This recipe for Strawberry Almond Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.

I’ve been wanting to make baked oatmeal for as long as I can remember. I could tell by the recipes I’ve found online that I would love it, mostly because of it’s texture. I’ve mentioned before, I’m more of a savory breakfast girl (eggs!) but I do enjoy a bowl of oatmeal or overnight oats every now and then. It’s so good for you and lucky for me, my kids love it too.

Baked oatmeal is exactly what it is – prepared oatmeal, baked instead of cooked on the stove top. I love using steel cut oats when I can, but I had a feeling that they could be tricky in a recipe for baked oatmeal because of their heartier texture and cook time. After doing a little research, I decided to follow Lisa’s method of baking steel cut oatmeal, and it turned out wonderfully.

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These Tropical Overnight Oats were created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.

For the most part, I’m a savory egg and toast kind of breakfast girl. When the weather warms up though, I go through phases of cold and sweet fruit-filled breakfast cravings, specifically overnight oats like these Tropical Overnight Oats I’ve been enjoying this week. I don’t remember exactly when I started making overnight oats, but I’ve been hooked for some time now. I love saving the last of peanut butter jars for an extra special breakfast concoction that I can’t wait to dig into after I get home from the gym in the morning. Seriously so so good.

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(This post is part of the #ThinkRice campaign that I am participating in as a member of the Healthy Aperture network, sponsored by USA Rice.)

Happy Spring!! I don’t know about you, but Spring is most definitely my favorite season of the year. Depending on where you live, the weather has warmed up (we hit the 90s last week – too warm!) and when the weather is nice like it has been I just crave good, light, fresh food. No offense to winter comfort food, but I am so done with all that. Bring on the crunchy veggies, fresh fruit, all things grilled and my current favorite obsession – grain salads! This Caprese Rice Salad screams fresh, warm weather food and was enjoyed along side our favorite grilled chicken.

I know tomatoes are technically a summer food, but here in Florida they are pretty much available all the time. Especially the smaller varieties like cherry tomatoes, which happen to be one of my favorites. They are sweet and bite sized and are perfect for salads like this one.

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The recipe for Asian Almond Slaw Salad was developed in partnership with Fisher Nuts.

Anyone have Spring Fever yet? I think it’s safe to say always have spring fever, for the most part. Our weather situation in Florida is nothing to complain about but I cherish the small pocket of time it feels like spring here, which is right about now. I spent most of this last weekend in the yard trimming landscaping and planning for flowers. Cleaning up my herb pots is next on the list. Nothing feels as good to me as a few hours of work in the sunshine (when it’s not sweltering hot).

This is the time of year that I am also ready to get back in the salad. I say that all the time but January is just not a big salad month for me, and I have to be honest, I’m missing raw, crunchy veggies in my life right now. I pulled together this Asian Almond Slaw Salad in honor of getting back in the salad and sharing a heart healthy recipe with you since February is American Heart Month. I think it’s safe to say you already know that fresh fruits and veggies are considered heart healthy foods, but did you know that nuts are too?

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This recipe was created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.

My children have pretty big appetites. I feel like they are always eating – as I’m clearing up one meal they are already asking for a snack. I’m not going to say this bothers me in the least, seeing their love of eating definitely makes my Italian mama heart happy. But, it can be a challenge to keep up with having smart, healthy snacks always available for them so they don’t turn to junk. I typically offer them yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit, pretzels or granola bars…but they do get bored.

I wanted to try out a new kind of snack on my kids a couple of weeks ago while we were off school for a long holiday weekend. My kids LOVE parfaits, and ask for them all the time. They keep me on my toes in the granola making department that’s for sure, I really don’t make it often enough for them (we go through it so fast when I do make it!). Instead of parfaits this time, I offered them a plate of Blueberry Almond Oatmeal Bites served along with a bowl of Greek yogurt drizzled with honey. Fancy, huh? It actually took less effort than making 2 parfaits!

