You’d like to do something—anything—to speed up your metabolism, but it’s out of your control. Right? Not quite. Although genetics and your age both play a role, recent studies suggest you have plenty of say over how well your metabolism—which involves your body’s ability to break down food into usable energy—functions.

In fact, you can all but negate the metabolic slowdown that happens after 40 by tweaking your diet, exercise, and sleep habits. “Think of your body as an engine—your metabolism is the rate at which your engine runs,” explains Scott Isaacs, MD, an endocrinologist in Atlanta and author of Hormonal Balance: How to Lose Weight By Understanding Your Hormones and Metabolism. “By making adjustments to these three elements, you can actually make your engine rev higher.”

The eating and exercise plans on these pages were designed to keep your metabolism humming to the tune of up to 10 pounds off in 21 days. Read on for the keys to not only losing, but losing for good.

Key 1: Eat early
Your basal metabolic rate—the number of calories your body burns at rest—is based on things like age, height, and body type, so there isn’t much you can do to alter it. But there is a lot you can do to change the number of calories you burn above that, beginning with your diet. Specifically: Eat breakfast.

We already know the reasons you may not want to (you don’t have the time/energy/stomach for it), but leaving for work on an empty stomach is like hitting the pause button on your metabolism. Here’s why: When your brain senses your stomach is empty, it sends a message to your cells to conserve energy in case another meal doesn’t arrive. In other words, your body holds onto the fat stored in your cells instead of helping you burn it off.

“Breakfast triggers a process called thermogenesis, where the body signals the brain to activate the metabolic process of turning food into energy,” says Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Blood Sugar Solution.

Key 2: Eat often
To keep your metabolism humming, Dr. Hyman suggests eating small meals every three or four hours. Aim to make each of those meals at least one-quarter protein—whether it’s animal protein, beans, or dairy, says Marissa Lippert, RD, who designed the eating plan on page 39. A recent study in the journal Neuron suggests that consuming protein stimulates the cells responsible for switching on the body’s calorie-burning mechanism.

Foods high in sugar and processed carbs, on the other hand, can lead to another problem: insulin resistance. “As we get older, it’s crucial to pay attention to how much sugar we’re consuming,” says Diane Kress, RD, author of The Metabolism Miracle. “Too much messes with your metabolism by causing your body to store extra calories as fat.”

Key 3: Sweat off the weight
Even more important? Exercise. “Not only does it affect your metabolism while you’re doing it, but research shows you can keep burning calories up to 24 hours after you finish because your metabolism stays elevated,” Dr. Isaacs says.

That’s especially true if you challenge yourself: A new study in the journal Cell Metabolism suggests that intense bouts of exercise can “turn on” genes responsible for energy metabolism. Researchers found that the activation of these fat- burning genes was higher in cyclists who pedaled at 80 percent of their aerobic capacity versus those who did a more moderate cycling session at 40 percent. So although you can’t permanently change your DNA (if only!), experts say exercise can fire up certain genes that initiate the fat-burning process.

Exercise is particularly helpful once you pass the age of 40, when your metabolism naturally begins to slow down. Experts used to believe it slowed due to an inevitable loss of muscle mass. However, a study in the journal The Physician and Sports Medicine found that fit women ages 41 to 81 who continued to exercise four to five times a week as they got older had little change in body composition. The real reason you lose muscle with age? You stop using it. “We now know that women who keep up a regular vigorous fitness routine don’t experience the metabolic decrease,” Dr. Isaacs says.

Key 4: Sleep away the pounds
No, it’s not your imagination. Too little sleep can cause you to gain—and not just because you’re spending those extra waking hours in front of the TV nursing a bag of chips. Research suggests that people who sleep two-thirds of their usual amount (five hours instead of eight, say) eat an average of 549 extra calories the following day without realizing it. Experts believe this is because too few zzz’s upset the balance of important appetite-regulating hormones.

But that’s not all: A Swedish study found that even one night of disrupted sleep can cause the body to burn up to 20 percent fewer calories the following day. “Sleep deprivation impacts multiple hormones related to metabolism,” Dr. Isaacs says. “Resistance to leptin—a hormone that regulates body weight—increases, while levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals to your brain that you’re hungry, also increase.”

Aim for seven to eight hours of pillow time a night, advises Dr. Hyman. “Just a small change in your sleep schedule can make a big difference in your health.” Not to mention your ability to burn calories.

