The Sunny Side Up Recipes

Fresh. Clean. Radiant. Living life on the sunny side.

Easter Entertaining

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PEONIES

Easter is one of my favorite days of the year! Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite entertaining tips to make the day extra colorful:

Sweet: I love the idea of using this recipe from Barefoot Contessa–the most heavenly coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting–and topping them with little candy eggs.

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Image courtesy of Cupcakes & Cashmere 

Savory: I’m also loving this feature from The Everygirl on building the perfect cheese board, including everything you need to know about cheese types, presentation, and pairings.

 

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Image Courtesy of The Everygirl

Eat: Since I’m half Greek, I grew up trying a lot of different recipes for Greek Easter. My absolute favorites are this recipe for traditional Greek bread and this recipe for rack of lamb lamb and slow-roasted potatoes. We let it cook all afternoon with some oregano, olive oil, and lemon and it’s one of my favorite meals all year long.

Decorate: The simplest (and most budget friendly) centerpiece: 

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Image Courtesy of The Casual Craftlete

P.S. Have extra peeps left over and don’t know what to do with them?  I’m not a big fan of them, but these peeps s’mores are pretty adorable.

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Image Courtesy of Yumm Alert

Green Matcha Latte

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I gave up coffee for Lent (one week left!) and since then have been drinking green tea almost nonstop. To mix it up a little, I started making these matcha green tea lattes, which I usually order at Starbucks for a treat but often find them to be too sweet. I decided to try making my own recipe at home and I love them so much that I think I might just stick with them instead of coffee from now on even after Lent is over.

Matcha lattes still have that same warm, comforting feel of a cup of coffee or a regular latte and offer a slight caffeine boost to increase focus and energy. Better yet, matcha is packed with antioxidants. amino acids, and chlorophyll, which is where it gets its light green color. Unlike traditional green tea, matcha preparation involves covering the tea plants with shade cloths before they’re harvested to increase chlorophyll production, at which point the matcha tea leaves are ground into a fine powder  (“matcha” literally means powdered tea). As a result, the powder is much more potent than drinking tea water and its nutrients can be more readily processed by the body. I make mine in the morning with almond milk and a touch of honey and it’s a wonderful way to start the day!

Green Matcha Latte
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup hot water
  • ¾ cup vanilla almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons matcha tea powder
  • 1 tablespoon honey (or as much as desired)
Instructions
  1. In a mug or a medium bowl, add the matcha tea powder and honey to a small amount of hot water and whisk until fully dissolved.
  2. Heat almond milk add in matcha solution, and pour into a mug. Serve hot and enjoy!

Easy Breakfasts for Busy People

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If you’re like me, you grew up hearing time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

But wait, it really is. Eating breakfast helps with weight control, alertness, concentration, and energy levels, and helps to keep blood sugar levels steady throughout the day. Here are my favorite breakfasts for those busy on-the-go mornings when you need something quick and easy:

Irish Oatmeal

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Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs and Herb Roasted Tomatoes

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Acai Smoothie Bowl

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Balance Bowl

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Spring Green Smoothie

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Detox Salad

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Winter always seems to mean eating heavier foods–stews, pastas, you name it–and every now and then I find myself looking for something fresh to balance things out. This salad is super light and always makes me feel rejuvenated and energized during those cold winter months. I love how the citrusy vinaigrette dresses up the greens and how the avocado and pine nuts add such great texture. This is definitely one that you’ll want to keep through spring–I make a big batch at the start of every week and can’t get enough of it. Enjoy!

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P.S. For added flavor and a more spring-friendly recipe, consider toasting the pine nuts and adding citrus, such as fresh grapefruit, or adding extra basil to the vinaigrette.

Detox Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 4 cups arugula
  • ⅓ cup pine nuts
  • ¼ cup basil, chopped
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • Juice of one orange
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1 tsp raw honey
  • 3 tbs. good olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Rinse asparagus into 1-inch pieces and sautee in olive oil for 5 minutes or until bright green. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, lightly toss arugula, asparagus, avocado, pine nuts, and basil.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad in small increments (I often end up with more dressing than I need), toss, and serve.