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I’ve mentioned before that I’m a little obsessed with these baby bell peppers I’ve been finding at the grocery store. They are the perfect size in my opinion, making these Mini Mexican Stuffed Peppers a great side dish for our dinner the other night. I’d like to think they would be a nice hearty option for an appetizer too, especially during football season. A plate of these, alongside some quesadillas and chips and guacamole and you’ve got yourself a nice fiesta spread. I’m always a big fan of fiesta food.

To stuff these little peppers, I used Bush’s Beans line of Latin inspired preseasoned beans, Cocina Latina. The Frijoles Negros Machacados variety is reminiscent of refried black beans and are absolutely delicious. They are great on their own, served with rice, or would make a nice filling for tacos, quesadillas or enchiladas too.

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Summer food truly does make me happy. Living in Florida, I do feel lucky that our summer food season is already among us with beautiful and colorful fruits and veggies already popping up in the grocery stores and produce markets. I am always more inspired by warm weather produce, mostly because when it comes to cooking, I admittedly tend to have a lazier approach and enjoy fresh, simplistic recipes that are fruit and veggie heavy – think salads, smoothies & anything that can be cooked on the grill.

I’m excited to be partnering up with Produce For Kids today to help promote their new summer e-cookbook, Simply Summer: 20 Fresh Cookout Recipes – this e-cookbook is now available so be sure to get your free copy! Today’s Peach Pie Smoothie recipe is from Simply Summer and it showcases one of my favorite summer fruits – peaches!

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This Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

Is it safe to say spring has sprung everywhere yet? I always have a bit of spring guilt here in Florida. Technically our best “spring” weather is back in January and February and even March when the rest of the country is freezing.

By mid April we are starting to see the 90s…just the other day our heat index was (wait for it…) 101 degrees! What in the world. It’s a bit early for triple digit heat indexes but I won’t complain ever. #ILoveFlorida

With warmer spring weather comes cravings for warm weather food, am I right? Salads, salads and more salads. Some grilling too. This is my favorite food season of the year, though I think spring food and summer food are very closely tied.

This April Produce Guide caught my eye the other day and inspired this Spring Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts – beets, arugula and citrus all scream spring, don’t they? Topping your salad with goat cheese, walnuts and a homemade Toasted Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette is never a bad thing either, whatever month or season we are in.

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Click here to Pin these Oven Baked Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas!

This sheet pan quesadilla recipe was created in partnership with Bush’s Beans.

For the last few weeks I’ve been really making an effort to write out, shop for, and follow a meal plan during the week. It’s worked wonders for us. The question of what to make for dinner is no longer an issue, and I feel more prepared each day. It’s definitely a habit I’m trying to stick with.

At least one night a week we squeeze in a Mexican themed meal. If it’s a particularly busy night I’ll even turn that Mexican meal into a meatless one to save the extra steps involved to cook up the meat. I always have cans of beans on hand, and if it was up to me, it would be my protein of choice on most nights. Mexican nights are the perfect nights for a good, easy meatless recipe if you ask me!

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This Walnut and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

Stuffed mushrooms are an appetizer that always grabs my attention at a party. If you are a mushroom lover, like me, you probably feel the same. The ideas for stuffing mushrooms are endless, so many combinations to play with, a couple of my personal favorites are these Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms and these Spinach and Toasted Pine Nut Stuffed Mushrooms. Well, you can officially add these Walnut and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms to my favorites list.

The ingredients for the stuffing are simple, which is always best. When I was in NY with Fisher Nuts and Chef Alex last month I was so inspired by the use of such simple and fresh ingredients in all the recipes we tasted. One of my favorite recipes I was able to try was Chef Alex’s Walnut Stuffed Cherry Halves. These little bites included walnuts, arugula, Parmesan and balsamic vinegar and were true perfection. Chef Alex mentioned that she likes to use arugula in recipes as she would an herb and that really stuck with me. I am a huge lover of arugula salads but was inspired to use arugula a little different this time when I included it in the Walnut and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushroom recipe.

The mushrooms come together pretty easily and can be prepped ahead and cooked later. Just stuff them as you would, and place them carefully in a large tupperware container until you are ready to cook and serve. They cooked up fast, in just 10 minutes, so they are a great to serve to friends and family if you are entertaining over the holidays. They are also vegetarian which is always a nice option to have so that everyone can enjoy them.

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