Every spring, I come down with a fierce craving for carrot cake. It’s the way of Mother Nature. The frost melts. The tulips bloom. The baby animals are born. I am seized by an emergency need for carrot cake. At the same time, however, I can’t in good conscience say that keeping an entire carrot cake around for a household of three, even this Healthy Carrot Cake recipe, is a particularly prudent idea....
This cauliflower chowder arrived in our kitchen a bit ahead of schedule. I usually wait until the weather cools off more substantially to ease into my soup regimen, a highly unofficial but undeniably predictable series of months in which I cook a giant pot of soup on Sunday, reheat it every day for lunch until Friday, then repeat week after week until spring. Soup is warm, comforting, filling, and healthy all at the same time....
Secret Mexican Chicken Recipe #11, this one deserves its own stand-alone post. I’d call it lazy chicken enchiladas, except that name doesn’t do it justice. You see “lazy” does nothing to communicate the taste euphoria that is juicy shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, soft corn tortillas, beans, and cheese (lots of cheese!) bubbling away until the tortillas soften, the creamy sauce wraps itself around every morsel, and the entire shebang tastes like the daily special at your favorite no-frills authentic Mexican joint (I mean this as a compliment)....
Made with canned chickpeas, peanut butter, pure maple syrup, and chocolate chips, it’s vegan, easy to adapt to different diets (see notes below to make it grain free and nut free), and most importantly of all: It legitimately tastes like cookie dough. It does not taste like beans. Using pureed garbanzo beans to make healthy cookie recipes is one of those tricks I was super into shortly after college, when I asked for this food processor for my birthday (PSA: 13+ years later, it still runs like a dream)....
This easy Chickpea Tuna Salad is a colorful mix of fresh summer vegetables and two staples you can always (and I mean ALWAYS) find in my pantry: canned chickpeas and canned tuna. Yes, canned tuna. This is not a vegan tuna substitute recipe (if you are looking for something with the texture of tuna salad but that is fish-free, check out this ultra tasty reader favorite: Chickpea Salad Sandwich). Maybe I spent too much time at the nerd table in middle school with the other kids who shared my misfortune of needing braces and glass at the same time, but I have a deep appreciation for ingredients like canned tuna that are often passed over....
The next time you need an easy side dish with wide curb appeal and minimal prep time, honey carrots made in a slow cooker will ride to your rescue. Naturally sweet carrots are a kid-friendly gateway vegetable, and the addition of fresh orange zest, a drizzle of honey, and a touch of butter makes this recipe interesting for adults too. Plus, the carrots can even be prepped in advance, so they’re the ideal side dish for a holiday, party, or busy weeknight....
Eating cookie dough out of the bowl is a small pleasure in life and a serious perk of baking cookies from scratch. I grew up licking the beaters and have been known to intentionally leave streaks of cookie dough behind so that I can “clean” them up with my fingers prior to placing the mixing bowl in the sink to wash. Which is why I found it odd when, a few years ago, I noticed a product called “edible cookie dough” being marketed in grocery stores as a stand-alone item....
Put the words “French Onion” in front of just about any recipe, and I’m pretty much guaranteed to like it. French onion chicken? Say no more. Just grab me a fork. Whole roast chicken isn’t something I make often (I’m more of a Baked Chicken Thighs or Bone-In Chicken Breast girl for ease), but when I saw a recipe for a French-onion-inspired roast chicken in Cooking Light, I couldn’t put it out of my head....
Broccoli florets tossed in a tangy-sweet-salty balsamic maple situation, then cooked on a gas or charcoal grill and finished off with an optional (or not) sprinkle of Parmesan, this is the kind of “crack broccoli” you previously only associated with vegetables that take a spin through a deep fryer (or at the very least, Air Fryer Broccoli). Every summer, a food I look forward to cooking (and devouring) most is grilled vegetables....
Any time I have attempted to reform my diet, even for a temporary period, I meet the same insurmountable barrier: chocolate. It’s both my greatest food weakness and my greatest source of food happiness. Rather than attempt to give it up, drive myself crazy with cravings, then feel bad when I slip, I find it far more pleasant to create healthier chocolate desserts like today’s healthy brownies. Although I don’t adhere to a specific diet (Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, etc....
