First, let’s meet Joy:
What is your background? Have you always been interested in food?
Yes—I love food! I started getting interested in baking and cooking in middle school (I made an absolute MESS of the kitchen…poor mom!). By the time I entered high school, I was volunteering to make dinner for the family. After I got married and had kids, I started experimenting in the kitchen more than ever. Cooking has always been a great way to spend time with my kids—and it’s my preferred way to unwind and de-stress after a crazy, hectic workday.
Where do your best ideas/recipes come from? When you are feeling a little “stuck” what helps you get back to being creative?
My three kids Jesse, Cole, and Ayden (plus my husband, Ian) are my primary inspiration. For example, my kids love to order chicken lettuce wraps at restaurants, so I mastered a leaner, healthier version for the cookbook. My daughter Ayden looooves mac and cheese, so I came up with a slimmed-down version using whole grain macaroni and reduced-fat cheese that I feel good about feeding her. I even named it after her—AJ’s Mac-N-Cheezy! They also love sweets (who doesn’t?!), so I’ve developed decadent yet light splurges like oatmeal cookies and frozen hot chocolate.
What are must-have top 5 tools or ingredients?
Tools
• Oil mister: My absolute favorite thing about oil misters is the oodles of calories they save. A few years ago, I purchased a refillable oil mister to permanently replace the costly disposable canisters of cooking spray I was constantly buying. Using spray oil instead of pouring bottled oil directly into pots and pans will trim down the calories in your recipes significantly (olive and canola oils are my oils of choice). It’s cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and calorie-smart.
• Hand-operated food chopper: My son gave this to me as a Mother’s Day gift a few years ago, and it was one of the best gifts I have ever received. This tool is invaluable, especially if you’re new to the cooking scene and haven’t mastered your knife skills yet. It’s super easy to operate, and it makes chopping veggies easier than ever because you have complete control over the size of the chop and can produce small pieces without being an expert with a knife. This one tool has saved me hours and hours worth of prep time in the kitchen!
• Blender: We use ours all the time to make healthy smoothies with low-fat yogurt, frozen fruit, and skim milk—but it’s also great for making sauces and pureed soups and for crushing ice. I suggest you buy a good one (on sale of course!) because, in my experience, the inexpensive models just don’t have enough power behind them to get the job done.
Ingredients
• Lean ground turkey (at least 90% lean): So incredibly versatile! I always have a few packages in the freezer. I use it to make tacos, burgers, meat sauce for pasta, stuffed peppers, the list goes on and on….and it’s way lower in artery-clogging fat and calories than ground chuck (and more affordable than lean ground beef)!
• Canned beans: Canned beans are inexpensive and keep forever in the pantry, so I always stock up when they go on sale. They’re loaded with protein, fiber, and a plethora of vitamins and minerals – so they qualify as a “superfood” in my book, too. I use canned beans in chilis, soups, vegetarian tacos, salads, breakfast burritos, homemade hummus, and pasta dishes.
What is your favorite thing to cook?
No single dish really stands out for me—it’s really about the process of getting creative in the kitchen, so I love to cook anything (as long as it tastes good!). I like the excitement of making and trying new recipes…so we try to vary up the dinner menu quite a bit at our house. My kids and husband are the guinea pigs.
What are your favorite shops/online destinations for supplies or food?
I love shopping for exotic spices and seasoning blends online at Penzeys. When I’m in need of new kitchen tools or dishware I visit the kitchen stores at outlet malls in my area (I save a bundle that way—and then I have leftover money to shop for clothes!).
What is your most favorite recipe and why?
One of my absolute favorite recipes is the Pumpkin Pancake with Maple Crème recipe in my new cookbook Slim & Scrumptious. I used to love ordering pancakes with syrup out at diners when I was a kid—any time of the day, not just at breakfast. My pumpkin pancakes are just as deliciously sweet as traditional pancakes with syrup, but they’re loaded with good nutrition. The canned pumpkin adds fiber as well as nutrients like beta carotene, which contributes to healthy, radiant skin. And they’re topped with buttery toasted pecans (one of my favorite nuts!) and a decadent maple crème topping—which reminds me of the glaze they use on those giant cinnamon buns they sell at the mall. I wish I had a plate of these pancakes right now!
Other than yours, whose recipes or food tips do you love?
Definitely my grandma and mom’s recipes (my mom makes a mean turkey-noodle casserole, there’s no messing with that recipe!) . Martha Stewart has really clever tips—I always try to catch her segments when I’m at the Today Show. And I love my friend Jennifer Iserloh’s healthy recipes—especially those in her new book Secrets of a Skinny Chef.
