Happy Meal: Take 2

How many nights a week does one want to slave over a hot stove cooking a 5-course dinner? Honestly I am lucky if that happens once a week, but when I do want to Betty Crocker it out in the kitchen it better be the a meal that keeps giving. Sundays tend to be the day when I feel like getting creative in the kitchen. I want a homecooked, yummy meal to kick start the week and say good-bye to my weekend. This recipe is the result of a Sunday roasted chicken. There are always enough chicken leftovers for a second meal. Instead of reheating the same meal twice, I love to jazz it up and create a brand new dish! Perfect for taking your lunch to work the next day!

Happy Toasted Chicken Salad

Ingredients: 

• 2 Cups roasted chicken, pulled apart
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 1 Cups of grapes, halved
• 2 TBSP Happy Hemp toasted seeds
• 1/2 Cup mayonnaise
• 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, toasted

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl. Add chicken, celery, grapes, mayo and Happy Hemp toasted seeds. Combine together.
2. Toast your bread.
3. Spread the Happy Hemp toasted chicken salad on to the toast.
4. Serve and enjoy

Happy Life in Balance

I love chocolate, french fries, milkshakes, cheeseburgers, fried calamari, fried cheese, tater tots, pasta, red wine, white wine, beer, martinis, pie, butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, tacos, frito pie, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, bacon, chips and dips, mashed potatoes, cream, cupcakes, hot chocolate and pizza.

“What the $@&#,”  you ask? “You own a health food company. Aren’t you supposed to only eat veggies, recycle and knit the wool you eco trimmed off the sheep that only sleep on hemp fabric couches?” Yes and Yes, minus the sheep.

I am human and love a good cheeseburger and fries as much as the next guy, and yes, I eat farmers’ market veggies and recycle. I believe in moderation and I believe in doing or eating what you feel is right for you!! I love all those yummy dee-lish fried eats, but I enjoy them occasionally. I would be horribly fat, sick and nearly dead (PS, great movie) if I ate them every day, but at the same time, I know I can’t eat super healthy every day either. I need my fries to light the end of my tunnel. The scales of life should be balanced and you need an occasional reward for living a healthy life so go ahead and indulge in your guilty pleasures. (You might find that the healthier you become, the less frequently you crave junk food and that even your guiltiest of pleasures isn’t so bad for you after all.)

My rule: a life without a little bending of the rules and a little indulgence is not life worth living.

Here is a quick and easy little slice of indulgence with side of balance.

Ingredients:

1. frozen pizza (preferably organic; Full of Life is my favorite brand)
2. cups of arugula, washed
3. 1/2 cup purple onion, cut into 1” strips
4. 1/2 lemon
5. Olive Oil
6. 1/4 Happy Hemp seeds, raw
7. 1/4 grated parmesan
8. Chili flakes optional

Directions:

1. Cook your frozen pizza following the box directions. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl toss together arugula, onion, olive oil, lemon juice and Happy Hemp.
3. Place salad mixture on top of the pizza. Sprinkle parmesan, chili flakes, salt and pepper on top according to your taste.
4. Cut and enjoy a little slice of life in balance!

Happy Artichoke Summer

With temperatures blazing into the 100′s, cooking is the furthest thing from my mind.

I want simple, healthy, filling, yummy easy food!!

Artichokes always are my go to dish, on a night I am in taste-bud limbo.

Ingredients: 

2 Artichokes 

1/2 Cup of mayonnaise

2 TBSP Happy Hemp

1/2 lemon

3 Sprigs fresh chives, chopped

Steam the artichokes and set aside.

Mix in a bowl the mayonnaise, chives and Happy Hemp.

Squeeze the lemon into the mixture, removing seeds. Mix together.

Open a bottle of French Rose and you are ready to go!

Happy Summer!