Paleo Beefaroni

If you liked beefaroni when you were a kid, you will love this healthy grownup Paleo Beefaroni!

Sometimes people who don’t know me really well tell me they are intimidated to cook for me. The prevailing thought is that I only eat gourmet, chef-y kind of foods. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m going to admit something to you now: my all-time favorite go-to comfort food is a bowl of pasta with ketchup. I know… gross, right? Granted, I use chickpea or almond pasta and sometimes I use homemade ketchup, but still… pasta with ketchup. I love it… don’t judge me…

When I was a kid, I ate lots of food from cans. My siblings and I loved it. Our cupboards were filled with canned raviolis, beefaroni, spaghetti-O’s, and more. I remember coming home from school, opening up a can, and eating straight from the can with a …

Beet Sweet Potato Soup

This Beet Sweet Potato Soup is so creamy and it will boost your energy and keep you healthy!

Last week I went to my favorite event of the year: The Longevity Conference. It was soooooo amazing! My head is still spinning from all of the awesome new things I learned and of course I came home with big bags filled with new superfoods, herbs, and ingredients to test out for you. I’m bursting at the seams with new info for you… yay!

Each year I feel so lucky to be able to meet so many awesome people at Longevity, and this year was no exception. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was being able to meet Solla Eiriksdottir, a vegetarian chef who I just love. She is so much fun, so creative, and so practical in the kitchen. Beet Sweet Potato Soup is a recipe in her Raw

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Meatballs With Ranch

These Paleo Buffalo Chicken Meatballs With Ranch are the perfect make-ahead food… and they are healing!

Everyone seems to have a go-to dish that finds it way into every party or entertaining occasion. You know the one. It’s the one you can make easily, that can be made in advance, that looks pretty, and that everyone seems to like. For me, that dish is usually some type of meatball.

Meatballs are awesome. They make me happy. Dunno why… it just is so.

There are so many kinds to be made.

I love to think of the occasion, the season, the diners, and, then I figure out what kind of balls are called for.

These past few months alone, I think I’ve made Vietnamese meatballs, Italian meatballs, turkey meatballs, cheese-stuffed meatballs, and now… these Paleo Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.

So, are people tired of my meatballs? Nope. Why is that? Because no …

White Bean And Kale Soup

This healing White Bean And Kale Soup is light and comforting at the same time… it’s so delicious!

It’s the middle of the week and that means it’s about time for me to make a big pot of soup. On Sundays and Mondays, oftentimes I feel like creating more complex dishes. You know the kind… the ones that have separate sauces and lots of different components. The one’s that make your kitchen look like a bomb dropped on it. But, come mid-week, I’m all about the one-pot meal. And today, it’s a soup kind of day.

I find all soup comforting. Maybe it’s because it’s served in a bowl. Or maybe it’s because I love the great aroma of all of the things cooking together in one big pot. Or, maybe it’s because I love hot food. I guess it really doesn’t matter why… but it’s a good thing.

And, …

Paleo Meatloaf

Sometimes you just need a comforting paleo meatloaf… and oh how good the leftovers are…

I’m a pretty fickle foodie. One month I’m all gung-ho vegan and then another month I’m all about the meat. This month I’m a little bit vegan and a little bit meat-y. But, I am almost always a Paleo eater. I learned many years ago that my body feels best without grains and without dairy. But, if I eat grass-fed organic meat, I’m also good. So, believe you me, I love to take advantage of those facts.

This meatloaf came to be last week when I was craving meat. I didn’t even realize it at the time, but all week long I was making recipes out of various types of ground meat. It’s making me laugh now when I think back on Steve’s face when I put a different variety of meatballs in front of …

Creamy Sweet Potato Bowl

This creamy sweet potato bowl is the most comforting bowl of creaminess ever… and it’s great for your digestion!

It’s Monday and it’s the first day of spring! So, happy spring… I know, the weather report says there’s another snow storm coming this week here in New York… but outside today it actually smells a little like the warmer weather might actually be on its way. Yup, even here in the city I can smell it. I can tell. I swear. It’s going to be spring soon. Fingers crossed.

Right before this past weekend, I was trying to step over one of my dogs who was sprawled out on the floor, and I got my toe caught on a chair leg in my living room and now it’s broken. Oh my, have you ever broken a toe? It’s really painful and you really do see stars. And there’s not much …

Baked Eggplant Chickpea Skillet

I was craving veggies, but also comfort food… so I made this baked eggplant chickpea skillet for dinner. It’s like a cross between eggplant parm and a Moroccan chickpea stew and it hits all the right spots!

I’m not sure why, but every time I see a food described as a “skillet” I think it must be awesome. I’m a sucker for any type of breakfast skillet on any menu anywhere. So, when I have the chance to actually describe one of my dishes as a skillet, you can be sure I’m going to go for it. So, here’s my baked eggplant chickpea skillet.

People always ask me: “What are you?” in terms of my diet. I’m not sure what to answer anymore except that “I’m whatever is good for me at the time.” Last week I was on a meat kick and I made a huge meatloaf and a …

Vegetable Noodle Lo Mein

I think vegetable noodles — of all kinds — are the new kale. Remember last year when kale was everywhere and in everything in every form? This year it’s veggie noodles. There are sweet potato noodles, zucchini noodles, squash noodles, beet noodles, carrot noodles and every other type of vegetable noodles you can imagine. To me, this is a great development. I can’t even look at a pasta recipe without mentally replacing the pasta with some type of veggie noodle or faux pasta. And I LOVE pasta… so my grain-free self is very happy. And, this vegetable noodle lo mein is the perfect recipe to try out your favorite type of veggie noodle. You can even mix it up and use a few different kinds here.

Confession time. My all-time favorite thing to do when I’m home alone for dinner is to order way too much Chinese food, sit on …

Birthday Cake Chia Pudding

Do you have any descriptive food words that make your mouth water? For me, if I see the words “birthday cake” or “cake batter” I have kind of a drooling, mouth watering response. I don’t know what it is about those words, but for me, when I see them, I have to have whatever it is immediately. So, when I started seeing recipes for chia puddings that were described this way, I was all in. I have to give a big thank you to Macy at Paleo Crumbs because her awesome recipe was the one that made me run to the store to buy the ingredients and make this birthday cake chia pudding.

I don’t know what mornings are like in your house, but here in my house we are kind of laid back. It wasn’t always that way. We used to run around, grab whatever we could to eat, …

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Last week here in New York we were freezing our tootsies off. It was so cold outside! And, unfortunately, it was really cold inside our apartment as well. If you’ve ever lived in an old pre-war apartment, you know the “Three Little Bears” type of frustration with the heat.  It’s often too hot or too cold. I have to say, too cold is most often easier to deal with than too hot… but last week we had to break out every blanket we had to stay warm. So, I did something to make me feel nice and toasty — from the inside-out — I made a big batch of peanut butter banana oatmeal. You just can’t hate the cold while you are eating this…

You can make this oatmeal with quinoa or with a grain-free blend if you prefer. On this cold, snowy, day, I went for the real thing …