• Sweetheart smoothie bowl

    sweetheart berry rose-smoothie bowl

    Conversation hearts, boxes of chocolates, and red velvet cupcakes are all great ways to show someone you love them on Valentine’s Day, but I get it: Not everyone is into treats that are full of flour, white sugar, and food coloring. But what about a bowl packed with real fruit that happens to smell (and […]

  • The best pitaya bowl

    pitaya bowl

    Acai bowls are definitely the more well-known and ubiquitous of the smoothie bowls, but pitaya — sometimes called dragon fruit — is really my favorite. But while frozen acai packets are relatively common, packs of frozen pitaya chunks are a little less easy to find. I was pretty excited to see them at our local Safeway, but you […]

  • Kale pesto

    making kale pesto

    In the pantheon of trendy foods, kale is Jupiter. Everyone from Gwyneth to Beyonce is a fan, and even fast-food restaurants are trying to get in on the action. But, honestly? I don’t really like the way it tastes. If I’m going to be chowing down on raw leaves, I’ll take spinach any day. Still, I know […]

  • Grilled vegetable salad with avocado

    grilled vegetable salad with avocado

    Even though Super Bowl is all about beer, meat and football, I thought we should have at least one healthy thing at our party. And I wanted it to be something delicious and interesting, not just a couple of wilty celery sticks shoved on the table at the last minute. Usually, I’d make this guacamole […]

  • Salad with squash, pomegranate and goat cheese

    salad with squash, pomegranate and goat cheese

    As a lifelong salad avoider and picky eater, trying to eat more healthy on a regular basis has not been easy. There are tons of things I can make at home, of course, but finding something at restaurants is a different story. Thankfully, there are a lot of good places in San Diego County with […]

  • Best-ever Thanksgiving sweet potatoes (with marshmallows)

    best thanksgiving sweet potatoes

    My mom makes the best Thanksgiving sweet potatoes ever. How do I know? Besides the fact that I have eaten them since (probably) infancy, every person I have ever served them to loves them — and usually asks for the recipe. Obviously this don’t have to only be made for Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure […]

  • Slow-cooker veggie chili

    veggie chili

    After I graduated from college and moved to South Carolina, my dinners generally came from a can, a box, the freezer, or a restaurant. I baked cookies and cakes and muffins occasionally, but I really didn’t know how to cook “real” (non-sugary) food, particularly meals that could go from stove (or microwave) to my tiny table in about […]

  • Guacamole salad

    guacamole salad

    When I was in elementary school (probably around second grade?), my family went to Kansas to visit some relatives. The first night, we stayed in Witchita, and my dad uttered a sentence none of us have ever forgotten: “When we’re on vacation, you can order whatever you want.” I had a giant bowl of guacamole […]

  • Macaroni and cheese (no béchamel required)

    macaroni and cheese with cheez its

    I think we can all agree that homemade macaroni and cheese is awesome. But it can be a bit of a pain (and a mess) to make. This recipe gives you the deliciousness of homemade mac and cheese, with significantly less work, less mess and less stress than a version that involves making a huge […]

  • Banana bread oatmeal

    banana bread oatmeal

    Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but I have never been very good at eating it. Besides the fact that I am rarely hungry in the morning, I also disliked nearly every breakfast food you can imagine when I was growing up. I was a pleasure to deal with, I’m sure. […]