Vibrant Veggie Vortex + Dazzling Dijon Dressing

They say the more colors on your plate, the more likely you'll be able to curb overeating. Or maybe they don't; but it's sure pretty to look at a spectrum of vibrant fruits and veggies and definitely slows me down when it comes to digging in.

So bye bye simple crudités and dip. This simple salad is way easier to assemble than it looks. Just slice, dice and arrange everything on a plate to your heart's desire...and to emulate that way-too-perfect food blogger on instagram who always annoys you with food arrangements so pretty you don't understand how anyone's life can be so perfect (pro-tip: It probably took them 45 minutes to assemble everything, and by the time they get to eating that warm stack of vegan chocolate chip banana nut pancakes, they are cold.)

To quote Taylor Swift, This. Dressing. Is. Sick. Mix two parts olive oil, to one part balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of nutritional yeast flakes and red chile pepper flakes and sea salt together. Transforms any blah "using up leftover veggies" salad into BOOM! Seriously.

Ingredients:
Whatever leftover veggies and fruits you have on hand

Directions:

Arrange prettily on plate and as symmetrically as possible. Try and remember to buy enough lettuce next time. Drizzle dressing on top. Pair with copious amount of crusty  French baguette.

3-Ingredient Potato-less Mashed Potatoes

Crusty French bread. Pasta. Mashed potatoes. When it comes to vices, mine aren't shoes or nightly Sex and the City marathons (okay, maybe the latter...) but carbs. Oh man. Sign me up! For me, there's no such thing as plate loaded too high with flaky, bready, potato-y, pasta-y goodness. Unfortunately, my snug jeans beg to differ. Luckily, these silky, creamy, rich "mashed no-potatoes"(or "potato-less mashed potatoes" as my body building boyfriend cleverly quipped) replicate that comfort food fix you crave, sans calories and the unhealthy fat you load in from butter, milk and cream.

So what's the secret swap for those formidable balls-o-carbs? Zucchini! Just boil the heck out of it, take your fork and mash, mash, mash away. It's texturally-perfect, nutrionally-abundant and shockingly addictive.

3-Ingredient Potato-less Mashed Potatoes
Serves 1 (adjust proportions as needed based on how much you're making)
1 zucchini
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
flaky sea salt, to taste
Optional: freshly ground black pepper, red chile pepper flakes

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel a few spirals from the zucchini. Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boil.

2. Place the rest of the zucchini in the boiling in water. Boil until impossibly soft (You can check by piercing it with a fork or knife).

3.  Using a fork (or potato masher if you are feeling fancy), mash the zucchini and add the olive oil. Season to taste and top with the raw zucchini shreds. Rejoice in a guilt-free spoonful of comfort.

(flowers also courtesy of aforementioned body building boyfriend)

Spicy Paprika-Dusted Spaghetti Squash Seeds

The above is just a fancy way of saying I roasted spaghetti squash seeds and threw a bunch of good spices on them. Consider it your reward for the nuisance that is figuring out how the hell to cut a squash in half without slicing your hand off, pulling your tricep (Life-changing tip: You can roast it whole, or throw it in the oven for 10 minutes to soften up, and then cut it in half), or both.

It's so easy, and the result is a real treat. Eat them as a snack (you'll never pay $4 for over-salted, under-seasoned sunflower seeds again) or toss them into salads as a crunchy topper or sprinkle over warm dishes as a seasonal garnish.


The ugly before...

The prettier after...

Ingredients

Seeds of one spaghetti squash, scraped out

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whatever other seasonings you want slash have on hand

1. Line tinfoil with spaghetti squash seeds. Pour olive oil and spices over and toss with hands until evenly coated.

2. Roast in 200° oven for 20 minutes, or until seeds have reached desired crispy-ness. 

Feel free to add to main dish, like I did below in this eggplant-onion saute, but make sure you don't try one before stirring into the mix (because once you pop one, they'll probably all be gone before you make it to this step)