Happy New Year all! I am so happy to be back in action here on LCN. Today is my first “Monday” back to work and back to blogging for the new year. It’s rough isn’t it?? That first “Monday” back to work or back to school…ick! While I can say that I could have DEFINITELY used just one more week off, I am also so excited to officially kick start this new year! So let’s do this!
If you follow me on Instagram you saw that I’m not one for new years resolutions. To be honest, I’m not so sure why, but I just am. I would rather live my life accomplishing personal goals for all different lengths of time than setting a goal to try and sustain an entire year. A year is a LONG TIME people! I might wake up one morning and challenge myself to speak kindly to others or get to the gym every day this coming week. Everyone does things differently and that’s okay. If you do choose to set a new years resolution to keep all year long, make sure it’s an attainable goal. Don’t set yourself up for failure…set yourself up for success!
All this goal-talk has got me thinking about what goals I would like to accomplish in my life right now. I recently sat down to think and pray about what steps I could take to become the best me I could be. One item that made the list was to work towards creating an all around healthy lifestyle. This has been a goal of mine for a while now…and especially now as a wife. It’s been a slow but steady process for Aaron and I. From making the switch to making our own lunches, instead of eating out or going for an evening walk after dinner. But with fast food at our finger tips, the challenge becomes even harder. The temptation is real…am I right? I know fast food isn’t for everyone but that is not the case in this house…we love ourselves some In-n-Out burger or Taco Bell. But what I love more is feeling healthy and happy. SO what I decided to do was finally check out Trader Joes. Okay…before you judge me, no, I have not been there. I know it’s a very common place for most people, but not in this little town. There are two semi-close Trader Joes; One further south and one further north, both about 30 minutes from home. I know that’s not so bad…but when you aren’t motivated to eat healthy or make good choices at the grocery store, it seems like 100 miles away. But I can officially say that I have taken the plunge and I LOVED it. For the first time in about a month I got excited about cooking again. It’s another step that I am very excited about it.
So I want to share with you our first meal with all Trader Joes items and produce! Last night I made a homemade pizza and salad. This is a very common meal for us. I buy the pizza dough from Safeway all the time and keep it stalked in our freezer. If pizza sounds good that evening then I usually throw whatever we have in our frig on the pizza. Same goes with a salad. We have salad with most meals and I do the same. I throw something together with whatever we have in our frig. Aaron has been talking about how good both the salads and homemade pizzas have been recently, but this one was particularly top-notch and I had to agree. I bet you can guess who I have to thank for that…good ol’ Joe!
napkins, bowls, silverware, cookie sheet
Homemade Pizza
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
3 Tablespoons Basil Pesto
½ Zucchini (thinly sliced)
About 5 thinly sliced pieces of Mozzarella cheese
2 tomatoes (also thinly sliced)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
First cover your cookie sheet with olive oil. Next, roll out the pizza dough to the thickness you prefer. Add the basil pesto, sliced zucchini, mozzarella and tomatoes on top. Once your pizza is topped I love to drizzle a little more olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Put it in the oven at 425 degrees until crust has started to brown. (It was hard to tell on this whole wheat dough but all it takes is checking it by hand.) Mine took about 12 minutes. (Tip: we dip our pizza in a olive oil/balsamic vinegar mix…it’s amazing.)
Mixed Greens Salad (per serving)
1 cup of Trader Joes brussels sprout, kale and cabbage mix
1 cup of Trader Joes spring salad mix
1 cup of baby spinach
1 handful of sliced unsalted almonds
1 handful of blueberries
½ avocado sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sprinkle of turmeric
Salt and Pepper
*Optional: 2 Tablespoons feta cheese
Mix all above ingredients in your bowl. I don’t use a certain amount of olive oil or balsamic vinegar for the dressing…I just do it by taste! Add as little or as much as you would like and test it out. Same goes with the seasonings. Make it the way YOU will enjoy it!
Thank you Trader Joes for encouraging a healthy lifestyle! Kick start your new year with this delicious and healthy dinner. Bon appetite!
xoxo, madison naomi
