Kaleeeeee salad. This baby is a staple in my world. There is something about kale that is so…. adult. Like, look at me go. I ate KALE today. Not just normal lettuce, but nutrient-packed kale.

And okay so kale mightttt not be the most exciting food, but if you dress it up right it tastes damn good if you ask me. So why should you bother eating kale? Well.. there are TONSSSS of health benefits. 

Here are my faves:

• Kale promotes healthy skin and hair!! Yaaaaasssss give it to me. 
• It is great for good digestion. Healthy insides = winning.
• Improves bone health due to the high amount of vitamin K.
• Kale supports the health of your heart! 

So even though kale isn’t super exciting in terms of it’s taste, it is an important thing to mix into your diet. AND, my dear friends, I am here to help you make it taste great. Example 1: my Blueberry Kale Salad.

What’s in it:

Salad stuff

• Thin sliced almonds
• Radishes (about 5 or 6)
• Generous handful of fresh blueberries
• Dino kale

Dressing stuff

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Squirt of dijon mustard
• Dash of maple syrup
• Fine ground salt
• Pepper

Okie so start by putting all your ingredients for your salad dressing in a little jar a shaking about. Set that bad boy aside.

Now, chop up your dino kale so that it is sliced nice and thin. Take a potato peeler, and slice up your radishes. Or you can use a knife to do this, but I yolo’d and used a potato peeler lol. Take your kale, radishes, and blueberries and put in a large bowl. Cover in your dressing and toss! Put that on a plate and generously sprinkle your sliced almonds on top. Doneeeeezo. 

What do you guys think of this salad recipe? Will you be trying it out? Comment below!

x,

Is this not the most amazing thing you have ever seen? I was legit almost crying I was so happy while I was eating it. Not sure if that is normal or not but whatever let’s just roll with it.

This recipe was stolen from my girl Chrissy Tiegen. Let’s put this out there, her life is just winning. She is married to John Legend AND she came up with this bomb-ass recipe (amoung many others.) I am obviously a crazy fan-girl (again, normal?) so when I cooked her Spaghetti Squash Al’ Forno I knew I had to share the love with ya’ll. Because this dish is a beautiful beautiful thing.

We also need to talk about the beauty of spaghetti squash. It is basically imposter spaghetti that is way healthier for you. Vegetable spaghetti? Kind of sounded like bs to me when someone told me about it. I was like ya right I will enjoy some lame squash as much as I would pasta. Go away. But really, this is an awesome alternative!! Not only did I tolerate it, I… I… loved it. (I know I said the L word so quick. Look at me go getting all emotion n’ stuff.)

What’s in it:

Squash stuff:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Sauce stuff:

• 1 medium white onion
• 4 tbsp butter
• 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Large handful of fresh basil

Topping stuff:

• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
• 1 piece of provolone cheese
• Approx 6 leaves of fresh basil

Alright, as per usual let’s start by prepping our ingredients so we can enjoy a generous glass of wine while cooking and not be running around the kitchen like a chicken with it’s head cut off. Cut your squash in half and remove all the seeds with a spoon. Dice up your onion, set aside. Take a large handful of fresh basil (don’t bother with dried basil for this, just get the fresh stuff it will change your world) and roughly chop it up. Finally, grab your cheese and slice it up into nice thick slices.

Food prep… done!

Now, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Take your squashy squash and rub oil all over it, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place face down on the tray and pop that bad boy in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes. 

While we wait for the squash to cook….

Sauce time! Put 4 nice and generous tablespoons of butter into your saucepan. Turn the heat onto medium, and toss in your diced onions. Cook these for a few minutes (be careful they don’t start to brown) then add in your crushed tomatoes. Put your garlic through a garlic press and add in the sauce. Finally, add in your chopped basil. Stir occasionally and simmer for the rest of the time the squash is cooking. It should get niceeee and thick while you cook it. 

Once the squash is done, take it out of the over and flip over the halves so the insides are facing up. Spread a few tablespoons of sauce over the top of each squash. Add some more of your chopped basil on top. 

HERE COMES THE CHEESE PEOPLE. This is my favourite part of this whole recipe. I am sure you can tell from the pics but I was very aggressive with my cheese application. But really, when am I not aggressive with my cheese. It is just way too good haha. So anyways, get all up in your cheese’s business and put a nice thick layer of mozzarella. Top THAT with another layer of provolone. (You can never have too much cheese and that is a fact.) And finally, put those last few whole basil leaves on top for garnish.

