If it’s Tuesday, it must be another challenge of  ‘what to make for dinner.’  Having just returned from a trip to the southwest (go Giants!), I came home to an empty kitchen with no time to spare. As I raided the fridge, I uncovered a fresh bunch of carrots from Thursday’s delivery, still crisp and sweet.  I always have onions and ginger on hand…and started to sense a recipe for another blender concoction in the making.  Click to continue »

Sometimes I take a theme and run it to the ground.  But this green thing is so vibrant and energizing and seasonal…you get the point.

I know everyone has their own recipe for the perfect smoothie…me, too!  OK, ‘perfect’ in the sense that it uses whatever suits my mood that morning and just so happens to be healthy, too. I love the versatility of the ingredients, and for that I also love my freezer.  It allows me to use whatever ‘was’ in season from the farmer’s market and bring it out for my morning blend.  Some people do coffee – I do smoothies.

What makes the smoothie green is the addition of ‘green leafies,’ as I call them.  You can use kale, chard, beet greens, spinach, radish greens or whatever greens you have on hand. The idea is to give your morning beverage an extra dose of nutrients (especially fiber and Omega 3s) which in turn provides more energy and kick starts our metabolism into high gear. Click to continue »

And now for my favorite subject: food!  Last week we reviewed various ways to save money in the kitchen (and the New York Times concurred); today we will get down to specifics from farm (or store) to table.

It is truly possible to enjoy nutritious and chemical-free foods on the cheap.  Cutting costs on what you buy doesn’t have to mean cutting out flavor or health.  Sure, mac-n-cheese is a deal, but there’s a whole bundle of fresh foods that are so much tastier and better for you ‘outside the box.’

Before farmers’ markets gear up again (May in our neighborhood,) we are dependent on the local grocery store to provide our weekly rations of produce (along with CSA’s.) As noted before, buying what’s in season is most economical and at its peak for freshness. Click to continue »

Happy spring! In our continuing ‘celebration’ of all things green, today’s feature is the avocado.  This is the beginning of the season in California for the Hass variety, whereas in Florida, the green skinned variety is best in the fall.  Hass avocados are a tad richer and creamier than the other varieties.

Besides being delicious, avocados are a super food for the heart.  They are high in ‘healthy fats,’ containing oleic acid – a monounsaturated fat said to help lower cholesterol.  They are also high in potassium which regulates blood pressure, and high in folate which contributes to reducing women’s chance of heart failure.  (Heart attacks are the number one cause of death for women over age 65.)  Click to continue »

While the economy has brought on some pretty dire news lately, I have noticed something quite  heartwarming with regards to food.  There seems to be a subtle movement to return to the good ol’ days of cooking at home and enjoying leftovers!  For me, this is a common practice…but for many, the thought of it can be almost daunting.

There are scores of ways to save money on food with a little planning.  Much of what we eat today may be convenient, but for that we pay the price.  And I know the investment of time is worth the investment in my health – both for my body and my bank account. So let’s identify some ways to cut costs in the kitchen… Click to continue »

As a good Irish girl, I’ve decided to go green this month.  OK, every month, but I mean with regards to my material here.  As you know, this site is dedicated to whole foods in season – and this week’s feature is fennel.

Fennel is a relative of  the celery family and a wonderful healing food.  Sweet fennel, also known as anise, offers a licorice flavor and is mostly used as seed which was made into ‘gripe water’ for babies to soothe their bellies.  Chewing on the seeds acts as an adult digestive aid and breath freshener. Click to continue »

I am a big juicer, as in I make fresh juices almost daily.  And most often that juice will contain a pretty hefty amount of carrots, for color and flavor.  My compost pile was turning fairly orange from the excess pulp, so I decided to try other ways to use the pulp in my kitchen first.  I figured I could substitute the pulp in a recipe that called for grated carrots, which is what I did in the following recipe with a few other adjustments. Click to continue »

It’s nice to hear positive news every now and then, especially when it comes to money and our health.  Yesterday the NY Times published an article about our first lady, Michelle Obama, committing to eating healthy and spreading the good word. How encouraging that someone with such visibility and influence is taking a leading role by influencing everyone from our children to those who need it most.

The day before, our friend in real food, Michael Pollan, solicited readers to share thoughts on ’smart eating’ and has received over 1,900 responses to date!  Comments range from “Cook every meal at home using real ingredients and you will be eating healthy,” (which I will expand upon in ‘how to save food $ at home’); “Food rule : enough is too much,” to “Don’t eat anything you can buy at a gas station.” Click to continue »

By popular demand, here is the cake you have requested – just in time for the holidays! OK…but first, please indulge me with some exciting news about the origin of this recipe.

Four years ago I graduated from Bauman College as a Nutrition Educator (how am I doing so far?)  It has been a fascinating and educational journey  to date.  And while I love sharing every healthful morsel I can summon, my passion begins in the kitchen (well, I suppose is starts in the ground…) as I endeavor to design delectable dishes (say three times fast) with what nature offers us in its purest form.  Click to continue »

You can’t beat beets.  I think I have at least one almost every day.  They’re even good for dessert – yep, I made a chocolate beet cake for Valentine’s Day that was 2 DIE 4.  (Let me know if you want the recipe.)

I bet you guessed that beets are highly nutritious.  They are a super antioxidant and a special friend to the liver (in wine country, that’s a really good thing.) Other nutrients include free-radical scavenging manganese and copper; energy producing iron; and bone-building phosphorus.  And, according to Paul Pitchford, author of the fabulous book “Healing with Whole Foods,” beets strengthen the heart, sedate the spirit, improve circulation, purify the blood and relieve constipation.  Click to continue »