OUR TABLE || HALLOWEEN SNACK MIX

Hip hip hooray! It's here! Halloween marks the first holiday into the 'holiday season'!

Two of my favorite things about the holiday season are food and fun festivities. And I love even more when the two are combined!

So here we have it. With today being Halloween Eve, what better time to share this festive Halloween snack mix concoction that of course too can be nibbled upon all Fall. Mmm... Mmm... Good!!

Ingredients:

Muddy Buddies - recipe here

Pretzels

Cinnamon Life

Whole Grain Goldfish

Craisins

Peanut M&Ms

Reese's Pieces

Candy Corn (of course!)

The sweet and salty combination is calling your name!

I mean it sure did call mine because this mix is now g o n e. Yep. Time to make a second batch :)

I'm so excited for this weekend and all of the fun that is to come! Costumes, candy, and good friends. 

Happy Friday + Happy Halloween {Eve}!!

xoxo

-Brittney

OUR TABLE || QUINOA + BLACK BEAN STUFFED PEPPERS

Easy dinner meals?? YES please!!

And here's one of my favorites. Stuffed peppers!

This is such a quick, easy, go-to meal around our house. I generally have these ingredients on hand, so when it's one of those nights where a meal wasn't planned (or there was a change in plans) I can whip these babies together in no time! And the bonus.. I don't need a side to go with them because... veggie, check. protein, check. whole grain, check. Now that's what I'm talkin' about! This here recipe covers T H R E E major food groups. Stuffed peppers really are an all in one.

**Disclaimer: now it definitely isn't the 'prettiest' of meals I've made, but let me tell ya, they are so so so good. Don't let the looks deceive you ;)

Ingredient List:

3 bell peppers (any color)

1 small onion diced

2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice (I use a quinoa rice blend from Costco)

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Shredded parmesan cheese

--Preheat oven to 350.

--Cut bell peppers in half and clean out seeds/stems.

--In a bowl combine cooked quinoa/rice, drained & rinsed black beans, diced onion, and seasonings.

--Spoon pepper halves full of quinoa/bean mixture.

--Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

--Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

How easy is that??!

The peppers get cooked just enough to where their flavors have come out, but yet they haven't gotten too soft. I'm a texture person and too soft/over cooked veggies make me wanna gag. So with 10 minutes in the oven, these babies have reached perfection!

Really you could use just about any sort of ingredients to stuff your peppers. Diced or shredded chicken.. Ground turkey breast.. Various beans & veggies. Get creative!

xoxo

-Brittney

OUR TABLE || CRANBERRY PEAR KALE SALAD

FOOD.

What is life without good food? Am I right? :)

Of course being a dietitian, I am all about getting that 'good, nutritious food'.
Now I don't know about you, but I often get stumped on the veggie side dishes for dinner. I don't like to make it anything too complicated. So often I just go with the same 'ol things. steamed or roasted veggies. lettuce with tomato (and maybe cucumber too if we're really going to get after it). and this summer, lots of corn on the cob.
Now don't get me wrong, those are all still great sides and quick, easy 'go-tos' that I can throw together in a matter of minutes with hardly putting a thought into it. BUT sometimes I just need some variety! but I need it to be something just as quick and easy. because I just made the entree and I'm not about to spend an hour on a side dish. You agree?!
With that... I made this salad the other night to accommodate our lasagna. I tell ya. It was better than I ever could have imagined. The flavors were spot on. and it literally took 5 minutes. if that.

Ingredient List:
Kale
Fresh, ripe pear
Dried Cranberries
Feta cheese crumbles
Sky Valley Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette

-Roughly chop kale.
-Thinly slice pear.
-Top prepared kale with pear, dried cranberries, and feta.
-Lightly drizzle with dressing.
and that's it! So easy, yet the flavors just explode with every bite. 

This dressing is my new favorite. Purchased at Fred Meyer in the refrigerated produce section.
Nothing fancy, but so pretty! (pre dressing here)

Enjoy! :)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

OUR TABLE || MAKE AHEAD BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

So we all know the answer to this common question... 

'What is the most important meal of the day?'

'Duh.. Breakfast!'

Ok, but the real question.. How many of us actually eat a good, substantial breakfast to start out our day? Here's the answer for ya. Only 34%!

and the number one answer as to why the majority of us don't eat breakfast... 'not enough time'

Ok. I get that. Mornings are busy! So much to do before running out of the house. Eating breakfast just looses it's priority when we're talking 'real life'. We just don't take the time to stop for 10 minutes and eat. We have to go. and we have to go now.

