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Cucumber Lime Vodka Splash

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Refreshing. Bubbly. Tasty!

This bubbly cocktail is perfect for those days when you want a boozy drink and you’re craving something light and refreshing. Cucumber Lime Vodka Splash, made with only three ingredients, is a cocktail you (and your friends!) will love. Grab a glass, and let’s get started!

To make this cocktail a delightful one, you must start with its base: Smirnoff Cucumber Zero Sugar Infusions Cucumber & Lime Vodka. I discovered this flavored vodka when strolling the aisles of my neighborhood liquor store in search of something that was flavorful but less heavy in sugar than rum.

To make my Cucumber Lime Vodka Splash, following the simple steps in the recipe card below. I promise you’re going to appreciate this drink’s flavor profile so much you’ll want to share it with friends at your next get together. Cheers!

1 glass

Serves 10 oz.

Cucumber Lime Vodka Splash

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Smirnoff Cucumber Zero Sugar Infusions Cucumber & Lime
  • Juice of a lime wedge
  • Ice cubes
  • 1/2 can Lime La Croix
  • Garnish with a cucumber slice and mint garnish

Instructions

  1. Add ice to glass.
  2. Add remaining ingredients.
  3. Stir gently.
  4. Garnish glass with cucumber and mint.
  5. Serve.

Notes

You can also swap another La Croix flavored water instead of the lime version.

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If you’ve read this far, you love cucumbers. Check out other flavorful recipes on the blog including Cucumber Mint Raspberry Detox Water or try your hand at making my Asian Cucumber Salad, the perfect sidekick to Hibachi Steak Lettuce Wraps.

cucumber lime vodka splash

6 Flavorful Salads with Dried Fruit

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I love a hearty salad, and I especially appreciate the salads from Panera Bread. But at $11 per salad, dining there can get costly! My go-to order at Panera is the Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken. So, in an effort to make it myself I decided to dehydrate apples and create a kind of copycat version. As a bonus, I’m including a round-up of heart-healthy salads created by several of my food blogging friends. Any of these scrumptious recipes can be made during the week to tote to work for lunch or to serve as a lighter dinner option. Enjoy!

Gala Apple Salad with Rotisserie Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Made with mixed greens and tossed in balsamic vinaigrette, this salad is a combination of tangy and sweet flavors. My salad recipe is made with dried apples, freshly shredded rotisserie chicken (buy one at the store!), tomatoes, goat cheese crumbles, red onion slices, and almond slices. I also love adding dried cranberries or golden raisins when I want more fruit flavor.

Preparing this salad is as simple as coating a large salad bowl with your desired amount of homemade balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below), adding the salad ingredients, and using tongs to toss the salad mixture until evenly coated with dressing. I think you’re going to love it!

Gala Apple Salad with Rotisserie Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

About 1 cup

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This tangy yet slightly sweet vinaigrette can be used as a dressing over almost any salad.

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 T. Agave Nectar Light
  • 1 T. Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • 1 finely diced garlic clove

Instructions

  1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. (You can also add all of the ingredients to a mason jar, add lid, and shake vigorously until well mixed.)
  3. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition

Calories

1863 cal

Fat

148 g

Carbs

82 g

Protein

85 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Farro Spinach Salad with Dried Fruit and Nuts

Yay! For Food’s salad is described as a sweet and savory vegan salad featuring the healthy whole grain: farro! Marie’s Farro Spinach Salad with Dried Fruit and Nuts recipe brings all the flavor and it’s nutritious. Farro, a grain that is nutty in flavor but a bit sweet, is high in fiber and a good source of protein and iron. Like rice, it is sold dried and prepared in water until it softens.

Recipe: YayForFood.com

Moroccan Couscous Salad

Contributing food blogger, Marlee from ijustmakesandwiches.com, says her Moroccan Couscous Salad is made with dried fruit such as apricots and raisins and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. She suggests that this cold couscous salad be served with roasted chicken or salmon. The Mediterranean couscous adds texture to this highly flavorful salad!

Recipe: I Just Make Sandwiches

Apple Fig Walnut Rocket Salad

This recipe is a winner! It combines some of my favorite flavors including fresh fig. Rhian of hintohealthy.com made it using “crunchy apples, jammy dried figs, earthy walnuts and peppery rocket (arugula) coated in a garlicky pesto dressing!” Learn how to make this gluten-free, vegan Apple Fig Walnut Rocket Salad for your next brunch or lunch with friends.

