Summertime calls for laying out by the pool, cold lemonade, and refreshing salads! I have been trying to come up with the perfect combination for a salad for a long time and I think I may have found it with this creamy crab and vegetable salad. I actually don’t know if I’ve ever made the same salad twice since it’s so easy to make it different by adding or replacing a vegetable or protein, but this salad was perfect – it had a good balance between soft, creamy, and crunchy!

Stuffed peppers are great – they look fancy but are easy to make, there are many ways to make them so you don’t get bored, and it’s like natural portion control (if you stick to one or two pepper halves).

I am sure we all have pizza cravings from time to time, or maybe all the time, but we can’t always give in! How about a healthier pizza though? You can give in to a healthy veggie tortilla pizza – any time!

I like making pizzas because you can always make them different – different toppings, different sauces, different cheeses. Just stick to healthy toppings (no pepperoni or sausage) and low-calorie cheeses and you can have a tortilla pizza any time and feel good about it!

Does it seem like I was having one of those cravings for two different things eaten together? Banana bread and cookies… Well actually I was trying to create a healthier snickerdoodle but in the process discovered that I should really just give up trying to make butter-less snickerdoodles. So instead I ended up at these delicious banana bread cookies.

I think it’s safe to say that every time my brother comes to our parents’ house, he makes this bruschetta. Well, maybe 90% of the time. That’s why I call it Chris’ Simple Bruschetta – his recipe is really simple, you could make it every day!

And there’s a reason for that: it’s always a big hit! I remember when he made these at a party and they were eaten so fast, I didn’t even get to try one at first! He had to make another batch and I made sure to sneak one away then.

It’s summertime and you know what that means  –  yard work!  I know, you thought I’d say “beach” or “pool” or “vacation!” But unfortunately for my fiancé and I, that’s not the case at the moment. It has been raining so much in Indiana that we have to use up the good-weather-days to catch up on yard work. Bummer.

Since my fiancé and his best friend are working hard on this 80 degree, sunny, pool-perfect day, I thought the least I can do is make a protein-packed lunch to make sure they don’t quit!

Are you a sweet or savory breakfast kind of person? I eat a sweet breakfast almost every day – why not start each day with a healthy sweet breakfast, like yogurt or oatmeal, and pretend I’m eating dessert first thing in the morning? 🙂 But sometimes I just need something savory – like this smoked salmon and scrambled egg toast!