Entertaining

March 26, 2014

Falafel Wraps

There are two big lessons that I want to impart to you today: first, cabbage makes an amazing, low-sodium pita replacements and second, cooking with dried chickpeas is kind of amazingly more amazing than using the canned kind. Now I’m all for convenience. Trust me on this. I’ll happily buy peeled garlic, no-salt-added canned tomatoes, and pre-mixed no-salt spice blends. Anything that makes me low-sodium life and cooking easier. And when it comes to beans, I’ve never, I repeat, NEVER used the dried kind. I always rely on the trusty no-salt-added pre-cooked version and a can opener. But yesterday, I […]

March 12, 2014

Low-Sodium Turnip Tots

Sometimes good things happen to old vegetables. Like these baby turnips that were sadly wilting away in my refrigerator, getting mushier with every passing day that they were ignored for things like kale and ground pork and life in general. But as I was about to throw them towards their composite demise, I realized that the softened texture and small round size made for the perfect tater tot substitute. And suddenly, these aging baby turnips were given a bright new future. Once again, a little olive oil and cornmeal give these vegetables some appealing crunch. Any spice mix will help […]

March 7, 2014

Strawberry Obsessions 3.7.14

This will not be shocking news to anyone who is a longtime reader, but I am pretty hopeless when it comes to baking. I mean, I get anxious just thinking about cupcakes. The words “baking powder” and “baking soda” make me dizzy. And my hands sweat at the notion of making something sweet for a loved one. Unless that something is a meatloaf muffin — yeah, that happened. But a three layered cake? You’ve got to be kidding me. The way I see it (slash, explain my lack of skills in this area) is that I am plain awful at baking […]

February 26, 2014

Low-Sodium Faking Bacon

Heart Health Month is coming to a close. And so I thought there’s no better way to celebrate these few weeks of good health and good choices than to talk about salt-free, low-sodium bacon. Wait, what? Now I know that high-fat, high-calorie, high-sodium bacon is usually on the “don’t you touch that!” list for people watching their weight and cholesterol and overall health. And especially in light of the dramatic childhood obesity shift (did you read about this), I do feel a pang of guilt even promoting eating pork belly, i.e. one fatty cut of meat. But here’s the thing. […]

February 19, 2014

Crunchy Cornmeal Broccoli

For all those broccoli haters and naysayers, I’m about to seriously rock your world. And change snack time forever. FOREVER. In doing some research on how to make truly scrumptious turnip fries (this is a thing), I discovered the power of mixing vegetables with a simple cornmeal coating, thanks to the gorgeous blog My New Roots. Her “shake and bake” strategy cuts down on time and mess while increasing the crunchy coating factor. Meaning, little work and big crunchy results. And since trying this technique with turnips and baby broccoli florets, I’ve also used it to make flour and fry-free […]

February 12, 2014

Egg in a Heart

Remember my good friend who didn’t have any special dietary needs but decided to put herself on a low-sodium diet for the month of January, just to put herself in my shoes for a little while and experience a whole new world of flavor makers? Well one thing you didn’t know was that when that friend decided to cut out salt and processed foods and embark on this routine shifting, meal changing experiment, she also started another life-altering adventure at the same time. She started dating a new dude. Yup. True story. Just as she was getting to know a […]

January 30, 2014

Salt-Free Super Steam Buns

Happy almost Super Bowl Chinese New Year. If you’ve never celebrated before, it’s a very special time of year where people eat dumplings and chicken wings all in the same weekend. Or at least, that’s what is happening in my house. And if you’ve been on the Internet lately you’ve probably been bombarded with different recipes for dim sum, pot stickers, and egg rolls, all loaded with high sodium products (including those ready to use wrappers). Which is why I made something special for you: SUPER SALT-FREE STEAMED BUNS. All so you can celebrate, of course. First things first, I […]

January 24, 2014

Creamy Chowder’d Corn

Friends. Let’s chat for a quick second. Whether you’re cold or have a cold (and I’m going to assume it’s one of the two right now), this chowder’d corn is just what you need. But wait, what in the what is chowder’d corn? Well I’m so glad you asked, because I cannot wait to tell you all about it. Chowder’d corn is simply frozen (or fresh) corn, blended with a little water. It can be used in pretty much anything from a creamy corn sauce for tacos to a creamy corn broth for chicken and mushroom soup to a creamy corn […]

January 15, 2014

Banana Blueberry Coconut Pancakes

I’ll start with an apology as I’ve kind of gone bonkers for bananas lately. They’re just so mushy and malleable and crazy transformative when it comes to creativity in the kitchen. And I just simply cannot get enough of them lately. Of course there are banana breads and banana smoothies. But did you know that bananas can also be used as a substitute for eggs? True story. Or that with a little powdered sugar, they can become buttercream-like frosting, without the buttercream? Or that, when mixed with sugar and cinnamon, they make a delightful and sweet stand in for butter […]

January 6, 2014

Breathing and Blueberry Banana Bread

As I kid, I announced new career aspirations as often as the months changed. In January, I wanted to be a veterinarian. By August, an archeologist. And come October, a mermaid. So let’s just say commitments and resolutions have never been my thing. Which is why each new year, I don’t make promises. I choose mantras. A word that helps define my every move for the days and weeks to come. A word that remains the same even as plans change and life does its twisty turny thing. And this year, I picked the word BREATHE. To remind myself to […]

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