What could be cozier or more welcome than homemade soup? If you've never tried cultivating this admirable culinary skill before, this popular post from the archives will guide you to success! Friends, family, and YOU will be thrilled.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s soup season!

When I get that first whiff, that first little inkling of Fall, I take my big old soup pot out and I start sauteeing onions -- the beginning of broth, the foundation of soups to come, the veritable core of both health and flavor, the indescribable difference. The YUM!

Don't you get to the point on hot summer evenings when all you want to eat are fresh, crispy salads? Here's a deliciously special post from the archives with the salads of your dreams—and a fun video showing you chef's secrets for how to properly dress a salad. I'm telling you, this is a game changer!

Are you snapping up those gorgeous fresh herbs appearing in farmer's markets? Herbs are exceptionally powerful for both health and flavor, so go right ahead! But you won't want to let any go to waste. Here's a useful guide from the archives to help you enjoy every smidge. :)

In the scheme of things, your brain is one of your greatest treasures. Learn to take care of it! Feed it what it needs. This post from the archives will fill you in on brain nutrition basics. And, by the way, you won't miss a beat on flavor! Brain healthy foods include some delicious favorites. I recommend making them part of your repertoire, and weaving them into your day on a regular basis.

They say in life that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. So it goes in the kitchen. Many people are amazed to find that stepping into the kitchen is actually a relaxing, almost meditative experience. There’s a flow that takes place, an engagement of the mind that leaves us feeling refreshed and connected, as though all our senses were taken on a adventurous sojourn. Food and cooking demand that you be in the present, a place where yesterday’s follies and tomorrow’s peccadillos hold no sway. But to be fully present, it helps to learn a few tricks of the trade as a way of turning your kitchen into an inviting space filled with culinary gifts that feed the soul.
 

Fall… that invigorating time, filled with crisp air, glowing woodlands, and a feeling of the world settling down for a long winter siesta….  And how many of you have already flirted with colds during this change of seasons, hmmm?

Time to focus on boosting your immune system! 

What, I ask you, could be more sublime for summer than salads?

I have a history with salads. When I was growing up, my father was called the Condiment King, because he manufactured salad dressings and mayonnaise. Our fridge was always filled with sample jars of the latest dressings, so we were very on trend salad-wise. My father truly loved salads. He had his Sunday salad, his Thursday salad, his Saturday salad, and they were all different. In other words, salad was a BIG thing in our house!
 

Is this not one of life’s great mysteries?

True confessions: I’ve written 4 cookbooks with a 5th on the way (about which, more soon) and I have a personal library of 560 cookbooks. YOU’D THINK I’d know what to cook for dinner, like for the next 2, maybe 3 years?

As many of you know, art is a big factor in my life. Whether composing a gloriously vibrant plate of food or a painting in my studio, the process seems the same to me: a playground for curiosity, an openness to inspiration, and a love and respect for the materials I’m working with.

How often have you heard that mellifluous recommendation: eat dark leafy greens.

You know greens are an immensely powerful culinary Rx, right? And arguably the greatest longevity foods out there, exploding with disease-fighting phytochemicals? And that one of the single BEST things you can do to improve your health is to eat plenty of them? But… do you know how to cook them?

If you’re a busy person looking for healthy cooking solutions, I’ve got something marvelous to share: our new ebook, The Slow Cooker & The Instant Pot: Recipes, Tips & Tricks to Get More Time with Less Pressure.

Have you watched my recent Soup Session videos with my soup sister, Julie Burford and her granddaughter, Julia? They give you a lovely feel for the joy of stirring up soup with friends. This one is different; it’s a work session with my colleague Marti Wolfson, a gifted chef/educator who teaches chefs and health care professionals, offers corporate seminars, and workshops and, to the point here, is a very special personal chef.

In preparation for the launch of my new Clean Soups cookbook this week (yay!!!), we’ve created videos of me cooking soups with some of my dear friends and colleagues — to show you how creative and FUN it can be making soups with friends in the kitchen! 

My new Clean Soups book comes out next week (!!!) I’m excited to share with you the first of what we’re calling the Soup Sessions, videos in which I’m behind the stove with dear friends, family and colleagues stirring up new recipes from the book.

ep·i·ge·net·ics
noun

1. the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.

I find it empowering to think that the food we eat can have an effect on our gene expression.

Hold on! You mean what I eat… can affect my genes?

Yes, indeedy! Quite an eye opener. Certainly caught my attention. In fact, I believe I am the first cookbook author ever to have a section on epigenetics, in my book The Longevity Kitchen.

You know how marvelous you feel when you discover something spectacularly useful? Well, if you don’t know about my Magic Mineral Broth yet, hold on to your soup ladle! And if you know and love it already, here’s some of the history and magic mystery decoded.