I spent a week this month visiting family and friends on the East Coast. My trip included plane rides from the Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Airport, a five and a half hour car ride to and from upstate New York for a family reunion, time spent in my hometown in New Jersey and a few train rides into and around New York City. Needless to say, I was out of my element, away from my kitchen and often in need of healthy, paleo-friendly snacks. While there are many snacks to choose from, some options don’t travel as well as others. I compiled a list of some of the easiest snacks to pack that don’t require refrigeration or utensils.

Here are some of my favorites:

1.) Lara Bars

Lara Bars are simply fruit and nuts with no added ingredients or preservatives and many Lara Bar flavors are paleo-Friendly. My favorites include Apple Pie, Cherry Pie and Cashew Cookie.

2.) Apples

I like packing apples because they last a long time and don’t need as much special handling as other fruits. I simply wash a couple and pack them with a paper towel.

3.) Homemade Trail Mix

Homemade trail mix is simple to pack and can be a very filling snack. I mix together a few types of nuts, such as almonds, cashews and pecans. I also add in raisins and seeds, typically. You could even add high-grade dark chocolate, if you wanted.

4.) Turkey Jerky

This one and #5 are what I like to call “half cheats.” They are basically paleo and minimally processed but they do have ingredients, such as added sugar, in them that paleo eaters try to avoid. I found myself at a rest stop during the five and a half hour drive back home to New Jersey from Upstate New York and the only food option at the rest stop was a vending machine. The vending machine had candy bars, chips, cookies…and turkey jerky. When faced with other snacks, I will happily take a low fat, high protein option like jerky.

5.) Banana Chips

I typically pick up banana chips when I need to pack a snack or if I’m going to a party or event where I know there will be lots of salsa, guacamole and chips. Instead of reaching for tortillas or potato chips, I’d rather snack on these. They also are minimally processed but the kind I buy at Trader Joe’s have organic evaporated cane juice added. You may be to find other types of dried banana chips that don’t have that ingredient!

So there you have it! It’s not that hard to pack healthy snacks and stay away from processed foods, even while traveling by car, train, plane or automobile! And don’t forget to always pack water! As a treat, I like to pack lemon or lime flavored sparkling water.

There really is no excuse for not eating more fish. It’s healthy, delicious, and readily available in the supermarket. As a kid, eating fresh seafood was a special treat reserved for summer beach vacations and old habits die hard. Sometimes I forget that we live right next to the ocean, and that means as much fresh fish as we want! When we suddenly remembered this glorious fact last weekend, as we do from time to time, Jennie and I resolved to bake some salmon immediately.

Now, I can handle a little spice, but Jennie is a bit of a wimp (sorry, Jennie!), so we strive to create recipes that provide a hint of spice without the heat. This version of a chili-lime sauce is more sweet than spicy with just the right amount of citrus and garlic bite for our tame taste buds.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Oven Temperature: 400 degrees

Ingredients:
4 – 6 salmon filets
1/3 cup sweet chili oil
1 tbsp chopped, fresh basil
1 lime, juice and zest
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients for sauce and mix together.
3. Place salmon skin side down in a greased casserole dish and cover with chili-lime sauce.
4. Bake for 15 minutes until salmon is flaky.
Optional: Allow salmon to marinate in chili-lime sauce for up to one hour before baking.

We served this with couscous and grilled watermelon, but you can’t go wrong with a bed of greens like spinach or arugula. Or try this recipe on the grill or in the broiler and let us know how it goes!

There is something about breakfast on the weekends that just cries fun, freedom, happiness, sunshine…right? It’s the start of a day that is open to all sorts of possibilities. The smell of coffee brewing, the sizzle of the cast iron warming, and the colorful cutting board, with several bright veggies waiting to be added to your dish…nothing beats the weekend.

This past weekend, we had the perfect breakfast to start the perfect day of cooking – it was even cloudy out, encouraging us to make more recipes and not worry about missing a day of sunshine, the days we normally reserve for frolicking around outside.

This frittata would easily feed six people, and it is delicious (especially with farm fresh eggs!) And, it’s ready in about 25 minutes, making it an easy brunch item to impress your friends and families!

Sweet Potato, Onion, & Zucchini Frittata

Oven temperature: 400
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

9 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 oz goat cheese
1 sweet potato
1 red onion
1 or 2 zucchini
olive oil
s/p

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400. Chop the onion, zucchini, and sweet potato. In a cast iron pan, sauté the sweet potato (with some olive oil) for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the onion and soften, about 3 more minutes. Remove the sweet potato and onion, and re oil the pan. Make a layer of the sweet potatoes on the bottom, then layer on the onions.
3. Add zucchini. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, and milk.
4. Add the egg mixture to the cast iron and let cook about 10 minutes, until starting to firm.
5. Dot the frittata with goat cheese. Slide the whole cast iron into the oven, and let bake about 8-10 minutes.
6. Once, firm, pull out (make sure to use your oven mitts!)

Enjoy with a friend or a crowd for a cannot-speak-while-eating-impressive breakfast.

What is your show-stopping breakfast dish? Is it a sweet blueberry muffin, or savory flax pancakes? Tell us what gets your family excited for Saturday morning!

Ever since we got a bundt pan, all we want to do is make bundt cakes. Luckily, there is usually a reason to make one, so we get to whip them up often! Corelyn and I made one this weekend for her to take to work, and we decided that a chocolate sour cream bundt was in order.

Now, our bundt pan is 15 cups, rather than the typical 10 or 12 cups, so for this cake we altered the recipe to 1.5 its original quantities. You can follow the directions from the original recipe, but here’s what to use if you have a 15 cup pan:

Oven temperature: 350 degrees
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 50-55 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 5/8 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cup water
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In addition, we made up a glaze based on the chocolate we had on hand, and adapted it by adding homemade coffee syrup – definitely a delicious twist!

Glaze (optional):

1/2 cup milk
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 oz. dark chocolate
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp agave
1 tbsp coffee syrup

This cake was chocolatey and rich, but not too sweet which was a plus in our book. We recommend serving with vanilla ice cream and/or a glaze, to give those with a sweet tooth something to write home about. For something less sweet, simply dust it with powdered sugar and off you go!

Pro tip: for the best results with a bundt, butter, flour, and then spray your bundt pan so it slides out easily!

It is popsicle season, my friends. It is too hot outside to eat things any warmer than room temperature, and consumption of frozen treats is a highly recommended summer past time for just about everyone we know. The trouble is, I have never been a huge popsicle fan. I usually find them too sweet and too cold.

Never one to completely write off any food (I even give olives and pickles a hopeful taste test every couple of years or so), we set off to find a recipe that might suit me. This recipe was our first attempt, and it makes a good case. Two things that will instantly boost any frozen treat? Fresh fruit and a little whiskey. This Pimm’s Cup popsicle recipe had all the essentials. Only tip: we thought the finished product could have been a little sweeter, so I’d recommend doubling the simple syrup if you make this at home!