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Wellness. Empowerment. Learning. Luxury.

Heather Bursch

3 Ways to Eat Local and Seasonally This Summer

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One promising spring, I ended up with a copy of Jaime Oliver’s Jaime at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life and his chat in chapter one convinced me to give gardening a second try to eat local. Jaime writes, “I’d always made an effort to buy local, seasonal and really fresh produce but for some reason never thought I could do it myself. It just never occurred to me that it might be as easy as taking some seeds out of a packet and popping them into the ground. But it is!” And while my previous year’s failures should have argued with that statement of ease, his belief and his book guided me through a successful gardening season that’s now continued for years.

While everything in year two wasn’t a success, the tomatoes were, and my family still speaks of that season’s bruschetta, the most beautiful and delicious they’d ever had. There were herbs, green beans, cauliflower and fresh kale. All of it tasted better when pulled from the ground and brought to the table. We were connected and attuned to the needs of the living things in our backyard and at the same time no longer satisfied to eat the berries and tomatoes in winter from the supermarket. Something had shifted in us for good. 

Not everyone can turn a backyard or garage rooftop into a garden, but you can connect to the growers in your area and be part of sustainable practices and changes that benefit your health, your neighbors, the environment and the animals all around you. Here are three ways you can embrace this year’s growing season and connect with your food and farmers near you.

Plant a recipe.

Want to give gardening a try? Start with planting the pieces you need for a summer salad. Growing a variety of lettuces is simple and easy to maintain which makes it a perfect vegetable for a beginner. Stagger your plantings, and you’ll have greens throughout the growing season. If you are ready to take on more, plant the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, beets and herbs with hopes for your favorite salad combination. Even if you can manage a few pots of herbs on your apartment windowsill, adding them to your salad, dressings or beverages will benefit your body, mindset and the air you breathe.

Join a CSA.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a common way for individuals to buy shares of locally and seasonally grown produce directly from farmers in your area. As a buyer, you can learn about and align with your farm’s practices and share in the risk and the bounty of what the season brings. Andrea Bemis, the owner of Tumbleweed Farm and author of the blog and book Dishing up the Dirt, says, “This is what makes Taylor and me so happy to do what we do. When the youngest members of our CSA family act as if it’s Christmas morning opening a box of veggies, we know we need to keep doing what we do.”

For an extensive resource on how to use what comes in your CSA box, check out Andrea’s recipe index organized by vegetables including Kohlrabi, mizen and a host of other plants your local CSA will introduce to you and your family. Visit Local Harvest to find a CSA opportunity near you.

Find a Farmers Market.

Look no further than your smartphone’s map app to search for a local farmers markets. While it’s a romantic thought to show up at your market, buy what’s in season and go home to create a fabulous dinner, a good market strategy might be to pick a seasonal recipe from One Part Plant or Pretty Simple Cooking and go to market in search for specific ingredients. The best thing about eating plants is how interchangeable they are. Does your recipe ask for kale? Try Swiss chard, collard greens or cabbage depending on what catches your eye. Same goes for swapping out root vegetables or herbs in all your favorite soups and pestos. Make weekly market visits a habit this season and notice the changes that evolve in you and what’s on your table.

For more seasonal recipes to plant and eat check out our roasted beet hummus and basil and brazil nut pesto.

6 Snacks Parents Love to Feed Their Kids (and They Love to Eat Too)

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The myth of perfect parenting gets debunked pretty quickly when caring for another human’s needs alongside our own. And one of the first needs a parent learns to meet is hunger. While eating well might not be something you have all figured out before having kids, it’s quite possible to discover what works for you and your family as you grow together. When given the opportunity to learn from what you see in a child or friend, you might unlock a piece of your story too. With our valued community in mind, we tapped some of our tribe who happen to be mothers and asked them what snacks they feel good about giving their kids, and by the looks of these ideas, you’ll want to eat them too.

W.E.L.L Insider parents share: What’s a snack or small meal you feel good about feeding your kids?

