8 Delicious Meals You Didn’t Know You Were Craving

I don’t know what it is, but I love looking at pictures of food. Yep, I’m THAT girl on Instagram (Oops). Seeing what other people are consuming—whether or not they’re bloggers— is fascinating, but that might be because I’m food-obsessed. I also love food palette originality. I’m tired of recirculation of recipes that have been on Pinterest and sprinkled on loads of healthy-living blogs. I don’t want to repeat content; I want to create it.

As a college student who strives to eat cleaner, it’s important for me to generate that unique content. That’s why I’m posting 8 of my most recent meals to encourage you to eat in and make something different (it’s FREEZING right now and Ohio is no exception). You can cook too! Trust me. Here’s some inspiration to work you up.

Front image: Trader Joe’s frozen quinoa with veggies, 1 sausage link and roasted asparagus with pepper and olive oil.

Blackberry + Pepper Salad: Baby lettuce, arugula, blackberries and pepper.

Fried egg & veggie power bowl: 2 fried eggs, broccoli, zucchini squash, red pepper, red onion, pepper + onion powder (sometimes I like some extra on veggies).

Chicken + soy sauce, baked sweet potato and sauted baby spinach + white onion. This is a hearty meal to me.

I don’t care that I made this in the winter, it was AMAZING. Roasted Summer Veggies with Parm. Cheese: Zucchini squash, zucchini, sweet potato, tomatoes, onions and minced garlic (I spread it on the bottom of the pan) + parm cheese. OMG.

Egg/avocado hybrid paired with strips of pumpkin French toast, tofu strips and sauted spinach. This was a weird meal, but it was good post-run! To see how to create the egg-o-cado, check out this post.

Speaking of avocado, UGH. This meal. Co-created by my roomie. Turkey burger with butternut squash, avocado, yellow and red peppers. Don’t the peppers look like fries? Yeah. They were better, though.

Falafel bites, broccoli, tomatoes, red pepper and eggplant. THIS was also a favorite.

Bon Appétit, everybody!

The Easy Dinner Series: Grilled Chicken and Veggie Lettuce Wraps

So… eating well during the holidays doesn’t always go so well for me. In December, I’m usually not training for any races and I’m plowing through treacherous finals, which means devouring lots of pizza, copious amounts of coffee and probably brownies and cookies. I won’t lie. I love comfort food, and this is the month I’m most susceptible to my cravings.

However, I still try to clean up my eating habits during the holidays because if I don’t, I feel physically weaker and my system isn’t happy. That’s one reason I still try to eat cleaner. If you’re still behind on sleep from finals week and you’re struggling like me, try these DELISH wraps I whipped up tonight. I can’t get enough!

Kait’s Grilled Chicken + Veggies Lettuce Wraps
I ended up splitting mine into 2 wraps because the lettuce wouldn’t hold everything I cooked.

• 2 large pieces of lettuce from a lettuce head
• 6 slices of chicken (I used Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips)
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1/4 red pepper, sliced
Any other veggies you’d like to toss in!
• Pepper to taste/whatever other spices you desire

Grill the chicken in a saucepan on medium to high heat. Add in the onion first, then the red pepper about 3 minutes later. Sprinkle with pepper and other seasoning. Take your toppings and toss them onto the pieces of lettuce. Wrap and enjoy!

This might be my new go-to for quick and healthy dinners! Regardless of the temptation of comfort food in the winter, this is a year-round staple.

Obsessed: Baked Sweet Potato, Avocado, Salsa & Fried Egg

I’m about to give Hummusapien some MAJOR blog props. I also share her obsession of sweet potatoes, eggs and avocados. Somehow, this creative blogger has found a way to enjoy all of these healthy and yummy foods all at once. Although the recipe is not mine, I had to share. And you HAVE to try this—despite your possible skepticism about the combination. Fear not.

The original recipe can be found on Alexis’ blog here, but I’ll give you a rundown.

You’ll need:

• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cup salsa (I used Giant Eagle Market District Nature’s Basket Mild Salsa. Mmmm.)
• 1 fried egg (I like over medium).

1.) BAKE your sweet potato. DO NOT microwave it! This is the easy way out, but baking them really makes them taste better. After piercing the potato with a fork a few times, stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. You’ll be glad you did.

2.) TOP IT with avocado, then salsa, then the fried egg. And then sprinkle some pepper on it. Omg.

THAT’S IT. It’s that easy. Perfect for a lunch in between classes or even a dinner the night before Thanksgiving. Whip it up! I will be making this again and again.

Home for Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwiches via Martha Stewart

I made it! I’ve officially moved out of my New York City dorm room and into my house at school in Athens, Ohio. Summer is still in session for one more week, but I’m already thinking about my off-campus-living diet and cooking plan for the year. I’ve decided that I want to try more recipes in general; I always stick to most of the same: fried eggs and steamed veggies. But in May, I picked up Martha’s American Food, a cookbook full of Martha Stewart’s favorite recipes for American food. This semester, I’m exploring it, so this post will probably be one of many from her fabulous hardback. This time, I take on tuna salad sandwiches… definitely an easy recipe I’ll come back to! Try it…

I’ve slightly modified this recipe from Martha’s, but its basis is the same.

Martha’s Tuna Salad Sandwiches (2 servings)

1 can (6 ounces) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (the original recipe calls for grated lemon zest, but I’m a college kid and you probably are too… we aren’t going to do this.)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 slices of Sara Lee’s Honey Wheat bread

1. In a bowl, mix tuna, mayo, mustard, celery, onion and lemon juice with a fork until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Tuna salad can be refrigerated up to 1 day in an airtight container.

2. Spread tuna salad onto slices of honey bread. Cut the sandwich in half and serve. Wa la!

I definitely don’t eat tuna frequently, but when I get in the mood for it, I’m down for some tuna salad. I especially like this recipe because the lemon juice actually adds a perfect amount of sweetness in the flavor. I made 4 servings of the tuna salad and stored some of it in the fridge, and my roommate and I enjoyed it the next day, too. SO doable and great for lunch, right?!

Simple Lunch Idea: Edamame + Almond Salad

A packed lunch doesn’t always have to be mundane. After working at my 9-5 internship every day this summer, I think I’ve about mastered how to give myself some healthy variety that doesn’t include a PB&J sandwich every day. If you’re on the run, here’s a simple salad idea to try. It’s healthy AND filling. Ready to take it to go?

Kait’s Edamame + Almond Salad

1 cup raw spinach
1/2 cup raw edamame
1/3 cup sliced tomato
1/4 cup almonds
Drizzle of lemon juice (optional)
Toss and season with salt + pepper to taste.

I like this salad idea because it’s high in protein even though the meat is absent. The edamame adds some soy to your diet, and while there’s been controversy about how much we should consume (if any), we can eat it in moderation. Personally, I don’t eat much soy, but when I do I choose edamame and actually prefer it raw. Obviously, make sure you put this bad boy in the fridge after you pack it for lunch!