Tips For Eating and Living Well
Earlier this week I was asked to make a side dish to go with a chicken entree for a church small group dinner. I knew I wasn’t going to eat the chicken, so I decided to make my favorite hearty salad that can be eaten as a side or an entree: black bean salad!
I also made my vegan queso, which, if you haven’t tried it yet, you need to make ASAP!…
Last week I decided to change up my usual soup routine and come up with a nutrient-packed, low-calorie soup recipe that I can make over and over again and love every time.
Well . . . mission accomplished!
This Tuscan bean and kale soup is a delicious combination of cannellini beans, kale, sun-dried tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and a blend of flavorful herbs. And like most soup recipes, it’s easy to make and tastes great as leftovers! …
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the health benefits of curcumin, the deep yellow pigment in turmeric. Apparently this ingredient, paired with black pepper, is just shy of magical. I’ve known for a while about its anti-inflammatory properties, but I had no idea that its benefits don’t stop there. Read on!
Because it’s not always easy to fit turmeric or curry into our everyday diets, I’m sharing a way to drink it as a warm, delicious beverage that tastes like autumn and gives you all of the health benefits of curcumin, ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper!
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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!…
It’s hard to beat a summer tomato picked fresh from the garden, which is why I’ve been waiting all year to come up with this vegan, gluten-free tomato pie! …
I may be a dietitian, but I’m still human — a human with a sweet tooth. So naturally, my favorite recipes to concoct are desserts. Granted, my desserts are nutritious, vegan, and gluten-free, but they’re still decadent treats that should be reserved for special occasions.
This cinnamon ice cream with salted caramel and brûléed banana seems complex, but I promise it’s quite easy! The ice cream, shortbread cookies, and salted caramel can be made ahead, and the bananas can be caramelized using a créme brûlée torch or an oven broiler right before serving. And trust me, this will be your new favorite summer dessert! …
Before my husband and I traveled to London in mid June, I did some research to find a good vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the city. I stumbled upon a cute restaurant called Mildreds, which is so popular that the line is always out the door! My husband and I arrived 20 minutes before it opened for lunch so we could be at the front of the line.
The food at Mildreds was so good, I bought the cookbook!…
Last week in my CSA crate I received a beautiful head of cabbage, so I decided to concoct a flavorful entree that features cabbage! Cabbage is often used in Ethiopian cooking, which I love, so I knew this dish would be one of my favorites.
I combined the commonly-used Ethiopian spices — turmeric, cumin, garlic, and ginger — with a naturally creamy mash of potatoes, carrots, white beans, and onion, and served it all stuffed into steamed cabbage leaves. If you don’t want to take the time to stuff cabbage leaves, you can always chop your cabbage and cook it with your other vegetables!…
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’m getting very antsy waiting for summer vegetables to arrive. Every day I go out to my garden to check my tiny green tomatoes, hoping they will suddenly ripen and I can pick them and start using them in recipes. Unfortunately, I have to be patient and hold off on making any recipes that include produce from my garden.
One summer vegetable I’m not growing, however, is corn! And since I purchased a donut pan last week, I decided to make vegan, gluten-free cornbread donuts! …
It’s unofficially summer, which means it’s time to give the soup bowls a little break and get excited about cold salads again! One summer picnic and potluck staple is the three-bean salad, which seems to have been forgotten by my generation.
Well it’s time to bring it back! Try this super easy three-bean salad recipe, and you’ll wonder why you don’t keep simple hearty salads like this one in your fridge at all times! …
I’m continuing my Asian-inspired ice cream flavors this week with this red bean ice cream made with sweet red bean paste! Last week I posted a black sesame ice cream, which you absolutely must try!
Red bean paste (known as anko) is a common filling to mochi, dumplings, cookies, and other Chinese and Japanese desserts. At first the idea of beans in my desserts made me cringe, but after I tasted that sweet red paste, my mind was filled with new dessert recipe ideas!
But first, ice cream . . . 🙂 …
