I made this recipe last night and was amazed at how easy it was to just throw everything together, bake and eat. It was delicious. I always feel as though I have to work really hard and make everything from scratch in order for a meal to be a delicious culinary success.

This is a great quick, healthy recipe for a day when you don’t have much time to cook. I imagine it would take less time than a drive through for fast food!

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for a busy Monday! This could easily turn into one of your favorite comfort foods. I’ve been making this yummy pasta with nuts recipe for years, , and in our house, it has evolved into a "Judy special."

It’s Monday and the most popular day of the week to start a diet – again. If you’ve had a rough weekend and need some recovery food, this recipe is the perfect prescription. Healthy, nourishing food tastes wonderful!

This recipe brings to mind my first days on the job at Outpost. I was amazed by the many strange products on the shelves that I had never seen in any other grocery store. Having worked in the world of conventional grocery stores all of my life, being at Outpost was like walking into a foreign country. I would scour the aisles, read labels and absorb everything I could in efforts to help my customers find products that I, too, had never heard of. There was no computer at my fingertips to do a quick search of tamari, nutritional yeast, gomasio and yes, the soba noodles used in the recipe for today. I learned a lot by trial and error, tasting and, best of all, listening to the audience of Outpost customers.

I love veggie burgers but tend to stay away from those that are highly processed and high in sodium. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a recipe for a good meatless burger – if you’ve ever attempted to make them you know - sometimes they just won’t stick together and you end up with more of a veggie crumble than a burger.

Pita breads have inspired unlimited recipes from many cuisines. Tasty and low in fat, pita breads can be made into sandwiches, pizzas, appetizers and my favorite – pita chips.  The truth is that pita bread can be served with just about anything.

This scrumptious Meatless Monday recipe is inspired by St. Patrick’s Day, one of the most meat-influenced days of the year. I’ve decided to share a Tempeh Reuben in honor of the holiday. The general taste of this is quite similar to the traditional corned beef sandwich but it has considerably less saturated fat, which gets a big thumbs up from me. If you don’t believe me, just pretend!

I wish you were in my kitchen right now and could smell the delicious flavors coming from this hearty stew simmering on my stove.  It would only be better if I could tell you that I had grown these beautiful vegetables in my garden.  There is new snow on the ground and no garden in sight – Outpost is my garden right now with tastes just as good as fresh picked.

I just love having breakfast for dinner! (I also love dinners for breakfast) What’s more – I love eggs – only from Outpost, of course!

If you like eggs, too, you’ll be happy to hear this news: Last year a study from the United States Department of Agriculture found that eggs are 14 percent lower in cholesterol and 64 percent higher in vitamin D than previously thought. That’s 164mg of cholesterol, down from 215mg. Eggciting!

I remember when Eating Well Magazine published this recipe in 2006. The Mediteranean Diet wasn’t as popular then as it is now – unless you lived in the Mediterranean. It’s now highly rated and is currently the second most popular diet in the country – right behind the DASH (dietray approach to stop hypertension).

 

Looking for that Meatless Monday recipe again? I’ve come up with another flavor explosion! African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas is so thick it could almost be called a stew. It’s also gluten free.

Some of you have asked about an earlier column, in which I suggested sprinkling nutritional yeast on popcorn. Here is a question I received from Julie:

"Judy, You are the fourth person this week to mention 'nutritional yeast' to me. Can you tell us more about it? What is it, where do you find it, what is it used for, etc? Thanks"

It’s Meatless Monday again.  Funny how quickly Monday’s roll around!

Well, hold on to your hats – this meatless recipe will knock your socks off. Tempeh Tacos were a hit in my last vegetarian cooking class. I have to admit I’m not normally too crazy about tempeh – it has a beanie and nutty taste by itself, but, like many other soy products it absorbs the flavors of whatever you’re making it with. This recipe is delicious!

TGIF! You’ve made it through another week and need to take a break. Living in Wisconsin gives you permission to enjoy the traditional Friday Night Fish Fry, just not the “all you can eat” offering! Almost every restaurant, tavern and many churches have an offering of deep fried fish, French fries, baked potato or potato pancakes, coleslaw, rye bread and a hearty brew or two.

Since I’m teaching a class on herbs and spices today and I plan on making this recipe for turkey patties, I thought it would be a good idea to share. The fresh herbs offer an abundance of goodness, allowing you to skimp on the sodium and still get great taste. I’ve learned to love Italian parsley – any parsley for that matter – buy a bunch, put it in a vase and nibble on it whenever you walk past. There’s your natural detox!

Today is Meatless Monday. Meatless Mondays were established in the US during the first and second world wars to promote voluntary vegetarianism. Americans were asked to reduce their consumption of meat to benefit the economy. Today, the movement is more about nutrition.