Heather Stevenson, Founder of Thirst Juice Co 

“My son is seven months old, which means the most important part of his diet is still breastmilk (formula would be fine too!), and for solid foods, he eats simple pureed foods – mostly fruits and vegetables. One of his favorite combinations is mashed banana with peanut butter. We use natural peanut butter that only contains peanuts as an ingredient (Teddy’s Unsalted). I love that he’s getting all the nutrients in these simple foods and that he’s learning to appreciate a combination that’s a great snack for older kids and grownups too! Another benefit of this snack is that for young children without peanut allergies, pediatricians, or at least the practice we see, recommend regular exposure to peanuts to help prevent future allergies.”

Vanessa Gobes, Co-founder of Chrysalis

“My three kids are super picky eaters, and no one likes the same things. Mealtimes here are a continuous string of complaints, threats, negotiations, and tears. Our best meals are playful, build-your-own situations. I’ll toss a ton of fruits and veggies on the table, and each kid gets a plain white plate to decorate. First I tell them to make a rainbow out of the food. If they eat it all, I give the next challenge, to make a bunny or a happy face maybe. If build-your-own dinner excites you, baked potato bar is always a winner. Same for taco night–rice, beans, guac, salsa, sour cream–yum! Creativity and control are key for kiddos.

I’ve also made a discovery. Instead of an after-school snack, I serve early supper. They’re all hungry after walking home, and this is a good way to avoid sugary or processed snacks. The kids joke that they eat like hobbits. Supper now and dinner later. When they take a healthy meal in the late afternoon, I don’t panic if they only eat a bite or two at dinner.”

Dr. Janis Covey, Founder of Kosmatology

“With two girls ages 8 & 9, we are always on the run from Brownies to gymnastics and everything in between. Eating healthy on the run can be hard, but with a little prepping you can do it. Some of my girl’s favorite healthy snacks are apples with almond butter and frozen grapes (they really do taste like candy!) 

Another of my girl’s favorites are these homemade banana muffins.”

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
  • 3 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed)
  • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with paper liners or grease muffin pan.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseeds with 1/3 cup water. Let sit 3-5 minutes or until thickened.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla, mix until combined. Add the flaxseed, stirring to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mix until combined.
  4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffins tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

Allison Evans, Co-founder of Branch Basics

Allison says, “My go-to fast food for my daughter right now is a can of sardines and defrosted frozen veggies (peas or green beans). If this sounds like the last thing that would be appealing to your kids, here are some of my other favorite snacks—steaming organic baby carrots and drizzling them with tahini or organic blueberries with almond butter. I  also love Applegate organic turkey hot dogs, cut into strips with a side of sauerkraut or frozen veggies. It’s super quick to throw a cut hot dog or organic berries into a BPA free bag on the go!”

Kelly Love, Co-Founder of Branch Basics

Kelly says “I have a 17-month-old and organic fruit is usually my go-to for snacks. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, and bananas are the easiest when we’re out and about. Most of the time I pack fresh fruit, but I do keep bags of freeze-dried fruit on hand too. When we’re not running around, I add some nut butter to the fruit to help balance the sugar with fat and protein. My daughter also loves the beef Epic bar, and those are super convenient. We usually split it, but I imagine it won’t be long before she wants her own! Plain organic yogurt is another easy snack! We keep it plain with no sugar, or you can find one sweetened with honey instead of sugar. Blend yogurt, almond butter, and strawberries for a delicious quick smoothie option. Manna bread with almond butter or coconut oil is another great snack for kids!”

Agatha Achindu, Founder of Yummy Spoonfuls Organic Baby & Tots Food

“Snack time is an extension of mealtime especially when our children are younger. Food is what provides the raw material to create all that energy they need at a cellular level. At our home snacks are typically wholesome fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, etc. I made it a point to help my children understand the difference between a snack and a treat from a very early age. They won’t ask for a cookie for a snack because sweets are for treats. Every snack is a teaching moment. Never miss an opportunity to nourish and educate.

Here’s one of our all-time favorite snacks bursting with nutrients. It tastes like an explosion of tropical delight in your mouth. I love that it’s a snack easily made into a meal and something to customize for each and everyone in the house from baby on up. The good thing about smoothie bowl is that the sky’s the limit for toppings. From nuts to fruits and seeds, whatever healthy delicious, wholesome options you have at home will work great.” 

