Jalapeno Limeade
serves 4-6

2/3 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice (from about 5-6 limes)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 cups water
4-6 lime wedges to serve with

In a small saucepan, combine the lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and granulated sugar over med-low heat. Stir and allow sugar to dissolve, about 6 minutes. Take off the heat and allow the mixture to steep for about 1 hour. Strain the mixture using a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher. Add the water and refrigerate until cold. Serve with ice and lime wedges.

The cake is called banh khoai mi in Vietnamese. I think Filipinos have their version of the cake too, called bibingka. It’s very simple – you mix grated cassava that you find in the freezer section of your Asian grocery store, along with sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk. The result is not what you’d regularly think of as a cake but gelatinous and mochi-like, something you can eat with your fingers. I loved Phi’s version, but I made a few tweaks to the recipe she sent me, because I didn’t want to make a 13×9-inch baking pan full of cassava cake. Just a 8×8-inch pan would do (because if y’all know my husband, he’s not really into sweets and normally it would be up to me to finish it! I always end up freezing a lot of the desserts I make!). I also decreased the sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk and added in water and an egg.

The result? Well, I thought it was a perfect birthday cake for myself! Lightly sweet, soft and chewy, and not greasy or sticky-sweet as a lot of cassava cakes are. It does have some uneven browning to it but looks didn’t matter! I think you’d like this too, Phi!

Cassava Cake
makes an 8×8-inch square cake pan

16 oz (1 lb) frozen grated cassava, thawed in the fridge for one day
6 oz sweetened condensed milk (you can use fat-free too if you like, this is just what I had!)
6 oz coconut milk
2 oz water
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix all ingredients (except cooking spray) in a large bowl, whisking until combined. Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Pour the whisked ingredients into the baking pan and bake for 45-48 minutes, until the center is no longer wobbly and the top of the cake is lightly browned (there will probably be some darker spots than others and that’s ok!). Cool in the pan before cutting with a serrated knife into 2×2-inch squares. You can cut the ends off before cutting them in squares like I did – I also ate the ends because they were so good! Heehee!

Nutrition facts per serving (1 serving = 1/16 square of cake, or a 2×2-inch piece): 117 calories, 3.9 grams fat, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein

Whenever I’m out with a friend and they apologetically state, “I’m sorry, but I kind of want dessert,” I honestly get a little exasperated, and have to constantly remind them that I’m not the food police because of my profession. I enjoy dessert too! I have some dietitian friends who enjoy a good meal – not all of us preach carrot sticks and celery day after day after day (hey, I would get sick of that too). You’ll see that in the book, Inspired Celebrations, that I contributed recipes for Ngoc Nguyen Lay, I use things like butter (gasp!), puff pastry (blasphemy!), and bacon (WHAT?!). That’s because I believe that in a healthful diet, you can enjoy these foods occasionally and not feel like you’ve entirely blown it.

Time and again, I’ve noticed some common themes with people trying to eat more healthfully. They’re what I’d call “dieting blunders,” and we’ll talk about some of them here.

1. Thinking that healthful eating is time-consuming and difficult: What’s so hard about nuking some instant oatmeal with half a banana or a tablespoon of raisins in the morning? Or packing an apple and almonds for a quick snack? You can always fit in a few seconds to plan healthfully during the day. In fact, I find that I take less time to prepare food because by eating a largely plant-based diet, it takes no time to stir-fry or roast some vegetables with my dinner, rather than checking on that pot roast that’s taking forever to cook.

2. Not adopting moderation into the diet: Think about portion sizes! These days, lots of desserts are jumbo-sized, and you don’t have to exert tons of willpower to avoid foods. What I usually tell people is that they can have their cake and eat it too – in three bites. The first bite – say hello! The second bite – savor the dessert and let the taste linger in your mouth. The third bite – say goodbye!

3. Not looking at a food’s total package: If you’re skipping out spreading some almond butter over your whole-wheat toast in the morning because of its fat content, you’re sorely missing out. You have to look at a food’s total package, such as seeing that almond butter has beneficial, good-for-your-heart monounsaturated fats as well.

