My Therapist Cooks

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Healthy Eating

Smoked Turkey Breast

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Delicious, easy whole smoked turkey breast with just a few simple steps! This is a smoked turkey WITHOUT BRINE for no mess or extra planning. An overnight dry rub and a few hours in the smoker produce the most delicious, juicy turkey breast ever!

plate of sliced smoked turkey with rosemary garnish on navy blue napkin.

One thing about turkey: people either love it or "meh" it and really love sides. I fall on the "sides are preferable" side (lol) of things generally, unless the turkey is really freaking good.

And let me say this: smoked turkey is really freaking good.

(although, if you don't have a smoker, I have a roasted turkey breast and foolproof whole roast turkey that are also really, really good!)

I LOVE smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The benefits are endless: the oven is free for side dishes to bake, and the low + slow way the smoker works means that the turkey stays super flavorful and juicy.

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Vegan Marinated Mushrooms

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One of our favorite vegan mushrooms, these vegan marinated mushrooms are SO YUMMY and the perfect vegan appetizer to add to a party spread! They have just a few pantry ingredients and are done in 30 minutes, but last for weeks in the fridge!

hand holding a marinated mushroom on a toothpick over open jar of mushrooms.

I. Love. Mushrooms. Like, a lot a lot.

These mushrooms in particular will always and forever remind me of Christmas, even though my family never had them. I think this is a total throwback recipe, 80's or 90's or something - did you eat these as a kid? My next door neighbors in Japan made these for almost every holiday, and I LOVED them. I think they used Italian dressing and canned mushrooms, no shame in that game, and the chewy mushroom in the tangy vinaigrette was just my favorite thing ever. 

I'm all about anything tangy or pickled, and I think these are such a great addition to a holiday party. They're so light and bright and a perfect complement to the heavier dishes that we have this time of year. I like having them as part of an appetizer spread with some pimento cheese or buffalo chicken dip; they're vegan and gluten free so everyone can enjoy them.

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Greek Chicken Thighs

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Delicious broiled chicken thighs with Greek chicken marinade! This version of honey lemon chicken has a quick and easy marinade and is done in under half an hour because the chicken is broiled quickly. Serve these on their own, in pita for chicken gyros, or as part of a Mediterranean charcuterie board!

crowded board with plate of chicken, lemon halves, tzatziki, pita, and lettuce leaves.

This has recently become one of my favorite ways to serve chicken, especially in the summer - Greek-style with tangy tzatziki sauce, broiled in the oven for a quick and easy weeknight dinner situation.

Greek flavors are some of my favorites, and I love a whole meal that is lemony, oregano-y, and honey-esque.  Lemon, honey, olive oil, garlic, and oregano are cornerstone flavors of Greek food and can be mixed and matched in a thousand ways to create different dishes!

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Vegan Tabouli Salad

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Delicious, easy vegan tabouli salad with marinated chickpeas that is the perfect light lunch! We serve this often as a side dish for grilled chicken or baked tofu, or take it to summer potlucks for a yummy vegan side dish.

gray pottery bowl of vegan tabouli salad topped with parsley and marinated garbanzo beans with blue napkins

I. Love. Summer.  

I love the feeling of school being out. I love the heat and humidity, even when I bitch about it. I love the longer days, the smell of gardenias, going to hear music downtown, the whole cliché shebang.  

I especially LOVE summer-feeling food.  Grilled meat with fresh or raw side dishes, that great mix of healthy and decadent, salads so fresh and crisp that they somehow quench your thirst, you know?  

This tabouli is one of those salads for our family, and I can't get enough.  My mom used to make picnics of hummus and tabouli and pita long before those things were cool, and bring them to the pool late swim practices in the summer.  She made both with a heavy hand of lemon, one of my favorite flavors for dishes like this.

This version of tabouli is a teensy bit jazzed up with marinating the chick peas, but that's super hands off and can be done way in advance - the longer in advance the better, actually.  The garbanzos end up creamy but still with texture and so much flavor from the lemon juice, garlic, and crushed red pepper.  I honestly can't even.  

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Spicy Grilled Firecracker Shrimp

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Spicy grilled shrimp at its finest with TWO kinds of hot sauce! Just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes are all you need for this spicy, buttery take on firecracker shrimp.

cooked grilled shrimp on grill pan with lemon slices

Hello and welcome to our favorite 15 minute appetizer! When we're having grilling parties I'm always into a little snack right at the beginning - something delicious that can be thrown on the grill or in the oven while we wait for the main event, you know?

Fake-out focaccia is an example of this.

Now, don't confuse this Firecracker Shrimp with the dish by the same name from Panda Express. This is not that, although I'm sure that's delicious too. I've called this spicy grilled shrimp Firecracker Shrimp for YEARS, mainly because it is a very fun summery nibble to add to a grilling party at one of the American summer holidays. Hence, Firecracker Shrimp.

