Vegan Beet & Butternut Squash Chili

This Vegan Beet & Butternut Squash Chili has big chunks of beets in it. Beets are great for nourishing your blood (that’s not a vampire reference…) — I find that they are awesome for fighting off some of those annoying conditions associated with menopause!

It’s chili season! Nothing says happy autumn like the fragrant aroma from a big pot of chili cooking on the stove. In our house that chili must be eaten while watching whatever football game is on TV. And the table has to be filled with bowls of guacamole, cheeses (vegan ones too), coconut yogurt, fresh cilantro, and some healthy-ish chips to pile on top of the individual bowls of chili. And even though this is a healthier chili, it still goes great with an ice cold beer…

Oftentimes I make my chili with meat — beef, pork, turkey, bison, lamb… whatever I’m feeling at the moment. …

Thai Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing

This Thai Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing contains hemp seeds which, among other things, are great for combatting hot flashes!

Many moons ago, I used to work down by Chinatown. There were so many great Chinese restaurants for lunch but my favorite place to frequent was an awesome (although kind of dirty…) Thai restaurant that was a stone’s throw away from the courthouses. All of us Legal Aid Lawyers used to go there. It was cheap and delicious and close. I remember loving the Thai Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing. I’ve tried to re-create it a few times and have had okay results but nothing that was as good as I remember being served at that restaurant.

Until now.

I wish I could take the credit for figuring out the awesome flavors in this dressing, but the credit goes to Jessica at jessicagavin.com. I made a few tweaks to …

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Bowl

Pasta rules! And this roasted red pepper pasta bowl is awesome!

Yay! Another great, fantastic, awesome, deliciously healing, yet paleo AND vegan pasta dish that tastes like real, classic, homemade Italian pasta. Wow, that was a mouthful! But I honestly don’t know how to accurately describe the awesomeness of this dish without using so many adjectives…

If you know me at all, you know that I will try any and every pasta that I see if it’s paleo. Some are truly awesome. Some… not so much. This lentil pasta is one of my favorites. (See the recipe below for where you can buy it.) It really has the texture and taste of traditional whole wheat pasta. For real — no one will know.

I made this dish a few days ago and I got to do one of my favorite things — feed an unsuspecting guest… My daughter’s boyfriend was …

Paleo Blueberry Cobbler

This paleo blueberry cobbler is an incredibly delicious dessert!

You know when you go to the market looking for organic berries and you have to to a double-take when you see the price? Sometimes I can’t believe what I’m seeing… it’s like I’m being punked or something. But, finally, it’s that time of the year when the price of berries drops down to a reasonable level. Last week, there were blueberries everywhere! And when I checked the price, not only were these gorgeous blueberries affordable, but they were packaged in huge containers. So, I bought 2 containers. I didn’t need to, but I did. Did I tell you these containers were HUGE…

I’m sure it’s happened to you: you get home from the market, and you’re all kinds of smug because you got some great deals, and then you look at what you bought and you have no idea how …

Vegan Caprese Salad With Hearts Of Palm

This vegan caprese salad with hearts of palm is even better than your favorite tomato/mozzarella salad.

What’s better than fresh ripe tomatoes in the heart of tomato season? Not much that I can think of! And when you combine these luscious, ripe, juicy tomatoes with fragrant fresh basil… it’s just the perfect marriage of summer flavors. But, with this recipe, you end up with an even better version of this traditional dish because this recipe also includes some awesome vegan mozzarella cheese and sliced hearts of palm.

I know that when a lot of people see a Caprese salad on a menu, they get all kinds of happy inside. I’ve always stayed away from these salads because of my inability to eat cheese. I am so happy to have recently found some of the most awesome vegan cheeses, so I’ve been like a kid in a candy store and I’ve …

Vegetable Hummus Dip

This vegetable hummus dip make store bought hummus taste incredible!

I love to entertain. The whole process de-stresses me. I’m not one of those people who sits around ruminating about what to serve and how to present it and how to time everything just right. I just kind of wing it. Easy entertaining is one of the things people ask me about all of the time. Well, this dip is for all of you who want a great easy entertaining recipe to serve your guests while you are getting dinner ready.

This recipe is like a “food hack”. What I mean by that is that it easily takes a store-bought ingredient and turns it into something super awesome. I mean really, really awesome. So-good-that-everyone-will-be-asking-you-for-the-recipe awesome.

The base of this vegetable hummus dip recipe is store-bought hummus. Add then we add a bunch of stuff to it. And we make it …

Vegan Fettuccine Bolognese

This vegan fettuccine bolognese is a great alternative to a meaty pasta sauce!

Whenever I make a pasta dish, it’s almost always a paleo-friendly pasta recipe because I feel better when I don’t eat grains. But, I do feel better when I eat pasta (for me, it’s the most comforting food around… and, I mean, really, who doesn’t love a good bowl of pasta…?). I’m never sure whether to call the recipe “Paleo Pasta” or just call it “Pasta”.  I know this sounds trivial, but really, I get stuck with this each and every time.

Now, this recipe (which by the way is sooooo delicious), is vegan and it’s paleo. When I first typed in the title, it was “Vegan Paleo Fettuccine Bolognese”, but that’s just too long and complicated for a recipe that’s easy to make. So, for this recipe I decided to use vegan, and omit paleo. I’m …

Berry Fig Yogurt Parfait

Parfaits are fun. And this berry fig yogurt parfait is delicious and energizing!

It’s getting to be the dog-days of summer — but if you’re a dog lover like I am, it’s not a bad thing at all! Yes, I know, nobody likes those ridiculously hot and humid days — the ones where the air is heavy and everything seems to move in slow motion. But summer is awesome! Even when it’s hot! You can go outside with nothing but shorts and a tank. You can walk down the street drinking the hugest iced coffee or smoothie. You can smell that warm, sweet, summery scent of the flowers and trees…

And here, in NYC, where everyone aspires to leave the city in the summer, I am happy as a clam. I’m not crazy though. I don’t turn on my oven much, and I stick to the shady side of the …

Slow Roasted Salmon With Smoked Salmon Rollups

Salmon helps fight illnesses… and this slow roasted salmon with smoked salmon rollups is a double dose of salmon!

This is truly a simple recipe. It only looks a little fancy because when I was done with my go-to simple slow roasted salmon, I rolled up some smoked salmon and put it on top. One of my favorite sushi rolls at our local Japanese restaurant is a fresh salmon roll with smoked salmon inside. So, when I opened my fridge and I saw a package of smoked salmon, the lightbulb went on over my head…. hmmmm….. this has got to be good…. And, it really is!

My son just graduated from college and is back in New York with us, which makes me very happy. Ever since he was a child, I have made sure to always have a package of smoked salmon in the fridge for him. It’s no …

Vegan Skillet Zucchini Parmesan

If you are an eggplant parmesan lover, you have to try this recipe for vegan skillet zucchini parmesan!

One of our favorite local restaurants serves the most amazing zucchini parmesan. I’m so used to avoiding cheese and I really never feel deprived in this area.  Well, almost never. But this zucchini parm is amazing, so I usually just take a tiny taste and then move away. Quickly. I mean, I physically have to push the dish to the other side of the table far from my reach. (I have to do this with bread baskets too.)  I’ve been saying for years that I am going to create a vegan version of this luscious dish, so that I can enjoy it too. Finally, the time has come. Here’s the recipe. And it’s awesome!

My daughter came home from college the other day and I was figuring out what to cook for …