4. Overdoing the “fat-free,” “sugar-free” products: Lots of products that are “fat-free” are high in sugar, and lots of things “sugar-free” are high in fat. I could go on and on. That’s because to cut something out, food products will usually compensate in some other way. Instead of overdoing these snacks and products, you’ll find that making most of your foods and buying foods that grow from the earth, though not “fat-free” or “sugar-free,” will be more balanced. Top some fresh berries with a dollop of real whipped cream, not cream from a can. Roast vegetables with good olive oil. Enjoy one really yummy cookie, and be done with it, rather than eat five fat-free cookies.

I had some apple mint. It’s sweet, and not as strong or peppermint-y as regular mint leaves. You can easily grow some at home. I bought my mint plant at Lowe’s – just make sure to plant it in a pot because it is very invasive and you’ll soon find it everywhere!

Grapefruits are always in our house – I love to juice them because the grapefruits I get at the store are not too sour and I don’t need to add any sugar to them. I simply snipped some apple mint leaves in my backyard, juiced a couple grapefruits, and mixed them together.

Grapefruit and apple mint juice
serves 2

2 grapefruits
1/8 cup apple mint leaves

1. Juice the grapefruits. Wash and roughly slice the apple mint leaves and mix with the juice. Serve with ice and enjoy!

This week, I made a few of my old favorites. Dry-rub salmon was one (I was especially excited to learn that my friend Patti made this for her house one night and loved it!). Today we have a guest coming so I made Earl Grey tea cookies, an oldie but goodie. Dinner tonight? Probably some rotini pasta, yellow squash, and chicken apple-chardonnay sausage. Easy but good. Quick too!

Earl Grey tea cookies:

Have a great week, everyone!

The potatoes add a creaminess to the soup already, and I added some whole milk at the end to finish it off and add a little richness (as opposed to higher-fat alternatives such as heavy cream and half-and-half). If you have fresh corn, use it here. I like to simmer the soup with the ears of corn (before blending) because I feel like it will add a slight sweetness to the broth.

Corn and Potato Chowder

serves 6 (1 cup each)

3 slices center-cut bacon
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn (if using fresh corn, save the ears)
3 small Yukon white potatoes (3/4 lb), diced
1 tsp fresh thyme
32 oz free-range, low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups whole milk
Two pinches kosher salt, or to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Save the rendered fat and transfer the bacon to a plate. Crumble the bacon when cool to sprinkle on top of the soup when done.

Over medium heat, add the onions and cook in the same Dutch oven. Saute until translucent and then add the potatoes, corn, thyme, ears of corn (if using – this adds a sweetness to the broth), and chicken broth. Bring to a full simmer on medium-high heat, then to medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add whole milk and stir to combine all ingredients. Remove the ears of corn and throw away. Cool the soup before blending the soup in a blender. Try to blend the potatoes and leave as much of the corn as possible. Add salt to taste.

To serve, sprinkle reserved bacon bits over soup, and top with freshly cracked black pepper.

Nutrition facts per serving (1 serving = 1 cup): 182 calories, 5.3 grams fat, 28.3 grams carbohydrates, 7.6 grams protein

I made this recipe a little more svelte, using fat-free yogurt, since that’s what I use to make my fruit smoothies, and substituting in for some whole-wheat flour since I don’t have ultragrain flour in my pantry. I also cut down on the sugar since I used really ripe bananas – one was entirely black, so I figured it would be really sweet! Try letting your bananas ripen over the counter until they develop brown spots on them. This is a really good recipe to use if you’re trying to get rid of overripe bananas!

And how were they? Do you even need to ask? They were goooooood! I especially love the chocolate chip addition, and the bread was super moist and not too grainy with the added whole wheat in there. Score!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread
serves 10-12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

5 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup container plain, fat-free yogurt

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 large)

1/2 cup milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Nonstick, fat-free cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray a 8 1/2 – by- 4 1/2 – inch loaf pan with the nonstick cooking spray, and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, bananas, and vanilla extract.

3.  In a large bowl, cream the butter with sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and egg whites, continue to beat at medium speed.  Add the banana-yogurt mixture, beating until combined.  Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture; mix until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

3.  Bake the banana bread for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

You can do this by making a little commitment to think of what you’ll buy at the grocery store and do some meal planning. Take an hour or less while the kids are sleeping to write up a few meals you’ll make during the week. On some days, be prepared for a quickie meal, because you never know when you’ll be stuck at work for longer than usual and have to have dinner on the table – fast. It can be as simple as beans, rice, and sauteed bell pepper. Jot all these items down and be prepared while you go grocery shopping so you don’t have to make an extra trip because you’ve forgotten something.