Well I have a solution for you. These make ahead breakfast sandwiches take 1 minute, 30 seconds to heat up in the microwave. Grab a piece of fruit while it heats up, and you'll be out the door with a nutritious breakfast in hand. Good, whole food that will put you on the right foot at the start of your day.

Ingredient List:

12 - 100% whole wheat english muffins

1 dozen fresh eggs

12 slices of cheese (I sliced, from a block, Tillamook sharp yellow cheddar)

24 slices canadian bacon (or any other meat you choose)

Open your english muffins and lay them out on baking sheets.

Place them in a 250 degree oven for 10 minutes.

While your muffs are toasting, cook your eggs.

I like to use this individual - english-muffin-sized pan. Heat the egg until one side is cooked, and then flip it with a small spatula to cook the other side. You could also cook half of the eggs at a time in a large skillet and then cut that into 6ths (if you can picture it, they would be triangle shaped - kinda like a piece of pie!). Then repeat for the other 6 eggs. 

But this pan just makes them perfectly round and pleases my OCD :)

Here are all of my eggs once I was done cooking all 12.

Get your meat and cheese ready.

Now start assembling!

Once you have all 12 sandwiches assembled and put together, leave them on the baking sheets and place them flat in the freezer until cooled. About 15 minutes.

Now wrap each sandwich in a paper towel and place them in gallon size freezer bags. Zip 'em up. Toss the bags in the freezer.

And that's it, you're done!

Now when you need a good, quick, easy breakfast, just pull one of these out. Pop it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes (left in the paper towel), and ta-da! You're on your way!

On those busy mornings, you will thank yourself for having made these ahead of time.

We love having these on hand. I will sometimes mix it up with the type of cheese or meat. To add a little extra nutrition, you could thrown some bell peppers or spinach on the sandwich before you heat it up.

I made a bunch of these sandwiches before Harper was born, towards the end of my pregnancy. And I was so thankful I had! It was vital that I get good, nutritious foods in that initial time of breastfeeding and taking care of a newborn. These sandwiches were something filling that I could quickly heat up. Sometimes even for lunch or dinner.

Enjoy! Let me know if you give them a try :) You will not regret it!
You may want to double the recipe as these tend to get eaten up quite quickly!

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

OUR TABLE || BBQ CHICKEN TOSTADAS

Mmm... Dinner time!

One of my favorite times of the day. Not only do I get to spend some time in the kitchen preparing our meal (which I love), but it's time to eat (really.. I mean who doesn't love to eat!). Sitting down at the dinner table as a family at the end of the day, enjoying our meal together while having family time.. to me, there's just not much better than that.

I just love trying new foods and recipes. Ok, that's only half true. I love trying new recipes where I'm preparing foods that I know I like, but in different ways :) The trying of new foods... well that's somewhere that I really fall short. and as a dietitian, I'm not proud. but I tell ya, that list of 'dislikes' really isn't too long! I'm working to shorten the list, but here it is as of today: fish, bananas, cooked fruit (except for in apple pie of course), and sweet potatoes. I know... all healthy foods that I should like. but there are so many other foods that I do like, that I find plenty of options.

Moving on... :) the bbq chicken tostadas we had for dinner just the other night. Goodness gracious, they were gooood! and the other bonus, they were oh so easy! Thank heavens for the good ol' crockpot.

I had seen a recipe on pinterest for some bbq chicken tostadas but made some modifications for my own creation. and I mean, just how delicious do they look?!

Ingredient List:

2 lbs chicken breast

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce - try it!)

1/2 cup fat-free refried beans

romaine lettuce

tomato

shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (Tillamook)

corn tortillas

--Place chicken in crockpot + evenly pour 1/4 cup of bbq sauce over chicken. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Leaving in crockpot, shred chicken with two forks. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of bbq sauce. Keep warm.

--Preheat oven to 350. Place tortillas on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray tortillas with olive oil (I use a Misto oil sprayer filled with olive oil). Bake in oven for 15 minutes. 

--Top the (now baked) tortillas with the refried beans, chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and drizzle a little extra sauce on top.

Yummy in that tummy!

The flavor was just to.die.for.

and what's better?! We had enough for leftovers to have a second meal the next night. For me, a meal that provides enough for a second night, that's all the better! Although I do love cooking, to have a night of simple preparation.. I'm all for it.

This would also be great just prepared as tacos too, rather than the tostadas. The crunch from the tostadas was a great added texture though. Another great option would be to top the chicken over a bed of lettuce to make a great salad. or even, this chicken in a quesadilla. the possibilities are endless.

A meal this good and this easy, I don't know anyone who wouldn't sign right up.

This one will definitely be thrown into the rotation to be had again in our house!

Eat up!

xoxo

-Brittney