Cooking with Kids

By Lori Powell,

Recently, I had the privilege of teaching some children’s cooking classes at my job as Food Director of Prevention magazine. Rodale, the publisher, has a Take your Kids to Work Day, where the kids participate in craft, fitness and food activities for a day. My contribution was, of course, food and it was a home run!

It was a privilege since I felt like I was playing hooky because I was having so much fun teaching these amazing kids. I had four classes of 11 kids ages 6 to 13, back-to-back, teaching them about food styling, creating a better salad and making your own salad dressing with just three ingredients. It was such a joy to see how interested and enthusiastic they were and how smart regarding food and nutrition.

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Extreme Food Styling

By Lori Powell

Last week, I was food styling on the North Fork of Long Island for a future Prevention magazine issue. Sounds glamorous, yes?

Well, not so much when you have brush fires raging a couple of blocks away and 40 MPH wind gusts. The fires were eventually put out, but not without destroying 1,000 acres and three homes.

The winds, on the other hand, kept on gusting so that anything that wasn’t tied down was flying through the air. Then came the rainstorms that blew through our shoot not once but twice…what’s next…locusts?

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Skinny Dipping for Super Bowl Sunday

By Lori Powell

Super Bowl Sunday is a-comin’ and the need for great dips and chips is imminent Even though I’m not a die-hard fan of football, I can certainly step up to the line and embrace an event that involves food.

I was just on the TODAY Show on Monday as food director of Prevention magazine, www.prevention.com presenting my version of “Skinny Dipping” during the Kathie Lee & Hoda segment. I was the short one next to Jordan Sparks who was standing in for Kathie. It was fun sharing ideas for dips that are not only truly tasty, but healthy.

These recipes will help you think outside the processed dip and chip box to create snacking options that are packed with flavor, without fillers or additives. Plus, all the dips but one are just whizzed in the food processor and can be made ahead. It’s a win-win, as these dips only get better in flavor as they sit.

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Asian Style Crab Cakes

By Lori Powell

For the New Year I am striving to eat less meat and increase my portion of vegetables and other lean proteins, such as fish.

So when I was developing a recipe with crab meat for Prevention magazine (I am the Food Director), and I had 8 ounces left over, I thought crab cakes would be a delicious way to use the remainder.

I used what I had on hand in my pantry to create the following Asian Style Crab Cakes with watercress and pickled beets…such as panko, eggs, scallions, fresh lime, watercress, mayo, pickled ginger and beets, and a touch of seasoned rice wine vinegar.

I never order crab cakes out since they are usually made with a lot of filler, such as breadcrumbs, and never enough crabmeat. I want to see the chunks of crabmeat in my cake and so they are one of those dishes that I love to make at home. Plus they are super easy and cook quickly.

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Bacon & Eggs on a Frightful Night

By Lori Powell

I have moved to Pennsylvania to be the Food Director of Prevention magazine and I am thrilled…super beyond thrilled. What I am not so thrilled about is getting stuck in the snow on the 1/3-mile-long driveway of the place where I am house sitting, until I find a more permanent situation.

It sounded so blissful at first…a 40-acre farm, remote, quiet, with a kitchen that has a Viking range, Sub-Zero fridge and sunny windows.

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