Simple Skillet Green Enchiladas

Plus: some honey fun facts I learned in New Zealand!

Colorful chefs - new and old, welcome! First, I want to say thank you to everyone who checked in on me, Alex and Alfie given the LA fires. We are fortunate to still be in New Zealand on our honeymoon, and we have dear friends who will take Alfie if our neighborhood in Santa Monica evacuates. However, many of our friends have lost their homes, schools, local businesses, and the infrastructure for their entire lives and community. It’s heartbreaking. As soon as I’m home, Alex and I are eager to find ways to support our community and city in person. In the meantime, we are reminding our LA community we love them, and making donations to Direct Relief and LAFD.

I already had this newsletter tee’d up, so I thought I’d send it anyways however I made this week’s recipe free for everyone (up on Color Club + my main website) in case cooking an easy, nourishing, colorful meal is something that can bring you comfort this week.

Please keep LA in your thoughts and prayers. My love goes out to LA, and all of the incredible people (and pets!) who are connected in one way or another to the city 💔

On today’s menu is:

• A simple skillet green enchilada that’s packed with flavor, protein and veggies (Color Club link here + Free link here)

• 5 interesting honey facts I learned from a third-generation beekeeper in New Zealand!

One more thing before I jump in, I want to share an email that made my day from a Color Club member that highlights the reason why I love sharing recipes and my food philosophy with all of you!

"I would like to share a transformation that has happened in me, because of your efforts and Cooking in Color. When I was making dinner last night, and without conscious effort, I found myself looking for foods to make my meal more colorful! I need something red on my plate….. oh I know, kimchi, that'll taste good and add color... wait! I'm cooking in color! It was a profound moment for me! You've taught me such an easy way to be satisfied and get all those more nutrients in!" - Penni, Color Club Member

The purpose of this newsletter and all of my recipes is to show you easy, delicious ways to maximize your nutrient intake and find joy in food! Remember, here we count colors not calories! 💛💚💜🧡🤎❤️

This video is basically my ASMR ^^^

We did a farm tour with a third-generation beekeeper outside Queenstown and learning more about bees honestly blew my mind!

Why honey is my sweetener of choice: I’ve mentioned this in the past, but honey is my sweetener of choice because unlike high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar, which are processed and linked to various health issues, honey contains natural sugars along with beneficial enzymes, antioxidants, and trace nutrients. I still use it in moderation, but if you are also prioritizing your metabolic health and blood sugar balance like me, I don’t want you to be afraid of real, raw, honey!

5 fun (and a few not so fun) facts about honey:

• Adulterated honey in the U.S.: This probably won’t surprise you, but much of the honey sold in the U.S. is not pure honey but mixed with corn syrup, often imported from China through countries like Vietnam to disguise its origins. Apparently honey is the world’s third most faked food. There are very few federal standards for honey and unfortunately no government certification and no consequences for making false claims on the label. It is SO important to purchase high-quality, local honey to ensure authenticity. If you buy honey in a honey bear at the store, chances are it’s cut with corn syrup. TL’DR: Buy honey from your local farmers market.

  • If you want to test your honey you can use “the flame test”

    1. Dip a matchstick in the honey

    2. Try to light the matchstick

    3. If the matchstick lights easily, the honey is pure. If it doesn’t, toss that honey in the trash.

• "Raw, unfiltered" is largely a marketing tactic: All honey is filtered to remove impurities like wax, bee parts, and debris, making it clean, safe, and shelf-stable. While commercial honey is often ultra-filtered for a clear appearance, "raw, unfiltered honey" is lightly filtered to retain some particles like pollen. However, the term "raw, unfiltered" is largely a marketing tactic, as even these products undergo some processing. This is another reason why sourcing local honey from reputable beekeepers is more meaningful than relying on labels!

• Male bees are basically useless: Male bees, known as drones, don’t contribute to work within the hive. They rely entirely on female worker bees for food - literally having to bind to them to eat. The only purpose of the male bee during it’s 55 day lifespan is if the queen bee needs to mate. Next time Alex is being lazy and not helping me in the kitchen, I’m going to call him a little drone! 🤣

• Honey’s timeless shelf life: Honey literally never spoils because of its low water content and natural acidity, which create an environment where bacteria and microorganisms cannot thrive. Another reason to splurge on some fancy, local honey - it will NEVER go bad! Fun fact: Archeologists have even discovered edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs.

• Appreciate every tsp of honey: A single bee produces only about one teaspoon of honey in its entire life! I’m going to think about that when I enjoy a tsp of honey on top of my yogurt bowls or mixed into my peanut butter protein balls (free recipe) 🥰

The only souvenir I’ve bought on this trip so far is Manuka honey and I am THRILLED about it.

What to do: If you have an old honey bear in your pantry, throw it out and get yourself some raw local honey on your next trip to the farmers market, or order some Lineage honey which I can guarantee you is NOT laced with any corn syrup! Lineage honey is hand harvested away from commercial farms, and tested undetectable for glyphosate and 450+ other common contaminants. Code SONJA10 for 10% off. It’s also downright delicious.

Now, onto the Simple Skillet Green Enchilada recipe! The honest “why’ behind this recipe is I was craving enchiladas but didn’t want to spend 1-2 hours making them. Enter, the skillet enchilada with a few Cooking in Color approved store bought time savers.

Enchiladas always seemed like a very time consuming task, until I discovered the Siete enchilada sauce (no bad stuff!) and realized I could prepare these all in one skillet. Like all my recipes, I’ve snuck in tons of veggies and protein here to make this nutrient dense and blood sugar friendly.

You can use any refined grain-free tortilla, but my favorite is the Coyotes Cassava followed by the Siete chickpea flour tortillas (or almond flour tortillas, but warning those don’t hold up quite as well!).

This is a great recipe to meal prep or to make when you know you want leftovers the next day.

I’m counting 9 colors in this one (1-scallions, 2 - pepper, 3 - zucchini, 4- jalapeño, 5- green chilies, 6 - spinach, 7- pickled red onions, 8 - avocado, 9 - cilantro).

Quick tip that everyone needs to know about heating up tortillas (especially grain free ones) so they don’t break 👇🏼

Note: You can do this in microwave or on the stovetop!

Yields: ~4-6 servings (makes about 8-10 enchiladas)

Total time: ~30-35 minutes

• Prep time: 10-15 minutes

• Cook time: 15-20 minutes

What you’ll need:

• Large skillet (I love using my Lodge 12 inch cast-iron skillet for this)

• Cutting board

• Chefs knife

• Cheese grater

• Mixing spoon

Get the full recipe + video here! It’s free this week for everyone, in addition to my Color Clubbers!

If you make this recipe (or ANY of my recipes!), I’d LOVE to hear how it turned out and any feedback you have! Give me your notes - big and small, and if you are on IG, tag me @sonjakmanning.

Chefs kisses,

Sonja