Green Kale Banana Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh pineapple 
  • 1 banana (frozen)
  • 2 cups kale (stems remove)
  • ½ ripe avocado peeled and pitted
  • Toppings: strawberries, banana, blueberries, pineapple and hemp seeds

Instructions:

Add all ingredients in a blender, blend until nice and creamy, works best with a power blender.

Looking for more healthy snacks and meal ideas for you or your family? Check out our full food coverage.

Learning to Love Cooking and Self: How Gena Hamshaw’s Vegan Lifestyle Became a Path to Healing

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Best-selling author, blogger, certified nutritionist and RDN in training, Gena Hamshaw, shares her whole story and gentle guidance in her newest book, Power Plates. Not only does it include 100 nutritionally balanced meals but it also contains rich information on key ingredients, how her vegan lifestyle unfolded, and non-prescriptive options for the vegan-curious and experienced plant-based eaters alike. Gena has also authored Food 52 Vegan and Choosing Raw and writes about her journey with food on her blog, The Full Helping. Read on to hear how Gena’s vegan lifestyle both led to learning how to cook and became her path for self-care and healing.

Gena Hamshaw | A Full Helping | Learning to Love Cooking and Self: How Gena Hamshaw's Vegan Lifestyle Became a Path to Healing

On your blog, you’re very open about your recovery from a lengthy eating disorder. Tell us how learning to cook and becoming a plant-based eater started for you and how your journey with food has since evolved.

Being vegan and learning to cook were linked journeys for me. I went vegan not long after a major eating disorder relapse. The choice was initially motivated by health—the hope that veganism might help with my longtime digestive struggles—but not long into my vegan journey, I visited a farm animal sanctuary. It was a deeply impactful experience for me. After that weekend I knew that I’d remain vegan and that it would become a lifestyle, rather than an eating style.

I wasn’t sure how the choice would interact with my ED history, but I was surprised to find that practicing compassion for animals was profoundly freeing. It reminded me that my food choices stretched far beyond my plate and could actually be a vehicle for doing good. It encouraged me to live with compassion, including compassion toward myself and my body.

At the time, I really had no idea how to cook, and it was still sometimes difficult to find vegan options in restaurants and on-the-go. So, I figured if I was going to remain vegan, I had to start teaching myself the way around a kitchen. That’s how my culinary journey began. A little while after that I got into raw foods, and I was still heavily influenced by “un-cooking” when I started blogging. For me, raw foodism became a trigger for old demons—not anorexia, per se, but orthorexia, or unhealthful fixation on healthy eating—and I ultimately moved away from that lifestyle, and back to the inclusive vegan diet where I had begun. That journey has unfolded on the blog over the years.

Nowadays, I eat a vegan diet that feels expansive, nourishing, relaxed and grounding. I focus on macronutrient balance (which is what inspired Power Plates) and like to maximize healthful foods, but I also eat for pleasure and fun, which means that not everything I eat is necessarily nutrient dense. It’s the balance that feels right to me.

To heal and change the way you view food and yourself, what have you had to leave behind?

Rigidity, catastrophic thinking, anxiety about my body and my health, binaries and good/bad thinking. I’ve had to leave behind fixation on detail and learn to embrace a big-picture vision of health and wellness.

In the wellness world, there can be an emphasis on clean eating, food restrictions and detox. How can these ideas contribute to disordered eating for some?

I hesitate to generalize about this because triggers are different for everyone. For me, the expression “clean eating” implies that some foods are dirty, and it’s a kind of language that doesn’t align with my recovery. So, I don’t use that term, and I don’t write about foods as being detoxifying or cleansing, because I don’t see a basis for that in the body of nutrition evidence that we have.

That’s my perspective as an eater and a professional in training. But I realize that all sorts of dietary nuances and philosophies can be either healing/helpful or triggering and confining, depending on how they’re experienced. What’s definitely triggering for one person might be inspiring or rewarding for another. So I guess I’d say that this emphasis might contribute to disordered eating among those who experience it the way I do; I can’t say whether every person is bound to experience it that way.

We all wake up from time to time with negative body thoughts. You call them “bad body days” on your blog. How have you learned to support yourself with what you eat vs. what you restrict? What are some of your best self-care practices?

For me, the most important thing is to not restrict on these days. Restriction only compounds the feeling that my body is a problem that needs to be controlled. What turns these days around is my being able to befriend my body, to see it through loving eyes and to treat it with the same kindness and generosity that I’d extend to a friend, a child, a family member.