Recipe: Rhian’s Recipes

Kale Salad with Apples and Cranberries + Tahini Dressing

The best part of making a salad is that it versatile. This hearty kale salad made with tahini dressing gets its texture from the leafy bits of kale, pumpkin seeds, chunks of apples, and dried cranberries. All you have to do is combine the ingredients in a bowl and toss it with the dressing! Not a fan of tahini? You could serve Hint of Healthy’s Kale Salad with Apples and Cranberries with a vinaigrette dressing as well.

Recipe: Hint of Healthy

Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

A perfect salad to make during the fall, Cooking Carnival’s Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad combines the rich flavors of chopped kale, onion, butternut squash, quinoa, pecans, cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette. I could see making this healthy salad as my entire dinner!

Recipe: Cooking Carnival

Love what you see here and want yet another salad option? If you’re on the hunt for a mostly fruit salad layered on a bed of fresh greens, you’ll adore my Spinach Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette.

I’m always eager to add another fresh salad to my line-up of weeknight stars, so be sure to add your recipe idea to the comments below!

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Keto Dinner Recipes That You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less

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After months of yo-yo eating (we eat what we want when we want only to regret it later and try to eat healthy), we’ve committed to living a Keto lifestyle. If you’re reading this post, you’re either already eating a low-carb diet or would like to make healthier eating decisions.

In my opinion, Keto* is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. So, our household has decided to get back on the eat-healthier-bandwagon and adopt a new standard of better eating. I’m glad we did! Eating better just makes me feel better.

Like me, I’m sure you are strapped for time after getting home to prepare dinner. So, this post includes several dinner recipes that are low-carb and high on flavor that can be made in 30 minutes or less. Thanks to some wonderful fellow bloggers, I’ve created the ultimate line-up of dishes!

My version of Hibachi Steak Lettuce Wraps includes using soft ribeye steak cut into small chunks, then marinated in a soy sauce and canola oil marinade, and later cooked to perfection over medium heat. I prefer to cook my steak to medium rare or medium. Spooned over romaine or green leaf lettuce, the steak wraps are delicious when combined with shredded carrot, red cabbage, and optional yum yum sauce.

If you’re someone who loves chicken, you’ll love indulging in Low Carb Spark’s Chicken Marsala recipe! If you’d rather swap out the wine for a substitute ingredient, there are smart options provided as well. The pan-seared chicken is smothered in a rich marsala wine mushroom sauce to create a scrumptious, easy weeknight dinner. The best part of this dish is that it is decadent in taste but low in carbs!

Looking for a dinner entree with a kick of spicy heat? Consider preparing Whip & Wander’s Cuban Picadillo, an entree with flavors of Latin American cuisine. The dish is a combination of ground turkey meat, tomatoes, olives, green onions, spices, and plenty of chili peppers, and it goes great when served on a bed of low-carb cauliflower rice.

Sometimes I think I could eat salad for lunch and dinner daily. I love a hearty salad made with ingredients that bring a flavor punch! If you love an Asian salad, then you’ll appreciate Drive Me Hungry’s Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad made with healthy ingredients. Because Jamie doesn’t include fried wonton strips or rice noodles in her recipe, the salad is low-carb. Making it is as easy as assembling the fresh ingredients in a bowl and preparing a shaker dressing made with soy sauce to pour over the salad!

One of my go-to meals almost once a week is preparing a seafood dish because it’s incredibly healthy and can be made in less than 30 minutes. That why I love the idea of Savory Tooth’s Keto Salmon Patties made by creating a salmon mixture, forming it into patties, and then pan searing until they are crusty on the outside and tender on the inside. Julia also includes a dill-garlic dip to use for dipping (or smothering!) on the crispy salmon patties — the ultimate flavor bomb!

These Keto inspired recipes are just the line-up you need to create delicious low-carb recipes for the work week. As long as you have the ingredients on hand and prep your work station in advance, you will be able to get these meals on the table in 30 minutes or less!

Want a refreshing yet healthy drink to add to your meal? Try my Cucumber Mint Detox Water! Or perhaps you’re craving dessert after dinner? Give my Mixed Berry Popsicles with Coconut Water a try, a healthy alternative to ice cream.

I’d love to hear what you think of these recipes in the comment section below. Share your thoughts!

*Be sure to research the Keto diet and ask your doctor if it is right for you.

Fizzy Grapefruit Sparkler

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The citrus flavors of summer fruit are delicious so I couldn’t resist adding this bubbly grapefruit cocktail to my lineup of all-star seasonal cocktails. Loaded with grapefruit and lime flavor, Fizzy Grapefruit Sparkler is incredibly simple to make using ingredients that are easy to locate at your grocery store.

