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.

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. 

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.

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 turned 55 this week! I feel UNBELIEVABLY grateful that I get to do what I do in the realm of food and healing, and for the opportunity to keep learning something new along the way. 

I often get asked about coffee. Is it good for you? Or is it not? The answer: everybody has a different caffeine threshold. I’m saying, if you’re sensitive to caffeine and you get heart palpitations or jittery when you drink coffee, this is NOT your food!

In case you don’t already know: protein is beyond a doubt one of our body’s essential components, and one we need to replenish on a DAILY basis. When it comes to protein, quantity, variety, and quality all matter. And eating the types and amount of protein that are JUST right for you and your needs is key to great health in SO many ways.

You know that I’m passionate about food and plants. But you may not know that I’m really passionate about mint! This little uber-aromatic plant that grows wild, that ANYBODY can grow, that you may not pay much attention to (except in your toothpaste) is possibly my ULTIMATE favorite.  

What is this strange green stuff?  Why, it’s kombu! In brief, kombu is a mineral-rich seaweed in the kelp family that adds an umami or savory flavor to stocks and broths. But there’s SO much more to tell. 

Remember the Spice Girls? My all-time favorite spice girls are the grande dames of spices, ginger and turmeric. Popular in Asia for millennia for both culinary and medicinal use, they are rhizomes (technically subterranean stems) and botanical relatives in the Zingiberaceae family. (You don’t have to pronounce the name.) 

I’m often called upon to comment — on longevity foods, brain-boosting foods, cancer-fighting foods — the topics of my books. But, fiber? Not my usual. And not the sexiest food topic! We hear the word “fiber” and think sawdust or dry cereals that taste like cardboard, right?