While I adore traditional Caesar dressing’s garlicky flavor and decadent texture, I often shy away from ordering Caesar salads when I’m out or purchasing Caesar dressing at the grocery store. Most are overloaded with heavy, processed ingredients, which practically negate the positive effects of ordering a salad in the first place. Sold on the idea that I can enjoy Caesar salad AND earn my salad bonus points, I decided to create a homemade healthy Caesar dressing recipe....
Yeast bread has a reputation for being difficult, time-consuming, and all-around scary to bake. Further, homemade sandwich bread is viewed as especially horrific (but not this Crock Pot Bread), since they must walk a texture tightrope: sturdy enough to withstand thin slicing and sloppy sauces, yet soft and tender enough to enjoy. Want to make it whole wheat? You’re in for an even bigger challenge (unless it’s this 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough) since whole wheat flour is typically heavier than traditional all purpose or bread flour which means you run the risk of the final baed product being more of a “brick” than “bread” if don’t follow the recipe with care....
Juicy shrimp baked in a garlicky tomato sauce alongside classic Mediterranean ingredients like artichokes and olives, all simmering away under a shower of creamy feta cheese, this one-pan Mediterranean shrimp will transport you to a sunny, relaxing place, no matter the actual state of your home/kitchen/general mental well-being. The fresh, complex flavors here will trick you, in a good way. This recipe is made almost entirely with pantry and freezer ingredients, but it tastes like a meal you would order while on the 5-star oceanside vacation that we all very much deserve at this moment....
Given my choice of hypothetical superpowers, I am bypassing both invisibility and flying in favor of the magic that makes this flourless peanut butter skillet cookie possible. Take a bite of this peanut butter skillet cookie, and you will taste: A molten, ooey-gooey middle (that rivals this Chocolate Mug Cake recipe).An unapologetic onslaught of peanut butter (like these Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies).Melty chocolate chip nirvana.Lightly crispy edges begging to be smothered in vanilla ice cream (this Banana Ice Cream wouldn’t be a bad choice either)....
Moist, lightly springy, and pleasantly spiced, this mashup of my two greatest quick bread loves, banana bread and pumpkin bread, is whole wheat, naturally sweetened with honey, and defies seasonal designation. Pumpkin bread feels quintessentially autumn and banana bread like a delicious default (“have ripe bananas, will bake”). I adore them both, but this week I was craving something a little more out of the ordinary, which ironically enough turned out to be something in between....
Forget the cakey, muffin-like pumpkin cookies you’ve had before. These pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are chewy, buttery, and softer than a fancy hotel pillow. They’re the best of cinnamon sugar cookies, meets pumpkin pie, meets (ultimately) my mouth. About These Delicious Pumpkin Snickerdoodles My grandma’s snickerdoodles were one of my favorite cookies growing up, so they’ve long held a soft spot in my heart. She made her snickerdoodles small, which made them easier to sneak to her grandkids when our parents weren’t looking....
Strawberry scones are pure decadence and comfort. While I typically derive great pleasure from creating baked goods that are better for you and still taste fabulous (Pumpkin Scones are a prime example), I won’t lie to you—I left my magic bag of lighter comfort food tricks on the shelf this time. These English strawberry scones are all real butter and heavy cream, and I don’t regret one tender bite. Nor should you....
As my mother will heartily attest, as a kid I was THE WORST about taking any kind of liquid medicine, especially cold or flu medicine. I’d work myself into a reality TV–worthy fit, to the extent that she finally gave up and let me start swallowing the gel capsules at an age that I’m sure was a few years below what it says on the back of the box. My one exception was the weird neon pink medicine that had to refrigerated, which I found oddly delicious....
As we enter the fall and winter months, it’s easy to feel down about the dwindling of fresh seasonal produce. But don’t doubt that a trip to a winter market (or the seasonal section of the grocery store) will lead to healthy, super satisfying meals. This easy and delightful acorn squash soup indeed shows that winter produce can surely shine! Its thick and creamy texture, the deep notes of caramelization from the roasted squash, savory herbs, and a touch of honey work together to taste like the epitome of holiday comfort....
Of course, I say this assuming you’ve been scarred by bad healthy bran muffins in the past. I know more than one timid taster who flinches at the word “bran.” As someone who has long enjoyed (and I say this with the utmost affection and respect) old lady food (Grape Nuts and All-Bran were my favorite cereals for years; I do not mind raisins in my oatmeal cookies and Trail Mix Cookies; etc....
