Sharing posts like this is a good way for me to keep track of recipes our family has tried and liked. My hope is that these can also help you weed through all of the recipes you’ve saved. I know the comments that people add to Pinterest recipe always help me navigate which dishes to try. This time I am sharing recipes I’ve tried, and also some Charlotte restaurants I have visited lately.
Recipes
First up are these paleo waffles. They ended up being really tasty, and were great leftover and reheated. We topped ours with a little maple syrup, some berries, banana, and hemp seeds. I doubled the recipe and we had them for breakfasts two days. They were great for our toddler to hold by himself and take little bites of.
I have to say that our favorite of this bunch of recipes that we’ve tried was this Creamy Whole 30 Bacon Mushroom Chicken Thighs dish. The recipe is from 40 Aprons, but I first saw it when Jackie, one of my Charlotte healthy foodie instagram friends posted about it. I would highly recommend this recipe! I served ours with roasted cauliflower and some baby spinach.
Another recipe we tried is the Slow Cooker Sausage, White Bean and Spinach soup by Damn Delicious. I changed this slightly by using chicken apple sausage in place of the andouille. I also used bone broth, because that is what we had on hand. Next time I would chop up the spinach to make it easier for my boys to eat. To help with prep, you can brown the sausage and chop up the onion, carrot, and celery the night before.
All last week I had a green smoothie inspired by Be Well by Kelly. I haven’t read her book, but I listened to her on two podcasts she did with The Skinny Confidential, and have read some of her info in other places. I am always trying to learn from certain eating plans, and why nutrition experts eat what they do.
I’m sure my smoothies were larger than what she recommends, but I tried not to stress about that too much. They truly did keep me full. These are great for days you work out, because they are packed with protein. The goal of these is for them to be higher in protein, fiber, and fat, and not as high in sugar. I also love using smoothies as a vehicle for adding in extra supplements, such as bee pollen. My smoothies had:
- crushed ice
- tons of baby spinach: 2-3 large handfuls
- unsweetened almond milk: about 1/2-3/4 cup
- 1 frozen banana
- large spoonful raw almond butter
- spoonful ground flax seeds
- spoonful chia seeds (her recipe recommends only one of these, but I am okay with the extra fat, so I added both)
- 2 scoops Vital Proteins collagen peptides
- 1 tsp bee pollen
- 1 tsp maca powder
- water as needed
I would have one for breakfast at 7ish, and I don’t normally eat lunch until 2. I would have a small snack in between, or try to eat lunch earlier, around noon. The mornings that I worked out, I usually had 1/2 of a bar or something.
Restaurants
Todd and I went on a date recently (!!!) and we headed to NoDa. I recently met one of the owners of Haberdish at a food event, and she was just so sweet. We have been wanting to try Haberdish for a while, but it is on the other side of Charlotte. We finally made it there, and it did not disappoint! The drinks were something special (my old-fashioned had a flower frozen into the ice cube!), and the food was decadent and delicious. Their take on Southern fare is done really well. I think my favorite may have been the charred okra with bacon, but the deviled eggs and smoked chicken were also wonderful.
Following dinner, we went around the corner to Reigning Doughnuts, which is owned by the same people. It is a tiny, literal hole-in-the-wall that serves donuts, made-to-order. Todd had one with chocolate glaze, and we got an extra cinnamon sugar one to take home for Davis. I also ordered a decaf coffee – they serve Counter Culture which is always yummy. We stopped in at Heist Brewery for a drink before heading home. We made it back by 9:45 pm! You know you’re getting old when this excites you.
I also had a girls’ night recently with my neighbor, and another good friend (former neighbor) who was back in town. We went to dinner at Ilios Noche, and it was so fun to have a reunion! I have been to Ilios Noche several times, and it has been delicious each time. One of my favorite dishes they serve is their octopus, but that night I opted for the kale salad with salmon.
I absolutely love hearing about recipes like this – kind of funny actually, as I did the same type of post on my blog today! I have been reading Body Love and was wondering about Kelly’s smoothies. It’s good to hear from someone who has actually tried them! And that chicken thigh dish looks delicious!
Aw thanks for the shout out! Also I’ve heard so many great things about Haberdish lately .. and we have a date night Friday so may need to go! Xo
Yp