RECIPES
Cooking 101: How To Cut a Pineapple (like a pro!)
How to Cut Pineapple (like a PRO!) Make sure its ripe! Look for a pineapple with a nice yellow color on the outside. Before getting started – make sure your knife is sharp! Take your knife and slice off the top of the pineapple Flip the pineapple over (flat end down) and begin going around the perimeter slicing off layers of the rough peel Discard the trimmings to keep a clean workspace Continue trimming around the perimeter to remove all of the prickly patches and green areas Slice the sides off the pineapple in planks, avoiding the tough center core Discard the core and the scrap peel Cut the pineapple into 1″ chunks Eat and enjoy, and marvel over how much you saved over store bought pineapple!!... read more
Balsamic Marinated Grilled Vegetables
This simple marinade uses ingredients you probably already have on hand and brings bright, fresh flavor to basic grilled vegetables. read moreSTAYING FIT
7 Running Accessories I Can’t Train Without
I’ve tried a lot of different running gear, gadgets and devices over the years and there are a few things I’ve come to love. read more
How To Balance A Love of Food and Fitness
How I use the 80/20 approach to balance my love of both food and fitness read moreHEALTHY EATING
Mixed Fruit with Ginger Syrup
A ginger-infused simple syrup adds a little something extra special to this 4th of July-inspired fruit salad. read moreGRILLING
Casual Summer Entertaining Recipes and Ideas
Make the most of warm summer nights with these 7 killer recipes and ideas for no-fuss, carefree summer entertaining. read moreQUICK AND EASY
BLT Pasta Salad
This crowd-pleasing salad is a fun twist on the classic sandwich. The creamy avocado, salty bacon, and bowtie pasta appeals to both kids and adults alike. read moreHEALTHY LIVING
What I Learned About Food On My Trip to Spain
Last week my job once again took me out of the kitchen and on the road – or through the air in this case – to the beautiful Basque region of northern Spain. A few colleagues and I went there to visit with one of our suppliers and we were given the royal treatment. My flight left Chicago at 4:30 PM and we landed 8 hours later in Madrid where it was already 7:00 the next morning. I got to watch the sunrise from 40,000 feet at what would have been midnight in Chicago. So cool! After a 4 hour layover in Madrid, another 1 hour flight to Bilbao and a 1 hour drive to San Sebastian I was beyond exhausted, but with scenery this beautiful I couldn’t possibly go to sleep. Besides it was 4:00 in the afternoon so staying awake was going to be the best way to combat jet lag. Our gracious hosts took us on a walking tour through this beautiful city which included plenty of stops for “pinxtos” along the way. We stopped in several bars where there was a wide array of snacks to choose from. And I don’t mean a bowl of nuts or chips and dip! Baguettes with smoked salmon, whipped cheese and caviar, anyone? How about anchovies, peppers and shrimp? The ubiquitous Jamon Iberico? Or my personal favorite…sundried tomatoes, caramelized goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and pistachios? Seriously, it was like I had died and gone to foodie heaven. Jamon Iberico is cured ham made from pigs fattened on barley for the first several weeks. Then they are... read moreSEAFOOD
Farmer’s Market Dinner
I live right around the corner from my local farmer’s market, so on Saturday morning my daughter and I walked over and did some shopping. I got a coffee and we browsed around looking at all of the beautiful produce, baked goods and fresh flowers. We bought green beans, sweet potatoes, raspberries, peaches, corn and of course, a cookie. It was one of those perfect, lazy, summer mornings I find myself dreaming about on Mondays in January. For dinner tonight my daughter and I used some of our farmer’s market goodies to make Parmesan-crusted tilapia, sautéed green beans and maple-roasted sweet potatoes. Let me take a step back and tell you my 5-almost-6-year old is a very, very picky eater. Until recently she had a list of about 5 or 6 foods she would eat and that was it. It was beyond frustrating! Particularly for this foodie Mom. I’m not proud to admit that this was a battle I had stopped fighting. After a long day at work, I didn’t want to come home and argue about dinner, so I usually stuck what what I knew worked. So tonight we tried cooking dinner together – a tactic that we had tried before with no success. Tonight was different. She was really into it and she actually ate the dinner! The whole thing! Fish and veggies! This is a Very Big Deal. Parents of picky eaters – you know what I’m talking about. We shopped together, cooked together and ate together. And I have to say the food was fantastic. I ate every bite and could seriously eat those potatoes for... read moreSALADS
BLT Pasta Salad
This crowd-pleasing salad is a fun twist on the classic sandwich. The creamy avocado, salty bacon, and bowtie pasta appeals to both kids and adults alike. read moreINDULGE A LITTLE…
Apple and Salted Caramel Crostata
This apple crostata is deceptively simple to make and it tastes even better than it looks. Everything about it screams homey...comfort food...Americana. read more
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