Spaghetti Squash Pasta & Eggplant Rolls: subbing veggies for simple carbs
We first discovered the gloriousness that is spaghetti squash in a CSA farm box a few years back. I cut it in half (which is no small feat), scooped out the seeds and roasted the halves face down with olive oil until they were soft (what I’d been instructed to do with any mysterious squash). … Read more
Coconut Porridge Recipe & The Great Grains Debate
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about grains lately. We all know that, if you’re going to have them, whole grains are better than their overly processed relatives. And, for some reason, the weirder and more obscure the grain, the better I feel about eating it (hence the kamut, farro, barley, wheat berry (above) … Read more
The fruit-n-veggie “cleanse” experiment
For three days, my Instagram feed, typically resplendent with photos of meat-centric entrees, turned very green. My husband and I — to help kick off his I-rolled-my-ankle-now-back-to-the-gym “diet” — decided to try just veggies and fruits for a few days. Originally, we thought we might last a week. We didn’t do a lot of research, … Read more
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Baking and chocolate making are not my fortés, but I made an exception for a quick item that includes two of my favorite things — peanut butter and coconut oil — and my husband’s all-time favorite thing — chocolate. I know, I should be the one to be gaga for chocolate, but he is a diehard, … Read more
pink grapefruit & avocado salad
It’s that time of year. When people show up at the gym for the first time in a year and decide that — yes — doing three cardio weight-lifting classes in a row is a good idea. As an instructor, I tell them — no — that is not a good idea. You need to … Read more
Let the eats begin: Christmas cookies
Welcome to December, the season of eating! While teaching my cardioblast exercise class this morning, I mentioned that we have plenty of reasons to work out this time of year, what with Christmas fast approaching. But a woman corrected me, “No, no, the holiday parties have already begun. It’s an entire season of eating.” How … Read more
Q&A with Olympic Gold Medalist Esther Lofgren
I should have known Esther Lofgren was a big deal — or at least a hardcore athlete — when I saw her eating a giant footlong sandwich at a FireHook Coffee House in Alexandria a few weeks ago. I should have noticed her American flag manicure and, at six-foot-two, her rower-like athletic build. But it … Read more
Power foods for a workout weekend
The whirlwind weekend I’ve been planning for weeks starts tomorrow. And, just like when I went camping, I find myself the day before planning every detail of what I will eat. Tomorrow I ship out on a half-day boat trip with a handful of chefs from DC (and our fearless leader from the Department of … Read more
Labor Day: laborious projects and nearly labor-free food
I kicked off Labor Day weekend by reading a thoughtful column on the value and spiritual meaning of work, which got me thinking. For those of us who think or write for a living, getting a dose of down-in-the-dirt hard work can be a fitting rest from the mundane. I suppose that’s why I love … Read more
The new balanced diet: prioritizing nutrition, cost and foodie concerns
The title of a new report by the Environmental Working Group could very well be my grocery shopping mantra: “Good Food on a Tight Budget.” But my favorite part about this new report, which features all sorts of user-friendly food tips and recipes, is that it attempts to make “good food” accessible to more people through a … Read more
