Last night, when I arrived home from work, I walked into a house full of family and friends of all ages eager to spend the evening together, catch up, share stories, and allow the crazy, busy workweek to recede into the distance. And the house smelled wonderful. Continue reading
Category Archives: Recipes
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Karen’s Spiced Nuts
My friend and fellow yogi Karen Bush comes up with some of the very best recipes, and this one is guaranteed to make you very popular. You can bring it to a party, to book group, to work to share with your coworkers. You can sprinkle it on your salad and turn a little meal into a spectacular celebration. Guaranteed, everyone is going to love it. Continue reading
Most Manufactured Salad Dressing Isn’t Food
I recently decided that it was time to look at the ingredient lists of salad dressings, whatever that means, so I picked four popular brands to examine. You will be very interested to learn what I discovered. The first ingredient in the first product I picked up, Wishbone Italian dressing, was water. Frankly, that seems like a very expensive way to buy water. And surprising, too, given that Italian dressing consists primarily (and traditionally) of olive oil and vinegar. Not Wishbone Italian dressing, though. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Yoga-Inspired Recipes
During the recent holidays past, I was given the gift of a yoga calendar by my beloved friend Lee. Tearing off a page every morning has now become an especially joyful and expectant way to start my days. Most of the pages are filled with beautiful messages (some of which are so very special that they get pinned to the cork board the next day), or sometimes a special yoga-position-of-the-week. Very occasionally, I find an inspirational recipe. What I find most awesome is all the different kinds of spices, and the fact that roasting them brings out infinitely more complex flavor profiles. Here, below, are the recipes I’ve enjoyed most of all (so far). Continue reading
Three Ways to Nourish Your Heart & Soul
When people talk about nourishing, the next word I usually think of is “food.” But you can nourish yourself in a whole bunch of different ways, and I’m going to share a few with you today. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Seeded Crackers
Last week I posted an essay to help make sure that you find the nourishing crackers (instead of other ones), and I included a recipe. Here’s a second great recipe if you’re up for making yourself a batch of homemade — These are full of tiny little seeds and absolutely delicious. They are easy to make, and then you can eat a handful without any worries about whether you’re eating a whole bunch of nonsense that isn’t really food. Continue reading
Book Groups and Crackers (with recipe)!
My book group makes the most amazing meals. There are never any assignments; creativity runs wild. One week Brigitte brought tomato-basil soup with homemade croutons, Lynne contributed a quinoa-feta-cranberry salad in a bowl lined with kale, Elaine made a rum cake, or maybe that was Diane. Beth brought rice balls filled with melting cheese, Nancy brought a claypot filled to the top with her macaroni & cheese, and these are just the dishes I remember! Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Homemade Ketchup
My dad has a very hard time with the fact that high-fructose corn syrup (HCFS) is the first ingredient in most national brands of of ketchup. He is on a mission to get people to eat less HFCS without compromising their love for ketchup. Recently, he asked if I would post an entry about this. Absolutely. Here you go, Dad! Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup
No introduction is really necessary for this recipe. Just pop on over to the supermarket for some scallions and a little knob of ginger if you need, and make this soup with your leftovers. There’s a good chance you already have all the other ingredients. It’ll take all afternoon to cook, but only 10 minutes to throw together. The biggest time investment is looking through the bones for bits of meat. But don’t feel the need to go crazy looking for every last piece. Feel free to stop when you feel like it. It’ll be enough, and it’ll be worth it. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Peach Pie
A few years ago, a friend of mine got interested in the raw food movement. When she said it changed her life, I thought to myself, “Okay, lots of people say stuff like that.” But I saw the difference. She became more relaxed, energetic, vibrant. She felt better, and I could see it. Continue reading