Can feel the transition to a new season?  It’s not just the weather.  It’s also evident in the offerings at the market.  I’m seeing local apples and pears, and winter squash like spaghetti squash.  We still have the last of the tomatoes, eggplant, figs and plums, so it’s a really nice time of year.  Unfortunately, my husband and son have both come down with a little cold, so just to remind, it’s also a germy time of year.  I just made my first batch of bone broth so I can make a beautiful pot of soup this weekend, like this immunity-boosting soup.

Lastly, I offered some options for Rosh Hashana dinner if you are cooking this year.  Wishing you a sweet new year.  🙂  Here is your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading

My name is Erika and I am Pamela’s cooking class assistant.  I am guest posting for Pamela while she spends time with her family in New York this week after both her father and her uncle passed away on the same day.  She didn’t want you to be without your weekly dinner planner, so she asked me to pitch in and help.  I will be the first to admit that writing out my meals for the week like Pamela does has allowed me to cook much more often at home and I have actually saved a lot of money because I only buy what I have a plan for!  I picked some of my favorite recipes for your dinner planner this week.  Feel free to ask me any questions and I am happy to answer them, especially with respect to substitutions.

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Let’s get to the administrative business first!  I am going to be at Adidas in Santa Monica on Saturday, September 14th from 7:45 am to 10:00 am for a “Boost Your Morning” event.  We’ll be doing mini workouts and I’ll be offering free nutrition consults.  Check my Instagram stories on Monday for the link to RSVP.

Online cooking class students, I just filmed your September class today and I am sooooo excited about this one.  You will love it.  It will be uploaded next week for your viewing pleasure. If you haven’t joined the Private Facebook group, please do so!

At this point, I think everyone I know is back to school.  And my cooking classes are back in session, too.  It felt so good to be back in the kitchen this week with my eager beaver students who were excited for new recipes and someone (me) to motivate them to get cooking again.  September is a reset month for sure!  I had a nice discussion with some ladies about what prevents them from cooking as much as they would like to: lack of time, organization, frustration with pick eaters, crazy schedules, you know the reasons.  We’re all in the same boat.  Have you ever considered putting together your own “cookbook,” i.e. binder of photocopied recipes that you love?  That’s what I used to do and it was a game changer.  I organized the binder by category (entrees, soups, vegetables, etc) and sat down with it on a Sunday morning to make my dinner planner for the week.  Sometimes I would ask my kids to pull something they wanted, but most of the time I was less democratic.  If you are a busy person, but you still want to cook more from scratch, you need to start with a written plan.  This one is just for inspiration if you’re feeling like you need a reminder to sit down and get it done, or you need a few more ideas to fill in your dinner planner.  Here’s to a great week ahead and a fabulous new year!Continue reading

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  I hope this weekend will be an easy transition to fall.  I will be back to making early morning breakfasts, school lunches and trying to keep everyone’s immune systems strong (we’ll start popping Wellness Formula daily.)  I also get back to teaching regular classes next week.  My online classes are not interrupted during the summer.  I like to think of Labor Day almost like New Years Day – a time to start fresh, with a clean slate, and optimism for the year ahead.  Or at least until June when summer starts again 😉

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I still have a little summer left, although I noticed a lot of schools went back to school this week. A couple of things I’d like to mention:

• If you take my online cooking classes, I am going live on our private Facebook page Saturday, August 24th at 9:45 am PST/12:45 pm EST!
• There are still spots available in the Greenhorn Ranch Wellness Retreat September 26-29th!  It’s going to be so wonderful and I’d love to hang out with you in such a beautiful space to work on our wellness journeys.
• If you missed my KTLA segment this week on fun snacks for kids, here’s a link.
• I will be at Pages Bookstore in Manhattan Beach on Thursday, August 29th at 6:00 pm for a cocktail party celebrating Amanda Haas’s new cookbook, The Vibrant Life.  This is a ticketed event, but there are still tickets left.  Click here for more details.
• Amazon is having a crazy sale on my cookbook!  This is the lowest price I have ever seen and it will not last, so I am stocking up for hostess gifts!

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My week at The Golden Door is coming to a close.  I enjoy this week so much but it’s what I take home with me that is the most valuable.  Self care is very important and you don’t need to go to a special place to do it.  We need to be more compassionate with ourselves, soften our hearts, take time for meditation or just step away from our devices.  We need to exercise our bodies, and feed ourselves the best food we can.  We are all worth it.

My dinner planners are desgined to help you plan ahead because it makes it easier to  cook more often!  I like to highlight old recipes as well as new, but I always keep everything seasonal.  It tastes better, is more nutritious and more affordable.  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading

In case you missed any mention of it, I am celebrating a very big birthday this year.  Yikes.  It’s coming up in October and I have mixed feelings.  Grateful for everything of course, especially my health and my family, but aging is a weird feeling for sure.  All good, but I decided I should celebrate such a milestone however I want and after a trip to Europe with hubs, what I really wanted was to go back to the Golden Door before school starts up again.  So I am leaving Sunday, returning to this magical place with one of my best girlfriends and her mom.  I cannot wait.  It is not a sponsored trip, in case you are wondering, but I will post on Instagram from there because that’s where I’ll be for 24 hours a day!

Speaking of retreats, come join me at a Wellness Retreat Sept 26-29 at the stunning Greenhorn Ranch outside of Tahoe.  It is the most beautiful property and it will be an amazing weekend.  I will be there the whole time and I will be teaching a cooking class of course.  Click here for more info.

If you subscribe to my online cooking classes, the August class has been uploaded and is ready for your viewing.  There’s a lot of great info in this month’s class and I am sure you will want to watch it a few times.  It should be uploaded to my site very soon for purchase if you are interested. The recipes are fabulous, too!

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I just returned to Los Angeles after a magical 3 weeks away.  I was really able to unplug and step away from work the whole time.  Now my inboxes are flooded and I have to get back to reality!  Just as important, I’m excited to be back in my kitchen and returning to my regular way of eating

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading