gluten-free

Lemony grain salad: An easy, healthy BBQ side dish

catherinemryan

One of the many reasons I love summer: the laid-back, no-frills approach to summer entertaining. BBQs are the quintessential summer party, and for good reason: Guests bring whatever side or dessert they can throw together (or pick up from the store on the way over). You can grill just about anything. And summer BBQs give ample opportunities for a gal like me to practice making a signature healthy side dish like this lemony grain salad.

This lemony grain salad is an easy, healthy side dish to bring to a BBQ this summer! can also be made gluten-free. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

First off, I bring some version of this lemony grain salad to just about every BBQ and potluck we go to in the summer. (Sorry, guys, I hope you haven’t gotten tired of it yet!) I do it because it’s delicious and friends usually end up asking me how to make it—and because this easy, healthy, vegetarian BBQ side dish is so forgiving. 

You don’t have cucumbers? No worries, throw in some radishes—or whatever you have in the vegetable drawer! You like your dressing on the sweeter side? Go you! Add some honey. You’re gluten-free? No prob, use quinoa for the grain base!

Because this recipe is so flexible, I don’t usually follow a recipe—but the last time I made it, I actually measured ingredients instead of eyeballing it. So I am super excited to share my bona fide recipe for lemony grain salad.

This lemony grain salad is an easy, healthy side dish to bring to a BBQ this summer! can also be made gluten-free. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

5 tips to make bomb twice-baked sweet potatoes

catherinemryan

Tips for Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Eggs

Twice-baked potatoes were one of my favorite dinners when I was growing up. I’d wait impatiently for them to bake and snag a top—a little piece of potato skin with melted cheese—as soon as they were out of the oven, inevitably burning my mouth. But it was so worth it! Now that I’m a little older (and more into easy, healthy dinners), twice-baked sweet potatoes are my go-to.

If you haven’t worked twice-baked sweet potatoes into your weeknight menu, here are 5 tips to make them delicious, every time. Twice-baked sweet potatoes are a phenomenal vegetarian dinner any day of the week!

5 tips to make the best twice-baked sweet potatoes, an easy weeknight vegetarian dinner! Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Super-protein quinoa enchiladas and coconut-pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies

catherinemryan

When you have a baby, all your attention hones in on feeding the newest member of your family. Moms keep track of feeding times and lengths, visit the lactation clinic, figure out latches or bottle flows, and worry if Baby is getting enough to eat.

Brand-new moms spend a lot less time working on feeding themselves, and that’s no good: Parents have enough on their plates without being hangry on top of everything.

So when two friends had babies a few weeks ago, I took the first opportunity to bring them each a meal. Since I’m not terrific at feeding myself, either, I chose recipes that would feed all three of our families!

These precocious baby buddies are already perfecting their secret handshake.
These precocious baby buddies are already perfecting their secret handshake.

When flipping through my Pinterest boards, I looked for functional foods. I decided on this super-protein-packed quinoa enchilada slow-cooker dish because research from blogs like Body Nutrition shows protein is crucial in repairing damaged tissues—something especially important for mothers who had c-sections.

I also made these coconut-pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies. Yes, it’s important for dinner to meet all your nutritional needs, but in those early weeks of raising a newborn, sometimes a bite of something sweet can get you through that moment when your munchkin poops all over you the second you’re showered and wearing clean clothes for the first time in a week. I added a salad, threw in some tortilla chips and called it a meal. Read more →