My sister in law sent me a pin of this recipe that she made and loved recently and I couldn’t get it out of my mind, it looked like my kind of soup. Of course, I don’t usually have the ingredients I need to make recipes when I’m ready to make them – let’s just say that I’m a natural and determined improviser when I’m hungry or in the mood to cook.

This Beef and Tomato Vegetable Soup is the perfect example of using whatever ingredients you have on hand to make something delicious and good for you too.

Cooking with Swiss Chard

I have been swooning over all the pretty Swiss chard I’ve been seeing in the grocery store and decided to add it to this soup. Swiss chard reminds me of my grandpa, he introduced it to me from his garden – he grew a ton of it every summer. I love how versatile it is, I tend to treat it like I do spinach or kale by adding it to soups like this or simply sautéing it as a side dish.

To prepare swiss card, simply fold longways and cut away the leafy part away from the stem. From there you can roll up the large chard leaves and slice into ribbons. Chop the stems separately. (Check out this post for a visual graphic on how to prepare swiss chard!)

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Click here to pin this Beef and Egg Tortilla Skillet recipe!

Breakfast for dinner is always a treat, especially for me because it comes together so quick and easy. Needless to say, this Beef and Egg Tortilla Skillet is perfect as we are adjusting to back to school and busy weeknight mode.

One thing I’m learning as far as getting dinner on the table quickly is to prep as much as possible ahead of time. For instance, if you have the opportunity to brown some lean ground meat or chop some veggies while you are cooking another meal it truly saves so many precious minutes on the days you need them the most. When I am on my A-game I like to have a few bagfuls of browned ground beef or turkey measured out and stored in Ziplocs in the freezer for easy tacos, tostadas or meat sauce (I measure them out into 2 cups per bag usually). These bags of pre-cooked meat come in especially handy on nights you don’t have a meal planned or are just short on time and are looking to wing it with what you have on hand.

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Something a little different for today…I want to introduce you all to a blogger that I enjoy reading for so many reasons – Olena of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. If you are unfamiliar with Olena’s blog then you are in for a treat. Her blog is FILLED with delicious recipes that are healthy, clean and family friendly (and if you can’t already tell – gorgeous). I relate to Olena in many ways…we are both moms striving to be healthier versions of ourselves (with nutrition and exercise) and are focused on feeding our families the best we can. She is very down to earth and real, which I love and admire. You can read more about Olena, her interesting background (she’s Ukrainian and lives in Vancouver), food philosophy and passion for healthy living here.

Also, after the recipe below you’ll find a giveaway for her Clean Quick Dinner Recipes eBook – we are giving away 3 copies so be sure to enter. Thank you so much for being here today sharing your Clean Eating Half Meatless Marinara Sauce recipe Olena! (my kind of eating!!)

Hey guys. My name is Olena and I am an author of iFOODreal – Delicious Clean Eating recipes blog. Besides eating real and “clean” food, our family believes in eating local, organic and sustainable food as much as possible. Also recently we cut back consumption of animal products significantly, started to focus more on plants and meat became more of a side (as much as it makes sense). Healthier for us and for the planet.

Today’s recipe is a great representation of that – hearty, saucy and full of flavour. Ground meat of choice makes only 1/3 of the traditional Italian marinara sauce and the rest are lentils. Black lentils to be exact, which begin to be widely available. Lentils are high in fibre and rich in protein. Besides health benefits, substituting meat for lentils saves you quite a few dollars. I paid $2.50 for 2 cups of organic dry lentils at my local farm market. So, keep your eyes open next time you are grocery shopping.

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Are you all familiar with Instagram? I know some of you are (since I follow a few of you who follow this blog). Instagram, for those of you who don’t know, is a fun little photo-inspired social media hang out. It’s a happy place, a community of some sort, where you can keep up with others (and vice versa) through the eyes of the camera on your phone. And if you aren’t into the whole sharing thing, it’s all good because there’s also a private option which enables you to use all the creative filters Instagram offers without having to make those photos public. Fun stuff.

So what does Instagram have to do with this Stuffed Cabbage Casserole? Well, I’ve met some pretty cool people through Instagram, not sure how honestly, but I can tell you if you post any picture that happens to do with food, healthy living, the beach or flowers then I pretty much get sucked in. I follow a gal named Powercakes on Instagram and have spent some time exploring her blog lately. It’s full of fitness inspiration as well as really great clean recipes, one of which inspired this version of Stuffed Cabbage Casserole.

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