Heyyyyy 
How’s your day going? Mine has been cuhrazy busy, but bueno 
I LOVED reading your food memories this morning <3 Keep ‘em coming.. and I’ll keep dreaming about fluffy cake and gooey cinnamon rolls from your stories.
I found some time to cook this afternoon
Kale chips:
(Using *this recipe* –if ya don’t have a dehydrator, just put the kale chips on cookie sheets in the oven on the lowest setting and the door slightly ajar)
Whenever we go to Whole Foods, I emerge from the produce section with giant bushels of organic kale and a goofy smile on my face- we don’t have it in Valdosta!
I looooove kale. It’s so good massaged in salads, in chip form, just not in smoothies (I think kale smoothies are stanky).
Marinara sauce:
Is it homemade or a la jar??
Shhhhh 
Usually I make my own marinara with San Marzano tomatoes. When time doesn’t allow, I roll with this cheater sauce and promise, no one can tell the difference
All ya do is sweat out a sweet onion (small diced) and a few garlic cloves (or 5) in a little olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add a splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar- this is the secret. A little acidity brightens up the sauce and takes away the jar taste
Season with sea salt, pepper, red chili flakes (optional) and dried oregano.
Next, add two jars of your favorite marinara sauce.
2 T (ish) each of chopped fresh basil and parsley
And a generous pinch of white sugar
Perfection:
Serve with pasta of choice- mung bean (or zucchini) pasta for me, and whole grain for the Pilot
I saved a cupful for my pasta tonight and put the rest in the slow cooker, along with these mozzarella-stuffed organic meatballs for that one guy I live with
Snackage:
Because I’m a goober and made a typo this morning: for the glass straw promo you get FOUR straws- not two! It’s an even better deal that I thought
*Click here* to get your own glass straws- if you order Tina’s stainless steel straws too, coupon code “TinaGina” gets 10% off
I’m heading back to work and then pasta, stuffed mushroom and asparagus dinner when I get back.
Have a lovely night!
xoxo,
Gina
Something to read:10 Foods to Boost Brain Power
Something to watch: These videos from the Coalition of Angry Kids. Some of it’s a little harsh but I thought it was really interesting because a lot of times, kids don’t have a choice about what they’re eating. They’re given fast food to eat and their inactive parents set unhealthy examples for them… what do you guys think?
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
I never thought about adding wine! I keep leftover wine frozen in ice cube trays for stews and sauces. Never added it to tomato-based sauces though.
No kale in Valdosta??? The horror! I thought Southerners were known for their greens!
I love the idea of homemadeifying the marinara! I usually add a little extra sumthin sumthin to mine, too.
Enjoy your evening!
no *organic* kale.
thanks friend, you too!
I agree with you about kale smoothies — yuck! I thought it was maybe because I am blending them in my magic bullet, but they smell — ew!
That marinara looks so good — I usually take a jar of marinara and add a can of fire roasted tomatoes — I like chunky sauces
I’ll have to watch the Coalition of Angry Kids — I haven’t heard of that!
Great sauce recipe Gina. I never thought to add vinegar to a tomato sauce! (I made your Chocolate Mug Cake today again – even better with a chocolate sauce
).
Wow my hubby would love those meatballs. Whats the recipe? I totally agree with everything you said about kale.
i just did a pack of organic beef with 1 egg, dried oregano, garlic, sea salt, pepper, fresh parsley, basil, mary’s gone cracker’s bread crumbs, rosemary, parmesean and stuffed them each with a thick coin of fresh mozzarella. browned them on the stove, then added to the slow cooker with the sauce, on low
haha i figured that out about the straws this am too! i was looking at the website and it said 4 for $35…and your promo was like 2 for $25 haha!! glad you figured that out. great deal!
I’ve never made my own pasta sauce…probably because my mom never made homemade! I’m off to watch those videos b/c sadly, that’s how I grew up. My mom had a rotation of 4 vegetables. Broccoli covered in velveeta cheese, mashed potatoes, corn and butter beans cooked in SUGAR. We ate alot of fast food and neither of my parents exercised. It’s taken awhile, well all of my adult life thus far, to learn healthy habits. I find new veggies I like all the time!
Great tips for making the marinara sauce taste “homemade!” Have you ever tried Paesana marinara sauce?? They sell it at my Whole Foods, and it’s the BEST sauce I’ve ever had in my life! It tastes like professional, restaurant pomodoro sauce–> straight out of the jar! In fact, I’ve been known to eat it straight from the jar by the spoonful!
Thanks for awesome glass straw deal!
oh YUM! i’ll be on the lookout
Such a good tip! I never make my own sauce because I don’t like tomato sauce. I know… it’s a sin.
My Nona makes the BEST sauce, I have made her recipe, but it’s SO much work, and my husband prefers Maggianos sauce over all…I don’t think it’s that great, and think it’s a total sin…but I def use cheater sauce often to cut corners!
I think the parents are THE example for kids…they will eat what you feed them!! If they are never given soda, or fast food, they wouldn’t miss it!
Hehe thanks for the great tips on making a jarred sauce a bit more special. I can’t wait to watch that video. The foods that make me sick now, made me sick when I was a little kid. My body doesn’t digest soy sauce, yogurt (besides goats milk), grapes, cottage cheese or sour cream very well. I had stomach pains but no one attributed it to what I was eating. Everyone just said I was making it up. Also dining out was my worst nightmare. I knew that it was making me sick. I went vegetarian when I was 8 for a short while because I got sick when I ate meat at a restaurant. It was probably what the restaurants put on the meat though.
I do the same thing with jarred sauce… its such a great “cheat!”
