Blog Feed: The Skinny Gourmet

Ask 5 for 5: One mother's mission to feed hungry children in Africa

Published on 2011-09-19 12:27:00

I am personally deeply involved in political and social issues on the African continent because I have spent more than three years living in Ghana. So today it is my great pride to share with you a post from a guest blogger who has deep personal connections to east Africa. Those connections have turned into a burning passion to be a force for good in the lives of children half a world away. > read more

Baobab: Personal encounters with next superfruit

Published on 2011-07-27 08:31:00

Baobab fruit. Source: wikipedia.Salmon, broccoli, blueberries, acai. Lately it seems like we're changing super foods almost as often as the Kardashians change purses. These foods garner attention because, ounce for ounce, they pack more nutrients than most. Such super foods have been touted with disease fighting benefits, anti-aging properties and more. Well, now it seems there's a new kid on > read more

Fast and Easy Homemade Tzatziki

Published on 2011-06-14 17:53:00

Tzatziki sauce has a fresh vibrant taste that is an ideal accompaniment to summer grill-outs. It is traditionally served cold with Greek and sometimes Turkish foods. Most Americans may know this sauce as the creamy, flavorful sauce that comes on gyro > read more

CreativeLIVE with Penny de los Santos: Finding food photography I love, and figuring out why

Published on 2011-05-15 19:13:00

This weekend I was incredibly lucky to participate in a live streaming broadcast (thanks to CreativeLIVE of food photographer Penny de los Santos, whose work is often featured in Saveur magazine. Her food photography style favors drawing out graphic > read more

Buttercream Cake Decorating: Game of Thrones Cupcakes

Published on 2011-05-01 15:12:00

Spring gives some people a burning desire to clean things. I have never suffered that particular affliction. But every spring I seem to find myself newly obsessed, OCD style, with some specific aspect of food. One year it was a burning fascination wi > read more

Power Cleaning the Fridge: Attempting the 20 minute super clean

Published on 2011-04-12 12:30:00

Is it possible to deep clean the fridge in under an hour? That alone sounds crazy, but then I get really nuts and attempt to deep clean the fridge in 20 minutes. If you ask me about the last time I cleaned my fridge out entirely, I would have to as > read more

Nine things I learned about diet and exercise from a personal trainer

Published on 2011-03-29 11:53:00

I am fresh back from my second ever visit to a personal trainer (the fantastic Kandice King. I have always wondered about personal training, but been too intimidated to shell out the cash to try it. I've had friends who went to personal trainers and > read more

Reflections of First Time Gardeners

Published on 2011-03-23 12:37:00

Last year I was a doe-eyed eager first-time gardener. And to complicate things, I was learning to garden in the South, after spending my whole life in the Midwest. The climate and soil and waterfall were all different. I tried to learn what I could, > read more

Eight things to love about Weight Watchers Yogurt

Published on 2011-03-17 13:35:00

Early on in my efforts to find a life-long eating style that suited my tastes and my life tempo, I realized that I would be permanent friends with yogurt. It is smooth and creamy, with a texture that instantly reminds me of more fattening desserts, b > read more

The most common new year's resolutions...

Published on 2011-01-19 19:42:00

Recently I asked readers to share with me their resolutions for a healthier new year. Turns out nearly all the resolutions fit into just eight categories. That sort of surprised me. And while there are some classic "eat less, exercise more" > read more

The Survivor's Kitchen: Share your stories of food, love, cancer and recovery

Published on 2011-01-12 10:48:00

When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer it is a shocking, horrible thing. I will never forget when I first heard that my mother had a rare and deadly form of cancer called Synovial Cell Sarcoma. I was living in Accra, Ghana on a Fulbright. I h > read more

Resolution Redux: A poignant and painful confession and atonement

Published on 2011-01-07 15:52:00

If the date on my calendar is to be believed, I am only one week into 2011. That just feels patently false. Yet there it is, staring at me in black and white. Only one small week into 2011 and already the list of "to dos" and "haven't > read more

Goals for a healthier new year, and a chance to win $100!

Published on 2010-12-28 20:47:00

I'm still trying to adjust to life as a Southerner after our move to Nashville last year. One of the biggest adjustments has been the food. Southern folks LOVE their food, and rightfully so: it is delicious. But traditionally it is delicious in that > read more

Food Photography Workshop at Southern Food Blogging Conference

Published on 2010-12-07 12:31:00

The astonishingly gifted Jennifer Davick, food photographer for Southern Living, has put a call out to emerging food photographers! She's teaching a food photography workshop at @foodblogsouth. Interested? Contact Jennifer Davick on Facebook. You ca > read more

Music City Signature Chef's Auction 2010

Published on 2010-10-20 13:18:00

This year's Music City Signature Chef's Auction will be held on Monday October 25th at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs, and, as always, benefits the Tennessee Chapter of the March of Dimes. This fundraiser event begins at 5:30 and allows guests to > read more

Cupcake-palooza: All you can eat cupcakes for $10!

Published on 2010-09-24 09:56:00

Late in life I have developed a passion for taste tests. I suspect this could be some nostalgia for a childhood in the 80s where roving Coke vs Pepsi taste test vans dominated the suburban mall experience. Or maybe its just that I like the subtle thr > read more

Restaurant Week Sept 13-19th: Get three course meals for a steal!

Published on 2010-09-13 10:39:00

It's baaaack! Book your babysiters, grab your date, your friend, your coworker...anyone! Restaurant week, one of my favorite innovations, is once again returning to Nashville's independent eating scene. Restaurant week in Nashville is organized throu > read more

Bacon: 10 lessons learned about the fine art of hosting a bacon party

Published on 2010-09-10 10:38:00

As some of my readers already know, when we lived in Chicago we would occasionally throw bacon parties. That's right. Social gatherings entirely devoted to that gluttony of all gluttonies: bacon. And because our friends were adventurous little foodie > read more

Tropical "Grillswith": Grilled donuts with the best caramel sauce you'll ever make

Published on 2010-09-01 19:19:39

Yeah, that's right. I just did that to you. There you were minding your own business at your computer, you probably thought "what the heck is a grillswith?" and now you are drooling all over your keyboard like a drunken sailor. You might ev > read more

Will calorie counts change the way we dine? Economic sociology takes a peek at nutritional transparency

Published on 2010-08-25 12:30:00

Among the many provisions in the loved and decried Health Care bill ("Obamacare to its detractors) passed by congress last year is one that requires restaurants with more than 20 stores to provide calorie information printed on their menus for a > read more