World's Easiest Grilled Zucchini and Sausage Kabobs

It just doesn't get much easier than these Grilled Zucchini and Sausage Kabobs!

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe for World's Easiest Grilled Zucchini and Sausage Kabobs is something I've made over and over with beef, chicken, or turkey sausage.)

It's time to be breaking out the grill, and unless you're brand new to my blog, it's probably pretty obvious that I love grilling.  But some nights you just want an easy dinner, so I hope you enjoy this updated recipe for kabobs that I've used many times with different types of sausage, and truly, these have to be the easiest kabobs in the world. There are a few ways you can do the kabobs, depending on how much time you want to invest, but even if you just stick the sausage and veggies on skewers, brush with Italian salad dressing, and grill, this is a pretty good tasting easy dinner.

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Easy Recipe for Red, White, and Blueberry Salad

Red White and Blueberry Salad is deliciously easy and perfect for summer parties!

I definitely had good intentions of posting this Red White and Blueberry Salad (with strawberries, banana, and blueberries) before Memorial Day, since it's such a perfectly colored salad for a patriotic holiday.  But instead I spent the weekend going with my friend Susan and her kids to a soccer game, hosting a family party, and having overnight guests who went with me to visit graves on Monday.  Luckily the Fourth of July is just around the corner, another perfect occasion for red, white, and blue food!

Some people may be surprised to see a fruit salad on my blog, and it's true fruit has much more sugar than vegetables.  But lately I've been hearing a lot about the health benefits of berries, and luckily they're some of my favorite fruits.  I did use a lot of blueberries and strawberries and very little banana in the salad (since bananas are much higher in sugar.)  I also use low-carb vanilla yogurt for the dressing, or if you don't want artificial sweetener, you can make your own dressing with plain fat-free Greek yogurt with a touch of vanilla and agave nectar.  (I tried both, and I think I prefer the homemade dressing.)  This is probably Phase 3 for South Beach Dieters, but it's a wonderful treat for a holiday meal.

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Tru Roots Organic Quinoa from Costco (and 25 Healthy Recipes Using Quinoa)

This 4-pound bag of quinoa is a real bargain at my Costco, and I've become a quinoa fan!

How do you feel about Quinoa?  First of all, it's pronounced keen-wah, just in case you're not that familiar with this little seed that's cooked like rice and eaten as a grain.  Quinoa has become increasingly popular over the last few years, partly because it's high in protein and gluten-free and partly because it's tasty and can be used in a variety of ways.

I confess, I was a little slow to embrace Quinoa, and it was only when my Costco started carrying this huge bag of True Roots Organic Quinoa and I suddenly had 4 pounds of quinoa in the freezer that I started experimenting with it regularly.  Since then I've come to love quinoa as a side dish or the base for a salad, and I've gone through several of these big bags since I first bought one.  When I bought another one recently (for $9.99; what a bargain!) I decided it was time to add this product to my list of Kalyn's Kitchen Picks, where I spotlight things I love and happily buy over and over.  If I've convinced you to try quinoa, or just to eat it more often, keep reading to see some of my personal favorite recipes using it, plus more quinoa recipes from my food blogging friends.

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25 Favorite Healthy Grilling Recipes for Chicken, Fish, Pork, Beef, and Vegetables

I love grilling, and here are 25 of my favorite recipes for healthy grilling!

It's Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S. and and I'm looking forward to a busy weekend of holiday activities with family and friends, visiting graves, and maybe even a little gardening, so I don't think there'll be much blogging going on here the next few days.  But since Memorial Day is the unofficial start of grilling season, before I get busy going to Real Salt Lake games and having my family over for the first barbecue of the summer, I want to leave you with some recipe ideas for the holiday weekend. 

There are a lot of tasty options in the Grilling section of the recipe archives, but I've picked my very favorites and updated this old Memorial Day Grilling post with 25 Favorite Healthy Grilling Recipes for Chicken, Fish, Pork, Beef, and Vegetables.  These are all things I've made many times; hope you enjoy!  And if you're in the U.S. I hope you take a moment to reflect on the real meaning of the day and give thanks for all those who lost their lives defending the freedoms we enjoy.   Happy Memorial Day everyone.

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Shrimp and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro, Cumin, and Lime (Gluten-Free)

I love the combination of flavors in this Shrimp and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro, Cumin, and Lime

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and I love this Shrimp and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro, Cumin, and Lime.  Photos for this recipe were updated May 2014 and I'm so happy to have better photos for this favorite salad!)

