Pumpkins are not only generous in size, but are laden with vitamins and minerals. Most parts of the pumpkin are edible,
including the shell, flesh, seeds, leaves, flowers, and the delicious oil that is produced when the seeds are ground.
The best pumpkins for culinary uses are small (about 5 pounds). Pumpkins are a cold weather fruit (yes, fruit!) and can be stored for long periods in a cool, dark place. I like to remove the seeds and toast them for snacks and garnishes. I also peel the flesh from the shell and either freeze it or cook it until the water cooks out and I am left with a delicious and healthy puree. I also purchase cans of pumpkin puree and use it in everything from breads, pastas, gnocchi, and pastry items.

Crispy Pumpkin Purses

I am going Italian this Chanukah. These crispy, gorgeous purses are filled with pumpkin, rice, and cheese. Both the dough and filling can be made several days ahead or you can use prepared wonton skins. Once the tortelli are assembled, they can be frozen for several months. If you want to make pareve purses, omit the cheese and substitute 1 cup sautéed mushrooms.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Autumn in Tuscany looks a lot like the neighborhood pumpkin patch. Pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors are piled high. For a big WOW, hollow out a 5-pound pumpkin, rub it with oil, and gently roast it in a 350°F oven until it becomes a toasty brown, about 15 minutes. Serve the finished soup in the pumpkin shell.

Pumpkin Sponge Cake

This delicious lowfat cake is loaded with vitamins and fall flavors. Make cupcakes and frost with your favorite frosting, or bake layers and serve it as a festive fall cake with poached pears.

The Revolving Door
For students studying in Israel, Aleeza Lebowitz’s animated table is the place to be.

We live the lives of teenagers!” Aleeza tells me wryly.
“Students for meals and Yom Tovim, girls dropping in and hanging out, my husband and his students cooking midnight barbeques.  It’s young and lively and busy.”

Aleeza teaches in an Israeli seminary for American girls, is an administrator for a special-needs school, and the wife of a rebbi in a yeshiva for American boys. The Lebowitz home in Ramat Beit Shemesh is an open house for the many yeshiva and
seminary students that spend the year studying in Israel. Aside for her own growing family, ages 10 and under, the Lebowitz Shabbos and Yom Tov table usually include 10 or more guests for each meal.

When they were newlyweds living and teaching on a moshav, Rabbi Lebowitz regularly brought home handfuls of students for Shabbos. “Right off, I learned how to cook for a crowd. One day, when my kids grow up I’d love to go to culinary school and really learn technique. But right now my focus is on making a lot of food that tastes good and getting it to the table.”

Aleeza’s challahs are always well-received, made with a sweet streusel topping and shaped for the season, such as hamantashen-shaped for Purim. Aleeza enjoys themed menus. During the week of Parshas Bereishis, her dessert is a cake, shaped and decorated as a globe. Specially decorated cupcakes and molten cake desserts also commemorate each season. At last year’s Chanukah party, she went Mexican with a grill full of chicken and vegetables, salads, refried beans, and tortillas for everyone to build their own special meal.

Aleeza teaches a class in her home every week and makes sure to supply the kinds of food that will make her students excited to be there, including chips and dips, smores, fondues, and peanut butter chocolate chip bars. “I want them to feel good about being in my home and at my table,” she says.

Aleeza’s family helps out a lot. The kids serve, entertain, and adopt their guests, while her husband often mans the grill. “I love having a house full of guests and of course, I enjoy when people compliment my food and are happy at my table.
But what’s more important about my cooking is that it creates the setting where my guests can sit and talk and be inspired. When everyone is sitting around my Shabbos table and the conversations are spiritual and stimulating, I know I’ve really
accomplished.”

Sweet Potato Soup with Sweet Potato Chips

There’s something to be said for that infomercial that instructs you to “Set it and Forget it.” The infomercial promises lifetime fulfillment in the kitchen.

The recent demise of my slow cooker had me rethinking the way I prepare dinner. To be honest, I have never been a power user of the slow cooker. The bulky appliance was more or less relegated to cholent or stew cooking on Shabbat and then shoved in a cabinet for the rest of the week.