When you need to serve guests a fun drink this summer at your poolside party or before dining al fresca on the deck, consider my Fizzy Grapefruit Sparkler! Packed with citrus punch, it gets its sweetness from a bit of added Stevia and the fizziness and tanginess from the Izze® Grapefruit Beverage. It would be great served alongside warm crostini topped with feta and herbs or figs as an appetizer! Let’s toast to that!

1 glass

Fizzy Grapefruit Sparkler

This tangy drink is both sweet and sparkly - perfect for a cooling down from the summer heat!

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 oz. Burnett's Orange Vodka
  • 1 squeeze of lime wedge
  • 1 squeeze of a large wedge of grapefruit (about 1/4 of a grapefruit minus the seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp. Stevia
  • Crushed ice
  • 1 can IZZE® Sparkling Grapefruit Beverage

Instructions

  1. Pour the first four ingredients in a glass and stir gently with a straw.
  2. Add crushed ice to fill glass.
  3. Top with IZZE® Sparkling Grapefruit Beverage.
  4. Add mint and/or grapefruit slice for garnish.
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Smothered Green Chili Burritos

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Do you love cheese? Do you love spicy food? Then you’re going to love Smothered Green Chili Burritos made with two kinds of cheese, grilled peppers, and low-fat ground turkey!

My original intention was to make cheese enchiladas, but I got the idea to make smothered burritos after locating a few key ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. I consider this recipe to be low-carb since it used lean ground turkey and low-carb tortillas, but to be honest, it is loaded with decadent cheese so I’ll let the jury decide! (The green chili sauce recipe is an adaptation of one I saw on From Valerie’s Kitchen. My complete recipe version uses so many swaps it’s become my own.)

To make the burritos, it’s as easy as stuffing the tortillas with filling, placing them seam-side down in an oil sprayed baking dish, and smothering them with homemade green chili sauce and warm queso and baking them! Once removed from the oven and slightly cooled, you can add additional toppings such as diced tomatoes and green onion and cilantro leaves. If you like black olives or sour cream, heck, add those as well!

You’ll need a knife and fork!

Depending on your heat tolerance, you could add hot sauce to any step of this recipe. The green chili peppers (de-seeded) bring enough heat to the dish for most people but I enjoyed adding a few dashes of hot sauce to the sauce. I used 5-6 chili peppers (purchased during a popular Hatch green chili sale at a local nursery and later grilled and cooled) and chopped them up into small bits. You don’t have to use grilled chilis and can make this recipe with canned, diced green chilis as well.

Later, I used the diced chili to make the sauce to smother the burritos with AND for the filling, a real flavor punch!

The burritos were delicious! I knew I had a hit recipe on my hands when my boyfriend said, “This is in the top 3 recipes you’ve made this year! You need to write this one (recipe) down.” In my house, that’s a win!

I used 8″ round, low-carb tortillas to make this recipe and about 7 burritos fit in a 13″x9″ glass pan. Because I used grilled green chilis, the sauce took on a brown-green color.

The sooner you get started, the sooner you can eat! I know you’re going to love this dinner made in under an hour. Let me know if your family enjoys them as much as mine does by leaving a comment below!

7-8 burritos

Smothered Green Chili Burritos

You'll love these cheesy and spicy green chili burritos served warm from the oven!

30 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

55 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • Green Chili Sauce:
  • 2 T. vegetable oil
  • 3 T. flour
  • 1 c. chicken broth
  • 3 seeded and diced grilled green chilis
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 3 dashes hot sauce
  • heavy pinch salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • Burrito Filling:
  • 1 lb. 90/10 ground turkey
  • 2 diced seeded grilled green chilis
  • 1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese mix
  • 1/2 c. sour cream
  • heave pinch salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • Queso Sauce:
  • 3 oz. of Rotel®
  • 4 oz. of Velvetta®
  • Extra Ingredients:
  • 1/4 c. shredded Mexican cheese mix
  • Diced green onion for garnish
  • Diced tomatoes for garnish
  • 1 1/2 T. cilantro leaves for garnish
  • 8" low-carb tortillas (7-8)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13"x9" glass plan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. To Prepare Green Chili Sauce:
  3. Add vegetable oil to saucepan and bring to low heat. As soon as you smell the oil heating up, add the flour until it become a paste-like consistency. Then, whisk in the chicken stock until completely smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring the sauce to medium-high heat. Continue to whisk occasionally until thickened. Set aside when the sauce is thickened.
  4. To Prepare Queso:
  5. Add the Rotel®and Velvetta® to a small glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave 15 seconds and remove to stir with a spoon. Return bowl to the microwave and continue this cook/stir method until the cheese reaches a smooth consistency. Add Rotel tomato liquid to thin it out if necessary.
  6. To Prepare Burrito Filling:
  7. Cook the ground turkey in a skillet until completely browned. You shouldn't need to drain grease from it since you're using a 90-10 mix.
  8. In a large bowl, combine all the burrito filling ingredients including the crumbled ground turkey and mix well.
  9. Fill each tortilla with filling (make a heaping log shape of filling) and then roll the sides of the tortilla towards the middle, then roll the burrito away from you to finish it. Add each burrito seam-side down to the prepared, glass baking dish in a row-like formation.
  10. Cover the burritos with the chili sauce, queso, shredded Mexican cheese, and heat in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the exposed corners of the burritos are golden and the sauce has slightly darkened.
  11. After allowing the burritos to cool a few minutes, garnish them with toppings and serve warm.

