The Quintessential Arepa
When my daughter was little, my friend from Columbia taught her a Spanish pattycake-like song which went something like this:
a-re-peat-a, ma ma ma
a-re-peat-a, pa pa pa
While they sang the song, they would pretend they were shaping cornmeal batter into an arepa – a round, thick corn cake (think of shaping play doh into a thick round disk and you get the idea) that is very popular in South America and particularly Columbia and Venezuela. Read more 
Mailorder Fruit: Where to Find the Best Fruit
Grocery stores are filled with fresh fruit – peaches, plums, apples, and more – that looks great on the outside but is often mealy, flavorless, or dark on the inside (indicating the fruit was picked too early and put in cold storage).
I can’t tell you how many peaches, nectarines, and apples I’ve thrown out over the past few months. And, it’s not just from ordinary grocery stores; I’ve purchased awful peaches and nectarines from Whole Foods and Fresh Market on numerous occasions. Often times, this is because the fruit is technically out of season – grown in a faraway place, cooled, and transported – but in the summer and early fall, there is no excuse. We should be able to buy peaches, nectarines, and apples that are juicy, flavorful, and delicious during the summer and fall.
Farmers Markets are often reliable sources of high quality, locally grown fruit but if these are not an option, consider ordering fresh fruit from Frog Hollow Farms – a certified organic farm that grows peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears, pluots, cherries, avocados, and more. Read more
Crispy Black Bean Tacos
Crispy Black Bean Tacos are a refreshing take on traditional tacos. With seasoned refried black beans piled high with crispy green lettuce and an avocado mango salsa on a corn tortilla crisped on the stove, Crispy Black Bean Tacos are a quick, easy, and delicious mealtime favorite in our home.
Most of the ingredients are probably in your cabinets or pantry. If not, a trip to Trader Joe’s or your favorite local grocery store will ensure you have all the ingredients on hand when you need a meal that looks and tastes incredible but doesn’t require a lot of effort. Read more
In NYC? Go to Nix
Eating vegetarian or vegan should feel more celebration than sacrifice according to Michelin-starred chef John Fraser and James Truman (the former editorial director of Conde Nast), of Nix restaurant fame. With a focus on flavor, Nix, in Greenwich Village, uses seasonal fruits and vegetables to deliver perfectly prepared dishes that simply taste incredible.
So how did Nix get its name? Good question. Nix was named in honor of the Supreme Court case, Nix v. Hedden in May of 1893 when the court unanimously upheld that the tomato be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit: Read more
Maker™ Overnight Oats
September is the month when our lives speed up, especially in the morning when we all seem to be racing out the door. Breakfast – still considered the most important meal of the day – is often on the go because who has time to turn on the stove, cook, and clean dirty dishes in the morning? And, yet we all need a super nutritious and delicious breakfast to start the day.
Overnight oats were invented with convenience in mind. Everything is done the night before but in order to make great overnight oats, you have to think ahead and have the ingredients on hand. For those times when the pantry doesn’t have a wide selection of ingredients (i.e. oats, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, dried fruits, and spices), consider Maker Oats™ – easy, delicious, and nutritious options in individual pouches and glass jars that make it easy to make overnight oats in less than a minute. Read more
By Any Greens Necessary
Tracye Lynn McQuirter wrote “By Any Greens Necessary – a revolutionary guide for black women who want to eat great, get healthy, lose weight, and look phat” – after realizing the link between race and nutrition.
McQuirter heard Dick Gregory speak at Amherst College in 1986 about the “plate of black Americans ” (and as the author duly notes, not the “state of black Americans,” and she realized that so much of what we eat is tied to the economical and political factors that influence our choices. Read more
Qi’a™ Superfood Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Oatmeal
Oatmeal is not one of those sexy breakfast foods that most people get excited about. Some devotees, like my husband, add fresh fruit, maple syrup, dried fruit, and nuts to make it palatable (he’s not a big oatmeal fan) while others simply sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or brown sugar and a spoonful of walnuts or pecans to add some crunchy texture to a breakfast staple.
But, there is a third option: Qi’a™ (pronounced Kee-ah) Superfood Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Oatmeal (gluten-free): a blend of seven organic ingredients: rolled oats, buckwheat groats, pumpkin seeds, inulin (a natural fiber and sweetener derived from the root of plants, often chicory), chia seeds, hemp seeds, and cinnamon. That’s it. No added refined sugars, flavors, preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavors. Read more
Who is Jeremy Dixon?
You may not have heard of Jeremy Dixon but you will. Dixon, a native New Zealander is the founder of Revive Cafe – restaurants serving delicious, fresh whole grain plant-based food in Auckland, the man behind Cook:30 – the 30 minute television series (www.3abn.org) in which he makes a complete meal using fresh, wholesome plant-based ingredients, and the author of eight cookbooks (The Revive Cookbooks 1-6, and the Cook:30 Cookbooks 1 and 2). The guy is busy (it’s gotta be all that plant-based fuel)! Read more
Hudson Henry Granola: Maple, Pecans and Coconut
The Hudson Henry Baking Company of Palmyra, Virginia makes an award-winning granola handcrafted with incredible ingredients: rolled oats, maple syrup, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, pecans, brown sugar, organic coconut, sliced almonds, and sea salt.
Awarded the Sofi Gold (the Oscars of food awards), the Hudson Henry (the names of the two sons of the founders of the company) Maple, Pecans, & Coconut Granola is everything you want in a granola: flavor, flavor, and more flavor along with real ingredients, low in sugar (5 grams per serving), low in sodium (65 mg per serving), and high in protein (3 grams per serving). Read more
Side Dish: Rebel Green Potatoes
Anything with the word “rebel” appeals to me so when I was shopping last week, a container of Organic Girl “Rebel Greens” caught my attention. Upon closer look, the container also said ” “not kale. not sorry.” Chuckle, Chuckle.
Someone at Organic Girl has a good sense of humor and has decided to address the elephant in the room: kale, that dark green leafy vegetable known for being a powerhouse of nutrients that also tastes like a dose of bitter. The dilemma is often how to get the greens and enjoy the meal. After all, eating is supposed to be pleasurable and satisfying, right? Read more