I mourn the loss of any kitchen appliance, but the slow cooker didn’t fluster me too much. I wasn’t sure if I’d even replace it. Gasp! How would I prepare Shabbat meals? It’s not so bad. We didn’t always rely on that slow cooker. We hadn’t had any cholent all summer long. Then suddenly, September and October showed up and Fall set in. The weather got chillier and I was craving some warm foods. Maybe I did need a slow cooker.

While browsing through my email, an ad for a slow cooker on Amazon showed up. A beautiful red Crockpot at a price I couldn’t turn down. Did I mention that I’m a sucker for a good deal on a kitchen appliance?  The slow cooker showed up right around Sukkot time. This got me thinking about the chilly meals in the sukkah and what I could do to warm them up. The slow cooker allowed me to go beyond soup and take up one less burner.

I quickly learned that I actually like this new appliance and that it can work for me – way beyond that weekly cholent. It is truly a blessing! Just like the commercials tell you – it is very versatile.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry with Rice

I work full time, and when I come home, I typically have a 30-minute window before my children are loudly demanding dinner. It dawned on me that I could employ my slow cooker. I thought about what kinds of dishes would appeal to the family after a long day. I decided to keep this appliance pareve for now. My daughter and I stopped eating meat and I haven’t decided which way this pot should go.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Seitan Stew

It was a typical weekday morning and I woke up bleary-eyed and ready to test this thing out. I chopped up some veggies and protein and moved forward.  I had my husband turn on the slow cooker to low before he left for work.  As I sat at work, I was tempted to have a neighbor check on my kitchen. My backup plan was a box of Wacky Mac or some take-out sushi. Eight hours later, I came home to an amazing smell. Even my kids were impressed. So we dug in.

I was so happy with the results of the first weeknight stew, I decided to incorporate more vegetarian slow cooker options in to our weeknight repertoire. This Vegetable Curry and Vegetable Seitan stew are easy and healthy options to add to your dinner list. I highly recommend them!

Get Cooking is the new cookbook collaboration from recipe creator and chocolatier, Rachel Harkham and Jewish children’s musician Mama Doni.  This Jewish American Family Cookbook has a little something for everyone, including a CD of Jewish songs from Mama Doni.  The book takes you through the whole year of holidays with recipes and songs to keep you dancing in the kitchen with your kids.  They share jokes and games to play to get your kids more involved in cooking, singing and the Jewish holidays.

1.What brought the two of you together to do this book?

Rachel: I interviewed Doni for an article and we quickly recognized a kinship and a connection in the ways we both viewed Jewish culture.

Doni:  Yes, we met for the interview and immediately realized that what Rachel does with food was very similar to what I do with music…it felt like we had something to say together as two Jewish mamas, and that we had to collaborate. Jewish family moments are about so many things…family, friends, music, food, telling stories, laughing dancing..its all part of living a Jewish life….we immediately knew that FOOD and MUSIC are a perfect partnership!

Sweet Potato Knishes

2. Who had a better time working on this project? Rachel cooking up the recipes? Or Doni singing about the food?

Rachel: All I know is that for me it was a dream come true to be able to create the cookbook I’ve always wanted to own. And I personally think there is nothing more fun than making Whoopie Pies with your kids.  Just saying it is fun!

Doni: I had such a blast creating this cookbook and CD…taste testing Rachel’s recipes in my kitchen, song testing in my studio.. there is nothing better than writing, singing, dancing, eating and celebrating all at the same time.

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

3. Who wrote the jokes?

Doni:  Jokes!!! Oy! For better or worse,  I wrote them  (…With major inspiration from my two children, Millie 8 and Xander 7 who crack me up everyday)

Jelly Donut Muffins

4. What did you think when you saw the cartoon versions of yourselves?

Rachel: I wished my hair always looked as styled and in place as cartoon Recipe Rachel’s.

Doni: I love it!! I think of myself as kinda cartoon character or muppet like, so it felt perfect. And Rachel, your hair always looks fabulous.

