10 Favorite "Happy Foods"

Sure we all love "comfort" foods like ice cream, warm chocolate chip cookies, and buttery popcorn. But we also love foods that just so happen to be good for us, too, and those are our Happy Foods! Here are ten of my happy foods below, and there are also a few recipe links :)

1. GRAPEFRUIT

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Grapefruit is probably my favorite fruit. Unfortunately, I feel like the quality of the grapefruit found in traditional grocery stores has been terrible in the last few years. I need to find a local farmer!

Once in college, I was having a bad day and all I wanted to do was walk downstairs and get the Hershey's Cookies & Creme bar calling my name. Somehow, I decided that if I was going to make the effort to walk down 7 flights of stairs to the vending machine, then I could walk a little further to my car. I drove to Kroger and grabbed a bag of fresh in-season grapefruit. No chocolate needed, and that's saying a lot coming from me :)

2. EGGS

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Fried, over-easy, sunny-side-up, scrambled, poached, boiled. I'll eat them any and every way. Eggs are packed with protein and fat. They also have one of the best nutrient profiles I've ever seen in such a tiny food. (The egg white trend makes me sad! A whole egg is such an incredibly healthy food.) Here are a few egg recipes I love: Egg Frittata, Breakfast Meatball Scramble, Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash

3. AVOCADOS

We've been told over and over again that avocados are super foods due to their vitamin, mineral, fiber, and fat content. I love them because they go perfectly with everything. For breakfast you can fill them with salsa and eat it with a spoon! They go well with a very "paleo" breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sauteed spinach. They make smoothies creamy. They help us make healthier versions of desserts. They make salads more filling. I think they're perfect with just a dash of Tony Chachere's. And don't even get me started on guacamole. I'll stop here because I could ramble all day!

4. BAKED APPLES

Click here for more "low-guilt" chocolate ideas!

And by "baked" I mean my lazy version of baked apples: sliced apples, cinnamon, and drizzle of honey. Microwave for 1:30-2:00. Let cool and enjoy :) Top with unsweetened coconut and chocolate chips for a less guilty dessert!

5. ROASTED BROCCOLI 

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Ryan and I eat these like they're potato chips. If you're not afraid of fat (you can read more about my thoughts on that here), then you'll eat more broccoli than ever with this simple recipe. Wash broccoli and dry well. Toss with plenty of olive oil, freshly chopped garlic, chili powder, salt, and onion powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until crispy. For more specific details on a recipe, click here!

6. MEAT SAUCE & SPAGHETTI SQUASH

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Ever since I was little, I have loved spaghetti night. It has nothing to do with the spaghetti noodles. I really love the meat sauce. Deliciously seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, onions, and lots of seasoning - a mixture that makes me super happy !!!! When I serve up a dish of spaghetti squash and meat sauce, I put a large spoonful of spaghetti squash on the plate and then LOAD UP on the meat sauce. Can't help it.

This dish is loaded with veggies! We put ton of peppers, onions, and tomatoes in the sauce; and of course there's spaghetti squash as a base!

7. BASIL PESTO

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I discovered pesto on a girl scout trip. We were on a 3-day canoe trip and stopped on a sandbar to eat lunch. I was more than happy with my dry turkey wrap, but our girl scout leader pulled a large container of homemade pesto out of her river bag. She was nice enough to let us all try some...and then we ate it all! (Teenagers are annoying.) We were in love.

Once I learned a few things about calories and fat, I realized how "bad" pesto really was. And then I found the paleo diet, became much less afraid of fat, and everything was better :) Pesto for everyone! Where can you sneak in pesto? Put a few dollops on scrambled eggs, salad, chicken, burgers, potatoes, meat sauce, pizzas...it can go on anything!

8. NUT BUTTER

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Specifically, I love almond and peanut butter. Almond butter is "paleo certified," while peanut butter is not due to the unfortunate fact that it's a legume and not a nut. I decided I didn't care too much...I love peanut butter, and fat doesn't make you fat, so bring it on! My favorite ways to eat nut butters: on apples and bananas, in smoothies, and in Paleo breakfast bowls!

9. GREEN SMOOTHIES

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Ryan and I have been on a green smoothie kick lately! Our main ingredients are avocados, bananas, spinach, and unsweetened coconut or almond milk. They're super filling and you can put 3-4 cups of spinach without noticing any "green" flavor! So much yum :) Of course there are a few variations: click here for a Almond Avocado Green Smoothie or here for a Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Green Smoothie! Just a heads up - those two recipes are definitely meal-sized smoothies, not snacks!

10. CHOCOLATE

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There are really two categories here: high-cacao (dark) chocolate and everything else. Real dark chocolate made with at least 70% cacao contains healthy fats! Dark chocolate also contains lots of polyphenols and "when it comes to polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, cacao trounces the “superfruits” acai, pomegranate, cranberry, [and] blueberries (source)." Impressive, right? You can read a longer list of benefits by clicking the previous link. Now about those chocolate bars that aren't so nice. I adore white chocolate and mint chocolate and toffee-flavored chocolate. I can't come up with an excuse to call those "healthy," but one piece after dinner sure does make me happy :)

Question to Readers: What are some of your "happy" foods??? What foods do you love to eat that also happen to be good for you? Scroll down to comment :)