Camille Styles' 5 Go-To Healthy Weeknight Recipes

The interweb is a sea of recipes and ‘recipe overwhelm’ can be a real thing. We share healthy recipes all the time, as does our February Guest Editor, Camille Styles, but we’re often asked what we’re really making at home – and wanted to know the same from Camille!

All month long we’ve been soaking up practical insights from this healthy-meets-cozy lifestyle blogger. Below, she’s dishing on five recipes she’s really cooking and absolutely loving during this busy beginning of the year season. Grab the squash pasta and granola recipes to make weeknights better, healthier and easier for the rest of the year…

Does anyone else feel like these first couple months of the New Year are possibly the most insane time of year? It seems like work, travel, social stuff and kids’ activities all conspire with each other to happen at the exact same time leading up to March. In years past, I’ve definitely allowed myself to become overwhelmed and just hope that I can keep it together without dropping any of the balls that I’m juggling.

But you know what? This year I’m determined to actually enjoy this time, to savor these last winter feels and get ready for a new season by cooking with as much winter squash as possible while it’s in season. I’m also determined to take an evening walk just to enjoy the first hints of spring in the air. Most of all, I want to cap off these busy days with more low-key nights at home, cozy in the kitchen with my sous-chef (4-year-old Phoebe), cooking and getting inspired by the season’s best produce. These are the ridiculously easy (and goooood) recipes that have been on repeat at our house lately:

Spaghetti Squash Pasta: Made with goat cheese, arugula and bacon. Finally, a delicious spaghetti-squash recipe that actually satisfies the pasta lovers in my life! Get the recipe below!

Mango + Coconut Soba Noodle Salad:This salad combines surprising ingredients like mango, avocado and peanuts in an Asian-inspired noodle salad that is so beautiful – and perfect for doubling or tripling to serve a big group. Full of thai flavors like lime, peanuts and a profusion of herbs, it’s really the crunchy coconut throughout the salad that takes it over the top and makes people stop and say, “whoa.” Get the recipe below!

Pecan + Coconut Granola: I make a big batch of homemade granola on Sunday and use it as the basis for breakfast all week long.

Sweet Potato Crostini: The easiest appetizer recipe for entertaining that looks so much fancier than it actually is. Here’s how these work: sweet potatoes get sliced up into thin little discs, then coated with olive oil and sea salt before baking them until crispy. And there you go! The most full-of-flavor vessels for whatever cravings strike. Get the recipe here.

Kale, Persimmon + Pomegranate Salad: This salad is packed full of beautiful seasonal produce. It’s perfect for a satisfying veg dinner – and leftovers hold up great for lunch the next day. It’s packed full of energy-inducing superfoods like hearty kale for loads of vitamins and minerals, a big scoop of quinoa adds plant-based protein, and avocado and walnuts load it up with those yummy good-for-you fats. Get the recipe here.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH PASTA WITH GOAT CHEESE, ARUGULA + BACON
Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
6 slices of bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 cups arugula
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup basil leaves, julienned
2 Tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
grated parmesan to top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Microwave spaghetti squash for 3 minutes to soften (this just makes it so much easier to cut.) Slice spaghetti squash in half vertically through the root end, then place both halves face down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes until flesh is soft. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, arrange bacon pieces in the bottom of a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven, and place on a burner turned up to medium-high. Cook until browned, then drain off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat.

Place pot back on burner, turn burner off, then add minced garlic and cherry tomatoes. Cover and keep warm until spaghetti squash is ready, which will slightly cook the tomatoes without getting mushy.

When the squash is cool to the touch, use a fork to shred it into long spaghetti-like strands, then add the warm squash “noodles” to the tomato mixture.

Turn burner back on low, then add arugula, goat cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and a liberal pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine and slightly melt the goat cheese, then remove from heat. Add the basil and pine nuts, lightly toss, then divide among bowls and top with grated parmesan. Eat!

MANGO + COCONUT SOBA NOODLE SALAD
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the salad:
1 cup cooked soba noodles, drained and cooled
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 mango, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup torn basil
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup shredded coconut flakes, toasted
1/3 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped
1 avocado, cut into 1/2″ chunks
honey-lime thai dressing (recipe below)
for garnish: lime wedges, toasted coconut, chopped peanuts

For honey-lime Thai dressing:
zest and juice of two limes
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp honey
¼ cup hot chili paste (found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 chopped garlic cloves
kosher salt to taste

Directions:

For the salad:

In a large bowl, toss the cooled soba noodles with sesame oil. Add mango, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, basil, mint, coconut flakes, chopped peanuts and 3/4 of dressing, and toss well to combine.

Add avocado and toss very gently, then divide among 4 plates. Top with more coconut and chopped peanuts, garnish with lime wedges and drizzle a little more dressing over the top.
Eat!

For honey-lime Thai dressing:

Combine all ingredients in a Mason jar, and shake to combine. Store extra in the fridge for up to 1 week.