Nicole Morrissey - Prevention RD’s everyday healthy cooking : 100 light and delicious recipes to promote energy, weight loss, and well being

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Morrissey, Nicole. Prevention RDs everyday healthy cooking : 100 everyday recipes to promote energy, weight loss, and well-being / Nicole Morrissey. pages cm ISBN 978-1-63450-458-4 (alk. Cooking. 2. Nutrition. I. Title. Title.

TX714.M678 2013 641.5--dc23 2013005923 Cover design by Danielle Ceccolini Printed in China Contents Acknowledgments Ive always loved to write, and Ive always LOVED foodso to see two of my loves marry into this cookbook is a dream come true. Sometimes in life, youre lucky enough to have personal cheerleaders who root for your every move. I was blessed enough to have a personal cheerleader who, sadly, was taken early from this Earth after a very short battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Shirley Roberts was a strong, selfless, and independent woman. When I started my blog in 2009, she quickly became a loyal reader. Nik, I really think you should write a cookbook, she would say.

I would smile and brush off her encouragement with a small roll of my eyesa very bad habit of mine. Today, I know Shirley is smiling down on me and thinking, I told you so. And, she was right. To one of my greatest personal cheerleaders: Thank you for believing in what I could accomplish when I had no clue. When I was approached about writing a cookbook based on my blog, I was flattered and also completely floored by the inquiry. Sometimes you never know what impact you have through words, especially when you send your thoughts into the depths of the World Wide Web with very little knowledge as to who may be reading.

Yet, my blog has enriched my life in every way. The people who come to my corner of the web have helped me grow through their love, appreciation, and wisdom. To my readers: Thank youfor reading, for cooking, and for eating to good health. May you have a personal cheerleader and know that you are one for me. Introduction to the 2015 Edition Its hard to believe it has been nearly three years since my foodie dream came true: a published cookbook! It has been an unbelievable journey filled with so much excitement and delicious food. eat! To see my book pop up in book stores and on book shelves is still surrealpinch me! I captured my first cookbook sighting on social media and still look back so fondly on that proud moment. eat! To see my book pop up in book stores and on book shelves is still surrealpinch me! I captured my first cookbook sighting on social media and still look back so fondly on that proud moment.

Since the release of this cookbook in August 2013, Ive continued to chronicle my food and cooking adventures on my blog, Prevention RD . I was also granted my biggest challenge to date: creating a gluten-free cookbook which was published in August 2014. The cookbook was the same great stuff from Everyday Healthy Cooking , featuring full-page color photos, nutrition information, and nutrition-related icons to direct readers to recipes of nutritional interest, but each recipe utilized nutritious and gluten-free almond flour. It was a labor of love, just like Everyday Healthy Cooking , but had me deep in the throes of gluten-free goodness. If you havent found success with gluten-free foods, you havent been trying the right recipes. In October 2014, we welcomed our daughter, Shea, into the world.

While everyone declared my kitchen days to soon be those of the past, Ive proved them all wrong. In fact, much of our mommy-daughter time is spent in the kitchen... never mind the fact that much of that time is spent cleaning the never-ending messes little ones make. Creating past times and memories in the confines of my kitchen is what I always envisioned in raising little onesits perfect. Thank you again for all of your support through this tasty journey and may you continue to eat well and in good health! Nicole Morrissey Introduction to the First Edition It wasnt until I started losing weight at age fourteen that I gave consideration to nutrition for the first time. and my life. and my life.

I tried many dietsAtkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, you name it. By the time I was seventeen, I was so burned out on calorie counting and food journaling, but I had taken off weight through old-fashioned calorie control and exercise. I felt great and was heading off to college to study nutrition and become a registered dietitian (RD). I always felt sorry for my peers who didnt know what they wanted to be when they grew up. Since high school, I knew I wanted to be a dietitian, and that has never changed. College flew by, as did graduate school.

I passed my RD exam and was high on life, especially with my wedding just months away in the spring of 2009. However, I was in search of my first job as a dietitian in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and I was having no luck. I was bored, sitting at home, feeling hopeless but yet so excited to share with the world all that I had learned about nutrition. I decided to start a blog. My blog didnt start as a recipe blog because... I didnt really cook.

I would write about interesting nutrition opinion pieces or news articles that focused on controversial nutrition topics, and I would weigh in online. It was fun, but it wasnt my passion. I wish I could pinpoint when the transition occurred, but before I knew it, I had morphed into this quintessential wife who planned meals, prepared grocery lists, and put a hot, home- cooked meal on the table each night for my husbanda husband who would be happiest with a steady diet of pizza and anything buffalo wing-y. So, my culinary journey began. What would he eat? How could I appease him while maintaining my weight-loss? What fits into the busy lives of a dual career couple? When people ask me what my specialty is, I dont really have a good answer. and I make them healthier. and I make them healthier.

Im not vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, but I dabble in them all. I believe in balance and omitting no food from my diet. My approach to nutrition is one that is maintainable and enjoyable . If you dont love what youre eating, why would you continue to eat the same tomorrow, much less forever? I continue to struggle with my weight and probably always will. The good news is Ive found a perfect balance of what I love and what I need while living a life that is balanced and strong. So much of finding that balance started with eating well, moving more, and focusing on health over weight.