Quick Cooking Tips for Busy Parents

Getting a hot, healthy meal on the table at the end of each day is a challenge for all parents, but especially for parents who are out of the house all day. I polled readers at the Cooking Manager Facebook page for their best tips, and here they are: Make-Ahead Casseroles. Make casseroles and freeze […]

Rosh Hashanah Menu 2012

Tonight is the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. I wanted to touch base with you all and share my simple, family Rosh Hashanah menu.  The price of vegetables shot up, especially specialty items for the holiday, so we made do with a limited variety including tomatoes (also overpriced), lettuce, onions, peppers, carrots […]

Could You Live on a Food Stamp Budget?

After learning about the Mazon Food Stamp Budget SNAP challenge, reader Kelli Brown decided to try to live as if her family got food stamps. She finished the week with money to spare. Read her guest post to find out how. During the week of July 8-14, I volunteered my family for a little challenge. […]

Do Home Cooking Shows Practice Food Apartheid?

The Guardian’s Elaine Glaser writes about the supposed Food Revolution, asking whether it is a big fat lie. She criticizes the television cooking shows most of all (emphasis mine): Reality, normality, hard-working families: this is the mantra of the multimillionaire celebrity chef. But the recipes have trouble sticking to it because, despite the homely trappings, […]

Keeping Food Cold for a Day Away from Home

I asked readers on the Cooking Manager Facebook page for topic ideas. One reader told me about her teenage son, who leaves the house at 6:30 AM and returns at 8 PM. The food provided by his school is expensive and unhealthy. She gives him some cash, but he’s expected to bring most of his […]

Rosh Hashanah Menu Planning and the Vegetarian Child

This year, Rosh Hashanah falls on Wednesday night through Friday afternoon, seguing right into the Sabbath.  That means four main meals of the holiday, and two meals for the Sabbath. My teenage daughter and I finally came up with a menu plan for Rosh Hashanah. My daughter doesn’t eat any kind of meat or fish, […]

Healthy Last-Minute Dinners

We’ve all been there: Dinner hour is arriving, but you haven’t planned anything. Maybe it was an unexpected appointment, or you just procrastinated for too long. So you pick up the phone to order a pizza.

Wait a minute. Maybe you can avoid takeout.

It’s tempting to order food. It can be the wise and sane choice if it fits your budget. But I often make simple and healthy last-minute meals, and you can learn to do it too.

Cool Summer Cooking Tips

During the winter I have lots of energy for cooking. It’s a pleasure to turn on the stove and warm up the house. But in the summer, I just wish the food would magically appear in front of me.

Readers on the Facebook page for Cooking Manager (join us!) asked for a list of ways to cook while keeping cool. You can bet that in a few weeks, I’ll be reviewing my own tips for inspiration. Please add your own tips in the comments.

First let’s look at appliances. Some appliances generate more heat than others, and they should be avoided.

Healthy and Tasty Summer Salads

Summer is nearly here, and are you ready? The family wants to eat lighter foods. If you have kids, they are on vacation and hungry all the time. You want to be spending free time outside and not in the kitchen. And the hot weather makes any dish with a long cooking time unappealing. So […]

Prepare Vegetable Salads in Advance

One of the most challenging things for home cooks is salad preparation. New mothers and people on a diet have an especially hard time getting fresh vegetables, since the vegetables usually can’t be eaten straight from the package unless you pay for the privilege. But you can prepare a large salad, or just some cut […]