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Meal Planning & Cooking Tips

Cooking En Papillote

Have you ever cooked “en papillote”?  If you aren’t sure what that means, let me share with you this great cooking technique! En papillote is French for “in parchment,” and it’s a nutritious and delicious — or as I like to say, Nutritioulicious! — way of cooking. Food cooked in parchment paper is steamed, which results in perfectly cooked, moist…

National Nutrition Month: Get Your Plate in Shape!

By Jo Bartell March is National Nutrition Month®, and this year’s theme is “Get your Plate in Shape!” This is a great topic to think about as we make our way into spring and summer, and we wanted to share some Nutritioulicious tips. Start with fruits and veggies. As you know, it is recommended to make half of your plate…

Eat Better, Eat Together

I wrote this post as a participant in the Eat Better, Eat Together Balancing Act blog carnival hosted by the Dairy Council of California to share ways families everywhere can make time for family meals that include foods from all the food groups. A list of other registered dietitians and moms who are participating in the Balancing Act blog carnival will…

Roasted Beets and Spring Onions

The other day I wrote about roasting fennel and mentioned that it made for a great side dish with roasted beets and onions. The truth is, I have yet to find a vegetable that doesn’t taste good roasted! Since beets and spring onions are in season, that’s what I had on hand and they were so easy to cook up….

What To Do With Fennel?

I have never liked black licorice. Years ago when I tasted fennel, I was immediately turned off because all I tasted was black licorice (the same reason why I never liked anise). Over the years I found that my preference for fennel was based on how it was prepared. My two favorite preparations for fennel are raw in a salad…

A Round of Applause for Basil

By Megan Kian On the fourth of July as I was ready to dig into the feast before me, my nose picked up on the scent of an earthy mint that was being emitted from the leaves of basil resting on top of freshly cut mozzarella. Not only is basil one highly aromatic herb and packed with flavor, but it…

Get Kids Cooking

I wrote this post as a participant in the Eat, Play, Love blog carnival hosted by Meals Matter and Dairy Council of California to share ideas on positive and fun ways to teach children healthy eating habits. A list of other registered dietitians and moms who are participating in the carnival will be listed at the bottom of this post….

A Different Kind of Cheese

Over Passover I tend to eat a lot of cottage cheese — more so than any other time of year. I like cottage cheese, but the rest of the year I don’t eat much of it because I base my breakfast and snacks around whole grain cereals, granola bars, and crackers and have nut butters, milk, string cheese, or yogurt…

Quinoa on Passover

Tonight starts the eight-day long Jewish holiday of Passover, during which one may not eat chametz — the collective name for leavened products containing wheat, barley, oats, rye, or spelt.
Last Passover I told you about matzo – the unleavened bread that Jews eat over the course of the holiday. Over the years, supermarket shelves have become stocked with more and more foods that are Kosher for Passover, including noodles and rolls (generally made out of potato flour). One item that was approved for Passover and has become popular over the past few years is quinoa. … read more »

National Grilled Cheese Month!

Did you know April is National Grilled Cheese Month? I love cheese, especially the ooey, gooey deliciousness of melted cheese between two slices of bread, so I am more than happy to celebrate this national “holiday” with some memories of grilled cheese from when I was a kid and a classic recipe with a healthy twist. When I was younger,…

The Joys of Tempeh

By Megan Kian A few months ago I decided to become a vegetarian. My recent reading of Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which offered both moral and environmental reasons to go veg, inspired my foray into a meat-free diet. Since becoming a vegetarian I’ve discovered a whole new world of food! There are so many meat substitutes (and so…