Sides Archives - Nutritious Eats

Lemon & Garlic Rainbow Swiss Chard

May 12, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD13 Comments

Hope all you mothers had a wonderful relaxing Mother's Day! Mine was perfect- the best gift you can give a mom is sleep so I got to sleep in for a change, then went to mass, followed by a homemade brunch and lots of relaxing down time. Just what I wanted to do! First thing my husband said when he saw this rainbow swiss chard I picked up at Pike's Place market...."did they dye that?". Shocking the the answer is no, right? Rainbow chard is just a mix of the other colored varieties as opposed to being a variety unto itself. Swiss chard is a nutritional superstar with it's … [Read more...]

Filed under: Sides, Vegan, Vegetables Tagged with easy, garlic, greens, side, swiss chard, vegetable

Corn and Tomato Salad & Meal Planning

May 5, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD30 Comments

Corn and Tomato Salad | www.nutritiouseats.com

I am sort of addicted to this salad. I was trying to come up with a side dish last week when I thought we were out of all vegetables. I found a few sweet peppers, tomatoes and shallots in the drawer of my fridge and I always have frozen corn in the freezer. I think most people have had some version of this salad and often you'll see something similar in a salsa form. I haven't made a corn salad since last summer and this one is a little different because I omitted the black beans and added the sweet peppers and shallots. It's such an easy, super side that goes well with a variety of … [Read more...]

Filed under: Salads, Salsa, Sides Tagged with corn, dip, easy, lime, salad, side salad

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

April 24, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD10 Comments

Have I ever mentioned I am a magazine junkie? Well it's true. Over the last couple years I was good and cut back to two cooking magazines. Then I don't know what happened- actually I do. This crazy discount magazine site sent me emails about all the sales they were having I picked up a couple of subscriptions for $3.99 (for a whole year!). I could pass up those deals. Another discount site offered 5 magazine subscriptions for the year for only $19.95. Seriously? I couldn't even buy those magazines at the full retail price one time for that value! I take stuff to our local consignment shop on … [Read more...]

Filed under: Brunch, Sides, Vegetables Tagged with BBQ sides, cucumbers, dairy, dill, easy, low carb, side, sour cream, vegetarian

Polenta Bruschetta and Meal Planning

April 7, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD29 Comments

Polenta Bruschetta | www.nutritiouseats.com

I hope you all had a great weekend! I know after my last post you are all waiting in suspense to find out the results of my foot's xray and I am happy to say that I do not have a fracture and am half way through my rest period! It was actually a good weekend to skip the long group run as it was chilly, rainy and the kids had early soccer games. I am so curious if I will feel ready to run at the end of this week. I guess we will see!? So the recipe for today- polenta bruschetta. I'll have to admit I am pretty indifferent about polenta. I have had it before where I loved it, but more times … [Read more...]

Filed under: Sides, Vegan Tagged with appetizer, bruschetta, garlic, polenta, side dish, tomatoes, vegan

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

March 27, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD7 Comments

Who doesn't love that cheesy creamy hash brown casserole that usually makes an appearance around the holidays? If you are trying to avoid potatoes, this is a great substitute...Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin. It's lower in fat, calories and carbs. What more could you ask for? Oh and it tastes good too! I used plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream which adds about triple the amount of protein and subbed spaghetti squash for the hash browns. There is a recipe similar floating around Pinterest, but the one I saw used sour cream and hardly any cheese. If calories weren't a concern I'd … [Read more...]

Filed under: Brunch, Easter, Sides Tagged with cheese, christmas, dairy, easter, easy, gratin, greek yogurt, holiday side, spaghetti squash, thanksgiving

Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potato and Cabbage Salad

March 6, 2013 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD11 Comments

Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potato & Cabbage Salad-1

I am so happy to be sharing this delicious Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potato and Cabbage Salad recipe today. I had envisioned making this all weekend and really meant to get a post up on Sunday but it was just one of those days that I literally ran out of time. We got home from mass around 11:30am, the weather was gorgeous- a warm 50 degrees with blue skies and the kids thought it was so warm that they decided to play with the water hose in their swim suits! No joke. My Texas born children now think 50 degrees is swim suit weather. I baked some breakfast cookies that I had hoped to post but … [Read more...]

Filed under: Gluten Free, Salads, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged with cabbage, cilantro, easy, gluten-free, homemade dressing, lime, lime dressing, paleo, roasted sweet potato, spicy, vegan

Butternut Squash Stuffing

November 19, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD5 Comments

Yesterday I kicked my kids out of the house (with their Dad of course) so that I could watch Thanksgiving Live on the Food Network. I absolutely loved it last year and learned some great tips! It totally got me in the mood to cook and now I can't wait to eat Thanksgiving dinner! I'am making all the traditional dishes: a delicious brined turkey, stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, roasted brussels, a green bean dish and my favorite cranberry sauce (see below). I am also making a pumpkin cheesecake, my favorite bourbon pecan pie and probably a regular pumpkin pie. I CAN NOT WAIT! I know … [Read more...]

Filed under: Sides, Thanksgiving Tagged with butternut squash, stuffing, thanksgiving, vegetarian

Homemade Potato Chips with Dipping Sauce

November 7, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD29 Comments

I am stressed people! Sometimes when I am stressed I need to munch on crunchy things and I also have to run (must have those exercise endorphins flowing) so it helps balance everything out. I still feel like I haven't completely moved in, there are boxes still waiting for me in the garage, the hubs has been traveling a lot, I have about 2 1/2 weeks until family visits for Thanksgiving and then off to California. When we get back it will be close to Christmas and well I just don't want to talk about it anymore. SLOW DOWN TIME. Ok onto the inspiration behind this recipe. We used to have … [Read more...]

Filed under: Gluten Free, Sides, Snacks, Vegan Tagged with

Broccoli Apple Salad

October 17, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD11 Comments

Broccoli apple salad. This is a recipe my mother-in-law often makes so she shared her version with me. I was in the mood for a different way to eat my broccoli- normally it's just raw with dip, steamed or roasted then topped with lemon, but this is a nice cold salad that keeps for several days so it's perfect for lunches or snack. When we were in Hawaii this past summer for our family reunion we served it for brunch with an egg casserole and fruit salad. It's a very versatile dish. Broccoli frequently earns a spot in the "top superfoods" list- it's low in calories, high in … [Read more...]

Filed under: Brunch, Salads, Sides, Vegetables Tagged with broccoli, make-ahead, potluck, salad

Sauteed Sesame Kale and Meal Planning

August 6, 2012 by Melanie Flinn, MS, RD12 Comments

It seems like the weather is always a popular conversation topic, especially for those of us in the Seattle area. It's the first thing out of people's mouths once they find out we've just moved here. So far July has been perfect. Mid 70's and clear skies. Then this weekend we got a little surprise heat wave- 91 both Sat and Sunday! What!? The majority of homes here don't have A/C for a reason so I am very thankful this will be short-lived. As the kids played outside in the mini pool yesterday I tried to brainstorm my menu plan for the week. My mom is visiting starting on Tuesday so I want … [Read more...]