When I have a bad body day, I make a point of giving myself a nourishing, filling, grounding breakfast—that’s the best thing I can do early in the day. I go for hearty breakfasts in general, but on these days I do my best to make breakfast particularly fun and rewarding: maybe a bowl of “fancy” oats, with lots of tasty and varied toppings, or tofu scramble, which I usually only make on weekends.

I’m a regular yoga practitioner, but on a bad body day, I might take a longer or a restorative class so that I can really settle into my body and breath. Walking with music, guided meditation, breathing exercises and chanting a few of my favorite mantras also help.

Aside from this, I stay hydrated, I get lots of sleep, and I keep my diet nourishing from morning till night. I also remind myself that I’m not my mood. It may feel permanent or oppressive, but it’s not; it’s a transient experience, which will pass. I challenge myself to be patient and self-compassionate while I wait for it to leave me.

Your new book Power Plates: 100 Nutritionally Balanced, One-Dish Vegan Meals is a collection of recipes with an emphasis on three macronutrients in every dish. Tell us what you’ve discovered about eating a combination of protein, fat and carbs, and how you feel this can be a useful strategy for eating that is both nourishing and satiating.

It was difficult to articulate this strategy in the book because I don’t present it in a way that’s structured or prescriptive. I don’t advocate for a macronutrient ratio or for counting or tracking anything. The goal was really to present a simple means of making meals feel grounding, satisfying and nourishing, and for me, a key part of that is to include complex carbohydrates, protein and healthful fats with every meal.

I don’t look at it numerically, but rather in terms of food: When I sit down to eat, I ask myself, “Do I have a solid source of plant protein here? Some healthy fat?” etc. With my history of dietary extremes, I’ve eaten many plates of food that were lacking in one macronutrient or another, and I did really start to feel more vital when I gave attention to a balance and interplay of them all.

So, that’s the idea. Not every recipe in the book is a stellar source of all three macronutrients, and I encourage everyone to find a balance that’s appropriate for their bodies and lifestyles. But the book is a gentle invitation to seek for balance and to craft fulsome plates of food.

Gena Hamshaw | A Full Helping | Learning to Love Cooking and Self: How Gena Hamshaw's Vegan Lifestyle Became a Path to Healing

For someone curious about a vegan lifestyle or for anyone wanting to incorporate more plant-based meals into their lives, can you suggest a great recipe to start with from Power Plates?

Oh gosh, it’s hard to pick! The Rice, Beans, Tofu and Greens is a good starting point for a super simple, weeknight-friendly, hearty dinner. The Kitchari is one of my favorite breakfasts, but it’s a comforting dinner or lunch, too. For weekends or batch cooking, I love the bowls, especially the Golden Rice and Sweet Potato bowls. And, for a potluck or gathering, I love the Butternut and Kale Enchiladas.

Gena Hamshaw | A Full Helping | Learning to Love Cooking and Self: How Gena Hamshaw's Vegan Lifestyle Became a Path to Healing
Photographs copyright © 2018 by Ashley McLaughlin.

Rice, Beans, Tofu and Greens

This dish grew out of my tremendous love of rice and beans, as well as my tendency to load up the dish with extras: greens, peppers, sautéed mushrooms, tofu or tempeh, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I love it because it’s fast and filling, and it all comes together in a single pot. I’m the sort of person who can eat plain tofu right out of the package, so adding unmarinated, uncooked tofu doesn’t bother me. If naked tofu is a turnoff for you, feel free to use 8 ounces (225 g) smoked or baked tofu instead.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 small bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 11⁄2 cups (270 g) cooked black beans, or 1 (15-oz, or 425-g) can, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (14.5-oz, or 411-g) can diced or crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
  • 1 cup (185 g) white or brown basmati or long-grain white rice
  • 2 3⁄4 cups (650 ml) water
  • 1 (15-oz, or 425-g) block extra-firm tofu, preferably pressed, cut into 3⁄4-inch (2-cm) cubes
  • 1 small bunch collard greens or other greens, stemmed and cut into thin strips
  • Red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Freshly squeezed lime juice
  • Optional Toppings: Crumbled corn chips, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges, hot sauce

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion is tender and translucent. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, paprika and salt, then stir in the beans, tomatoes, rice and water. Add the tofu and stir gently to combine. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring gently from time to time, until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes for white rice or 40 minutes for brown rice.

