Prepare yourself – this Copycat Northstar Cafe Village Salad is about to blow your socks off! What is the Northstar Cafe? Northstar Cafe is a local Columbus restaurant chain (5 locations) that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner – Northstar puts an emphasis on locally grown, organic, and artisan produced foods as well as sustainability. The food they make is incredibly fresh, creative, and delicious. And more importantly, their Village Salad is UNREAL! What makes the Northstar Cafe Village Salad so special? This salad is LOADED with delicious toppings that, quite honestly, I NEVER would have thought to put together! Roasted chicken, dates, avocado, chickpeas, kidney beans, onions, goat cheese, AND…
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Vegan Summer Corn Chowder
Raise your hand if you love soup!! (Emphatically raises both hands in the air)… I LOVE SOUP! I have posted quite a few soup recipes on the blog – One Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup, Easy French Onion Soup, Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup (VG) – the list goes on. But what do all these soups have in common? They scream WINTER! Soup doesn’t just have to be for winter! No, my friends, soup can be great in the summer as well! Enter this incredible Vegan Summer Corn Chowder! Creamy and rich yet light and flavorful. You would never know this Summer Corn Chowder is dairy free / vegan. It is a great easy appetizer for…
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Strawberry Almond Goat Cheese Salad
I have fallen in LOVE with this salad! Fresh spinach, juicy strawberries, creamy goats’ cheese, and crunchy almonds – a classic combination. But what makes this Strawberry Almond Goat Cheese Salad unique? THE DRESSING! This Strawberry Almond Goat Cheese recipe uses an incredibly delicious sesame seed dressing that I was introduced to by my dearest sister-in-law Jess! I love salad dressing as much as the next person – duh. But often its not worth the calorie count for me. So many delicious dressings are extremely heavy and full of saturated fats. Sure, your salad may start out healthy – but once you glob on 300 calories of creamy caesar, you…
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Sweet Hot Honey Carrots
For a long time, I legitimately hated cooked carrots. They were just never very good! I always thought they came out way too mushy, or awkwardly mushy on the outside but hard on the inside… bleh. It wasn’t until I was served cooked carrots at a restaurant (one of our favorites here in Columbus) that I realized how delicious cooked carrots could really be. These Sweet Hot Honey Carrots prove that cooked carrots can and are delicious (when cooked correctly) – not to mention they look great on your plate! What is hot honey? Hot honey is chili-pepper infused honey. I first had hot honey at one of our favorite…
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Roasted Carrot Soup
Cold winter weather calls for comforting, hearty soups. This Roasted Carrot Soup is sure to warm you up. Not to mention, its packed with healthy veggies (a.k.a. carrots), so you can get your daily source of veggies in without even realizing it! I absolutely love any soup – but I’ve realized, I much prefer a blended soup to a broth based soup (unless its ramen… because I LOVE ramen noodle soup). Otherwise, in terms of popular soups – sure chicken noodle is great, or a nice minestrone, but to me there is something so comforting about a blended soup – like potato leek, butternut squash, or even pea soup. This…
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Garlic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
Think healthy has to mean boring? Absolutely not! This Roasted Parmesan Garlic Asparagus is quick, easy and delicious. A perfect side dish for one or more! What are your favorite vegetables for roasting? I personally love brussel sprouts, eggplant, and perhaps most of all, asparagus. Asparagus goes well with everything, pasta, rice, any protein, its all good. The great thing about roasting vegetables is that its easy, and requires few ingredients. With just a little olive oil, salt and pepper, you can roast any vegetable and most likely the result will be delicious. The bad thing about roasting vegetables is that its easy to fall in the habit of roasting the…
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Healthy Tomato Bisque
Honestly, what is better than a nice hot bowl of soup when its cold outside? I really can’t think of much! Maybe ice cream on a hot summer day? Something about having that delicious something to warm you up or cool you down, right when you need it! Just perfect. I love all kinds of soups – Potato Leek, Cauliflower Potato and Leek Soup, Butternut Squash, Clam Chowder, Broccoli Cheddar, Black Bean, Chicken Tortilla, Chili, Ramen Noodle, French Onion, Wonton – the list seriously goes on and on. Of course, there is one classic soup that I have always loved, but never been able to quite master – Tomato Bisque. Campbell’s makes a MEAN Tomato Bisque.…
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Curry Roasted Acorn Squash
Hello hello party people! Sorry its been a while since my last post – we went on the most AMAZING vacation for my mama’s birthday in September! Getting back into a routine since then has been a struggle. We ate all the most incredible foods while we were away, but that also made transitioning back to a normal diet that much more painful. This Curry Roasted Acorn Squash was just what I needed to ease me back into healthy, delicious eating. Fall feels like it has come and gone in a FLASH! Here in Columbus, we went from 80 degree weather to about 40 degree weather in a single week!…
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Caprese Pasta Salad
I love a good pasta salad. Loaded with veggies and cheese, it is the perfect side to any potluck or barbecue. Top with some fresh herbs – MWA! Delicioso. This Caprese Pasta Salad is so easy yet so delicious. Al dente orzo, creamy mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and fresh basil all tossed with a light vinaigrette. Better yet? It stores wonderfully! So you can make a big batch and enjoy for multiple nights in a row! Alright – time for me to get up on my soap box. I am not a HUGE fan of dressing. Actually, I’ll take that back. I love dressing! But, its not very healthy. So I…
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Camembert and Peach Toast with Balsamic Glaze
I have been really into trying new and fun toasts lately. It is definitely not just me though – toast is trending. Sweet potato toast, avocado toast, nut butter toast – its all so delicious and fun! This Camembert and Peach Toast with Balsamic Glaze is no different – Creamy camembert, juicy peach, and fresh basil make for a taste bud blasting combination – drizzle with balsamic glaze and you’ve got straight up perfection. You can enjoy this Camembert and Peach Toast fresh or baked. With fresh toast, you can enjoy the juicy, bright taste of that cute babe peach. With baked toast, your camembert is going to get all…
