Many studies have shown that sharing a meal together as a family has health benefits for everyone involved. Since Eliana eats dinner earlier than my husband gets home from work, breakfast is the meal my family most often shares together. I love to make smoothies for breakfast for our family. Here are some of the reasons why: 1. Smoothies are fast and easy to prepare. 2. Smoothies are a great way to pack a lot of nutrients into one meal. The blender already breaks down the fruits and vegetables, so it is easier for your body to digest them
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Pumpkin Risotto Ingredients: -2 ounces Simple Pumpkin Purée, warmed (Click here for a recipe for Simple Pumpkin Purée) -6 ounces roasted pumpkin, chopped into ½-inch chunks (Click here for How-To Roast a Pumpkin) -1½ cups arborio rice, uncooked -5-6 cups vegetable broth, warmed (Click here for a recipe for vegetable stock or use low-sodium store bought stock). -⅔ cup dry white wine, at room temperature (Don’t use a “cooking wine” in a recipe. Always use a wine you’d like to drink on its own). -1 yellow onion, diced -3½ tablespoons olive oil -3½ tablespoons unsalted butter -4 ounces
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How-To Roast a Pumpkin Ingredients: -1 small pumpkin, cut into half down the middle, seeds and pulp scooped out -1 tablespoon olive oil Featured Tools: –Baking Sheet –Parchment Paper Preparation: Heat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the olive oil onto the baking sheet and place pumpkin halves, skin side up, onto baking sheet. Roast the pumpkin for 30 minutes, or until a fork slides easily into the pumpkin skin and flesh. Remove from the oven and let cool to the touch before enjoying or adding to a recipe.
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Apple season is one of my favorite seasons of all. While I completely mourn the loss of summer (I grew up in Florida so of course I love the sun and heat that comes with summer!) one thing that makes me happy about the cool weather is apple season. I love, love, LOVE apples. To me, a crisp, yummy apple is a form of perfection. There are so many tasty varieties to enjoy and if you don’t want to eat one straight off the tree or right out of the store, they present lots of different cooking opportunities, too
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I love this recipe for a bunch of reasons: 1. It is an easy “I’m too tired to cook” recipe. 2. It provides vegetables, starch and protein all in one dish. 3. You can customize it with whatever vegetables, proteins and type of rice you want. 4. You can make it using only one large pan so that cuts down on the clean up time. 5. You can cut down on prep time by using frozen vegetables. Just look for a brand with no added sugar or sodium. 6. You can also save time by making a large batch
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Congratulations! You’re starting your 6+ month old on “solids.” For a First Time Foodie, this is a time of exposure*. You are exposing her to new flavors, new textures and new concepts such as the feeling of food in her mouth and using a spoon rather than a bottle or breast. Even though your baby will get all the nutrients she needs from breast milk, formula or a combination of the two, it’s not a bad idea to start mixing in natural sources of protein, too. After all, they’re just another element of flavor and texture you’re (literally) putting into
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For this week’s Monday Meal, I’m not sharing one of my original recipes. Instead, I’m sharing a recipe for polenta that I make fairly regularly for dinner. The original recipe, by Peter Berley, is adaptable to any season and can be made using staples from the fridge and pantry so I make it all year long with a few little revisions of my own. But I must confess that this week’s Monday Meal has some ulterior motives, too. It just so happens that when I made this recipe recently, Eliana had one of her “totally toddler” moments that can occur
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Baked Tofu with Super Easy Asian Marinade and Sauce Ingredients: For the tofu: -1-2 pounds extra firm tofu -Few pinches each of salt, pepper and garlic powder For the marinade: -⅓ cup tamari or low-sodium soy sauce -⅛ cup dark brown sugar, packed -2 teaspoons molasses -⅔ cup water -⅛ cup vegetable oil -1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar -2 teaspoons ground ginger -2 teaspoons garlic powder -Sriracha or other red chili sauce, to taste Preparation: Make the marinade prepare the tofu*: In a medium-sized bowl, together the ingredients for the marinade. Taste and adjust seasonings as
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Broiled Salmon Fillets with Super Easy Asian Sauce Yields 4-6 adult portions Ingredients: For the fish: -1½ pounds salmon fillet with skin removed and portioned into 6 4-ounce pieces or 4 6-ounce pieces -Few pinches each of salt, pepper and garlic powder For the marinade: -⅓ cup tamari or low-sodium soy sauce -⅛ cup dark brown sugar, packed -2 teaspoons molasses -⅔ cup water -⅛ cup vegetable oil -1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar -2 teaspoons ground ginger -2 teaspoons garlic powder -Sriracha or other red chili sauce, to taste Preparation: Marinate the fish: Make the marinade by
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My family and I love this flavor packed marinade. In fact, we love this quick marinade so much that I chose it to be part of the “dinner recipe” for the “Cooking for Toddlers” classes I’m teaching regularly at Taste Buds Kitchen in NYC. (Wanna come? Click here to register). I’ve included links to the recipes for my tofu, salmon and greens below the recipe for the marinade but I’m sure the recipe would compliemnt lots of other proteins, too. But, before the recipe, there are a couple tips and ideas I want to share: Kitchen and Cooking Tips:
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I’ve been really busy getting ready for my return to the world of teaching this coming Tuesday. No, not back to my little peeps in the NYC public schools, but to a new audience of grown-up peeps who want to cook for their Little Foodies. What? You didn’t know I’m teaching cooking classes??? I’ve partnered with Taste Buds Kitchen In NYC to offer classes to teach you how to prepare healthy and wholesome food for your baby or toddler. Interested? Click here to register. Later this week, I’ll be sharing some new recipes just for you. So, in lieu
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One night a few months ago, I was having dinner at my friend Libby’s apartment for a “Girl’s Night In” while her hubby was out of town. Libby isn’t only a friend, she is truly that neighbor that I go to when I need to borrow an extra baking sheet or the person I text when I have too much of an ingredient and I want to unload a little so it gets used before it spoils. She and her son Dash are also “taste testers” whenever there is a recipe I’m working on. Anyway, that night I would
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