Green Bean Casserole

Now that fall is upon us, I've begun thinking about the dishes I love around Thanksgiving and while my husband was in the store, he bought a bunch of green beans, so I decided to try out a new green bean recipe (that didn't involve Cream of Mushroom soup!)

Everything Oats!

I swear I have been doing a TON of cooking recently, but unfortunately, I have NOT been doing a lot of writing.

Between full-time teaching, being a mommy (and I am excited to announce that we are growing as a family with another one on the way due in February), and trying to cook as much whole-food meals as possible...

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Casserole

Driving home from a delicious weekend at my parents' house (and I mean "delicious," because my mom is an amazing cook!), I realized that I had no idea what we were going to eat this week...and then I fully panicked when I got home and

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

A good veggie burger goes a loooooong way for me. Sitting down at a restaurant and seeing that they make their very own veggie burger, I am secretly thrilled, and you can bet I'm going to be trying it.

And finding tasty recipes for veggie burgers is equally exciting. Since this blog is still relatively new, I haven't posted any veggie burgers yet, but I'm hoping

Avocado Creme

Tacos, burritos, fajitas and hybrids of all of these are probably a meal we do at least once a week in our house.

Sometimes we have corn or flour tortillas, and sometimes we do salads with the last remnants of a chip bag as the "taco" shell crunch. Sometimes we use tofu, sometimes black beans, sometimes sautéed onions and peppers, sometimes all of these together. My husband will sometimes add leftover grilled chicken or steak or even ground beef, and we usually try and top our creations with salsa, sour cream and some guacamole. But I recently tried a new topping that I absolutely loved: avocado creme.

Flour-less Cookies: Salted "Caramel" and Chocolate

I'm going to start with saying that my past experiences with any type of flour-less cookie has ended badly...very badly. Whether my flour-less cooking has ended in a soupy mess or a tasteless glop of unappetizing measures, I usually end up trashing the food and the recipe and moving on.

But this time...success. And more than success...I was literally licking the spoon, convinced that there was no way

Splurge on Some Baked Potato Fries

After several days of salads, I had to cave and have something totally unhealthy. Organic potatoes (which are part of the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen) were on sale, by the bag, so my husband and I scoured the internet for something that we could use with most of a 3 lbs. bag of potatoes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars

I swear that I started off making these thinking, "I really need some more healthy granola bar recipes." Yet, as I watched myself pour in the final third of a bag of chocolate chip minis into the mix, I knew that this recipe was going to be far from the healthy bar I had initially planned on making.

Curbing-My-Carb-Cravings Cornbread

My husband and I recently got back from an amazing trip up to the mountains near Grand Lake, CO, and after days filled with sandwiches, chips and ice-cream and nights filled with burgers, pasta salad, and s'mores, we have both decided that

Zucchini Pasta with Vegan Alfredo Sauce

There are just some days where a big bowl of pasta covered in a creamy sauce just sounds so comforting. It could be after a long run or a particularly emotionally-exhausting day. But as I write this, I find myself salivating as I imagine myself enjoying such a meal.

BUT, if you have ever looked at the nutritional values or even the ingredients of an Alfredo sauce,

Homemade Pizza

Pizza is delicious, and I wish that I didn't love it as much as I do. A few years ago I got the book, Pizza and Other Savory Pies by Brigit Binns, along with a pizza peel and stone, and I couldn't get enough of the delicious recipes. I always had a ball of dough frozen in the freezer for last minute pizza nights. And then, for some reason, I just stopped making my own pizza and fell into the habit of buying a frozen or take-and-bake pizza instead.

My "Reunion with Running"

This is more of an AboutME post, instead of a recipe or research on food or diet...but I still wanted to share. If this doesn't interest you...feel free to ignore!

But this past Saturday I did my first race since having baby. My mom came and stayed with us so that my husband and I could do the Taste of Louisville 12k, and I have to say, it felt amazing!

It was a beautiful morning and it was probably one of the best races I could have done to start my "reunion with running," a phrase that my husband proudly said, as he snapped this picture of me at the start line.

Homemade "Lara" Bars

Homemade "Lara" Bars

My husband and daughter absolutely LOVE these things.

I was first turned on to them when my sister was doing the Whole 30 diet almost a year ago.

