If my body doesn’t have lots of fruits and vegetables on a consistent basis, I can tell a huge difference in how I feel. I get cranky, crave junk food and have absolutely no energy. I love eating fruits and veggies, but I’ll only reach for them if they’re easy to grab when I’m running around. It’s not like chopping veggies takes an hour, but it’s easy to prioritize other tasks when you’ve got a never-ending to-do list.

That’s where this salad comes in handy. I like to make this on Sunday or Monday nights to go with whatever we’re having for dinner. Because it’s just the two of us, there are always plenty of leftovers to take for lunches or afternoon snacks throughout the week. And, this salad is so much more satisfying than scarfing down a tempting cookie at the coffee shop near my office.

For me, great salads are like great fro-yo: the more toppings, the better. I tend to switch a few ingredients out depending on what’s in season and what looks good at the farmer’s market each week. But, this combination is my go-to. It makes for a hearty side dish or a satisfying meal when topped with some protein. My favorite meat to throw on top for lunches is spicy chicken Italian sausage — it complements the artichoke, tomatoes and pepper perfectly.

And, have you ever had homemade croutons before? Once you try them, you’ll never want to buy those bagged imposters again. Homemade croutons are ridiculously easy to make and infinitely more delicious. This recipe makes a large batch, so store any extras in an airtight container for up to one week. Then try not to eat them all while binge watching Gilmore Girls. 

I think the only way to eat this salad is tossed in a little garlic lover’s vinaigrette, but it’s great no matter what the dressing. You should serve the dressing on the side if you plan on having leftovers. It will help you avoid a sad, soggy salad the next day. Enjoy!

Everyday Salad With Homemade Croutons

[ingredients title=”Salad Ingredients”]

• 1 large head red-leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup canned artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/8 cup green olives, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, freshly grated

[/ingredients]

[ingredients title=”Croutons Ingredients”]

• 4 oz. sourdough bread
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. While the oven preheats, toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Refrigerate while you make the croutons.
2. Cut bread into half-inch cubes. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, cheese, garlic salt and pepper. Add bread to the bowl and stir until bread is coated in the oil mixture.
3. Spread bread cubes onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, giving them plenty of room to breathe. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until edges start to turn golden brown.
4. Remove croutons from the oven and cool completely. Place croutons on top of salad and serve with your favorite dressing on the side.

[/directions]

The post Everyday Salad With Homemade Croutons appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Hello again, Monday. How did we get here so soon?

Weekends always seem to fly by. Ours was pretty low key and involved a lot more time camped out on our couch than normal, thanks to all of the rain. It felt great to spend some time vegging out and getting a few things done around the house that we’ve been neglecting. I hope to give you a peek inside our place very soon! It finally feels put together.

This pork was the product of one of the weekend’s rainy afternoons. I wanted to make something that tasted great but took little effort — because getting off the couch when there’s a thunderstorm is hard. 

Every once in a while we get into a rut where it seems we have the same couple of proteins on repeat in our house: ground turkey and chicken. While there are so many delicious ways to use those meats, I’m trying to make a conscious effort to add a little more variety into our weekly menus. That means incorporating more lean cuts of beef and pork.

It doesn’t get much easier than roasting a pork tenderloin. When it’s cooked right, it’s one of the most tender, juicy and delicious cuts of meat you’ll find. And this just may be my new favorite way to prepare it.

As soon as the smell of this dish started wafting through our house, I knew this recipe would be a keeper. It’s insanely good — and insanely simple. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 lb. pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground pepper

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Trim all visible fat from pork tenderloin.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, honey, dill, salt and pepper. Brush mustard mixture all over pork tenderloin.
4. Place pork on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the middle of the tenderloin reads 150 degrees.
5. Cover pork with foil and let sit for ten minutes before slicing.

[/directions]

The post Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Remember when I decided to commit to Whole30? I only lasted four days.

It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying — I was excited and invigorated by the challenge and meal prepped my heart out ahead of time. I was having a blast trying out new meals that were Whole30 compliant.  I felt completely prepared. But, even the best laid plans don’t always work out. Especially when you’re a reporter.

On two of the days I was following Whole30, I found myself driving more than two hours away and back for stories. That’s how I typically spend about half of my work week — on the road and out in the field. Because my lunches have been protein-heavy on Whole30, they usually have to be refrigerated. That meant I left my food behind at the office and found myself on the road with few options to choose from when it came to eating on the go. Compliant jerky and deli meat are hard to come by, especially in rural Indiana towns. I found myself eating nothing but cashews and fruit on those long days. By the time I got back to the office I felt miserable, dizzy and completely zapped of energy.

