Here you’ll find everything I’m preparing in my kitchen - from veggies, to leftovers and pasta. I eat simply, and I cook for one, but love cooking for others. And no matter what, I always pause to plate pretty.
Most of my meals are often times the result of freestyle recipe free ingredient riffing and a trip to the vegetable market. Produce is my passion, and I hope that you won’t simply come here for a recipe - but that you’ll read, cook and create a new story of your own.
I believe there’s power in a stocked pantry and freezer. From traditional Italian dishes to alternative sweets, vegan and vegetarian swaps - there’s something for everyone.
Let this serve as inspiration and let’s eat!
In the world of romantic love I'm pretty much clueless, but when it comes to cooking vegetables I can close my eyes and reimagine a whole new world in each and every one. True health is about making new habits. I've made it a habit to cook, explore, map and write. Repeat.
I cook for and out of love and consider every meal I touch to be a confession that takes place in the diary that is my kitchen.
Read MoreOnce a week I do a produce refresh for my lunches and dinners and I wrote about it here.
Today I'm gonna go a little more in depth with regard to what landed on my table from that one cooking session. And please don't think this is how you have to cook, not in any way, I'm simply sharing the possibilities that come with making a tray of veggies and how they can have use in your day and meals beyond a simple side eaten as is. This is inspiration. A recommendation. Maybe some motivation.
Veggies can be used to create the base for a multitude of meals (at least in my single lady world)
Read MoreTHIS TOFU LOOKS FRIED DOESN'T IT??
BUT IT ISN'T!
Say goodbye to the thought of frying your tofu or sautéing it into a mushy mess when concocting your next stir fry or adding to a bodacious bowl of soup.
1. This tofu is perfect as a building block protein for the week in meal prep, whether you use it for lunch or to create a quick weeknight dinner.
2. Fantastic for a sneaky little bite when you do a little late evening fridge run.
Read MoreIn an effort to use remaining roasted cauliflower, broccoli, kale and some tomatoes that were on their way out - I threw them into a pan along with zoodles I had sitting in refrigerator storage for over a week. Yes, over a week. It was about 10 days of sitting which usually never happens in my world but ... never say never.
So, zoodles, also known in my world as Faux-Pas-Ta and zoodles DO NOT replace pasta in my book. I still eat pasta, my body was built on spaghetti (and Sophia Loren said it best and said it first "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.") but I do love being able to sneak more fiber into my maw and very much enjoy how all of the bright colors make me feel. I also love the spirals, the twirling, the shape and how these hold up alongside other veggies.
Read MoreThis spicy veggie powered soup is littered with a lot of goodness and not for the faint of heart in the kitchen.
You can make it as simple or complex as you want and I’m gonna roll out what I did to make this masterpiece in 3 separate posts.
Now … On with the soup …
Read MoreI had some Trader Joe’s mini-pearl tomatoes that were getting wrinkly and I didn’t have the heart to toss them, so tossed into my omelette they went. I love getting turbo charged on tomatoes 1) because I’m Italian I don’t have a choice, this body was built on that great red fruit 2) they have something called lycopene which I’ve read from fancy health people is “potent antioxidant against disease.” I mean, I think they’re delicious and they have health benefits so I’m like - win win - you know? 3) there are also Vitamins and minerals in them like magnesium and potassium, Vitamin K which are less complicated to me than lycopene because I have more familiarity with magnesium and potassium because I read a lot on muscle cramping, PMS and pooping - which you need those things to help with.
Read MoreThis week I’m off from substitute teaching, but I’ve still got private and corporate health work to attend to with a No Bake Treats workshop happening at a law firm in NYC on Friday, then one in DC and CT the following 2 Friday’s while I balance sub teacher life. That said, this week promises to be quite busy as do the coming weeks ahead. Filled with teaching, treat making, writing and figuring out how to get new clients and wondering how I'm supposed to date in the middle of so much newness. I digress.
A meal strategy going into a week is key for me and, I’d imagine for you too. And, I’m in the zone when it comes to my own food and time. I know what food I like, I'm committed to eating well (and all within reason, hello, Nutella) and I’ve already prioritized cooking as an integral part of my life that I don’t plan on sacrificing. Cooking makes me feel good
Read MoreAt 11:35am I made myself a hummus and almond bread sandwich with a cucumber and tomato salad on the side. Lunch doesn't get any simpler than hummus and veggies. Packed with fiber, protein and pleasing texture thanks to Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning.
My tip: this is a traditional hummus, but not as strong with the lemon. I use only the juice from 1/2 a lemon, a little bit of zest and a shake of cumin as I don't want the lemon and cumin competing with the Everything Seasoning.
