Meatless Mondays

Do you take part?

As a former vegetarian, going meatless is usually pretty easy for me. My main meal most days consists of a big broccoli slaw salad with avocado in it, which is incredibly filling and often satisfies enough for two meals. It gets old and isn't my favorite but it gets the job done while meeting nutritional needs. Most Americans get too much protein rather than too little, so most of us can skip the protein, or use a meat-free alternative, every now and then. Even some public schools are opting in!

Meatless Mondays can help your budget and your ecological footprint, especially if you already eat a lot of meat to begin with. Here are just a few great meat-free protein options if you want to make sure to include protein, but some healthy fats, like the avocado I mentioned earlier or some extra virgin olive oil, will also help you feel full for longer the way protein does. They'll also burn more slowly, especially if you're adapted to burning fat for fuel (on a low-carbohydrate eating plan), giving you energy for a longer period of time.

Do you take part in Meatless Mondays? If so, what are you go-to recipes?

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Using Edible Gold

How do you use it?

Instead of recipes this week, let's talk edible gold! Did you ever think that it wasn't really edible? I know I did when I was younger. Since then I've seen it in many forms, real and otherwise, that have been both dazzling and peculiar. Sometimes you just have to wonder why anyone would add edible gold to a dish, while at other times it really does elevate a drink or treat into something special.

I've looked up various edible gold forms online and noticed that it's not particularly expensive, with sheets of the stuff costing around $18 by some sellers. Apparently it can be tricky to use, but if you do decide to utilize edible gold leaf on your pastries, cakes and other works of edible art, here is a great list of tips for using it. Who knew, for example, that a makeup brush and a steamer could be so handy in applying gold to your food?

Do you use edible gold in your cooking? Share how you use it in the chat! 

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Recipes
Desserts/Sweets

Veggie Rolls In A Pinch

A quick and healthy snack or lunch

Do you like making little roll-up sandwiches for lunch or a snack? I've always loved mixing up some dill and cream cheese, spreading it onto a tortilla, adding some chopped cucumber and enjoying it as a cool, quick bite. It's one of my favorite things to cut up and bring to parties, too. But if you want to avoid the tortilla, there are lots of other ways to do it, too.

For starters, you can use meat for your roll, such as turkey, which still holds the inside of your roll-up securely while maintaining a yummy taste. If you don't eat meat, you can also slice up your cucumbers with a mandolin (or just cut them very thinly) and roll them up that way! Add in some red pepper flakes for a nice kick, or some garlic and parmesan cheese for a tangy treat. Adding toothpicks is an easy way to keep them rolled up and ready to serve. 

How do you like to make sandwich roll-ups? Share your recipes and tricks in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Vegetarian / Vegan
Home Cooking
Recipes

Yummy Midwinter Soups

Share your favorite recipes!

Spring is just around the corner, but we've had one of the coldest winters I can remember where I live and I'm still very much in cozy soup and tea mode. I don't think a day has gone by this year without a mug of one or the other! A good soup does wonders against the chill.

I just ran across this recipe for chicken fajita soup and think it looks very tasty. I'd love a recipe for low-carb chicken tortilla soup that's really good, too; the trick with low-carb soup, of course, is to thicken it well. While xanthan gum and coconut flour will get you so far, making copycat recipes often falls flat just because of consistency, so if you know of a really good one, I'd love it! I'd also love a great broccoli and cheese and/or cauliflower and cheese soup recipe of the same varieties.

What are your favorite soup recipes? How do you warm up during the winter months? Share your recipes in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking
Recipes

Spoonful of Comfort

It's a click away

Who doesn't love a comforting bowl of soup? At Spoonful of Comfort, you can order just that and have it sent to you, or someone you love, as a sweet gift of nourishment and joy. Whether you love butternut squash, chicken noodle, broccoli and cheese or tomato, they can hook you up with the comforting soup you crave. They also have harvest vegetable and corn chowder!

The company doesn't just serve comfort in a cup, either; they also sell cookies, the complete opposite comfort food to the bowl of soup! From snickerdoodle to oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip to simple sugar cookies, you can order soup and cookies to make anyone's day a little more special. 

