Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal? Find Out—And Catch Up on 21 More New Food, Drink and Travel Stories
Get a preview of the story that inspired my trip to Park City last week, steal my favorite cottage cheese Alfredo recipe, and score an easy meal prep-friendly idea to add to your menu.
And just like that, we’re more than halfway through February! I appreciate your patience as I took last week off from posting; I was recently back from my latest work trip last Monday. In case you missed it, my first trip of 2025 took me to Utah for the very first time. I’m officially a superfan of the airy, peaceful, eco-friendly Salt Lake City airport (it immediately jumped to be among my top 5 airports in the U.S.), enjoyed an afternoon of skiing (I know: who is she?!) and am officially in love with the creative culinary scene in Park City.
The commute, the snowy ski day and the food were all lovely, but the real highlight was being the first person to stay at a residence in the Velvære community. My 5,000-square-foot, 5-bedroom, 5 ½-bathroom “home away from home” was the first property completed on the grounds of this neighborhood, and thanks to thoughtful design and state-of-the-art features, this might just be the healthiest home in America.
Coming soon on Better Homes and Gardens, I’ll have your exclusive tour of the space. Then since we aren’t all starting from scratch and might not have the budget to incorporate all of these high-end touches, I also have tips about how to take inspiration from the home to give your own abode an affordable, science-backed wellness boost.
What to Read…
Before and after my adventures in Utah, I’ve been researching and reporting on a wide variety of topics, ranging from simple strategies to level-up your homemade hummus and soups to Southern cities that are ideal for solo vacations to amazing après-ski destinations around the world. (I think a full day of “après” between each ski day is about my speed!)
I’d especially love for you to peek at the first piece below; a deep-dive into all things breakfast. I spoke with a food historian to find out when and why breakfast was deemed the “most important meal of the day,” then connected with a few of my favorite dietitian pals to reveal if the morning meal is worthy of that billing—and how to get the most of your breakfast.
Since starting with my own dietitian, Colleen at Expedition Wellness, in January 2024, I’ve been loving how I feel on Team Double Breakfast (a carb-forward snack before my workout, followed by a well-balanced protein-rich meal after). I’d love to hear where you fall on the breakfast spectrum!
Better Homes and Gardens: Is Breakfast ~Really~ the Most Important Meal of the Day? Dietitians Dish
Better Homes and Gardens: These Mixed Drinks Steep Like Tea—and Are My New Favorite Hosting Hack
Better Homes and Gardens: I Swear By Ina Garten's Secret for the Creamiest Hummus
Better Homes and Gardens: Why Soup Tastes So Incredible at Restaurants, According to Chefs
Better Homes and Gardens: I Can't Stop Making This 7-Ingredient High-Protein "Alfredo" Sauce
Better Homes and Gardens: This Pink Velvet Cake Proves Why It Just Might Be the New Red Velvet
Better Homes and Gardens: How to Store Asparagus So It Stays Fresh for More Than a Week
Better Homes and Gardens: You're Probably Storing Lemons Wrong—Here's How You Should, According to Experts
Better Homes and Gardens: It's the Year of the Homemade Soda: Use Our Test Kitchen's Tips to Make Them
Better Homes and Gardens: 5 Reasons to Go to the Grocery Store Instead of Delivery, According to Supermarket Experts
Better Homes and Gardens: Can You Reuse Tea Bags? There Are Some Important Factors to Consider
Allrecipes: This 3-Ingredient Dip Is My Favorite Afternoon Snack
Allrecipes: This 4-Ingredient Hamburger Casserole Recipe Is ‘Unbelievably Easy and So Good’
Allrecipes: Matthew McConaughey and His Family Devour These 5-Ingredient Wings on Game Days
Allrecipes: I Asked Professional Chefs for the Best Frozen Chicken Nuggets—Here Are Their Top 3 Picks
Allrecipes: I Asked Chefs for the Best Fast Food Fish Sandwich, and McDonald's Didn’t Get a Single Shout-Out
Allrecipes: I Asked 4 Chefs for Their Favorite Instant Ramen Because Yes, Even Pros Love Packaged Noodles
Allrecipes: I Asked 5 Chefs for Their Favorite Store-Bought Salsa, and Now I’m Editing My Shopping List
Peloton: 8 Dietitian-Loved Antioxidant Foods to Add to Your Rotation
Peloton: 7 Healthy High-Fat Snacks to Keep You Feeling Satisfied
Southern Living: 6 Of The Best Solo Vacation Destinations In The South
VERANDA: The Best Après-Ski Spots Around the World, According to Luxury Travel Advisors
What to Eat…
Easy Spanakopita-Inspired Meatballs
The moment I landed back in Des Moines from Utah, I had 90 minutes to grab my bag, drive home, shower, thaw my prepared dish and high-tail it to the inaugural meeting of cookbook club. My dear friend
