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Hi Everyone! Welcome to this week’s Wellness Weekend. I’ve been slowly getting back into the swing of things over the past two weeks and glad to be back on track. With summer around the corner, I can’t wait to spend more time outdoors with The Girls! (Oh, yeah, and the HH, too, of course–ha ha!). Your fabulous recipes from last week were geared toward warmer weather, too, with lots of raw dishes in the mix. 
Way back in this post, I asked you all if you’d be interested in tips on speeding up the process of cooking whole foods from scratch. Today, I’ll begin to answer that question. I realized there is so much to say on this topic that I’d need to split it up into two smaller posts. So today’s post covers the first four tips; come back next week for the rest of them!
[Clockwise from large photo: My Dad's Vegetable Soup; Nacho Supreme; green smoothie; Cinnamon-Curry Spiced Pumpkin Seeds.] If you cook 98% of your food from scratch as I do, it’s really just a basic survival strategy to find ways to speed up the process and make it easier. Below are some of the things that I’ve found helpful over the years. I’ve come to most of these ideas on my own over time, but have also found some useful information on blogs and sites I’ve read along the way. So thank you to all the lovely bloggers and writers whose words contributed to this post! Note: A truly “from-scratch” meal would be made entirely on my own, without ANY help from food manufacturers. If most of the ingredients were fresh and/or cooked entirely by me, I consider that from-scratch. If I use a canned or packaged product that is basically a single ingredient and one I could also make at home (most common in this category would be canned diced tomatoes or natural nut butters, for instance, but I also do use packaged alternative milks), then I also consider that “from scratch.” Of course, you have to draw your own line where it feels comfortable to you. Continue reading 8 Tips for Cooking Whole Foods From Scratch. . .
Hi Everyone! Hope you’re all having an awesome week and enjoying some down time outside (here in Toronto, it’s been in the high 20s/low 80s and sunny all week! Can’t ask for better than that. I was a bit MIA last week, but did get a chance to check out your delectable entries to Wellness Weekend. From the Frosted Vanilla Cupcakes to the Raw Coconut Fudge to the Mexican Chili Salad Wraps to the Vegan Cheese Biscuits, I loved ‘em all! My “to make” list is just getting longer and longer. . . ! Continue reading Wellness Weekend. . .
When I was an undergrad, I submitted a short story to the university literary journal, which was edited by my beloved mentor, John Ditsky (I guess on some level, since we’d already become friends by then and he’d always encouraged my writing, I kind of “knew” he’d publish the story). It was a tale about a 20-something university student who arrives home for the holidays, only to find that her parents don’t recognize her. She meanders through the house, frantically seeking signs that she’d once lived there, only to find none. No matter which childhood stories she relates, or which personal items she describes, her parents don’t seem to recognize her. Eventually, confused and hysterical, she crumples to the ground, pounding her fist on the floor like Charlton Heston at the end of Planet of the Apes, wailing, “But I’m your daughter! It’s ME, your daughter!! I’m your daughter. . . you know me. . . Oh, my God. . . ” and runs from the house, clearly having lost her sanity. In the last scene of the story, the mother turns to the father and asks, “Who was that young woman?” To which the father intones, “I have no idea.” Continue reading Rutabaga Hash Browns. . .
Hi Everyone! Welcome back to this week’s Wellness Weekend! I’m popping in to say that I may be absent for a few more days on the blog. I hadn’t expected to be gone for a whole week this past week, but have been having some health challenges and I’m not sure when things will be resolved. For now, I’m going to take a little hiatus until things are sorted out. I’m hoping that will be soon. So, I apologize that there are no Newsy Tidbits this week. In the meantime, thank you all as always for your support. And please do share all your wonderful recipes this week! I hope to peek in and see what you all have cooked up. I look forward to chatting with you all again soon! Hugs, Ricki Continue reading Wellness Weekend. . .
Hello there, Wellness Weekenders! We had 38 mouth-watering entries last week, with everything from TWO Banana-Based pies to Earth Day Rice to Gingerbread Almond Butter (mmm!) to shakes, soups and sandwiches. As always, your recipes impressed me with how delicious and creative they are! Keep ‘em coming! Continue reading Wellness Weekend. . .
I couldn’t start tonight without mentioning the horrific events that have touched so many people across the US this past week. I’ve been walking around with a heavy heart and keep thinking about all the victims whose lives have been changed forever (and those whose lives have been taken away), both in Boston and in Texas. I don’t have any great wisdom to add to what’s already been said, but I wanted to share my love and positive thoughts for those who are dealing with the aftermath of such senseless violence. I’ll be hugging the HH and my Girls a little tighter today. There haven’t been too many blog-related items amassed with the focus on Boston and Texas, but here are a few newsy tidbits for you this week. . .
Well, at least Wellness Weekend didn’t suffer any lingering effects of winter! Last week’s recipes were bright with the promise of spring. I loved all the colorful cakes, the Sweet Broccoli Juice, the pancakes and green naan (yep!), the homemade BBQ sauce and more. Check out the 35 entries from last week for yourself!
Can you all believe it’s SNOWING here in Toronto today? Anyone who knows me (or even anyone who’s met me for more than 30 seconds, at any point between October and April) knows how much I hate winter. As soon as the tiniest hint of spring arrives, I’m ready to throw out the old and usher in the new: I pack up the boots and scarves; I fold up the heavy blankets; I even enjoy a bit of spring cleaning. We’re far off from true spring right now, but that didn’t stand in the way of some recent spring cleaning. The other day, I spied a can of black beans that had been waiting patiently for someone to use them—and these vegan Black Bean Burgers sprang to mind. I was absolutely delighted with the final results. Not too spicy, firm and crispy on the outside, with a great mix of black beans and veggies. And no oil added! I know you’ll love these, too. To check out the recipe, head over to the Attune Foods blog. And don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think! In the meantime, I hope the weather is better where you are.
I’ve got a new Facebook page–and I hope you’ll visit me there! I’m perpetually grateful to all of you who’ve “liked” my Diet, Dessert and Dogs page, but it’s time to move on. With a new cookbook on the horizon and lots of other cool sugar-free, anti-candida and allergy-friendly offerings in the works, I wanted a Facebook page that reflected all of that (along with DDD too, of course!). To keep it simple, this one is just called “Ricki Heller,” and I’ll be posting all the same things I now do on the DDD page (which will be shut down on August 31, 2013). So please hop over to the new page and “like” it so you won’t miss out when things switch over this summer!
Hard to believe, but today is the HH‘s and my 16th anniversary! (Wait, how is that possible? I still feel as if I AM sixteen–well, internally, anyway. Externally, it’s more like, “where did those 16 new wrinkles come from?” or “how did I suddenly acquire 16 new aches and pains in my knees?” or “sixteen new gray hairs?! Wahhhh!!!”. Okay, I guess that every kind of “sixteen” tends to creep up on you).
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I hope to be back up and running by next week’s event.
And now, for this week’s news. . . .