Add the greens, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the greens are wilted. Season with red pepper flakes and stir in lime juice to taste. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired. Serve right away, with any additional toppings you like.

Reprinted with permission from Power Plates, copyright © 2018 by Gena Hamshaw. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Photographs copyright © 2018 by Ashley McLaughlin.

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To hear more from Gena follow her website or find her on Instagram and Facebook. For more stories on food and healing, check out our conversations with A Couple Cooks, Phoebe Lapine and Jessica Murnane.

Add These Detoxifying Foods to Support Your Body This Spring

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You may have just shoveled out from winter’s last hurrah, but there is a guaranteed change in seasons on the way. Can you feel it? Soon the sun will be warming you from the outside, and your body will call for something different than soup and a sweater. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, spring is liver and gallbladder season. Just as buds and plants are getting ready to reappear, our bodies are wanting to regenerate as well. Sandra Lanshin, acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist and the founder of Treatment by Lanshin, says, “Spring energy is all about moving upward and outward, opposite of the contractive direction of winter that pulls our energy inward for storage.” 

One way we can support this new spring energy is to bring back foods that give you what your body is craving. While it’s a good time to detox, it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing feat. Add any of these detoxifying foods to support your natural rhythm and energy needs this spring and see how your body responds. 

More Kale

Kale has moved from a garnish to a trend to a household staple in a relatively short amount of time. Dr. Drew Ramsey says the sulforaphane nutrient found in kale “amps up your body’s natural detox power.” Look no further for kale inspiration than to pick your favorite salad and try subbing half to all of your greens out for any variety of kale: dinosaur, curly, Russian or red. For anyone who finds crunchy fresh kale too much to digest, you don’t have to keep it raw to get in on the benefits. Try this Fried Brown Rice With Kale and Turmeric or sauté chopped kale with a little coconut oil or ghee until it softens or crisps as you like. Averse to kale? Try adding greens like arugula, spinach, dandelion greens, or herbs like parsley and mint to salads and sauces.

Colorful Root Vegetables

Carrots contain carotenoids called beta-carotene and beets contain betanin, both phytonutrients that stimulate and support the liver’s ability to remove waste. According to Dr. Brad of Hope Clinic, raw foods can be too overwhelming—cooked beets and carrots offer more gentle support while letting your organs do the detoxifying. Try this antioxidant-rich roasted beet and blueberry salad or meal prep our beet hummus and raw carrots for easy snacking. 

arugula with roasted red beets, blueberries, and citrus dressing | shemadeitshemight.com

Something Sour

Sandra says to go towards a little sour. “Stock up on lemons, limes for their sour flavors, which cleanse and stimulate movement in the liver.” For a refreshing spring juice, try Jolene Hart’s Green Beauty Refresh Juice with watercress and limes to detoxify by supporting digestion and your skin health in the process. Or perhaps your apple cider vinegar habit went to the wellness wayside. Bring it back with a touch of honey and 12 ounces of water for a tart and cleansing beverage for spring.  

Looking to learn more about how Traditional Chinese Medicine can support your best health and beauty from the inside out? Read more about what Cecilia Wong and Aimee Rupp have to say. 

4 Steps to Hosting a Dinner Party With Multiple Food Sensitivities

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Setting your food on fire might be high on the list of dinner party fails but nothing compares to sending a guest home hungry because you made something they couldn’t eat. No one wins! With a dramatic rise in ingredient intolerance and food sensitivities over the last few years, restaurants and home cooks alike are facing dilemmas when it comes to creating a menu. 

Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, and the number is rising. This, of course, doesn’t take into account the many who are changing what’s on their plate in order to feel their best. Throwing a dinner party with multiple food sensitivities in the mix can feel daunting and complicated. 

With this challenge in mind, here are our four steps to hosting a successful dinner party that sends everyone home well-fed and cared for. 

1.Identify all the restrictions.

