A spicy twist on a traditional recipe! (Gluten-free 😌 )

So the other day I had this spicy cornbread-crack creation in a restaurant for dinner. It was SO GOOD. Obviously the first thing I did was drove straight home and whipped up my own version. Wasn’t really sure what to call this, but Chilli Corn Bread seemed the most appropriate. No?

This corn bread is honestly a must for the holiday season. It is warm, spicy, and just all around delicious. Also, I need to be honest with you guys about how I actually ate this. Let’s just say that my slices of bread were not just topped with avocado slices. They may or may not have been slathered in butter. And I mean SLATHERED. I oiled those babies up. Because fresh-out-of-the-oven bread with melted butter on top is life. And you gotta live!! So make sure you serve this one warm with a nice fat slice of butter on top. 80/20 people.

Ya’ll ready to do this?! Lets get cookin’!

Ingreds:

• 1 cup (120g) cornmeal
• 1 cup (125g) spelt flour (I felt like being trendy and gluten-free, but regular flour works too!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• ¼ tbsp cayanne pepper

Here we gooo.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Grease and lightly flour an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.

Step 2: Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, all spices, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the cooled melted butter together with the egg until combined. Next whisk in your coconut milk and lemon juice. Finally pour them wet ingreds in with the dry ingreds and stir until combined. Make sure you don’t overmix! 

Step 3: Pour batter into your baking pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and the centre is cooked through. To see if the bread is cooked, carefully poke a toothpick in the middle and look to see if it comes out clean. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done!

Step 4: Let cool for a few minutes, then serve while still warm. And obviously drench it in butter and avocado. 

SO GOOD. What do you guys think? Will you be trying this one at home? Comment below! <3

x,

The perfect protein-filled lunch!

Confession: I ate this salad almost every day for lunch last week. Yup, it happened. And it was awesome. Keeping salad exciting is so key to making yourself actually want to eat it on a regular basis. Which is why I have about a million different salad recipes, all of which I will obviously be sharing with you guys. Because, sharing is caring. 💕 For today, this southern-style salad is legit the easiest thing to make, and is the perfect food to prep on Sunday night for a week of healthy lunches. It is time consuming being a girl boss, and so it is important that we prepare for that!

Okay I would also like to say that I am the master of balsamic salad dressing. Not only does it taste freakin’ bomb on this southern style salad, it is my go-to dressing for pretty much any salad I make. It is a recipe that you need in your life.

Let’s get to it friends. 

Skinny Belle Balsamic Dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp real maple syrup (you guys KNOW how rageful I get about that Aunt Jemimas crap. None of that here. None of fit I say!)
• 1 dollop of horseradish mustard (about 1/3 tbsp)
• pinch of garlic powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of fresh ground pepper

Dressing instructions: Put in cup. Shake about like a mad woman for a few seconds. Taste, enjoy.

Southern Salad

• Kidney beans
• Corn (I used corn from a can, because I’m hood like that.)
• Diced purple onion
• Cherry tomatos, halved
• Leafy green lettuce!
• Avocado
• Salt + fresh cracked pepper for topping

Put all dat awesomeness in a bowl. Pour awesome dressing on the awesomeness. Toss the awesomeness. Enjoy and thank me later babes 😉

You guys clearly already know how much I love this salad, but what do you think? Yay? Nay? Comment below!

Also, here are more of my fave salad recipes I have shared here on Skinny Belle:

LENTIL SALAD! (More exciting than it sounds!)

BLUEBERRY KALE SALAD

SPINACH + AVO SALAD

YOGURT TAHINI SALAD + DRESSING

Enjoy!! 

x,

Hands down my favourite meal replacement bar.

Sometimes life happens, and you don’t have time to make yourself a nutritious meal. Work, school, you name it. Vega One Bars are basically my lifesaver from eating complete crap when you get super busy. I carry these bad boys everywhere with me. No matter what I am doing, I always keep at least one of these in my purse. Because you never know. Being hungry sucks, because hunger leads to hanger and hanger is definitely not a cute look on anyone. LOL.😜

Plus, if you don’t come prepared you will end up eating whatever garbage is closest. AKA fast food. AKA the fast track to becoming a slug. Fast food is legit the worst thing you can eat and it is so often the thing that we lean on when we get super busy. That or just junk food in general. Solution? VEGA ONE BARS!

