Heart Healthy No-Fail Coconut Vegetable Fried Rice

As we are about to wrap up Heart Health month, I wanted to share a fresh new recipe that puts a healthier twist on one of my favorite dishes, Fried Rice! If you’ve ever been to a Japanese Steakhouse or Hibachi Restaurant you’ve watched the chefs chop and dice and throw their knives around creating beating hearts out of their delicious fried rice, right? It’s my favorite part of a hibachi meal, but have you ever noticed what they are actually throwing into it? You know that wad of garlic butter that they toss in there…that’s the equivalent of a whole stick of butter! No wonder it tastes so darn good!

Anyway, when I teamed up with Kelapo Coconut, I knew it would be a great opportunity to play around to tweak this recipe and boost the nutritional value. I'll be swapping out all that artery clogging butter for nutrient rich coconut oil. 

Did you know that coconut oil is comprised of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which have been shown to help the body absorb important nutrients and minerals as well as eliminate harmful bacteria and fight signs of aging. So just adding coconut oil into your cooking routine will skyrocket the nutrients of the rest of your meal!

Sip On This! A Collection of Liquid Nutrition

Check out Liquid Nutrition!
by Kasey's Kitchen at Foodie.com

We are well on our way into 2015 and if you're like me, those resolutions have already started to dwindle down to a "good effort". Sometimes making those drastic promises to yourself can get really overwhelming and you just end up throwing in the towel...and not the gym towel.

I think that something I've learned over the years of making these "resolutions" is that it needs to be about baby steps and small lifestyle changes in order to get yourself on a routine. One thing that will help kickstart this lifestyle change would be incorporating nutrition packed smoothies and juices into your diet. With the recipes in the collection below that I've created with Foodie.com there's no shortage of good-for-you gulps! You get an insane amount of antioxidants, vitamins, and all that other good stuff on top of a super tasty snack! How can you go wrong? Who wants to join me in trying some of these in 2015 and sip our way to a healthier year!



*Disclosure - This post was created in partnership with Foodie.com and Mode Media. I was compensated for my time and content. All opinions are my own. 

Foodies Shedding Booties: Secrets, Sport Bras and Smoothies

If you've been following along on Instagram you know that I've become obsessed with my FitBit which has kicked things back into gear in regards to my workout routine. I'd be lying to you if I said that this was all easy and that it was pure self-discipline and motivation that I can attribute this all to... nope, it all still sucks, but I've just found some cool tricks along the way!

1. Pay attention to what you eat and why you're eating it. This is an obvious one and you've heard it time and time again. Now I say "Pay attention" rather than "Watch what you eat" because I've noticed that if I make a conscious decision to eat something a little outside the healthy spectrum, I'm not going to beat myself up over it, however I am going to make sure I hit my step goal or take an extra class at the gym that week. I've also noticed that I now have an internal dialogue with myself that goes a little something like this;

Kasey's Stomach: I really want bag of chips right now. 
Kasey's Head: Are you sure you want chips? Or could you be satisfied with an apple?
Kasey's Stomach: Bitch, I want me some BACKYARD BARBECUE KETTLE COOKED CHIPS! 
Kasey's Head: Girl, shut yo' face. Eat the damn apple. You'll thank me the next time you squeeze that ass into them jeans!

Ironically enough... my stomach must be feeling the defeat because it's been shrinking and my cravings have certainly been curbed! And yes, my Stomach has the personality of a Maury Povich guest.
Want to cure the chocolate cravings with a snack that's packed with protein? Get the recipe for this Chocolate Banana Smoothie here!

2. Partake in a little healthy competition. The beauty of this FitBit thing is that I can link up with friends and see their steps. Click here to link up with me if you'd like! My co-worker and I will constantly pass each other in step-count and encourage each other to take breaks to get out and get moving. Need a little more motivation? Link up with that Mean Girl from high school and be sure to kick her butt! I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Transform Your Tofu: Caprese Appetizers

Since working with Nasoya, I have had the chance to tackle tofu far more often than I would have imagined. However, there are only so many stir-frys a gal can make. That's why I decided to think outside the "block" and find a fun new way to serve our soy-filled friend!

Tofu Caprese

Ingredients
1 block of Nasoya firm tofu
fresh cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
Italian Dressing

Preparation
Using a melon-baller, scoop out balls of tofu from the block.

Place in a small storage container and cover with Italian dressing. Let marinate for at least one hour.

Skewer together the basil, tomatoes and tofu on toothpicks. Arrange and serve!

Fresh Greek Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Over the past few years, Greek food has wiggled it's way up my list of favorites. It's nestled itself somewhere above Chinese but below Italian. There's something about that warm fluffy pita, meat that may...or may not be lamb scraped off of a rotating skewer, and that cool creamy sauce that makes it all complete, tzatziki (tat-ziki)... at least I think that's how you say it. It's all Greek to me!

Throwback Thursday: Super Simple Coconut Bark

I was recently introduced to Whole Kernel Coconut Oil... it's straight up AMAZING! I've found myself eating spoonfuls of this stuff our of the jar with a few chocolate chips and I thought to myself, "This is just silly, it's time to make something!"
Here's what I came up with!

Ingredients:
2 c shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 c coconut oil
1/4 c honey
1 c chocolate chips
pinch of sea salt

Portuguese Kale Soup Recipe

This recipe is one that you'll find in any Portuguese home. The Portuguese have been eating kale long before Californian's were juicing it. We're like the hipsters of kale... we ate it before it was cool!
Packed with nutrients, spice, and everything nice, this soup will become your latest guilt-free comfort food.
There are plenty of variations out there of this dish, but this is the one I grew up with.

Please note, due to the lack of Portuguese ingredients available in Southern California, luckily I had some chourico left in the freeze from my mom's last visit out here but I substituted some Spicy Italian Sausage for the linguica. This just goes to show you how flexible this recipe can be!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4

Roasted Beet Salad with Meyer Lemon Honey Dressing

With the New Year upon us, we've all made deals with ourselves to start off on a healthier foot... yet, come February there's a good chance we'll cave at the first site of a chocolate heart. So while we are putting our best fork forward, why not take a stab at this insanely easy roasted beet salad.

This recipe uses the natural sweetness that comes from roasting beats. Pair it with the a dressing packed with citrus and a hint of honey and you're sure to have a crowd-pleaser.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4
By: Kasey Potts of Kasey's Kitchen

Ingredients:

6-8 whole beets (golden and red)
olive oil
sea salt
1 stalk of fennel