(co-owner of the incredible business Wander Women Midwest) and I have been noodling on the idea for a year and a half, and our first meeting coincidentally landed on the evening I’d be flying home.With some savvy prep the weekend ahead and coordinating flights with the gathering in mind, I was able to slide in with 2 minutes to spare and enjoy a cup-filling evening with a table full of creative, warm and wonderful women. Since both Jenn and I are avid followers and fans of
—and since I can’t stop talking about her brilliant cookbook, What Goes With What after interviewing Julia about it for stories on Allrecipes and CNN, we thought that title would be the perfect one to start with.Someday, perhaps we can actually welcome Julia to the table. But for now, we each brought a different Julia-designed dish from the 100-recipe cookbook to share at the potluck. The menu shaped up beautifully:
Mushroom Rockefeller
Farro and Roasted Vegetable Salad
Shaved Fennel and Apple Salad
Beef, Spinach and Feta Meatballs
White Bean, Roasted Tomato, and Polenta Pie
Roasted Chicken Pot Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Chocolate Espresso Wake-Up! Cake
Before we filled our plates, we each shared a little about what we made and our experience recreating the recipe in our own kitchens. The overarching sentiment was that we all really felt like winners after following Julia’s thorough instructions for the easy yet clever recipes. And we all can’t get enough of the nourishing words and ingredients and the overall shame-free aura she infuses into each page. What a breath of fresh air in a world invaded by an overwhelming amount of (subliminal or overt) diet culture.
The format of the book, with each chapter as a chart to show how recipe concepts are really just riffable formulas, actually inspired a couple of us to go our own ways. I, for one, used light olive oil instead of vegetable oil in the pumpkin bread since that’s what I had on hand—then baked them into muffins. (The latter twist was mainly so they’d defrost faster and more evenly!) My ambitious baker friend Kacey not only made the original Chocolate Espresso Wake-Up! Cake, but also whipped up a cherry juice-infused version as a nod to Valentine’s Day.
There were zero duds on the menu, however, if I had to select just one item as a highlight, it might just be the meatballs. A few things I adore about them:
The spinach and feta not only give a nod to spanakopita, but also keep the meatballs moist.
The mixture binds together beautifully without breadcrumbs, so these are suitable to share with anyone who is on a gluten-free diet.
The seasoning is on point and can be accomplished with just three pantry staples.
It’s easy to customize this recipe with other types of ground beef, ground turkey, or plant-based crumbles if ground chuck isn’t your thing.
The herb-scented yogurt dip is a delightful tangy topping to balance the richness of the beef and cheese.
The meatballs are versatile. I’m dreaming of serving them as an appetizer, in grain bowls, in sub sandwiches, tucked inside a pita, or crumbled and incorporated into marinara sauce for a shakshuka base or pasta sauce.
If you divide this into 4 servings for a more main dish-style option, each serving delivers about 24 grams of protein (counting the dip).
Julia Turshen’s Spinach-Feta Meatballs
From What Goes With What ; recipe also available online from PEOPLE
Yield: 12 meatballs and about 2/3 cup sauce
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound ground chuck
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
One 5.3-ounce container plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (fresh tarragon, fresh parsley, or fennel fronds are stellar substitutes)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, halved
Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Drain spinach, then using a clean kitchen towel, squeeze out most of the liquid. Place spinach in a large bowl; stir in feta, garlic powder, dried oregano and 1¼ teaspoons of the salt. Add beef and egg; stir or mix with clean hands until well combined. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, shape mixture into 12 balls; arrange in an even layer on baking sheet. Generously spray meatballs with cooking spray. (Tip: The meatballs work out to about 1 1/2 ounces, or 3 tablespoons each, if you find it helpful to use that as a guide as you form the meatballs.)
Bake in preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest portion of meatballs registers 165° F and meatballs are golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together yogurt, dill, garlic and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Juice half of the lemon, about 1 tablespoon, over yogurt mixture; stir in lemon juice. Cut remaining lemon half into wedges. Serve meatballs with yogurt sauce and lemon wedges.