Tips For Eating and Living Well
If you’re someone who has been eating plant-based for a while, you know that ethnic foods are a) easy to make without animal products, and b) full of great flavor combinations. For this reason, my go-to dinners at home are either burrito bowls, curry dishes, or Asian noodles using whichever vegetables I have in the fridge. Last week I got a little more creative with my sauce ingredients, and my family loved this dish — Orange Ginger Pad Thai! Even Picky Husband went back for seconds! …
Every May in Winston-Salem, the Greek Orthodox Church puts on a huge Greek Festival. Almost everyone I know goes, admittedly, for the FOOD. As a person who eats a plant-based diet, there isn’t much there for me. BUT I can always bend the rules a bit for a piece of baklava or something similar. Last week I came across a recipe for a cake with a nutty orange honey drizzle, and I knew I had to make a healthful version of a dessert with those wonderful Greek flavors. The result was surprisingly delicious! In fact, my daughter’s first bite of my Greek Orange Honey Cake made her eyes bulge with delight! …
I typically get my recipe inspiration from all kinds of sources — books, magazines, cooking shows, restaurants, etc. — but my idea for this healthful Orange “Julius” came from a dream I had about drinking the Dairy Queen classic beverage. I haven’t had one in years, but I remember how creamy and refreshing they are. After my dream, I decided I must have an Orange Julius. Of course, the ingredient list for the DQ version is abysmal (egg white solids???), so I set out to create a nutritious version. …
Every winter I get super excited when I see blood oranges in the produce section. If I see them, I have to buy a few. They look like regular oranges with a little red blush on the skin, but when you open them up, they’re a gorgeous crimson. I prefer them because they’re sweeter than regular oranges and typically just contain one or two seeds. I like to add them to fruit salad, squeeze some of the juice into hibiscus tea, or add them to baked goods, like my citrus tea cookies, or . . .
these blood orange muffins!…
When I came up with my shortbread cookie recipe, I had in mind a slightly sweet, light tea cookie that is also nutritious. First I created a citrus version, which contains Meyer lemon or orange zest and is topped with a very thin slice of citrus fruit. But with such a great shortbread dough base, I couldn’t stop at just one cookie flavor. I opened my fridge and noticed some unsalted pistachios and decided to add them to the dough with coconut flakes and almond extract. The results were delicious! …
Sometimes people ask me if I grow tired of eating salads all the time, and my answer is always no. There are so many different ways to make a salad, the possible combinations are endless. …
