today, i'm finally starting to crawl out of my post christmas coma. i've been eat, sleep, yoga, repeat for two full days now and i'm starting to feel like a semi normal person again. 

for years now i've been dreaming of my first holiday season feeding people for a living. and while it was so rewarding, good lord was it a grind. totally worth it, but it explains my relentless need to netflix and chill. 

so i'm going to continue to keep it mellow this week. but mellow doesn't mean it can't be delicious. sometimes the simplest things are the tastiest. one of my all time favorite foods is a simple salad with tasty homemade croutons. they are the perfect use for day old bread you couldn't finish and you can keep them on hand for a few days stored in an airtight container. 

seasoned croutons
serves: 4 cups croutons
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
ingredients: 4 cups day old bread, sliced into 1 inch cubes. 4 tablespoons butter. 3 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp dried oregano. 1 tsp dried parsley. 1 tsp dried thyme. .25 cup olive oil. .5 tsp salt. .25 tsp fresh ground pepper.
start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. 

while your oven is preheating, place the butter in a large oven safe pan over medium heat. melt the butter and toss in the rest of the ingredients. stir everything together well so all the bread is lightly coated with herbs, butter and olive oil. 

toast the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, stirring every few until all the bread is lightly toasted. 

transfer the pan to the oven and bake till crispy. about 7-10 minutes. stir every couple of minutes so everything is evenly crisped. 

allow to cool and use as desired. i won't judge you if you eat them all by themselves. 

xo, a

seasoned croutons
serves: 4 cups croutons
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 30 minutes
ingredients: 4 cups day old bread, sliced into 1 inch cubes. 4 tablespoons butter. 3 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp dried oregano. 1 tsp dried parsley. 1 tsp dried thyme. .25 cup olive oil. .5 tsp salt. .25 tsp fresh ground pepper.
start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f.
while your oven is preheating, place the butter in a large oven safe pan over medium heat. melt the butter and toss in the rest of the ingredients. stir everything together well so all the bread is lightly coated with herbs, butter and olive oil. toast the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes, stirring every few until all the bread is lightly toasted.
transfer the pan to the oven and bake till crispy. about 7-10 minutes. stir every couple of minutes so everything is evenly crisped.
allow to cool and use as desired. i won't judge you if you eat them all by themselves. 

it's no secret that i'm more of an everything in moderation type of cook and less of a healthy, animal free, gluten free, paleo, atkins, juice cleanse kind of cook. 

i mean, do you. but i never met a carb i didn't like, beef gives me life (literally & figuratively) and i can't go more than a few hours with out solid food.
but now that i'm teaching yoga pretty regularly, i'm definitely becoming more sensitive to the food needs of others. 

my good friends and yoga teachers recently relocated and relaunched their studio and this weekend they celebrated with a fabulous wellness fair serving their clients and community. i did a little food drop off for the event since i wasn't able to attend for long, and these tasty, energizing treats were the bell of the ball. 

tropical chocolate bites
serves: 25ish bites (depending on how big you cut them or how tall you make them)
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
cool time: 4 hours - over night
ingredients: 12 oz semi sweet chocolate morsels. 12 oz bittersweet chocolate morsels. 1 cup roasted nuts (i used almonds, brazil nuts, cashews), chopped. .25 c dried mango, chopped. .25 c raisins, chopped. .25 c dried cranberries, chopped. .25 c shredded coconut. 3 tbs sunflower seeds. 3 tbs chia seeds. wax or parchment paper. 

pour all the morsels in a glass or stainless steel bowl. fill a large pot with water and place the bowl of chocolate over the pot to create a double boiler. a double boiler is used so you do not burn the chocolate and it melts smooth. bring the water to a boil and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring every few minutes. this should take about 10 minutes.

when the chocolate has melted, pour in the sunflower seeds, chia seeds, nuts, raisins, cranberries, half the coconut and half of the mango. stir till the mixture is well combined. 

lay out the wax or parchment paper on either a rimmed baking sheet or square baking pan. spread the chocolate out evenly. top with remaining coconut and mango and allow to cool in the refrigerator for four hours or over night. 

remove the chocolate from the paper and slice it into equal bite size pieces. serve cool or at room temp. 

xo, a

tropical chocolate bites
serves: 25ish bites (depending on how big you cut them or how tall you make them)
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
cool time: 4 hours - over night
ingredients: 12 oz semi sweet chocolate morsels. 12 oz bittersweet chocolate morsels. 1 cup roasted nuts (i used almonds, brazil nuts, cashews), chopped. .25 c dried mango, chopped. .25 c raisins, chopped. .25 c dried cranberries, chopped. .25 c shredded coconut. 3 tbs sunflower seeds. 3 tbs chia seeds. wax or parchment paper. 
pour all the morsels in a glass or stainless steel bowl. fill a large pot with water and place the bowl of chocolate over the pot to create a double boiler. a double boiler is used so you do not burn the chocolate and it melts smooth. bring the water to a boil and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring every few minutes. this should take about 10 minutes.
when the chocolate has melted, pour in the sunflower seeds, chia seeds, nuts, raisins, cranberries, half the coconut and half of the mango. stir till the mixture is well combined. 
lay out the wax or parchment paper on either a rimmed baking sheet or square baking pan. spread the chocolate out evenly. top with remaining coconut and mango and allow to cool in the refrigerator for four hours or over night. 
remove the chocolate from the paper and slice it into equal bite size pieces. serve cool or at room temp.