Here's my salad just before I tossed on the mozzarella and dressing. Isn't it colorful? Chopped salads are a convenient way to add lots of colorful vegetables to your meals. You don't even need to use a knife to eat them. In fact, a spoon might be the best way to down this bowlful of veggies. The recipe, from Eating Well, simulates a caprese salad (the summer concoction of ripe tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil doused with extra-virgin olive oil and served on crunchy bread

James Bok is a popular Canadian content creator who focuses on cooking and lifestyle. He started his career in finance (one of his positions was as an Assistant Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch) but quickly changed directions, becoming a full-time "influencer" on daily life, cooking and skincare. (Sounds like much more fun!) He now has more than 900,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. I came across one of his videos and found him to be charming. And when he

Eating healthfully doesn't have to be tasteless or predictable (aka the ubiquitous boneless, skinless chicken breast...zzz! ). You can jazz up any low-fat meat or fish with a flavorful side like this offering from Melissa Clark of the NYT Cooking section. It's a riff on Spanakorizo, a classic Greek spinach-rice dish. Made with orzo pasta instead of rice, this meatless recipe is loaded with chopped baby spinach (so much that at first you'll think it's too much, but it’s not)

Here's a great example of a healthy, high-protein meal you can make when you absolutely, positively do not want to cook but you need to eat. It's bare-bones, assembled with readily available pantry-ingredients. Water-packed light tuna is combined with cannellini beans and tossed with sliced red onion and a light vinaigrette. This is a classic Italian salad from famed Italian cook Marcella Hazan, who introduced Americans to traditional Italian cooking with her seminal cookbook

According to knowledgeable food forecasters, the vegetable of 2026 will be cabbage, the lowly vegetable that in the 1950’s became famous (and infamous) as the main culprit in the Cabbage Soup Diet. The Cabbage Soup Diet became popular as a fast way to lose pounds. Most recipes included dry onion soup mix (high in sodium) and lots of chopped cabbage. Dieters were instructed to follow the diet for one week, during which they could eat as much soup as they wanted. I'm pretty sur

Eating Black-eyed peas on New Years is an old Southern tradition believed to bring good luck in the new year. Black-eyed peas symbolize coins or pennies and are said to guarantee financial prosperity. This recipe comes from MediterraneanDish.com and is seasoned with Greek spices such as cumin, oregano and paprika. Canned black-eyed peas are used for convenience, but you can use dry beans and cook them in a slow cooker (click on the link above for instructions). Black-eyed p

Pasta Fagioli is a hearty Italian soup made with pasta and beans. It was once eaten only by the poor, but it was also Dean Martin's favorite Italian dish. He even sang about it in his hit song, "That's Amore." He called it Pasta Fazool. On a recent snowy day, I made a big pot of Pasta Fazool. Due in part to the frigid weather, I would describe it simply as a "bowl of comfort." Actually, the warm temperature of soup sends signals to our brains that trigger a calming response.

This year we’re hosting an afternoon Easter lunch that includes a Salmon Niçoise salad with lots of extras, including these amazing roast baby potatoes. Potatoes almost always appear in some form on holiday tables. Usually they’re steeped in cream and cheese. Here’s a recipe for potatoes that won't break the calorie bank: baby potatoes well seasoned and roasted until browned and crisp. They're utterly delicious, and what's more, you’ll have room for a bite of a chocolate Eas

From November 16, 2009: One of our family’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions is this sweet potato casserole. My daughter Elizabeth, who has been known to cast a suspicious eye on my attempts to make recipes more Weight Watcher-friendly, once said to me, “Don’t go messing with this recipe. It’s perfect just the way it is.” It took me years to admit to her that it came from an old Cooking Light cookbook. It’s not exactly “diet” friendly, but it’s a good example of how you can

Trader Joe's Farro This salad is the epitome of healthy summer cooking. All of the ingredients (besides the farro) can be added straight...

The Mediterranean diet is a style of eating that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, protein-rich beans, lentils and whole grains (like...

It's Spring, which means April showers (no tornados, please) and lighter, fresher meals. This recipe from famed Italian cook Giada De...

This classic marinara recipe in the NYT cooking section is adapted from famous TV chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich. She is also...

You could almost call this a non-recipe because it's so straightforward and simple. Roast three peppers and an onion and store them in a...

My carrot lentil soup at the Portree Hotel Restaurant in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland Two years ago I accompanied a friend on a 7-day hiking tour of Scotland. I am not a hiker but I held my own (barely) for much of the time. At least I made it up and down the Devil's Staircase, a 9-mile hike with trekking poles. And yes, it was as hard as it sounds. One day I opted out of yet another rigorous hike to spend the day in the delightful town of Portree on the Isle of Skye. I st

A quintessential American summer side dish is potato salad. It goes with everything on our summer menus, from grilled burgers and brats...

I found this super-easy, delicious salad in a 1993 edition of the Sunset All-Time Favorite Recipes cookbook. I'm originally from Northern...

Here's a healthy suggestion for your summer BBQ sides. In lieu of traditional mayonnaise-laden and calorie-packed macaroni and potato...

Next time you make a salad, forget the romaine and make this leafless salad instead. It's named after the small cafes in Greece, or tavernas, that serve traditional Greek cuisine. Greek salads usually contain tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. This version, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, also includes chickpeas, bell peppers, Kalamata olives and capers. It's so filling that you can serve it as a main course for a healthy lunch or light dinner. Want more options? Leav

Quinoa has become very popular as a healthful, meat-free source of protein. It’s called a super-grain because it contains a complete set...