Kara Lydon | The Foodie Dietitian Blog

Winter Fancy Food Show Trend Spotting

February 8th, 2017 | Posted in healthy eating, Travels |

A few weeks ago I attended the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco (I was granted a press badge for a free registration). Also, Steve was exhibiting with his company and I had to be in San Diego a few days later anyway so I decided to tag along. More time in sunny California? Yes, please! OK although it wasn’t that sunny, at least I didn’t have to wear a winter jacket and gloves! 55 degrees and partly cloudy never felt so good ;).

Unfortunately, I could only attend the show one day because my back injury flared up while I was in San Fran, causing me to bed-bound for the better half of a day. But turns out one day was just enough for me to spot trends and discover new companies. I’m excited to share some of these trends and brands with ya’ll so you can keep your…

Vegetarian Buffalo Cauliflower Wing Dip

February 2nd, 2017 | Posted in Appetizer, Recipes, Snack | 15 comments

A deliciously indulgent vegetarian and nutritious spin on a classic game day appetizer, this vegetarian buffalo cauliflower wing dip is about to take your Super Bowl party to the next level. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, there are a few guarantees:

You will freeze every winter.

You will suck up freezing because that usually means at least a week off from school every winter (#SNOWDAY!)

You will eat your fair share of wings (in Buffalo, we call them wings, not Buffalo wings cause that’s all there is).

You will find Buffalo chicken wing dip at every single party and gathering you attend.

I was fine with the first two guarantees and more than fine with that second one. One winter, we had an entire week off of school (5 days straight) because of a blizzard – it was the best week ever. However, as someone who decided to go vegetarian at a…

DIY Healthy Guacamole Bar and Giveaway!

January 26th, 2017 | Posted in Appetizer, Recipes, Snack | 50 comments

Wow your friends at your Super Bowl party with a DIY healthy guacamole bar. It’s super easy to set up and totally delicious.This post is sponsored by Peapod. Thanks for supporting the brands and organizations that make TFD possible! As always, opinions are my own.

Less than 2 weeks out from the Super Bowl and already my brain is thinking up delicious snacks and dips for the big game. Actually more like a month ago I was thinking about it cause…#bloggerproblems. But I’ll take any excuse to experiment with appetizers, snacks and dips. Because next to breakfast, my favorite meal of the day, snacks are a close second. And snacking still kinda has a bad rep but without merit. Snacks help keep our hunger in-check in-between meals and long stretches of not eating. They prevent us from very real HANGER. They prevent us from overating at our next meal and most importantly…

Slow Cooker Greek Baked Beans

January 21st, 2017 | Posted in Entree, Recipes | 8 comments

Delicious, comforting, easy and budget-friendly, what more could you want out of dinner?! These slow cooker Greek baked beans fit the bill for all of the above. This recipe has been a long time coming.

Ever since we got back from our honeymoon in Greece, I wrote down all the recipes I wanted to re-create at home. However, in an attempt not to bombard you with an overload of Greek food and trips down memory lane, I decided to space things out a little bit. I wrote down Greek baked beans on the editorial calendar and kept pushing it back and back until it finally felt like a good time to post. In January, I’m all about warm comfort foods, soups, stews and my slow cooker. So making these Greek baked beans in the slow cooker this month seemed like the perfect idea.

Oh, and perfect it was. I’ve made these…

Pomegranate Ginger Smoothie

January 19th, 2017 | Posted in Beverage, Breakfast, Recipes | 10 comments

A sweet and spicy smoothie that’s tropical and indulgent, you won’t want to miss out on my pomegranate ginger smoothie.Hey heyyyyyy.

I alluded to the fact that I had a back injury in last week’s post so I wanted to fill ya’ll in on what’s been happening over here. For the last couple weeks I’ve been in and out of chiropractor, doctor and PT offices and I’m totally bummed out to start off the new year with an injury. It’s been a couple weeks now since I’ve practiced yoga or worked out and my body and mental/emotional state is feeling the effects. Physical activity for me is a huge stress management tool. It’s how I mark the end of the work day and let go of any stressors from the day to move into my evening feeling energized and rejuvenated. Not having that totally sucks. I’ve tried to transfer that energy to things like cooking dinner…

This New Year, Don’t Change a Thing (Mindful Monday)

January 16th, 2017 | Posted in MindfulMonday, mindfulness, Yoga | 2 comments

Overwhelmed with the new year, new you messaging this time of year? I’ve got a new perspective for you this Mindful Monday. This New Year, don’t change a dang thing. Hi lovelies.

I couldn’t help but notice these past couple weeks all the New Year, New You chatter. Why can’t it be New Year, Same You? What’s so bad about the current you? Why do we need to set resolutions to be a better version of ourselves? What if our present version is the best version? What if you are exactly as you should be right now?

Now I’m not saying that I’m against personal and professional development and goal and intention setting. Heck, I set intentions all the time, basically every time I come to my yoga mat. I’m all about growth and learning and having new life experiences and gaining new perspectives. I have a natural hunger for…

Wild Blueberry Turmeric Zinger Smoothie

January 12th, 2017 | Posted in Beverage, Breakfast, Recipes | 8 comments

Sweet and spice and everything nice. This Wild Blueberry Turmeric Zinger Smoothie is packed with immune-boosting ingredients to keep you rockin and rollin all winter long.This post is sponsored by Wild Blueberries Association of North America. Thanks for supporting the organizations and brands that make TFD possible. As always, all opinions are my own!

Happy New Year!

I’m back! I missed you guys. I know it’s been a while since I last posted before the holidays. But I needed a little R&R and quality family time over the holidays and a break from social to be truly present. I hope you guys gave yourself a little break too to refresh. And in all honesty it’s been a little slow for me to catch-up post holidays. I’ve been dealing with a low back injury the last week and have been in and out of doctor’s and chiropractor’s offices. But more on…