they (or we) hadn’t tried yet and 2) I felt like somehow this weekly ritual that I consider to be such a privilege and treat just seemed commonplace to them. Then this week I realized that I was seeing it all wrong.

My older son was playing at the nearby playground while I was picking out our food and I called him over in the hopes that he would help me pick out one last vegetable. He came trotting over, I told him what I had already picked out and asked him to pick out one more vegetable. He walked around the table, looking at everything that was there, and then reached for the fennel. As we walked back to the car he asked if he could munch on a stalk of fennel as we drove home, which of course I happily agreed to, and in that moment I realized that the magic of the farm share had actually been working the whole time. You see, not only did he enjoy fennel (which I did not know even existed when I was his age!) to the point that he couldn’t even wait to get home to eat it, but all those years of weekly treks to the farm share had gotten him to a point where he was able to recognize everything on the table and make an informed decision that was truly exciting to him!

So in honor of his appreciation of fennel I wanted to share with you a favorite grilled salad that helped me to learn to enjoy this vegetable that I was not crazy about when I first tried it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with fennel, when it is raw it has quite a strong anise (black licorice) flavor to it, but if you roast or grill it the flavor changes completely and it become subtle and sweet. This salad can be made on the grill outside or on a grill pan on your stove and it is a great summer salad to serve with grilled meats or veggie burgers. It is light, refreshing, and wonderfully crunchy.


Grilled Fennel and Red Onion Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad, Side
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 small red onions
  • 2 small bulbs of fennel
  • 1 tablespoon crumbled feta, or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, or more to taste
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • half a lemon
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat your grill or grill pan and set it to a medium heat.
  2. While the grill is heating, cut the onion into ½-inch thick slices. Then cut the stalks off of the fennel bulb so you are left just with the bulb. Cut it in half lengthwise and then, like the onion, again into ½-inch thick slices.
  3. Brush the onion and fennel slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, on both sides.
  4. Lay the slices on the grill let them cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until they are just starting to soften.
  5. Place them on a platter and top with thyme, crumbled feta, a drizzle of olive oil, and a good squeeze from the lemon. Add more salt and pepper, if desired.

 

Recipe Roundup: May and Early June Edition

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This morning I heard a story on NPR about this guy who realized that he was living a very comfortable, happy life but that one day he realized that his whole life was being lived in a bubble, so he decided that he was going to break out of the bubble by attending randomly selected, open to the public events in his city. It was an inspiring story about breaking out of your comfort zone and trying new things. He talked about how uncomfortable it could be at moments and how there were times when he was tempted to turn around and walk away, but he didn’t, and the outcomes were wonderful. As I listened to his story, I couldn’t help but challenge myself to think carefully about ways in which I do and do not venture outside of my own bubble. In some ways I am an adventurous person, but in others I’m not, and I hope that hearing this story will push me to start exploring some other worlds, even ones that are close by.

If taking a step outside of your comfort zone sometimes involves cooking, then I’ve got some great recipes for you in this Recipe Roundup! The first two recipes in the Roundup came about because one of my clients gave me some homemade goat milk paneer (Indian cheese) and since Saag Paneer is one of my all-time favorite dishes, I jumped at the chance to make it for the first time, so an Indian dinner was in the cards. The waffle recipe is a game changer if you are a fan of waffles that are crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. And the Southwestern Spinach and Black Bean Dip is likely to become a go-to in our house. Are you ready to step out of your bubble and try a new recipe?

Image courtesy of Food Network

Saag Paneer: Spinach with Indian Cheese after poking around online for a while I settled on this recipe because it seemed to be the most manageable. Instead of using frozen spinach I used spinach from my farm share, I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and I skipped the chili pepper in the hopes that my boys would be more open to eating it. Other than those modifications, I followed the recipe closely and the outcome was AMAZING. I could have eaten it for a week straight. My boys still weren’t convinced, but did eat the little bit that they each had on their plate, and my husband loved it almost as much as I did.

Make again? Absolutely and soon!!

Image courtesy of Food.com

Potato Curry with Peas and Carrots I made this to accompany the Saag Paneer because I was confident that my boys would enjoy it, and I was right. I found the directions on this recipe to be a little vague for my taste, but I have made enough curries that I could figure it out. It did take longer than I had anticipated, but the flavors were fantastic and it was relatively simple to make.

