I’m a physician not a chef. The following are my personal collection of a handful of easy and portable meals. Since the arrival of Mr Parker I knew it was my responsibility to raise a happy and healthy human being - and diet played a HUGE role in my goal. Actually that responsibility started the minute I found out I was pregnant. I minimized sugar, grains and dairy and cleaned up my diet at home and on the road.

We bring food with us everywhere (except maybe the grocery store). And always in glass containers. More on the dangers of plastics in a later blog.

This is what I made this last weekend - in just a few hours we had breakfasts and dinners taken care of for the week. I added in frozen veggies to compliment some of the meals as well as frozen cauliflower rice. Leftovers can be used for lunch.

Pan Roasted Chicken & Root Vegetables - 

I literally grabbed everything that looked good in the produce section of Whole Foods; rough chopped it and threw it in...

Author: Jorell Ellazar

Like any other person during the quarantine, I have found ample time to sit on my couch and watch some Netflix. Of these shows, my favorite is Ugly Delicious with chef Dave Chang where he spends each episode delving into a particular dish and explores its cultural, and social impact on a national and international level. For example, in the episode Fried Rice, they discuss the humble nature of the said dish and uses this as a platform to discuss the complex nature of authentic Chinese cuisine as he also compares this against our Westernized knowledge of Chinese American food. But in each episode Dave Chang goes into the reason why the discussion of each titular dish is important. Of course, the research and exploration into all of these foodways and dishes are done with conversing with multiple people in different restaurants and different countries which is something not possible during the age of social distancing.

People who adhere to...

With the fast paced lifestyle many families are living today, most don’t have the time to put a healthy, delicious meal on the table for dinner. It may be easier and more convenient to go through a drive-thru, order a pizza or some other unhealthy, non-nutritious food from a restaurant. But for many of us who are looking to be healthier, lose a few pounds/inches, and/or teach our children better eating habits, what good does that do for us? I have found that using my crockpot has helped me and my family in more ways than one. It is super easy just throwing a bunch of ingredients in to the crockpot, turning it on low and then letting the crockpot work its magic. When you come home from work later that night, you have dinner ready to go and the family can sit down to a hot, cooked meal and you don’t have to feel the added stress about what to feed your hungry family.  

One of my favorite “go to” crockpot recipes is super delicious, figure friendly, and...

An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be – Anonymous

It might be helpful if we were all engineers when it came to our food.  We are exposed to supersized and packaged foods that are often double, triple or even quadruple the size we should be eating!  It is no wonder that according to the CDC, over one-third of the adult U.S. population is obese and the obesity rate in children has tripled since 1980!

When it comes to food, we need to remember we are fueling our bodies, not just feeding them.  Most cravings are learned, meaning you aren’t born to crave sugar or fast food.  When you cut down on these items, the cravings for them will lessen.

 Let’s take a closer look on serving sizes and how to make it easier to determine how much to eat!