I’m celebrating spring with this warm spring salad featuring asparagus, leek, peas, strawberries, and parsley all tossed in a simple lemon olive oil dressing. It’s very light and veggie-packed with some protein provided by quinoa. If you’d like to add even more protein I’m sure it would be nice with some white beans, chickpeas, or French lentils thrown in too. Behold, non-wimpy asparagus! Normally I don’t consider asparagus to be one of the most exciting vegetables, but it always surprises me every time I make it. I enjoy it way more than I think I do. A simple, light sauté leaves it tender ..read more

You’ve probably seen the meal prep trend online where dozens and dozens of meals are prepped in containers for the entire week? Holy moly. I can say that will probably never be me. I once tried an over-ambitious meal prep and not only did I end up with way too much food, but it took up most of my day. On the flip side, I’ve realized that my veggie intake falls pretty flat when I don’t do any prep at all. Soooo….there has to be a happy medium!? This little dilemma is exactly why I came up with a simple plan that totally fits into my life these days. The recipe below (which is totally customiza ..read more

My dad is coming to visit this week. This means two very important things are on my “what to make dad” menu. 1) Chili, always and 2) Caesar salad. Those are essential food groups for the guy. Anything else is icing on the cake. Plus, I always welcome the opportunity to use my huge bamboo salad bowl that we received as a wedding gift from our friends. When this bowl comes out, it’s something special! Even though Caesar salad isn’t traditional holiday fare, I totally think you can serve it as part of a holiday menu. I love an unexpected twist on the table personally. Do you have any non-traditi ..read more

Whenever I’m in the Phoenix area, I make a point to dine at True Food Kitchen. For those who aren’t familiar with True Food, the famous Dr. Andrew Weil (along with restaurateur Sam Fox) opened this restaurant in 2008. There are now several locations. The entire menu is based around Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet and food pyramid with an emphasis on local and organic food whenever possible. And I can tell you, every time I’ve been the restaurant is absolutely packed (and it’s a huge restaurant!). [image source: True Food Kitchen] Everything I’ve had at this restaurant has been ah-mazing. E ..read more

Lately, I’ve had a few requests to blog about some of my favourite quick and easy lunches. This made me laugh at first because many of my lunches involve standing over a stove sampling the recipes I’m testing that day and then inhaling the cold food that’s left on the plate after a long photo shoot. That’s just how many days go around here, but I’ve been making more of an effort to take time out for lunch and make sure I’m eating a balanced, less rushed meal. This kale salad is something I’ve been enjoying for lunch over the past few weeks. When I get on a certain lunch kick, I’m basically ha ..read more

One of the things I love about summer is that I can eat like a Queen without much effort. Mid July, our crisper is now overflowing with farmer’s market vegetables, none of which need much fuss or strategic planning in order for a memorable meal. Life gets a bit simpler (yet busier) in the summer and our meals tend to follow suit. This salad is one such easy summer dish I made yesterday. It took about 10 minutes to prepare and it’s almost entirely raw. If there was such a thing as summer in a bowl this would be it. Tomatoes, corn, cucumber, red pepper, fresh dill, and green onion make up the b ..read more

If you ever find yourself in a salad rut, this raw taco salad is a great way to break out of it. Hearty and flavourful, every bite is a fiesta in your mouth. It’s a bit (ok, a lot) different from the taco salad of my youth, but certainly no less tasty! My inspiration comes from the taco salad that I enjoyed at The Naked Sprout meet-up over the weekend. Layered with greens, guacamole, salsa, sunflower taco meat, and a cashew cream, I knew this was something I would be making at home real soon. As in, within 24 hours of consumption. I don’t mess around during the salad-a-day challenge…no sir-ee ..read more

One of my frequently asked questions around this time of the year is always, “What vegan recipes can I make for my upcoming holiday meals that will impress the skeptics?” Eating vegetarian, vegan, or other special diet can be challenging, especially around the holidays. It doesn’t help matters when “Uncle Joe” is ranting and raving about the lack of turkey on your plate either! Obviously, many traditional holiday foods are based around animal products, but that doesn’t mean that you have to eat dry lettuce all weekend. Even if you are a meat eater, you can still bring along a vegan dish to im ..read more

One of my favourite things to do after visiting Whole Foods is to re-create salad bar foods or specialty products at home for much less money. Or at least, that’s my good intention until I get home and I can’t remember the ingredient list! Not last night. :) Thanks Eric! After we dined – Eric on pizza and me on the hot & cold salad bar – I picked up the ingredients for the Detox Salad and vowed to make it when I got home that night. I was literally bursting with energy after eating this salad and I knew that it would make a really great “feel-good”, make-ahead lunch. Whole Foods salads t ..read more

This week, the first sign of flowers and leaves put me into full Spring mode. My meals have been fresher than ever and I’m feeling on fire energy wise. It’s about time! The hot yoga sessions are also helping tremendously. (Thank you, by the way, for your great comments yesterday.) I’ve been to 4 hot yoga sessions now and you could pretty much say that I’m addicted. But, more on that later. [We need to mow the lawn and weed the garden! eek…it begins] Yesterday, I was craving an old favourite- the Protein Power Goddess Bowl that I adapted from The Coup Cookbook. I’ve been smitten with this sa ..read more