Viesta asks… Jenny I hate to bother you, but what do you have in the way of a good recipe for stuffed mushrooms?

My Response…

I haven’t tried them yet but I have two great, healthy recipes on my “Healthy Snacks & Appetizers” Board on Pinterest. One is Pizza-Stuffed Mushrooms and the other one is stuffed with spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes, parm, onion, garlic, etc. Both sound delicious! – Jenny Jones

Lemon and blueberries go together like Peaches & Herb or Martin & Lewis… the perfect match! With blueberries in season, it’s the best time to try this dessert recipe for a light, delicious lemon cake with lots of fresh blueberries. A lot of cakes like this start with two sticks of butter but mine uses only 1/3 cup. And bundt cakes make a dramatic presentation. Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the groom’s mom brought a bundt to meet the bride’s Greek family?  “A boont? A boont?”  I love that scene!  Did you know that blueberries are called “brain food?” They help your memory so you can remember to make this cake! Click here for my healthy recipe. – Jenny Jones

Sue asks… Is there a difference between whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour? I want to make your chocolate brownies but my whole wheat flour doesn’t say “pastry flour” And when we went to the store, I saw nothing that said pastry flour??

My Response:

Whole wheat PASTRY flour is more finely ground than whole wheat flour and produces lighter, softer baked items like cookies and brownies. It also has less gluten than whole wheat flour (gluten is needed when baking with yeast). I only use whole wheat flour when baking bread. For all other uses, like cookies, cakes, pancakes, muffins, etc. I use whole wheat PASTRY flour. My grocery store carries it but if yours doesn’t, you will likely find it at a health food store or online.

UPDATE (July 14, 2014): I made my strawberry cake yesterday (for someone’s birthday) and thought it would be helpful to show how it looks the second day. It tastes just as good the second day but the strawberries start to show a little through the frosting. I took a few snapshots:

Here it is below right after I made it (sorry, I didn’t clean off the plate!):

Here it is the following morning (today) after being refrigerated overnight:

And here’s a closeup of the strawberries, which have turned a little darker and even more juice has soaked into the cake, but again, still tastes great:

(Original posting from May 12, 2013): Good news! You don’t need a co-signer to buy strawberries – they are in season and affordable! I bought a 2 lb. box today for $4.99 and made my scrumpdeliumptous Fresh Strawberry Cake. How does it taste? It’s like the angels came down from the clouds with a gift from the heavens! One bite and it simply melts in your mouth…  it’s that good.

It’s actually a fairly easy recipe – a white cake (as healthy as I can make it, but it does have butter) filled with macerated strawberries so the juices soak into the cake, and the whole thing is covered head to toe with whipped cream. It’s definitely a special occasion dessert recipe but it is a show stopper and they will beg you to make it again. Somebody already asked me to make another one. Oh… right… that was me. Click here for the recipe. (And let me know if you make it!) – Jenny Jones

There’s nothing like the smell of garlic cooking on the stove. I can almost smell it just looking at this picture. As promised, I am sharing a very simple recipe for Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Garlic, the perfect side dish for just about anything. How fast is it? You’ll be waiting for your spaghetti to boil! It’s a simple recipe where you heat the olive oil and garlic for about five minutes, until the garlic is golden and fragrant, and then stir it into the spaghetti. Done.

It’s the kind of thing a fancy restaurant would call “Aglio e Olio” and charge you $18 for but you can make it at home for about $1.50.  And the taste is out of this world! By the way, it’s doesn’t have to be spaghetti – any pasta shape you have on hand will work… penne, linguini, angel hair, etc.. There’s only one problem: You’ll be tempted to have a giant bowl of this for dinner. That’s what I did.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Chris asks… I noticed in your what’s cooking today section that you eat salads almost every day but you never mention the dressing. Do you have any good salad dressing recipes you can share? I’m trying to get my family to eat more salads. thank you.

My Response…

You’re right, I do eat salads every day and the dressings are always olive based and only vary by the type of vinegar I use (or sometimes lemon). I never make creamy dressings because it’s more important to eat healthy fats and olive oil is the most heart-healthy of them all, and it also does wonders for the skin. So I see salads as the best opportunity to get a daily dose of extra virgin olive oil. My combinations are always olive oil plus: (pick one) balsamic vinegar, pomegranate vinegar, white balsamic, pomegranate molasses, cherry vinegar, fresh lemon or lime juice. I’m always looking for new flavors of vinegar and I always add a little salt and freshly ground pepper. – Jenny Jones

Rich dark chocolate chunks + fragrant roasted almonds + some whole wheat flour = the most delicious and healthy biscotti you’ve ever had.  With dark chocolate for your heart, almonds for glowing skin, and some added fiber, there are many reasons to make this homemade biscotti. So I made this video to show it’s not that hard to make and once you make your own, you’ll never want the packaged kind again. I make this healthy recipe all the time because sometimes I just want something a little sweet with tea or milk that I can enjoy with no guilt, but it does make a great dessert, too.  And this recipe makes about two dozen so they last a long time… and they keep for a long time. Here’s a thought… wouldn’t a dozen homemade double chocolate almond biscotti wrapped in tissue and tied with a beautiful ribbon make the perfect Mother’s Day gift? She’ll never have to know you made more… 😉

Click here for a printable recipe.

Studies have offered evidence that clams, which bear a resemblance to testicles, are actually good for the male sex organs. Research from the Netherlands has suggested that supplementing your diet with folic acid and zinc—both of which are abundant in clams ––can have a significant effect on improving semen quality in men. Clams are high in many other minerals including phosphorus, potassium, copper, magnesium, selenium, and they are  especially high in iron. Minerals are important for preserving bone mass, immune system function, and tissue maintenance & repair. So now you know the health benefits of clams… but how do they know that clams are happy?