Whoopie Pies

5. As two busy working Moms what advice can you give our readers for getting dinner on the table every night?

Rachel: For me busy weeknight meals are all about hearty casseroles, savory stir fries, and simple slow- cooker dishes. And when all else fails, it’s grilled cheese and salad to the rescue.  When I’m crunched for time during my Shabbat meals prep, I inevitably turn to my Easy and Awesome Chicken recipe from the book, or the Crumb Crust Salmon- easy and delicious!

Doni: Honestly, my meals are all over the map. Sometimes I am so busy with concerts and recording in the studio that Shabbat dinner is a pizza delivery with candles, grape juice and challah… and sometimes I am cooking up a storm for a big dinner party with friends and family. On a daily basis I try to feed my kids with healthy meals…with lots of love.

Pomegranate BBQ Chicken

Mini Sweet Potato Knishes

Jelly Donuts Miracle Muffincakes

Whoopie Pie

***Giveaway***

Win your copy of this Family favorite cookbook and get everyone up dancing and cooking together.  Let us know why you want to win this cookbook in the comments below and enter with Rafflecopter.

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When Eliezer is sent by Abraham to seek out a wife for Isaac, Eliezer comes upon a well of water tended by the beautiful Rebecca. Rebecca shows the graciousness and hospitality befitting a matriarch of the Jewish people and is rewarded with gold and silver jewelry and clothing and the promise of marriage.  If you like our Shabbat menu, then you shoulda put a ring on it… like we do with our Buffalo Sliders with Crispy Onion Rings.

Buffalo Sliders with Crispy Onion Rings

Chicken Kebab

Saffron Rice

Zucchini and Red Bell Pepper Sauté

Deconstructed Apple Pie

For last year’s Shabbat Menu for Chayei Sarah click here.

I have been stressed (did you read about my oven?).  And unfortunately I don’t have the gift of losing my appetite under such situations.  I just want to eat.  First savory then sweet, then savory again then back to sweet, you know the game I’m sure.  Between the holidays, the move and all the changes I have definitely gained a few unwanted pounds, in more than a few unwanted places.  I am really bummed about it but am trying to focus on bringing my life back under control this month including my eating.

A little trick I use is this hot cocoa.  When I want something sweet and need to tell my body “we are done eating” and it’s time to “stop and step away from the refrigerator” – I have always found this filling hot drink is my friend.

When I am being super good I use 90 calories per serving vanilla almond milk – it’s definitely not as creamy as when I use vanilla soy milk but it still hits the spot.  Of course you can use regular, low–fat or skim milk it’s just that I am not and never really was a big milk drinker.  In general I adore milchigs but not milk per say.  I would totally grab soy milk before milk on any occasion — even if I am not fleish.  Although when I’m in a super celebratory mood or in a super stressed place using heavy cream is in order.  “They” say too much soy is not good for you so that’s why I recently switched to almond but keep the creamier soy around as a treat.

“They” also say cinnamon is very good for you and that it has the power to lower LDL (your bad cholesterol), has an anti-clotting effect on blood and can help stabilize sugar which is great for weight loss (so sometimes I add extra, and then just a dash more).

I make one cup for myself by warming the soy milk in the microwave and vigorously whisking together the cocoa, cinnamon and truvia in boiling water until dissolved.  Then I whisk it into the hot “milk” in my oversized mug and wrap my hands around it like a big hug.  I like to tuck my feet under me when drinking cause it’s cozy – but that’s certainly not a perquisite – do your own cozy thing, point is to savor it.  Really it doesn’t work if you don’t take the time to enjoy it, the minute to recognize this is the end of my meal (or a filling “snack”) and I want to be present for this moment.  If you want more than a single serving, follow the instructions in my recipe for Soy Cinnamon Hot Cocoa.

What’s your favorite cozy hot drink? Let me know in the comments below.