Want to drop up to five pounds fast without turning to fad detox diets (like spicy lemonade or cabbage soup) that teeter into scary territory? No worries. There are safer ways to go. Try our plan, and you won’t have to sacrifice the flavors you enjoy (how about steak and blue cheese?) or the nutrition your body needs.

We’ve put together a 1,200-calories-a-day diet that’ll help you lose three to five pounds in a week—and finish with a flatter belly, too. Key foods (like sweet pineapple, creamy Greek yogurt, and soothing peppermint tea) banish bloating, and naturally low-sodium foods (like quinoa) help prevent water retention and get rid of water weight. Download the menu plan. (PDF)

Apr 22 – I bought some fresh herbs to grow on our windowsill. A week later, the oregano is nearly dead. I am not a gardener.

Apr 23 – I tried Mark Bittman’s recipe for whole grain flatbread. I think it’s going to be a new favorite recipe because it’s incredibly easy, and so tasty. I’m going to try to halve the oil in the recipe in half next time, though.

Apr 24 – Fish tacos to the rescue on Tuesday night. I really didn’t know what to do for dinner, and then I remembered this old standby recipe for fish tacos. So easy, totally delicious, and light. I didn’t make the sauce, or the chipotle tortillas. I made a kind of rutabaga slaw to go with them, which was ok. I am definitely bringing fish tacos back into the regular dinner rotation.

Apr 25 – Shepherd’s Pie, with lamb sausage and leftover mashed potatoes. See the greens in the mashed potatoes? That’s how I make mashed potatoes healthy.

Apr 26 – This is part of my routine almost every single night of my life. I don’t always read on my Kindle, but I almost always read before bed.

Apr 27 – I went to the Internet Archive in San Francisco on Friday for an all-day plenary session for the Digital Public Library of America. It was inspiring, and a fun way to spend the day. The Internet Archive is a quirky place: Apparently, they build a sculpture of their archivists when they’ve worked there for three years, and they are all lined up in the pews of the big church building where they make their headquarters.

Apr 28 – I did some recipe organization this weekend, and snapped this shot of our cookbook shelves. These aren’t all the cookbooks, but they are the books I love and use the most. Close to the kitchen.

I can’t believe I actually took a picture every day this week. I was actually fairly certain that I’d forgotten, like, half the week. Maybe I’m finally developing a picture taking habit?

Sean is in Boston this week, so it’s quiet in the kitchen, and I’ll probably end up eating a lot of salads this week. I actually did some big time dinner prep last night to try to make this week as easy as possible: I roasted a chicken and a bunch of vegetables, I cut up some jicama and carrots to eat as snacks, and I prepped as much fruit as I could so that I might actually be convinced to eat it this week.

Bonus picture: We went out for Mexican food last Friday night at La Penca Azul in Alameda, and it was spectacular. The restaurant was crowded and busy, and we had margaritas and tons of chips and quacamole, and I had a mole enchilada that blew my little mind.

It made me think about revisiting mole making. My first attempt wasn’t bad, but I know I can do better, and now I’ve got inspiration.

It’s finally Friday, and an absolutely beautiful day in the Bay. We’ve been promised some spectacular weather this weekend, and Sean and I are already dreaming about hiking in Marin tomorrow. We have tickets to the A’s game tonight, and I have an exciting Sunday dinner planned. I thought I’d jumpstart all the goodness by sharing with you some of the things I’ve been really loving this week.

1. These pickled cumin green beans were a Christmas gift from Sean. Yes, Christmas. I have no idea what on God’s green earth prevented me from opening them before now, but I was a fool, I tell you. These are a-a-a-mazing. I am imagining them chopped up in a hearty salad, topping off a perfect bloody mary, and tucked into a melty grilled cheese sandwich. You can check out the Happy Girl Kitchen Co. website to find out where you can buy them, if you’re local. If you’re not, might I suggest a trip to the Bay Area?

2. I believe it was Matt Armendariz from whom I first heard about the American Spoon company. They sent me a beautiful catalog that totally seduced me and I ordered $50 worth of jam and whatnot. It was so worth it, especially because of this crazy maple cream. I’ve been stirring it into my oatmeal in the morning, or adding a drizzle to my peanut butter and toast. It is super sweet, so a little goes a long way, but the maple flavor is outstanding. I can’t wait to open the milk caramel I bought from them.