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Vegan Pasta Salad with Roasted Veggies

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Yummy vegan pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish! I make this with any seasonal veggies I have on hand, pine nuts, and lots of fresh herbs and lemon vinaigrette for brightness. Change up the veggies, pasta shape, and herbs each time for a fresh take on this yummy, healthy side dish!

large serving bowl of vegan pasta salad with asparagus and tomatoes

I just finished the book Hello, Summer and tbh want to start all recipes like this with OH, HELLO SUMMER, but it feels kind of redundant.

Know that I'm thinking it, though.

This is, to me, the pasta salad to end all pasta salads. It's light, fresh, and full of summery flavors. I love that it's vegan because lots of different types of eaters can eat it, and almost every aspect of it can be switched up based on what you have on hand. Different nuts, veggies, fresh herbs, it all works.

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Watermelon Juice with Lime and Mint

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The best homemade mocktail for summer! Homemade watermelon water (or watermelon juice) blended with lime and fresh mint is the most refreshing, hydrating, electrolyte-packed drink to sip on. It's a homemade agua fresca in 15 minutes, done and done!

top view of watermelon water with mint leaves

For summer!  A drink.  A refreshing drink.  

I loathe the Starbucks refreshers.  I realize that's a harsh word considering I've never actually had one, but I can all but guarantee they're full of sugar and also refresh isn't a noun and shouldn't be made into one.  Is my opinion.  

But!  This blended watermelon drink is actually refreshing.  It is incredibly light, incredibly quick to throw together, and so very good for you.

I first had this years ago at the yoga studio where I worked; we called it watermelon tonic and it appeared all summer every summer.  Watermelon and lime are a great combination, the ingredients are good and good for you, and fresh mint just screams summer to me.

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Easy Shrimp Curry

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This delicious shrimp curry features coconut milk, fish sauce, and lots of lime juice for brightness. This is a curry shrimp recipe that's done in just 30 minutes, aka the perfect weeknight seafood dinner! Pair this with plain white rice or naan for dipping and sopping up all the creamy curry sauce.

 

large skillet of shrimp with creamy curry sauce, napkin, and cilantro

Ohhhh curry, how I love you. It's no secret that we are highly obsessed with all kinds of curry, and a yellow curry with coconut milk appears a few times per month on our dinner rotation.

I often see curry recipes with a bunch of chopping, starting with garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and green onion. I LOVE starting curries with that flavor combination, but wanted to do a quick version using dried and jarred flavors to save time and effort. 

This shrimp curry recipe is super easy thanks to coconut milk and yellow curry, and the result is a 15-20 minute curry that tastes like tons of effort without any actual effort. Shrimp cooks in 3 minutes or less, and with some storebought naan this can truly be dinner in under half an hour.

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Sour Cream Guacamole

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This sour cream guacamole features grated onion and garlic for tons of flavor + no chunks, and lime juice and fresh tomatoes for delicious pico + guac flavor mixed into one. If you love guacamole, you will LOVE this version.

sour cream guacamole bowl topped with tomatoes

My friend Heather and I have had some pretty extensive happy hours, and over the years we have expanded our "let's just set out some cheese and crackers" offerings to tons of different appetizers, snacks, and spreads. We do breads, cheeses, these tomatoes, fruits and veggies, all in the name of "absorbing the wine." It works for us.  

Once we were having one such important business meeting and she said "I made guacamole!  But with lots of sour cream." And BOY did she mean it. This was a recipe invented out of necessity, she had half an avocado and other flavorful things that didn't quiiiiite make more than a few chipfulls of regular guac, so this dip came about.

Mostly sour cream, some avocado, flavors for eons. We've both been making it for various other people ever since, and it's been a massive hit with everyone who has tried it. So, while I can't take all the credit for this recipe, it needed to be one that you started making right. this. moment. If you hate guacamole you'll LOVE this. And if you love guacamole you're probably already drooling.  

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Easy Chili Lime Salmon

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Chili lime salmon with honey is a DELICIOUS version of my best ever cast iron skillet salmon. Just 6 ingredients, 15 minutes, and gluten free, dairy free salmon dinner can be yours!

chili lime salmon with rice

It's 6 ingredients of love, basically. How are we feeling about a 20 minute salmon dinner that feels slightly Mexican, slightly fine for any side dish you like, slightly practically perfect in every way?

We feel great about it, right?

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Spring Salad with Asparagus

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This raw bok choy salad with asparagus and peas is the most delicious easy salad! A no-dressing dressing with lemon juice and olive oil + some fresh parmesan rounds out this gluten free side or main dish. Round this spring salad out with some favorite grilled chicken and shortcut focaccia, or serve this as a cold vegetable side dish!

small plate of salad with asparagus

It's another non-dressing salad, aka my favorite way to throw together a super quick and fresh meal. 

Farmer's markets are finally coming back, which means we are in Spring Greens heaven, and so many of these ingredients are able to be found locally right now.