 

Israeli Salad

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As far as salads go, this is about as quick and easy as it gets! I love the bold, fresh, flavors. But even more, I love that this takes less than 5 minutes to make and I instantly have a healthy, delicious lunch on the go. Sometimes, it’s the simple classics that are the best recipes.

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Israeli Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 large cucumbers
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
  • ¼ cup fresh feta cheese, crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons mint
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, gently toss, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

My Cold Cure-All: Ginger Lemon Tea

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Ginger and lemon tea in glass cup

Recently I’ve been battling a stubborn cold and there has been one consistent lifesaver: ginger lemon tea. While any kind of tea is helpful for a sore throat, this tea benefits from the ginger–a natural antioxidant–and lemon, which adds a vitamin C boost to power up your immune system. The combination makes for a powerful antioxidant drink that helps to naturally eliminate nausea, inflammation, and other ailements, making it a natural antibiotic. Make it for yourself as you recover from a flu or cold, or as a morning pick me up in place of coffee.

*Tip: To make it less spicy, add less ginger and more honey and lemon. Where possible, use unprocessed (raw) local honey.

Ginger Lemon Tea
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 cup water
  • 1-inch piece ginger root (or more, to taste), peeled and roughly chopped
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
Instructions
  1. In a small pot over medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Add finely chopped ginger and lemon juice. Let simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Add honey to bottom of your mug/glass and slowly pour water mixture in. Stir and serve hot.
  2. **Tip: To make it less spicy, add less ginger and more honey and lemon.

Image provided by: Grafvision Photography 

 

 

6 Ways to Get A Better Night’s Sleep

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Unmade bed

Recently, it seems like everyone has been talking about sleep. Case and point: Arianna Huffington’s “sleep revolution” claims that 40% of the US population gets less than 6 hours each night, resulting in 60 million sleeping pill prescriptions annually (!). 

It’s no secret that sleep is key to a healthy lifestyle and beauty routine, but we all know that in practice it can be tough, especially with a busy schedule.  Here are my top tips to help catch some Zs this week: 

  1. Turn of all electronics by 9 pm: I know, I know, we all have our poison—email, Facebook, Instagram—that keeps us up. But swapping electronics with a book or magazine is necessary to a good night’s sleep since these devices can suppress melatonin production (a sleep hormone). BONUS: Leaving your phone on the other side of the room will make you even more willing to turn off that alarm in the morning. Win win. 
  2. Meditation and deep breathing: Even a few minutes of deep breathing, light stretching, or yoga system goes a long way to calm the nervous system. Here’s a quick routine you can practice right before bed.
  3. Sip chamomile tea: Or ginger, or peppermint, or any other kind of herbal tea that suits your fancy. A steaming cup of tea has a power-down effect and is a great treat to help train you brain to calm down. Not a tea drinker? Warm milk with a pinch of salt and cinnamon should also do the trick.
  4. Stay active: Studies show that moving more during the day has a positive correlation with better and deeper sleep at night. It doesn’t have to be a crazy Soul Cycle class—even a nice long brisk walk with the dog is enough to train your mind to calm down when it’s time for bed. 
  5. List it out: That is, it’s often helpful to jot down any tasks or things you didn’t get done and set it aside in a journal on your nightstand. 
  6. Monitor your midnight snacks: This is probably the #1 reason why most people struggle with sleep. Try setting a cut-off for heavy or sugary foods–especially sweets–a few hours before bed. When your blood sugar spikes, it causes that awful tossing and turning that will keep you all through the night. Nobody wants that! If you do need a snack, try something protein rich with healthy fats, like a handful of nuts or my favorite, turkey slices with avocado.

IF: Table

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if table

Hello friends, I am so thrilled to share this post with you today!! For those of you who are regular followers and saw my Valentine’s Day Entertaining post, I had an incredible French-themed Valentine’s Day dinner with about ten girlfriends here in DC to celebrate friendship and sisterhood. There was so much laughter, beautiful food, (and of course, chocolate!), and it was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. Most importantly, what I really loved is that our table was filled with truly women who shared a love of Jesus and a desire to be His hands and feet in our community in a pilot of something called the IF: Table. 

