My Favorite Healthy Recipes: Caroline from Memphis, Tennessee

Welcome to Kitchn’s new series My Favorite Healthy Recipes, where we show you how real people around the country (and even world) eat “healthy,” however they choose to define that for themselves. Maybe you’ll even find a few recipes to add to your own meal plan.

Name: Caroline Mitchell Carrico
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Age: 29
Occupation: Museum curator
Number of people in household: 4 (myself, husband, 3.5-year-old, and 15-month-old)

For me, healthy eating means cooking with quality ingredients that provide the nutrients my family needs. I like to cook from scratch because I enjoy knowing the entirety of what goes into our meals. Being healthy also means using my purchasing power to make decisions that impact the wellbeing of our plant. We belong to a CSA, barter homemade bread for eggs with a neighbor, and purchase some of our meat from a local friend and farmer. I also aim to eliminate food waste by eating as many parts of my ingredients as possible, saving the bits for stock and composting the rest. When I can buy locally, waste little, and cook tasty food, I am part of a working food system as well as feeling my healthiest.

I love the simplicity of this recipe and how easily the technique translates to other greens, which we get frequently in our CSA box. When I cook in-season vegetables, they don’t need much to shine — not even a lot of salt, really.

I make this bread every week for my family. Knowing every ingredient that is in my loaf makes me feel healthy.

Grilled meats are one of my favorite foods, and I like the combination of lime and cilantro in the marinade. The whole thing comes together quickly and it’s easy to toss some other vegetables on the grill for a dinner with almost no cleanup.

Thanks so much for sharing your favorite healthy recipes, Caroline! Want to share what healthy means to you? See how here.