Quick and Easy Recipes

Crunchy Strawberry Salad

Crunchy Strawberry Salad

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. With strawberry season arriving in the northeast, I am thinking of all the ways I will use strawberries this season. Typically, I make jam, freeze some, make lemonade, eat a lot and slice some into salads. Strawberries have always been my favorite [...]

Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad

Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. I. Love. Fruit salad. Love it. And in the summer, I will often trade a green salad for a fruit salad with dinner — something that my husband thinks is a little odd, but that my kids enjoy. Fruit salad is also [...]

Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix

Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. Last fall, Paige started soccer. She’s been watching Will play since she was a toddler, but finally decided last year that it’s time for her to join it too. So on Saturday mornings, we trek out to a damp, dewy field where [...]

Dinner Ideas

Warm Salad with Grilled New Potatoes

Warm Salad with Grilled New Potatoes

When the weather warms up, I start thinking about lighter foods. The soups and roasts that hit the spot on frigid New England winter days are forgotten in favor of lighter summer fare like fruit, everything grilled and salads. Dinner becomes an art of combining no-cook dishes (can’t heat up the kitchen!) combined with whatever [...]

Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice with Avocado and Tomatoes

Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice with Avocado and Tomatoes

“You haven’t planned a dinner in a while,” my husband said recently as I stirred a bolognese sauce on the stove. Though I’d planned on making bolognese for dinner that day, I recognized the truth in the statement. Even though I’ve never been big on meal planning, I have always been a plan-ahead girl when [...]

Veggie Bean Enchiladas

Veggie Bean Enchiladas

Things change. Opinions. Ideas. Directions. Plans. And you kind of just roll with it and see what happens. Still, I am always a little caught off guard by change — especially change that involves my kids taste buds. And boy, have they caught me off guard recently by enjoying some foods with a nip of [...]

Dessert, Anyone?

Quick Double Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cake

Quick Double Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cake

Sometimes, you just feel like a little cake. Especially chocolate cake. (Am I right or am I right?!?) And that’s when mug cakes come in so handy. They are fast, easy and tasty — and they totally take care of the cake craving. To make a mug cake, you stir together a few ingredients in [...]

Grilled Raspberry Cheesecake Turnovers

Grilled Raspberry Cheesecake Turnovers

When my husband and I bought our house nearly nine years ago, one of the first things we did was to buy a shiny new grill — a good one. We were young and excited and spared no expense on our appliances or grill — and that’s something I am very glad for. We made [...]

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

Once when I was a tween living in Poughkeepsie, New York, my family took a bike ride around our neighborhood with another family we were friends with. It was a cool spring day, and the blossoms were on the trees. Our friends had recently moved into the neighborhood, and — for me — it was [...]

Get Healthy

Warm Cheesy Roasted Portabella Caesar Salad

Warm Cheesy Roasted Portabella Caesar Salad

When I saw these portabella mushrooms at a local grocery store, I swooned and my head filled with images of meaty roasted portabellas on a salad. Everything else I had imagined cooking vanished (I had really planned to stuff mushrooms with St. Patrick’s Day leftovers). I just wanted my warm portabellas and cool salad. We’re [...]

Getting Healthy, One Little Step at a Time

Getting Healthy, One Little Step at a Time

Early in 2012, I swore off dieting. I vowed to follow the idea of mindful eating and see where my body ended up. I truly believed that if I ate mindfully, the weight would just melt away. It didn’t. But, for a good while, it remained completely steady. Then, my weight started to climb a [...]

Join Me for the #CDCFlu Twitter Party on Tuesday!

Join Me for the #CDCFlu Twitter Party on Tuesday!

Is it summer yet? I can’t wait until the weather turns warm, and big beauties like this heirloom tomato are ripe on the vine again. I’m already fantasizing about Tuesdays at our local farmer’s market and (hopefully — fingers crossed!) a successful backyard garden. But in the meantime, we need to get through a little [...]