Don’t guess—ask your guests what they need to avoid before you set your menu. Is it a food preference or an allergy? You want this answer unambiguous. If an individual is restricting gluten out of preference, you can have options for both gluten and gluten-free eaters to pick and choose. If one of your guests has celiac disease, for example, you will want to make sure no trace of gluten is in your kitchen area while prepping and serving for the night.

2. Search for recipes with whole foods.

Aim for a main course recipe that has multiple parts or options. Picture your guests dishing up grains, veggies, protein from meat or legumes, greens, fermented foods, and hot or cold sauces to top it off. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free? No problem. Each of these ideas could inspire your next dinner party, and all of them have options you can add or subtract. 

Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowl with Carrot Ginger Dressing – Vegan

Love Real Food Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowl | Cookie & Kate
Picture and recipe by Cookie + Kate

Veggie Noodle Bowls with 5-ingredient Peanut Sauce – Vegetarian

Veggie Noodle Bowl with 5 Ingredient Peanut Sauce | Real Food, Whole Life
Picture and Recipe by Real Food, Whole Life

Korean Beef Bibimbap Bowls with Quinoa, Miso Sweet Potatoes and Spicy Tomatillo Sauce – Gluten-Free

https://feedmephoebe.com/korean-beef-bibimbap-bowl-recipe/
Photo by Phoebe Lapine, Recipe from Half Baked Harvest

3. Put yourself in your guest’s shoes.

Cross-check your main dish recipe with your food restriction list. Put yourself in every guest’s shoes and imagine what person A and person B might eat for dinner. Are there gaps? Go back to the drawing board, add an extra side of roasted vegetables or a second protein. 

4. Fill in all the blanks. 

Pick appetizers and desserts for the person with the most restrictions and build from there for the whole group. Can one of your guests only eat whole fruits and vegetables? Make a veggie-heavy appetizer and a fruit plate for dessert. Add in our Beet Hummus or Brazil Nut Pesto for dipping raw vegetables. For dessert, set out bowls of whipped coconut and heavy cream, berries, and dark chocolate bars or truffles. 

Want more recipes for all kinds of eaters? Check out these warm breakfast ideas to boost your energy.   

Learning to Love Cooking and Vegetables: How A Couple Cooks Changed the Way They Eat for Good

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Making changes with what we eat and how we feed ourselves can often feel complicated and painful. Our individual histories, personal health and relationships with food need unraveling and addressing to make a change we can maintain. Sonja and Alex Overhiser, the creators of A Couple Cooks and authors of today’s newly released Pretty Simple Cooking: 100 Delicious Vegetarian Recipes To Make You Fall in Love with Real Food, make change seem possible and sustainable by learning to love cooking and vegetables.

Learning to Love Cooking and Vegetables: How A Couple Cooks Changed the Way They Eat for Good

Sonja and Alex went from eating frozen dinners to learning how to cook whole foods from scratch in a very short time. In 2010, they started to write about their journey, and by 2015 they were garnering recognition on healthy food blogger best of lists in Better Homes and Gardens and Huffington Post, just to name a few. Read on for our interview with Sonja about what her family eats and why, and how you can join them in February for a dinner party in your own home to celebrate the book launch.

What was your catalyst for changing the way you eat and regularly cooking vegetarian meals at home?

Alex and I got married 10 years ago, bought a house and wanted to have people over for dinner. At the time, we knew NOTHING about food. I could microwave hot pockets and pour milk over cereal, and that was about it. For one of our first dinners, someone lent us a cookbook from Julia Child. Reading the headnotes, her personality burst to life and she encouraged me that anyone could learn to cook, even if they had no experience like I did!

It was a lightbulb moment for us: We made a meal from her book, and it turned out delicious! That started a spiral of making dinner after dinner for friends and falling in love with the process. Around the same time, we read a book by Mark Bittman called Food Matters. It challenged us to eat minimally processed foods and as many vegetables as possible. We were pleasantly surprised that eating more vegetarian meals from scratch gave us more energy, made us feel happier and sleep better. We started discovering how delicious vegetables could taste when prepared at home and started our blog to share these recipes with others. Cooking has always been about love and passion for us—especially when cooking and eating with people we love.

You talk and write honestly about how cooking isn’t always easy, but keeping it simple is your strategy. Give us a high and low of cooking food from scratch. 

