almond butter

Chicken and Mango Rainbow Veggie Wraps

If you’re still debating whether a wrap is really a sandwich or not, you can use this one as proof that either which way the vote comes in, we all agree that healthy, crunchy rainbow wrap lunches are what make the world go ’round.

This post is brought to you by Almond Breeze

My daughter is mildly amused with the return to my teenage fascination with rainbows.

Chalk it up to reliving the memories of my eighth grade year as she makes her way through hers. Or it may be thanks to my continuing countdown of the quickly fading days of this age of innocence for my lil’ baby. Or maybe it’s thanks to the ’80s boomerang of denim overalls, scrunchies, boom boxes, Polaroid cameras, casseroles, mom jeans and new remakes of Full House, CHiPs and Roseanne.

🌈 Either/or/and/alloftheabove…ahhh, 8th grade. Best year ever. 🌈

This easy, veg-heavy Thai-flavored lunch wrap represents all the things right with eating the rainbow. You’ve heard it a hundred times. At least I hope you have: Eating the rainbow is one of the best ways to ensure you’re getting all the right nutrients in one fell swoop. And it’s just one more reason that eating a healthy wrap for an easy lunch or quick dinner is a good idea.

continue to the recipe… about Chicken and Mango Rainbow Veggie Wraps

Chicken Satay with Lighter Almond Dipping Sauce

These flavorful skewers of thinly sliced marinated chicken need just a few minutes on the grill to absorb that wonderful smoky, charcoaled flavor, and are ready for dipping in this lightened-up, spicy coconut almond milk with almond butter dipping sauce for a true taste of Asian flavors.

This post is brought to you by Almond Breeze

One of the sights that struck me most while traveling through the streets of Bangkok and throughout Thailand was the abundance of street food and the fact that it was being cooked, right there, on the sidewalks. Men and women crouched down at makeshift grills made of bricks and grill grates, encouraging their charcoal flames and flipping skewers of meat, or chopping fresh veggies for stir fries and dishing out noodles and soups to customers who moments before were simply passing by.

But even more, it was the smells (oh the smells!) of food cooking, and bubbling, and sizzling, around each and every corner, serving snacks (and entire meals) to every walk of life, no matter how rich, or how poor. Southeast Asia isn’t necessarily unique in that respect. It seems that street food in every culture serves our most humble cravings. It just seems far more common there.

Naturally, the food memory of one of my favorite snacks during my two visits to Thailand came home with me. Chicken Satay, or Chicken Saté, because depending on the region depends on your spelling of the snack. Either way, this favorite appetizer on a stick is all good. And in this recipe, it’s also lightened up with a bit of an almond-y twist. continue to the recipe… about Chicken Satay with Lighter Almond Dipping Sauce

No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

I’m shortening this recipe title to be known as Triple CH No-Bake Cookie Bars, making it easy to remember the main ingredient list thanks to it’s title: chocolate, cherries and chia that create a healthy cookie bar for breakfast, snacking, or even dessert.

If a photo could sway a viewer into diving into a style of eating they don’t necessarily need to follow, Alanna Taylor-Tobin of the food blog The Bojon Gourmet will likely be the one to create it. That’s exactly how I first became a fan of Alanna’s and the blog she started during a stint of what she calls “funemployment”, including the word bojon in her blog name—a term that’s backward for “no job”.

Through her sumptuously styled photography and original gluten-free recipes, Alanna’s talents as a classically trained pastry chef inspire thousands to live a gluten-free lifestyle and still cure their sweet tooth.continue to the recipe… about No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

Chewy Almond Butter Power Bars

These chewy bars are full of protein thanks to almond butter and sliced almonds and are naturally sweetened with honey and dried fruit, for a healthy snack or breakfast on the run.

I consider myself a fairly friendly neighbor.

I put thought into my holiday neighbor gifts. I wander over with a smile to say “hey, how’ve you been?” And I’m always in search of people to deliver food blogging leftovers to.

You gotta share the love. Just don’t expect reciprocity.

So when one of my neighbors dropped by to deliver a Ziploc bag of homemade power bars last week, I was impressed. Not only because it was the man of the house who made them (kudos to guys who cook beyond the grill), but also because he didn’t take the usual course of action to think that just because I’m a food blogger that I wouldn’t appreciate them.

Let’s get something clear. I’m no snob when it comes to free food.

continue to the recipe… about Chewy Almond Butter Power Bars