10 Minute, 10 Ingredient, $10 Recipes

In times like these I go back to the simple things, and the question – What do I really need?

When times get quiet, we tend to fill empty with extra. Catch yourself. Don’t waste energy over eating. Don’t lose control eating junk. Don’t get stuck over drinking and then overeat as a result. Simple do not become victim to your food cabinet. The stress is not worth the instant gratification. Instead, get super present and feed your body what it asks for. Below are a few simple recipes I lean on that bring nutrition, comfort, and a bit of creativity because food made with love always tastes better.

Make magic out of Monotony

Ie your everyday pantry staples. Who doesn’t like a good game of Chopped?
Favorite pantry staples/ go tos? Canned Fish – sardines, mackerel, anchovies
Pasta Substitutes – Palmini hearts of palm, Banza chickpea, Cauliflower Right Rice

10 Minute Everything Seasoned Salmon

Salmon 4-6 oz. (fresh or frozen)

Sesame Oil (or oil of your choice)

Trader Joes Everything Bagel Seasoning

Lemon

If you have an air fryer, great! Heat to 400 degrees. (Or oven, heat to 350) Add salmon. Drizzle with sesame oil and everything seasoning. Cook for 7 -9 minutes. Remove. Squeeze lemon. Enjoy!
If you’re doing stove top, the secret to crispy skinned 🥥 salmon is super hot DRY pan. smokin. add salmon skin side down. Sprinkle everything seasoning. cover with lid. do not touch. after 2-3 minutes, add a knob of coconut oil. turn heat to medium + re-cover with lid for 2-3 minutes flip—so salmon cooks to perfect medium rare. Lemon 🍋 squeeze and zest. Eat.

Zucchini Eggplant Parmesan

Zucchini + Eggplant sliced in 1/3rds lengthwise, top to bottom
Canned tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Basil Leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice eggplant and zucchini lengthwise top to bottom. Microwave for 3 minutes to par cook. Can drain liquid if excess. In a baking dish put one layer eggplant and zucchini. Top with sauce. Add another layer until all vegetables are in the dish. Top with sauce, cheese, breadcrumbs and basil leaves . Bake 20 minutes until cheese browned and bubbling.

Butter Lettuce Sardine Salad

I like to get crafty and use everything I have, even the excess oil from the sardine can.

1 head butter lettuce
1 can sardines in oil (I like Bela in chile oil)
Lemon
Fresh herbs
Dijon mustard
Cracked pepper

Tear a head of butter lettuce into a bowl. Top with fresh herbs. Remove sardines from can and reserve oil. In a small bowl combine Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in sardine oil and 2 tbsp olive oil if needed. Toss salad with vinaigrette and cracked pepper. Top with sardines. Serve.

Something Sweet but not Super Sinful

Banana (can use with other fruits: apple, pear, squash, sweet potato, berries)
Coconut Oil
Vanilla or Almond Extract
Cinnamon
Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder OR Protein Powder (vanilla chai, chocolate, etc).
2 tbsp Milk: Oat, Almond, Vanilla Blueberry Milk, Coconut
Chopped Dates, Coconut Flakes, Cacao Nibs, Melted Peanut Butter *optional

I love chocolate BUT I also like to keep it clean. Low sugar or natural sugar so FRUIT, any fruit. Roasted in oven or I prefer air fryer. Banana for 7 minutes. Remove and squeeze out of skin and into bowl. Add a touch of coconut oil for fat. Add toppings of choice: almond or vanilla extract to bring out flavor. Cinnamon or Cocoa Powder. A bit of milk to make more creamy (pudding like). Protein powder optional but sometimes fun for extra flavor / sweetness.Stir until becomes pudding like texture (can add more liquid or less). Top with toppings if you so choose but sometimes just nice as is. Mix and match> Still keep it clean, enjoy. #livdelicious

7 Minute Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Salsa Verde

I like to par cook my potatoes in microwave and prefer sweet potatoes to white potatoes. Either work. Prick potatoes with a form. Pop in microwave for 2-3 minutes depend on size. Remove and using the back of a pan or a knife, flatten so skin cracks. In a castiron pan, heat olive oil high until smoking, add potatoes in single layer to pan so edges start to brown. Flip. Serve with salt + cracked pepper. If you have fresh herbs on hand – anything: parsley particularly: chop with ¼ cup olive oil, onion/garlic/shallot (can use onion garlic powder), lemon juice squeeze, and chopped anchovy if on hand.

Curried Cauliflower Rice with Chickpeas

**can sub rice here too.

In a saute pan, heat olive oil with 1 tsp of fresh or dried ginger. Add 1 tbsp of curry powder and 1 clove of chopped garlic. Heat until fragrant. Pan should start to smoke. Add cauliflower rice to pan and stir so spices integrate. Drain small can of chickpeas, add to pan to mix evenly. Scoop into bowl and serve. For added creaminess, add a heaping tablespoon of plain green yogurt, squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley.

Cauliflower Gnocchi with Coconut + Ginger

Trader Joes Cauliflower Gnocchi (can you any gnocchi / cook according to package)

Veggies of choice (Cauliflower, broccoli, frozen peas)
Baby Spinach
Coconut Oil
Ginger
Turmeric OR Curry Powder
Baby Spinach
Lemon
Air Fryer.

Use the settings on the air fryer to fry gnocchi and cauliflower until crisp AFTER tossing with any sort of oil. In a saute pan, melt coconut oil with ginger and spice of choosing. Let it get heated. Wilt the spinach. Toss in the cauli gnocchi and florets. Make sure the oil + spice + ginger gets all into the cauli. You want this to work as a sauce. Can add some chicken or veggie stock or even coconut amino acids atop for more juice. Squeeze of lemon + some zest. Eat.

Spicy Glazed Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Think buffalo wings, sweet, sticky, spicy eaten with your hands, but healthy. With cauliflower instead of chicken, roasted on high heat until just tender but still crunchy on the outside.

1 Head Cauliflower, external leaves removed.
Sesame Oil
Fresh Thyme
Salt, Pepper or Everything Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joes
Honey Mustard
Lemon
Spicy Chile Sauce (trader joes or another brand) can use other hot sauce as well.
¼ cup EVOO 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Par boil, steam in double boiler or microwave cauliflower on high for 2 minutes to get tender. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme, seasoning. If using an air fryer, roast for 15 minutes. If using traditional over, roast for 15-20 minutes until fork tender. Should be tender enough to pull apart with your hands. While roasting, in a separate bowl combine 1-2 tablespoons honey mustard, 1 tbsp Calabrian chile sauce (depending on how much heat you want), generous squeeze of lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk until emulsified to make dressing. Remove cauliflower from oven. Drizzle with honey mustard chile sauce. Serve whole, to be pulled apart and enjoyed by hand. For less mess, cut cauliflower into florets before roasting, and toss with sauce. Serve.