This is a simple, elegant looking app that's easy to whip up. I love a good cheese plate, but I thought this would be a fun and unique alternative. I've made two versions here- goat cheese, honey, and walnuts (creamy, crunchy, sweet) and herbed goat cheese, chives, and lemon zest (salty, savory, herbaceous). I'll never say "herbaceous" again, I promise. Anyway, I think the...herby... one would be GREAT with pomegranate, but allegedly they were out of season when I made these, womp womp.

You're just going to add portions to your liking, so I don't have a recipe with exact measurements for you, but here what you'll need.

Ingredients:
• 2 endives (will yield about 18-ish useable leaves)
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• A couple tbsp of chopped walnuts
• About 3 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped
• About a tsp of garlic powder
• About 1/4 tsp of dried oregano
• About 3 fresh chives, chopped
• Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, plus half tbsp of lemon zest
• Sea salt, to taste
• Cracked black pepper, to taste
• 3-4 oz goat cheese
Optional toppings: balsamic glaze (highly recommended!), pomegranate

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix half of your goat cheese with the basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
Spread on half of your endive leaves, drizzle with lemon juice, and top with lemon zest. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Take the remaining goat cheese and spread on the second half of your endive leaves. Top with salt, walnuts, and a drizzle of honey

That's it! Keep cold until ready to serve.

​​I love playing with textures, colors, and flavors when I make avocado toast. My daily breakfast is almost invariably a smoothie with a slice of avocado toast, so I like to switch it up to keep it interesting. Of these 4, my hands down FAVORITE is the strawberry version. The tart strawberries with the creamy avocado, salty feta cheese, and sweet balsamic reduction is out. of. this. world. Don't knock it 'til you try it, kids.

What you need:
Tomato/Carrot/Chia
Quarter avocado, mashed
2 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters and then halved
1 carrot, thinly shaved (you can use a potato peeler)
Coarse sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional toppings: sprinkle of chia seeds, dash of red pepper flakes

Strawberry/Feta/Balsamic Glaze
Quarter avocado, mashed
3 strawberries, cut into quarters and then halved
Sprinkle of feta cheese
Drizzle of balsamic reduction
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste (trust me on the pepper)

Chickpea Smash/Arugula
Quarter avocado, sliced
Quarter cup canned chickpeas (drained, rinsed, and mashed)
Drizzle of olive oil, pinch of sea salt, 1-2 tsp of lemon juice (add to chickpeas before mashing)
Small handful of arugula
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional toppings: dash of red pepper flakes (on top of chickpeas, under arugula. It's just better this way.)

Smoked Salmon/Sprouts
Half an avocado, mashed
2-3 thin slices of smoked salmon
Small handful of sprouts of choice
No salt, salmon is salty on its' own. Just fresh cracked black pepper to taste (season both the avocado and the salmon). 

The bread: As my queen Ina Garten would say, use a really good bread. My favorite is Food for Life's Ezekiel Bread. I love their 7 Sprouted Grains and Sesame Sprouted the most. But if you don't have really good bread, any bread will do. Rice cakes are also GREAT.

*Kitchen Tip* Have you ever noticed how the expiration date on bread is usually within 2 weeks from the day you bought it? And that you NEVER finish the full loaf before it gets stale? Well, did you know that bread keeps PERFECTLY in the freezer? When you're ready to eat, just pluck a slice from the loaf and let it either sit on the counter for 10 or so minutes until it hits room temperature, or simply pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. You'll finally have bread that lasts long enough that you can actually finish it! Save ya money, honey.

​This snack is crunchy, crispy, salty, spicy, and healthy. It’s perfect for mindless munching, and is truly a great alternative for popcorn or chips. I like the combo of the kale with the cauliflower cuz you get two different textures (soft and crispy vs crunchy and flaky) so you never get bored and can keep eating..forever...

What you’ll need:
• Cauliflower (cut into small florets)
• Curly kale (de-stemmed and cut into bite sized pieces)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Cayenne powder
Note: 2 cups of raw kale will yield about 1 cup of kale chips, so grab a lot of kale! you’ll be glad you did.

What you’ll do:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Spread cauliflower evenly on lined baking sheet
• Spread kale evenly on separate lined baking sheet
• Lightly drizzle cauliflower and kale with olive oil, and season to taste
• Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden brown and the kale is crisp, but not burnt.
• Remove kale from oven, turn on the broiler, and let the cauliflower sit for about 2 minutes, until edges are super crispy. Monitor closely to avoid burning.
• Add kale and cauli to a bowl and snack away! FOREVER!

These lil snack bites will give you a boost of energy before the gym, or tide you over until dinner (hanger helper), or just generally satisfy a little sweet tooth without being over indulgent. These are date/nut based, and the way you flavor them is totally up to you. The good thing about these is that you can really do whatever you want with them, depending on what you have on hand. Here I made two versions: Goji and Maca (darker ones) and Carrot Cake. Once you’re done just pop them in the fridge and snack at your leisure!

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor, and pulse for a minute or two, or until the ingredients have all broken down into a crumbly, sticky consistency. If it’s just not sticking, add more dates. If it’s too sticky, add more nuts or flax. Once ready, take out small amounts and form a ball with your hands. 

Ingredients:
Carrot Cake 
• 10 pitted dates
• 1/3 C walnuts
• 1-4 carrots, depending on thickness. (I used 4 super thin carrots. Start with less and add to your liking)
•1-2  tbsp ground flax seed (this works as a binding agent..carrots are v wet)
Goji and Maca
• 10-15 pitted dates (you need more dates with this one. the dry goji berries are harder to blend)
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/3 cup dried goji berries
• 2 tbsp Maca powder
*Blend all ingredients first, then roll balls in the Maca powder.