{Completely unrelated but beautiful photo of summertime.} Lately I’ve been feeling that my posts have lacked a little bit of depth, that they’ve been surface-y and lackluster. Have you been picking up on that, too? Having a blog is a strange thing. There are boundaries to what I will and will not share on this site; I don’t post personal details about my marriage, family dynamics, disagreements, and things that are not mine to share. As a rule of thumb, … Read More
Food Blogger by Night
As most of you know, I work for as a food editor for General Mills. When I tell people that I’m a food editor, a lot of people respond by saying, “Wow, that sounds like a cool job!” Followed quickly by, “What do you do exactly?” Most of the time I think it sounds like a made-up job, not something I actually get paid to do. I was recently asked if I would be interested in participating in a little … Read More
Vegan Pumpkin Cashew Custard
Happy Monday, friends! I hope your week is off to a great start. I’ve got the slightest case of the Mondays today, but this week is going to be super busy on the work front, so I better snap out of it quick. Please excuse me if posting is a little slower over the next couple weeks. If nothing else, I’ll be checking in with more life updates and fewer recipes. Maybe the reason I’ve got a case of the … Read More
Apple Streusel Pie
First things first, a little bit of business to discuss. A number of you have requested that I make my recipes easily printable. Ask and you shall receive! Recipe will now be formatted so you can print recipes without having to print the entire web page. Enjoy! If you look closely at the photos of this apple pie, you’ll notice that the edges are not crimped perfectly. There are spots where I had the right amount of dough and spots … Read More
Slow Cooker White Wine Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes
It took me a long time to start loving my slow cooker. Even today, I wouldn’t describe myself as a true slow cooker devotee, but I can certainly see the merits of using it now and again. I don’t have a lot of food pet-peeves, but cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker is pretty high up there on my list. I used to be guilty of doing this, until I realized the error of my ways. You … Read More
Beet-Apple Juice
It’s Tuesday. Tuesday is way to early to start making complicated recipes that require a lot of brain power, right? I thought so. Now that I’m curbing my caffeine addiction, I’ve been dragging a little bit. I think I’m over the worst of it, but I’m still not on my game 100%. I just keep reminding myself that the worst is over. But then I got a huge zit on my chin and I’m thinking that somehow that is related … Read More
Grocery Shopping at Whole Foods (without breaking the bank)
Once upon a time, not all that long ago, I used to go into Whole Foods strictly to browse or pick up a specialty item for a recipe I was making. I would look at all the people doing their weekly grocery shopping, carts piled high, and wondering how on earth they could afford to shop exclusively at Whole Foods. I wondered what types of jobs they had that afforded them the luxury of shopping at the mecca of natural … Read More
Curbing The Caffeine Addiction
My love affair with coffee has been well documented on this blog. And it’s not an overstatement to say I love the stuff. But lately, I’ve been doing a little health inventory, searching for ways that I can eat and live healthier and feel even better. I’m already a pretty clean eater, but my caffeine addiction stood out to me as an area where I could make some changes. My typical coffee consumption, if I’m being totally honest, looks a … Read More
Sunday Funday
Want to know a little secret? Sometimes I have a deep desire to be a really good lifestyle blogger. Some of my favorite blogs fall into the lifestyle category (Story of my Life, Love Taza, Aspiring Kennedy, to name a few.) These women take beautiful photos and inspire me every time I read a post. And their photography? It’s amazing. Of course, the first step to capturing more life moments would be to actually take your camera out and use … Read More
Making Hummus at Home
Being a vegetarian, I consume a lot of hummus. It’s a great source of protein and makes a super healthy dip to enjoy while watching football games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It’s no secret that I slather hummus on everything from sandwiches to veggies to pizza. I’ve known that making hummus at home is easy for a long time, and I’ve even made a couple batches of hummus in the past, but I never got into the habit of … Read More
Dark Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Cookies
These cookies were almost the death of me. I kid you not, having to make and photograph them 4 times really tested my commitment to this recipe. But I guess issues with your memory card and card reader will test almost anyone. Since I work in food for a living and spend a lot of time in the kitchen each day, developing, testing and re-testing recipes until they reach perfection, it’s rare for me to spend that same amount of … Read More
Gator Gameday
For years, my dad and I have had a little family tradition going. We pick a weekend in October (usually around my birthday) to head down to Gainesville, Florida, to watch the Florida Gators play football.( Joe has been allowed into this club for the past three years, and my Aunt Gwen came this year, too.) Ever since I was very little, I remember sitting with my dad and watching the Gators play while drinking Five Alive fruit juice and … Read More