There’s no easy way to follow up a blog post about mental health and ones journey. Except with food!! In case it hasn’t been made clear, I’m a total foodie. I think it is the purest and most untouched form of human art. A robot (or disgusting AI) can not create a perfect five star dish without the blood, tears, and love that goes into a homemade dish. Even those single serving dishes I make for dinner, I will very much cry into it sometimes. 

I’ve been a picky eater growing up. Now as an adult, not so much. I will always find something I want on a menu no matter where we go. But I reached a point in my life where I wanted to try new dishes, not just have the same pasta and taco dish every week. So I tried HelloFresh for a bit (shoutout to my brother who works there and got me a discount code) but since they raised their prices AND increased the size of their dishes, I stopped. You can’t buy meals for one person, it has a minimum of two but two servings of something is more than enough for one person so I would just be wasting food. So I’ve decided to go old school, cookbooks. And you know what’s great about the modern ages? You can get any type of cookbook anywhere! Want microwave meals? Check out this! Want to specifically learn mexican dishes? Read up here! But sometimes we worry, will there be enough dishes I actually want to try that makes this worth the price? Well, that’s where part of this post comes in. I got two cookbooks for Christmas, My Mexican Kitchen by Eva Longoria and Grilled Cheese Kitchen by Heidi Gibson and Nate Pollak.

My Mexican Kitchen

So when planning out my week I tend to break things down into different meals and how I want them prepped. I usually pick one breakfast recipe for the week since in America we seem to like to have things in one massive quantity type to purchase so it easily lasts me the whole week. Then I split one to two meals for lunch and dinner for the week. I also usually count eating out once to twice a week. So the recipes I tried for Longoria’s book was molletes, fresh corn, tomato, and avocado salad, picadillo tostadas, and her guacamole! So for readers in a rush, I’ll just put in short and sweet. However, if you have a refined palate like mine, you may want to read on to see if you’re interested in trying these recipes. I’m also not going to put the exact measurements/ complete recipe because I believe these people deserve the money since they are the ones that created the magic! I’ll also talk about how accessible each dish is based on ingredients and equipment needed to make it.

Molletes– Absolutely delicious and quick to make. I would also make this as a snack before going out with friends if I just wanted to quickly eat something. Honestly equipment wise, you need like a knife, cutting board, and an oven. It’s kind of like making bruschetta or some sort of flatbread. I followed this recipe to a T, the author always gives options to use if you don’t have access to certain mexican ingredients which was super helpful. I was able to find Oaxaca cheese at my grocery store which was kind of a shock but I think enhanced the dish really nicely. Lastly, my store didn’t have refried beans so I had to make some homemade with pinto beans and honestly I loved doing in this way since they’re really easy to make!

Fresh Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad– Simple and easy. Tasted kind of bland though, I might have needed to add more salt and pepper. But a great way to get all the healthy good stuff into your diet. What I like most about the dish though is you could probably use this recipe beyond salad, maybe as a dip or filling for something. I did pull out tortilla chips (it was Late July lime sea salt flavor) to see if that added anything and the crunch and extra bit of flavor paired really nicely with this plate.

Picadillo Tostadas– Good and healthy. Not a super big fan, peas don’t always land on my palate nicely so they’re not super appetizing to me. I also used to make a similar recipe with peppers and onions so I think my palate was expecting a different taste. But again, if you’re looking to incorporate more healthy ingredients to your meals this could be a good start! You still get the delicious taco taste with the powerful nutrients of peas, carrots, and potatoes. The recipe also calls for a frozen pea and carrot mix which I find to just be so human and relatable, that you can still make a fulfilling dish by taking the easy way. This is also another recipe that doesn’t require a whole lot of equipment, just a pan and something to stir with.

Guacamole– One of the best homemade guac recipes! Easy and quick, luckily I had all the ingredients in my fridge from other recipes so it was cheap. While this recipe does call for fresh cilantro and lime (and of course, any recipe would be 10x better with fresh ingredients) I just used some bottled lime juice and dried cilantro for this dish since I wouldn’t use these ingredients fast enough before they rot. I also used an avocado that was a couple days old and it still tasted so fresh with the peppers and onions, I could not stop myself from pulling out the tortilla chips again to eat it. I also used this recipe to top off my homemade flautas and it paired so nicely between the hot spicy filling to the fresh cold guac.

Grilled Cheese Kitchen

I’m not a big egg fan. I’ve actually rarely had eggs for breakfast because of its texture and taste. It just doesn’t sit right with me. But when it’s hidden and I can’t taste it? The perfect match! In this cookbook I tried two of their sandwiches, the breakfast-in-bed, and the pizza-which.

The breakfast-in-bed consisted of eggs, gouda, cheddar, bacon, and artisan bread. Obviously very simple, the only equipment you really need is just a pan and a lid (tinfoil could work here too) to toast the bread, melt the cheese, and cook the egg. I did end up changing the recipe a little bit to make it healthier and more filling. I just made it with egg whites (cause I learned I did not like the yolk), cheddar and some days swapped with gouda, spinach, and bacon. I also drizzle on some hot sauce for the egg cause it just adds a nice kick. The recipe book does call for specific cheese from certain brands, I just used whatever block of cheese was at my grocery store. Freshly grated, tasted delicious.

This next one, the pizza-which, was so easy and fun to make. It’s a totally customizable plate and just a fun dish to make on those pizza nights without all the mess of dough and flour getting everywhere. The recipe also includes a homemade marinara sauce that goes well with any other italian dish like chicken parm and pasta. The recipe does require a blender or some sort of food processor to help make the marinara from scratch but otherwise you’ll need a pan to toast the sandwich.

So if you’re looking to spice up your menu, get lost in books again! I’ve found a lot of my cookbooks through family members and friends so it can be a pretty cheap activity too.

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