Mozzarella sticks. Onion rings. Cookies. Several pies. This is not holiday excess at it's worst best, but rather a typical Wednesday for executive editor Christine Muhlke and food director Carla Lalli Music. As two of the editors who oversee the dozens of recipes we publish each month, Muhlke and Lalli Music often don't get to decide what they eat in the office—after all, they have to make sure every last recipe tastes good. So on our latest podcast, the two sat down with Seattle-based food writer Sara Dickerman, creator of our annual Food Lover's Cleanse and the author of our gorgeous new cookbook. The three discuss some of their favorite ways to eat healthy-ish ("-ish" being the key)—even on the days when that salad comes with a side of (mandatory) pie.
No other meal-in-one packs in as many nutrients as the humble grain bowl. Muhlke is a fan of the holy trinity of grains-greens-crunch (hello kimchi) for a healthy meal that doesn't sacrifice flavor.
If a little bit of braised pork belly is going to get you excited about digging into a bowl of beans and greens, so be it. There's nothing wrong with that, says Dickerman.
Whether it's a squeeze of lemon juice on fish, a splash of good vinegar over a salad, or chopped toasted nuts on soup, condiments are our pantry heroes. Our current obsession: gochujang, a heat- and umami-packed fermented spicy soybean paste that magically happens to make everything it touches taste better. A few ways to use it: stir it into a stew, blend it into a salad dressing, use as a marinade for meat or veg.
Test Kitchen manager Brad Leone is meticulous about keeping labeled and tightly sealed plastic bags of greens in our walk-in fridge. At home, we'll even freeze them, so getting a daily dose of greens is just a quick thaw away.
When sauce is an herb-packed tahini dressing or a nut-and-pepper packed romesco paste, know that even a simple seared piece of fish or a plain grilled chicken breast won't be boring.