Oh my, we’ve had so many lows! I think the most embarrassing moments have been catching an entire chicken on fire (before we were mainly vegetarian) and broiling croutons that went up in flames, both of them in front of guests! Or one time we didn’t wash spinach leaves thoroughly, and they added sand to our fettuccine alfredo—a very unsatisfying crunch! We make sure to have backup ingredients on hand (grilled cheese, quesadilla, big salad) just in case we have a failure.

There have been lots of highlights too! It’s always exciting to make recipes that people make for their families. The vegan pot pie we just posted on our website is getting rave reviews. When Alex and I get in the kitchen and make food together, we feel nourished in so many ways outside of just physically. It’s time with each other, creating memories and nourishing our souls. And now, we get to make those memories with our son Larson too!

Now that the New Year’s hype is over, can you give us one piece of advice on how to make food changes that last? 

Learn to love the process. There’s no way I’d be cooking so much today if I didn’t love it. Cooking can be a creative outlet and entertainment for spending time with friends and family. Instead of ordering out and then doing an activity, make cooking the main event! Loving the process makes it something you’ll do day after day, year after year.

When it comes to eating in a way that matches what you value and how you define healthy, is there anything you have let go of in order to eat well?

To make time for eating well, Alex and I had to learn an important lesson: slow down. We had to minimize being overscheduled and procrastinating and spending excessive time on social media (we still do all those things to some extent!). But we realized the most important thing we could do each day was feed ourselves nourishing food. So we had to make priorities and cut out things that didn’t build our lives up. Ultimately it doesn’t seem like a sacrifice because in exchange we’re eating great food and spending time making it with people we love. 

And finally, Pretty Simple Cooking comes out today! Can you share one recipe from this new collection of vegetarian recipes that you have on repeat in your home right now?

The red lentil coconut curry with cilantro chutney is a favorite of mine. It is inexpensive, vegan, gluten-free and bursting with flavor. The sweet and tart chutney really makes the dish. A reader, and one of our dinner party hosts, just wrote to me that it saved her night after taking one kid to urgent care and being crazy busy at work. It’s so meaningful to hear about people coming together at the table eating nourishing food. That’s why I do what I do!

Red Lentil Coconut Curry with Cilantro Chutney

Red Lentil Coconut Curry with Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients for the Curry:

  • 2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 3 medium garlic cloves
  • 1 3-inch nub fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk, divided
  • 1⁄4 cup red curry paste*
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4- 5 cups baby spinach leaves, packed (chopped if leaves are large)

Ingredients for the Chutney:

  • 1⁄4 cup diced yellow onion (reserved from above)
  • 2 cups packed cilantro leaves and tender stems
  • 1⁄4 cup chopped golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions:

  1. Make the brown rice.
  2. Make the curry: Peel and dice the onion. Reserve 1⁄4 cup for the chutney and set aside; use the remaining portion for the curry.
  3. Peel and mince the garlic.
  4. Peel and mince the ginger and measure out 2 tablespoons.
  5. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute.
  7. Add the lentils, tomatoes, 1 cup coconut milk, 2 cups water, red curry paste, tomato paste and kosher salt. Bring to a simmer and cook very gently, just barely bubbling, for 10 to 15 minutes until the lentils are soft (if not, cook a few minutes more until tender).
  8. Stir in the spinach along with 2 tablespoons coconut milk and cook until the leaves wilt. Taste and add additional kosher salt or coconut milk to taste.
  9. Make the chutney: Meanwhile, make the chutney using an immersion blender or standard blender to blend the reserved 1⁄4 cup diced onion, cilantro, golden raisins, white wine vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt, and 1⁄4 cup water. Blend into a thick, smooth sauce.
  10. To serve, spoon the lentils over rice and top with a dollop of chutney.

*If your brand of red curry paste is very spicy, add it in gradually to taste. Our preferred brand adds flavor without excessive heat, but make sure to taste test before adding the entire amount.

Excerpted from A Couple Cooks | Pretty Simple Cooking: 100 Delicious Vegetarian Recipes to Make You Fall in Love with Real Food by Sonja and Alex Overhiser. Copyright © 2018. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Pretty Simple Cooking: 100 Easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes to Make You Fall in Love with Read Food

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