For those of you following me on Instagram, you will be well aware that I am completing a challenge right now using the Oh She Glows cookbook (the first one). For this challenge, I am preparing 20 recipes from the book in one month’s time–enough to build a sense of urgency, but not enough that I can’t skip a day or two.
I made this challenge up (it’s not a “thing,” haha), but I have found it’s a great way to force myself out of my comfort zone and to branch out from my usual routine. I love my Happy Herbivore mac and cheese, and I love avocado toast, but I know there are other recipes out there that I’m missing.
And furthermore, how many of you buy cookbooks and then let them collect dust on your shelf??? This is a struggle of mine. Everyone was going crazy for the OSG cookbook when it first released, so I gave in to peer pressure and bought it myself. However, after flipping through the pages and admiring the pretty pictures, I never got around to making any of the recipes. Why? Because avocado toast is so much easier. 😉
Knowing well that I was missing out on some fantastic recipes–and also thinking about the $25 I spent on the book–I decided enough was enough. Having previously done a similar challenge using the Happy Herbivore cookbook, I knew this would be the kick in the pants I needed.
Recipe 1: Walnut, Pear, & Avocado Salad
Confession: that’s not even a pear. It’s a golden delicious apple. My neighborhood produce shop didn’t have any pears that day, so I decided a golden delicious apple was the next best thing (and as you all know, I don’t even like pears, so I wasn’t even upset about it). The recipe is meant to be served as a full meal, but I reduced the portion and ate it as a side with some avocado toast because I’m me and I wasn’t quite ready to abandon my old habits. ^_^
I chose this recipe first because I love salad and find them easy to prepare (and it was also 90 degrees out). However, this still forced me to experience a different type of salad since I wouldn’t normally go through the effort of marinated and cooking mushrooms, especially for a salad. This was delicious!! Probably because of the golden delicious apple. 😉 Continue reading →