Alright so why do I choose Vega to be the bar that I carry around with me? Well… there are a few reasons:

PLANT-BASED PROTEIN

Plant-based protein is my freakin’ favourite. I hate eating weird dairy byproducts and getting all bloaty and gross after. Just feels so nasty. Vega One bars are filled with protein from plants! Which makes my tummy very happy 😊

TASTE UNREAL

It is like eating a straight up chocolate bar. I don’t know how those guys do it… when I eat a Vega One Bar I am like a kid in a candy shop. Every single ingredient is plant based, and it tastes like a nice slice of heaven.

NUTRITIONALLY FORTIFIED

Vega One Bars are packed with all the nutrients you need to cover you nutritional bases. Which is happiness! Way better than some gross fast food meal if you ask me.

The one thing you guys might not love about Vega One Bars is the price. They are about $4 per bar, but if you ask me that is TOTALLY worth it. 

Anyways, I am definitely team Vega! And team “come prepared”, so you don’t end up eating junk food when life gets busy. 

As you guys might have seen before, I have teamed up with my friends at Vega to do a fall/winter smoothie series. Check out my first post on my PB Apple Smoothie and my classic Coconut Berry smoothie recipes. 

What do you think? Will you start to bring a power bar with you “just in case”? If you have another great meal-replacement bar to recommend please leave it in the comments, I always love to hear what you guys like <3

x,

Get your pasta, sans the wheat belly. 

I really am starting to think I take an abnormal amount of food photos. And I mean more than your average blogger. Food is literally always the best model. It never complains, it always looks BEAUTIFUL, and it just patiently sits there and lets me click away to my heart’s content until I have captured it from every angle humanly possible. Like I said, probably not normal.

But anyways, this Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash is to die for. 

If you haven’t discovered the magical unicorn-like nature of Spaghetti Squash yet, get out from that rock you’ve been hiding under. I never thought something could make me as happy/satisfied/in love as pasta could (yes, love) but spaghetti squash comes pretty damn close. Considering it is a squash and all. 

Spaghetti Squash is really low in calories (!!!) and high in fibre. Both very good things. It also literally looks like pasta when you pull it out of it’s shell. Probably should’ve taken a photo of that too, but once I started eating it I pretty much didn’t take a breath until it was done. Oops. 

Want to make your own Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash? Here’s the recipe:

Ingreds:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• Italian spice mix (basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, etc)
• Pesto sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Half your squash lengthwise, and take out the seeds and yucky bits from the middle with a spoon.

Step 2: Lather up dat squash in olive oil, and put your Italian spice mix, salt, and pepper on the face of the squash. 

Step 3: Place your squash face-down on a baking sheet and bake for 35 – 40 mins. 

Step 4: Now, take the squash out of the oven and carefully flip over both sides to they are face up. Generously sprinkle your parmesan cheese (I am always very generous with my cheese) on top. Take your eggs and crack one into each of your squash halves. Add more parm.

Step 5: Get that pesto sauce ready and place a few dollops on top of the egg. Finally, add a bit more salt + pepper + spices on top and put that bad boy back in the oven for another 10.

Das how you do it friends 🙂

Thoughts?? Love? Hate? Are you on the spag squash train like me or do you have another “fake pasta” that you prefer? Comment below!

PS: Click here to get another fantastical spaghetti squash recipe. 

x,

A perfectly lazy dinner 🙂

Okay is there anything better than a classic grilled cheese? I honestly don’t know. I have been known to be very passionate about my grilled cheese game. Do not (and I mean do not) mess with me while I am enjoying a grilled cheesy goodness. It is a little slice of heaven and we all need to indulge every once and a while. This recipe to be honest isn’t even really an “indulgence”, because I use my favourite Silver Hills Bakery Little Big Bread. That stuff is the best and saves you from all the nasty ingredients normally hiding in bread. Try it out, you will love it. 

