FOOD

Recipes and news on Southern cooking, Alabama chefs, healthy eating and more

I've been busy the past few weeks making up our favorite apple recipes. After two trips to the orchard, I have finally finished baking everything just in time to share them with you!

Be sure to visit Al.com and Southern Plate all next week for a new apple recipe each and every day!

Leave a comment on any or all of the recipes for a chance to win a Southern Plate cookbook!!

If you'd like to be a sponsor of apple week by offering a prize to one of my readers, email me at christy@southernplate.com.

Get those apples ready!

Well folks, I gave it a true "thata boy" shot, but the Flat Belly Diet was not successful for me. I did indeed lose weight, but it was at a much slower pace than doing Mediterranean/Sonoma. This wasn't just true for me, it was also true for my husband.

So it was agreed that we pick up a few tricks from Flat Belly but go back to eating the way that started our successful weight loss journey. Eating healthy, high fiber, colorful, lean mean, low fat foods. It's really that simple.

Continue reading "Back to Sonoma to retrieve some weight loss" »

When I started this weight loss journey, having a smoothie every morning was a staple part of my new healthy diet. For some reason I have gotten away from that ritual. But this week I have determined that smoothies will start my day again.

There are several reasons for this. Because of the flax included in my smoothie recipe, I quite frankly feel better when I drink my smoothies. The fiber from the flax helps regulate my system and it also helps flush out excess fluids. I find I tend to retain fluid especially when I am stressed. And as you know from previous articles, stresses have been many in our household lately! I had my big smoothie this morning and I felt better entering into my day than I have in a long time. It was a welcome feeling!

Continue reading "Smoothies and getting back to basics" »

Keep cool on Labor Day with recipes that don't require heating the grill

The older I get the hotter it gets and the less tolerance I have to humidity or mildew, both of which have been in abundance this summer.

Speaking only for myself (and who else can I speak for?), I'll be glad when summer is finally over. I used to like summer, and I still do, but I just can't seem to take as much of it as I used to.

Continue reading "Inside barbecue" »

We live in a part of the country where the year is divided into three distinct seasons. The rest of the union has four; three is enough for us, and ours are easier to define.

There's Mardi Gras Season, which runs roughly from November to March. Then there's Beach Season, which starts after Mardi Gras and runs through Labor Day.

The third season, arguably the most important season, starts Saturday and runs through January.

Football Season.

With all due respect to the Olympics, it's time to get serious about sports.

Continue reading "A new season starts Saturday: Time for chili" »

Exit 205 on I-65 is a favorite stop where travelers can eat or shop for food, from peaches to pies to produce

"Are we there yet?" isn't necessarily the cry of kids in the back seat when cars are headed up or down Interstate 65 between Birmingham and Montgomery.

The anticipation comes from the grownups who have come to know and love visits to stops off Exit 205. That's where cars frequently stop on either side of the interstate - at Durbin Farms Market to the west or Peach Park to the east.

Continue reading "Interstate interlude" »

The Finch garden has been especially prolific this summer.

First came a veritable rain of figs, and now a perfect storm of okra. And while I like to think of myself as a creative person, I have been a little pressed to come up with new (and sometimes old) ways to utilize these bumper crops.

Continue reading "Prolific garden brings bounty of recipes" »

Do you have plans for dinner Sept. 17?

If not, and if you have a spare $32,000 and some considerable change, you can have the dinner of a lifetime at Le Grand Trianon at Versailles, outside Paris.

Continue reading "For $32,000, enjoy dinner at Versailles" »