Put the squash back in the oven with the broiler on high for 4 minutes. 

You you are doneeee!!! 

Oh also, the best way to eat this is to take your fork to the edges of the squash, and pull inwards and up. To get all the delicious spaghetti squash out 🙂

What do you think?! Will this be your Sunday night dinner?

x,

IT’S TACO TIMEEEE!!!

Which everyone knows is the best time. Because… tacos…. obviously.

Today I was having a major craving for veggies. All of them. So when I put these tacos together I kinda went wild and put lots of yummy vegetables in there. I know, a wide variety of vegetables is SO crazy. I am a party animal. Someone needs to hold me back because I am getting out of control.

There was also an almost-fire incident with my wooden spatula today. Okay if I am being honest here it was fully on fire. Like, the spatula was in flames. Soooooo make sure that when you put your wooden stirring tool down beside a gas stove, it is far enough away from the burner to not catch fire. Needless to say the spatula did suffer some casualties. But I am nurturing it back to health as we speak so nobody panic. It shall be well again soon.

Aside from the spatula/fire incident, these tacos were on-point. They were ohhhhh so flavourful and ohhh so satisfying.

Here’s whats in ’em:

• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 fresh jalapeño
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 1 yellow zucchini
• 1 purple onion
• Salt
• Spicy seasoning mix (think pepper, chili, paprika, onion, garlic, and cayenne. I buy this mix here.)
• Salsa verde (green salsa) 
• coleslaw (purple cabbage, white cabbage, carrots. You can usually buy this pre-mixed at your local grocery store, or you can make it yourself if you are a champ like that.)
• 1 large handful fresh cilantro
• Soft corn tortillas

Lets do this, team.

Before you heat up any pan/do anything, I like to chop all my veggies just so its done and out of the way. So slice up your peppers, jalapeño, portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and onion. Next, take the majority of your cilantro, remove the leaves from the stems, and coarsely chop it up. I like the pieces of cilantro to be pretty big (because, flavour.) Save a few whole leaves for garnishing your beautiful beautiful tacos.

Okie dokes. Now that everything is prepped, put some extra virgin olive oil in two separate frying pans. Turn the heat on medium and wait a few minutes for them to warm up.

Anytime I am cooking with portobello mushrooms I cook them in a separate frying pan. This is because their colour tends to rub off on the other veggies giving them a highly unappealing brown colour. So ya, separate pan for the mushroomies.

Once the pans are warm toss the portobello mushrooms in one, and all the veggies in the other (which would obviously be the larger pan but you knew that lol.) Cook them while stirring over medium heat, and add your salt and spicy mixture to them while they are cooking.

Get them corn tortillas a little warm in the microwave, and put them on a plate. When the veggies are done, put a nice little stack on each tortilla. Top with your store-bought coleslaw and finally add as much salsa verde on top as your little heart desires. Add a few more whole leaves of cilantro on top, and you are done!!! So so so beautiful. If this isn’t beauty, I really don’t know what is.

ENJOY!!! And let me know how it goes for ya. 🙂

x,

Sweet mother of god. This. Yes. 

This magical, creamy, delicious, luscious, and sensational recipe needs to be in your life. Like, yesterday. (The excessive use of adjectives was totally necessary. I swear.)

My Skinny Belle Avocado + Goat Cheese Toast is one of my staple meals, for breakfast, lunch, OR dinner. That’s right. It covers all three meals of the day. So if you are feeling like a bad b, you could totally crush this for every meal of the day. Or in my case, if you are just too lazy to come up something different to eat lol. I may or may not have done that one or twice in my day. (Ok three times…. jeeze.) 

This recipe will take you about 1 minute to make, and even less time to inhale (with no shame) as you give little to no attempt at eating it in any sort of slow and controlled manner. At least thats what I do haha. TMI? Nah, we are past that here. Real-talk only. hehe 🙂

I love quick recipes for busy women, which is why I knew I had to share this one with you all today. You are my people. My goal-crushing, slightly foul-mouthed (at least I hope you are otherwise you are probably mortified by me haha), fashionable, fit, and beautiful people. So this is why I love to share recipes like this with you. We are important people, with things to do and places to see. Aint nobody got time to be slaving away in the kitchen for hours. All you need to know is how to make simple, clean, and delicious foods that are efficient. And that my friends, is where I come in.

