Weekend Breakfast with the Family? Solid Yes!

When was the last time you made a family weekend breakfast? We’re not talking a smoothie or power bar on the run, but an actual meal that had everyone in your household sitting around the table eating food you (all?) prepared with love, and actually having a conversation with devices put away.

Yep, we’re all busy. Maybe you’ve got work to do or a kid’s soccer practice or games to attend or four loads of laundry facing you. But how about carving out some regular weekend breakfast time for you, your family or your friends so you can reconnect? Even relax?

If cooking and relaxing seem like an oxymoron, I have recipes in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section for three irresistible dishes — Green Shakshuka, a Kitchen Herb Frittata, and Torrijas French Toast — from chef Wesley Johnson of Urban Kitchen Group, that you can prep in advance and just heat and put together in the morning.

Putting the TV Into Room Design

We hear a lot about people giving up televisions in their homes. But Nielsen data estimates that the U.S. has 125 million TV households, meaning a little less than 97 percent of U.S. households, have at least one TV. That’s a heck of a lot of people trying to figure out how to work that television into the design of the room where it hangs — or sits. It could be in the living room or family room, but also a bedroom or the kitchen. And, yes, for some, even the bathroom. My new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home and Garden section draws on the expertise of local interior designers for ways to help you choose the right TV and the right space for it so that it fits into your room’s aesthetics.

Which Milks are Best for Diabetes

You may assume that I write strictly about food and home and garden, but for years I’ve also written about health issues. Here’s my latest for Everyday Health—a look at the various types of dairy and non-dairy milk. Choosing the right milks is especially important for people with diabetes since different types of milk have varying amounts of carbs and sugar, along with other nutritional components. That means that what you pour into your cereal, your coffee, or a cup to drink can impact blood sugar levels. And even if you don’t have diabetes, it’s always good to know what you’re taking in and how it affects your body.

For the Love of Books and Nooks

If you’re a reader and book lover, you need both a cozy place to curl up with a book and an eye-catching way to display your collection. It’s not enough to have a chair and a lamp — or to have bookcases or shelves. There are all sorts of creative options that can give you (and the kids in your life) a beautiful and comfortable nook to lose yourself in the written word as well as integrate your books into your home decor.

Learn from the experts, including Verbatim bookstore owner Justine Epstein, about how to display cherished books and create a reading sanctuary in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Weight Loss Dos and Don'ts When Sick with Cold or Flu

When you come down with a virus, not only do you feel lousy, but if you’ve been working hard to prioritize exercise and a weight loss–friendly eating plan, it’s also easy to be concerned you’ll lose momentum. What happens to your regular routine when you’re sick? Should you eat or avoid any particular foods? What if you’re taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) or another medication?

I’m now writing for Everyday Health’s site Lose It! and here’s my newly published story that offers people who have been working hard to lose weight suggestions for self care while sick and then recovering. I got invaluable information from a family physician and a nutritionist that explains what happens to our bodies when we’re ill and how to give it the care it needs to recover—and then how to ramp back up to a weight loss regime that continues to protect your body.

Spoil Your Valentine with Truffles

Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and what could be more over the top to celebrate love than truffles. No, not chocolates, but the musky, heady fungi that are a rare treat — especially if you know how to cook with them.

Accursio Lota, owner and chef of Cori Pastificio Trattoria in North Park, is an expert. He’s been cooking with them for more than 20 years, since he first encountered them in Rome when he was 19. He knows how difficult it is to get good ones, appreciates how expensive they are, and still he finds them so compelling he wants to showcase them to customers.

Because they’re so precious, they’re perfect to serve for a special Valentine’s Day meal and Lota prepared two very distinctive dishes for readers that feature black truffles. Check out my new story in The San Diego Union-Tribune to get his recipes and learn the techniques.