OK, guys, sue me. I love chicken. I love wilted greens. I love sundried tomatoes and add them mostly to all things any day, any time.

So last night, when I set out to make another 30 minute meal, I might have made you another chicken dish. I’m sorry. But this can be made sans chicken, with seafood, with tofu, or with beans…or pretty much with whatever you want. Basically what I am saying is customize away.

So here’s what we got: arugula, sundried tomatoes, feta, harvest grains from TJs, chicken, and lemons. Get excited.

I cut and juiced four lemons. You can use as much as you want – how lemony do you like your chicken and grains? (Hint: your answer should be as lemony as possible.)

These are harvest grains from TJs. They come in a bag. They take 10 minutes to make, and have couscous, and quinoa, and orzo, and garbanzo beans…it’s heaven! In only 10 minutes!

Cook up some chicken, salting it and squeezing about two lemons worth of lemon juice over them while cooking.

I used about five ounces of feta. I could have used more, but I didn’t want to be absurd. Be absurd; add more.

I also used about four cups of arugula. It was a lot, but I like arugula. If you’re not a fan, use like two cups, or use kale, or some other green that you can wilt. OR you can wilt the arugula first, but I just used the grains and the chicken to do the job for me. Laziness, is what it is…or hunger?

So add your cheese, and your sundried tomatoes (I used half a cup. Again, do what feels right in your heart.)

And you’re left with a delicious meal that’s ready in about twenty minutes. Squeeze lemon juice over the top, and eat while catching up on TV, or with a loved one or two.

Today, I want to talk to you about something near and dear to me. A few years back, I found out that my dad has Type II Diabetes (as do members of Corelyn’s family, and probably yours, too.) Since then, we’ve become very aware of the sugars and carbs we’re putting in our bodies, and what that does to us.

Enter a crash-course in what you can eat, and what you can’t, and something called the Glycemic Index. It’s slightly complicated, but basically if you’re diabetic you have a higher blood sugar and need to (among other things) modify your diet to lower the amount of sugar you’re intaking.

Thanks to Pieces in Progress for making such a helpful chart!

This means eating more whole foods (like vegetables) and avoiding sugary things and processed foods which can have hidden sweeteners (such as white bread.) Your body, diabetes or not, functions more effectively when you digest your foods and carbohydrates over time, rather than immediately (we can all relate to a crash after a sugar high, can’t we?)

Starting now, we’ll try to be educating our readers more on diabetic-friendly foods, which can be a challenge in a home with people who already have restrictions (my mom is eating GF and my sister attempts this too, whereas many GF foods are higher on the GI…so confusing!) The good news is that everyone can, and should, eat veggies – whether raw or cooked – and they’ll be getting great doses of nutrition. Here’s an in-depth guide to what to eat when you have diabetes to help you get started! Now, does anyone have a good diabetic-friendly cookie recipe?

Do you have dietary restrictions? Tell us about them and we’ll incorporate them into GMS and come up with recipes for you!

I make this on a regular basis, and made them with Jennie this week to show her just how easy these are – they really have a consistency of pancakes, flip easily, and are a good way to get protein! I got the original recipe for this dish from a paleo instagram user, @kristenatcop, and I’ve kept on making these delicious snacks/breakfasts ever since!

Ingredients:

2 bananas
2 eggs
About 1/2 cup sliced fruit. I used blackberries and strawberries.

Start by mashing up about ¾ of a banana in a bowl and try to use softened bananas (easier to mash up).

Add in 1 egg and blend together.

Add desired amount of fruit to bowl. Mix.

Then, spray down a pan with olive oil or coconut oil. Pour in batter and heat on medium. Watch your pancake! The key with paleo pancakes is patience. If you cook them on too high a setting, they will burn!

Once golden on one side, flip, and cook until both sides are cooked through.

Top with almond slices, your left over fruit, and honey…and you’re done! You have easy, protein-packed pancakes, yum!

Jeff loves English Muffins. I love Jeff. Alas, Corelyn and I set out to make English Muffins from scratch this weekend, and we were not disappointed. They were relatively easy, just needed a little love (read: time.)

Ingredients:

4 cups (1 pound, 2 ounces/500g) white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons (0.18 ounce/5g) instant yeast
2 teaspoons (0.35 ounce/10g) fine salt
1 1/3 cups warm water
A drizzle of oil, plus extra for coating
A handful of semolina flour, for coating.

Basically, you’re going to mix the flour, yeast, salt, and water in a bowl. Drizzle in oil until you have a sticky-ish dough (use your judgement) then let it rise until double in size.

Then, flatten it out and cut it into roughly nine pieces. Or ten. Or however big you want them. Do what feels right in your heart.

Round them, then sprinkle with semolina flour. Flip, and repeat. Let someone else do it while you take photos so you don’t have to touch flour. Wait, is it just me who hates that? Nevermind, then use your own hands to put the flour on. Unless it’s me. Then don’t.

Now, you’re going to let them rise again until doubled in size, again. Or for 30 minutes. Or until your friends show up with margaritas and chips and you decide it’s time to make English muffins.

So heat up a pan (or skillet) over medium heat, and then let your muffin cook on one side for about a minute, then flip. Or, forget about them while your friend is showing you how to make your hair look like something out of Downton Abbey. Flip as soon as your remember that they’re on the skillet, and continue cooking for about ten minutes, until it’s looking like a delish English muffin.

Kind of like this. Delicious. Beautiful. Wonderful. The best kind of breakfast, right at your fingertips.

Serve with butter, or, my favorite – jelly. Or jam. Or marmalade, like Paddington Bear. Whatever is tickling your fancy that day.

These are easy, and wonderful, and will make your fiance love you even more (if that’s even possible?) and plus, it’ll make you look fancy. Make them the next weekend you have free time! (And I’ll come over. I’ll bring the marmalade.) (More recipe info from Liz, here.)

Ah, the OC. I always love going down to Orange County, and not just because I have a not-so-secret love for the TV show. Heading down there usually means I get to spend time with my awesome cousins – and this visit was no exception! My mom is in town right now, (yay, Truds!) and I wanted to take her to one of my favorite dining spots before we met up with our family. Welcome to the Camp in Costa Mesa!

The Camp is home to a number of awesome shops and restaurants. It’s a little funky, a little artsy, and totally my style. I brought Mom over to Old Vine Cafe, which is always at the top of my list!

Old Vine Cafe is normally super crowded, but the trick is to go during an off dining time on a week day. There was no wait!

One of the best things ever? Watching cream go in coffee. Mmmmmm.

I’m a breakfast-anytime type of lady, so the fact that they serve their morning menu until 3pm is a definite win. There are so many great choices too! My mom opted for a sweet treat with this incredible banana pecan crepe, which was filled with ricotta mousse. YUM.

I decided to go for a savory flavor with the vegetarian omelette. It was packed with zucchini, eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, and Manchego cheese, and drizzled with pesto. Ohh a wise choice, indeed. Especially since it came with seasoned breakfast potatoes!

The real star? The homemade biscuit. It arrived and my mom proclaimed, “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”

I picked the pistachio butter for my biscuit, and then praised myself for this victory in decision making.

It was such a lovely late lunch, especially since I spent it with my mom! Have you ever been to the Camp in the OC? Tell me about it!