Many thanks to the talented cook, photographer, teacher and food blogger Melinda Strauss from Kitchen-Tested.com.  She is both a JoyofKosher.com friend, frequently having guest blogged here  and featured columnist in the magazine.  Over time Melinda has also become a personal friend.  She is the co-founder of the first ever, long awaited Kosher Food Bloggers Conference which will take place on November 12th from 10:30 am – 4:30 pm at Millesime at The Carlton Hotel in New York City.  I am so very honored she asked me to be the Keynote Speaker.  Melinda has taken all the photos of this here recipe and I love them!  Please visit her blog for more from the creative and adventurous cook that is Melinda Strauss.

Back in the day, when one wanted to buy flour in a supermarket, there was but one choice—all-purpose flour. Nowadays however, there is an abundance of flour available right in your supermarket. All-purpose flour, bread flour, unbleached flour, whole-wheat flour, cake flour, whole-wheat cake flour—the list goes on! Here is a breakdown of some common flours, and their optimal uses.

All-Purpose Flour. If a recipe doesn’t specify which flour to use, assume you should use all-purpose (or AP) flour. It has 8-11% gluten, which is suitable for cakes as well as some breads. AP flour is available in bleached and unbleached forms—both are light in color, but bleached flour has been chemically treated to be white, rendering it with less protein than its unbleached counterpart. Use AP flour in pie crusts, popovers, pancakes, quick breads, and yeast breads. This flour can last up to one year if sealed tightly and kept in the refrigerator, or 8 months in a cabinet.

Cake Flour. This flour is preferred for baking desserts that require a high volume, like cakes, due to its high-starch and low-protein content. If substituting AP flour for cake flour, subtract two tablespoons of flour for each cup required in the recipe.

“Instant Flour” (or Wondra). This flour cannot substitute AP flour, but is great to use as a thickening agent instead of AP flour in sauces and gravies, since it is formulated to dissolve quickly in liquids.

Bread Flour. Bread flour is made from high-protein wheat, which lends it more gluten strength, or elasticity, when forming dough: it has a gluten content of 12-14%. Mary Jane D. Toribio explains the difference between bread flour and high-gluten flour on the website www.thefreshloaf.com:

“Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes. Flour sold as high-gluten or simply gluten flour has been treated to remove most of its starch, which leaves it with proportionately more of the proteins that produce gluten. It is generally used as an additive to doughs made of low-gluten flours, such as rye flour, to give them the elasticity that they can’t muster on their own. Some people use high-gluten flour to make a low-calorie loaf of bread, but, because high-gluten flour is about eight times as expensive as bread flour, most people don’t make the substitution.”

For best storage, keep in a freezer, where it will last for up to one year.

Buckwheat Flour. This is a good choice for individuals with Celiac, as it is gluten-free and packed with nutrients. Buckwheat flour has a nuttier flavor and a slightly chewier texture than wheat flour.

Semolina Flour. This extremely high-gluten flour is made from durum wheat, the hardest type of wheat. It is used mainly in pastas. (In cooking school, we would coat pans with semolina to give breads a crunchy crust, as well as to prevent gnocchi from sticking to a pan before plunging in hot water.)

Whole-Wheat Flour. This flour is made using the whole wheat kernel, giving it more fiber, whole grains, and nutrients. Due to its low gluten content, it is often mixed with AP or bread flour when making yeast breads, to help the dough’s texture and elasticity.

We’ve all heard time and again how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I used to think that skipping breakfast was a good idea because it would save me calories. After all, I didn’t have much of an appetite in the morning anyway, so why not just skip it altogether. It turns out, however, that missing breakfast usually results in overeating throughout the day, so it’s likely that you’ll more than make up for the calories. Recently, I’ve made a commitment to get my day off to a healthy start with more than just cold cereal. I realized that with a little effort, I can make a wholesome and delicious meal that will keep me full and energized until lunch comes around. When I eat breakfast, I’m less likely to scour my pantry for unhealthy convenience foods when I end up starving midday.

A balanced and nutritious breakfast for me might include a toasted whole grain English muffin with eggs and avocado, or a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola. On days when I don’t really feel like eating, I’ll blend up a smoothie for an easy pick-me-up.

