The Fit Girl's Kitchen

Break out the cozy blankets! All of these healthy comfort food recipes are in my rotation for fall.

(I even included a how to cut up your squash tutorial in one of them! Wow I used to have a lot of time...) - if slicing squash isn't your jam, you can buy pre-sliced butternut squash at Trader Js. It's like $3. #doit 

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto 

I use the same roasted squash prep to make a fresh pasta dish too! Just make some whole grain or spelt noodles instead of the risotto - one of my faves!

Roasted Squash & Goat Cheese Penne

It's fun to look at my older recipes in my first kitchen where I started this blog. (Hey iphone photos and terrible lighting!) This doesn't change how this dish tastes. To be honest, I had totally forgotten about this recipe! I may have to make it tonight...

Avocado Fettuccine Alfredo

This is one of my most requested recipes. I shared the link for just the sauce above. Full original recipe here (chicken is of course optional to make it vegetarian/vegan).

Vegetarian Chili with Avocado

I made my original "healthy turkey chili" vegetarian the past few weekends by adding mushrooms and an extra can of beans (that's it!) I also added a tablespoon of raw honey for a little sweetness. (Heads up - it makes ALOT so make it for a group or plan on having leftovers for a few days!)

Warm Kale Salad w/Apples and Chevre

Oooh I forgot about this one too. So yum - the kale cooks waaay down and will fill you up, so don't underestimate the serving size.

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Welcome, Fall. This is my new favorite breakfast jam.


It's warm, it's hearty, and it's easy. I want to be *over* pumpkin but I'm just not. Sorry Buzzfeed.

I made this up the other week, and it smelled SOOOO amazing - but tasted pretty terrible. The secret was a little bit of sweet and a little bit of salt.  (Warning - if you are anti sugar and refuse to use honey or a sweetener, this will probably not taste that awesome. Pumpkin itself is pretty blah.)


I threw in some honey after it heated up (amazing) and some salted pepitas just for picture taking purposes, and they just MADE it come together. So yum.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

1/2 - 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran Hot Cereal (also have used steel cut oats)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbs canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin spice (nutmeg or cinnamon also work well)
Drizzled honey
Salted pepitas (aka roasted pumpkin seeds)
1 banana
*as always, these are guesstimates. Play with your portions, you aren't baking anything.


Mix the oats and milk first, then add the canned pumpkin. Add pumpkin spice and finish stirring.



Heat for 2 minutes, then stir, heat 1 minute more.


Drizzle in honey, stir and top with pepitas and sliced bananas.



Pumpkin is a great source of dietary fiber, as well as Vitamin A and beta-carotene (for those peepers). For some extra protein, I sometimes also add in hemp seeds.

Enjoy & happy Autumnal Equinox!

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So I am one of those people who likes cold food. Cold pizza, cold pasta, cold sandwiches. I've even been known to order iced coffee in the winter. I know, I'm crazy.

One of my favorite summer foods that gets me jazzed is cold soup. I always forget about the existence of gazpacho (mainly since we spend half of our year in the midwest in denial that we live in a tundra) and I get so excited when I remember that it is a thing.


This is my first time actually making it myself, and it was SUPER easy. Everything goes right into the blender. I also let it chill in the fridge for a few hours before we had it for dinner.

For those who follow my Instagram feed and warned me that my mint would take over - well played. It has gone WILD.


Be prepared for several mint-based posts in the coming weeks while I try to use some of this up. I also wanted to put cucumber in this recipe but didn't have one on hand (the onslaught of zucchini in my fridge fooled me) and I am definitely going to incorporate that next time. Enjoy!

Watermelon and Mint Gazpacho Soup

4 cups cubed watermelon
12 mint leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons honey
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp worcester sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste


So you may be asking, why am I chopping all of this stuff if its just going in a blender? I like my soups a little chunkier, so I didn't want my blender to have to work too hard. Plus, the blender isn't that large so the stuff needs to fit in nicely.


Start with blending the watermelon first. I reserved about a cup or so to put in at the very end to make it chunky again. The watermelon juice will also help pull the harder vegetables into the blades. (I have blending techniques DOWN. See here).


After the watermelon is blended, add the mint. (I used the lower settings on my blender/food processor for all - puree to start, then slowly worked my way down to mix, only for about 15 seconds at a time.)

Chop the mint to start to release the herb flavor BEFORE it goes in.


Add the rest of the ingredients, working in batches. I added mine in the order shown, raw vegetables separately. (Red pepper, onion, olive oil, ginger, honey, garlic salt, red pepper, worcester sauce)


Once all is blended, add the remaining watermelon and mix on low to give the soup some texture.


Stick er in the fridge to chill for an hour or so, then garnish with fresh mint and serve.



So yum.

Make sure to follow my Facebook and Instagram accounts for daily inspiration, recipe ideas, and yogi pics! As I have left my former life behind a desk, social media is easier for me to update while I'm running between studios ;)

My weekly yoga teaching schedule is updated each week on the FGK Facebook page, and will be available soon on my FitGirl Wellness site!
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Those who follow me on instagram know that I LOVE my morning smoothies. As a vegetarian (or let's say selective pescatarian), I need to make sure I get ample protein every day.

Banana, pineapple, coconut almond milk and hemp seeds

But I'll tell you what - even if I was eating meat, I'd still make these in the morning to make sure I was getting my AM protein. Protein and fiber are the most important components to start your day - see my post on my fave high protein breakfast foods here.

There are three key components to a successful, easy smoothie - a base, a liquid, and ice/frozen ingredients.

