Years ago, I discovered this Green Bean Salad with Feta recipe in a Southern Living magazine and made it pretty much every time there was a family get together or pot luck. I was obsessed with it and it became my signature recipe (at least in my mind). I love green beans, more so in a salad form than any other way. Especially in the summertime.

I decided to turn my beloved Green Bean Salad into this Lemony Green Bean Pasta Salad, making it more of a meal. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate pasta salads during the summer because it means not having to really cook if you aren’t in the mood for anything too heavy. This green bean pasta salad is simple but filled with so much flavor. It includes veggies, walnuts, feta and whole wheat pasta so it is filling and substantial in the best way possible. I made the switch to whole wheat pasta over 10 years ago and it’s all my family eats now, but feel free to use your favorite type of pasta.

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I’m a sucker for chicken salad and love having it for quick lunches and dinners, especially in the summer when cooking a hot meal for dinner isn’t always appealing.

This Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt was inspired by one of the coaches at my gym who got me craving chicken salad so bad at 6am recently that I immediately came home and made this for my parents who were coming over for lunch that day. I love people who can talk about food passionately in the early morning while pushing through burpees, squats, push ups, box jumps and all others forms of self inflicted torture in the spirit of fitness and health.

These are my kind of people.

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Click here to pin this Shrimp and Avocado Pasta recipe!

If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty obsessed with avocado. So much that I have a board on Pinterest solely dedicated to all things avocado. There are so many ways to enjoy avocado from the infamous avocado toast to using it as a substitute for mayonnaise in tuna salad or this chickpea salad. Of course, taco night would not be complete without avocado, but we already knew that.

My love affair with avocado continues and has evolved with this light and fresh, but hearty Shrimp and Avocado Pasta dish.

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This post was sponsored by Sabra.

Hey, do you know what today is? National Hummus Day! Let’s celebrate with some … hummus, of course (and a coupon – get your couon here – available today only!).

I don’t know about you but when I’m asked to bring an appetizer, or if I’m having people over for a get-together, a veggie plate is a no-brainer when it comes to figuring out what food I’m going to put out to snack on. A veggie plate with hummus, that is. (I love how Sabra refers to this as the #UnofficialMeal, it really is!). Sometimes I make my own, but most of the time I grab my favorite Sabra flavor or spruce up my own version using their classic – like I did today with this Lemon Pepper Hummus.

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It’s all about you today Liz, SURPRISE!!! I am so so excited to share with you this recipe today in honor of my dear friend Liz of The Lemon Bowl and her soon to be baby boy! A group of bloggers and I are getting together to shower Liz with lots of love, well wishes and of course food…food that is themed around Liz’s all time favorite ingredient – lemon. Thanks so much to Rachel, Kristen and Sheila for hosting this for our friend!!

I connected with Liz sometime last year through our blogs and I’m so glad we did because I can honestly say she is one of my most dearest friends in my life today. We share a lot in common, including a passion for healthy living and cooking. The more I have gotten to know Liz, the more I felt like I’ve known her 20 years – she’s one of those people that is always positive, down to earth and just great to be around. She’s good people. And…the girl can cook!!! I swear every time I ask her what’s she’s having for dinner I basically drop my plan and end up making the same. We are definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to food.

And apparently babies, since Liz’s little boy is due just a short time after my little boy. 🙂 It’s been an absolute pleasure to be “preggo buddies”  the last 9 months. I’m not sure I could have stayed sane without her!

(Liz and I at Food Blog Forum at Disney earlier this year)

Knowing Liz, and her love of good, healthy food and fresh flavors of the Mediterranean, I put together a dish that I would serve her if she was actually over hanging out with me. This Kalamata Olive and Feta Dip is Greek yogurt based and includes a good pinch of a spice that Liz introduced me to called za’atar. And of course, it has some lemon.

The pita chips I served it with are baked up with some olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. I got my daughter involved in the preparation of them by having her brush olive oil over the pita triangles and sprinkling the seasoning over each piece before baking up. Brushing olive oil on ingredients has become my daughter’s thing lately, I have not always been great about getting my kids involved in the kitchen so it’s fun to provide my little girl with a go-to job that is helpful and I know she can handle. No dip plate is complete without fresh crunchy veggies (and I think Liz would agree) so sliced radishes and cucumbers joined the party and were the perfect accompaniment for this delicious snack.

This Kalamata Olive and Feta Dip with Lemon Pepper Pita Chips made for a great munchie during one of our Saturday afternoons watching the Gators play. I can’t wait to make it again!

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I’ve heard my friend Maria mention her favorite go-to lunch being her Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich more than a few times. Every time she mentions this avocado sandwich I immediately begin to crave it, but for whatever reason, I have never actually gotten around to making it for myself. Don’t you hate when that happens?

The other day Dara asked the question “what are some of your favorite go-to lunch ideas?” on her Facebook page and after seeing Maria’s comment about what hers was, I figured it was finally time to make it for myself – especially since I had nothing planned for lunch but happen to have an avocado and a can a chickpeas in the pantry (like I pretty much always do).

I didn’t have everything I needed to make it exactly how Maria does, but I improvised and used what I had in my kitchen. The fresh whole wheat bread from the bakery and the zippy arugula along with the lemony smashed chickpea and avocado mixture made this sandwich one of my favorite lunches I’ve had in a long time. As a matter of fact, I’m having it for lunch again this week.

I don’t recommend waiting as long as I did to try it. 😉

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Do you remember that amazing Cucumber and Feta Greek Yogurt Dip I posted about last week? Well, it’s back. It’s back in the form of a “sauce” that elevated what started as very everyday broiled fish and veggies for dinner into a pita sandwich that just screamed – awesome.

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Is it possible to fall in love with food? I feel like I’ve asked this question a few times before.

I fell in love with this pizza. Totally took me by surprise, though not sure why since it’s pretty straight forward why – grilled vegetables, pizza crust, cheese and lemon pepper. Does it get much better?

I can most definitely eat like this every day.

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As I’m sure most of you can relate, we get into dinner funks around these parts. I start cooking the same stuff week after week, for the sake of ease and also for the sake of not listening to complaints from the peanut gallery if I can be honest. My kids eat pretty well, it’s something I work on with them, but they have their favorites and we often tend to stick with lots of variations of their favorites (pasta, pasta, broccoli, and pasta…chicken).

Hellmann’s recently contacted me about their Chicken Change Up Campaign and I have to say, I thought the timing was quite appropriate. I needed something new to try out on the kids, and the Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe stood out to me as something everyone would enjoy.

I was right.

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