This meal almost verges on not even being a recipe because it is so simple, but I will fill you in anyways because I love ya’ll. 

Okay here is what you do:

Step 1: Get nonstick pan (I accidentally typod “pan” to “man” and almost didn’t correct it because… lol a nonstick man.) and heat to medium/low heat. 

Step 2: Slice sharp cheddar cheese (or gruyere, swiss, whatever you have in the fridge) and put between two slices of bread. 

Step 3: Slowly heat bread in pan until juuuuust brown. Then flip and do the same on the other side until the cheese is all melty and delicious. 

Step 4: Get some tomato soup heated up for dipping purposes (I like this one) and take your grilled cheese off the pan and enjoy!!

So simple, almost not a recipe. This is legit the perfect lazy fall dinner, that will leave you oh so satisfied. Also side note, I will disown you as a friend if you microwave your grilled cheese. That is ratchet and nobody needs that microwave business in their life, especially when it comes to something as important as grilled cheese. You understand. 😜

K so tell me, is anyone else out there as passionate about grilled cheese as I am? COMMENT BELOW! So I don’t feel lonely and weird. hehe 😋

x,

Homemade dressing + salad for a protein packed lunch!

I felt that it was totally necessary to add the “it’s more exciting than it sounds” in the title of this post. Because really, when has anyone (who isn’t criminally insane) jumped for joy at the words “lentil salad.” Pretty much the lamest two words ever. That being said, I pinky swear (which is the most serious of swears) that you will be absolutely losing it over how great this salad and dressing are. This is good shit my friends.

Salad ingreds:

• 1 can lentils (green ones)
• ½ medium red onion diced
• Chopped roma tomatos
• ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Avocado

Dressing ingreds:

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp coarse seeded mustard
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• juice ½ lemon
• 5 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• Coarse sea salt

K guys, you ready? Lets do it. 

Step 1: Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside.

Step 2: Open your can of lentils and put into a pasta strainer. Rinse them with water until all the gross lentil “juice” is grained. Strain out all the water so the lentils are as dry as you can get them. (This step is so necessary. The smell of the inside of canned goods is seriously weird if you don’t rinse them lol.)

Step 3: Chop up your red onion, roma tomatoes, and parsley. Combine in a bowl with your drained lentils.

Step 4: Add the dressing to the salad, and top with chopped avocado. Crack a little more salt & pepper on top and you are done!

Make this in the evening for a great protein-packed lunch at work. More protein = less hungry = happiness. Nobody likes the 4 o’clock hangries in the office. 😜

Okay so tell me… Have I convinced you guys to try this recipe yet?! It is the freakin’ bomb so please give it a go and let me know what you think. 😘

x,

The best breakfast smoothie you will ever have… ever.

I am beyond thrilled to announce I have teamed up Vega to bring you our “fall smoothie series!” Vega is one of my all-time favourite companies, and I fan-girl hard for them on the regular. Needless to say it was pretty much a match made in heaven. Their products are 100% plant based, gluten-free, sugar-free, and just overall amazing for you. I can’t say enough great things about the Vega brand, which is why I am so excited to have them here on Skinny Belle. 

Alright friends. So fall smoothies, they are quite possibly even better than a typical summertime smoothie. I like to make my smoothies richer and significantly more substantial in the fall. There is something about the cold weather that just makes me feel like I need that little extra boost of energy from my meals!

The first fall smoothie recipe I would like to bring you today is basically my definition of heaven. Peanut butter, apples, and espresso. What else do you need in life? Really though. This is freakin’ delicious and you need to make it for yourself, like, yesterday.

Ingreds:

• 1/3 cup whole rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 shot espresso (2 is even better!)
• 2 heaping tbsp real peanut butter (<– don’t buy the crap with the added sugar, promise?)
• 1 apple
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 scoop of Vanilla Vega Protein and Greens
• Shredded coconut + hemp hearts for garnish

Put everything in your blender and blend!! This smoothie is a biggin, so have a large glass ready for it. You have been warned. 😝

My PB Apple Breakfast Smoothie is packed with protein (more than 20 grams thanks to Vega!) and has a nice little caffeine kick. Because, if we are being honest here that shit really helps get you through Monday mornings lol. Anyone feel me on that one?

