food

What to Eat for Breakfast When You’re Sick of Oatmeal, Part II* [Crap in a Cup!]

April 24, 2012

Mug muffins! Like many trends I am way late on this bandwagon but I’m here to tell you that it’s totally worth jumping on because this stuff is awesome. It may look like crap in a cup but this is one breakfast that is as nutritious as it is tasty. (Note: I did not write “as tasty as it is nutritious” because I am known for eating some pretty foul stuff just because I think it’s good for me. This is not one of those things. It’s genuinely delish.) Plus it only takes 2 minutes to make and cook, is [...]

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Drink to Your Health! Tart Cherries and Tangy Grapefruit [Giveaways!]

April 15, 2012

  Click to enlarge It’s a known fact that I don’t like to drink my calories – so known actually that at a recent dinner date my friend’s husband announced loudly “Every time I drink, I think about Charlotte! And feel guilty!” (Downsides to having a very public blog: At another dinner party a different friend’s husband said upon meeting me, “Ah, Charlotte! You’re the one who’s weird about food!” That’s me: facilitating awkward dinner conversations one overshare at a time!) But my neuroses aside, there are times when I don’t want to drink just plain water and it turns [...]

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Break My Bad Habit: Snacking During Dinner

March 12, 2012

Brilliant! Do you think my husband will get me a wife for my birthday?? (Mormons are allowed to make polygamy jokes now, right?) A lick of sauce here. A taste of dough there. A few jelly beans popped in as a palate cleanser. Cooking dinner for me is like one long buffet of yumminess. Part of it is out of necessity; I’m not the world’s great cook (*cough*understatement*cough*) and tasting the food before I serve it spares my family some of my more spectacular failures. But mostly I snack while I’m cooking because of some combination of: I’m hungry, it [...]

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How Do You Time Your Meals Around Your Workouts? [Help a reader out week!]

February 12, 2012

Why did the Tupperware Fairy never become A Thing? Come on, she’s awesome! And – zing! – just found my next Halloween costume. They should have given her a Tupperware Tiara though. I could pretend that I got really backed up on my e-mail because I’m just that popular or I could ‘fess up to getting addicted to my new trivia/crossword puzzle book (nerdgasm!). (I should also note it’s hard to reply to e-mails when I’ve got a Jelly Bean permanently attached to my hip. While adorable*, she does make typing difficult.) So I’m dedicating this week to answering all [...]

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Experiments in Cooking: How many different types of flour are there?

January 17, 2012

Just like performing three posthumous miracles will get you sainted in Catholic circles, there is a litmus test to determine true health nuts. While this won’t get you a cathedral named in your honor (but neither will you have to be martyred, so there is that) you will get a metaphorical halo and intestines of burnished steel. What is this criteria upon which much righteous indignation is predicated? Whole grains of course! One’s willingness to replace all their favorite foodstuffs with 100% whole grains is how you separate the healthy wheat from the diabetes-courting chaff. I jest. But only a [...]

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What I’m Loving On Lately: Bras, Bottles and Biscuits (and new shoes!)

January 5, 2012

Bras. Whether you are teeny tiny like me or full-figured, finding the right one can be a huge pain both figuratively and literally. For me, I’m still devoted to The Handful for most workouts. Contrary to popular belief, tiny-on-top girls cannot wear any bra they come across in the junior’s section (unless you are a junior and then carry on). Especially if you’ve had children, you will discover as you get older that A cups need wrangling just like their bigger sisters which is why I still adore The Handful sports bra. I’ve been wearing them for years (and yes, [...]

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What Does Real Hunger Feel Like to You?

November 6, 2011

“Mom! I need food now! My little legs are so weak!!” My 7-year-old son eats like his dad (and is dramatic like his mom) so I wasn’t surprised when he came barging in the door after school as if he were auditioning for Oliver! He then proceeded to eat half the kitchen and only quit when he realized the spaghetti he was chewing on was the plastic pile that came with Jelly Bean’s play kitchen. The next morning at breakfast I prepared his usual feast only to have him shrug and say, “I’m not hungry this morning” and wander off to [...]

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Myth Busting: Junk Food is Not Cheaper Than Healthy Food [Plus 4 More Health Food Myths]

October 16, 2011

One more excuse to eat poorly bit the dust as Mark Bittman of the New York Times took apart the oft-quoted adage that one reason why people don’t eat healthier is because junk food is more budget friendly. He writes, “In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home.” He then goes on to compare a McDonald’s meal for a family of 4 ($28) with a home-cooked dinner for 4 of roast chicken, salad, vegetables and milk ($14). Debunking the second part of the myth, that junk food provides more calories for the money [...]

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How to Build a Better Immune System, One Fart at a Time [New Research!]

October 4, 2011

“Honey?” The other morning my darling husband rolled over in bed, looked me in straight in the eyes and with one hand on my cheek whispered, “Why don’t you ever get sick?! It’s not fair!!” Our pillow talk has really suffered since we’ve had children. While everything must be said in a whisper – they have a sex-0-meter so fine tuned that it still amazes me they have siblings – those whispers are usually more along the lines of “Why is it so hot here?!” than “Is it just me or is it hot in here? *wink wink*” (Gotta keep the [...]

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The Sugar Substitutes Debate [How to diminish cravings for sweets]

July 13, 2011

Food labels are like ancient runes to me – I think that if I just study them hard enough eventually I’ll find the secret to perfect health. This is hilarious on two levels: first because labels lie in so many ways they make ex-boyfriends look lazy and second because while I’m so intent on reading labels, my spawn are usually deconstructing the entire food display. Which is why grocery shopping takes me three hours and always ends in tears and often with a lost shoe. (Dear Target: there is a red and black flip-flop on top of your freezer case. [...]

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