potatoes

Got Turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving? Make Turkey Pot Pie Soup! Every Thanksgiving, I’m left with a ton of turkey. I usually make things like turkey pot pie and sandwiches out of it. This year my mother in law called and asked if we really needed a turkey if only a few of us actually ate turkey. I DO! I almost shouted into the phone. I’m so adamant about getting a turkey because I love, love, love making broth with the carcass. Turkey broth is one of my favorites, but I only get to make it once a year. And I’m not about to give that up. For a recipe check out my post on how to make bone broth. Anyway, so I’m racking my brain trying to think of what the hell to make with the massive amount of leftover turkey meat I have. I made paleo & grain free…

The holidays are inevitably a stressful time of year. But we don’t need to make it any more stressful on ourselves by freaking out about food choices. I can’t tell you how much bad advice I’ve seen circulating the internet on how to stay healthy this holiday season. They include: eating tiny portions at Thanksgiving and not going back for seconds going on a sugar detox amping up your gym schedule avoiding specific “fattening” foods saying no to dessert I know that when this advice is given, it’s good intentioned (at least I think it is). But it causes more stress and promotes the idea that the holidays and dinners, parties and the food during the holidays is somehow something that needs to be dealt with. It’s food. Not your creepy uncle from Kansas (no offense to Kansas). Food is not something that should induce stress. It shouldn’t make you uncomfortable.…

Last month Scott and I went to Key West for our one year anniversary (and four years together). Key West is a bit of a party town (hello, Duval Crawl) but I’m not much of a party girl anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome to have a few glasses of wine at dinner and bike up and down Duval Street. I saw a bunch of rowdy college kids, a middle aged mom getting kick out of Sloppy Joe’s and a ton of rowdy bachelorettes. While I like to keep my vacations on the healthy side, this isn’t to say I don’t indulge. As you can see above and below, I definitely ate a cronut. Or a dossant. Or whatever the hell they’re called. A doughnut made out of croissant basically. With cream in the center and raspberries on top. I don’t regret it one bit, it was awesome.…

Yesterday, I found myself searching for meal plans that nutritionists, bloggers, medical organizations and doctors shared for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant. For whatever reason, I love seeing meal plans and getting an idea of what others are eating. Unfortunately, for the most part the meal plans were pretty terrible. They recommended oatmeal instead of eggs because of the fat content (um yeah, the omega-3s along with choline and vitamins A, E, D and K are kind of the point of eating eggs during pregnancy!), low-fat dairy products and a ton of fiber from “healthy whole grains.” Overall, the plans were very low in fat which is exactly the food a woman needs for optimal fertility. In fact, a study from Harvard found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat dairy per day had an 85% higher risk of infertility than women who ate…

In doing research for this article, I found that these were some of the top “healthy fast food chains” simply because they offer low calorie options. Because it’s not 1979 and I actually know nutritional science, I’m calling bullshit on these chains. Low-calorie does not equate to healthy. In fact, if something is touted as low-calorie, you can almost guarantee it’s even more unhealthy. This is because low-calorie or low-fat options are usually loaded with chemicals like MSG and other “natural and artificial” flavors to enhance the taste. Food manufacturers also add sugar, artificial sweeteners and empty carbohydrates to these foods. When looking for healthy options, we need to stop looking at calories and fat content. We need to pay attention to the actual ingredients, which more often than not contain a ton of toxins, chemicals, GMOs, preservatives and all around horrible ingredients. Even though these chains are often considered healthy,…