I am so lucky to have a bounty of garden-fresh herbs to cook with all summer long. But when winter sets in, I’m back to buying overpriced, uninspired herbs from the supermarket. No longer! Thanks to another great tip from Cooks Illustrated, you can dry herbs in the microwave. Yes, the microwave! In about 2-3…
Category: Athens Nutrition
Prepping By Food Group on the Weekend for Fast Meals During the Week
Eating healthier can be fast, easy and delicious, you just need a little bit of time early in the week to get organized. I find prepping by food group (ingredient) is the easiest way for me to pull together healthy meals during the week. Select the foods you want to prep within each food group: …
Happy Easter! 30 Seconds to peel a dozen hard-boiled eggs
Every Easter, I have to repost this incredible method of cooking hard boiled eggs. The shells will fall right off. It’s truly a miracle. Thank you to Cook’s Illustrated for discovering this time saver.
Sausage, Mushroom and Butternut Squash with Ribbon Noodles
This is a hearty but healthy dish for those cold winter nights. The richness of flavor allows for some lighter ingredient substitutions. You can use less sausage because the mushrooms are an excellent stand in for meat and the herbs add a pop of fresh flavor. Butternut squash is a nutrient powerhouse providing a good…
Eight Healthier Frozen Dinners When You’re Too Tired to Cook
In a perfect world, we would be cooking all of our meals from scratch but when busy schedules get in the way, there is no shame in grabbing a packaged meal from the freezer. Frozen, pre-portioned meals can save time, money and calories and they can even be healthy. Here’s a list of eight of…
Local Flavors of Dubrovnik, Croatia
Dubrovnik is a stunning, seaside coastal town with cuisine that has been influenced by Italy, Greece, and Turkey. My family and I traveled to Dubrovnik in early September and immediately fell in love the country. Restaurant menus were filled with fresh seafood dishes like grilled octopus, stuffed squid, black seafood risotto, and fried sardines. Seasonal…
5 Herbs for Every Kitchen
Fresh herbs add that special something to a recipe. They elevate simple dishes. They add brightness and interest, infusing dishes with fresh summer flavors. Simple dishes like peas and onions with freshly snipped dill or roasted potatoes with earthy rosemary become dinner party worthy. Herbs are easy to grow. If you have a small, sunny…
Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread
With March around the corner, here’s a healthier version of Irish Soda Bread for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This quick bread from Cook’s Illustrated is a crusty, hearty bread, with a nutty flavor. No kneading, no waiting for it to rise. Just combine a few simple ingredients, mix and bake. In about 45 minutes…
Fish Gyros with pickled radish and cucumber salad
Continuing with my goal of eating more seafood, I decided to swap fish for the meat used in traditional gyros. You can use any firm white fish, tilapia, cod, or haddock and you can broil, grill or saute the fish. I chose Icelandic cod because it was on sale at my fish market and I…
Handmade Pasta (no machine necessary)
I’ve never had much of an interest in making pasta. You can find good pasta in most supermarkets and I definitely don’t need a pasta machine taking up valuable kitchen real estate. However, my daughter gave me a cookbook, Pasta by Hand by Jenn Louis, that allows you to make fresh pasta with nothing but your…
A new kitchen gadget that’s worth the counter space!
My family drinks a lot of sparkling water and I was getting tired of schlepping the bottles home from the store. They’re heavy, they take up precious room in my refrigerator, and they overflow my recycling bin. After much thought about adding another piece of equipment to my kitchen counter and after hearing rave reviews…
Pomegranate Syrup
Pomegranate seeds and pomegranate juice are a delicious ways to boost your intake of potassium and cancer fighting antioxidants. Concentrating pomegranate juice into a thick syrup, is a healthful way to add a tart sweetness to many dishes. Pomegranate molasses or syrup is popular in Eastern Mediterranean dishes, but it’s usually made with lots of…
Judy Matusky, RDN, LDN 