recipes

With the days warming up and summer around the corner, our dreams of dinner fare turn towards salads. Yet, we can only eat so many lettuce-based salads as we yearn for something exotic, tasty and fun.

Green papaya salad makes a wonderful meal for a warm evening meal. When we talk about papayas, we often visualize a gorgeous orange-fleshed fruit that is very sweet, silky and tropical tasting. Green papayas are not a different species of papaya; they are just an immature papaya. And green papayas pack a wallop of nutrients.

There comes a time in everyone's life where you decide to make a whole bowl of cookie dough simply for the sole purpose of eating it. I've been there and done that many times, but this time I decided to make the cookie dough a little...healthier.

Do you love eating toast slathered with jam? What about peanut butter and jelly? Well I have good news for you: Jam is super easy to make at home! All you need is fruit (frozen or fresh – or even a combo of both), some sugar, and a little bit of water. It's super rewarding to make and totally beats store bought jam because there's no possibility of icky ingredients sneaking their way into your jam (like corn syrup – yuck).

After a long, frigid winter, the warmer weather of spring is more than welcome. Turning from hearty comfort food to light, refreshing meals, spring is bursting with flavor. When the weather turns from cloudy to sunny, it's time to switch from hot to cold soups.

Is it possible to look and feel your best while eating the most delicious food? Canadian nutritionist and founder of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, Meghan Telpner, asks and answers that very question in her latest book, The Undiet Cookbook: the answer is a resounding yes!

Before I went vegan and gluten-free, I was vegetarian for practically my entire life. So, naturally, I began cooking at a very young age. Honestly, I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. It’s gratifying to watch how various flavorful combinations turn into delicious plates of food right before your eyes.

As someone with an Italian heritage, I feel that a richly flavored marinara sauce is a must in my household. Sure, you can buy the stuff that comes in cans and jars, but a delicious, homemade sauce is just as easy to whip up, and much more satisfying.

Although conventional electrolyte drinks, otherwise known as sports drinks, seem innocent enough, their ingredients are not. Most of them contain a lot of unnecessary chemicals like food coloring, artificial flavors, and processed sugars. The main purpose of electrolyte dinks is hydration, replenishing electrolytes, and energizing the body.  These drinks are great to have with you during sweaty workouts.

When I started cooking with spices, my eyes opened up to a world of flavor. Going beyond simply seasoning with salt and pepper, my food was elevated from good to spectacular. The world of spices can enhance a dish with all the flavors you're looking for.

Need a bit of heat? Add some cayenne. Want to add some bite? Try ginger. Finding combinations of flavors that work is as exciting as trying a new recipe.

Everyone in my family is fond of heavy white sauces, but not me; I’ve always been a fan of this thing called flavor. If you think you’re more of a white sauce person, think again. This velvety, luscious red sauce will even win over the hearts of Italians who think their nonna's “gravy” is the best hands down.