A Pursuit of Healthy

This would be the perfect side dish for any Memorial Day barbecue you may have going on this weekend. And it's packed with veggies! I really like this crunchy ramen salad because it's a good combo of sweet and savory, and it has a great crunch! Yes it uses a couple packages of ramen noodles, which are not normally something you'd find on a healthy eating blog. But you're going to toss the seasoning package that comes with it since it's full of junk anyway. The Asian honey vinaigrette that is used as the dressing in this salad is really amazing and easy to make. I hope you give it a try!

Crunchy Ramen Salad

Prep Time: 10 min. | Total Time: 10 min.

Salad Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) bag coleslaw mix
2 ( 3 oz.) packages of ramen noodles, crumbled (toss the seasoning packet)
1 cup shelled and cooked edamame
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 cup thinly-sliced almonds
1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions (scallions)
Asian honey vinaigrette

Vinaigrette Ingredients:
2/3 cup vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
Pinch of salt and black pepper

Preparation Instructions:
Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and set aside. Add all ingredients together in a large bowl, pour on vinaigrette and toss until combined. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. This will last in the fridge for a couple days, just remember that the avocado will brown the longer it sits, especially since it's sitting in an acidic vinaigrette. Also, I like it best fresh because the ramen noodles is still nice and crunchy! Enjoy!


I hope you all  have a relaxing and safe Memorial Day weekend!

I'm still alive! I took a bit of a blogging hiatus to gear up for finals and to get our house ready to list. Well, our house sold in a day and I just submitted my last final! Hallelujah!! I just had a ginormous weight lifted from my shoulders and I'm ready to party! Okay honestly, get a massage and sleep is more on my agenda.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you guys because it's been one of my favorites lately! I don't know that I would go so far as to say these are "healthy" double chocolate zucchini muffins, but they do contain whole wheat flour (fiber!), zucchini (veggie goodness!), honey and applesauce (natural sweeteners!), so I wouldn't discourage you from calling them healthy. If you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth without grabbing a candy bar or something super unhealthy, I think you should definitely try these!

The zucchini and applesauce make them incredibly moist, and the cocoa powder and chocolate chips make them oh so chocolately and delicious. And yes, they do have green flecks in there because of the shredded zucchini. If that bothers you, just don't look at it! You can't taste any zucchini at all. Give them a try and let me know what you think! Find me on Instagram or post your muffins with the hashtag, #apursuitofhealthy, I would love to see what you make!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Prep Time: 10 min. | Total Time: 35 min. | Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. oil, whatever kind you want, coconut, vegetable, etc.
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk, I used regular ole 2% but you could use any type of milk you like
1/2 cup regular or mini chocolate chips

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 12 cup muffin tin by either using cupcake liners or spraying the tin very generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Super important step! After shredding your zucchini, squeeze it to get rid of all excess water. Zucchinis are full of water and it will mess up how the muffins turn out if the excess water isn't disposed of. I've explained this before in a zucchini dessert post, but this is what I do. I line a bowl with a couple layers of paper towel, then set my box grater in the bowl and shred the zucchini right into it. Then when done, I gather the edges of the paper towel into a little bundle and squeeze it over the sink. Easy peasy!

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add oil, honey, vanilla, egg and egg white; mix on medium-low until smooth and well combined. Add zucchini, applesauce, and milk to the wet ingredients and mix well. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and that really made it an easy job. Bake 22-25 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin. After 5 minutes, remove muffins and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Warning: these are incredibly addictive and won't last long. I may have even one for breakfast yesterday while I was cooking my actual breakfast. Ridiculous. In fact, these muffins didn't last long enough for me to take pictures of them.


Nutrition Information:
     Serving Size: 1 muffin
     Calories: 160
     Fat: 6 g
     Carbs: 25 g
     Sugar: 14 g
     Fiber: 2.3 g
     Protein: 3.4 g