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Two slices of flatbread pizza topped with melted cheese, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, and onions on a wooden cutting board.

Think Outside the Pizza Box

This month has been all about pizza! In her blog, Katy wrote about making Pizza Boats with her family. And Christine shared in her blog about turning leftovers into pizza. Pizza is a versatile food. There are lots of options for crusts and toppings.

Pizza boats on a white plate

Pizza Night Made Easy

October is officially national pizza month, but if you ask my kiddos, every night is a good night for pizza! Ordering pizza can get a little pricey and often takes a bit of time when you factor in delivery or having to leave the house for carry out. On nights when we want a quick meal, and are craving pizza, we love making Pizza Boats at home!

black bean brownies

Black Bean Brownies

This fall and winter we have some fun, new Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes to share with you. The first is Black Bean Brownies. Last year our intern, Jill, got us started on this recipe. We enjoyed sitting around our table at work to taste and talk about the different versions of this recipe as it became what it is today. I would like to share with you some of the things we learned along the way.

Pumpkin Muffin on a plate

Pumpkin Muffins: A Delicious Way to Start the Day

School is in full swing for my kids so today I want to share with you the Pumpkin Muffin recipe that helps fuel our busy mornings. These Pumpkin Muffins are a new addition to Spend Smart. Eat Smart. and they get a thumbs up from our house.

Sweet Pork Stir Fry

A 20 Minute Stir Fry and 25 More Main Dishes to Love

Our Healthy and Homemade Main Dishes cookbook is available today! The book contains 26 recipes including our July recipe of the month, Sweet Pork Stir Fry. Recipes include nutrition analysis, easy to read directions and tips for success. The cookbook is ideal for new and experienced cooks. It features some helpful tools to make cooking simple, including:

hummus in a bowl with pita chips

No-Cook Meals: Hummus to the Rescue

Last week Christine shared on the blog that she likes to use cottage cheese in her meals when she doesn’t feel like cooking. Today I’m going to share with you another idea for turning a snack food into a meal. Hummus is a hit in our house. Hummus is made from garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. Garbanzo beans are a good source of fiber and protein, two important nutrients to include in meals.

Confetti Rice and Bean Salad

A Month of Snacks

We are continuing our theme of snack boards from last month into June as the weather heats up. Sometimes when it is hot outside, the idea of cooking a full meal feels like too much. So this month we are going to share some of our favorite ideas for making snacks into meals with as little cooking as possible.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Pumpkin Muffins

This past fall we had two fantastic interns who helped us with testing some new and some old recipes. For our March recipe of the month, I would like to share with you the first of those recipes – Pumpkin Muffins. This is a new recipe to the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website and it makes a great breakfast or snack.

homemade breakfast sandwich

Breakfast on the Run

I am a busy student, trying to balance classes, work, and an internship, so I am often eating on the go. I was planning out my meals for the week and decided that breakfast sandwiches would be a great option. They’re portable and easily customizable with your choice of protein, toppings, and bun… and the best part? They freeze and reheat beautifully.

BLACK BEAN BURGERS

Air Fryer Adventures – Part 2

This week I get to share with you about my air fryer adventures. Check out Justine’s blog from last week to hear about her experience making roasted broccoli and fish in her air fryer.

roasted broccoli

Air Fryer Adventures – Part 1

Over the next few weeks, Jody and I are going to share with you some of our adventures with air fryers and highlight Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes that we have made successfully using this appliance. An air fryer cooks food by circulating hot air around the food, which gives it a similar taste and texture to frying but with much less oil. Air fryers come in different sizes and types. Mine is a 5.8-quart basket air fryer. It is too big to fit into a kitchen cupboard, but it does fit nicely in a corner of my kitchen counter. To be safe, I always pull it away from the wall when I am cooking with it and then let it cool completely before I slide it back into place. Clean up is a breeze because I just need to wash the basket with hot, soapy water and then let it air dry.

chopping tomatoes on cutting board

Refreshing Summer Salsa

Now that school is out for the summer, my kids are constantly reaching for snacks during the day. My grocery list has grown quite long over the past several weeks! To stay on top of my grocery budget, I have been trying to buy less pre-packaged snack foods and opt for items that have more fiber and nutrients to keep my kids full while waiting for our next meal.