Black Eyed Pea Salad with Spicy Sriracha Vinaigrette

2.5 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. olive oil
1 T. sriracha sauce
1 T. melted honey (mixes better than honey straight from container)
2 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 carrots, grated
1 diced red or green bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped parsley

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, honey, and sriracha.  Add peas, carrots, bell pepper, and parsley and toss to combine.  Season with salt to taste.  Chill several hours before serving.

dawn

Adapted from Whole Foods recipe

Granola

My friend Ashley has recently been researching recipes & "cleaning up" existing ones!  She was very gracious to share a seven page document of really good recipes with a few of her friends last week!  It's always SO much more fun when you have friends sharing recipes and eating healthy foods too!  Not only does it hold you accountable, but it increases your palette for trying new things!

I made this granola recipe on Wednesday and my kids loved it!  You can enjoy it with fruit, almond milk, yogurt (try coconut if you haven't - it's good), or just by itself!

Did You Know?

Did you know almost all store-bought jars of pickles, relish, peppers, etc. contain yellow food dye!  I was shocked when I discovered this when I began reading labels several years ago.  I now buy all pickled products at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, as none of theirs contain food dye.

And, did you know about these awesome Unreal candies that contain no food dyes, no corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated oils, are made with less sugar than their competitors, and can be purchased at Target!  Whenever one of my kids needs m&m's for school (or Mom gets a sweet tooth!), these are my go-to.

Why do we try really hard to avoid artificial coloring in our foods?  Vibrantly colored food has become the norm, but studies show they carry profound risks.  Artificial coloring (also found in medicines and cosmetics!) has been linked to hyperactivity in children, ADHD, cancer, allergies, etc.

dawn

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 packet taco seasoning (Whole Foods has a great "clean" packet without added funky chemicals.  Warning:  Trader Joe's taco seasoning is SPICY)
1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained
olive oil
3 large bell peppers, seeds removed & sliced
1 container sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 medium onion, sliced

Nutrition Night at GRACE Christian School

As part of this year's initiative at our school, to offer several parent education evenings, we were asked to host a Nutrition Night.  Grab Your Greens joined forces with our local Whole Foods, to educate our parents and staff of GRACE on the importance of eating a whole foods diet.   Our friend, Joelle, who also happens to be the Healthy Eating Specialist at Whole Foods in Cary, talked about the Four Pillars of Healthy Eating, the Whole Foods Health Starts Here program, and had a Q&A session.  Everyone in attendance sampled Garlicky Kale (on the WF salad bar), Romero's Lentil Salad, and California Quinoa (both found at the WF prepared salads counter), an abundance of beautiful fresh fruit, and Black Bean Brownies .  Joelle brought along her Vitamix and prepared green smoothies.  There were fun Whole Foods door prizes and everyone left with an awesome Whole Foods Healthy Eating Handbook.

I'm Hungry / Potato Chips

We laugh at my five year old who says with a very southern drawl, "I am hun-gar-ee."  We've corrected her, but honestly we think it's cute and she's growing up WAY to fast as it is these days!

Lately I have been really hungry!  Clearly my body is used to having too many "false fillers & substitutes" for whole foods.  Replacing it with only vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, etc. leaves you wanting more goodness more often!  AND whole foods go right through you to keep your body fueled and your systems functioning ;)!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A yummy chocolate chip cookie recipe that's very easy to make and tastes good too!
I add raisins in half the batter and chocolate chips in the other half.

The Gracious Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookies

<3,
leanne

26.2 Done!

Until about 3 years ago, I had never run more than about 3 miles.  Seriously.  In 2010 I signed up for a 10K with Bentley (who does run btw) and literally smiled the entire race :).  Just to be out there alive and able made me giddy!  I proved to myself that I was capable of more than I thought.