Make again? Yes. But I’ll probably type up my own directions to follow. Maybe I’ll post that recipe sometime soon…

 

 

Image courtesy of Inspired Taste

Best Homemade Waffle Recipe I stumbled upon this recipe last weekend as I was trying to find a waffle recipe that only required one egg. The secret ingredient in this recipe is cornstarch and I have to say that I am a convert! I made this recipe using spelt flour instead of all purpose flour, to add some whole grain heft, and they were still light and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. All four of us LOVED these waffles. Two quick notes: 1) the batter is much runnier than any other waffle batter I have ever made and seemed to require more batter per waffle, so be prepared and 2) I will never make a single batch of this recipe again. Even for my family of four, this recipe was barely enough for breakfast and I guarantee you will want leftovers for the freezer.

Make again? Yes! This is going to be my new go-to waffle recipe!

Southwestern Spinach Black Bean Dip I made this to take as a side dish to a taco night at a friend’s house. Instead of canned corn I used frozen and I added a bunch more spice, but other than that I followed the recipe. It was delicious, filling, and packed with spinach. It also makes a TON! We gorged on it and there was still a lot leftover, which I then mixed with some leftover chicken to make a variation on my baked chimichangas, which were the biggest hit of the week in my house.

Make again? Definitely and definitely will turn the leftovers into baked chimichangas again, too!

My Favorite Summer Picnic Recipes

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This morning, as I was driving home after dropping my kids off at school, I heard an interview with Samin Nosrat who just wrote a book called Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat*, which I am SUPER excited to read (just got it for my birthday, woo hoo!). In the interview she was recounting a memory from her childhood in San Diego of coming out of the ocean after hours of swimming, ravenous and then greeted by her mother’s perfect beach snack—cucumbers and feta wrapped in lavash bread with frozen grapes or watermelon slices on the side. As I listened to her recount this wonderful, summer memory, I was myself taken back to my own favorite beach meal memories from childhood. How amazing those sandwiches my parents made tasted, even with the sand mixed in, how sweet and juicy the fruit seemed to be, and also how those meals shared over a towel on the sand always felt so special.

So in honor of Memorial Day Weekend and the official start of summer, I thought I would share some of my favorite summer picnic foods:

Flexible Granola Bar

Simple Grain Salad

Savory Zucchini-Corn Muffins

Simple Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Medley Sandwiches

Smoke Salmon Frittata

Roasted Summer Vegetable Dip

*This page contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product through these links, your cost will be the same but I will receive a small commission to help with operating costs of this blog. I only link to products I personally use, trust, and love. Thanks for your support!

Mediterranean Spinach Dip

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“I received free samples of Sabra Hummus mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Sabra and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

Sometimes the best things are simple. Super simple. That was a lesson I was reminded of as I worked to develop a recipe for this Sabra hummus recipe contest organized by The Recipe Redux. You see, I kept trying to come up with some innovative, creative, blow-your-mind-surprising use of hummus. Hummus croquettes and sweet potato toast towers were two of the almost-blogworthy recipes I worked on. Both of them were good, both of them were kind of fun, but as I sat down to write about them I just couldn’t get inspired. And then yesterday it kind of hit me: I was just trying too hard. I was making things more complicated than they really needed to be. So I pushed those two recipes aside, perhaps I’ll come back to them at another time, and decided to keep things simple.

Honestly, when I stop to think about it, making things too complicated has been kind of a theme in my life recently, as well as the hope that I can instead simplify (please tell me I’m not alone in this struggle). This recipe was a wonderful reminder for me that simple is often better. That sometimes we have to let go of our over-inflated expectations for a more balanced reality that will actually make us happier, as is the case with this rockstar, super simple dip.

So in honor of National Hummus Day on May 13th, I give you my Mediterranean Spinach Dip. A super simple, vegetarian, plant-based protein powerhouse of a snack that takes all of 5 minutes to make. Everyone in my family went nuts for this one and an added bonus is that it is another opportunity to get vegetables into everyone’s diet without cajoling or reminding. It works really well with crackers or chips, but also with crudité. My husband also recommends using it as a spread in a sandwich. Haven’t tried this yet myself, but it sounds amazing! Enjoy!