ENJOY!! Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

x,

A simple recipe to bring out the kid in you 🙂

FISH FINGERS!! Because even though I am a full grown adult, I am secretly still a child on the inside and love to eat things like fish fingers. (Maybe not such a secret anymore lol.) While we are on the subject of being a child, I also happen to love the Disney channel. Yes, internet. I am 24 years old and I regularly watch the Disney channel. It is awesome and I love it. You sure as hell can bet that I ate my fish fingers while watching my fave Disney shows. (<– It’s an exciting life I live, I’m aware.)

Anyways, I digress. Fish fingers. They are fun, low in calories (if you make my recipe that is), baked, and taste DELISH! These are also gluten-free, if you are into that kind of tom foolery.

The ingreds:

• 1 cup gluten-free plain bread crumbs (I just bought mine cuz laziness)
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 5 tsp garlic powder (get at me boys)
• 1 tsp fine ground sea salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 sole fillets
• olive oil spray
• lemon wedges for serving

Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 F.

Step 2: Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 3: Whisk together bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt.

Step 4: Slice up your sole fish into nice big fishy fingers! 😀

Step 5: Coat the fish fingers with your coconut milk then dredge them in the bread crumb mixture, tapping off any excess.

Step 6: Lay the fish fingers on the baking sheet covered in parchement paper.

Step 7: lightly spray both sides of the fishies with the olive oil spray.

Step 8: Bake for 8 minutes then turn the over to broil for 2 minutes.

Serve right away with lemon slices and ketchup! Because, if you say you don’t like ketchup you are simply a liar. 😛

What do you guys think of this recipe? Does it bring out the kid in you as well? (Someone please tell me I’m not alone in my Disney and fish finger ways lol.)

x,

A restaurant review from Vancouver, Canada

UHM HI HELLO HANDMADE PASTA. 

I had the strongest urge to steal that fat stack of dough and take a disgustingly big bite out of it. Why? Who the hell knows. But the dough looked that good. 

Basically what I am trying to say is if you have not been to Ask for Luigi for brunch, go. Like… yesterday. I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven the entire time I was there. There is nothing like fresh handmade pasta. In fact, mine was even GLUTEN FREE! That’s right my gluten-free friends, you can have it all. And no it didn’t have that weird gluten-freeness to it… it tasted like legit wheat pasta. And it was melt-in-your-mouth good. 

Alright I think you guys get the point, I loved it. And I wanted to share that love with you, because I love you all. 

So what should you order? Well, pretty much everything looked unreal. That being said, both my friend and I got the Tagliatelle alla Carbonara (<–so fancy lol) with a poached egg. One gluten free, and one not. And they were both bomb-diggity. 

Click here to check out the Ask for Luigi website. 

Enjoy this!! I know I did 🙂

x,

Corn chips are legit my favourite food. Ever. That’s right. If I were to die tomorrow, I would want my last meal to be corn chips. Normal? Probably not, but who cares… I love ’em.

Since I have such a major obsession with corn chips, I like to make them myself and try out different flavours on the regular. It takes less than 10 mins and they are always so delicious!

Here are the ingreds:

• 100% corn tortillas
• chilli powder
• fresh ground sea salt
• lime

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350F.

Step 2: Cut up your tortillas into chip-sized triangles, and lay down on a baking sheet. Try not to let any of the chips overlap eachother because they might stick together!

Step 3: Squeeze your lime juice over all your chips, then lightly sprinkle with chilli powder and fresh ground sea salt.

Step 4: Put in the oven and bake for 6 – 8 minutes. Watch them VERY carefully because they go from raw –> burnt super quickly.

Annnnnd enjoy their crunchy deliciousness! Guac is a great dip to serve with these Chilli Lime Chips. Check out my recipe for “guacamole for cheaters” by clicking here. 

x,