3. Fleur de sel. I finally went ahead and bought some at Sur La Table a few weeks ago. I’m in love. And it’s not just the totally perfect packaging (yes, I’m a sucker for good packaging). My favorite use so far is sprinkling a bit over a salad right before serving. It’s great on deviled eggs. I don’t think I have to tell you how awesome it is. If you haven’t splurged and bought yourself some yet, I recommend it. Everyone deserve a little special treat now and then.

4. I believe I mentioned an exciting plan for Sunday dinner. We got a giant country ham this week in the mail, and I will be cooking it up this weekend. The ham was courtesy of Sean’s mother, who sent us a gift certificate for Burgers’ Smokehouse. We were a little skeptical, because honestly, the catalog looks like the Lillian Vernon of Meat. But then I read an interview with a Portland chef who said Burgers’ was a favorite, and saw a random mention somewhere else a mere day later, and I knew we had to order. It’s an aged, uncooked half ham. We’ll be eating ham all week. (We also got some pulled pork, what what?! Health month? What’s that?)

5. Lists! I am a total list maker and planner and organizer, and a few months ago I bought this notepad to help me plan out meals for the week. It’s perfect: there is a column for daily dinners, and smaller boxes for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Since breakfast is pretty much always the same for me, and lunch is leftovers, the space allocation works well. I usually plan Sunday through Wednesday, and then finish the planning for the week after we pick up our veggie box on Wednesday night. We don’t always stick scrupulously to the plan, and there are definitely nights when I just don’t want to cook, or don’t want what I thought I would want. But planning meals ahead of time is a key part of my week, and helps us to use not waste food. Plus it feeds the librarian planner in me.

And finally, I love that someone put this sign up in my office. You see it right when you get off the elevator. I work with some quirky folk.

I hope you all have excellent plans for the weekend, and some super fun cooking plans on your list.

Toward the end of March I started realizing that I was eating a lot of sweets. And french fries. And more pizza than usual. My carefully developed healthy habits had taken a nosedive, and I was feeling it. I decided to declare April Health Month. My intention wasn’t to embark on a month of strictness and deprivation, but to remind myself how much better I feel when I’m eating more vegetables, and being thoughtful and conscientious about the amount of sugar, meat, and fried things I’m putting in my body. I re-read Mark Bittman’s Food Matters, and I started planning healthy meals.

I can’t say I’ve been super vigilant. Last week involved a burger, after all, not to mention a fair amount of beer. I even ate a donut. But I’ve also been trying out some new recipes that emphasize whole grains and vegetables, when they don’t exclude meat completely. This meatloaf is a perfect example. It’s a recipe from Bittman’s book for a grain-heavy loaf that includes meat as a flavor component more than anything else. I modified the recipe just slightly to account for what we had on hand. And I really liked it. It’s dense and hearty. There are a variety of flavors and textures. And I felt satisfied without feeling like I needed a nap. Total Health Month winner.

I served the not-so-meaty meatloaf up with some roasted potatoes and asparagus, and it felt very 1950s up in this place.

This is a very dense loaf. If you like your meatloaf light and airy, this might not be for you. This one is solid. But I love how colorful it is! The flecks of carrot and spinach are so festive. Bittman’s recipe recommends using this mixture for loaves, burgers, or meatballs, and I think that’s not a bad idea at all. If you fry your meatballs, they might end up absorbing more oil than normal, thanks to the bulgur, but I think they’d be great baked. You can use any meat you like, even fish, but I loved the ground turkey here. And if you really want to exclude meat, Bittman recommends substituting beans for the meat. I suspect that would be delicious.

You’re sitting at your desk going about your workday when suddenly, out of nowhere, you’re overcome with the desire—no, need is more like it—to devour a giant sticky bun. Your mouth is watering just thinking about the gooey-sweet glaze, the ribbons of butter and cinnamon. Is it your imagination, or is your heart beating faster?

Willpower, shmillpower
That’s when the bargaining begins: I’ll have just a bite and freeze the rest. Or maybe I’ll eat half of it—I’ve been good today—no, all of it, but I’ll skip dinner tonight…

Cravings. Research is only just beginning to shed light on why so many of us succumb to them. Although scientists are still piecing together the puzzle of what exactly happens when you’re in the throes of a craving, this much they know for sure: Every craving begins with a cue. The cue for a sticky bun may be something as simple as getting a whiff of its buttery aroma as you walk past your favorite bakery, or catching a glimpse of a TV commercial featuring one.

