fresh

DIY Indoor Garden

I love living in San Francisco, but finding the perfect apartment in your price range is like looking for a needle in a haystack- and that needle may not even exist! Although we LOVE our current apartment, one thing that my husband and I really miss is a balcony and a backyard. And since we love being outside and enjoying the fresh air, we decided to bring the outdoors into our living room!

We wanted our indoor garden to be bright and funky, so we decided to paint the planters ourselves. We found LOWES to be a great resource in finding beautiful flowers and affordable terracotta planters of all sizes, but any home improvement store should have a similar selection. First we picked out our flowers. When choosing colors and sizes, keep in mind how you will be arranging these plants. We chose to keep the sizes symmetrical, but mixing up the flower types and colors. We ended up with seven plants and terracotta planters of varying sizes.

Now it’s time to paint the pots! We chose bright acrylic paints and clear tar gel to waterproof the paint. Since we love a good ombré, we decided to use two colors on each pot and faded them into each other, alternating the color combos so each one is unique! To get the ombré look, we started with our base color going 3/4 the way up. Then we painted from the top with the second color. As you paint further down, use less paint on your brush and use lighter brush strokes, fading as you go. You will end up with a one-of-a-kind ombré planter!

All that’s left now is to plant your flowers in your beautiful new planters! Do you have any indoor gardening tips or fun ways to show off plants inside the home? If so, share in the comments below!

Fresh Fruit Fajitas

Do you like mexican food? How about fruit?

My husband and I love them both and we thought we would try something different by combining them into one delicious dish! We are always trying new recipes and ideas in the kitchen and we love to pair up unexpected flavors. That’s how we came up with our latest creation, the fresh fruit fajita!

First, we started with our fresh produce from the farmer’s market. Didn’t we snag some amazing looking fruits and veggies?

Next, julienne the bell peppers and dice the jalapenos. Sauté the cut veggies in olive oil and hot sauce (I suggest leaving out the hot sauce if you are sensitive to spicy foods)

While you vegetables are sautéing, cut cooked rosemary chicken into bite sized pieces.

After heating your tortillas, add chicken pieces and top with sautéed peppers and cut stone fruit.

Don’t these look awesome? We served our fajitas with farro. We mixed the cooked farro with corn, black beans and halved grape tomatoes, a quick easy side!

Now you have a complete, healthy meal to serve for dinner!

FRESH FRUIT FAJITAS

Ingredients:
1 lb of chicken
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 red jalapeños, diced
1 yellow peach, julienned
1 nectarine, julienned
grape tomatoes as topping, diced
8 corn tortillas
½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp of hot sauce
rosemary and black pepper for rub

Instructions:

Season chicken with rosemary and black pepper and cook on medium-high heat.
Heat extra virgin olive oil on medium heat and add cut bell peppers, jalapeños and hot sauce. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until vegetable start to soften.
While vegetables are sautéing, cut cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.
Heat corn tortillas for a couple minutes in toaster over or on hot skillet to warm.
Now you are ready to assemble your fajitas! Start with your warm tortillas and add chicken. Top with peppers, sliced stone fruits and tomatoes.
Serve with your favorite side and Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Salad

TGIF! This Friday I’m hoping to get my weekend off to a FRESH start and I thought I would share one of my go-to fresh-to-death dinners with you. This salad is great anytime, especially in the summer when you are looking for a quick, light meal. And as an added bonus, since these are ingredients we snack on often, my husband and I usually have some combination of them in the fridge.

The key to a good salad is keeping it interesting. It’s easy to find reasons to pass up the healthy salad option for dinner, so don’t make it any harder on yourself by making it boring or too labor intensive. Check out my list below of must-haves for a great salad.

1- Greens- we prefer the crunch of freshly cut romaine

2- Protein- chicken and turkey are my go-to lean meats

3- Veggies/Fruit- whatever is in season, right now we are loving berries!

4- Cheese- gorgonzola, bleu cheese and parmesan are regular acts in our kitchen

5- Nuts – we usually go for slivered almonds or pecans

6- Dressing- keep it light and let the ingredients shine!

In this salad we used grilled chicken, green apples, strawberries, gorgonzola cheese, pecans and a homemade vinaigrette dressing. By choosing a stronger cheese like blue cheese or gorgonzola, a little goes a long way and you don’t find yourself piling on needless calories.

Another great tip is to ditch the croutons! There are so many other healthy ways to add crunch and texture to your salad. I personally chose nuts, but other great options include baked corn tortillas (cut into strips), sunflower seeds or even baked quinoa clusters!

And last, but certainly not the least calories, is the dressing. This is where most people get in trouble. These days I try to stick to homemade dressings so I know exactly what ingredients are in them. Our favorite mixture includes olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper. Try mixing it up by using flavored balsamic vinegars; we use pineapple and strawberry balsamic vinegars all the time!

Whatever ingredient combination you choose, have fun with it. Make sure to mix it up so you don’t get bored and don’t be afraid to try whatever is in season at the market, that’s how we end up coming up with some of our favorite combinations!

I hope you enjoy my healthy salad tips, let me know your favorite ways to keep salads interesting and yummy and enjoy your weekend!

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FRESH FRUIT FAJITAS

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