A CDC Thanksgiving
My husband and I have decided we will be following CDC guidelines for our Thanksgiving this year. I’m hoping this will be the only year we have to do this, but we can make the sacrifice. Another year…
Tea Breads
In my mother’s Betty Crocker cookbook (written in the 1950s) they were generally categorized as Quick Breads and then further categorized as Tea Breads. I still have that cookbook. You can buy a…
The Art of the Antipasti Tray
The definition of Antipasti: An appetizer usually consisting of an assortment of foods, such as smoked meats, cheese, fish, and vegetables. Sounds like a low-carb platter of perfection, doesn’t it?…
Celebrating Halloween COVID-Style
I like Halloween more than Christmas. My husband and I used to have huge celebrations on Halloween. We’d throw a costume party and would invite friends over for food and drinks. Obviously, this year…
The Vegetable That Tastes Like Candy
Talk about a maligned and shunned vegetable! I’ve been walking by this golden beauty in my grocery store for decades. I thought they just looked like massively large peanuts. We ate acorn squash in…
My Favorite Time
My Favorite Time Fall is my favorite season of the year. Hands down. Nothing can beat it. Nothing even comes close. I am loving this year’s fall – immensely. What do I love about fall? First off, I…
We're Moving!
I have some important news to share, with mixed feelings. After serious delays, our new office is finally complete and ready to move in. The timing is incredible/stressful/nutty. Moving into an…
A New Trend
It’s funny how trends change. In the 1950’s, you could not watch a movie without seeing just about every character in it smoking a cigarette. In the 1960’s, most sales were done over a 3 martini…
I Scream, You Scream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Remember that jingle? When the cravings get tough, I think some people DO scream! The good news is there is a way to have your ice cream, eat it…
Someone’s in the Kitchen with Zola
Guest Contributor Chris is married to Zola. They are celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary this month. "No one is born a great cook," said Julia Child. "One learns by doing." One of the…
Introducing Chooey
Chooey and his littermates were found in a culvert on the side of a Tennessee highway. Their kitty momma was nowhere to be found. The Good Samaritan packed the four kittens into a box and transported…
What To Do With All Those Tomatoes
When you grow a garden, you know what it’s like when the tomatoes start coming in heavy and you have to figure out what to do with them. My mother used to can stewed tomatoes. It took her one long…
The Story of Slab Pie
Slab Pie. It’s a thing. Really! I have to admit I never heard of it until I moved to the mid-South. Up North, ya hey, where I came from in Wisconsin, the closest thing we might call it would be a…
How To Tell If Your Wine Is Corked
The other evening, my husband opened a bottle of red wine. He decanted it and then poured himself a glass. Then he promptly announced that he was going to pour it down the drain. “What’s wrong?” I…
Eat Your Veggies
There are so many vegetable options offered up by Mother Nature that I thought I could go my whole life skipping the ones I didn’t like. It started when I was a kid. My family believed in the “Clean…
Making Sweet Tea
I’m not a fan of iced tea but a whole lot of people are. It’s especially popular in the South. Sweet tea and unsweet iced tea are on the menu at every restaurant. Obesity is also a bigger issue in…
Sweet Dreams Tattoo
Our tiny kitty Tattoo had plenty of nicknames: Tootie Toots Tootface Little Itty-Bitty Kitty (she weighed in at less than 7 pounds full grown) Little Orange Kitty Gran-maw-maw (she was 20 years……
The Story of Potatoes Brabant
Potatoes Brabant are a New Orleans favorite. They call them New Orleans fries. I have seen them seasoned several ways. I think each restaurant has their own signature version. The first time I came…
My New Appliance
Well, I went and did it. I broke down and bought an air fryer. In the old days I bought every appliance known to man as soon as they hit the retail shelves. I wanted to be the first to break out my…
Mexican Food In Summer
What is it with summer and Mexican food? Seems like every cooking website has several Mexican recipes featured during summer. I checked out a few recently and every one of them featured a grilled…
The Munchies
Someone asked me the other day how I feel about late night snacking. When I think about late night snacking that raises the question, “When is the best time to eat?” Everyone wants to know if they…
Tattoo's Blindness
Our kitty Tattoo turned 20 years old a month ago. That’s the equivalent of 96 in human years. Way to GO Tattoo! About 10 days after she turned 20, she woke up blind. I took her to the emergency room…
World-famous Virus Expert gets the Virus. Read his story.
Years ago, my niece packed up her hopes, her dreams and a suitcase full of clothes and flew from Wisconsin to London, England. She had been accepted at a prestigious college with a strange name.…
Coronavirus Has Brought Back Carbs!