“Any cue that’s repeatedly associated with high-fat and/or sugary foods can trigger a craving,” explains Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, a psychologist and food addiction expert at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

In other words, if you like to celebrate the end of a workweek with margaritas and Tex-Mex, eventually a craving for those things will automatically kick in every Friday afternoon. If you grew up equating, even subconsciously, your mother’s homemade chocolate layer cake with comfort, you’ll likely crave some version of that whenever you have a bad day.

The cue activates your brain’s pleasure center, causing it to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that pushes you to seek out the very thing you’re lusting after, explains Gearhardt. Over time, this feel-good experience rewires the brain so that you’re more likely to crave the food again in the future.

What’s more, when you’re in full-on craving mode, your brain convinces you that you are famished, making the food more difficult to resist. “Your brain starts pumping out the hunger hormone ghrelin, and your insulin levels drop, making you even hungrier than usual,” Gearhardt says. As a result, it’s very difficult to satisfy the craving with just a taste.

It almost seems unfair that cravings can increase feelings of hunger. You assume you’ll satisfy a longing for sticky buns by eating one, but research suggests just the opposite will happen: Instead of paying attention to the physical cues of hunger and fullness, you’re driven by the rush of dopamine that’s telling you to find and scarf down a sticky bun (now!). And then another.

This also helps explain why you may be powerless in the presence of a dessert tray—even if you polished off a steak, two sides, and a roll only moments before. “The dessert tray, as well as the spoons and forks that are put in front of you, are all cues that you should eat,” says Mark Gold, MD, chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Florida and a specialist in addiction medicine research.

It doesn’t help that the dopamine signal occurs immediately when you come up against a cue, while the satiety signals—those telling you to stop eating—are much slower, taking 12 or more minutes after you eat to kick in. “Your brain can always find more room for food, and for a while after eating, so can your stomach,” adds Dr. Gold.

Your brain on brownies
Believe it or not, cravings originally served a useful purpose, namely to keep our loincloth-clad ancestors alive. “They had powerful urges for energy-dense foods and were driven to get their hands on them in order to survive and reproduce,” says Eric Stice, PhD, a senior scientist at the Oregon Research Institute.

Of course, our predecessors didn’t face high-cal temptations at every turn. Today, we’re bombarded by food cues (we view, on average, 7,000-plus food and beverage ads on TV per year). And we don’t need to put our lives on the line every time a craving strikes. We just open our pantry, hit up the office vending machine, or take a lap around our favorite drive-thru.

It’s not just that these high-fat, sugar-filled, sodium-laden foods are convenient—it’s that they’re actually engineered to make us crave them. “These foods have an effect on the brain that’s much stronger than those produced by foods that you could hunt or grow,” Dr. Gold says. “Eating fast food french fries, for instance, yields a greater dopamine release than if you were to eat a tomato picked fresh from your garden.”

The complexity of tastes, flavors, and textures in processed foods is simply more stimulating for the brain than something that comes from the earth, he explains. Plus, you get a hit of dopamine each time you try a different flavor—making you crave not just one, but a variety of treats so you’ll get that feel-good experience again. “The fact that you could have a burger one day, a burrito the next, and orange sesame chicken the day after that means we live in a sea of dopamine-releasing triggers,” says Dr. Gold.

Born to love chips
That explains part of the puzzle, but not all of it. New research suggests that your food preferences—and thus your cravings—may be formed not just in childhood, but in utero. “One theory is that pregnant women begin teaching their children what’s safe and good to eat while they’re still in the womb,” says Annie Murphy Paul, author of Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives. So if your mom ate lots of potato chips and cheesy fries, you may be programmed to crave the same kinds of fatty, salty foods.

What’s more, if you equate certain foods with feel-good moments from your childhood, you’re likely to turn to them for an emotional pick-me-up. That’s because often it’s not the foods that we crave as much as the emotions we associate with them. In other words, it isn’t just your mom’s chocolate cake you’re wanting, but the warm feeling you had whenever she gave you a slice.

“Pairing foods with particular feelings or situations can imprint an association between an experience and a food,” explains Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. “What you might really want is to feel safe or to remember a time in your life when things were simpler.”

Emotional cravings tend to sneak up on us since we’re often not aware of the correlation between what we’re eating and what we’re feeling. For instance, if you experience a longing for a glass of wine and a bowl of pasta in the middle of a hectic workday, you may not realize or even care that what you really want is to feel relaxed and carefree—the way you do on a girls’ night out at your favorite Italian bistro.

