Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan Example

This new phase one recipe for Italian Sausage Soup with Green Pepper, Chickpeas, and Pesto is something I came up with a few weeks ago when I found turkey Italian sausage on sale at the store and I wanted a hearty comforting soup that I could make and eat for dinner that same night.  I've made a few soup variations with similar flavors, but what made this soup especially enjoyable for me was an idea that popped into my head to mash some of the chickpeas so they kind of dissolved into the soup.  (I like chickpeas, but I don't always like biting into a whole chickpea in a bowl of soup or a salad.)  I shared some of this with Jake when he came to cook with me, and we both thought it was a keeper!

If  you saw the Phase One Recipes Round-Up from yesterday, you know I made the commitment to post Daily Phase One Recipes during January again this year.  I hope this is useful for anyone (like me!) who's getting back on track in the new year.  And since this is my third year of Daily Phase One Recipes for January, I'm going to share Phase One Flashbacks every day (after the recipe) to spotlight the Phase One Recipe I posted on that day in 2012 and 2013.  So healthy January, here we come!  (If you're not a South Beach Dieter, Phase One recipes are often Low-Carb or Paleo, and they're always delicious, even if you're not trying to lose weight.)

I'm developing an obsession with Delicata Squash, so forgive me for a minute while I rave on about this delicious user-friendly variety of squash.  And if you're wondering how a squash can be user-friendly, it's because you can eat the skin of Delicata squash, unlike other winter squash varieties!  How cool is that?  I got so excited I almost typed it in all caps, which is a blogging no-no. Delicata Squash is also lower in carbs and higher in fiber than many types of winter squash.  Best of all, it's absolutely delicious, and I love using it for an easier option when I'm too rushed to peel and cut up a butternut squash.

I came up with this Delicata Squash and Sausage Gratin by default when my nephew Jake and I were trying a recipe idea with a sausage and green pepper mixture stuffed inside Delicata squash, and we ended up with far too much stuffing for the amount of squash we had.  So we went to Plan B and made a casserole with the roasted squash, sausage-pepper mixture, and cheese.  Jake isn't the biggest fan of winter squash but he agreed it was really, really good, and when my first photos weren't that great I made this again with my niece Kara who also loved it.  If you like winter squash in general, I bet you'll love this recipe as much as we did!

Do you like sweet potatoes?  My nephew and cooking assistant Jake has never really been a fan, but when we made this simple recipe for Roasted Spicy Sweet Potatoes and Chicken Sausage, he loved it just as much as I did.  This no-fuss recipe was inspired by my love of Sweet Potato Fries, plus a really delicious new low-fat chicken sausage from Costco (with no nitrates!)  Every cook needs some quick and easy dinner ideas for this time of year, and this is pure comfort food without much effort.

I'm trying to get better about using up little bits of things that are in the fridge, and a few weeks ago I found myself with just two links of spicy turkey Italian Sausage and no idea how to use it.  I sat down in my office chair and paged through a few cookbooks and quickly spotted a recipe for Spinach Salad with Italian Sausage in Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh.  I didn't have spinach, but I had one of those little tubs of baby arugula, and since I love Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Arugula, I thought maybe a salad with baby arugula and Italian sausage might be a winner as well.  If you're a fan of arugula, I promise this Baby Arugula Salad with Turkey Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Strips is really wonderful; I thought all the flavors here were perfect together.

I'm always excited when I find a new ingredient that's nutritious, flavorful, and convenient, and these 5th Street Grill Italian Turkey Sausages are a product I've loved since I discovered them earlier this year at Costco. In the first recipe I posted using these sausages, I mentioned how Jake and I were impressed by both the nutritional information and the flavor of the sausages.  I also love that they come pre-cooked, making them so convenient for a quick meal.  Since then I've shared a few recipes using these handy tasty sausages, and my friend Dara from Cookin' Canuck has also fall in love with them and come up with a couple of tasty idea for using them.  Of course, you can use any brand of turkey Italian Sausage in the recipes we've come up with using this sausage if you can't find these, but if you do see these at your neighborhood Costco, I'm officially giving them a nod as one of my Kalyn's Kitchen Picks.

I need to give Meatless Monday fans a raincheck this week so I can share this Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Chicken Garlic Soup and Bell Peppers before New Year's Day.  I've been cooking black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for several years now, usually my favorite Hopping John Soup or Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, and I can promise you, it has definitely brought me good luck.  And if you use portion control, this new lucky soup is even good for Phase One (which I'm guessing some of you may have on your mind!)  If you're cooking black-eyed peas for New Year's Day, let us know in the comments how you're fixing them this year.

 I guess I'm having a little fling with cauliflower because this Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Turkey Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Kale, and Basil Vinaigrette is the latest in a string of fun cauliflower experiments.  In the last few months I've shared Cheesy Baked Cauliflower Tots, Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Feta, and Fried Cauliflower Rice with Shrimp, and all of them had that special something that means the recipe is going to be a repeater in my kitchen.  That's also true for this latest cauliflower experiment where I used roasted cauliflower as the base of the salad and combined it with browned turkey Italian Sausage, cherry tomatoes, and barely wilted kale.  If it's a bit hot to use the oven where you are, use a toaster oven to roast the cauliflower.  (And I should probably be sharing something like this pasta salad the week of Father's Day, but unless dad is a cauliflower-avoider, I promise this salad is so delicious you won't even miss the pasta!)