For those of you who haven’t heard of the IF: Gathering before, it’s an amazing movement of Christian woman all of the country seeking to answer one critical question: “If God is real, then how do we live our lives?” Their ultimate vision is to gather, equip, and unleash women to live out their calling.

Enter: IF: Table,  the “gathering” piece. The goal? Bring together a group of 6 (or more) women who meet on the second Sunday of every month to share a simple potluck meal and dive deep with other women over real stories and Christ centered conversations. The amazing IF team provides conversation cards–and even recipes!–every month and leaves the cooking and discussion to us! Some of this month’s questions that really stuck with our group:

  • How can we, as women, do a better job of  breaking down barriers that separate us and building each other up?
  • How can we do a better job loving one another and our community, our co-workers, our neighborhood – so that the world would know us as disciples? 

I am so excited for next month’s meeting, where we’ll be gathering for an amazing Italian dinner! We’ll be adding a justice component each month as well where we discuss a pressing issue in our local or global community and what steps we can take to serve, from sex trafficking to homelessness and beyond.

No matter how skilled of a cook you are (and I’ve got you covered on recipes!), I can’t say enough how powerful this simple idea is. As women, we all come from  different places, different stories, different struggles, but we all bring something to the table in God’s Kingdom. God wants to use your story and there’s nothing more beautiful than sharing life with another sister as we seek to serve Him together through all seasons of life. Never underestimate the power that one small group can have to change the world.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…” (Acts 2:46) 

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Valentine’s Day Entertaining

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Valentine’s Day is one of those love it or hate it kind of days. But regardless of how you feel about the holiday, I find that it’s a great mid-winter excuse to entertain friends,  not to mention to pull out the chocolate and some sweet pink flowers, a few of my favorite things!

This year, I’m putting together a French-themed dinner party for a few dear girlfriends in the city. Here are some of my favorite tablescape ideas to inspire you as you plan your own Valentine’s Day bash.

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Image courtesy of Fair Exchange

Something pink: Flowers can be expensive–especially in the winter!–but I love this idea from the Flair Exchange of making mini customized bouquets for friends. For those of you who feel more ambitious or want ideas for a dinner party table, a guide on how to make your own professional-looking floral arrangement here. Teaser: scotch tape is your new best friend:)

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Image courtesy of Etsy

….something sparkly: I love these simple garlands from Etsy. They’re fun but elegant at the same time, and I always have a spare set tucked away for spontaneous celebrations and parties.

tart

Image courtesy of The Cook’s Atelie

…something sweet:  I recently discovered the most lovely food blog, Tiger in a Jar, who collaborated with The Cook’s Atelier for a lovely feature on homemade raspberry tarts. They are absolutely gorgeous, and the video in itself is worth watching even if you don’t consider yourself a baker.

tartlettes

Image courtesy of Love and Lemons

I also love these darling tart cherry tartelletes from Love and Lemons…

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Image courtesy of Martha Stewart magazine.

…or these conversation heart cookies from Martha Stewart.

valentine

Image courtesy of Cupcakes and Cashmere.

…and some words of kindness: Emily Schuman from Cupcakes & Cashmere does it again! These little DIY valentines are so creative and better, budget-friendly.

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day traditions? I’d love to hear in the comment section below!

 

 

 

Kahlua Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

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flour

Pretty much anyone who went to school can confirm that whenever finals week struck, these cookies would appear. Not only are they some of the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever have (think warm, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth chocolatey goodness), but the espresso and kahlua are my secret ingredients to make it extra special. I decided to bring them out again when the East Coast was struck with a blizzard a few weeks back, and was happy to see that they’re still a crowd favorite.

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While preparing your cookie dough, stir together one tablespoon of espresso powder and three tablesppons kahlua into a thick, aromatic syrup. Gently fold into your batter and voila! These aren’t your everyday cookies.

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