Lauren

Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm a certified plant-based cook and enthusiastic omnivore who loves looking for creative ways to make weeknight meals more nutritious. I'm the author of Heathy Eating One Pot Cookbook and Healthy Meal Prep Slow Cooker Cookbook. I also blog at The Busy Foodie.
Clementine-Soy Chicken Thighs 1

Clementine-Soy Chicken Thighs

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

For some reason, we always celebrated Chinese New Year when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I always looked forward to it. It was so fun, and we didn’t eat Chinese nearly as often back then as we do now. Mom would take out the electric wok and cook dinner right on the table – usually a chicken stir fry. The next night, we’d wrap the leftovers in tortillas and eat them as fajitas. Yum.

I made this clementine-soy glazed chicken a few weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect Chinese New Year post. But then I started researching and apparently I had it all wrong. The holiday has all sorts of food traditions, like eating noodles to bring long life and dumplings to bring wealth. And apparently serving a chicken or duck whole represents health, but serving it cut – like these thighs – is the opposite. Oops.

Oh well. This dish is delicious any time of the year, and you should definitely make it (if you’re superstitious or prefer to celebrate the New Year more traditionally, just wait until tomorrow.)

New England Clam Chowder 2

New England Clam Chowder

Like a lot of people, I re-committed myself* to eating healthier and losing a few pounds in the New Year. Unlike a lot of people, I won’t attempt to live off of cold salads and clear broths. It’s winter, people! I want comfort food – and lots of it.

This milky chowder filled with meaty bites of bacon and the subtle spice of Old Bay and peppery parsnips is what I consider the ultimate winter meal. The combination of smoke and cream reminds me of curling up in front of a fireplace while fat snowflakes fall outside. Close your eyes when you eat it and you can almost hear the bells of a horse-drawn carriage being pulled down the road.

Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken 4

Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken


Between the Three Bean Chili I made the other day and this Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken, I can already tell that my slow cooker is going to get a work out this winter. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to fall in love with it – it’s so easy and I love having dinner ready and waiting for me when I get home at night.

To make this recipe even easier, you can throw all of the ingredients together in a tupperware container the night before you want to eat it. That way, it only takes about 30 seconds to set up in the morning before work.

Creamy Sweet Potato and Chipotle Soup 5

Creamy Sweet Potato and Chipotle Soup


It’s getting to be the time of year when I plan to make soup at least once a week. In addition to being a quick weeknight meal, soup is an easy go-to for weekday lunches – something I’m especially grateful for when I’m trying to avoid holiday related weight gain.

I stumbled on this recipe for sweet potato soup on the Food + Wine website one afternoon and made it for dinner that night. I love potato soup, but it had never occurred to me to use sweet potatoes before! I skipped the fried cinnamon-sugar tortillas in the original recipe and paired the soup with cheese quesadillas for a warmly satisfying meal.

Ginger-Coconut-Dark Chocolate Bark 6

Ginger-Coconut-Dark Chocolate Bark

Have you ever made chocolate bark? It’s super easy and you can customize it in an almost endless number of ways. I’ve been snacking on this dark chocolate bark studded with candied ginger, coconut flakes, and macadamias nuts all week and I couldn’t be happier. In fact, I’ve barely even touched the big bowl full of Halloween candy that we bought for trick-or-treaters (usually by this point I’ve eaten so much that we’ve had to buy more… please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem!)

This ginger-coconut bark would be perfect for holiday entertaining, or just to have around to snack on with a mid-afternoon cup of coffee or tea. Tied up with a pretty ribbon, it would also make a great  gift for unexpected guests or last-minute get togethers. Let the kids have all the Halloween candy – it will just mean the grown-ups will be able to keep this all to themselves.

Overhead view of pumpkin bagels on a wooden board.

Chewy Homemade Air Fryer Pumpkin Bagels

Bagel shop flavors from the comfort of your own kitchen! With a crisp outer crust and a chewy center, these homemade pumpkin bagels are ready in just about 30 minutes. Slather them with butter, cream cheese, or Nutella for super easy weekend breakfasts.

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese 7

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

jalapeno popper mac and cheese on blue plate

This jalapeno popper macaroni and cheese is probably the best thing that’s ever come out of my kitchen.

There’s not much more to say about it than that. I mean, I could go on about how how rich and creamy and cheesy it is. How the thick sauce that clings to each piece of pasta tastes like someone just squeezed the guts out of your favorite bar poppers and called it “sauce.” How I kept running back to the kitchen as I waited for the pasta to finish cooking because I couldn’t stop sneaking tastes.

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