How to Make Jerk Marinade and Dressing in 5 Minutes
In a perfect world, dinner at home would be delicious, nutritious, exciting, and effortless. In this post, I’ll show you how a jerk marinade marinade can turn proteins, veggies, beans, and grains into – you guessed it – a delicious, nutritious, and exciting meal. While I can’t totally eliminate the effort part (I’m not a magician!), I’ll simplify this meal into three easy steps. Because that’s what we want, right? A crowd-pleasing, tasty, and healthy dinner that doesn’t require 47 ingredients and a half day of prep. Another thing I love about jerk seasoning is that it’s a skosh unexpected. Cinnamon and allspice pair beautifully with umami soy sauce, garlic…
Make Your Own Vinaigrette in 2 Minutes
One of my favorite things to make at home is salad dressing. You may have read my past post about my all-time favorite Magic Sauce dressing recipe. While I love Magic Sauce, it has a lot of ingredients, and I don’t always feel like getting the blender out to make it (no matter how much I love my blender). Thank goodness for vinaigrette. No matter what the situation, if you have oil, vinegar, and a bottle to put it in, you can make this tangy and delicious dressing or marinade. I’ll be the first to admit that store-bought bottled vinaigrettes are super convenient and come in all kinds of creative…
What is a Plant Based Diet? The Fundamentals and How to Know if it’s Achievable For You
Have you thought about trying a plant-based diet? If you answered “yes”, you’re in good company. Plant-based diets are on the rise – around 10 million Americans say they follow a “plant-based” diet. That’s up from 290k in 2004! Interestingly, the number of self-identifying “vegans” hasn’t changed much. Are you asking yourself, “what’s the difference between vegan and plant-based?” In this post, we’ll get clear on just what a plant-based diet is (and is not). At the end, you’ll have the information you need to decide if you want to try plant-based yourself. What You Need to Know About Plant-Based Diets Let’s first define a plant-based diet and distinguish it…
Best Breakfast Bowl for Special Diets
If you’ve read my original Best Breakfast post, you probably know that I love a big bowl of nutritious goodness to start my day. But what if you’re vegan, or doing the Whole30? If you’ve read some of my other content, you know I’ve practiced and respect many special diets. So,this post is meant to demystify and lay out your perfect breakfast bowl, no matter what your food preferences or restrictions. Gluten-free: You’re in luck-the original Best Breakfast Bowl is already gluten-free! 1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt (eg, Fage Total 5% Greek) 1 banana, sliced 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 1 tablespoon no-sugar-added peanut butter, nut butter, or chopped…
Make a Plant-Based Dinner Meat-Eaters Will Love
Are you looking to add more plant-based meals to your diet, but are not sure where to start or afraid your family won’t like it? Believe me, I’ve been there! When I was a vegan for a few years, I constantly tried different dinner recipes, hoping that they would be easy, use “normal” ingredients, and – most importantly – be edible. Not just for me, but also for my kids and husband. After many fails, complaints, and even ridicule from my meat-loving family, Fiesta Pasta is one plant-based dinner that even has the meat-eaters going back for seconds. Goal: Plant-Based Dinner That’s Easy and Delicious The goal here is to…
How to Make a Gluten-free, Whole30 (or Vegan) Dinner in Under 30 Minutes
Want dinner on the table in 30 minutes – a main dish that takes one pan, has no gluten, and can be either Whole30 or vegan? Oh, and one that your kids and husband will eat too? I know how insanely challenging it can be to accommodate multiple dietary preferences (For example, Is your husband is not eating grains? Asking for a friend … 😉 ) in one household. It feels almost impossible to make a single meal that everyone will eat and no one will complain about! That’s why, when I find a recipe that fits all these criteria – tasty, healthy enough for adults, modifiable for special diets,…
Ring in the New Year with Spicy Peanut Stew
Whether you believe in “good luck” foods or not, you’ll love to ring in the new year with Spicy Peanut Stew. It’s full of “lucky” legumes – black beans, garbanzo beans, and peanuts. (Feel free to throw in some black-eyed peas, if you’re a purist.) According to popular folklore in the United States and elsewhere, eating certain foods on New Year’s Day will guarantee good luck in the new year. Legumes – especially beans, black-eyed peas, and lentils – are traditionally “lucky” foods because they symbolize money or wealth. Other so-called lucky foods (and recipes) are: Pork – Juiciest Pork Chops Cabbage – Pan-Asian Chicken with Cabbage Greens – Salad…
30-Minute Creamy Broccoli Soup for Kids and Special Diets
Have you tried to offer creamy broccoli soup to a kid? I have. The reaction is a combination of bewilderment and disgust. Once I tricked my kids into actually tasting this (gluten-free, dairy-free, & vegan) soup, they were hooked (yesss!). This kid- and special diet-friendly creamy broccoli soup is ready in 30 minutes and now in heavy winter rotation at our house. Creamy Broccoli Soup Without Cream How to make a soup creamy without the cow? First, the non-dairy milk alternative (NDMA) adds the right amount of white/creamy color and enhances the texture. Note that “creamiest” NDMAs I’ve tried are oat milk and soymilk. Second, nutritional yeast gives the soup…
Magic Sauce – Salad Dressing, Dip, Simmer Sauce
Salad dressing can be many things – creamy, tangy, sweet, chunky or smooth. When it’s good, salad dressing makes a salad. Think fresh Caesar dressing made with egg yolks, anchovies, lemon, and a great olive oil. The flavors meld together in a velvety, briny goodness. A great salad dressing evenly coats the greens and vegetables it is served with. It makes greens, vegetables, and other toppings taste better and compliments their textures. In addition to tasting great, salad dressings made with quality ingredients are fabulous sources of healthy fats like olive and avocado oils. When made with nut and/or seed butters (think tahini or peanut butter), salad dressings and sauces…
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