Meg Wolff 's Glazed Brussels Sprouts Recipe

Cookbook Review and Recipe from A Life In Balance: Delicious, Plant-Based Recipes for Optimal Health by Meg Wolff.

I first came across Meg Wolff at the Huffington Post where she writes regularly, featuring stories about the positive impact of a plant-based diet on health, as well as anticancer recipes.

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Fresh Berry Salad and a Creamy Raspberry Dressing Recipe

Fresh Berry Salad with Creamy Raspberry Dressing

With Thanksgiving behind us, and the holiday season continuing, I thought it would be nice to post a lighter recipe, for a Fresh Berry Salad with Creamy Raspberry Dressing, to start off the week.

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The Day After Thanksgiving - Turkey Congee Recipe

Turkey Congee, a Thanksgiving tradition in many Chinese American families

A tradition in many Chinese American households is to make turkey congee (also called "shi fan" and "jook") the day after Thanksgiving. As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, a pot of water is put on the stove, and filled with leftover turkey bones (I add carrots, celery, onions, bay leaf and peppercorns for more flavor) to make turkey stock.

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A Day of Thanksgiving and Reflection

Thanksgiving is a day of reflection, a day to stop and ponder all that I am grateful for despite the many challenges of this past year. A year ago, this blog did not exist. Instead, I was nursing my 17-year old son back to health after he suffered a horrible football concussion.

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Last Minute Thanksgiving Snack Recipes - Chili Spiced Almonds and More

Chili Spiced Almonds, a quick and easy last minute snack

If you're looking for a last minute snack or appetizer recipe for Thanksgiving, here are a few quick and easy ideas, including a recipe for Chili Spiced Almonds.

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Dorie Greenspan Inspired Tartine Recipes

I had the most fortunate experience of meeting Dorie Greenspan, a James Beard Award-winning author, several months ago at a BlogHer conference.  Dorie is someone I have admired from afar for many years.  I was immediately struck by Dorie’s down to earth, approachable, sweet personality.

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Recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole - Coconut Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole

  Coconut Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole

One of my childhood favorites for Thanksgiving was sweet potato casserole topped with toasted mini marshmallows, so when I came across a recipe that used a meringue topping instead of marshmallows for a sweet potato casserole, I knew I had to try it.

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Festive Clementine Avocado Salad Recipe

Festive Clementine Avocado Salad

I came up with this Festive Clementine Avocado Salad recipe as I was thinking about healthy and beautiful side dishes for Thanksgiving. Each ingredient in this elegant salad contributes health benefits as well as flavor and texture.

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Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

This weekend I made Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup, inspired by a Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup recipe in the the New York Times this past week. With Thanksgiving just a week away, I've been trying to come up with some festive dishes that will satisfy Thanksgiving guests with rich, full flavors (so you feel like you're getting a special treat), without the higher fat content typical in many Thanksgiving recipes.

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Two Brussel Sprouts Recipes - Soy Sauce Glazed Brussel Sprouts and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Winter Squash

A Fresh Stalk of Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts can conjure up bad memories of mushy, bitter vegetables. Once I learned how to roast brussel sprouts, however, brussel sprouts actually became one of my favorite vegetables.  Roasting brussel sprouts brings out the sweetness in this vegetable, and watching the cooking time prevents overcooking so there's no "mushy" factor.

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Foods That Can Help Fight Breast Cancer - Anti Cancer Recipes

Today, Meg Wolff, a writer for the Huffington Post, posted an article "What We Can Do About Breast Cancer."  Meg Wolff, a two time survivor of cancer (bone and then advanced breast cancer) changed to a plant-based diet 12 years ago after doctors gave her little hope upon going through all the traditional medical treatments.

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Recipe for Zaatar Meatballs

Zaatar Meatballs served with Tzatziki Sauce

Today, I tried a new spice called zaatar (or za'atar) in a meatball recipe. Meatballs are popular with my kids, and an easy way to introduce new spices to them.  Zaatar, a Middle Eastern spice, is a mixture of sumac (which has a lemony taste), thyme and sesame seeds.

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Farro, An Ancient Whole Grain - Fiery Red Bean Chili Recipe

Fiery Red Bean Chili

Recently, farro has been gaining popularity on restaurant menus in the form of risottos, salads and side dishes.  You might think it’s a trendy new whole grain (it certainly sounds more interesting than brown rice or barley), but according to an article in The Seattle Times, farro actually “traces its roots back 17,000 years to the beginning of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia.”

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Red Lentil Vegetable Soup Recipe

Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

It is cold and pouring out today, which makes me want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and a hot bowl of soup. A nice bowl of lentil soup would be good, I thought, this time with some smokiness, using Spanish smoked paprika and fire-roasted tomatoes.

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How To Cook Brown Rice - Vegetable Fried Rice and Kimchi Fried Rice Recipes

Kimchi Fried Rice served with bean sprout salad

One of the easiest whole grains to introduce into daily meals is brown rice. Brown rice comes in three basic varieties - long grain (such as jasmine and basmati), medium grain, and short grain.

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