Manage your munchies
If you can identify the emotions behind the craving, you can try to find ways to fulfill those needs that are more productive than sinking your teeth into a 500-calorie sugar bomb. For instance, you might send an email to schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your workload and the unrealistic deadlines you’ve been given.

“If that seems impossible, then maybe what you really need is a vacation to look forward to in order to make the work more bearable,” Dr. May says. “In some small way, take steps toward meeting that need, such as making a list of the top 10 places you’d like to visit, putting in a request for time off, or taking 15 minutes to browse websites of locations you want to travel to. Even closing your eyes and taking a mini beach vacation in your mind while you breathe deeply can help short-circuit the emotions—and the craving.”

A smart strategy
No matter the source of your craving (whether it began with an environmental cue or an emotional need) there’s another tactic that helps derail the chemical cascade: Focus on your short- and long-term health goals.

In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers examined participants’ brains in an MRI scan during a craving and found that paying attention to a goal, such as getting in shape, activates the prefrontal cortex—a part of the brain that can inhibit the reward region.

The technique provides a one-two punch. In addition to dulling the craving, it also increases your ability to resist temptation. It may even keep you from rationalizing or bargaining with yourself.

Here’s how to make it work for you: Write down a detailed list of health goals you’d like to achieve. If you’re trying to slim down, list your current weight and how much you want to lose. “Being specific is crucial because it offers you more details that help you to say ‘no,’ ” Dr. Gold says.

For instance, when you know you need to cut 500 calories a day in order to lose a pound a week, and that eating an ice cream sundae will prevent that from happening, you’re already engaging the prefrontal cortex and dampening the dopamine release. As soon as a craving strikes, think back to those numbers in order to fight off the urge to give in to that sundae.

Also important: Jot down everything you eat throughout the day in a food journal—especially if you’re trying to lose weight. Often when we’re motivated to eat by cravings, we tend to inhale the food and quickly forget about it, adds Dr. Gold.

Knowing that you’ll have to come back to that food journal may reduce your desire to eat it in the first place. “With practice, your ability to resist temptation becomes stronger over time—like a muscle,” Gearhardt says. Your prefrontal cortex will kick in more quickly to disrupt the dopamine release and, of course, your craving. Sweet.

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• What is The New Way to Conquer Cravings?

I’m a bit behind this week. What a shock. Things have been busy at work (so many meetings), and after a full work day, plus the gym, and cooking dinner, I haven’t really been in much of a mood for anything other than reading a silly book, watching The Daily Show, and going to bed. I do have some tasty meals to share, but for now, all I can muster are these photos. Sad face.

But oooh! So pretty:

Apr 1 – Hiking last Sunday near Mt. Diablo

Apr 2 – I’ve decided that April is health month. So we’ve been eating a fair amount of fish. This salmon was lovely. Does anyone else always make the typo “salmong” when trying to type salmon? Just wondering.

Apr 3 – A Mark Bittman recipe for stuffed chicken, sauteed corn, and farro and red rice. The farro and red rice were bought frozen at Whole Foods and I LOVE it! Cooked whole grains in three minutes? Yes please.

Apr 4 – I always buy myself gifts at the beginning of the month, when I get paid. I’m predictable that way. I’ve been wanting this one for awhile, and now it’s mine. (I also bought a deep frying/candy thermometer. Can you say fried chicken?)

Apr 5 – My folks came to town and we had a lovely dinner at Piccino, in San Francisco. These picked vegetables were awesome. I wish there had been way more of them.

Apr 6 – Art Murmur happens in our neighborhood on the first Friday of every month. It’s a mixed blessing, but I did smile when I saw this on the corner while I was walking home.

Apr 7 – We are getting lots of salad greens from our CSA these days. We got three bags today. It is salad time up in this place. Forever.

I have turnip soup for you, and bouillabaise! I made an awesome meatloaf, that didn’t actually have a lot of meat in it. Health month is awesome.

I’m a bit behind this week. What a shock. Things have been busy at work (so many meetings), and after a full work day, plus the gym, and cooking dinner, I haven’t really been in much of a mood for anything other than reading a silly book, watching The Daily Show, and going to bed. I do have some tasty meals to share, but for now, all I can muster are these photos. Sad face.