The Base

My favorite base to use is a banana. It goes just as well with fruit as it does spinach, so I always have fresh on hand or frozen saved in my freezer. Yes I know they are high in fructose, but they are also high in potassium, and I can tell a difference in my body during and after a workout if my potassium levels are low.


Another good base to use if you are avoiding sugar is an avocado. These are especially good for green smoothies and a great source of potassium and fiber.

The Liquid

My go to blending liquid (used in all of these) is almond milk. I'm partial to Califia Farm's Coconut Almond milk. Partial as in I brought two containers with me up to Michigan the other weekend.


I like this brand because it tastes AMAZING and has 0 grams of sugar. Many flavored nut milks have added sugar and this tastes sweet with no added junk. Water is another good liquid if the blender is getting stuck.

Ice/Frozen Ingredients

After adding a base and a liquid, then blending, then adding supplements, then blending again, THEN add the ice last. The ice needs liquid to pull it into the blades so this sequence seems to work quite well.

My favorite smoothie additions

Another option if you are a busy business man or woman and are like, I don't have that kind of time in the morning - you do. Put what you want to make for the week in a freezer bag (or single serving freezer bags, it will take you 5 minutes) - then grab one in the morning, chuck it in your blender or nutribullet, add some liquid, hit blend and brush your teeth. It will be done before you are finished.

The key - frozen stuff = needs liquid to blend.

5 Easy Morning Smoothies

Listed from top to bottom:

• PB&J Smoothie: Banana, blueberry, peanut butter (or almond), chia seeds, almond milk
• Banana Coffee Breakfast Smoothie: Banana, coffee whey, flaxseed, almond milk
• Bali Girl Smoothie: Banana, pineapple, vanilla whey, flaxseed or hempseed, almond milk
• Post Yoga Green Smoothie: Banana, apple, kale, ginger, water (topped with chia)
• Summer Dream Smoothie: Top - banana, pineapple, hemp, milk; Bottom - strawberry, almond milk, topped with chia and shredded coconut*

*(this one was more involved and although it looks pretty, it was kind of annoying and tasted better when I mixed it up in the jar after I took the picture. Blend at your own risk).


Happy breakfasting! Follow me on facebook and instagram for more breakfast goodness.
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We joined a CSA again this year and I am SO excited about it. We received our first box last night and I was pleasantly surprised and the large quantities we received, since we are so late this year in our growing season.

What is a CSA?

Community-supported agriculture (or CSA; sometimes known as community-shared agriculture) is a locally-based economic model of agriculture and food distribution. Members buy or "pledge" to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production.

As a member of a particular farm, I paid a flat rate at the onset of growing season for a share of the anticipated harvest; once harvesting begins, I receive weekly shares of fruits and vegetables. My farm also does weekly egg shares.

This year I chose to split my share with a friend, since the quantities given are more than enough to feed the two people in my household.

Why I LOVE my CSA

I went with the same CSA as last year, Rare Earth Farm out of Belgium, Wisconsin. The farm is only about 40 minutes or so from my house, and they have 12 different pick up locations.

There is one less than 10 minutes from my house, so every Thursday starting this week all the way until the end of NOVEMBER (yes, November!) I go to the house, pick up my box of fresh, beautiful, just harvested vegetables and go home to cook.


Every week my farm puts out a newsletter with what is contained in that week's box, how to best store the produce and recipes that use the items together! It's like Chopped, but not so random, and from a farm down the road. Amazingness.

Why Join a CSA

After supporting local farmers (thumbs up!) it's great to get fresh produce every week. I love hitting up local farmers markets, but there is something extra - a sense of community, belonging - that I like from our CSA. Not to mention, its fun to see what you get every week.


A CSA forces you to cook with new things and expand your boundaries. I had never eaten a turnip in my entire life and had no idea what kohlrabi was until I joined my CSA last year. Every week, I try to make meals from what is given to me - rather than picking and choosing. It's a fun challenge.

A CSA is cost-effective. Last summer, I only went to the grocery store for protein - meats, fish, eggs and grains. I paid $290 for my half share that goes for 21 weeks. So for $13 a week, I get an entire week's worth of produce.

A CSA is FRESH. Sustainable. Organic. LOCAL. My spinach I had last night didn't get picked on a farm in California three weeks ago, and was then shocked, processed/bagged, stored, shipped, stored again and shelved. It was picked less than 48 hours ago and then it went right into my stomach. Believe me when I tell you - you can TASTE it.

It also keeps for WEEKS because, well, it didn't do all the other stuff I mentioned above.


Why not just have a garden and grown your own?

Because I have black thumb. I kill everything. (kidding but not really, I did not inherit my mom's green thumb). I also don't have the knowledge, skills or time that these guys do.

I have an herb garden that works great for now; maybe in the next several years I'll give it a harder try.

So last night I made one of the freshest salads of my life. It was so good I almost cried. (I think I was also very very tired.) It wasn't anything crazy - just stuff from the CSA box - but I decided to make another version for lunch today.


Our farm gave us a recipe for spinach-basil pesto this week, and I decided - why not make a deconstructed pesto salad with the remainder of my farro? (I heart farro right now)

So alas, I give you the simple, delectable...

Deconstructed Pesto Salad 

2 handfuls fresh, torn spinach leaves
Torn fresh basil leaves (to taste; I used about 6 large ones)
3/4 cup cooked farro
Zest from 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1-2 tbs pine nuts
Salt & pepper to taste
Basil infused olive oil found here (or make your own by sticking some basil leaves into an olive oil pourer)
Grated Parmesan (I used Trader Joes shaved cheese blend)


Combine all fresh ingredients in a large bowl.




Mix in olive oil, lemon juice. Mix in cheese. Season with salt & pepper. EAT.



So good. Happy cooking!

xo,