Loaded with robust garlic, zesty lemon, and a kick of red pepper flakes, this Garlic Butter Sauce (a.k.a. Cowboy Butter Sauce) transforms any vegetable into something crave-worthy.

Cowboy Butter Dipping Sauce

This recipe was inspired by a scoop of leftover cowboy butter. And let me tell you, every vegetable dipped in this sauce was very happily devoured. I’ve since decided to keep cowboy butter on hand for all eternity.

My success with the cowboy butter recipe had me wondering whether I could make a cowboy butter dipping sauce. Turns out, you can! The golden elixir it produces is not simply a sauce; it’s a whole experience.

Lemon Butter Sauce for Asparagus

I’ve made this a couple of different ways and I like it best as made below. Yes, you can melt the butter on the stove and simply add the other ingredients to it at that point.

However, I found that the fresh taste of the lemon, garlic, and parsley are best preserved when made as directed, then warmed in smaller portions as needed. If you have a better strategy, I’d love to hear about it.

If you know that you’ll be using a full batch of this garlic butter sauce recipe, make it with whichever method you find easiest. Just remember that once melted, it will not keep as nicely as the compound butter made in this recipe.

You can absolutely use other vegetables with this sauce. But, if you’re looking for a place to start, you can’t go wrong with a side of roasted lemon butter asparagus using this recipe.

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Healthy Greek Turkey or Chicken Tostadas

We are stealing tostadas from Mexican cuisine and piling them high with Greek-inspired toppings for the most delicious Greek turkey or chicken tostadas!

I’ve never been to Greece, but I picture it to be perfection. I don’t eat seafood much, so that part may be difficult. I just keep picturing a beautiful, light and breezy room that looks out over the most serene water with a stunning sunset and relaxation all around. My goodness we want to visit.

I wish someone would just plan a trip for us. Tell us where to go, what to see and especially what to eat. I’m bound and determined to make it happen. It’s a dream I can’t let go of. In the meantime I’ll keep making these healthy Greek turkey tostadas with lemon tzatziki sauce.

Recommended Equipment

• Tomato Knife
• Meat Chopper

Before You Start…

I like to start this recipe by making the tzatziki sauce! The flavor really elevates if you make it and let it sit for an hour or so.

You’ll also want to roast the chickpeas by tossing them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and some canned grated parmesan cheese. Roast them at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes on a baking sheet.

What is a Tostada?

A tostada is basically an open faced taco where a crunchy corn tortilla is piled high with all the typical taco toppings. In this case, we are swapping out the ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream for ground turkey, feta, spinach, cucumbers and tzatziki.

Ingredients for Greek Tostadas

At first glance this may look like a lot of ingredients, but most of the ingredients are toppings and you can pile your tostada with as much or as little toppings as you want. Here is what you will need:

Tomato Cucumber Salsa

• Olive Oil: combined with the vinegar, this creates a simple dressing to amp up the flavor of the cucumber and tomatoes
• Red Wine Vinegar: combines with the oil to create the dressing
• Cucumber: I like to use English cucumbers so I don’t have to worry about peeling or seeding them.
• Tomatoes: you can use grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or dice up some roma tomatoes
• Olives: I just diced up a few black olives, but you could definitely go more Greek and use kalamata olives you want.
• Salt and Pepper: just adds a little flavor boost

Chicken or Turkey

• Chicken Thighs: you can use the marinade for the chicken souvlaki if you want or just brown ground chicken thighs or ground turkey
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Fresh Tabbouleh Recipe

Tabbouleh is a light and fresh Mediterranean salad made with fresh parsley, bulgur wheat, green onions, mint, and tomatoes tossed in a lemon dressing.

Tabbouleh (pronounced tuh-boo-lee), also know as tabouli salad, is a parsley heavy salad commonly found in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. While I have seen many Americanized versions where they include way more bulgur wheat so it is more grain-focused, I love it when the star of the show is the parsley just as it was in Israel! It’s a healthy and herbaceous side dish for any meal!

Having tabbouleh in Israel at Magdala’s changed my life. The freshness of the dish was one of the moments that I just sat back and felt the reality of where I was, the simplicity of food and life ya know. I’ll never forget it!

What is Bulgur Wheat?

Bulgur wheat is an edible cereal grain made from parboiled cracked wheat that is dried before packaging. It has a nutty or earth taste and has a texture similar to couscous or quinoa. It is quick and easy to cook and versatile in how it can be used.

What is in Tabbouleh?

