Happy new year! We made it to 2021. I hope we all have a good year and continue to stay safe until we can get to the other side of the pandemic.

Like with any new year, most people create resolutions. Often times, one of those resolutions is to eat healthier. My blog is loaded with lots of healthy and nutritionally-packed meals! I know you can find some inspiration to make this year a good one! What are your new year’s resolutions? I would love to hear some of your goals! 🙂

For the first recipe of the year, and since it’s Monday, I’ve made a recipe from the Thug Kitchen cookbook. This is the Chipotle Caesar Salad. Traditional caesar salad is super fatty and unhealthy but this version is not!

This salad has a base of romaine lettuce and kale so it has lots of texture and way more nutrition. (Side note: I’ve made a few kale salads over the years through cookbook challenges, I just love them). The bigger difference with this salad is the dressing. It has some non-traditional ingredients like almonds, chipotle peppers and lime juice, but once you blend them together, it becomes a super creamy dressing.

The almonds – which get soaked to soften them up – blend up so nicely and give the perfect creamy base for the salad. I like the smokey flavour of the chipotle too. This salad had a really nice Mexican flare from that, as well as the toasted pepitas that are used in place of classic croutons. They give a good crunch that you’d want in a salad.

This was a great side salad and it would go well with any main! Or, it could be a meal it itself if you added some protein and/or roasted veggies.