Eating breakfast has really helped me get my day started on the right foot. I’m not much of a morning person but when I sit down to a healthy meal, I feel energized and ready to start my day.  Here are some tips to help you get started with a healthy breakfast routine.

Smoothies

If you don’t have much of an appetite in the morning, smoothies are the perfect breakfast for you. They’re cold, easy to drink down with a straw, and you can hide lots of goodies in there that will fill you up and keep you energized throughout the day. You can combine a variety of fruits and vegetables, liquids, and healthy additions like oatmeal, flax seeds or protein powder.

Here are some of my favorite smoothie combinations:

A great tip for making smoothies is to use frozen fruits. It eliminates the need for ice cubes, and it allows you to use nonseasonal fruits any time of the year.When making smoothies, try to keep them healthy by sweetening them with agave nectar. It looks similar to honey but it’s slightly sweetener and has a lower glycemic index load. In other words, it causes less of a spike in blood sugar, so you’re less likely to feel hungry soon after you’ve had your smoothie.

Eggs

Eggs are a versatile breakfast food that is full of protein. My favorite way to prepare eggs is to serve them poached over toasted bread, but I usually don’t have the time. Instead, I prepare a simple omelet and use it as a base for healthy toppings. I love to top my omelets with a fresh salad, or serve them on an open face sandwich with lots of veggies.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the best ways to add more fiber to your breakfast. It’s guaranteed to keep you full till lunchtime.

Baked oatmeal is a great alternative to cooked oatmeal as it can be prepared ahead of time and rewarmed in the microwave. It also makes a great breakfast to serve when hosting guests.  My favorite is Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal.

Being a butcher, my husband leaves for work really early in the morning. I don’t even hear the alarm go off anymore, in fact the first time I realize it’s the next day is when he kisses me goodbye and I get to smell the hint of aftershave as he leaves for work. So family breakfasts, as typically portrayed on TV shows, don’t quite follow that pattern in our home. More often than not it’s a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast with a cup of Italian blend coffee just before leaving for work. However, it is not uncommon for me to come home on a weekday morning to find one of my children cooking up a ‘boerewors breakfast bonanza’ with all the trimmings!

Boerewors Muffins

Breakfast was much easier to prepare when the children were all at school. They all had to be dressed and ready at the same time so I could feed all of them at once with either polony and scrambled eggs, “eggy” bread (french toast) or Macon and Eggs. There were a few times during their school careers that I received phone calls from the school to say one of my children wasn’t ‘feeling well’!  It was always the child who had woken up too late to eat breakfast and more often than not after a couple of sausages and eggs they made a remarkable recovery and were ready to go back to school!

A case of hypochondria from the side effects of hunger seemed a lot easier to handle than having to carry the burden of guilt if they were genuinely ill. Speaking of which, it wasn’t so long ago that my mother unfortunately broke her leg and on Dr’s instructions couldn’t come back to my home in a car and needed to be transported by Hatzollah, our community ambulance service. Thank G-d she arrived home safely and I thanked the paramedics for their wonderful service to which they replied “Nothing a Macon and Egg breakfast won’t sort out!!” Why should the best way to a paramedic’s ‘s heart be any different to that of any other man’s?

Since this week we are talking all about breakfast, we thought we would share a collection of fantastic breakfast ideas to fuel your body every day of the week, with some special recipes you can save for a lazier Sunday.

4 Every Day Breakfasts

Breakfast Parfait

Idaho® Potatoes with Peppers and Onions

Egg & Salmon Sandwich

Make Ahead Oatmeal

 4 Shabbat Breakfast Recipes (a little healthier than boxed cake, but still a Shabbat treat)

Currant and Oat Scones

Pear Breakfast Cookie

Wholegrain Chocolate Banana Bread

Squash Tea Bread

4 Sunday Brunch Recipes

Vegetable Breakfast Tarts

Apple Pancakes with Maple Apple Sauce

Shakshuka

Baked Quinoa and Oatmeal

To browse through over 400 breakfast recipes click here.