Have you come across any other comfort food sellers online like Spoonful of Comfort? Share them in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Dining Out

Mushrooms, Ricotta And Pancakes, Oh My

Galette that's keto-friendly

The problem with so many keto-worthy recipes is that they usually end up being way too eggy, since so many require an egg substitute for pancakes, crust, bread and so forth. (Insider tip? Just use two slices of cheddar for your sandwich crust. It's just as good once you're used to it!) this galette recipe, which features mushroom and ricotta prominently, does have eggs but it's such a yummy adaptation that you might not even realize it's not a real savory pancake!

Martina is currently my favorite keto chef and I follow her recipes religiously, trying out new things each week and this one is a winner. Honestly I just love ricotta and mushrooms, but she always manages to balance out the almond or coconut (often both) flour so well that you don't even feel like you're missing anything. 

Do you have any awesome pancake recipes, savory or sweet, keto or not? Share them in the chat!

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking

Cute Pancakes For The Kids

Share your favorite ideas!

Growing up I always loved to make silly things for my sisters to eat. One of them was pancakes in various shapes or food colorings. My own daughter isn't a big pancake fan so while she's enjoyed other silly creations, it's not something I've made in recent years, but we have made pancake art just for fun. I've been thinking about how much fun it was to make these shapes, though. Since I now babysit my niece, who is two years old, I think we'll have to try some cute pancakes soon!

I love these lion faces, which I never made when I was a teen (my specialty was green "alien" pancakes), and I've seen many other creative variations of pancake art over the years, too. You could also let the littles dip in some batter and make their own wonky shapes, add in some natural food coloring, let them deocrate with sprinkles, whipped cream (I suggest making your own from heavy cream, which only takes minutes and can be sugar-free), fruit and other fun items and make it a whole pancake party!

How do you like to make whimsical treats for kids?

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking

Stuffed Flank Steak

How do you prepare yours?

Steak is one of those foods that so many people claim to love, yet it really has to be made to one's liking in order to be as delectable as it sounds. Many people prefer their steak almost red while others just want it to where the fat melts in your mouth. Still others prefer it to be jazzed up a bit beyond being just a piece of meat, which is where stuffed steak comes in.

This recipe for stuffed flank steak looks like it would make even non-steak eaters enjoy a nice slab of meat for dinner! Between the roasted red peppers, feta and baby spinach leaves, it sounds like a whole meal in one pan. 

How do you like your steak? What is your favorite steak recipe? Share your thoughts in the chat.

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking

Healthy Snacks At Brandless

Have you tried any?

Brandless is such  an awesome source of clean, healthy foods and products at a low price. I love the idea of going brandless, even if by definition the company is pretty much a brand. This week they are advertising a line of healthy, low or no-sugar snacks for those who are on the sugarfree train, which is a lot of people these days! Almost everyone I know is trying to reduce their sugar intake, which is great for their health and mine, since it increases more demand for the products I want, too!

Some of the Brandless snacks look quite tasty, from their all-cheese chips to their almond varieties. They also have plenty of snacks for those who enjoy some sugar every now and then, from cookies to gummy slices, as well as dried fruits, so you can find a $3 snack here for just about anyone.

Do you shop at Brandless? What do you like best?

Klat Categories: 
Health
Food & Beverage

One-Pan Chicken

My kind of recipe!

My husband is the real chef around here, but he works 12-hour shifts so I often end up cooking. I'm not terrible at it, but I'm definitely not cut out for Ratatoille. In fact, I don't make a mess while I cook as if my life depends on it, which my husband laughs at me for doing! I'm just stuck with cleanup no matter who cooks, so when I do it I can at least control how bad it gets, right?

As you might guess, this makes me a sucker for one-pot and one-pan recipes like this one-pan chicken recipe. The crockpot? My best friend, absolutely. I love how the headline for this recipe says, "Delicious doesn't always mean pretty," because too many delicious things really do look a mess--and vice versa.

Do you have any great one-pot wonders for me to try at home? If it's sugar-free and low-carb all the better, but I often make different things for my family than myself so share whatever you've got!

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking

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