Get Cooking
How this busy mom finds tasty, nutritious recipes…
My education is in nutrition, not the culinary arts — and I’m a busy mom. So I aim for simple recipes with whole, fresh ingredients as well as healthy pantry staples. And I favor cooking methods that preserve nutrients.
On my favorites page, I share recipe resources (click HERE) to give credit where credit is due, and to offer you inspiration as you discover your own delicious and nutritious meals.
Good nutrition starts with high-quality whole foods – plants and animals grown and raised, respectively, without chemical pesticides and additives. Plants raised in sunshine and lively, rich soils. Animals fed their native diet and that roam about outdoors.
How I choose recipes
When meal planning, I often page through cookbooks and roam sites I already know and love. (See favorites list HERE). Or, I start with good ‘ole Google, using search terms like “Paleo,” “Mediterranean” and “Whole30” — which generally produce lists of whole-food based recipes light on sugar and dense with nutrients.
Sometimes I search for recipes with specific ingredients I need to use up, like “ginger and chicken” or “cabbage and beef.”
When I find a new recipe that looks tasty, I size up the ingredients list to see if I have the items on hand or if I could easily find them when I head to the grocery store.
Then I look at the time involved and decide how ambitious I feel about a longer, more complex recipe. Few meals I make are that complicated, but some are indeed time-consuming (chop, chop, chop…). I save those for weekends.
How I tinker with recipes and cooking
I often change up recipes to boost their nutrition and keep the junk out.
I use healthy fats like grass-fed (or organic) butter, and extra virgin olive, coconut and avocado oils (instead of inflammatory vegetable and seed oils i.e. corn, cottonseed, canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, grapeseed, etc.)
I use ghee or coconut oil for recipes 350° F and higher, as they are highly saturated and less prone to damage at high temps. Generally speaking, I cook “low and slow” to prevent damaging food proteins or destroying nutrients.
I often reduce added sugars. I substitute maple syrup or applesauce in baking. When a recipe calls for honey, I add it at the end to better preserve its benefits.
I usually add more vegetables!
I add nutrient boosters like turmeric, parsley, cilantro and oregano. These are antioxidant wonder-children and they play well in a range of dishes from smoothies to stew.
I use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. It’s gluten-free, soy-free and yum yum. I like Coconut Secret brand, which is organic and lower in sodium than a few other brands.
I use high quality sea salt, like Himalayan sea salt and Real Salt. These are rich in trace minerals and absent of some additives in iodized salt.
I use chicken or beef bone broth (rich in collagen and minerals) instead of water or regular stock when making soups or cooking whole grains like rice, millet or quinoa.
I don’t use wheat or gluten in my recipes (or those I share with clients). I use a variety of GF flours, including cassava, arrowroot and almond flours.
Most of my the recipes I offer clients have a dairy-free option – you can skip it or substitute with coconut milk or cashew butter.