What do you like to eat for breakfast everyday, on Shabbat and on Sundays?

Because we are new olim, Hubby started going to Ulpan. As you probably know, that’s a crash course in spoken Hebrew, but the immediate payoff is a circle of friends – people who are as clueless as you are about how to say in perfect Hebrew, “I think I’m on the wrong bus and I don’t want to go to Solomon’s Mines.”  At least, you’re supposed to learn how to say this fast enough to get off before the bus hurtles into the Negev.

A true Israeli, the Ulpan teacher has a habit of introducing inexplicable grammar rules with the preface “This is how it is; if you don’t like it, start a revolution.” Now of course this all goes down in Hebrew but the word for revolution she uses is “revolutzia.” That’s not one of my classic vocab words from 6^th grade Hebrew class, but I love the sound of it.

Fact is, when I arrived I nearly started a big fat revolutzia of my own.  It was all about yogurt.  Greek yogurt.

Old habits are hard to break you see, even when you resolve to make aliyah and change everything. Wherever in the world I find myself, I like to start my day with a cup (or more) of plain fat free Chobani Greek yogurt sprinkled with Truvia and mixed with fruit. It comes right after my grandma-style hot water with lemon. Every day. First thing in the morning.

So I come to the Promised Land – and there’s no Chobani!  The horror of it all was nearly too much to bear.  My husband’s mother (who really is an angel disguised as a mother-in-law) emailed Chobani to ask if they distribute to Israel.  The simple, sad, intense, frantic return email read: NO!

I was calmed only by the notion that Greece is closer to Israel than the US, so there must be an authentic Greek brand – properly hechshered – just waiting for me at the supermarket.

It wasn’t there. That’s when I got all into revolutzia mode.

But starting a war probably wouldn’t make me all too popular with the locals so I took a deep breath in and out and thought that technically I knew how to and even clearly explained on this here site that it’s oh SO EASY to make your own homemade Greek yogurt.  While it’s something I never had to do before, I decided to try.

So, every two days I make my own – only because my strainer isn’t large enough to handle more than that.  Once the whey is strained along with all the water and dissolved salts and sugars, 3 cups of regular yogurt yield 1 ½ cups of Greek yogurt.  So in fact, it’s double the cost of standard yogurt which is in keeping with the hefty price tag of store bought Greek yogurt.  Yup that’s kind of pricey, but why quibble over a few shekels when you’re saving a life? My life. My breakfast. My morning.

So we’ll have to revise our budget, Hubby.   But better that then me starting a revolutzia, no?

Quick little Greek yogurt primer, What is Greek Yogurt? 

The rich texture of Greek yogurt is achieved by straining it through a cloth, a paper bag, or a filter to remove the whey.  Because the whey is removed, even nonfat varieties are rich and creamy. Straining the yogurt removes water and dissolved salts and sugars, so by volume Greek yogurt has twice the protein and less sodium, carbohydrates, and sugar than regular yogurt. The consistency achieved is between yogurt and cheese, and the distinctive tangy taste is preserved. That’s why Greek yogurt has recently become so popular. It has a richer taste and is lower in carbs than unstrained yogurts.

Homemade Fat Free Greek Style Yogurt with Step by Step Photo Instructions

Many thanks to the amazingly talented photographer, blogger and recipe developer Sina Mizrahi from the TheKosherSpoon.com.  I fell in love with Sina, her cooking her photography, after visiting her beautiful blog.  She opens up about her life, her food, her family and cooks (sometimes) simple meals with seasonal produce that are (mostly) nutritious.  Please visit her site.

Addendum – Many of you in the US have been asking for a Cholov Yisroel Greek Yogurt and now you can get yours.  Kosher Today announced that Norman’s Dairy is releasing the first Cholov Yisroel (higher kosher standard for dairy) Greek Yogurt in 6 flavors.  Look for it at your kosher markets this Winter.