So, what’s in my Avocado + Goat Cheese Toast?

• 1 soft avocado
• 2 heaping tbsp of plain goat cheese (yaaaaaaaassss)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 2 tbsp pepitas
• Your favourite bread (I have an abnormal obsession with Terra Breads Green Olive Loaf)

Alright so like I said, super duper simple recipe.

Pit your avocado and scoop that beautiful green and creamy inside into a bowl. Add your goat cheese, lemon, and salt. Mix everything together, but don’t completely blend it smooth. Just mix it enough so the goat cheese “disappears” into the avocado. It tastes way better if the avocado isn’t completely smooth. You want some good sized pieces of avocado to stay together in there.  

Now, cut a nice thick slice of your favourite bread and pop that bad boy in the toaster. Lightly toast it so that it’s a little golden brown but not crisp. We don’t want any biscuits around here. Once the bread is ready, put a very generous amount of your Avocado + Goat Cheese spread on top. Heaps and heaps is just the right amount. 😉 Top this with as much flax and pepitas as you like! 

And there you have it! A delicious meal or snack (if eaten in a smaller and more responsible portion size haha) for any time of the day. This recipe usually keeps me full for a really long time because of all the healthy fats in the avocado and richness of the goat cheese. 

Okay going to go gobble this down. Because YUM. Will you guys be making this recipe anytime soon?? Comment below!

x,

This is another one of those situations where I struggled hard to title my post. I so badly want you to understand how awesome this recipe is and make the title super enticing and such, but then it just ends up being way too long and gets a bit ridiculous. The struggle is real over here.

Anywho, I am obsessed with chia seed pudding. Chia seeds are fan-fucking-tastic and I cannot get enough of them. In the ever so graceful words of the Franks Red Hot Sauce ads (you know the one with the weird grandma that is kind of disturbing) “I put that shit on everything!”

Really though. Salads, avocado toast, yogurt, fruit… you name it. That being said, chia pudding is one of my favourite ways to eat chia seeds. It really shows off one of the most interesting properties of them: they can absorb 6 times their volume in liquids. SIX TIMES. Crazy right?!

This breakfast pudding is packed with protein and is super flavourful and satisfying. Today’s chia seed pudding recipe is one of my staples for the summer time. It is super simple, and the flavours are fresh AF.

The best part of this? Make it before you go to bed and you will have a delicious breaky waiting for you when you wake up in the morning. Because we all know that mornings can be rough, and having your breakfast already made just makes them a little easier. You feel me?

Alright, here is what is in my Coconut Lime + Raspberry Chia Pudding:

• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2/3 cup of unsweetened coconut milk (I like this brand)
• Fresh raspberries
• Coconut meat (not necessary, but tastes like crack so you should probably do it)
• Slice of lime

Okie dokes. LETS DO THIS.

Put coconut milk in small mason jar. Put chia seeds in mason jar. Shut mason jar. Shake about. Put in fridge. Go to bed. Wake up. Add them toppings (raspberries, coconut meat, and slice of lime!!!)

DONE. Told you, easy.

Ok so if the “delicious factor” isn’t enough to get you to try chia seeds… here are a few quick health benefits for you:

• Chia seeds are high in fibre!! Healthy insides = healthy outsides.
• They are filled with antioxidants!
• SO MUCH PROTEIN!!! I LOVE PROTEIN. Not in a weird “get swoll” kind of way, but in a “I want to actually be full after eating” kind of way.
• High in nutrients that are essential for bone health (like: calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.)

If those health benefits AND my delicious recipe didnt sell you on trying out chia seeds…. well, frankly I am quite positive something is wrong with you. Maybe seek some help. I kid kid, but really. These little buggers are amazing, so go out and try some chia seeds! The pudding obviously comes highly recommended as I have been blabbing on about it for ages now. 😛

x,

Granola. I love it. All of it.

Well, that’s kind of a lie. I love my homemade HEALTHY granola that isnt loaded with crap sugar and tons of mystery ingredients that none of us can actually pronounce. Seriously though, store bought granola is hella dangerous. That shit is fillllllllllledddddddddddddddd (written really long so I make sure I get your attention) with sugar. A little sugar is good. A lot of corn syrup is bad. Very bad. 