This, straight from Food Network Magazine. I was reading my copy the other day and I came across this little article and was not surprised. Not ONE bit. The coronavirus outbreak has proven what we’ve…
Clean Grillin'
I’ve never been that fond of the grill. I think I can trace it back to when I was about 20 years old. I bought a charcoal grill that came in a box. I had to put it together. Even with perfectly clear…
How I Construct a Pandemic Menu
I used to shop like I’m French. So what does that mean? Well, the French shop daily not weekly like us Americans. That way they get the freshest food. Oftentimes they go to more than one shop, too.…
Underlying Conditions
We are all susceptible to getting COVID-19, but some of us are more vulnerable than others. Here’s the list from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Based upon available information to date, those…
Mother’s Day in a Time of Global Pandemic
You know what the busiest day in the restaurant business is? You guessed it. Mother’s Day. That’s the day every family treats Mom to a meal. Well (especially if you have a big family), that’s not…
Five Last Minute Ways to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
These are things you can put together in a jiffy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. By the way if you don’t speak Spanish… Cinco de Mayo just means May 5th. It’s a day to celebrate when the Mexicans beat…
It Started with A Cough
My symptoms started March 6th. The coughing. I coughed almost constantly for the first three days. First thing I did was check my supply of cold pills and started taking them. I also downed…
I Hate My Mask
My problem is I have a little head with a small face. Even my nose is small. A few weeks ago, we went on an internet hunt for masks. We found a style I thought would work on my small head. Trouble is…
Animal Instinct
Our cats have this all figured out. At first it was pretty clear that by being around all the time we had interrupted our cats’ usual routines. They were accustomed to us checking on their…
Perspective on the Pandemic and Things to Do Now
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The Tortoise Trek
I thought we could all use a little levity. A laugh. A smile. This came across my desk late last week. The Tennessee Aquarium is located in Chattanooga. It’s such a beautiful building it’s one of…
8 Great Reasons To Start Plan Z Now
Anytime you are mentally preparing to do a diet you go through a process. Most folks have to finally get angry enough at their current situation that they decide it’s time to act. And Act NOW. When…
The most hopeful and helpful thing I’ve read so far…
The most hopeful and helpful thing I’ve read so far on the virus came from my naturopathic doctor in Chicago, Dr. Terese. I miss her. She’s a brilliant woman. Good thing I am still on her mailing…
Ideas for Eating…Now
Up until now I have been hunkering down. For me that means I’m practicing social distancing. I limit my trips to the grocery store and the gas station. I wash my hands like a mad woman. Now I am in…
Pass Me an Orange
A full two-thirds of Americans start off their day with a glass of orange juice. They think that’s healthy behavior. I rarely ate breakfast, so I used to get my orange juice a different way. If I was…
Chow Down On Chili
Chile is the pepper. Chili is the concoction. And now that we’ve got that straight, let’s talk chili. It’s chilly outside these days so now’s a perfect time. The history of chili is long and varied.…
Hero Mommy
It was late afternoon. I was at the grocery store picking up a few items to make dinner. I passed two women greeting each other. One of them had a young daughter in tow. The girl was maybe 7 years…
Fat Tuesday in the Old French Quarter
Fat Tuesday is here folks. The end of Mardi Gras, and for many, the beginning of periodic fasting or giving up something special for Lent. The party’s over for those who follow these traditions; at…
A Babe is Born
Flint Roman Chaney arrived a little early on 1/18/2020. He was scheduled to arrive on 1/20/2020. That would have been a cool birth date to have. Such a clever set of numbers but, alas, he had other…
How to Zolafy a Dessert Recipe
I’m one of those lucky people who can read a recipe and taste it in my head. I hope you are one too, but if you’re not, with a few guiding steps you can learn how to do it. When you look on the…
Good For You Chocolate
Can chocolate possibly be good for you? YES. A resounding yes. Here’s what you have to remember, though: You need to eat GOOD Chocolate. That means DARK chocolate that is 72% cacao or higher. Good…
Why Resolutions Fail
The football game is over. The score is in the record books. The bets are paid off. Interesting fact: over $6 billion is bet on the Super Bowl worldwide. Most of that is illegal betting; the kind…
7 Reasons to Diet with a Buddy
When you’re on a diet, having a strong weight loss support system can mean the difference between success and failure. We have a major league support team at Plan Z, but if you can add a personal…
Enjoy the Super Bowl without Gaining Weight
One of my favorite Super Bowl parties was one I called the Chili Championship. Here’s how it works: You set up a chili buffet with all the fixins. This works really well because people can get up…
P Is for Party
I was reading a design magazine recently and saw a party planning feature. The woman was talking about how you don’t need to know how to cook (even a lick), but you can still have a cocktail party.…
My 7 Reasons To Resolve To Eat Low Carb in 2020
This is why I recommend you resolve to low carb it in 2020: It lowers your cholesterol. Since 2002 over 20 human studies have been done that prove low carb eaters lose more weight and that it…