Hey friends, welcome to my cozy corner of the kitchen!

This post is inspired by the many sweet friends on Facebook who’ve commented on our food photos (hi, you know who you are 👋). Your love for our little creations warms my heart – truly. You’ve inspired me so much that I’ve listened, taken notes, and folded your ideas right into this blog project.

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I’ve been wanting to share easy recipe ideas for ages – not full-blown, 27-step recipes with fancy measurements, but quick “how-to” tips you can sprinkle your own fairy magic onto. Think of this blog as a peek at the sticky notes on my fridge – the ones that keep me and my kitchen going.

If you’re anything like me – juggling mama life, a toddler who thinks every door is a drum, and a pup who assumes every ingredient is his (think: “Swiper, no swiping!”) – then you know sitting at a desk for more than 5–10 minutes feels like chasing a unicorn. That’s why most of my writing happens late at night, when the house is finally quiet and my yoga mat softly calls my name. So just know, these blog posts come from a whole lot of love, effort, and excitement to share what’s helped us along the way. Having you as community and love, knowing you are here and there, while mama’ing in the mama cave, nourishes me, uplifts my spirit, knowing I am not alone on this journey.

While this isn’t a sponsored blog, I do have a Refer-A-Friend affiliate link with one of my favorite food suppliers: Azure Standard. You’ll find that link embedded in the product mentions throughout the post. Or you can visit azurestandard.com/start and enter my personal share code: MarcelaObryon1. When you use it, Azure offers us a little account credit as a kind “tip” – one we deeply appreciate as a family!

So pull up a chair, pour yourself something cozy, and let’s trade easy and healthy recipe ideas like neighbors over the kitchen counter.

And if you like this vibe, please subscribe to our Blog so you don’t miss the next idea – it’s the easiest way to keep these kitchen convos going.

Psst… also, don’t be shy… use the comments below to share your favorite, easy go-to meals.

Yum List of Bites, Delights, And Wins:

1. One-Bowl French Toast – “Dishwasher-Friendly Gourmet: Because One Bowl Is All Mama Can Handle“

Quick recipe for 2 servings:

In a medium bowl, whisk together: 1/4 cup half and half, one egg, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder.

Grab some fluffy sourdough bread and cut it to your desired size. (Pro tip: use a fork to gently press little indentations into the bread- it helps soak up all that eggy goodness!)

Dip both sides of the bread into the mixture, then cook on a buttered pan over medium heat until golden on each side.

Serve with: A dollop of yogurt, fresh fruit (we love berries and banana), maple syrup for that perfect finishing touch.

My favorite breads for this:
🥖 The Rustik Oven from Safeway – non-GMO, fluffy, and spongy
🌾 Rudi’s Sourdough bread – fully organic
🏡 Local Tip (Spearfish friends!) – Head to Bee’s Knee’s Red Barn and ask for Dawn’s homemade sourdough. It’s to die for!

2. Ramen Glow-Up – “College Vibes, Mama Upgrade”

My favorite noodles for this goddess-licking bowl come from Lotus Foods – their bamboo green, millet, or purple rice noodles are straight-up divine.
You can use the included flavor packets or whip up your own sauce with tamari, lemon or lime juice, sriracha, sesame oil, tahini, or miso paste.

While the noodles are cooking, toss in some of your fave veggies (like carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, or broccoli) so they steam to that perfect crunchy-tender vibe.

🥗 When it’s ready, build your bowl with crisp toppings like cucumber, red onion, sauerkraut, fresh greens, organic nori, and/or Safe Catch’s unsalted Salmon.

✨ Finish with a sprinkle of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables kelp salt, sesame seeds, roasted hemp or pumpkin seeds, a splash of ACV (apple cider vinegar), red pepper flakes – or whatever your kitchen is offering you.

Mama Hack:
We use nori as a snack all the time- it’s like a toddler’s green salad he actually loves.

3. Salmon Tacos – “The 5-Minute Beach Vacation (Without Sand in Your Diaper Bag)”

I love Food For Life’s Sprouted Corn Tortillas, but lately we’ve been buying De Casa’s yellow corn tortillas – they’re a little softer and easier for little mouths.

I lightly fry them up in Azure’s organic coconut oil, then dress them with Safe Catch’s unsalted Salmon, a layer of sauerkraut, gruyère cheese, fresh greens, and a quick mash of avocado mixed with favorite salsa (saves time!). Drizzle with olive oil and lemon or lime, then finish with a sprinkle of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables kelp salt.

Lip-smacking YUM!
It’s even better with a garnish of fresh mango or pineapple, red onion, and tomato.

4. Kiddo Sushi Plate – “Bento Box, The Home Edition”

So easy!
We usually freeze toddler-friendly foods like pasta or rice in silicone containers, so for this meal, I just defrost some white rice. But you can also whip up a fresh batch in 15 minutes.

Serve it with:
organic nori, Safe Catch’s unsalted Salmon, sauerkraut, avocado, and a drizzle of olive oil with sprinkles of sesame seed and/or nutritional yeast and some Maine Coast Sea Vegetables kelp salt for that salty mineral-rich touch.

5. Frozen Burrito Extravaganza – “Frozen? Yes. Fancy? Somehow Also Yes!”

Yes, you read that right – a frozen burrito!

But not just any frozen burrito… we love Amy’s Gluten Free burritos. The tortilla has a texture that’s honestly so satisfying with that just right chewy texture!

And yes, I know some people might scorn at the microwave – but hey, some days I’m just grateful for this little miracle of convenience. 🙃

✨ Here’s how I dress it up to the 9s:

shredded Mexican cheese, my favorite salsa, probiotic organic sour cream, sauerkraut, avocado, green onion, and a fresh side of greens lathered in olive oil with Maine Coast Sea Vegetables kelp salt. You can get fancy and toss in roasted hemp seeds on your salad.

