Comfort Foods and Indulgences

A healthy breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Plus it's an easy way to get a healthy dose of calcium for your bones.

Not a breakfast eater? Could you try eating breakfast for 3 weeks? Because that's how long it takes your brain to develop a habit, and this is one healthy habit.

Eating a healthy breakfast can help you:

Jump start your metabolism, so you burn more calories all day long.

Consume fewer calories throughout the day since you tend to be less hungry and make smarter eating choices.

Stabilize your blood sugar, which has been linked to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Concentrate and perform better at work (hey, maybe that whole wheat toast and scrambled eggs could help get you a raise).

Build endurance with physical activity, so your work-outs will be better.

In hopes of starting the year with a sweet and steeped memory, I hurried into my kitchen to whip up a quick tea–infused treat. Faced with several perfectly ripe pears, chocolate chai tea and whole grain flower (that never made its way into holiday cookies), I decided to give a basic muffin a delicate, tea-infused twist.

The perfect breakfast bite, these Whole Wheat Pear & Chai Crumb Muffins are slightly addicting (I dare you to make more than 6 and see how long they last…I say that while typing with crumbs that are dangerously close to finding their way into my keyboard crevices).

Fragrant pears are mixed into the somewhat savory whole wheat batter to add a hint of natural sweetness. The chocolate chai tea adds a pop of warming spices to the basic crumb topping, the real star of the treat (but don’t tell the pears).

The first bite reminded me of soft yet satisfyingly hearty cornbread with a dainty dab of spiced pear jam. But maybe that’s just me. You’ll have to take a bite while it’s still warm from the oven (with just the tiniest bit of unsalted butter) and tell me what you think. And if you add a chocolate chai latte to the mix, well, you’re just spoiling your taste buds.

Snacks are part of the American way of life. We are a nation of snackers. Because I work from home, I have no "break room" stocked with drinks and snacks, but that doesn't mean I don't help myself to a nibble now and then. I most frequently indulge in snacks when I'm traveling because it's not always easy to find a satisfying meal in between departure and arrival. In general I prefer healthier snacks, they just taste better to me. Stock up on these for the home, office or on to take the road.

G.H. Cretors

When I pass through Chicago O'Hare, I sometimes buy some "Chicago mix" that wacky sounding but utterly delicious combination of caramel corn and cheese corn. Each bite is salty sweet and so crisp and buttery. I've never found anything as good as what they sell in Chicago, until I got a sample of G.H.Cretors. They offer cheese popcorn and caramel corn separately but trust me, you want to try them combined. So truth be told, these are not the healthiest, but healthier than potato chips, so that's something.

I have a serious problem with this dish. I am embarrassed to say that I ate 25% of it before dinner was served last night. I am scared to put on my jeans. Instead of walking my usual 2.5 miles today, I am going to have to double that! What was I thinking?

The real problem here is that these are so utterly good, that one cannot just take a small portion. With that said,, eating 25% of the pan, isn’t all that unreasonable. Is it? In the past, I have always made Patricia Well’s recipe, Gratin Dauphinois from her book At Home in Provence. I adore her books and have made many of her recipes, but her particular dish requires one to cook the potatoes in the cream and milk mixture, on the stove, before layering the pan, etc. An unnecessary step. Dorie Greespan’s recipe from Around My French Table beats out any other potato dish of this kind and this is my new “go-to” dish for those nights when I just don’t have time to mess in the kitchen.

Potatoes au Gratin or “scalloped potatoes” as my dad endearingly referred to them as, was one of my dad’s favorite dishes. He loved his food. And he loved his restaurants. He was a carbs kind of guy. Happily I admit, I am as well.