avocado + spinach egg salad

the fourth grader in me misses my pink, sparkly lunchbox and the subsequent surprise that came in opening that magical parcel every day in the cedar ridge lunchroom. my mom was the most excellent lunch packer around and wasn't afraid to think outside the box - pun intended - and pack everything from cereal to chips with salsa to the sometimes embarrassing smelling egg salad.

as of late, i'm finding the simplest joy in preparing mini-meals that are sure to satisfy my stomach whilst sitting at my new desk. this week, i sought inspiration from pinterest (shocking, i know) and whipped up a healthier twist on the classic egg salad recipe.

now i realize it might not look beautiful but the taste most definitely is...

spicy broccoli + sun-dried tomato pasta

forgive my inconsistency in posting. though i still spend a considerable amount of my free time in the kitchen, said amount of free time has reduced significantly. the challenges of balancing my new schedule and the fact that i'm (for the time being) cooking for one, i'm having difficulty tracking down my motivation. perhaps i left it in france...

this throwback dish is one of the first i made when embarking out on this culinary journey. it's creamy without being heavy, packed full of incredible flavor, and contains my best vegetable friend - brocc.

this recipe was inspired (okay, mostly copied but i added my own touches) by one i saw on one of my favorite veggie blogs, cookie + kate.

kate's greenie smoothie

it's been a helluva last few weeks. i flew home from france, celebrated my mom's 60th birthday with family and friends, road tripped to orange county, flew back up to san francisco, enjoyed a few more days with my mom, road tripped AGAIN down to orange county, and have spent the last several days settling into our accommodations for the summer. whew!

i'm slowly getting back on track with my workouts and healthy eating. is two weeks post-arrival too late to feign "jetlag" as an excuse...?

the following is inspired by something i delighted in during a sunny afternoon lunch date with some best friends in the city.

baked eggplant parm

in my opinion, eggplant parmesan is one of the most delicious meals that ever was. packed full of olive oil drenched eggplant and mountains of melty (sometimes even a bit burnt - a win in my opinion!) cheese, this meal isn't just rich in taste but rich in calories too!  i'd been looking for a way to lighten this hein family favorite up a bit. enter martha stewart...

now, i'm not typically one for acknowledging or embracing convicted felons but i must admit, lady stewart knows what's up when it comes to food.

baking the eggplant adds an airy and much welcomed lighter texture to this typically heavy dish. try it, you'll like it.

honey madeleines

cue the 'toulouse bucket list' and subsequent emotional breakdown...

i have approximately 5 days - ahhhh! - left to explore and traipse around this perfect city (to be fair, i leave one week from tomorrow but will spend two days in paris this weekend). one thing i promised myself i'd master while in france was the art of pastry-making. from eclairs to tartes to croissants and beyond, it's no secret the french know what's up when it comes to treats.

while i have in no way, shape, or form mastered any french desserts at all, i did make a valiant attempt at creating these tea time favorites - madeleine cookies.

after a bit of researching, i settled on a recipe from eatsavvy. as this was my first venture into madeleine-land, i decided to forego my own "interpretation" this time and stick to the program.

voilà!

crockpot applesauce

this is literally the simplest and most delicious "recipe" - if you can even call it that - i've concocted thus far. 4 ingredients and 4 hours later - bam! 

no further explanation needed.

quinoa "meatballs" + andy's easy marinara

forgive me, my devoted readers (all five of you...) for leaving you recipe-less for an entire weekend. last week's "i love you" day holiday and weekend visitors to toulouse left little time for extra curricular activities such as this.

today, andy had the afternoon and evening off - hooray! - so we took full advantage of his freedom by doing plenty of running around and errand-accomplishing. ending our outing with a quick trip to caliceo - aka thermal bath heaven - we found ourselves back at home and seriously hungry.

enter: quinoa "meatballs"

these meat-free bad boys are super easy (disclaimer: must be willing to get your hands dirty), absolutely delicious, and the perfect addition to a plate of whole wheat pasta covered in marinara. i think i'd like to try serving these little guys over some spaghetti squash but perhaps that's a challenge to take on stateside...

spinach, leek + onion tart

if you follow me on instagram, you already know about my love affair with leeks. i continue to be surprised by the fact that until this year, i had no idea what a leek was or what it tasted like, let alone how to cook it.