Mayan Coconut Iced "Cream"

You may have gathered that I have been trying to be more critical of the dairy that my family and I have been eating. As a result, I have found myself replacing cheeses and milk with some non-dairy options. As I have mentioned before, I have been playing around with cashews in my Oats in a Jar and even investigating ways to make my own "cheese" (possible future post?)

My friend, Wendy, on her blog, Fit-and-Frugal, just posted a recipe for some Vegan Mayan Chocolate Coconut Iced "Cream" (which it appears she got from Swoon) and I just had to give it a try.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Rice Bowl

Admittedly, when I started this recipe, I was pretty excited for some tacos, but as I found myself peering into the slow-cooker, breathing in the sweet and spicy aromas, I noticed that things still had a bit more liquid than I had anticipated, and knowing that we had some rice on hand, I swiftly moved directions and decided to make a rice bowl instead. And, boy, am I (and my husband!) happy with that switch!

Rice Bowl 

While perusing the web for a new recipe that I could use my Pressure-Cooker Black Beans in, I came across Kalyn's Kitchen and her recipe for Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos, and I remembered that I absolutely love the mixture of sweet potatoes and black beans.

Coconut "Cream" Oats in a Jar (Overnight Oats)

While I was pregnant, I had a hankering for oatmeal that hit me almost every morning (well, after the first trimester and nausea had subsided). Maybe the urge came from nostalgia: me, subconsciously  imagining a younger self, sitting around the dining room table, enjoying a warm bowl with my siblings on a frosty morning. Or maybe my body was craving something found in oats: my biology's natural way of telling me that I needed a missing nutrient (...interestingly enough, it was this "reasoning" that allowed me to indulge in probably a little too much chocolate milk during pregnancy

Under Pressure: Black Beans

When living in Spain, I struggled to find cans of beans. As a vegetarian, I usually ate beans a few times a week and after a few months without them, I definitely had a craving for some black beans.

As if by luck, a few days later, I was drawn into our kitchen by the warm aromas of what smelled like black beans

Best Brussels Sprouts

"The little heads of cabbage," was what I used to call Brussels sprouts when I was younger, and even then, I remember enjoying them (although I also remember them being covered in butter). Yet today, Brussels sprouts don't last very long in our house either. This cruciferous vegetable is incredibly healthy for us and these little bundles of green are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamin A. They are even a complete protein when combined with whole grains!

Homemade Nutty Granola Bars

In the not-so-distant past, I was an addict for a certain brand of "protein" bars. Never mind that they had a chocolate outer layer. Forget that the ingredient list had a slew of things I couldn't identify. Ignore the fact that I always seemed to have a crash about an hour after eating one.

"But they have like 20 grams of protein," I'd say to myself, searching the label to confirm that this was indeed true and wondering why I was so tired and already hungry again.

And then I listened to a nutritionist talk about sugar.

Polenta with Olive Tapenade, Spinach, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

While I am aware of the shocking percentage of genetically modified corn, I kinda love cornbread. There is just something so comforting about it. And recently, I have really wanted to do something with polenta.

Almond Butter Cups

I recently attended a 1-year-old birthday party where the amazing mama had made some delicious frozen Sun Butter Chocolate Cups...that I am still hoping to get the recipe for.

In the meantime, I saw the recipe for Raw Almond Butter Cups from Oh She Glows and just had to give them a try.

Blueberry-Lemon "Cheese" Cake Smoothie

Earlier this week, my mom surprised me with Tess Masters's book, The Blender Girl.

Going well beyond just smoothies, The Blender Girl amazes me with just all the things my blender can do when it comes to recipes.

Colorado Casey is COOKING!

Recently I realized that I am someone who has to always have a side project that I can persue.

In college it was lacrosse and writing poetry, and in grad school it was yoga and learning the guitar. While living in Spain, it was journaling (and trying to communicate in a language that I was extremely insecure speaking), and when I was back in Colorado and teaching, I found myself running again (this time with our new puppy) and writing when the Colorado weather had me hunkered inside.

Running near the Flatirons in Boulder, CO

But over the last six months, I have been a stay-at-home mom, and while this job is one of the toughest, I have found myself exploring a new hobby: cooking.