How to go forward by going back . . . and the bigger picture

This is the final part of a series on Food Marketing that explores why we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment, i.e., “marketing-smarts.” The last few posts talked about the dangerous influence of marketing when it comes to making food choices. You might remember the mac ‘n … Read more

Recipe: Salmon Poached in Rhubarb Sauce

It’s the Season! Discover the Savory Side of Rhubarb Eating with the seasons automatically delivers wonderful diet diversity. Case in point: Rhubarb! Rhubarb is actually a vegetable even though it’s mostly used in desserts, probably because we yearn to pair its tart flavor with something sweet. But the tartness of rhubarb, in small amounts, actually … Read more

Recipe: Jazz Up Veggies with 3-Step Roasted Garlic Sauce

I think it’s fair to say that I have A LOT of garlic! It all came courtesy of my farm share, but I don’t mind a bit. Garlic is a great addition to almost any dish and can be expensive at the grocery store. The variety in my garlic stash is called hardneck because of … Read more

Recipe: Adventures with Brussels Sprouts . . . and the Goldilocks Problem

In addition to being new in the kitchen and thinking, Meal Making Transformation is about being new in our cooking, which means getting comfortable with simple basic techniques, like vegetable roasting. Do you harbor bad feelings about Brussels sprouts? If so, there’s a good chance your Brussels trauma got embedded at a young age, at … Read more

[VIDEO] Perk up meals with a new and refreshing ingredient

What’s a good way to stay motivated on your healthy eating journey? Have fun. What’s a good way to have fun? Mix things up! Try something new and different! But maybe your meal making enthusiasm is flagging? Here’s a quick fix: crunchy, refreshing jicima. And here is a quick, 6-minute video that explains how to … Read more

Recipe: Green and Gold Summer Vegetables with 4 Easy Techniques to Bump Up Flavor

Green and Gold Summer Vegetables A big part of Meal Making Transformation is learning how to simplify healthy meal making without sacrificing flavor. Check out the 4 techniques in this picture recipe for bumping up the flavor in of your dishes. Technique #1: Combine Seasonal Color One of the neatest things about seasonal eating is … Read more

Boring Food Is Dangerous! A Quick, Boredom-Beating Remedy

Raise a hand if you’re often bored with the food that shows up on your plate. While a little boredom here and there is fairly common and not too worrisome, a steady diet of boring meals is actually dangerous. That’s because boring meals can leave us feeling “blah,” rather than satisfied, comforted and nourished after … Read more

5 Quick Tricks to Reform Your Comfort Food Favorites

Who wouldn’t be a healthy eater if you could have things like cheesy tacos and lasagna, creamy soups, comforting casseroles and even pizza? Dream no more! With a few recipe reform tricks, almost any dish can be “health-ified.” And they won’t taste like insipid diet foods that lack flavor other than a lot of added … Read more

Can You Really Cook without Cooking?

Cook without really cooking?  Does that sound crazy? It all depends on how you define “cooking.” Very often, “cooking” brings to mind the gourmet, recipe-driven version that involves lots of cutting and chopping, worrisome spicing and seasoning, specialized techniques, confusing instructions, new and unique ingredients and trying to get everything on the table at the … Read more