Recipes

I think the saddest part of the Holidays being over isn’t packing up the Christmas tree and decorations – it’s the packing up of the cookies, candy, and all of the fattening goodies to make way for healthier food on our shelves. December is definitely one of those times when people overindulge, and when January comes flying in fast and furious, it’s time to get serious about leading a healthy lifestyle again. If you’re looking for a great way to give you a kick-start, look no further than juicing.  

The saying goes, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Don’t judge a muffin pan to only make muffins. We’ve posted the most amazing breakfast meals you can make with a muffin pan. Now, it’s time to talk dinner. New ideas can help shake up the menu of the week, plus it’ll make it easier to serve your entire family and any uninvited guests. Here are my five favorite dinner ideas using a muffin pan.

Baby, it’s cold outside! Whether you’re on the East Coast, West Coast, or somewhere in the middle, the temperatures are dipping into the polar zone and thoughts are turning to warm fires, hot chocolate, and bundling up.   But there’s one thing that can take the edge off the chill outside, and that’s comfort food! What is comfort food exactly? I think it means something different to whoever is eating it. For some a certain dish brings back sentimental feelings or a sense of nostalgia, for others comfort food is a go-to dish they make when they’re feeling under the weather, have had a bad day, or want a pick-me-up in the middle of a busy winter week.

With root vegetables, every traditional meal you serve could have a new and interesting taste. Kick your comfort food to the curb, try these recipes, then weigh in on what you think about the root vegetable food trend.

For me, one of the most stressful parts of back to school is figuring out what to pack in their lunch kits. This year I’m getting a jump on things by creating a list of lunches that are cute, creative, and will be something they enjoy eating.

It’s no surprise people can’t seem to squeeze in their recommended daily fruit & vegetable intakes – busy lives mean dinner on the go, and dinner on the go doesn’t often include one vegetable let alone three. And no, in most circles, french fries are not considered a serving of vegetables.

 You can prepare delicious side salads to go with any vegan BBQ. Or you can serve a hearty salad as a meal, by loading it up with lots of different proteins (just not meat, chicken, or fish) and other ingredients such as quinoa and rice.

I love heat and sunshine, but I still think summer desserts are one of the best parts of summer. Because we’re celebrating my daughter’s elementary school graduation this weekend, I’ve been in the kitchen with kids and up to my elbows in summer desserts. Here’s what’s been chilling out in my kitchen this week. 

Where I grew up, we didn’t have ‘food trends.’ Everything we ate was simple, basic, and comfortable – from roast beef and mashed potatoes to chili and mashed potatoes. If we were going to spice things up, maybe we’d have spaghetti or pizza.   So imagine my surprise when the person who did all of the cooking during my formative years, the woman who actually served me lasagna and mashed potatoes (I’m not joking), called me up and started talking to me about quinoa. And she wasn’t just calling for a definition of what quinoa is either – she was talking about her long list of personal quinoa salad recipes. I almost dropped the phone in shock. After all, quinoa doesn’t include ground beef or mashed potatoes in the ingredient list, so this was quite a detour.

Low-fat, no-fat, healthy fat, too much fat, trans fat-free? “What do you mean?” as my fellow Canadian, Justin Bieber, would say. I conclude my four part series on special diet with low fat cooking or ways to limit the fat intake.