No Bake Energy Bites

Having healthy snacks available on hectic days is a must for me. I'm constantly running between the hospital and clinic, so my snacks need to be portable without requiring refrigeration. And even though I firmly believe fruit is the original prepackaged convenience food (seriously, an orange is very portable and even comes in it's own wrapper), it isn't always convenient to carry fruit in the pocket of your white coat. However, these little nuggets of deliciousness fit my lifestyle perfectly.

Herbed Flatbread

Sometime last spring I received a text message from a friend and fellow medical student asking if I could recreate a flatbread they tried at a restaurant in Minneapolis. Never one to decline a challenge, I tasted samples and spent some time in the kitchen trying to recreate the light, flaky texture and wonderful flavor of fresh herbs in this flatbread. After doing some research and several attempts later, I realized I was making this far too complicated and instead needed to approach this flatbread not as a yeast bread, but as a quick bread.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto Pizza

It's rare for me to get bored with foods, but for me pizza is one of those things that gets old fast. I also tend to be a minimalist when it comes to pizza, my favorite being a traditional neopolitan-style pie on a thin crust fired in a brick oven. A few months ago I stumbled upon a frozen pizza that used a cilantro pesto in place of traditional red sauce, and it was absolutely delicious! Of course that means my grocery store promptly stopped carrying it. In protest of losing access to a favorite go-to quick dinner option from the freezer section, I decided to rewrite the book on frozen pizza.

Northern Cornbread

Every once in a while during my childhood my mom would serve Jiffy cornbread with dinner. We all enjoyed the sweet flavor of corn perfectly blended with butter from the Millerville Co-Op Creamery and topped with honey from a neighbor's bees. It was heavenly! Last year I made a batch of chili to bring to a friend's house for a potluck but I was completely out of cornbread mix, so I sent the hubs to the store to pick up a few boxes. He came home with a container of cornmeal. After a brief exchange of very frustrated words I found a recipe online for cornbread and decided to give homemade cornbread from scratch a try. Since that day I haven't bought a single box of Jiffy cornbread mix. So the real credit for this gem in my recipe collection goes to the hubs for making an epically brilliant shopping mistake!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

There isn't another bread in the world that is more versatile than pita. It makes a delicious base for pocket sandwiches filled with falafel or salads. You can use it instead of a traditional pizza crust. There isn't a more perfect delivery vehicle for dips like tzatziki, hummus, or even tabouleh salad. You can even slice it, season it, and bake it to make lowfat homemade pita chips. But until you've eaten homemade pita bread, you have no idea how good pita can be!

Honey Wheat Bread

When I was a kid I always made honey wheat bread for the county fair. I remember spending hours in the kitchen on a hot August afternoon trying to craft the perfect loaf in hopes of getting a blue ribbon. Obviously my life is filled with more responsibilities than I had at 12 giving me less free time to bake honey wheat bread from scratch. So while dreaming of how this bread would be the ideal addition to the perfect panini sandwich, I set out to make an easier honey wheat bread.

Wisdom Bread

My recipe for Wisdom Bread came after a long conversation with a trusted classmate in the medical student lounge last spring.  I was feeling very unsure of myself (ok, maybe it was a bit of a pity party) and she shared some wonderful advice that really helped me shift back to my usual attitude of gratitude.  That afternoon I felt very inspired to do some baking, something that was earthy, nurturing, and comforting - something that tasted good for the soul.  The final result was exactly that, a crusty, dense loaf with earthy flavors of whole wheat, yeast and rosemary.  It's the perfect base for a veggie sandwich, paired with a plate of pasta, or even a bowl of homemade soup.  I like to gift this loaf to my preceptors (a physician instructor who gives practical training to medical students on clinical rotations) as a way of thanking them for sharing their time and knowledge with me.  And I never ever forget to bring an extra loaf for their nurse!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate chip muffins are one of my favorite breakfast guilty pleasures.  Nutritionally speaking, they're equivalent to a piece of cake without the frosting, which is not the best way to start the day.  So I set out on a mission to create a better chocolate chip muffin that I wouldn't feel so guilty about enjoying on a busy weekday morning.