Oh my great kale chips! I just moved to OKC, and have discovered 105 degrees kale chips. I live for them. This sounds like a similar recipe based on the ingredients. Can’t wait to try it!
i’m so jealous you’re in okc! i miss working at 105 with all of my soul
I am so happy to be here too! One of the few cool AF base cities, as you know! The people who who work there are so great! I can see how you would love it!
I always add a little sweetener to my pasta sauce as well – I like it spicy, but with a hint of sweetness too. Good trick with the wine, I’ll have to try that for sure!
Such a great idea to add red wine to the sauce- I need to remember that next time I dress up red sauce!
I like to add balsamic vinegar to my spaghetti sauce as well. Hunts makes canned diced tomatoes w/ balsamic vinegar and olive oil which I like to add to my sauce. One day I was out of the canned tomatoes, so I added a bit of balsamic and a small splash of olive oil to my sauce and got the same result.
I had kale chips for dinner.
stuffed mushrooms are the best…hope you enjoy work!
You don’t like kale in your smoothies? If you’re ever in CT in the summer or fall I’ll make you a smoothie with my garden kale and I promise I’ll change your mind about that.
You don’t like kale in your smoothies? If you’re ever in CT in the summer or fall I’ll make you a smoothie with my garden kale and I promise I’ll change your mind about that.
That butterfinger smoothie sounds so good!
In relation to your last post…
My Grandma is famous for her Canadian maple butter tarts. Featured in many newspapers and cookbooks, it’s a winner for sure. I got a personal lesson from her on how to make them…lucky me.
I think all foods taste better when they are made by a Mom or Grandma.
Every time I would stay over at my Grandma’s house when I was little she would make me toast with fresh raspberry jam…I don’t know why, but it always tasted like a gift from the heavens. Ha!
I always use jarred sauce mainly to save time. Still, I love a simple red sauce, which is really hard to find in a jar. Most have so many onions!
I always do jarred sauces. I just focus on buying the most natural ones.
And I do think parents have the responsibility to be good examples for healthy living to their kids.
I do about half jarred/half homemade when it comes to marinara sauce. Depends on how much time/energy I have.
Thanks for the tips on the “homemade” marinara. Never would have thought about the vinegar… BTW – I just looked up the recipe for your Butterfinger Smoothie – I HAVE to make it! YUM!
Haha I do that with my pasta sauce all the time! I do almost exactly what you do, but I’ve never added wine or balsamic before. Thanks for the tip girl!
What a great marinara sauce idea! All your food ALWAYS looks (and I’m sure tastes) SO good, and I think it is so sweet that you make the pilot special, delicious things.
I love how you spice up the jarred sauce! And those meatballs sounds phenomenal!
No kale in Valdosta, omg that’s awful! What’s up with all that Southern cooking, collards and you’d think kale, too? Guess not! Your kale chips look great, i need to make a batch!
The whole thing about kids eating junk food, don’t even get me started. It takes very little extra time and very little extra money to feed a child REAL food, if you’re already cooking it and buying it for yourself. Anyone who says they dont have “time” to eat/cook properly or enough money to buy real food, not crap, needs to examine their life choices and financial choices and cut out other things from their cable tv to their starbucks to eating out so that they can buy fresh, real food
Ok, just my little tiny humble opinion there 
xoxo
I haven’t had kale in a minute..mmm
While we *do* have organic kale here in Normal, there’s hardly any organic meat at the markets. There’s one…but they only sell it frozen, which is usually fine:)
I think my husband would LOVE those meatballs.
I have heard about these kale chips before but I’ve never tried them. I’m more of a spinach and romaine fan than a kale fan. Maybe I’ll have to try these on some rainy day!
Totally with you on the kids and junk food thing. I was lucky to have parents who made real food.
Boo G’izzle. Open sky only ships to the US
Such a smart way to doctor up store-bought pasta sauce! I will definitely be stealing this idea in the future
everything looks super delicious! Yum!!
Those meatballs look like an awesome idea for when you don’t have tons of time to make dinner. Can you post the recipe for us? I would love love love to make them!! PLEASE!!!
-Larinna
iheartspandex.com
hey larinna,
in the comments above, i described what i did to make the meatballs- no *real* recipe
xoxo
Thanks again for the birthday shout out. It was super sweet!
Great tip on the “homemade”-ish sauce! There are some great sauce brands out there that I like using, but they’d be AWESOME with a little extra freshness.
Thanks for the tips. I try to make homemade sauce when I can, but honestly? Sometimes life gets way too busy for me. We always try and spice up our jars of sauce, but I definitely want to try your tips this weekend =)
If you just added crushed tomatoes and diced instead of the jarred stuff you’d have a homemade sauce anyway in the same amount of time. The point of jarred is so you don’t have to do any of the other stuff. Not sure about the point of this post.
we must made different versions of homemade marinara.. because mine uses veggie stock, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, kalamata olives, fresh herbs and simmers for at least an hour. it’s much more time intensive than the jarred version i posted
I have been dying to try Kale chips! I think I am going to try it out tonight!
I bet that sauce smells amazing!! It’d be great over spaghetti squash!
I love the idea of embellishing jar-sauce! And no one will know, unless you blog about it
!
I do the same thing to doctor up my jarred sauce. Sometimes a shortcut is necessary.
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My absolute favorite is Paesana marinara. I buy it form Whole Foods or my local Giant
Wow, how i ended up here! I do not know, but I am now very, verry, verrry hungry. Not many think to add SUGAR, RED PEPPER FLAKES, WINE or better yet BASLAMIC VINEGER….the best im a having a MOUTH WATERING EXPLOSION>….oh, my
I feel stupid for saying becuase im actually replying to somethig pretty DANG GOOD!!!!!