For the Dressing

• Olive Oil: the base of the dressing
• Lemon Zest and Juice: adds acidity and bright flavor to the dressing
• Garlic: adds flavor
• Salt and Pepper: adds flavor

For the Tabbouleh

• Fine Bulgur: You’ll find it on the same row as the grains or the pasta at the grocery store. If you have a hard time finding it, you should be able to find it at any health food store.
• Flat Leaf and Curly Leaf Parsley: I love the combination of the two for this salad. I use the Italian (flat leaf) parsley which has more flavor but that smooth look and texture mellows it out. While the curly is more mild but I love the texture it adds.
• Green Onions: The green onions add flavor, you can also use chives
• Mint Leaves: You will definitely want fresh mint for this recipe!
• Grape Tomatoes: I like to half or quarter them so they are easier (and less messy) to eat.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe at the end of the post.

Substitutions and Additions in Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh in it’s authentic form is just parsley, green onions, mint, tomatoes and bulgur with olive oil and lemon juice. You can see that we have taken a few liberties with our version here. It’s really a versatile salad, so feel free to add or omit items as desired. Here are some ideas:

Additions

• Cucumber
• Pomegranates
• Chickpeas
• Feta
• Sliced Grilled Chicken

Substitutes

• Bulgur Wheat – couscous or quinoa

Important Tips

1. Chop everything small. It is meant to all blend together. You can do it by hand with a knife or use a food processor or small blender. Jus

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We made it through the muggy hot week here in Ohio and I am so very excited to see temps in the 70s this coming week. Is this finally a sign of fall weather?? I’m so ready for it. There aren’t many things that make me grin more than watching the seasons change.

ON THE BLOGS this week: I’ve been making Peaches and Cream Oatmeal all summer long; filled with soft pecans and sweet peaches, this is a memorable breakfast. I save a couple of peaches to make this oatmeal almost every time I buy fresh peaches.

The sweet crunch of summer corn and crisp slices of zucchini are brightened with a zesty dressing in this Zucchini Corn Salad.

Tender noodles and lightly roasted vegetables come alive with a zesty dressing in this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad. So good, you’ll make it twice.

Savory ham and hearty potatoes are baked to perfection along with plenty of melted cheese, making this Ham and Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole a true comfort food.

With little more than a few zucchini and a couple of ears of corn, you can be on your way to piping hot, crispy Zucchini Corn Fritters.

Irresistibly rich, Coffee Ice Cream is a dessert that captures the morning joy of a freshly brewed cup of your favorite java. Perfect at any time of day!

Tangy blueberries and sweet, sun-kissed peaches are the highlights of this super simple Blueberry Peach Cobbler with a cinnamon sugar crust.

Is it breakfast? It is dessert? Fluffy pancakes are loaded with crumbled Oreo cookies in these decadent Oreo Pancakes. Topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, they’re an Oreo lover’s dream come true.

What I’m CRAVING: Tomato sandwiches on repeat. They are the quintessential summer sandwich and I adore them. Read more

Hi hi! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope that you’ve had a great one! The Pilot was in and out most of the week, so I’ve been wrangling the crew here. They’re fully back to school with homework and events, and while I don’t really know what our schedule will look like yet, it feels good to be back into things. I also got my first massage in over a year (bless it), met up with a friend for a yoga class, and had a dry eye specialist appt. I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!

This weekend both kids have birthday parties and I’m putting the finishing touches on Vitality. If you’re looking for a hybrid 1:1 and group coaching experience, you can join in here. This will also be the *hub* for my 1:1 clients since it will host videos and downloads on multiple wellness topics in one spot. This way, they can continue to work on foundations while we work together, and also enjoy lifetime access.

Check out the details here and send me an email (gina@fitnessista.com subject VITALITY) if you have any questions.

it’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

(Pic from date night with my love!)

Friday Faves 8.25

Read, watch, listen:

Listening to the audiobook of this and it’s incredible so far. If you’re raising girls (especially ones in the tween stage), I highly recommend it.

The behind-the-scenes glimpse we all needed.

How did you prepare your child for the first day of school?

The pressure to dream big and the beauty of wanting less.

Favorite podcasts for kids.

Fitness + good eats:

Community detox! We are joining in on the massive EquiLife community detox; last time there were over 50,000 people! We start on September 11th as a group. I have a call with EquiLife later this morning and am excited to hear what they have to say. If you know you want to join in, comment on this post and I’ll email you the details as soon as I get them! I’ll also update this post after the call.

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