Pork and Beans gets a Makeover

BBQ... America loves it.  And what's our favorite side dish?  Why pork and beans, of course. 





Many of us eat pork and beans right out of the can, or perhaps even a gussied-up canned version. And that's probably exactly what you get, even in many restaurants.  Let's face it, even though we may like them, canned pork and beans has some ingredients that are, well, not the best for our health.

How Leafy Greens Boost Activity of Vital Immune Cells To Prevent Disease

Leafy greens are likely the number one food you can eat to regularly help improve your health. They're filled with fiber along with crucial vitamins, minerals, and plant-based phytochemicals that may help protect you from almost every disease known. Immune cells play an essential role in protecting intestinal health and could be boosted by consuming leafy greens, say researchers.



You can

Is it possible to improve on hollandaise sauce?

It's the beginning of asparagus season in California.  If you have an active winter farmer's market and live in Southern California...congratulations.  Run and get some fresh local asparagus.



This week I've had it twice.  Welcome back asparagus, it's been a long wait, but you're here now and I'm loving you!








As you may know, at NutriGuide, we are currently working on putting together a

Asian Chicken Soup with Shiitake and Zucchini "Noodles"

A wonderful warming treat if you're feeling a little under the weather.  Or not!!













Often Asian soups have noodles, but in this soup, the noodles have been replaced with zucchini "noodles".  This keeps the soup gluten-free, of course, great for anyone watching inflammation or healing eczema.  But the zucchini "noodles" are also pretty, colorful and tasty.  To make them, I use a

Get to Know Rapini (what?)... only at Farmers Markets...

The BEST part of farmers markets is discovering food you haven't' tried before.  For many in the USA, Rapini would make that list.

It is in the same species as Turnips and is well known in Europe where it is  called Broccoli Raab.  It hails from Italy where it is known as Cime di Rapa which means Turnip tops.



Rapini, in the turnip family can be eaten flowers, leaves and all




Rapini has

For Quick, Fabulous and Delicious Cauliflower...Roast It!!

My sister tells me she has a hard time getting her family to eat cruciferous vegetables.  (Cruciferous veggies include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.)  In contrast, my family seems to really enjoy them.  Of course, I'm not above resorting to a cheese sauce if that's what it takes to get kids to eat broccoli.  And often, that's exactly what it takes.



How to Eat Cruciferous

Some New Greens from the Farmers Market...Quinoa and Ammaranth

Last week at my local Farmer's Market, I picked up some greens I've never cooked with before, quinoa and amaranth.  The farmer I purchased them from informed me that they would be great added to salads and also could be cooked up like any other green.  I washed them up, broke off their stems at the intersection with the leaf and tossed them in a pan.  Evaluation:  delicious!!



Sesame Greens

Peppers from the Farmer's Market

Jimmy Nardellos at the local Farmer's Market









This past month we've been really enjoying the skinny mild red peppers called Jimmy Nardellos that have been showing up at our local farmer's market.



Slim Red and Mild




They are perfect for the summer BBQ season.  We just coat them in a little olive oil, sea salt and ground black pepper ... and onto the grill they go!



Long, slender

Zucchini Like Crazy - Load up at the Farmers Market

Farmers Market at Lake Tahoe, Right on the Lake!

It's zucchini season and the tables at my local farmers markets were laden with it this week.  If you're growing it in your garden, you're probably ready for some good zucchini recipes to help you deal with the surplus.



Fresh Summer Squash--Ready for Easy Cookin'


My husband loves zucchini and all the summer squashes.  He's often begging