Read MoreYesterday I met a 5 year old who now eats a few bananas a day because Minions eat bananas and he wants to be funny and strong like a Minion. Thank you my new small friend for making me laugh and sharing in a love for bananas. While he loves bananas because of Minions, I love bananas because they are another vehicle to get chocolate into my mouth. I go wild for Trader Joe’s Gone Bananas, you know, those dark chocolate dipped frozen banana wedges? If you haven’t had them 1) you’re missing out 2) I’ve go you covered 3) don't tell me you do not like bananas, my new buddy will be very disappointed in you!
Read MoreListen, I know most folks want gourmet meals prepared and chicken cordon bleu on Tuesday nights - but I've reframed meals to mean anything that satisfies me and hits my vegetable quotient for the day. Perhaps you're rolling your eyes, more vegetables, and I say - the more veggies and simple food you eat, the more you actually crave them.
A good bean or veggie based dip can be used to top off your grain bowls, salads and roasted veggies. It can get smeared on bread
Read MoreI'm not paleo or gluten free. I'm a champion for delicious, simple food and getting in the kitchen. The bread is no fuss, with 5 ingredients total (6 if you count the squeeze of honey I add to the batter). No flour mess, one spin in the food processor, an easy bake - and you're done.
Read MoreThere are many reasons I cook, health is an absolute. The others have more to do with tradition and what’s come to truly be a plain old dirty love for cooking. I love getting dirty, wiping my hands on my pants, cutting all crooked because I have zero knife skills. I love plating food and when I’m not feeling beautiful it helps me to see that I can put something beautiful into my body and my mind for that matter. Then, when I add music into the equation, shit gets next level. I fall in love with the process, I dance like a lunatic, I think I’m Shakira, I believe I’m Shakira and I cook with every part of me. My hips don’t lie. They can’t.
Read MoreWhen I got too lazy during my carrot cake bite experiment (one lady can only roll so many balls and eat so many on her own), I decided to take the remaining batter, refrigerate it and save it for later use.
By adding the remaining carrots I grated, along with 2 eggs, some coconut oil, a splash of vanilla extract and some baking powder - I created a new batter that was fit for PANCAKE OR MUFFIN making.
Read MoreThe base for these here truffles is the great cacao nib, chock full of REAL HEALTH benefits. It's not your over processed, sugar and chemical laden grocery store chocolate, no no no. And the cacao nib health realness surpasses that of the dark chocolate bar (even those of the fancy fair trade variety). Cacao comes from the seeds of the fruit of the cacao tree. It's chocolate in its realest and purest state.
And since I'm all for eating to feel good and to look good, let's be real people - eating real food makes ya skin glow like a lightbulb, brings clarity to those peepers,
Read MoreIn an effort to get more families and singles in the kitchen, I'm always tryin' to think up ways to consolidate what I know and learned about cooking into a functional tool. So cooking and baking aren't seen as repetitive or boring but creative and useful.
Carrots can be roasted as a side or made in to a soup. Used in stir fry, curry and noodle dishes. We all know you can bake cake with 'em and here you'll learn how to make some fun no bake bites with a recipe you can adapt into pancakes and muffins. Made with real ingredients, here’s a natural path to breakfast, sweet treats and a feel good way to get the kids involved and in the kitchen
Read MoreAfter 4 days alone and quarantined in my apartment, I've been living on homemade chicken soup. It's times like these I know I'll get by because there's always stock in my home to make something. No desperate soup orders for this woman, only the finest thighs from the back of the freezer.
The simplicity of a bowl of soup is comfort, ease and happiness and it does the same thing for me when I'm sick - minus hugs from my mom.
Read MoreI'll be going out to lunch today so I wanted a breakfast that would sustain my energy and give me a boost for the long walk I plan on taking. I know my body and I know it'll be feeding time at the zoo well before 1pm, so I've got my snack bag packed so I'm not skipping and then dipping into whatever looks good to feast on at 1pm.
Having breakfast at 7:30am and waiting 5.5 hours to eat lunch is a NO GO in my book and kinda in everyone else's. Checking in on hunger can be tricky, but building a habit out of it is how you recognize it. Here's how.
Read MoreRoasting a spaghetti squash on a Sunday along with making a pot of sauce is one work around to weeknight meals. You can even bake spaghetti squash in the oven with sauce and a good honk of mozz for a one pan meal that'll keep on giving.
Read MoreImagine a world in which you weren't always wondering what's for breakfast or grabbing on the go, Imagine a world in which you weren't always wondering what's for breakfast or grabbing on the go, which ends up costing more money and time in the long run. A little planning always gives back the gift of time on the back end. It takes longer to scramble in a moment and wait for deliveries or on deli lines than it does to simply be prepared. Preparation and having choices leads to health, so make it a habit starting today.
Read MoreA few tweaks to this Sunday bolognese make it not so traditional, but lighter and quick to make. Sure we're losing the pork and beef, substituting for turkey, but we've still got a healthy pour of red wine and finish with a splash of half and half to cut some of the acid and cream up this sauce - all without the ritual of cooking for 2-3 hours.
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