Shrimp, black beans, cilantro, and lime. It's a combination that goes together so well that you could easily come up with hundreds of recipes featuring this quartet. I bought a big bag of cooked frozen shrimp from Costco, and this was a salad I made for lunch after thinking to myself, hmmm, what else can I make with shrimp? The ingredients were determined by what I had in the fridge and pantry, as well as a well-documented love for cilantro, and this recipe has cilantro in the dressing and more cilantro in the salad, which is just fine with me.  If you're not a cilantro fan I think you could still get a pretty good result with thinly sliced green onion replacing the cilantro in the dressing and just using a little more green onion in the salad, but I wouldn't use parsley in place of cilantro here.

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Fried Cauliflower Rice with Shrimp, Sugar Snap Peas, and Red Pepper (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, Can Be Paleo)

I'm pretty excited about this recipe for Fried Cauiflower "Rice" with Shrimp, Sugar Snap Peas, and Red Pepper!

More than four years ago I first made Cauliflower Rice, a dish of finely chopped cauliflower that's sauteed and eaten as rice, and I liked it but for some reason I didn't get inspired to experiment with it much more.  Then the Pinterest exploded with ideas for cauliflower rice, and I got intrigued with the idea again.  Recently I found myself with cauliflower, sugar snap peas, red bell peppers, and cooked shrimp all in the fridge on a day my nephew Jake was coming to cook, and we experimented a bit and came up with this recipe for Fried Cauliflower Rice with Shrimp, Sugar Snap Peas, and Red Pepper.  Not only did we absolutely love this (even Jake, who is definitely not a cauliflower fan) but it was so good that I quickly ate my leftovers for breakfast the next day, wishing I had more.

If you absolutely hate cauliflower, this is probably not for you.  But if you like cauliflower, even just a little, I promise you will be totally surprised at how delicious grain-free cauliflower fried rice can be.  I was trying to make a dish that's as close as possible to authentic fried rice, which I think is partly what made it so good, and it may be helpful to read about The Principles of Chinese Cooking before trying this if you haven't done much stir-frying.  But as long as you have all your ingredients prepped before you start to cook, and remember to keep stirring when the heat is high, this is actually not that hard to make. And if you're someone who loves fried rice but is trying to avoid carbs, this might become your new favorite recipe!

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Thoughts on the Documentary Fed Up, and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (5-20-24)

I thought I knew a lot about sugar and the obesity epidemic, but this movie was a real eye-opener.

I'm going to start things out on a serious note this week.  Over the weekend I saw the documentary Fed Up, and even though I've been on the anti-sugar bandwagon for many years, I was still stunned by the degree to which over-consumption of sugar is making Americans sick, and even more bothered by the claims of political maneuvering that's gone on to prevent the government from making people aware the dangers of too much sugar.  And I'm not the only one thinking about this; cookbook author and food expert Mark Bittman talks about Fed Up in the New York Times, calling it An Inconvenient Truth About Our Food, and well-known chef and blogger Michael Ruhlman writes On Seeing Fed Up (and you can watch the trailer there.) Also the blog U.S. Food Policy has a piece with links to facts about the diagnosis and potential solutions, and this opinion piece from The New York Times on Why We're Always Hungry supports many of the points in the movie.  Whether you're a parent, someone who has struggled to lose weight, or just someone trying be as healthy as possible, I highly recommend seeing this movie.

Now, on to a few more things I've been thinking about . . .
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Baked Eggs and Asparagus with Parmesan (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

If you like baked eggs and asparagus, you'll love this combination for an easy breakfast.

This recipe for Baked Eggs and Asparagus with Parmesan is a quick-and-easy breakfast idea that can be on the table in about twenty-five minutes, and this will be a hit with anyone who likes runny egg yolks and asparagus.  Timing is everything for this recipe, and there are a few tricks to make sure the egg whites cook quickly enough so the yolks are still runny, but if you follow my tips in the recipe your eggs should come out perfectly.  I made this one morning when the asparagus in the fridge was calling my name and I was waiting for my nephew Jake to come for a cooking day, (probably unconsciously inspired by my favorite Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Parmesan.)  Then I made it again the next day to write down the exact times to I could share it here.  Jake and I both loved this; hope you enjoy!

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Stir-Fried Broccolini with Oyster Sauce (Low-Carb)

Stir-Fried Broccolini with Oyster Sauce is a delicious way to cook this fun vegetable.

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites.  This recipe for Stir-Fried Broccolini with Oyster Sauce was updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions, May 2014.)