considering that leeks seem to be a staple in the european diet, as evidenced by the cartons upon cartons of them for sale at the farmers market and/or grocery store, i've decided to fully embrace them as a staple in my diet as well.

after pinning a ridiculous number of tarts to my "culinarium" board, i decided i must attempt to make one. not one for loving pre made crusts (or pre made anything, for that matter), i knew if i was to tackle this tart concept, i'd have to make the crust myself. so i did. and then i filled it with a whole bunch of deliciously wonderful vegetables. the result was perfection and has become a favorite in the hein house at lunch time.

quinoa with sun-dried tomato, feta + basil

after a morning of martin- and self-inflicted butt kick at the gym and a "we must have been crazy to come here on a monday" grocery shopping trip to auchan, andy and i were both on the verge of a serious hangry meltdown by the time the clock struck noon.

we'd had a bag of fresh sun-dried tomatoes from the marche for a hot minute and were eager to put them to use. after some serious brainstorming and a bit of pinspiration, this little beauty came to life.

it's definitely not complicated and it might not look like much, but trust me, it rocked. this dish was hearty enough to ease my hunger pangs and properly fill me up without sitting too heavy. andy, on the other hand, had a bowl of last night's broccoli soup and a piece of cornbread to complete his meal.

pumpkin pie granola

the guys were away this past weekend and had to bus to chaumont, france, which is basically the opposite corner of the country. with a 10+ hour road trip looming and many unfortunately planned "dinner and snack stops" at gas stations along the way, i decided to prepare a handful of healthy-ish snacks ahead of time for andy.

because pumpkin is still very much in season at the farmer's market, and we had a fresh batch of puree in the refrigerator, i knew something pumpkin-inspired was in store. the recipe was super simple and produced a very tasty alternative to the pre-made, mayonnaise-based salads otherwise available for consumption on road trips such as these.

is this granola diet-friendly? no. low in sugar? definitely not. but it is homemade and i know exactly what went into it. it's preservative-free, didn't come in a plastic bag, and is as "clean" as possible. all wins in my opinion.

pea, leek + zucchini risotto

ever the optimist, i took the few warm days we had last week (65 degrees, people!) as a sign that spring was on it's way. now, i'm no weather woman but the power of positive thinking can do wonders for your heart and soul.

in fact, i'm currently choosing to ignore the dark grey, rain-filled clouds that have settled heavily over our sleepy neighborhood, replacing the once beautifully blue skies. clearly, i'm hoping this dramatic weather change is only temporary. i mean, if Punxsutawney Phil predicted that warmer and sunnier times are to come, it must be true...

in an effort to add a little food-related sunshine to our little home, i whipped up a spring-y risotto dish chalked full of yummy, green veggies.

white soybean hummus

one of my absolute favorite snacks is veggies and hummus, and trust me when i say i don't discriminate on flavor. roasted red pepper. garlic. sun-dried tomato. considering the fact that the nearest trader joe's is some thousand-plus miles away, andy and i figured we best be learning how to make our own.

after researching ingredients and recipes of every kind - chick pea, black bean, the list goes on - i decided to embark on this inaugural hummus-making adventure using white soybeans.

i was pleasantly surprised at how simple and delicious this hummus was. safe to say i will definitely be making it again. and again. and again.

roasted tomato basil soup with mozzarella grilled cheese

the cold has arrived in toulouse and with a vengeance. we spent a majority of the fall and early winter enjoying lukewarm, no jacket necessary temperatures. but almost precisely once the clock struck midnight on december 31st, there has been an ever-present chill in the air.

taking full advantage of this change in weather, i've decided to jump on the comfort food train and grace our table and bellies with a classic - tomato soup and grilled cheese.

though similar in execution, this meal was a far cry from the combo of my childhood - campbell's tomato soup from a can and melty, velveeta grilled cheese. i'm proud to admit my tastebuds have matured and now crave more nutritious, less preservative-filled fare.

well, hello there!

let's get introductions out of the way...

this is me

and this is my husband, andy

he's a professional volleyball player, currently on contract in toulouse, france.

(that's me, under his arm in the white sweater, obviously paying very close attention to the match)