Pin this Chicken Pear and Avocado Salad recipe for later!

Originally published October 27, 2014

Since summer, my husband and I have been really working hard at eating well and losing weight (using a Fitbit and tracking in My Fitness Pal). I can’t tell you how much easier and more motivating it is to accomplish this when you have a partner. Especially when your partner lives in your house and is your husband.

It’s one thing for me to make healthy choices just for myself…but when I know that my cooking and meal prep also helps my husband achieve his healthy living goals, well for some reason that pushes me a little more. I know he appreciates it too.

This salad. This chicken and pear salad with avocado and walnuts is a product of our healthy living partnership.

(more…)

The post Chicken Pear and Avocado Salad appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Hi there!

My name is Liz Shaw, fellow blogger at Shaw’s Simple Swaps, and healthy fit foodie.
I’m honored to be here today to chat with you! I had the pleasure of meeting Aggie at the Blog Brulee sponsored trip earlier this year and grew to love her even more than I did online (is that possible?)
Anyways, as a registered dietitian nutritionist, I’m always on the hunt for simple swaps I can incorporate into those delightful holiday recipes to make the perfect homemade gift. Nothing screams the holiday season like a gift from the heart, right?

Plus, I love it when I can show friends that REAL food tastes good and is GOOD for them too!

So, in the spirit of the season, here are three #shawsimpleswap tips to inspire you to build your own DIY healthy holiday gifts for teachers, friends and family this year.

(more…)

The post DIY Healthy Holiday Gifts {Guest Post: Shaw’s Simple Swaps} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I’ve been intrigued by wheat berries for some time now and finally have gotten around to getting my hands on some. You all know how I feel about salads, so it was only natural for me to use them to bulk up a salad I was craving recently – a salad that had to include arugula, grapes, nuts and a little goat cheese.

Let me officially introduce you to my new favorite salad – Wheat Berry and Arugula Salad with Grapes and Nuts.

This month’s Recipe ReDux happens to be dedicated to all things nuts, and this salad is perfect for showcasing them and all their goodness. The Recipe ReDux is a recipe challenge group started by registered dietitians and is focused on keeping healthy recipes delicious (as they should be, right?). I have loved being a part of this monthly challenge and have discovered so many new health focused blogs because of it (see recipe roundup at the bottom of this post to check out more recipes and blogs).

(more…)

The post Wheat Berry and Arugula Salad with Grapes and Nuts appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Balance out any entertaining menu with this crunchy, delicious and healthy Apple, Celery and Walnut Salad – one of my favorites!

(This post is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.)

Are you planning out your menu for Super Bowl still? I am. There are so many great recipes and ideas floating around, it’s hard to narrow down. I usually figure it out last minute, like the day of. Of course, if I was having a party this year I probably would have started a little planning by now.

I do know this. As much as I love indulgent food when I’m watching football, I also like to balance things out with not so indulgent food. Salads aren’t typical Super Bowl or football watching food but I can guarantee you that if you are entertaining or just hanging out at home, this Apple, Celery and Walnut Salad will be much appreciated by those who are working hard at keeping that healthy balance this time of year. I find that I’m usually the salad maker and bringer when it comes to parties or get togethers, are you surprised?

(more…)

The post Apple, Celery and Walnut Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

You know I’m all about salads. I am usually inspired by whatever ingredients I have in my fridge, but usually the basics often include the trifecta of fresh greens, cheese and nuts. It’s just a no-brainer to an awesome salad mix in my opinion. Add in any extra veggies or fruit and you are set.

I happen to come upon plenty of grapefruit regularly around this time of year, my grandpa’s tree is an amazing producer and I love that he sends me home with large bags of them whenever I see him during the grapefruit months. My mom just brought me some this past weekend and I couldn’t help but remember this simple grapefruit vinaigrette I made a couple of years ago. I ate this Spinach and Pistachio Salad pretty often drizzled with that bright vinaigrette and I’m ready to make it again. Like today, for lunch.

(more…)

The post Spinach and Pistachio Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

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.

(more…)

The post Walnut and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I have been really enjoying reading all of your entries to my Favorite Things / Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! It sounds like a lot of you want to use the gift card to purchase Christmas gifts, but books (yay!), stand up mixers, fitbits and even a few sewing machines are making the list too. You have all week to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already, and don’t forget to check out the other 14 blogger hosted Favorite Things giveaways too (prizes range from more gift cards, a fit bit and lots of kitchen items!).

One of my favorite “Feel Good” meals is broiled salmon and veggies. It really doesn’t get much healthier than that does it? I haven’t been cooking as much fish as I used because my son can’t eat it. We haven’t had him officially tested yet, but we think he has an allergy. I usually end up cooking fish on nights that I have leftovers of something else that I can give him for dinner so that I don’t have to prepare two separate main courses. The rest of us love fish so I am making an effort to plan better so that we can have it regularly again.

The best thing about fish dinners like this almond crusted honey mandarin salmon are how quickly they cook up, usually in just about 10-15 minutes!

Turn on the broiler and prepare a salad or saute some vegetables while your fish cooks and you have yourself the perfect “Feel Good” healthy dinner.

I don’t know about you, but this time of year, I need more of these types of healthy meals to balance out the other types of meals. You know, those indulgent ones that tend to creep up every other day or so during the holidays. 😉

For this easy broiled salmon recipe, I used the juice of a couple of mandarin oranges (or are they clementines, I have always called them clementines – what is the difference?) that are starting to pop up in crates in the grocery store. We eat them like crazy at our house and I am so happy to see that they are back in season! I combined the juice with some honey, smoked paprika and crunchy almonds for a flavorful, light coating and sauce.