But oooh! So pretty:

Apr 1 – Hiking last Sunday near Mt. Diablo

Apr 2 – I’ve decided that April is health month. So we’ve been eating a fair amount of fish. This salmon was lovely. Does anyone else always make the typo “salmong” when trying to type salmon? Just wondering.

Apr 3 – A Mark Bittman recipe for stuffed chicken, sauteed corn, and farro and red rice. The farro and red rice were bought frozen at Whole Foods and I LOVE it! Cooked whole grains in three minutes? Yes please.

Apr 4 – I always buy myself gifts at the beginning of the month, when I get paid. I’m predictable that way. I’ve been wanting this one for awhile, and now it’s mine. (I also bought a deep frying/candy thermometer. Can you say fried chicken?)

Apr 5 – My folks came to town and we had a lovely dinner at Piccino, in San Francisco. These picked vegetables were awesome. I wish there had been way more of them.

Apr 6 – Art Murmur happens in our neighborhood on the first Friday of every month. It’s a mixed blessing, but I did smile when I saw this on the corner while I was walking home.

Apr 7 – We are getting lots of salad greens from our CSA these days. We got three bags today. It is salad time up in this place. Forever.

I have turnip soup for you, and bouillabaise! I made an awesome meatloaf, that didn’t actually have a lot of meat in it. Health month is awesome.

I, along with seemingly the rest of the world, went to see the Hunger Games this weekend. I read the books when they came out a few years ago and really loved them. The character of Katniss Everdeen was the perfect counterpoint to Stephanie Meyer’s Bella (yeah, I know everyone says that) (also I read too much YA fiction). The books capture all the things I love about dystopic fiction, and I was pleased that someone wrote a female character for whom there are bigger concerns in life than boys. Like, y’know, survival.

I realize going to see the movie on opening weekend, and eating chili cheese fries before the movie, and doing some unnecessary shopping before the movie are all very Capitol activities. And so, perhaps, was making this lamb stew when we got home. But, well, everyone is intrigued by the lamb stew. I can’t even count how many blog posts I’ve read about The Lamb Stew, and how many friends I have who’ve made their own version.

For those of you who are not Hunger Games aficionados, the story comes back, over and over, to starvation. People who do not live in the wealthy Capitol live with hunger every day of their lives. The children who are picked to fight to their deaths are often felled by hunger, rather than their competitors, in their game arena. Food is a focus of these books in the same way that food is a focus for anyone who is starving: a constant theme that runs just under the surface of every other activity. When Katniss visits the Capitol before being forced into the games, she is surrounded by more spectacle and wealth than she’s ever seen. Suzanne Collins does a great job of painting an extravagant scene, and a world where people strive to look as outlandish and unnatural as possible. But for a girl who has never had enough food, what stands out most is a meal.

Katniss talks about a lamb stew with dried plums. There’s no lengthy disquisition on the stew. It’s mentioned almost in passing. But as a reader, it sticks with you. You wonder how delicious this stew must taste to be more outstanding than someone with three inch gold eyelashes and purple skin. I wanted to make this stew from the first time I read the books.

I’m not sure what took me so long. The version of the stew that I conjured Sunday night was wonderful. I love lamb above all other meats, so it didn’t take much to please me. But the dried plums add a subtle sweetness that elevates this above a simple, meaty stew. I used potatoes for extra heft (I imagine a woman like Katniss would appreciate a stew that fills her up), and I seasoned the stew with Moroccan seasoning and paprika.

A stew like this is great for Sunday night because it takes a while to cook. You want it to have a long simmer over low heat to break down the sinews in the meat and make it silky and tender. The potatoes in this stew were nearly at the falling-apart stage; if you like firmer potatoes you can add them later in the cooking process.

Although this takes awhile to cook, it’s very easy to put together. I love cooking projects that allow me to spend most of the cooking time on the couch, reading a book or watching dumb television. I suppose that is just like someone from the Capitol.

If you haven’t read the books, I think you should, even if you don’t normally read YA, and even if you’re knee jerk reaction is to stay away. And if you have read the books, don’t be wary of the movie. Everyone involved did a great job bringing this, frankly, heart-wrenching and horrible story to life (and I mean horrible in the best way).