The Japanese vegetable called Broccolini is something I discovered by accident in 2006 when I become obsessed with broccoli rabe and tried for weeks to get my local store to order it. One of the produce managers sold me broccolini instead, and when I tried it in this Stir-Fried Broccolini with Oyster Sauce I discovered I love broccolini, and have been cooking it ever since. Broccolini is a natural hybrid between broccoli and Gai Lan or Chinese Kale and since I first found it this Asian vegetable has become more common in U.S. stores.  You may also find it called Baby Broccoli, and regular broccoli can also be used in this recipe as well.  (I also think you could substitute something like Hoisin Sauce for the Oyster Sauce and use vegetable stock, which would make this a vegan dish.)

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Baby Arugula Salad with Turkey Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Strips (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

Baby Arugula Salad with Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Strips reminds me of one of my favorite pasta dishes.

I'm trying to get better about using up little bits of things that are in the fridge, and a few weeks ago I found myself with just two links of spicy turkey Italian Sausage and no idea how to use it.  I sat down in my office chair and paged through a few cookbooks and quickly spotted a recipe for Spinach Salad with Italian Sausage in Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh.  I didn't have spinach, but I had one of those little tubs of baby arugula, and since I love Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Arugula, I thought maybe a salad with baby arugula and Italian sausage might be a winner as well.  If you're a fan of arugula, I promise this Baby Arugula Salad with Turkey Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Strips is really wonderful; I thought all the flavors here were perfect together.

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Beanitos Bean Chips

When you simply must have a crunchy chip, these healthy Beanitos chips made from beans are really good.

I'm a huge fan of dried beans, and I don't think there's any doubt that the fact that they're allowed for Phase One of the South Beach Diet was one of the things that convinced me that this way of eating was a good fit for me.  So when someone told me about Beanitos Bean Chips in a conversation on the Kalyn's Kitchen Facebook Page, I was definitely interested in trying them.  Now a few months have gone by and I've tried all the flavors I can get in my local Harmon's or Dick's Market, and I can report, these chips are really good!  (In fact, they may be a little too good, if you know what I mean!)

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Asian Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas, Red Bell Pepper, Celery, and Peanuts (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

I love the Asian flavors in this Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas, Red Bell Pepper, Celery, and Peanuts.

This blog is about the food (and not about me) and I work pretty hard to keep it that way.  But since many of you will be seeing this recipe for Asian Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas, Red Bell Pepper, Celery, and Peanuts on Mother's Day, I do want to say a little about my amazing mom, who died far too young and left a hole in the hearts of her children that can probably never be filled.   Now I attempt to forget about that hole by spending time with the grandkids and great grandkids my mom never met or didn't get to spend nearly enough time with, and I think often about how blessed we were to have a loving, talented, and generous mom who put her children's needs above her own and literally would have done anything for us.  If you're lucky enough to be spending Mother's day with your mom, do everything you can to pamper and appreciate her, because you have no idea how much you'll miss her when she's gone.  And if you're a mom yourself, I hope you're having a wonderful day with your kids.

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Mushroom and Feta Breakfast Casserole (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

Mushroom and Feta Breakfast Casserole has two of my very favorite ingredients!

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites.  This recipe was updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions, May 2014.)  

I'm happy to have updated photos of this favorite Mushroom and Feta Breakfast Casserole to share for Phase One Friday this week, and if I was forced to choose only one breakfast casserole out of the many different ones I've shared here, this would have to be it.  There's something about the combination of mushrooms and feta that sounds like a perfect breakfast to me.   This casserole is also a sentimental favorite because back in 2008 I made this for breakfast when Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener stopped for a night as she was headed for California.  But whether you're having guests for breakfast or just looking for make-ahead breakfast options, breakfast casseroles like this are a good way to keep your healthy eating plan on track.  It would also make a nice option if you're looking for ideas for Mother's Day Brunch, hope you enjoy!

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Recipe for Penne Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach

I love this Penne Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach.  (You can make this or any pasta dish lower in carbs by using less pasta and more vegetables and meat.)

(Updated with better photos and thoughts about Dreamfields Pasta, May 2014.)   I first made this Penne Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach back in 2010, and when I found out it was World Pasta Day I posted the recipe right away, even though I didn't like the original photos much at all.  Now my photo skills have definitely improved and it wasn't a hardship at all to make this again to get better photos.  Scroll down to the bottom of the step-by-step pictures to see the original photo that still makes me wince a bit when I think about it being on the blog all those years. 

