(groovy music)
- Hello, my Munchies.
Welcome to the channel.
If you're new,
I'm Alyssia, and today we are celebrating my good friend
Sara Lynn, who many of you know to be the Domestic Geek.
You may have seen us collab many times before
on our own channels, or you may have seen a channel
that we host together, Friday Night Supper club.
If not, check it all out.
But today is all about her brand new cookbook,
Meals Made Easy.
It's a fuss-free approach to healthy cooking,
and I know that's the truth because Sara Lynn and I
really align with how easy we want and need healthy to be
in order to actually stick with it.
The book is divided into breakfast, lunch, dinner,
veggie, and essentials, and there are over 100 recipes.
And it's honestly such a beautiful book.
In the book, she has a section called
what does healthy even mean, and so many things
resonated with me, I just had to share a few lines from it.
The truth is that healthy is totally subjective
and means something different to each of us.
Healthy means cooking and eating at home.
Almost anything you make at home is going to be
better for you than something you picked up
at a fast food joint or had delivered.
So true.
And, healthy means satiating.
You can eat all the salad you want,
but if you're still starving when you're finished,
you haven't done yourself any favors.
Food is meant to nourish the body and the soul.
Yes.
Most of you know that this is exactly
how I feel about health,
and that's why Sara Lynn and I align.
And I'm so excited to share some of her recipes
with you now.
She actually doesn't even know I'm making this video,
so it's up to you to go and tell her on her channel
and Instagram.
So, I chose three recipes to share.
One is a breakfast cookie, a cucumber and watermelon salad,
and a Mediterranean penne.
So that way, you get one hot and one cold dish,
which I thought were perfect for summer.
Let's start with breakfast.
Chocolate chia breakfast cookies.
But I took advantage of the neat mix it up detail
she includes in so many of her recipes in the book,
which gives me modifications to keep meals versatile.
So, it's actually like there are way more than 100 recipes
in this book.
I'm doing chocolate peanut butter chia breakfast cookies.
Start by soaking chia seeds in water for about 10 minutes.
Then, I grab my ripe bananas and mash,
add in smooth natural peanut butter,
which I'm swapping for almond butter,
the soaked chia seed mixture, unsweetened cocoa powder,
coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and baking powder.
Mix until well combined.
(groovy music)
And then spoon heaping tablespoons
onto a prepared baking sheet
and bake for about 14 minutes.
Cool for five minutes before enjoying.
What?
These are chewy, soft, and cake-like.
They're so satisfying for any time of day,
but I'm not gonna turn down cookies for breakfast.
You can store these in the fridge
or freeze for up to three months.
You've gotta give them a try,
or consider the chocolate cherry
or double chocolate versions.
This recipe is also vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
I love that she included the health values
for every single recipe, too.
Okay, next up, a cucumber and watermelon salad.
It's so easy, but when I saw this, I was like,
wait, why haven't I put cucumber in a salad
with watermelon before?
It seems so obvious now.
What a good choice.
I mix together lime juice and honey as my dressing.
Then I add chopped watermelon, cucumber, and feta.
Top it all with mint leaves and toss to combine.
And you've got the most refreshing summer salad of all time.
It is so easy to make, great for yourself, or a crowd.
The lime juice, watermelon, and feta
is a classic combination that's hard to beat.
Before I get to the last recipe,
I had to draw attention to the photos in the book.
Not only is the food photography amazing,
but there are some awesome photos of Sara Lynn.
Now, this struck me, because when we do photos
for our Friday Night Supper Club,
we always joke about how bad we are at taking photos
and how much we hate it,
and she looks so natural in these.
I had to have a little bit of fun with it.
(jazzy music)
(quack)
Don't hate me.
Okay, can you believe how easy these recipes are?
The next one is no different,
because it is a one pot Mediterranean penne.
Less dishes can never be a bad thing.
In a large dutch oven, or you could use a soup pot,
I add broth, penne, I went with whole wheat,
tomatoes, garlic, and Greek seasoning.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat,
and then cover and reduce to medium.
Once the pasta is cooked through,
after about 15 minutes, add spinach,
chopped artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers,
and olives, and stir well, allowing the spinach to wilt.
It'll only take about two minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, and add some feta,
and you are good to go.
This was a favorite when we filmed.
It's warm and satisfying, but so light.
And honestly, we've been eating leftovers cold, too.
Savory, deliciously balanced,
with the acidity of the tomatoes and the red peppers,
and the salty bite of the olives and feta cheese.
So good.
Sara Lynn and I talk all the time,
so I know how hard she's worked for literally years
to make this baby possible.
She's wanted to develop a cookbook
since she was a kid, so I know that this
is a dream come true for her.
And I am so proud, and I just wanted to make a video
to share the love and let her know how proud of her I am,
and share it with all of you, too.
I hope that you'll get your own copy of the book.
It is linked in the description box below.
And be sure to head over the Sara Lynn' channel
and Instagram, and let her know that you saw this video.
Also, check out our joint channel,
Friday Night Supper Club, for more fun
that's a little less healthy.
Thanks so much for your support.
I am blown away by how amazing this community is
every single day, and I'm so happy you're here.
I'll see you next week, and remember,
it's all a matter of mind over munch.