Lamb Stew with Dried Plums

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound lamb stew meat
• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 small carrots, sliced
• 2 medium Russet potatoes, cubed
• about 1 cup dried plums (prunes)
• 1 tablespoon Moroccan seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
• 32 ounces chicken stock (plus enough water to cover the vegetables and meat)
• salt and pepper
• fresh mint

If needed, cut the stew meat into 1 inch pieces. Season them with a bit of salt.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. When the oil is very hot, add the stew meat. Add only enough at once to just cover the bottom of the pot; you don’t want to crowd the meat. Let the meat cook for a few minutes before giving it a stir to flip the pieces over. Once the meat is browned (but not cooked through) remove it to a bowl or plate and cook the remaining meat. Once the second batch is cooked, you can add the first batch back to the pot.

Stir in the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, and plums. Give the mixture a good stir, then add the Moroccan seasoning, paprika, and a healthy pinch of salt. Stir in the chicken stock, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, lower the heat until the liquid is just simmering. Cook the stew, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You can add more water, if needed, to keep the vegetables just covered.

Once the meat is tender, the stew is ready. You can cook up some noodles or rice to serve it over, if you like. Season the stew to taste with salt, and pepper if you like. Garnish with fresh, chopped mint, and serve.

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• lamb stew with dried plums

I’ve always loved the idea of eating a great big luscious crunchy salad for dinner. But I’ve never been very good at coming up with creative ideas for main dish salads. I tend to get stuck at lettuce and carrots. And my basic vinaigrette is great, but it can get a bit monotonous. But there is a prepared salad from Trader Joe’s that I love: the Field Fresh Chopped Salad. It’s sweet and savory and fresh and crunchy, and I got in the habit of buying it for solitary dinners and occasional lunches. Then I looked at the ingredients. The poor chicken in this salad is full of so many preservatives, and I know the vegetables could be fresher and more full of flavor. So I decided to make this salad myself.

I’ll be the first to admit the photos are kind of lackluster. But the salad was not. It was everything I hoped it would be: bright and crunchy, with a nice balance of textures and flavors. I thought the sweet basil dressing would be the hardest part to get right, but I managed to hit it nearly spot on. This will definitely be making additional appearances in our kitchen.

I love a salad like this for dinner because it’s light, but not so light that you feel like you have yet to actually eat dinner. I served it with some toasty whole grain sourdough, and we both went to bed satisfied. If you’re looking for a healthy dinner (maybe you had too much beer and corned beef last weekend?), this salad is just right.

The dressing is really the cornerstone of this salad. I didn’t do a lot of precise measuring, so I suggest tasting as you go, and adding more of whatever you think will make you happy. The dressing should be a little sweet, a little tangy, and a little herby.

The other trick is to cut the vegetables into small, evenly sized bits. This is a chopped salad, so you don’t want huge chunks of vegetables you have to gnaw your way through. Likewise, give the lettuce a thorough run through with a knife, so you’re not trying to skewer huge leaves with your fork. The cabbage should be sliced into ribbons, and then into inch-long bits. The nuts should be nicely chopped. This isn’t a salad that should feel like a bowl full of separate ingredients, but rather, as though everything is melded into a seamless whole.

Field Fresh Chopped Salad with Chicken

Adapted from Trader Joe’s

We had half a leftover rotisserie chicken in refrigerator which was perfect for this salad. If you don’t, you can just poach, roast, or grill a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

This salad is open to a lot of variation. I actually forgot the corn and green onion, and it was still awesome. Try quinoa instead of the couscous for more protein, or perhaps even substitute tuna for the chicken, if you like that kind of thing. Let me know about your variations in the comments!

For the dressing:

• about 1 loosely packed cup of chopped basil
• about 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1-2 teaspoons agave nectar
• juice from half a Meyer lemon (a regular lemon is fine)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• a pinch of salt
• a few grindings of black pepper
• about 1 tablespoon water

For the salad:

• about 2-3 cups mixed greens or romaine
• 1 quarter of a large cabbage (any kind you prefer)
• 1 medium chicken breast, cooked
• about 1/2 cup Israeli couscous, cooked and cooled
• 1/2 of a large red pepper, diced
• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon dried currants
• about 3 tablespoons grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup cold cooked corn (if it’s very fresh, you can use raw)
• about 2-3 tablespoons chopped green onion

Put the chopped basil, mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of the agave nectar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend well and taste. Add more lemon juice, salt, or agave nectar to adjust the flavor. Thin with water, or thicken with more mayonnaise as needed. Remember that the dressing will thicken a little in the refrigerator, too, if you refrigerate it.

Chop the lettuce and cabbage in to small pieces. Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Dress with about half the salad dressing, adding more if needed. You can add a bit more cheese to the top if you like.