Anytime in the week, set aside an hour or however long you have to put your planning ahead into action. It can be as simple as just chopping. Chop or slice up the vegetables you’ll most likely use and store them in some tupperware or a plastic bag. In our house, green onions, cilantro, and onions are used with a lot of meals, from stir-fries to just being a garnish on soups. I chop these up and put them in some tupperware along with a paper towel. I find this also helps keep the vegetables fresher, longer, and saves time and energy in the long run. I like knowing that I don’t have to chop another set of vegetables and can throw these items into a dish easily. You can dice up some mango and put it in the freezer to throw in a smoothie, or slice up some carrots you’ll use in tomorrow’s stir fry. By doing this, you’ll also feel less likely to grab some food on the way home, because you already have food at home that you can throw together.

There was just so much to take in and see. I was overwhelmed! There were freshly baked breads…
farm fresh, free-range eggs…

a variety of mushrooms, fruits, and vegetables in season…
and lots more, including these little meat pies. Don’t cow pies mean something else to Americans?

We got some cheddar from Greens of Glastonbury to go with our wine that night, and a slice of orange-almond-cornmeal cake from another vendor whose mom makes all the baked goods. (Sorry! Forgot the name!)

You can do your part to eat local too! It can be as close as your backyard. Plant a few things and feel rewarded knowing your food didn’t have to travel halfway around the globe to end up at your table. You save on the fuel, refrigeration, and more that’s involved with delivering your food to your home. You can also cut down on the amount of preservatives involved with keeping your food edible! When you have a surplus of fruits during the season, don’t fret, freeze or can them, like my friend Sophia does. Then you can enjoy those fruits off-season. Even just planting a pot full of mint or rosemary can be easy and thrive (I feel good knowing that I can just walk to my backyard and snip some rosemary when I’m making a dish, instead of paying $3 for it at the store! And it’s a really big plant now, and I didn’t pay too much attention to it!).

What things do you do to eat locally?

The past week and a half, I travelled to Europe with my husband. We also met up for a few days with my friend, Karen, who flew in from California. It was so much fun! I remember one time in the hospital, P looked at me and said, “We’ll go somewhere fun before the year is over.” I thought, “Oh yeah right, now that’s what I call impossible.” And look at how things turned out. Amazing. Last year I couldn’t even walk, this year I’m traveling to London and Paris, keeping up with my hubby and one of my best friends, taking a ton of stairs, even fitting in time to use the gym in the mornings, and not really slowing them down. I am truly thankful.

It can be really easy to veer off the nutrition course while traveling (trust me, I’m not perfect! You should definitely sample some of what the country is known for). But a really good tip is to visit the local grocery stores on your trip. There, you can stock up on fruits and vegetables, and yogurts or oatmeal. If your hotel has a fridge, that’s great. You can beat those midnight cravings, or have a healthy breakfast before you start the day. Overseas farmers markets and grocery stores are fun, too! People warned me that Europe was so expensive but I didn’t think so. One person told me they bought a tomato sandwich for 9 pounds ($14) over there. What?! I didn’t see anything ludicrous like that. The prices were reasonable. And I’ve heard complaints about how small the portion sizes are. I was really happy with the serving amounts. People probably complain because we come from a land of super-sized portions and cheap food.

Rhubarb is big in London – and this yogurt was so good!

This brie was only 99 pence – that’s like $1.50! We ate this with a baguette for a snack.

Just to show you that food is affordable in England. This is 1 pound (about $1.50). If you got this in the States it would be about $3 or more. They also had single servings of crisp sugar snap peas, carrots, and green beans for 1 pound each, a super healthy snack! You can also get pre-packaged, cut fruit such as coconut too! Love it!

You can get soup here for a pound. Have it with some bread for a meal in if you’re tired of eating out. For one meal, we bought food and wine from the grocery store and salads from Pret A Manger. Voila!

Oh. My. Goodness. This was the first time I’ve tried banoffee pie, and it’s all the rage in London. Now I know why! Sliced bananas, a shortbread crust, whipped cream, toffee. Sigh. I shared this with Karen, and I’ll make it again in the States for a special occasion!

What traveling tips do you have?