Anyways, my point it: make your own granola. It will taste better and make you feel better because it is wholesome and natural. In the photos above I am eating one of my fave granola recipes, the classic Skinny Belle Granola (think almonds, coconut, cranberries… yaaaaaaassss) with 0% unsweetened greek yogurt and grapefruit. GET. IN. MY. BELLY.

Another great recipe is my Pumpkin Pie Granola. I know its not eat-everything-pumpkin-flavoured-and-be-super-basic season right now, but I personally like to eat this recipe year round. ALSO. Can we talk about the whole “pumpkin” and “basic” thing? I would like to take a stand for my right to love pumpkin without being basic. PSL’s are basic (that’s a for sure) but pumpkin in general is not. *Phew* Glad I got that off my chest. Real deep stuff happening here today friends. 

On another note, HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!! Our beautiful country is 148 years old today. Though we don’t look a day over 29 😉

Anyways, I’m off to the beach! Enjoy these granola recipes, they are the best!

x,

Not going to lie this was only my second time or so trying Lebanese food, but I really really liked it! I am so into meals where you get lots of little different things to try. Because one flavour just gets so boringgggg. That is something I really dislike about a lot of “western” foods, in that we just have one big dish for dinner with one thing on it. So lame! I am all about tasting lots of different flavours in one meal. So much more satisfying.

Alright so getting down to it, this restaurant is called Nuba! Their main locations are in Gastown and Kitsilano (Vancouver, Canada) and I definitely prefer the Kits location. It had a beautiful open front where we sat in the fresh air. So nice considering we only have this gorgeous weather for a few months per year here in Vancity! 

We ordered the “La Feast” for two which is a vegetarian sampler that includes lots of different little appies. Perfect for a Lebanese noob like myself :P. When the first course came (baba-ganoush and fresh hummus) I ate SO MUCH OF IT because I thought that the second course wouldn’t be much food. Sweet baby jesus was I mistaken. Like…. WARN A SISTA, NUBA! You should tell really frigging tell people to not be massive pigs on the first course because the second course is HUGE. There were all sorts of dips, olives, cheeses, eggplant stew, lentils, and a bunch of other stuff that I honestly wasn’t quite sure what it was but it was still so bomb. 

Okay another thing that is great about Nuba? They have these unreal fresh squeezed juices that you can get custom made. I got pear, orange, ginger, and lemon. It was bomb. You should make it or go order it at Nuba. See that tall glass of juice in the photo above? Crushed it.

Anywho, I am stokeddd to go to Nuba again and try ordering some more different things off the menu. If it is your first time going, I would defs recommend you get the “La Feast”, because its a great way to try a bunch of different things when you really have no idea what the hell to order haha. 

For my Vancouver friends, have you been to Nuba before? Did you like it? Yay? Nay? Tell me in the comments below!! <3

x,

YAAAAASSSSSSS. All of this.

Welcome to my every morning. Seriously, this is the best breakfast you could ask for. Protein, fruit, amazingness. (<– amazingness is a key ingredient in any good recipe. It’s science.)

Smoothies sometimes can be a bit of a risky situation. I know I have done this many times, where I get really excited about all the awesome things I can put in my blender and then all of a sudden I have a 1000 calorie drink on my hands. It is important that you just put the things that you need in your smoothie, and be mindful of the ingredients so that the calorie content stays reasonable. This drink is about 220 calories (approx depending on how hungry I am lol) and has 20 GRAMS OF PROTEIN. I am all about the protein. It is SO key to not getting hungry like 5 mins after your eat. Which is what usually happens to me when I don’t include any protein in my diet haha. 

Alright. So down to the dirty stuff. What did I put in this bad boy?

• 1 scooop Vega One Berry Protein Powder
• 3/4 cup (approx) mixed frozen berries (I LOVE PC Organics Power Fruit Blend)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I always buy Almond Fresh. It’s delish you should try it.)

So these measurements (except for the Vega) are all approximate. Usually I fill up my Nutri-Bullet with a reasonable amount of berries (3/4 – 1 cup) then put my protein powder in, and thennnn pour my almond milk over until the almond milk is just about an inch above all the other ingredients. I do it this way because I like my smoothies pretty thick. Like, need to be eaten with an actual spoon thick. So you can change up the almond milk and berry portions based on how you like your smoothies. 🙂

A note about Vega.

