It’s amazing to me how we can get so hoodwinked every year into thinking that there’s some new-fangled magic bullet outside of ourselves that we need to try; that we’re going to shed unwanted pounds, get our health back on track, and go to the gym in the middle of the winter (good luck with that). Instead, I think we need to reset a little bit of our thought process around food, and think about the season that we’re in.

As many of you know, in addition to being a chef, author and educator, I’m an artist! My eye is drawn to the colors of food and to my beloved garden beyond my office window, where life changes moment to moment. I have a front row seat at my desk to watch hummingbirds dipping in and out of the flowers arrayed just outside. Hummingbirds symbolize the enjoyment of life and the lightness of being, as they are such magical, fleeting creatures, here and gone.

Here’s my list of best bets for giving:

The first thing you need to do is get YOURSELF a present!  I encourage you to consider this thermos as a little indulgence for you. It has a special leak-proof seal, so you can press a button and it stays closed. It keeps liquid hot for 5 or 6 hours (!!!) and cold stays cold forever. I carry mine around in the winter filled with Magic Mineral Broth or tea. I fill it up with soup when I have an all-day workshop. You HAVE to have it. You have to take care of yourself first!

I’m not just a cookbook writer, I’m a collector! I have a HUGE collection of cookbooks. Due to the limited real estate in my office, I prune it once a year and donate books to our public library, making way for new additions. I watch the new books coming out with an avid, discerning eye, happily choosing only the very best for my personal collection.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Not only because it’s a culinary-centric holiday, but because having a day devoted to putting everything aside (whatever the dynamics!) and giving thanks with family and friends seems the ultimate kind of gratitude.

My dear friend and collaborator, who’s always been my mini-shaman, who tends to sprinkle that something something just when I need to hear it, did it again the other day.

I was starting to panic, a little. It was one of those days when I caught myself reaching too far, thinking that I can do everything at any time at the speed of light, like I’m not even human!

After listening to my verbal panic attack, my shaman friend said, “You can begin again at any moment. When you eat a healthier meal, you’re healthier. When you nurture yourself, you’re healthier. Care for yourself in this moment. Be healthier now.”

Ahhhh! That hit the spot.

You might be all fired up about healthy eating… but what if your family’s not?

You’ve had the wake up call. You jumped on the scale and the numbers staring up at you were a little too high. Something slapped you in the face about how you are feeling (hello!), or your doctor sprung unhappy news. We can tell ourselves, I should eat healthy, I should eat healthy… but many of us need a jolt to make the shift.

Mia is my smart as a whip,  24 year old hipster niece who lives in Brooklyn, NY.  When she came to visit me in California, she agreed to shoot a soup session with me, which was incredibly fun, since we started cooking together when she was 8 or 9. The first thing I taught her how to make was risotto. 

After several years researching, writing and perfecting recipes for The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods, did I ever develop even MORE love and respect for sweet potatoes! 

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.

Every chef has a specialty, a food realm in which she has unique creativity. Mine is soup! And the good news is I love sharing my secrets.

When I first started my cooking career and I was cooking for clients, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was cook for myself. But knowing the value of healthy foods, I made a pact with myself to make a delicious and nourishing meal after coming home from my busy day. How did I do it? I learned to be prepared. 

Today is the first day of Autumn, officially the Autumnal Equinox. However, we’re not really into fall yet; we’re in transition time, which is the perfect time to prepare!

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.

In my mind’s eye, I can still see the little girl who learned to make soup while sitting atop the yellow formica kitchen counter, watching in wonder as three generations of women worked their culinary magic over my Ma’s flame-enameled Le Creuset cast iron soup pot. 

Just as asparagus means spring, basil means summer to me.  I first met basil when pesto sprang onto the food scene as the absolute latest in pasta sauces — an indulgence even I could afford on my working girl’s salary in NYC. And pesto was not only budget-friendly, but easy to make in quantity and freeze to suit my busy lifestyle. 

I’m SO pleased to announce that we’ve brought my award-winning book The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen to life as a new online course launching next week! Colorful videos and handouts SHOW you how to prepare delicious, cancer-fighting recipes and teach you the skills you’ll need to support healing right in your own kitchen. 

I’m here with a hearty shout-out to Dr. Drew Ramsey’s new book, Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health. In my opinion, this is a MUST have: a whole foods prescription, written by a leading brain expert, farmer, cook, and founder of National Kale Day! And the book is beautiful.