Notes

You could swap the ground turkey for any meat of your choice. You could also use flour or large corn tortillas instead of low-carb ones.

Tags

Allergy
seafood free
treenut free
mustard free
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Nutrition

Calories

3590 cal

Fat

108 g

Carbs

411 g

Protein

240 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Healthy Brunch Recipes for Mother’s Day

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Celebrating your mother on her special day shouldn’t include crossing your fingers hoping you can get a table at a restaurant or standing in a long buffet line. Why not serve a healthy, flavorful brunch with classic recipes that mom love in the comfort of your home? She’s worked hard all her life for you, now you treat her with an award-worthy, delicious meal! There is nothing that says “I love you” like a home cooked meal.

Each one of the following recipes is tested and approved by fellow food bloggers (and I included a recipe of my own). The recipes are meant to be healthier than the usual carb heavy buffet holiday meal. Scroll down to pick your favorite recipes!

If you’re someone who needs to feed a lot of people, then you will love making my Blackberry Belgian Waffles as a crowd-pleasing breakfast option. They’re easy to prepare! The deep pockets of warm waffle are just the vessels you need to hold melted butter, warm maple syrup, and a few extra blackberries. Grab the recipe.

Not of fan of waffles or don’t own a waffle maker? I’ve got you covered! Opt instead for yummy Brioche French Toast with Whipped Lemon Mascarpone from Windy City Dinner Fairy. Cinnamon and vanilla make this french toast mixture unique and scrumptious. Note: You’ll need a stand mixer or hand mixer for the mascarpone. Get the recipe.

Photo: Windy City Dinner Fairy

Enjoying a variety of textures and flavors makes for a well-rounded brunch so I never forget to include a green salad. Buy This Cook That’s Grilled Citrus Spring Salad is a mixture of asparagus, garden radishes, and sweet green peas tossed in homemade vinaigrette and topped with glazed pecans for garnish. Grab the recipe.

Photo: Buy This Cook That

For me, it’s not a classic breakfast without an egg dish on the menu. I love the idea of a make ahead frittata that can be warmed up in the oven just as I’m setting the table. This Sun-Dried Tomato and Sweet Potato Frittata by Whole New Mom can be prepared in under 30 minutes and serves four people so double the recipe if necessary. Making a frittata is as easy as whisking together ingredients with eggs and baking until finished! Grab the recipe.

Photo: Whole New Mom

Incorporating finger foods like appetizers are great for pairing up with other breakfast foods! Maria Moore Nutrition’s Cheddar Chive Cauliflower Bites are a cinch to make using a muffin pan. If you have any leftovers (I doubt you will!) you can store them in the refrigerator for up to three days. Heck, why not send leftovers home with mom? Grab the recipe.

Photo: Marisa Monroe Nutrition

Your mom deserves an honorary toast on Mother’s Day so raise a glass of Strawberry Lemon Rose Sangría by The Toasty Kitchen! A batch recipe can be made several hours in advance (that’s if you can resist drinking it!). Who doesn’t love a glass of gorgeous bubbly? Get the recipe.


Photo: The Toasty Kitchen

Let’s end Mother’s Day on a delicious high note with dessert, but one that continues with the healthy theme we’ve established for brunch. I appreciate ending a full meal with a lighter dessert like this Honey Lemon Fruit Salad Recipe from The Seasoned Mom. Simple syrup glazes over fresh berries in this recipe bursting with citrus flavor. Get the recipe.

Photo: The Seasoned Mom

I’m so happy to help you pull recipes together for Mother’s Day with help of my food blogging friends. I know you want to not only spoil your mom but also impress her a bit, and these recipes lined up on the table will do just that for brunch! Enjoy the moment with your mom — she’s the best!