I served this Honey Mandarin Salmon with Almond Crust with a simple spinach salad with red onion, feta and vinaigrette – it was delicious!

(more…)

The post Almond Crusted Honey Mandarin Salmon appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This post is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

Well friends, I’ve jumped on the rotisserie chicken bandwagon, if there is even such a thing. I have never been a big purchaser of rotisserie chicken, only because I’ve always been too lazy to deal with all the bones and such, but I guess you can say my perspective has changed.

Having a freshly precooked chicken available to me is definitely convenient and a huge time saver. The last few weeks I’ve been picking up a chilled rotisserie from the deli and making chicken salad with it. Lots of chicken salad. It’s been nice…real nice. A great change up in the sandwich category in our house. 🙂

I’m excited to share today’s recipe with you because it’s the first of several recipes that I will be working on with Fisher Nuts. You may recall I worked with Fisher Nuts last year and shared this Autumn Spinach Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette, these Gingerbread Spiced Nuts, and this Honey Nut Cocoa Crunch Granola with you all.

Nuts are a staple in my kitchen so it’s a no brainer when it comes to developing recipes featuring them. Fisher Nuts are preservative free and can pretty much be found everywhere. Follow the hashtag #ThinkFisher on social media for more recipes!

This salad was inspired by a chicken salad I used to always buy at my local grocery store deli that was made with tarragon and sliced almonds. I was obsessed with this chicken salad for years and lived off of it back in my post college days. I would purchase a container of it along with some fresh crusty bread and wine and that would be my dinner in front of the television after a long day at work.

I’m happy that I’m finally making my own version of it, even if it is 15+ years later….better late than never! I added some extra crunch and seasonal flavor by including chopped Granny Smith apples to the salad. I love apples in the fall, especially in salads.

This rotisserie chicken salad with apples recipe is perfect to serve while watching an afternoon football game this fall. It’s light and can be made ahead which is always a good thing. Prepare your chicken salad ahead of time then just assemble into sandwiches using small crusty mulitgrain rolls from the bakery and some fresh arugula. Or you can always turn it into a light weeknight dinner during the busy school year.

Of course it would be great in lunch boxes too. 🙂

Enjoy this Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Apples and Almonds recipe and hope everyone is having a great week!

If you’re looking for more ideas with what to do with your rotisserie chicken here are 20 healthy recipes using shredded chicken to help you out!

(more…)

The post Autumn Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Apples and Almonds appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This Gingerbread Spiced Nuts recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

‘Tis the season…for so much, right? The holidays for my family feel very low key this year, and I have to admit, I kind of like it. Between a new baby and transitioning into a new house, there just isn’t much extra time (or let’s be honest, energy) for stuff that really isn’t all that important as it has been in the past. For example, our tree, our stockings, and a few decorations are up, but I am wondering what’s in the 3 other large plastic bins sitting in the garage marked Christmas and if I really need all that “stuff”. I’m not missing anything so I guess I don’t need it right? Maybe next year it’ll come back out…but for now, I’m truly enjoying Simple. I’m also a little (a lot) behind on Christmas shopping (hello Amazon Prime), Christmas cards and pretty much everything else relating to the holiday..although I’m proud that I did get manage to get about 1/3 of my Christmas lights out in the yard. 😉

Like I said, the theme for this year’s holiday for me is truly…Simple. And it’s ok.

Speaking of simple, this spiced holiday nut recipe is pretty simple – just the way I like it! Although I mentioned our holidays are more low key this year, we are still spending time with family and friends and of course when people get together there is usually food involved. Spiced nuts are always a welcomed treat at any get together and they can’t be easier to make – take it from a slightly sleep deprived mom who is not spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. These nuts take less than 20 minutes to put together and that includes oven time. You can package them up in a pretty holiday tin to take with you to a holiday party, or set them out for guests that are stopping by. Of course you can just treat your kids to some as an after school snack, I’m sure they won’t mind. 🙂

I was inspired by the flavors of the season when I made these nuts using Fisher’s Nuts. I used a blend of Walnut and Pecan Halves but any combination of nuts will work. These bake up in just 10 – 12 minutes, you know they are done when you start to smell something delicious in the air!

Happy Snacking!

(more…)

The post Gingerbread Spiced Nuts appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I have never been one to only eat salads in the warm weather months. Maybe that’s because I live in Florida and we have warm weather almost all year long?

I’d like to believe that I would enjoy a salad here and there in the cold winters that some of you experience in the North (and/or West I guess I should say). For me, building a salad comes from whatever is in season, looks good in the produce section or whatever you are craving really. I can never say no to a crisp bowl of crunchy salad veggies with a good homemade dressing or vinaigrette.

Now, though I can eat salad any day of the year, I don’t necessarily always want to make a salad for myself. That’s another story. Lately I have been in a salad rut, but was inspired to create this one with the newly arrived fruits of the season that I’ve been seeing lots of – apples and pears. What goes perfectly with a salad chock full of apples and pears? Why, pecans of course.

I have a hard time choosing a favorite when it comes to nuts, but I will say that pecans are definitely up there on the list. Especially when it comes to fall inspired dishes, like this salad. I created a simple pecan vinaigrette using Fisher Nut Pecan Halves and it is absolutely delicious, as you can imagine a nutty vinaigrette to be. Toasting up the pecans and adding them to the vinaigrette base while still warm infuses a little extra flavor into the mixture – so good! It was a perfect dressing for this simple seasonal salad, but honestly I can’t wait to drizzle it over other fall roasted veggies like butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.

(more…)

The post Autumn Spinach Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.