4.0 from 1 reviews
Mediterranean Spinach Dip
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer, Snack
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 3 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained
  • 1 cup Sabra Classic Hummus
  • ½ cup crumbled feta
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Serve with vegetables, tortillas chips, or pita chips.

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Recipe Roundup: April Edition

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This month is kind of a wacky month for my recipe roundup because three of these recipes come from one cookbook: Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem: A Cookbook*. I have a complicated relationship with this cookbook. I love it because everything that I make from it comes out so well, the pictures are beyond beautiful, and the recipes are truly inspiring, but I also find it challenging because many of the recipes include obscure ingredients that, truthfully, I am not willing to drop lots of money on to possibly use just once before they go bad. So I have started adapting when I use the book and so far that has worked out pretty well!…

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3 Easy Ways to Use Up Hard-Boiled Eggs, Plus the Simplest Deviled Eggs

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It is spring holiday season and, as we all know, eggs are a classic sign of spring/fertility and are often used in these holidays for just that reason. As an inter-faith household we are kind of drowning in hard-boiled eggs! Between Passover and Easter, there seem to be hard-boiled eggs everywhere I look. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good hard-boiled egg with just a little salt and pepper, but they can get a bit tedious after a few days. So I wanted to share with you some of the ways that I use up hard-boiled eggs and my favorite super easy deviled eggs recipe in the hopes that it might be helpful to you, too.

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Honey Greens: A Taste of Spring!

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Early spring is by far my favorite time of year. I love it when the colors start to creep back in—the grass becomes more vibrant, the evergreen leafs get brighter, and the buds on the trees start to come to life. And then there is always that one day when it all suddenly POPS! As I was driving my kids to school yesterday I suddenly noticed how GREEN everything was looking and I realize that it was that POP day!

That green showing up everywhere always gets me thinking about and craving green vegetables. Sadly, though, salad greens are kind of tough and lame at this time of year, but the sautéing greens, such as kale, mustard, and chard, are all great, so I figured now is the perfect time to share my tried and true honey greens recipe with you!

Honey Greens

This is a spin off on a recipe my brother introduced me to years and years ago that used brown sugar instead of honey. Before having his version I had never really enjoyed chard or mustard greens, but once he put these sweet and sour greens down on my plate I was hooked! This is a recipe I often share with clients who are skeptical of greens and is also a side vegetable that I can (usually) count on my boys to enjoy with gusto. If you have lots of mouths to feed and will be doubling or tripling the recipe, I am a big fan of a mix of chard and mustard greens, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them!


Honey Greens
 
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Recipe type: Vegetable, Side
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Dash of cayenne (optional)
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 1 bunch of kale, mustard, or chard greens. Stemmed, rinsed, and torn into bite-sized pieces.
  • 1 tablespoon rice or apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon honey (or more, to taste)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil on medium-high head in a large frying pan and add a dash of cayenne (if using).
  2. When the oil is hot and shimmering, but not smoking, add the onion and cook until it is translucent.
  3. Turn the heat down to medium and add greens, stirring constantly. When the greens have turned bright “army” green, turn off the heat.
  4. Add the vinegar and some salt and pepper. Stir to mix and then drizzle the honey over and give it one last stir. Serve immediately.

 

6 Winter Salads to Help You Survive ‘Til Spring

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It’s Ground Hog Day! The day when we hear whether we are going to have an early spring or a late one. This is a day when I always roll my eyes, chuckle about how it isn’t really true, and then desperately want to know what the outcome was. Did the groundhog see his shadow?! Is spring on its way?!

I am sad to report, in case you didn’t hear, that, according to Punxsutawney Phil, we’ve got 6 more weeks of winter ahead of us. (womp, womp). So what does that mean for those of us who are sick of our sweaters, desperate for the sun, and eager to eat fresh produce? We’ve got to get creative!

Last week I shared my Wild Blueberry Flavor Burst Smoothie, which has been helping on the fruit front (even my 8-year-old smoothie-hating son liked it!), but what about the vegetables? I mean, I love soups and stews probably more than most people but even this veggie-fiend can get a little desperate…

So this week I reached out to some of my food blogger friends to ask them to share their favorite ways to get more vegetables in during the winter months and they all shared salad recipes!…

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