Flavored salts and herb blends are a great option if you do not have much of a spice arsenal. They enhance anything from meat and fish to soups to roasted vegetables, and in this case roasted chickpeas. Here I used my current favorite, a garlic rosemary sea salt that my brother’s girlfriend gifted me for Christmas, and an option that combines three flavors in one. Truffle flavored salt is a top choice if you want to go for the fancy factor and spice blends like Italian seasoning or Old Bay have subtle herby flavors or there are some more exotic options like Indian garam masala and Middle Eastern za’atar. Continue Reading →
Scallop Vermicelli Stir Fry
This stir fry utilizes ingredients that all cook really quickly- thinly cut vegetables, rice vermicelli noodles and scallops with a pre-made vinaigrette. The most time consuming step here is cutting the vegetables but that can be done the night before or morning of to save time. Continue Reading →
Tropical Granola Parfait
Layering a thick smoothie with granola and yogurt is the ultimate in healthy brunch decadence and it’s good enough to eat for dessert. You can use any smoothie and granola you like, here I kept the flavors tropical for a bit of a pick me up from the dreary winter weather. Smoothies are a really great item to incorporate into a healthy diet because they are flexible to your individual preferences and since the food is completely blended they are less work for your digestive system to break down. Continue Reading →
Portobello Egg Cups
Portobello mushrooms are a versatile vegetable (technically they are actually a fungi) with a meaty texture and their large round shape makes them an ideal container for stuffing with other ingredients. They are a good source of many different antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, but what’s even more interesting is the potential of their phytonutrients to enhance immunity. Continue Reading →
Baba Ganoush with Roasted Delicata
Baba Ganoush is a Middle Eastern dip with very similar flavors to hummus, except that it features roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Eggplant is an interesting vegetable, with a deep purple skin and soft pale flesh which sucks up liquid like a sponge. In its raw state it is very bitter but once it is cooked for long enough the flavor becomes much deeper, rich and earthy and in this state it is often used as a meat substitute for vegetarians. Continue Reading →
Banana Sushi
These are nothing like regular sushi, no seaweed or raw fish for this recipe. All that is needed is a banana, some nut butter and a whole grain tortilla, additionally you can add in some small seeds and spices for extra healthy fats, protein and flavoring. The nut butter makes the tortilla stick together as you wrap it around the banana and then cut it into the separate pieces. Continue Reading →
Chunky Minestrone Soup
Minestrone is a really easy, healthy and low cost soup. It is basically a tomatoey broth filled with an assortment of vegetables, pasta and beans. Normally the tomato flavor comes from a can of crushed tomatoes but I have a secret trick- use marinara sauce instead for a more rich texture and depth of flavor. Continue Reading →
Coconut Sugar Body Scrub
This scrub is not a marinade or rub for food- it is meant to exfoliate, moisturize and nourish our biggest organ, our skin. It is gentle enough to use on the face but strong enough for the whole body. If our skin produces oil (sebum) to moisturize itself, why not try using oil instead of creams and lotions full of chemicals and artificial fragrances? Continue Reading →
Halibut en Papillote
Cooking food en papillote is a French method where you make a little paper pouch around some food and bake it in the oven. It steams and marinates itself and keeps all the moisture in so it is a very clean way of cooking that does not require much oil or flavoring. Continue Reading →
Ginger Yam Butternut Soup
I never ate ginger much growing up, except for in gingerbread cookies at Christmas time. Since learning about its health properties I have been experimenting with it more and more and a trip to the market grocery store is no longer complete for me without grabbing some fresh ginger from the produce section. Even just throwing a couple small pieces in a cup with hot water makes a nourishing tea that helps with digestion and is very soothing for sore tummies. This soup is very simple but it features some of the best foods for fending off and recovering from colds and flus Continue Reading →