Short and sweet
Creative ways to transform less-than-healthy stand-by’s into meals and snacks that you can feel good about eating.
A little more
Recipes and ideas posted here are intended for the everyday cook; the parents, the spouses, the roommates, the guys and gals making it on their own, etc..
Most recipes and ideas incorporate natural, fresh ingredients that can be found in your average grocery stores. I state, “ideas”, because not all of these recipes will require making things from scratch. I don’t always have time for that. When practical, recipes and ideas include local and organic ingredients. Most recipes and ideas do not require extraordinary equipment. Most recipes and ideas are better for you that you might think. Calorie and educational information is included when possible (see A Note About Nutrition for more).
On a personal note
I am an everyday cook with a full-time day job. No special culinary training.
I didn’t always love cooking. I always loved eating. I got away with eating whatever I wanted for a quite a while. It was a good run. Somewhere along the line I started wondering if maybe I should think about how much salt is in my food. How many calories in that McDouble? Do I eat enough fruits and veggies? What is trans fat? How can tell if I’m eating it or not? Scary stuff.
Then, we (my husband and I) went through a phase of a lot of plain baked chicken breasts, pasta, and primarily lettuce salads. He’ll laugh when he reads this, but seriously? Plain. Baked. Chicken??? Gross. After a while, whenever chicken was suggested for dinner, I would groan like an ogre.
I started trying to get creative (and so did my husband). Did some research. Turns out, there is still healthy food in this country. And it’s not outrageously expensive, nor difficult to find, nor laborious to prepare. Cooking started getting fun. It was like a little daily challenge. What can I use to make this omelet ‘healthier’, but still tasty? What can I substitute to make this cake a little less fattening? Can I make my own chicken nuggets without deep frying them? When my friends announce a new dietary restriction, I have to hold my excitement. Vegetarian? Lactose intolerant (me too)? Gluten free? Bring it on.
All that said, I still like to indulge once in a while. I also have a ton of family favorites that I wouldn’t dare change in any way. Don’t be surprised if something wrapped in bacon pops up.
Enjoy!
