OK guys, amateur hour is over. This weekend we went over to Simi's new apartment to christen it. Simi (my bff, sommelier, and wiz in the kitchen) told me to pick out a recipe and get the ingredients to make dinner. I totally overestimated Simi's skills and just picked up some pork chops, some cheese, a bundle of strawberries, and a couple of tomatoes and showed up at her apartment. She was like, "um, where is the recipe and what am I supposed to do with this?" Total fail on my part, but her, being as awesome as she is, actually was able to whip up something totally phenomenal from my random assortment of ingredients. 

I got the pork chops from Arcadian Pastures at Eataly. Eataly is my go to when I haven't planned ahead. They have some great farms, and they will always tell you where their meat is coming from.

 
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You know how some days you are just jonesing for some Mexican food (if you say no, we are no longer friends). But Mexican food usually has a lot of beans, cheese, and rice - all of which are super yummy, but also super faileo. So I went over to Everyday Paleo, one of my favorite paleo blogs and found this fantastic mexican meatball recipe.

The balls came out a little dry. (Don't you dare 'that's what she said' that. That's just nast.) I think next time I will be a bit more heavy with the sauce when cooking them or add an egg, but it still tasted fantastic nonetheless.

I got the ground beef from Grazin' Angus Acres at the Union Square Farmers Market. Their cattle is grass-fed and finished, and they are Animal Welfare Approved.  


 
I used to eat sugar and chocolate like it was my job. Literally, at least once a day, I would eat a sugar laden treat. To be honest, it has been surprisingly easy to find ways to get my sweet fix without the sugar.  So if you are reaching for that pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream (let's not lie, it is their best flavor by far), stop right there and make this Almond Joy smoothie instead. Trust me, you won't regret it.

The inspiration for this smoothie comes from a "health" food place located around the corner from my office. Every time I go in, someone is always ordering the Almond Joy. I decided to look into this concoction that they were making, based off of my favorite candy bar and see if it was actually healthy. Lo and behold, it wasn't half bad. And it tasted like an ice cream milkshake without the the ice cream, milk, and sugar. I know you're asking" so it's a dessert?" Just taste it!* 
I played around with the measurements to figure out how to get it to taste just like the health food place, but feel free to adjust. Also, I got my honey from Andrew's Honey at the Union Square farmer's market, and it is SO sweet and delicious. It tastes completely different from that golden honey crap that they sell in those weird plastic bear shaped bottles.

*Hopefully you caught the Mad Men reference.

 
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For me, the hardest part of eating healthy has always been finding healthy ways to snack. At work, we have a snack bin full of Oreos, Dirty Chips, Nutrigrain Bars, 100 Cal Snack Packs, etc. If I don't bring healthy snacks to work, I am at risk of succumbing to that tempting little bastardly bin. 

It's hard to keep it fresh though. I get bored of fruits and nuts all the time; I want something new and exciting. While my brother and I were growing up, we would always say we wanted something "new and exciting" when my mom asked us what we wanted to eat. Now that I have to feed myself, I am just like fuck "new and exciting." Some days I consider myself lucky if I manage to get scrambled eggs on the table.

Kale chips aren't exactly new to the scene, but they are most definitely exciting. The crispiness slash slightly bitter taste to them is what creates the excitement. Don't you think? And another plus is that they are super easy to make.
 


 
Let's kick things off with a breakfast dish. For my first post, I thought I would cook something easy enough (that I couldn't mess it up even if I tried), but still delicious enough to make it look like I tried.

Chorizo is one of my favorite sausages because it has such spicy bold flavors. I got this chorizo from Flying Pigs Farm, and I have to say they make some of the finest chorizo around town. They also have some great farming practices that make them even better.

I also love kale. It just has such an earthy flavor to it, and there are so many different kinds! I didn't follow a recipe for this one, so feel free to amend it as you see fit. You can add other veggies (like tomatoes) or even some cheese.