Side Dish Magic

Roasted Asparagus with Tomatoes

Roasted Asparagus with Tomatoes

Something happened this weekend. Perhaps it was the effect of our Saturday picnic on the beach (our first of the year!). Or maybe it was the marked uptick in temperatures that seems to be signalling that spring is really, truly, finally here. But this weekend, I suddenly felt so happy and at peace — more [...]

Cucumber, Carrot and Edamame Salad

Cucumber, Carrot and Edamame Salad

There is so much good all around us, if we only take the time to see it. Goodness is bright and beautiful. It fills us up and reminds us that we aren’t alone. That’s such an important thing. Good was in the Christmas cards that arrived, sharing the kindest of well wishes in the aftermath [...]

Sauteed Leeks with Bacon and Lentils

Sauteed Leeks with Bacon and Lentils

On New Year’s Day, I wanted to fill our table with as many lucky foods as possible — including the Banana Cornbread and this rich, delicious lentil dish. We could definitely use a little luck as we head into 2013 — it has to be a better year. And so far, it’s been mostly good. [...]

Recipe Highlights

Turn Up Your Deviled Eggs

Turn Up Your Deviled Eggs

Easter is this Sunday. Like, whoa. It seems so early to have Easter arrive, but here it is. And it’s time to start thinking Easter menus. Mine is typically pretty similar year to year — Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast, spiral ham, an egg dish … But the first two are the ones that everyone [...]

Grammy Snacks: Strawberry, Basil and Brie Bruschetta

Grammy Snacks: Strawberry, Basil and Brie Bruschetta

What will you be digging into this weekend while watching the Grammy’s? Not sure? How about some creamy, sweet, savory Strawberry, Basil and Brie Bruschetta? It’s super fast, super easy and absolutely delicious. It’s one of the recipes in my latest article on allParenting.com — and I would love if you’d check it out. You [...]

Crispy Baked Sweet Chili Wings

Crispy Baked Sweet Chili Wings

It’s no secret that I really to dig into a plate of good wings while watching football. They just go together. These crispy baked wings are tossed with a sweet-spicy Thai chili sauce that is just heavenly. The flavors and textures come together in a wing-tastic symphony. And on Sunday, you can bet that we’ll [...]

Fresh

A Look Back on Food Blog Forum at Walt Disney World, 2013 Edition

A Look Back on Food Blog Forum at Walt Disney World, 2013 Edition

| May 24, 2013 | 5 Comments

When I reflect on my early days of blogging, I remember struggling with the role of self in blog posts. I was a journalist testing the waters in this completely unfamiliar territory, and I wanted to do it right. Coming from a journalism perspective, it felt unnatural to use “I” in my posts but at [...]

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Decadent Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies with Liberté Mediterranee Coconut

Decadent Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies with Liberté Mediterranee Coconut

| May 22, 2013 | 1 Comment

Whenever anyone hears what I do for a living — particular the recipe development aspect of it — I am hit with the same reaction: “Well, if you ever need anyone to taste test …” And inevitably, I laugh and say “maybe!” It would be fun to always be sharing something delicious and new, but [...]

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Crunchy Strawberry Salad

Crunchy Strawberry Salad

| May 20, 2013 | 2 Comments

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. With strawberry season arriving in the northeast, I am thinking of all the ways I will use strawberries this season. Typically, I make jam, freeze some, make lemonade, eat a lot and slice some into salads. Strawberries have always been my favorite [...]

Continue Reading

Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad

Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad

| May 20, 2013 | 1 Comment

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. I. Love. Fruit salad. Love it. And in the summer, I will often trade a green salad for a fruit salad with dinner — something that my husband thinks is a little odd, but that my kids enjoy. Fruit salad is also [...]

Continue Reading

Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix

Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix

| May 20, 2013 | 0 Comments

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One. Last fall, Paige started soccer. She’s been watching Will play since she was a toddler, but finally decided last year that it’s time for her to join it too. So on Saturday mornings, we trek out to a damp, dewy field where [...]

Continue Reading