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.

Veggie Marrakesh

This recipe was actually my husband's discovery and together we have been working on perfecting it ever since. It's hard to explain what marrakesh is, I've seen it likened to curries and tagines, but I think it's more consistent with what I consider a stew. Using spices traditional to Moroccan cuisine including cumin, turmeric and cinnamon, this dish certainly packs a lot of flavor and is perfect for those cool fall and early winter evenings when vegetables are plentiful at the market but you find yourself craving something warm and hearty.

Perfect Brown Rice Every Time

This is going to be one of those practical posts where we get back to the basics of cooking. When I was first learning how to cook, I cooked my rice in the microwave because it was the way my mom always did it, and predictably my rice boiled over into a starchy puddle of goop. Other people swore by their rice cookers as the secret to creating perfect rice, but truthfully no one really needs yet another unitasker appliance taking up precious real estate in their cupboards. In an interesting turn of events, my husband taught me the secret to cooking perfectly tender, fluffy brown rice every single time.  

Black Bean Tacos with Fresh Mango Salsa

Cooking for picky eaters is really tough. I think we all know someone who is very set in their taste preferences and completely unwilling to even taste something new.  My family seems to have more than it's fair share of picky eaters, and conversations at the dinner table include echoes of the same theme:  I don't eat that.  When you are a home cook trying to be health-conscious and increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your family's diet while sticking to a budget, what can you do?  I say, get creative and get sneaky.

Fresh Mango Salsa

Salsa is a food with a ton of secret advantages. It tastes indulgent when it's actually low fat, low calorie, and high in fiber and other nutrients. It's cheap, especially when you take advantage of seasonal ingredients. It's surprisingly versatile - you can use any combination of vegetables, fruits, and spices you like to create the perfect blend of freshness, acidity, salt and spice. And even though it is shockingly easy to make, it never fails to impress families and guests. One of the most impressive and simple salsas that every home cook should have in their repertoire is fresh mango salsa.

Red Quinoa Tabouleh

Whether you spell it tabouleh, tabbouleh, tabouli, or tabbouli, to me this simple dish is synonymous with summer. A tangy mix of fresh herbs, tomato, onion, and grains, tabouleh is rumored to have it's origins in an ancient culinary rivalry between Caesar and Cleopatra. (Hey, I really can't make this stuff up!)  My first experience with tabouleh was at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in northeast Minneapolis and it is a staple on the menu of many Greek restaurants, although most sources consider it a traditional Arab dish. Traditional tabouleh is made with a grain such as bulgur or in American versions couscous, but for a healthier spin I wanted to use one of my new favorite ingredients, quinoa.

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 Thai Basil Stir Fry with Tofu and Cashews

Who doesn't love a fast dinner that utilizes the best of what you have growing in your garden (or local farmer's market)? That about sums up this dish that I put together  for dinner with the hubs last week. We love stir fry, but I feel there's only so many ways you can mix together citrus, soy sauce, cilantro and veggies before it gets boring. So to spice things up literally and figuratively, I pulled a few ingredients that are at right at their peak in my Minnesota garden to create a fresh take on classic stir fry.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Faux-Yo

While some people may joke about having a killer sweet tooth, my husband jokes that I have a serial killer sweet tooth - and he's absolutely right. I have always loved to bake, so naturally dessert is my favorite part of any meal. According to the USDA desserts are officially a "sometimes food," but for those of us watching our weight desserts seem absolutely forbidden. With this recipe, that's not entirely true.