Girls DAY In - Easy Recipes to Help You Organize, Save, Pitch and Donate!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of co-hosting “Girls Day In”, a program at the Thomas F Chapman Family Cancer Wellness Center at Piedmont Atlanta. Part of an ongoing series of “Girls Night In”, its one of my favorite ways to share good cooking, food and eating with a group of women interested in living and eating better.

The group of thirty cancer survivors and thrivers talked cleaning and organization with Chaos 2 Comfort founder Teresa Taylor. Over lunch they swapped favorite tips and techniques for making small changes that end up in big results.

Of course, integral to any good "Day or Night In", is the food! I shared a couple of recipes for some of my easy go-tos perfect for a day full of organizing, saving, pitching and donating. We started the morning with a little granola and a teensy-tiny mimosa. Hey - It was Saturday, and we definitely needed motivation, given the subject.

Later on, I served up a composed salad, (in French it sounds even cooler: Salade Composee). One of the easy elements of the dish was my chicken salad. Full of the flavor of Garam Masala, an Indian Spice Blend that you can find in any grocery store, it made a hearty compliment to the rest of the leafy, green, veggie and little-bite-of-salmon plate. We served the chicken salad in a hollowed out Roma tomato. (Who doesn’t like anything that is just the size for me, or you?) Roma tomatoes are my favorite choice this time of the year – they are a little less watery and meatier.

The day was fun, the company enjoyable, and if I do say so myself, the food yummy!

Ginger Spiced Granola

3 Cups Oats


¼ Cup Uncooked Millet
(Optional)

¼ Cup Sesame Seeds


¼  Cup Chopped Walnuts

¼ Cup Chopped Almonds


1 ½ Tsp Cinnamon


¼ Tsp EACH Mace 
and Cardamom


¼  Cup Maple Syrup


¼  Cup Orange Juice

Zest of 1 Orange

½ Cup Your Choice of Dried Fruit

2 TB Finely Chopped Crystallized Ginger


Step One

Preheat the oven to 300F. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients except dried fruit and ginger. Drizzle in the maple syrup and stir well. Add orange juice and zest, stirring so all ingredients are coated.

Step Two

Spread the mix out onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, stirring checking about every 10 minutes so nothing burns.

Step Three

Remove from oven, add the dried fruit and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

TANGY Chicken Salad

2 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Roasted and Chopped


1⁄2 Cup *Chopped Green Onions – Green Parts Only

1⁄4 Cup Light Mayonnaise


1⁄4 Cup Greek Yogurt


1 Tsp Garam Masala (or Curry Powder or Smoked Paprika)


1⁄2 Tsp Cumin


1⁄4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (or To Taste)

Zest and Juice of a Lemon


1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley


Make the chicken salad by combining the chicken, green onions, mayo, yogurt, garam masala, cumin, cayenne, lemon juice and zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Find out how to enjoy this chicken salad with sweet potatoes in my book, Taste and Savor Delicious Healthy Recipes  or by signing up for The Friday Four, a free weekly ezine of healthy recipes and tasty wine tips. 

I thought Teresa’s presentation was great, I hope you check out her website. My good friend Carrie does super organizational work, too! Check out her website for a free guide to “When to throw away Paperwork”. At Neatsmart.com

Lighter Lemon Yogurt Cake for Dessert

Last night we did a fun wellness class for a special friend, Beth Phillips and her wonderful, positive group of survivors. Here is our dessert - from the Taste and Savor cookbook, a Friday Four, and one of our favorite sweet recipes. No matter how you make it - in a springform pan, as cupcakes, in a 9 x12, or in a sheet tray like the one last night - it always bakes up beautifully moist and golden. We change it up, lime, orange, meyer lemon, even grapefruit as the seasons change.

Try this recipe, top it with ripe juicy strawberries and you will have the perfect dessert. Heck, it makes a great breakfast treat, too!

The Cake:

1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Tsp Lemon Zest

1/2 Cup Nonfat Plain Yogurt

1 Cup Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup Canola Oil

The Glaze:

1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

Step One Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with a parchment round - coat with nonstick spray.

Step Two Place the flour, baking powder, and zest in a bowl, stir to combine.

Step Three In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture, then add the oil and stir to incorporate.

Step Four Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake for 15 minutes.

Step Five Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and remove it from the pan. With a toothpick poke holes all over the top. Combine the ingredients for the glaze and pour slowly over the cake. Cool completely before serving.