Healthy Dinner Ideas for the Holidays
Coq Au Vin Is An Elegant Dinner Idea During the holiday season, I often find myself looking for dinner ideas that are elegant, healthy and easy to make, without much fuss. One classic French dish that I love is Coq Au Vin, chicken braised in wine, onions, mushrooms and bacon. Although not difficult, the traditional preparation of Coq Au Vin uses butter and bacon, and takes a bit of time as the onion and mushroom garnishes are cooked separately. I found a quick and easy Coq Au Vin … [Continue Reading...]
Roundup of Healthy Holiday Appetizer Recipes {Easy Orange Beet Dip}
The Holiday Season is a tough time to keep things in check when it comes to eating. There are so many tempting appetizers at holiday parties, many of which are loaded with butter, cream and cheese. It's easy to over indulge during the holiday season, with the thought of going on a diet in the new year. But you can have your cake and eat it too! There are plenty of eye-popping healthy appetizers that are full of flavor, just lighter, so you can enjoy yourself this holiday season without … [Continue Reading...]
Pomegranate Poached Pear Recipe {Share Our Holiday Table}
I have been wanting to try my hand at red wine poached pears, an elegant and beautiful dessert. However, many recipes call for a substantial amount of sugar and an entire bottle of red wine. Fortuitously, as I was grocery shopping one day, I spotted a bottle of organic grape juice made from the same grapes used for cabernet sauvignon, so I thought why not try this instead of red wine, especially since grape juice is naturally sweet and about a third of the cost of an inexpensive bottle of red … [Continue Reading...]
Whole Grains for Breakfast {Chai Spiced Quinoa Porridge Recipe}
Chai Spiced Quinoa PorridgeOn cold winter mornings, there's nothing like a hot bowl of whole grain porridge to start the day off right. Whole grains take longer to digest and they release their sugars slowly, so they make you feel satisfied longer.Research has shown that whole grains reduce the risk of heart disease, and may also lower the risk of diabetes and cancer.My standard breakfast whole grain is oatmeal, mixed with agave nectar, cinnamon and almond milk, and topped with berries and … [Continue Reading...]
8 Ways To Add Fiber to Your Diet – A Smoky Black Bean Dip Recipe
Many of you have heard by now that eating foods high in fiber is good for your health. But why? While eating a diet high in fiber is typically associated with relieving constipation, a high fiber diet can also help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.Fiber is found in plant based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products contain no fiber).There are two types of … [Continue Reading...]
Thai Turkey Larb Lettuce Wrap Recipe
Finger foods are a fun way of eating dinner for kids and adults alike. I have made Korean Lettuce Wraps and Korean Chicken Tacos as weeknight dinners, which my kids have enjoyed so much that I thought I would try Thai Turkey Larb Lettuce Wraps, another variation for a quick and easy, make ahead meal during the weekday.I had eaten Larb at Thai restaurants, but never made it at home. Larb (from Thailand and Laos) is a meat "salad", made with beef, pork, duck, chicken, turkey, or fish, and is … [Continue Reading...]
Korean Kim Chi Soup Recipe
Korean Kim Chi Soup, Perfect For A Cold Winter Day Last week, I made a batch of Vegetarian Dashi, so simple but so full of flavor. I had made miso soup with half of the dashi, and wanted to make something heartier and spicy this time. The weather has turned really cold the last few days and I've been craving a hot, spicy soup. One of my favorite cold weather soups is Korean Kim Chi Soup, a fiery hot, red soup (with lots of red pepper), typically made with "old" kimchi (kimchi … [Continue Reading...]
How To Make Dashi and Miso Soup
Miso Mushroom Soup Some people refer to miso soup as Japan’s chicken soup. Not only is miso soup pure comfort food, but it also contains lots of nutrients and is believed to have some cancer fighting properties. At its most basic, miso soup is made with dashi, a Japanese “mother” stock, miso, wakame seaweed, and tofu. Miso is a fermented bean paste, made from soybeans (or other beans), grain (rice, barley or wheat) and salt. Miso can be light (kome miso, made from rice and … [Continue Reading...]
Meg Wolff’s Glazed Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Cookbook Review and Recipe from A Life In Balance: Delicious, Plant-Based Recipes for Optimal Health by Meg Wolff. I first came across Meg Wolff at the Huffington Post where she writes regularly, featuring stories about the positive impact of a plant-based diet on health, as well as anticancer recipes. A Life In Balance is Meg Wolff’s third book, this time a cookbook with a collection of easy, approachable plant-based recipes. For anyone who is new to a plant-based diet, or just trying … [Continue Reading...]
Fresh Berry Salad and a Creamy Raspberry Dressing Recipe
Fresh Berry Salad with Creamy Raspberry DressingWith Thanksgiving behind us, and the holiday season continuing, I thought it would be nice to post a lighter recipe, for a Fresh Berry Salad with Creamy Raspberry Dressing, to start off the week. Salads are a great way to incorporate fruits, vegetables and nuts into a daily meal, especially berries, which are high in cancer-fighting phytochemicals such as anthocyanins, ellagic acid and pterostilbene.Recently, a friend invited me over for lunch and … [Continue Reading...]
The Day After Thanksgiving – Turkey Congee Recipe
Turkey Congee, a Thanksgiving tradition in many Chinese American families A tradition in many Chinese American households is to make turkey congee (also called "shi fan" and "jook") the day after Thanksgiving. As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, a pot of water is put on the stove, and filled with leftover turkey bones (I add carrots, celery, onions, bay leaf and peppercorns for more flavor) to make turkey stock. This stock cooks for several hours, and then is strained off. Rice is … [Continue Reading...]