I went to the Whole30 forum for help, asking for on-the-go meal ideas. I did get some good suggestions — take hard-boiled eggs, canned meats, and jerky. But, that didn’t sound sustainable to me, even for just 30 days. I typically don’t know what my work day will look like for 3 out of 5 days of the week. Somedays I get done with work at 5, somedays it’s at 8. I try to plan as best I can, but it becomes difficult to do when there are few meal options that can make it through the day without being refrigerated. Somedays that means reaching for an almond butter sandwich or a Jimmy John’s lettuce wrap instead of starving myself.

That’s why I’ve decided not to continue Whole30. James is so, so happy after seeing how zombie-like I was during the four days I lasted.

I have, however, learned some very important lessons from my short stint with the program that I’m trying to keep in mind and incorporate with my daily eating habits.

Sugar is in everything.

I’ve always been a label-reader when buying food, but sugar wasn’t always something I paid super close attention to. Now, I do. And, I’m appalled by how many products it’s added to. Why does chicken sausage require cane juice? Some frozen veggies and fruits have added sugar. And, just about any cereal you can think of is packed with at least 8 grams of the addictive stuff. This revelation has completely changed the way I grocery shop.

I eat way too many grains.

I had no idea how large of a percentage of my diet was made up of grains until I gave them up. Turns out I was eating them as part of every meal, everyday. That’s a problem. I’m trying to swap grains out for hearty salads or baked potatoes at meals to reduce my consumption. It hasn’t been too hard — my goal has been no more than two servings of grains per day.

You don’t always need that drink.

Some people say not drinking is the hardest part of Whole30, but I actually found that to be the easiest part of my diet to eliminate. While I love good beer and wine, it’s never something I couldn’t live without. I tend to reach for a drink mainly in social settings. The program was a good reminder that going out for drinks isn’t about the drinks themselves — it’s about the people you’re with.

I have a co-worker who is now on day six of Whole30., so I may ask her to do a guest post if you’re interested in hearing about her experience. Have you tried Whole30? How did it feel?

The post Why Whole 30 Isn’t For Me appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Today marks day one of Whole30 for me. If you’re not familiar with the program, it involves eliminating problematic foods from your diet in order to “reset” your body. It’s not supposed to be a diet, but a life-changing experience that changes people’s relationships with food. You spend 30 days eating foods that fit within the parameters of the program. No measuring, no calorie counting. Just eating fresh, whole foods.

It sounds easy, right? Until you realize that sugar is in everything and many of the convenience foods we all reach for aren’t allowed. Then, making such drastic changes can seem overwhelming. But, this line from the Whole30 website really stuck with me:

“Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Losing a parent is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You’ve done harder things than this, and you have no excuse not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.”

I can be extremely stubborn, so sometimes it takes tough love to get through to me. Those lines helped replace my fear with determination. I can totally do this. Thousands of other people have. They don’t have less busy schedules. They don’t have personal chefs. They don’t have it any easier. You can do just about anything for a period of only 30 days.

So I woke up this morning and choked down as much plain, black coffee as I could stomach (about two sips) and made a conscious decision to embark on what will hopefully be a life-changing month. Why am I doing Whole30? I just haven’t felt like myself lately — extremely tired, unmotivated, sluggish. And, I know a lot of that has to do with the crap I’ve been putting into my body. It’s time to change my relationship with food and start making my health a priority.

Do I hope to lose weight during the program? Sure, but that’s not the ultimate goal. I just want to start feeling healthy again.

Over the next 30 days I’ll share any recipes or strategies that I find helpful. But, I’ll try to limit my Whole30 check-ins to once a week so that’s not all you’re reading about.

To prepare for the program, I did some meal prep on Sunday night to make sure I had meals and snacks ready to go. Here are some of the foods I’ve been eating on day one:

I accidentally overslept and only had time to grab a bowl full of cherries for breakfast this morning. That meant I was starving by about 11 a.m. and broke into my lunch of spaghetti squash with meat sauce (ground beef, crushed tomatoes, fresh basil, fennel seeds, sweet peppers). I forgot how amazing spaghetti squash is. It was delicious!
Snacks have consisted of a whole lot of fruit. Luckily, we had a ton of fruit leftover from a Fourth of July party we hosted over the weekend. Having it already chopped and ready to eat makes such a difference!

Dinner turned out even better than I hoped. This is a dish I would eat even if I wasn’t doing Whole30. I marinated some thinly-sliced chicken breasts in coconut milk, curry powder, chipotle chile powder, fresh basil and salt. Popped the chicken on the grill and then roasted some sweet potatoes and sweet peppers with a little olive oil to serve alongside. The meal was completely satisfying and one I’m sure I’ll be making again sometime soon. James was happy with it, too!

Have you tried Whole30? What are your favorite recipes and tips?

The post Embarking On Whole30 appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.