I also love the nostalgia that a splash of red wine vinegar brings to my salad (mom’s salad dressing)- so that goes in too.

Simple. Nourishing. Busy mama magical touch. 💫

6. Chicken Nuggets Marinara – “Chicken Parm’s Tiny Cousin”

This couldn’t get any easier! We get the “Perdue’s Simply Smart Organic” chicken nuggets from Safeway, and to our surprise, they have very good ingredients! I feel like I won the lottery every time I make this cozy, homy meal.

Bake the nuggs for about 15-20 minutes, flipping them half-way through.

We use olive oil based marinara sauce warmed up, a batch of nunus (noodles/pasta) bathed in olive oil, and parmesan atop so plentifully that it looks like snow on Mt Everest with the nuggets served on the very tippy-top of all that or to the side.

To switch things up as we go, we vary the noodle types throughout the week so that our kiddo experiences different grains and their nutrition- sometimes we do rice, sometimes quinoa pasta, soba buckwheat, red lentil, or good ol’ semolina.

7. Smoothies with Collagen – “Because Mama’s Glow Matters Too”

My new luxurious treat is the Be Well collagen, especially the pumpkin spice flavor. Although it is a bit pricey, I can feel the difference. This collagen is thick and rich from Swedish grass-fed cows. This bag spells L-O-V-E!

For a filling liquid meal you can sip while mothering at light speed, grab:

hemp milk, this collagen, 2 Brazil nuts, a few hazelnuts, bananas or fruit of choice, smidge of raw cacao nibs, goji berries, raw hemp seeds, a smidge of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Kelp powder (not the salt- but actual bombastic kelp powder! It has tons of iodine so I just do a smidge!), raw flax seeds, a few drops of trace minerals, and chia seeds. This is a loaded gun of protein, iodine, and nutrients to keep you going to *maybe* match the supernova energetics of a toddler’s!

8. Mac ’n Cheese Powder Meal – “White Powder Magic (No Shame)”

This is a must have in any kitchen- the Hoosier Hill Farms Cheddar Cheese powder! I use this to even flavor my marinara sauces and chili sometimes for a cheesy creamy texture and flavor. It is so easy to use- just add butter and cream. Do not overheat the ingredients, just mildly warm is plenty to get a good cheese sauce going.

Make your nunus (noodles), make the sauce (this powder, cream, and butter), and on a separate small pan warm up frozen peas and corn. Then mix everything together. Optionally, if you are as cheesy as we are, we sprinkle parmesan cheese over all of that. Finito!

Sometimes we have those famous Perdue chicken nuggets to accompany this dish too. Or I even serve these nunus next to chili like my mom used to in Honduras, memory lane…

9. Chili, Canned or Soaked – “One-Pot Wonder That Actually Feeds Everyone”

Whether you are opening a can of beans or presoaking the beans at least a couple hours while you work, go on a walk, or lull your baby to sleep, chili is a generous staple and one that is popular at our home lasting for days (or can be frozen for even more days later.)

Here is how I do my chili in a snap.

I love blending organic coconut oil with some beef tallow on the Instapot, let it melt, and add some tomato paste (about 1 TBSP per cup of cooked beans), mix well for a minute, then toss in diced carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to your desire and saute all together. Optionally, after a couple minutes of blending everything well, add a pound of ground meat of choice- we love bison or beef. Mix well for about 3 minutes, then add in your beans- canned or rinsed after being presoaked, and the amount of water needed to cook the presoaked beans (2 cups of water per 1 cup of dry beans) or a bit extra water if you are using canned beans so that the chili has some juice. For seasoning, I keep it super simple: Azure’s Taco Seasoning.

To serve, we love probiotic organic sour cream, avocado, sauerkraut, shredded Mexican cheese, and Maine Coast Sea Vegetables kelp salt.

Want a Latin touch? Use Tony Cacheres original Creole seasoning salt! You can get this at Safeway. It was one of my mom’s favorite condiments.

✨ Mom hack: Use Azure’s Vegetable Soup Blend (freeze dried bag of veggies) and skip the work of cutting veggies. Pretty much use this to get your toddler to eat veggies in any meal! Just rehydrate with some water and voila!

✨Want to go old school on this? Try duck fat, ghee, or pork lard as base oils for saute-ing. In particular, pork fat lard- that is how Hondurans used to make stews in my grandma’s days.

10. Quesadillas – “Melted Cheese = Instant Peace Treaty”

Either tortillas work: Food For Life’s Sprouted Corn Tortillas or De Casa’s yellow corn tortillas, but we prefer the latter for tiny mouths.

I like to fry up both sides of my tortillas with abundant organic coconut oil, add shredded Mexican cheese, fold, let it melt, and serve with probiotic organic sour cream, avocado, sauerkraut, and a side of canned beans or hummus dip even!

✨ Life is good!

11. Hummus Toast – “Often times you win the most!”

Garbanzo/tahini dips are such a healthy meal loaded with protein.

Toast up some Rudi’s Sourdough bread, spread some hummus dip (we love Hope or Cedar’s brands at Safeway, opt for olive or sunflower oils, avoid canola!), sprinkle feta cheese (everything is bettah with fetah!), drizzle olive oil, and top with sauerkraut. End of story!

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Thank you for reading this far, get cozy in this website, and leave us your thoughts!

Mama and babe having a break from home in one of our favorite homey, nostalgic restaurants in town, Guadalajara, where many Hondurans work! Strange but true, Hondurans in South Dakota!

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