***Giveaway*** Win a sampling of Papa Ben’s Kitchen 5 varieties of Mandelbroyt.   Enter the contest below.

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It is little wonder that there are so many Jewish lawyers.  Abraham’s negotiations with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorroh and his demand for righteousness and justice have been echoed for centuries by Jewish leaders of courage and conviction. In the end, Sodom and Gomorroh are beyond redemption and the cities are destroyed.  Lot and his family are given the chance to flee and start a new life, but Lot’s wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt.  This week we remember this dramatic story with a Shabbat menu that will “turn around” your ordinary Shabbat dinner into something salt-sational!

Zucchini Pasta

Chicken in a Salt Crust

Spicy Sauted Leeks and Spinach

Salt and Pepper Kugel with Roasted Garlic

Chocolate Salted Caramel Bars

or try my favorite Dark Chocolate Salted Cookies with Cacao Nibs

For last year’s Vayera Menu click here.

This week we’re going to share some of our best breakfast ideas.  Before we get started, let’s find out why breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast revs up your metabolism so that you can burn the maximum number of calories to fuel your daily activities.  In America, breakfast is typically the smallest meal of the day and some find it difficult to enjoy much more than coffee.   Research has shown that eating in the morning is essential for optimal performance and overall health.  Kids and adults who eat breakfast tend to do better at school and work and maintain healthier body weight and cholesterol levels as well.

Don’t grab that donut just yet, it does make a difference what you eat.  Refined grains and high sugar foods won’t give you the right kind of energy and won’t help you lose weight.  Your best bet is to choose a meal that combines complex carbs in the form of whole grains, proteins and even fats.   Here are some examples:

• Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana
• Bowl of high fiber low sugar cereal with low fat milk and blueberries
• Yogurt and granola
• Egg and cheese on a whole grain English muffin
• Whole grain waffle and a veggie sausage patty
• Spinach and cheese omelet with a whole grain flat bread

For me, eating between 250 and 300 calories is where my breakfast keeps me full and gives me enough energy while still allowing me to stick to a weight loss plan.  And so while I often choose one of the above meal combinations in the right amount for me, I also have created a couple new recipes I hope you might enjoy next time you want to get a great start to your day.

Apples and Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast

Quinoa is a high protein grain-like ingredient that can be cooked into a hot cereal.  I found that when I cooked it with a diced apple it didn’t even need any sugar. Leftovers were not as appealing for me, so I added an egg and pan fried it in a little oil for a real pancake-like breakfast, Apple Quinoa Pancakes, treat that I ended up eating all week.  I am saving this recipe for Passover too!

One of my goals is to get more vegetables in my diet at breakfast.  For me this is not an easy task until I discovered this wonderful way to recycle roasted squash for a morning surprise,  now I have no reason to miss my 5 a day.

Over the next few days we will be posting a few of our bloggers favorite breakfasts, we hope you get some new ideas and that you will also share some of yours.  What do you like to eat for breakfast?

The transition of summer into fall is my absolute favorite time of year. Because of back to school, you’re thinking. Well, in part, perhaps, but there’s much more: this is when the oppressive mid-Atlantic cloak of humidity vanishes, the air crisps up at night, the leaves turn all the gorgeous colors of the rainbow and the October sky is the brightest blue of anytime else during the year. Don’t even get me started on
the anticipation of Thanksgiving, my favorite meal. But I digress…

Autumn flavors are sentimental, powerful, infinitely memorable. Pumpkins , hearty soups and stews, and desserts with deep, warm fall spices leave delicious lasting impressions. Some time ago I discovered an easy shortcut to infusing warm, spicy flavor into autumn desserts: concentrated chai tea. Left undiluted, this product packs a sweet, spicy punch and instantly adds depth of flavor to desserts such as cakes, muffins, quickbreads and custards – just substitute it for some or all of the other liquids in the recipe.

In honor of the official start of pudding season in October, I recently made rich Baked Chocolate Chai Custards with Spiced Cream (gluten free). The perfect dessert for this time of year, these custards contain the richness of chocolate, the warmth of exotic spices , the comfort of a soft pudding and best of all, the ease of preparation. Enjoy!

Baked Chocolate Chai Custards with Spiced Cream