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Chard and Garlic Scape Pesto and Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday (5-6-14)

Spring has sprung, and I'm rushing the season and thinking about Garlic Scape and Chard Pesto.

It's feeling a lot like Spring at my house, and even though I already complained about it once, can I say one more time that I'm feeling pretty serious garden withdrawals?  At my old house I would probably have volunteer chard coming up in the garden by now, and one of my favorite things to make in the spring is Garlic Scape and Chard Pesto like you see in the photos above.  If you like garlic, but don't know what Garlic Scapes are, use that link to go and read about them.  Then hit up your local organic grocer or farmer's market and make some of this amazing pesto right away!

Don't get me wrong, I love my new house, and I feel more than blessed to have a house that's big enough that my enormous family can come here for a party.  But I'm also optimistically making plans for a bit more gardening on-the-fly this year (until I can build a real greenhouse, hopefully this fall.)  Tonight I told my neighbor across the street how I was just going to slip a few tomato plants in among the flowers in a sunny but sheltered spot by my garage.  "The deer will eat them," she said, without even thinking twice.  I guess we're going to find out whether deer like tomatoes, mint, and basil, because those are the three plants I've decided I have to at least try growing outside this year.

Now on to a few more things I'm thinking about . . .

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Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Salad with Poblano and Red Bell Pepper (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Salad with Poblano and Red Bell Pepper is a perfect meatless side dish for Cinco de Mayo.

I already shared Twenty-Five Healthy Mexican Food Dinners for Cinco de Mayo, but for some reason I still had Mexican food on the brain last week when I cooked with Jake.  Maybe it was just the desire to use up some leftover brown rice and a Poblano chile that was in the fridge, but we had fun experimenting with those ingredients.  We both loved the resulting Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Salad with Poblano and Red Bell Pepper.  I especially like the color the red onion adds in this salad, but if you're not going to be eating it right away I would recommend using green onion instead, because the red onion flavor got stronger after the salad had been in the fridge a few days.  But that didn't stop me from gobbling it up for lunch one day, and this is great for a Meatless Monday lunch or side dish, even on the Mondays when it's not Cinco de Mayo!

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Baked White Fish with Onions, Peppers, Olives, and Feta (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

I've been making Baked White Fish with Onions, Peppers, Olives, and Feta for years and love this flavor combination.

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites.)  This recipe for Baked White Fish with Onions, Peppers, Olives, and Feta is one I came up with in the very earliest days of my blog, and it's a favorite quick dinner that I've been making it for years. You can make this with any type of mild white fish, but I probably use Tilapia the most, and using a topping with finely chopped red onion, red bell pepper, green olives, and Feta adds a lot of flavor to the mild-flavored Tilapia.  If you're not  a Tilapia fan, use any any mild white fish such as halibut, orange roughy, cod, or sole.  There's a small amount of mayo spread over the fish to keep the topping on, and that also keeps the fish moist when it's baked at a high temperature.  It's important to start with room-temperature fish pieces, so the fish cooks quickly without the topping ingredients getting too done.  If green olives are a non-starter at your house, try it with capers instead, but please try this way of cooking fish if you like these flavors and I bet it will become a repeater at your house too!

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for April 2014 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

Kalyn's Favorite Phase One Low-Glycemic Recipes for April 2014 were Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash, Roasted Cauliflower Salad, Spinach and Kale Salad with Greek Flavors, Roasted Turnips with Balsamic Vinegar, and Slow Cooker Frittata with Broccoli, Ham, and Swiss.

It's May?  Seriously, I can hardly believe it but that doesn't mean I'm not happy to see the warmer weather arrive.  The only thing dampening the mood at Chez Kalyn is that I'm having serious garden veggie withdrawals at the idea of going another summer without a real vegetable garden.  last year I tried growing tomatoes and herbs on the deck, an experiment that had pretty mixed results.  In the end I realized my deck just doesn't get enough sun to really grow things well, and since my new house has the triple whammy of wind, a short growing season, and lots of critters to eat the crops, I'm planning to build a greenhouse for next summer.  There's even a perfect spot for it right outside the side door of my garage.  Meanwhile, it's farmer's market veggies and begging from friends for me for another year.  

Of course the arrival of a new month means it's time for another monthly round-up of South Beach Diet Phase One Low Glycemic Recipes I've posted on Kalyn's Kitchen or spotted on other blogs during the month.   There are some great finds from April, and I'm experimenting with a few more pictures, so let me know if you like that idea. 

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