The gist is this: raw greens, fresh herbs, and a few choice veggies blanched super quickly in salted water that get cooled and served on top. Salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and parmesan top the dish for flavor, so we don't need to mess with making a dressing. 

I LOVE salads like this this time of year, because you can customize them based on what you like or have in your fridge that needs to be used up. Literally any veggie, herb, or cheese can be swapped out here, this is just a combination that I love. 

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Lentil Bowls with Cauliflower and Tahini

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The best buddha bowls with cauliflower and tahini sauce! These are so delicious for a make ahead lunch, and the pickled onions and tahini sauce can be made in advance for a quick throw-together meal. These bowls are vegetarian, gluten free, and can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature.

lentil bowl topped with pickled red onions

When it comes to "healthy" food, I'm careful to not use words like "cheat, guilt, good, bad," and so on. I think that thought pattern surrounding food can be so damaging, but also I agree that in terms of physical health there are foods that are better for our bodies than others, if we're talking lentils vs cheetos.

I love lentils for the cheap + toothsome + nutrition-packed punch they pack in a bowl like this. They are SO flavorful (because salt) and honestly I could eat a bowl of them on their own.

We made this into a fun bowl with bright pink pickled onions, a shortcut gremolata, and toasty roasty cauliflower, one of my favorite substitutes for meat because when roasted it has just the best texture.

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Crispy Chicken Cutlets

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Homemade chicken cutlets for the feezer! These thin-sliced chicken breasts are breaded then cooked right from frozen for the best meal prep entree ever. These can be pan-fried OR baked, and both cooking methods result in crispy, juicy chicken that is absolutely delicious. Think of this as a grown up version of my baked breaded chicken tenders.

sliced baked chicken cutlets

Let us make ourselves some chicken cutlets, keep them in the freezer, and call it good. I am so, so into freshly fried or baked crispy chicken without any effort.

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Meal Prep Chicken Grain Bowls

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Meal prep chicken grain bowls with all of your favorite toppings! We're going super easy for meal prep with one dressing for the chicken marinade and salad, a few chopped veggies, and lots and lots of time saved during the week now that your meal prep lunches are made!

meal prep chicken grain bowls

Mmmmmmm meal prep ideas for lunch, aka something I think about almost every week. It's been one of the hardest things about quarantine for me; very few opportunities to leave the house for lunch and very little desire to have leftovers since we cook 7 dinners per week now too.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Cake (with quinoa!)

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This gluten free chocolate cake is a BLENDER CAKE that has just a few ingredients and comes together in under an hour! It's totally foolproof and doesn't taste like it's trying to be healthy at all. Instead, think "is it a brownie, is it a cookie, do I care because it's covered in chocolate ganache frosting?"

gluten free chocolate cake

It's here, it's here! ....Valentine's Day? To be clear, we celebrate very minimally on V-day, maybe make a big fancy meal, although we technically celebrate our dating anniversary on Valentine's Day - TEN YEARS, where did the time go.

Oh, I know, the time went into the pandemic vortex like the rest of my soul.

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Cabbage Roll Soup

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Cabbage roll soup is a low carb soup version of traditional cabbage rolls; ground meat, cabbage, sweet, tangy tomato sauce. This recipe has just a few ingredients and comes together in half an hour or so. It's a great soup for freezing or meal prep - leftovers are delicious!

cabbage roll soup recipe

It's time for a super easy new cabbage and beef soup recipe.

One of those recipes that is comforting, cozy, filling (with bread dunked into it obviously), but requires no last minute rushing around to get food hot + crispy. It's 2021 on the last day of DJT's presidency in the middle of a pandemic and honestly we need food that just stays, you know? No emotional fortitude necessary, just an easy soup recipe.

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Favorite Grilled Chicken Salad

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Featuring our favorite marinade for grilled chicken, this salad with goat cheese and walnuts is one that we make often for main dish salad dinners or for meal prep! The combo of tangy dressing, maple marinade, and creamy goat cheese is just the best ever. No boring main dish salads here!

how to make grilled chicken salad

Hello and hi! How are we managing in this pandemic coup? Are we being gentle with our New Year's Resolutions? Please say yes.

One thing that we have been trying to do for a few months is making one "lunchy" item during our meal prep. Not focusing only on dinners helps us stay away from takeout (which I'm such a sucker for especially on days where I don't have anywhere to go), and having super yummy foods in the fridge to grab just overall makes our workdays at home feel more enjoyable.

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Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies

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Hey hey, fall sheet pan dinner recipe! This sheet pan sausage and root veggies comes with its very own warm spinach salad made right.on.the.freaking.pan. The ingredients are simple, the method is foolproof, and the salad dressing is seriously, drinkably delicious.

sheet pan chicken sausage and veggies, and wilted spinach with a wooden spoon on a large baking sheet.

Omg how is it fall, look at us broken records acting like we don't understand time. Like seriously.

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