My daughters juts left tonight and I am pretty mopey about it. We had a great week with them and I am beyond grateful that they chose to come home for spring break.  Counting the days until they come home in May!

I am continuing with the March menu in my classes this week, although I have a group who requested the February menu and I can’t blame them because it’s so good.  I was able to turn in the last round of edits for my cookbook this week and I am so excited!  FYI, you can pre-order my cookbook Kitchen Matters on amazon or a signed copy from my local bookstore, Pages!

Here’s your dinner planner for this week:

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My daughters just arrived home for spring break, so the five of us will be together again for a whole week!  I am over the moon, since there’s pretty much nothing that could make me happier than spending time as a family.  I do have a busy work week though – testing recipes for Clean Eating Magazine, prepping for my classes, and finishing the last round of edits on my cookbook (!) My older daughter has become quite the cook in college, so I plan on leaning on her a bit for an extra set of hands in the kitchen this week.

Here’s your dinner planner for this week:

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Lent is upon us, so I will make sure all the Friday dinners in the next few dinner planners are fish or vegetarian.  When I was growing up, my mom used to make fish every Friday even outside of Lent.  I still think of Fridays as “Fish Fridays.”  My mother had a very methodical way of doing her dinner planners for the week, and I didn’t understand the beauty of it until I started doing my own.  But she would do Meatless Monday (usually a hearty soup), Baked Ziti on Thursdays because she taught a class on Thursday nights and she would make the casserole in the morning and all we had to do was stick it in the oven, Fish Fridays, pancakes on Saturday mornings and hot dogs for lunch (no one’s saying she was perfect), and big pasta dinner in the middle of the day on Sundays, usually with my extended family.  She really only had to fill in Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Most of the time she did a version of roasted chicken and potatoes one night and pork chops or veal cutlets with pasta the other night. She worked full-time and she was still able to put a homemade meal on the table every night.  It’s all about having a system and planning ahead.

I have cooking classes Monday – Thursday this week.  Check my Insta stories to see what I’m teaching.  And then Friday I’ll be at Expo West for the whole day checking out all the new natural foods products.  That’s always a fun (calorie-filled) day.  My daughters are coming home for spring break on Friday night and I am BEYOND excited!

Here’s your dinner planner for the week!

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I am getting myself organized for the week ahead because it’s going to be a busy one!  Lots of classes this week and since Wednesday is the first day of a new month, I am debuting a new cooking class menu.  Even if  you can’t take my classes, you can always check my classes tab to see what I’m teaching and I always try to post a couple of videos from class on my Insta Stories. In some other news, you can pre-order my cookbook, Kitchen Matters, on amazon.com or from my local bookstore, Pages, in Manhattan Beach!  Pages will actually be sending signed copies if that is of interest to you.  🙂  The book comes out on June 13th!

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Eeeek, I’m a little late getting this up, but I never had a chance to sit down at the computer the last two days.  This week I am looking forward to Valentine’s Day.  I’m going to spend the evening at home with my two favorite guys, my husband and my 13 year old son, aka Mr. Picky.  I sent care packages to my daughters with homemade granola and some other fun treats that I know they will love.

If you live in the LA area, you can catch my segment with Lori Corbin on KABC on Monday, February 13th at 3:00 pm!  We make individual chicken pot pies and a giant whole grain chocolate chip cookie skillet cake!  Have a wonderful week!

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Happy Weekend, friends!  This week, I started a new menu in my classes and it’s so fantastic!  I know most of you don’t live close to me and can’t take my classes, but you can always check to see what I am teaching by clicking on this link. I hope to post some of these recipes soon.  After seeing my posts of the finished dishes on my Instagram feed, many people will ask me if the recipes are available anywhere and unfortunately I always wait until I have finished teaching every class over the month before I post the recipe online.  Stay tuned!  Today I’m making a gigantic batch of vegan queso to bring to a Super Bowl party tomorrow and I am doing a little prep for a TV segment I am taping with KABC’s Lori Corbin on Monday.  I’ll let you know when it airs!

Have a great week!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Chinese New Year begins today, January 28th, with the Year of the Rooster. I thought I would share some interesting information from my friends at the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) World Foundation have to say about this new year. 

“This is an energetically powerful time to make room for the new—a new life, new hope, and new beginnings. Can you sweep away old habits to make way for a new perspective?  To make the most of this energetic shift, you need ample energy to make the transition and tackle endeavors in the new year. This is a good time to rest and clean house in mind, body, spirit: your saved energy will serve as a springboard to the changes you’ll pursue in the year to come. 

Traditionally, this period of preparation begins a week before the New Year, followed by a week or two of rest. This used to give farmers time to prepare and recharge before the busy planting season. However, even in modern Chinese culture, everyone takes a week-long holiday at the start of the New Year, and celebratory parties last for two weeks. 

Every year has a particular kind of energy, embodied by 12 animals, according to the Chinese zodiac. This year is represented by the Fire Rooster—an exciting, eccentric, yet loyal, hardworking, and proud bird. The Rooster is a symbol of energy. Why does it wake up in the early hours, right before dawn? Why does it sing and dance when the Sun rises? It intuitively knows when energy shifts and changes in the Earth, and as a fearless leader, it has no qualms about letting the rest of us know. Are YOU ready to “wake up” and harmonize with the Rooster? If so, this might just be your year to dance with the Rooster.”

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