Tips For Eating and Living Well
With Super Bowl 50 less than 2 weeks away, it’s time to start planning your Super Bowl menu. I know, I know, you’ll probably just order a pizza and some wings, but why not have at least one nutritious menu item? And why not serve a secretly nutritious dessert, like this delicious cookie dough dip??? …
For Christmas I received Tal Ronnen’s new book, Crossroads, which is a beautiful cookbook full of vegan recipes that he uses in his L.A.-based restaurant. Ronnen’s dishes are colorful, creative, and inspiring — but hardly “plant pure.” Some of the dishes are fried, and almost all of them contain olive oil. And although some people may be into hunting down impossible-to-find ingredients such as black garlic and Kite Hill vegan cheeses (probably only available in California), others of us prefer simple dishes that don’t require an ingredient scavenger hunt.
One recipe that inspired me was his “Warm Kale and Artichoke Dip.” Instead of using store-bought vegan cream cheese or Daiya shreds, he used cashew cream and wine to add richness to this classic appetizer. I thus decided to alter his recipe to make it healthier and simpler to make, and WOW. This recipe is a keeper!…
I’m just going to go ahead and say it — this recipe is a winner!
Now that Abby is able to feed herself, I decided to come up with a super nutritious finger food that I can keep in the freezer and thaw whenever I need an easy meal for her. She loves quinoa, but I have to feed it to her because of her poor utensil skills. And when I’m feeding Abby, I’m not able to feed myself.
So . . .
I came up with these veggie-filled quinoa pizza bites, and Abby LOVES them!…
You know you’ve made it as a food blogger when you’re mailed a product and asked to do a review on your blog!
And I’ll admit, because I believe it’s possible to eat all of the protein you need from eating only plants, I generally don’t endorse protein powders.
BUT . . .
When I received my sample of Nature’s Food Organic Protein, I was impressed by its ingredient list and the fact that it’s 100% vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and lactose-free. It’s also free of preservatives, cholesterol, and artificial flavors and sweeteners. The main reason I like this product, however, is the fact that it contains Bacillus coagulans, which is a beneficial probiotic (good bacteria). Probiotics help boost your immune system and aid in digestion by improving gut health, and should be part of everyone’s diet! …
I’ll admit, I like asparagus, but I don’t love it. For me, it really depends on how it’s cooked.
I had a bunch of asparagus in the fridge, so I decided to dredge each spear in my super-nutritious flax batter and bake them. What resulted was a delicious appetizer or side dish that I believe even kids would love! I call them asparagus fries, even though they’re not technically fried. I dipped them in a store-bought maple champagne mustard, but any honey mustard would do. …
Yesterday I posted a recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, and since granola bars are so customizable, I decided to make another flavor: Banana Berry with Toasted Coconut.
Dried fruit, although fairly high in sugar, is a convenient snack (especially for toddlers!). I decided to combine my two favorites — freeze-dried bananas (a.k.a. “space” bananas) and dried wild blueberries. And since I had some toasted coconut on hand, I crushed some of that and added it to the mix. All of these flavors, in addition to the almond butter and ground cinnamon, come together to form a granola bar that tastes like a blueberry muffin with a hint of banana. It’s a great bar for breakfast on the go! …
A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for homemade granola, so it’s no surprise that I decided to make granola bars, right?
My husband has been leaving for work early for meetings lately, so he has been requesting a breakfast he can grab and take with him. Loose granola lacks the convenience factor you get with granola bars, so I obliged and made two different bar flavors — peanut butter chocolate chip and banana blueberry with toasted coconut. After a few tweaks, I’m now very happy with the results — perfectly chewy, crunchy, slightly sweet, and nutritious! …
When I was in high school, I thought good eatin’ was a bowl of queso dip made out of a melted block of Velveeta and a can of Ro-tel tomatoes. I now know that Velveeta more closely resembles the inside of a yoga mat than actual food, so I avoid it at all costs. But like the trans fats I consumed, the memory of that delicious, spicy cheese dip sticks with me.
I’ve been working on developing a better cheese sauce lately, and I stumbled upon a sauce that reminds me of a slightly less rubbery version of melted Velveeta. I added a can of Ro-tel tomatoes, and BAM! I flashed back to my high school days of devouring a whole bowl of queso washed down with lots of regret — but this time, no guilt!
I know food bloggers are prone to hyperbole, but this recipe is gold, I tell ya! Pure gold!…
If you’re a breastfeeding mother, you might discover that your milk supply dips on occasion. As I mentioned in my Lactation 102: Improving Lactation post, there are certain foods that can help boost your milk supply. Among these foods are oats, flax seeds, and brewer’s yeast, which are all ingredients included in my lactation cookie recipe!…
After tasting the strawberry cupcakes I made for Abby’s birthday, my husband told me that the icing reminded him of a sweet yogurt. He also just returned from a business trip to Vermont, where he tried some homemade granola that he loved. I think you see where I’m going with this.
I quickly began researching the best method for making non-dairy yogurt for my yogurt and granola parfait, then headed straight for the kitchen. …
Sometimes I will do anything to avoid going to the grocery store, especially now that I have a baby. When I was single and living by myself, I used to love going to Whole Foods in Nashville and frolicking around the produce department. But now I have to wait until Abby wakes up from her nap, buckle her into her car seat, put her into the shopping cart (where she always drops her paci and chews on the cart handle), stop to answer strangers’ questions about how old she is, etc., put her and the groceries in the car, and drive home. It’s nothing short of an ordeal. So yesterday I was determined to come up with a recipe using ingredients I already had, and what I created was so delicious, I decided to share it!
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It’s officially six days until the Super Bowl, and whether or not you care about watching football, chances are that you’re expected to come up with some delicious snacks to munch on during the game. And although it’s easy to order a pizza or melt some Velveeta and open a bag of Doritos, those options are hardly low calorie or nutritious.
Why not make something that’s fun to eat, but won’t make you feel terrible by halftime?…
