In the last few years, one of my nutrition goals has been to mix it up. What does that mean? It means that I am not eating the same ingredients/foods over and over again. I am diversifying in order to expose myself (and my family) to different nutrients and different types of fiber which can help keep my gut microbiome flourishing. Plus, variety is the spice of life!Continue reading
This blogpost is updated from one I wrote many, many years ago. I want to be able to have a place where I can direct the same questions I receive over and over again. I am happy to answer those questions, but it is more helpful for people in my community to be able to have a reference.Â
A very important element in cooking is the equipment you use. The quality of your cookware, the materials your cookware is made from, as well as knowing which skillet or saucepan to choose for the job are all factors which will affect your food, and even your health, for better or for worse. By arming yourself with a little knowledge, you can steer yourself towards safer options and away from cookware that can compromise the quality of your food and your health.Continue reading
Hello, Friends. I’m checking in. I hope you are all staying healthy and sane right now. I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you all and I appreciate this community more than ever. Thank you for your feedback, encouragement, viewership, questions, and comments. Thank you for bringing my recipes into your kitchen and cooking them for your loved ones. Thank you for sharing your photos of your beautiful finished dishes and cooking with your kids. Please continue to encourage your friends and co-workers to cook healthy food at home. When you post a recipe on social media, any recipe, it inspires your community to do the same, to cook from scratch. You send a message that cooking nutritious food is important and doable.
I pulled together a collection of recipes that may help give you some ideas for “pantry ingredients.” You most likely have enough food at home and don’t need to go out. Stay home. Improvise with what you have. I can give you suggestions for substitutions if you’re stuck. But do stick to the foods you know keep you healthy and make you feel good. Continue reading
It’s that time of year! It’s my favorite, favorite holiday of all; the granddaddy of all culinary holidays; the Olympics of cooking — it’s Thanksgiving! There are those who love Thanksgiving and those who dread it. Which camp are you in? I love it!! But I used to dread it because I bit off more than I could chew, so to speak, and I was not organized enough. So my first few Thanksgivings were super stressful and not fun at all. But 25 years later, with over 150 Thanksgiving cooking classes under my belt, over 200 turkeys cooked, and many, many lessons learned along the way, I can confidently tell you that I have this holiday DOWN! I would even call myself a Thanksgiving expert.
Over the years I have compiled my own personal Thanksgiving cookbook/bible to help me plan, execute and ENJOY this holiday every single time. I am sharing this Thanksgiving bible with you in the form of this beautiful color ebook. If you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, this will be a lifesaver for you. I have poured countless hours compiling all (over 100!) my Thanksgiving recipes, tips, tricks, do-ahead strategies, substitution advice, so that you would have it all in one place. It is a $15 investment that you will not regret because it will save you hours and hours and hours, and also help you shine on this big day.
Last year’s Thanksgiving ebook was amazing and received incredible feedback. I have made that one even better with the addition of more recipes, including my Spatchcocked Turkey recipe, i.e. the only turkey recipe I will ever use for the rest of my life. I have also added a “Turkey Troubleshooting” page with different problem scenarios and how to fix them. And, I added a page on how to handle Vegan and Vegetarian Guests.
I had this slow cooker for years with consistently good results. Â I especially love the fact that the insert is ceramic and not non-stick! Â I use it for slow cooking, making beans, oatmeal and even to keep things warm on the “warm” setting. Â I highly recommend this one!
I finally found it — the waffle maker I’ve been searching for!  I didn’t want a waffle maker coated in nasty teflon or non-stick chemicals.  But I had a tough time with a cast iron version for the stovetop.  I was so excited to discover this Oster ceramic waffle iron on amazon with mostly good reviews and at a very affordable price!  Ceramic is nontoxic and doesn’t leach and I checked that this ceramic is lead-free.  I love it!
I recently switched from Team Cuisinart to Team Breville and I haven’t looked back! Â I am so crazy about this new food processor that I broke up with my mandoline and gave away my mini food processor because this Breville Sous Chef does it all. Â I am especially impressed with the quality of the parts and the fact that the buttons are solid metal as opposed to thin plastic that gets worn down after a year. Â But the best feature, in my opinion, is is the adjustable slicing disk and and the reversible shredding disk which allows me to shred finely, too. Â Plus there’s a julienne disk and a French fry disk that I can’t wait to use.
I love this doughnut pan because it is treated with silicone, creating a natural, non-leaching non-stick finish. Â It makes excellent baked doughnuts with minimal clean-up!
