Tips For Eating and Living Well
Last week my son was at camp, but my daughter Abby stayed home with me. At first she was super bummed that she didn’t have camp, but I told her we could have “Mommy Camp” and do fun things together instead. As a result, we had a great week together! We spent time at a local bookstore, went for a long hike at Hanging Rock, NC, cooked a delicious dinner together, and developed a fun new recipe — Sugar Cookie Granola! …
That’s right, you read that correctly — Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies. And since I’m a plant-based dietitian who believes in eating for health as well as pleasure, I made these cookies both delicious AND nutritious! I’ve even eaten them for breakfast without feeling guilty. True story. …
I know, I know, overnight oats have been a thing for quite a while now. And yet, I’m just now jumping aboard the overnight oats train because, well, I’m SO TIRED OF OATMEAL. There, I said it. When I do eat it, it’s because I know it’s good for me, not because I legitimately enjoy eating a bowl of warm mush. But I’ve found that I actually look forward to eating my overnight oats because they’re already prepared when I wake up, I try lots of fun flavors, and it’s like eating dessert for breakfast every morning! …
It had been way too long since I’d made granola, which is a shame because it’s a nutritious snack or breakfast that’s easy to take on the go or give to friends and family. I’ve found that the store-bought granolas are full of oil and sugar, and thus empty calories. So if I eat granola, I prefer to make it myself and use nut butter instead of canola oil, and maple syrup or coconut sugar instead of cane sugar. It’s still fairly high in calories, but it’s also packed with protein, minerals, and fiber to keep you full and energized.
For some reason I wanted to try my hand at a savory coffee granola because, duh, I love everything coffee-flavored. With Abby’s help, I came up with this nutritious coffee almond butter granola that my father-in-law described as “almost as good as [my husband’s] shot on hole 17” last weekend. Apparently it was his best golf shot of all time, so I decided to take that as a major compliment. …
I really fell off the sugar wagon this Easter, so I’ve been craving sweets way too much lately. In an attempt to wean myself off of the pure sugar desserts, I concocted this nutritious strawberry crisp — which is not only full of fruit, nuts, and oats, but is also so easy to throw together when you’re wanting something sweet….
I’ve been experimenting with cooking with Indian spices lately, so I’ve developed a love for cardamom. To me, it makes every sweet dish a little more decadent and interesting. That’s why I created this Cardamom Stewed Banana Porridge!…
It’s finally feeling like springtime here in Winton-Salem, which means the flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and Abby is playing outside again! After being indoors with my almost two-year-old all winter, it’s such a treat to be able to play outside and work in the garden again. …
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??? …
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, breakfast is not a meal on which I enjoy spending lots of time. I’m usually too eager to start my day and will settle for a bite of Abby’s morning banana and a cup of coffee. I’m also guilty of grabbing a leftover oatmeal cookie and calling it “oatmeal” to make myself feel better, which was really the inspiration for this recipe.
There are several other breakfast cookie recipes online, but all of them I saw contain banana as a key ingredient. Banana is fine, but not everyone likes its strong flavor (my husband, for example), so I decided to make a nutritious banana-free cookie that constitutes a balanced breakfast. The result was high in fiber, protein, omega-3’s and antioxidants, and so delicious!…
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! …
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!…
