Every meal I have starts with a salad. And this is a typical salad that I make every day, full of health-building antioxidants. It’s probably part of the reason I simply never get sick. I have not had a cold or flu in over half a century. Anyone can make a salad, I thought, but I’m sharing a photo of my typical salad to motivate more people to include salads with every meal. It doesn’t have to be this one but eat those vegetables if you want a long and healthy life.
People always ask me why I never get sick. How do I get such glowing skin? Am I really seventy years old? It’s because I cook every day and the meal always includes a salad and at least one cooked vegetable. Certain vegetables, like spinach or carrots, have more health benefits when cooked so have both raw and cooked veggies every day.
Romaine lettuce is considered the healthiest choice for salads with more nutrients than iceberg, but I sometimes use red leaf or butter lettuce. I always add some cabbage for its many health benefits and colored peppers. A mix of colors will provide the biggest variety of antioxidants so if I use red tomatoes, I use yellow or orange peppers. If I use yellow tomatoes, then red peppers. Red onions add a nice kick but that’s not why I add them. Onions and garlic a loaded with immune-boosting elements. Garbanzo beans add fiber and calcium but I sometimes use red kidney beans.
If I haven’t convinced you yet, just look at why I make this particular salad the most – and these are only some of the health benefits since there are too many to mention:
Romaine Lettuce contains lutein for protect against vision loss, fiber, vitamins A, C, K, and folic acid.
Green Cabbage can protect against cancer & heart disease and boost your immune system.
Bell Peppers have more vitamin C than oranges and they support eye and lung health. Red peppers have more vitamins A and C than green.
Tomatoes can protect against heart disease as well as breast and prostate cancer.
Garbanzo beans are full of protein, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
Red onions help strengthen collagen, support bone health, prevents cell damage, and supports a strong immune system.
Oh… one more thing: No bottled dressing! Just look at the ingredients. Olive oil is the best and only choice for a healthy salad. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Light and fluffy tapioca pudding was my favorite dessert growing up. I still make it today and it’s so easy to make. Classic old fashioned tapioca pudding is plain, flavored only with vanilla but I have also made a butterscotch version as well as chocolate and coconut. But plain old vanilla childhood tapioca is still the best. Thank goodness they still sell Minute Tapioca in the red box.
It’s easy to forget but you should shake the box before measuring. I actually keep my tapioca in a jar so I just stir it before measuring. Tapioca is naturally fat free and sodium free. I make my pudding with low fat 1% milk and it’s a very light dessert. I hope this takes you back to your childhood too. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
There’s always something to snack on over the weekend in this house. Sometimes it’s my skinless chicken drumsticks but today it’s my Italian sub pinwheel sandwiches. Today I skipped the cheese and made them with sliced roasted turkey breast, nitrate-free ham, and light salami. The salami is what give them an Italian sub flavor. So here’s what’s inside my lavash bread…. mayo, mustard, Italian seasoning, diced peperoncinis, turkey, ham, salami, and lots of lettuce.
I rolled them up, wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated them for about 3-4 hours. Then I sliced them, covered the plate tightly with plastic wrap, and now they are in the fridge, ready for the weekend. Some people add cream cheese or other different meats so you can make them your own. It’s the perfect TV snack if you’re watching the Olympics this weekend. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I am rewarded in many ways for sharing my recipes, from seeing photos people send me to reading personal stories from all over the world of how my recipes have motivated people to cook. But the best feeling I ever get is when someone is able to use one of my recipes to help support their family or business. That’s when I know I am making a difference. Here are some of those stories…
“I am using some of your videos in my bakery education Centre.” ~ Heinz
“Hi Jenny, just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I made your granola and today I’m selling it, and I’m earning money. I am from México city and I hope you understand my english. I haven’t practiced for so many years. It’s delicious. I already have my bags and my brand printed on them. Again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!” ~ Maria
“Thank you Jenny, I am from myanmar and I am trying to bake my own bread. Your video is very useful for me. Before watching yours, my own making bread is just only for my dog. Now, I am quite ok and will try to open my own bread shop. 🙂 😉 ” ~ thaw maw soe aung
“Jenny, Thank you for the (granola bars) recipe, I’ll try to make it and maybe I’ll ask my son to sell it in his school, hope it can be his extra money. once again, thank you Jenny, God Bless you.” ~ Surya
“Jenny, i will be trying these ribs this weekend, they look fabulous and it will be a simple way to serve them from my foodtruck. Will you marry me? Lol” ~ Michael
“Hi Jenny, i own a Pub in Brazil and i am offering your pan pizza and it is a success. Keep cooking and wish you the best.” ~ Marcio Stewers, São Paulo, Brazil
“I have a confession to make..I follow your recipe “whole wheat bread” and I have a lot of orders and it add income…thank you from Thailand but I’m a Filipino.” ~ Chin Chin
“I absolutely loved the Pan Pizza video you did, I have been searching for some time on how to make the perfect homemade Pizza Dough. I have been looking for resourceful mean of the perfect dough for my small and upcoming business and i found it entirely helpfull.” ~ Tousaint