I. Am. Obsessed.

Like, I cannot remember the last day when I did not consume Vega in some form or other. It is 100% plant based protein, has 6 servings of greens, 50% of your daily intake of food-based vitamins and minerals, and SO MUCH MORE.

A smoothie without protein is just berries and some almond milk. I don’t know about you guys but I will be hungry again almost immediately after drinking that haha. The Vega is such a necessary part of the smoothie equation, because it makes it an actual meal. 

So there you have it!! That is one of my favourite breakfast meals to make. If you want to check out what other things I keep in my fridge, see my Skinny Belle Shopping List: Breakfast Edition post. It is a great guide to stocking your fridge full of the right items for a healthy and nutritious breaky. 

x,

SWEET. BABY. JESUS.

I really don’t need to write anything else down. This post could literally just say sweet baby jesus and that is all the description you would need. Except I love you guys, and you deserve more care and attention than just three words. I just wanted to make sure you know how serious I am about these bao/taco/crack creations made by local Vancouver geniuses, Bao Down.

So what are these stunning creations? Take an asian steamed bun, make it a bit flatter. TACO BUN. That’s right friends, steamed taco buns. (Okay that is definitely not what they are actually called but its the best way I can describe their amazingness. Taco. BUN.) Aight so you got your steamed taco bun thing. Top that with the freaking best ingredients ever, and you have absolute magic. 

I want you guys to get the best possible experience when you go to Bao Down, so ima tell you my fave 3 buns to get:

1. YVR –> holy GOD. Bao Down team, you nailed this SO hard. There is a reason I order the YVR every single time (except today when I took these pics because you were sold out and I was really sad about it… just saying 🙁 ) Think seared albacore tuna, avocado, and bacon.
2. Bao Chika Bao Bao!! –> Okay first off the name. YES. Whoever made that up I need to marry. Second, so yummy. Lemon grass and garlic FREE RANGE & LOCAL chicken. I like my chickens free, and I like em’ local. Bonus points fo sho.
3. Jaws –> Om nom nom nom. Vietnamese catfish crusted in coconut shreds. Yes, coconut shreds. Sign me up for all of this right now. Just amazing. 

Alright so it is pretty obvious how I feel about Bao Down. Basically, if you live in Vancouver and haven’t been yet. Go. Just do it. You will thank me, I promise 🙂 In Beyonce’s wise words…. Bao Down bitches.  😛

PS: Thank you to the kind people at Bao Down for running after me down the block when I forgot my iPhone at the restaurant. I literally would have started having panic attacks and severe separation anxiety had me and my sweet baby (yes, I am still talking about my phone) been separated any longer. 😉 haha

x,

Hellooooo Friday! And what a beautiful start to the day. As you guys probably already know, I loveeeee breakfast. I mean, it usually involves really yummy food that you get to eat right when you wake up! All great things.

So the other day I shared my Skinny Belle Shopping List: Breakfast Edition with you guys. As promised, I will be going through the list and further explaining why you need the things on it. One of the items on that list was greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is such a staple in my diet, I wanted to make a post dedicated to it. 

First things first. Do not buy sweetened yogurt. It is full of crappy refined sugar, and is frankly just a waste of calories. You can get your sugar from beautiful natural sources like the papaya pictured above. 🙂 In terms of what kind of yogurt you get, I really like Liberte. It is so smooth, creamy, and delicious it shouldn’t even be legal. Really, it is that good haha. I get the 0% fat-free flavour, which I linked above for you.

Okie dokes, so here is the best part of eating 0% sugar free greek yogurt. PROTEIN. ALL OF IT. There is 18 grams (YES 18 GRAMS!!!) of protein in 3/4 of a cup of greek yogurt. Yessssss that is the stuff I like! Protein is so key to feeling full and satisfied after a meal. And frankly with regular yogurt (has only 6 – 8 grams of protein per CUP) I just never feel full. So yes, needless to say I am all about the greek yogurt. It tastes better, has a better texture, and has more than double the protein of regular yogurt. What a thing of beauty.

So now you know!! Will you guys be switching to greek yogurt too?? Or, are you awesome and already buy it?!

x,