May gives December a run for its money as far as being a very busy month.  Everyone is trying to cram stuff in before summer, and there’s Mother’s Day and graduations and making sure summer plans get finalized.  It’s all exciting but it can feel overwhelming.  I have a great Mother’s Day gift guide in my newsletter this coming Monday which will give you a lot of excuses to treat yourself!  Also, this week, my annual breakfast/brunch-themed cooking class will be uploaded on May 1.  This a fantastic class!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

I know some of you will be celebrating Passover on Monday, April 22nd.  I will be posting a Passover recipe round-up on Wednesday to give you some more ideas since this week’s dinner planner doesn’t cover the holiday.  I had a really fun IG live this past Monday with my friend and interior designer extraordinaire, Nathan Turner, and I *might* have another special guest join Hubs and me this coming Monday.  Stay tuned!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Happy Weekend! Big Hubs update: he is out of his boot and walking pretty well, fortunately!  Not quite ready for pickleball, but maybe in a few weeks. Just a reminder that the April class is up and ready for viewing if you are part of the online cooking class community.  Everyone here eats differently and I am not going to tell you that there is one “best” diet because there are many ways to eat healthfully.  Always feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of a recipe if you need a swap.  Most of the time, I have a good suggestion!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Happy Easter Weekend!  I hope you are having a lovely holiday weekend.  I will be trying my best to eat only one piece of Easter chocolate a day.  Wish me luck!  The April cooking class will be uploaded on Monday, so be on the lookout for that.  If you are not a subscriber to my classes, this month’s menu with plant-based, GF and DF swaps is:

Sopa de Fideo; Salad with Beets, Avocado, and Smoky Feta Dressing; Calabacitas;

Tex-Mex Meatballs; Healthier Nutter Butter Cookies

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Easter has always been my mom’s holiday.  She hosts a beautiful luncheon with a light pasta primavera (we are Italian, so there’s pasta at every holiday!), Ina’s roasted rack of lamb, mixed roasted seasonal vegetables and potatoes, and a spring green salad. For dessert, she makes coconut macaroons, lemon-ice torte, fresh berries, and my aunt brings boxes of chocolates from Al Richard’s shop in New Jersey.  I still dream about the chocolate coconut egg! I provided some inspiration in this week’s dinner planner, but there are so many recipes on the website now, it’s hard to choose! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

I just came back from a few days in the desert for the BNP Paribas tennis tournament.  It’s my favorite desert event, and it once again did not disappoint.  One of the most common questions I receive is “where can I find your desert recommendations?”  One of the reasons I moved my newsletter to Substack is for the ability to search through the archive of past newsletters.  Go to my Substack.  Tap the word “archive” and type in the search icon whatever you are looking for.  Question for you – I am considering NOT sending out two separate emails for my dinner planner which is published on my site on Friday nights and for the new recipe of the week, typically published on Wednesdays.  Another option is to publish the dinner planner in the free section of my newsletter.  If you have thoughts about this, let me know!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Happy weekend!  Do not forget to set your clocks ahead Saturday night (tonight!)  I do love the extra light at the end of the day but it takes me a day or two to adjust.  Looking ahead, next Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, a HUGE opportunity to feed your family naturally green food and not get eye rolls! 

In case you didn’t know, I have a separate newsletter on Substack that I publish every Monday.  It is not connected to my email list for my site, so if you do not want to miss out on all my fabulous finds and a new recipe every now and then, subscribe here!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

March has always represented the light at the end of the tunnel.  I hated winters on the East coast and I knew March was the beginning of the end, even though we could have some chilly temps or even snow.  I knew I could make it!  My new online cooking class is uploaded and ready for viewing and cooking!  I would love to have more of you join that community.  I am asked almost daily to do in-person classes and friends, that ship has sailed.  I will only do 1-2 a month going forward so the online class is the way to go, plus it’s much more economical!  Here’s the fabulous menu this month:

Brussels Sprout Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette, Melting Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes, Spring Vegetables with Whipped Feta, Roasted Salmon with Sumac and Citrus, Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading