January is a great time for fresh starts and for making changes to improve our health and wellbeing. Well, really, I suppose any time is a great time to harness healthy habits, but the new year is certainly one of the most popular times. I’m guessing many of you readers have made some conscious efforts […]
The other day, I was reading From Soil to Supplement: A Course in Food, Diet, and Nutrition, Taught by Dr. Royal Lee. This compilation of nutrition-focused articles by Lee date back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. Even then, Lee was sounding the alarm on the impact our food choices were having on our […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: You’d never guess that one of the most frequently asked holiday questions people ask me (and also the second most asked question of all, right after ideas for skinless boneless chicken breasts) is about…cheeseballs. That’s why I’m writing this day about a seriously good cheeseball recipe with a decidedly different twist. Years […]
I rely on eggs a lot for a quick and nutrient-dense protein source. They’re one of my all-time favorite foods: delicious, packed with tons of high-quality vitamins and fats, and limitless versatility. Plus, I can whisk up a couple eggs, pour them in a hot, buttered pan, and literally be sitting down to eat in […]
January is the perfect month to bring the self-health habit of broth into your life. Comfort foods are what we tend to long for in the colder months of the year, and having some broth or stock at the ready makes nutritious meals come together in no time at all. Admittedly, learning to make bone […]
As a responsible pet parent, you know it’s important to keep certain items on hand in case of emergencies and in situations where you cannot get your pet to the veterinarian right away. I keep a number of products in my medicine cabinet for my own dogs. And as a dedicated advocate of Standard Process, […]
Homemade and Healthy in a Hurry I don’t really do New Year’s “Resolutions.” They’re vague, usually ignore the many steps needed for completion, and don’t really come with any sort of self-accountability. And because of this, they are easy to abandon when instant results aren’t achieved. Goals are more my cup of tea: realistic (if […]
Have you ever discovered something great for your self-health that encouraged you to make some changes in your life? Silly question, right? Of course, you have. Maybe you decided to have your kids pack a lunch rather than maneuver the school lunch options. Or, perhaps you made an appointment with a chiropractor for the first […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: I was at a class (kind of a party) where you were teaching cheese-making. I didn’t think about it until now, but you made dinner for the class using the cheese we’d just made. You prepared the meal while teaching the class and made it look easy. The lunch was Chicken Parmesan […]
Where do I even begin? This is the first question that anyone starting their path to healthy eating must answer—including myself. Learning how to eat healthy can be intimidating when you’re just beginning. I grew up as one of eight children, which meant my parents were more focused on providing enough food rather than the […]
The last twelve months have been so full of big happenings for me, it’s hard to believe it all fit into one year! Some events were terribly challenging: strings of trials that tested every ounce of my patience, peace, and perseverance. But these were offset by many things that were incredibly awesome and expansive. And […]
It’s Christmas Eve. Let’s keep things as simple as possible today, including this post, after the busy-ness of the weeks leading up to it. Allow yourself some downtime today to ease into the festivities with a rested spirit. The holidays can be a real struggle for some people. Making sure you have a calm mindset […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: It’s been awhile since I made homemade gifts, such as scented pine cones, zucchini-nut breads, and salted nuts, for Christmas. But I’m really finding that gift-giving has gotten out of hand. It’s frustrating and loses meaning. I’d like a good recipe for salty or spicy-sweet nuts to put in a glass jar […]
There’s no denying the fact that many people in our modern culture experience serious sleeping problems, which accounts for why so many of us are ingesting a potent and possibly dangerous synthetic hormone, melatonin. You may be thinking to yourself, What? I only take natural melatonin. This is a harmless sleep aid, and I won’t […]
An original take on a traditional Italian cheesecake. I’ve always been a fan of cheesecake—at least, the more familiar American-style, made with cream cheese and a graham cracker crust. The richness, the dense texture, the combination of tart and sweet… I’m really not sure what took me so long to get with the program, but […]
There is something incredibly satisfying about discovering the perfect gifts right in your own community. I can guarantee there are people close by growing, baking, and/or creating something they are proud of, no matter where you live. And they should be! It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there and hope your […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: It was interesting to see other bread recipes on your website. I love bread, and I liked the recipe for Portuguese sweet bread, which is famous in the Boston area. But I noticed not a mention of many other American breads. Have you ever heard of a Sally Lunn? My grandmother, who […]
In 1971, my mother, Christie Whaley (then Phillips) was an artist just getting her feet underneath her a few years out of college: a new wife, newly arrived in New York City after a lifetime in the Southern states, newly initiated into hippie counter-culture and anti-war activism. As an artist, she was still experimenting with […]
Anyone who’s been reading my blog over the years knows I hold a distinct fondness for lamb. It’s a sentimental thing for me, and a main staple of the island where I grew up. We didn’t eat a whole lot of red meat in my family—mostly poultry and fish and the occasional roast. For most […]
We all have stories to tell, and the holidays are the perfect time of year to share them. While there is always bustle and chaos preparing for the festivities, there’s also time for connecting and relaxing. These pockets of time cry out for reminiscence and nostalgia—storytelling. Storytelling is a gift for you and others. As […]