“Just had to let you know how great this bread (simple whole wheat bread) is. My 11 yr old daughter made this (using a friends organic whole wheat flour) and entered it in the county fair and she got a purple ribbon. Everyone who tasted it, loved it. Thanks for this recipe!” ~ Dana
“Love this recipe. I have a Bed and Breakfast in Naples, Fl. Now whenever new guests are due to check in I have a loaf of this (no knead bread) in the oven. The scent of baking bread warms them immediately and the bread itself is a picture. They love having it with their morning breakfast. Haven’t tried the rolls as yet but plan to soon. Thanks so very much.” ~ Franco
“Hello Miss Jenny, I’m from the Philippines, I tried some recipe the best recipe I got is yours, I find it more easier. Thanks a lot, I’m not buying wheat loaf bread in the store anymore. My husband love it too. I’m selling it to my neighbors and friends. More power!” ~ Evelyn
” I am a freelance script writer. During last 6 months of Covid time, I’ve no job and no income. So I decided to learn some menu to sell online and decided to include Brownies which is my favorite. After going through all the recipes from YouTube I found yours the most easy and affordable cost. Now I am selling online and I am making some income from that. I even have regular customers for my brownies, they always order 10 pieces of my brownie almost 3 times a month. I got comments like, * Same taste from the favorites coffee shop when I visited state! *I cannot eat other’s brownies anymore after eating yours. I am so happy and always wanted to say thank you for sharing your recipes with everyone. Love you and thank you so much from Myanmar ❤️.” ~ Kyae
IF MY RECIPES ARE HELPING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY BY LEAVING A COMMENT BELOW.
Our fourth of July is almost here. It’s a time for fireworks, fun, and food… especially food. And what could you make that would be as exciting as the fireworks? This is it, baby! My fresh strawberry cake. It’s one of my most popular recipes and now that strawberries are in season, you won’t need a loan to bake this delicious dessert.
It’s Independence Day. So declare your independence from store bought sweets and make this beautiful, show stopping, fresh strawberry cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE butterscotch pudding and you may not know just how easy it is to make. It takes just ten minutes to make and only uses five ingredients, items you probably already have on hand. You can make it with low fat milk or whole milk, just not fat-free milk. I usually make mine with 1% low fat milk but I had some whole milk left over this week from making my chicken pot pie, and homemade pudding is richer tasting when made with whole milk. Of course it won’t be as low in fat but I will take butterscotch pudding any way I can.
I use light brown sugar and remember that cornstarch is not the same as corn flour. Cornstarch is very powdery and is the perfect thickener for homemade pudding. There is no reason to ever buy a box of pudding mix filled with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Make your own healthier homemade butterscotch pudding. It’s so yummy good! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I couldn’t decide what kind of cookies to make today. I often make my giant breakfast cookies but I wanted something different. I like my crispy oat cookies too but I wanted something with even more fiber. So I made a hybrid of both cookies and LOVED them. They are super crispy and as with most of my cookies, they have no butter and no white flour. I followed my recipe for Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with these changes:
~reduced oats to 1 cup
~added 1/2 cup All-Bran Original Cereal
~used one egg instead of two egg whites
~doubled the vanilla
~added about five chopped mission figs
~added about 3 Tablespoons shredded, sweetened coconut
I baked them at 350° F for 16 minutes and they were perfect. Crispy. Not too sweet. Easy recipe. I like these healthy cookies so much they are now a new recipe here on my site. Click herefor the recipe. – Jenny Jones
This is the best time to make pickles because cucumbers are in season. I make my 3-hour bread & butter pickles with either Kirby cucumbers (the pickling bumpy kind) or Persian cucumbers (seedless with a smoother skin) and today I found some beautiful fresh Persian cucumbers that were fresh and crisp and bright green.
So no matter what kind of cuces you use, these three-hour pickles could not be any easier. They really are ready to eat in three hours! All you need is the cucumbers, some sliced onion, white vinegar and three spices besides sugar and salt. Sometimes I slice the cuces thinly, other times a little thicker and they are always crisp and tangy.
I’m making them for the Memorial Day weekend to have with my fall-off-the-bone ribs and potato salad… or with a salmon sandwich.. or just as a snack right out of the jar. I love these pickles!
Click here for the recipe, and Happy Memorial Day to everyone. – Jenny Jones
You only need four ingredients to make this easy chicken recipe. Well, four plus the chicken. For anyone just learning to cook or simply short on time, this oven-baked chicken is quick, easy and healthy. I make a basting sauce of fresh lemon juice and garlic with olive oil and herbs. The chicken bakes in the oven, you baste it a couple of times, and it’s ready in 30 minutes. And get this: I line my baking pan with foil so there’s no cleanup!
For my herbs, I use a prepared formula of Italian dried herbs that includes basil, rosemary, thyme & oregano but you can use your own favorite mix. Or just use one herb that you like. Once the chicken is cooked, you let it rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice it and pour all the juices left in the pan over the chicken, making sure you get all the bits of garlic too. The combination of garlic, herbs, and lemon goes perfectly with chicken. Click herefor the recipe. – Jenny Jones