Dinner Planner – Week of October 9, 2023

I am back from visiting my mom and she really recuperated incredibly well after her procedure. I had a lovely time on Long Island (the weather after the epic rainstorm was perfection) and I even got to visit Anna in Jersey City, her new home!  I have a lot to catch up on and I am also getting ready for a big trip next Friday to Paris. I’ll be visiting friends for a couple days and then I was lucky enough to be invited by Staub to go to their factory outside of the city.  Some people like to go to Paris to shop and see the Eiffel Tower.  My dream is to go to the Staub factory!!  You’ll have to follow on Instagram to come along with me! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading

One Pot Mediterranean Quinoa Recipe

I LOVE a one pot meal! If you haven’t tried any of my one pot barley or farro recipes, you must! I know many people need to avoid gluten grains, so I thought I would make a version with quinoa. Quinoa is a light, fluffy seed that feels like a grain. It’s technically a pseudo-cereal, so many people who can’t tolerate grains, do well with quinoa. You know I’ll add vegetables anywhere I can, and this recipe is so easy and so flexible. Quinoa needs flavor boosters, so I love the olives here, as well as the dried herbs. If you dislike olives, use half the amount of capers. If you dislike capers too, add some feta or another salty cheese before serving. This is a great meal prep recipe and is awesome in school lunch boxes or to bring to the office. If you decide to swap in some stock for some or all of the water, adjust the added salt in case the stock has salt. Remember, be conservative – you can always add more salt later.

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Dinner Planner – Week of October 2, 2023

I’m currently on Long Island helping my mom so I’ll have to wing it if I can manage an IG live on Monday night. Just check my stories on Monday and I’ll let you know then!  If you’re a monthly cooking class subscriber, we are uploading the new class on October 1st!  The theme is Cozy Fall Dinners at Home and the recipes include the following:

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Oven Roasted Salmon with Rice and Coconut-Tomato Sauce, Tamale Pie, Radicchio Salad with Olives and Parmesan, Vegan Chocolate Snacking Cake with Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting

All the recipes can be made vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and they are all brand-new!  If you are not taking my cooking classes, you should be! Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better cook! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading

Rice Chopped Salad Recipe

rice chopped salad

Rice is one of the least expensive grains and it is also highly digestible. I just don’t like to overeat it because it doesn’t have a ton of nutrition and it can cause a blood sugar spike on its own. So ideally, I will bulk up rice with lots of non-starchy vegetables. You can top this rice chopped salad with tuna, turkey or chicken, or cooked beans to make this a complete meal. I even grated hard boiled eggs on top once and it was delicious! It lasts a good 5 days in the fridge too.

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Dinner Planner – Week of September 25, 2023

I have been churning out the homemade veggie and chicken stocks and freezing them because once football starts, I consider it soup season.  I actually make more soup than my dinner planner indicates.  I always make soup for Sunday lunch and at least once during the week.  A tip I have for you is that many leftovers can be transformed into a soup.  Casseroles, leftover cooked proteins and vegetables, baked potatoes and other starches.  I chop up anything that might taste good together and put it in a saucepan and add enough stock that it looks like a soup. Reheat and enjoy!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Flourless Monster Cookie Bars Recipe

Who doesn’t love Monster Cookies? Well, sure, they’re delicious, but they are usually LOADED with sugar and tons of candy. We can do better and they’ll still taste amazing. In fact, this recipe has no flour at all and a fraction of the added sweetener you’d usually find. You can go crazy with M&M’s and mini peanut butter cups if that’s your thing or you can go health-nut with hemp seeds, coconut and cacao nibs. Play around and have fun. These last for up to two weeks in the fridge and they freeze great. If you use sprouted oats, do let the batter sit for a bit before baking so the oats can soften up. Sprouted oats are great, but they tend to be a bit thicker and chewy in baking recipes. Regarding the quick-cooking oats, they help to make the cookie batter less chewy. But I never buy quick-cooking oats. Instead, I pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in either a food processor or a spice grinder. I use the spice grinder to grind whole flax seeds as well.

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Dinner Planner – Week of September 18, 2023

Happy and sweet new year to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashana!  Next week I’ll have some links for the break fast, but you can always look at previous dinner planners from years past for ideas if you need inspo asap.

For my monthly online cooking class students, I hope you are enjoying the September class!  I have heard from many of you who are cooking up a storm and love the new recipes!  Nothing makes me happier!  I am hosting live zoom office hours this Wednesday at 12:00 pm PT if you want to come and hang out or ask my anything.  Check your inbox for the zoom link.  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Sweet Noodle Kugel Recipe

sweet noodle kugel

I make my mother-in-law’s recipe for sweet noodle kugel once a year. Everyone loves it and I do not deviate from it to try to make it less rich or more nutrient dense.  It’s a traditional holiday dish and it does not need messing with. I have never made it any other way, but I assume you can use gluten-free noodles if you have a gluten intolerance. Not sure how it would turn out dairy-free, but you can check out the suggestions below if you wanted to go that direction!Continue reading