Hello, everyone!

After a very long hiatus, The Good Meal is back on business (Hooray!). I've been MIA for two months now, but I'm finally back and starting to get settled in my new home.

The humble sandwich, so full of promise and often rejected as simple, is one of my favorite dishes. All it takes is a little effort and imagination to produce a wonderful meal, which works perfectly at any time of the day. Moving past the usual ham and cheese sandwich, there are thousands of combinations ready for you at your fingertips. Considering how easy making a sandwich usually is, there's no better dish in terms of variety and convenience.

Arepas are a corn dish made in Venezuela, Colombia and a few other Caribbean countries. In Venezuela, arepas are eaten for breakfast or dinner, served with a wide array of fillings. Arepas are soft, salty and eaten while they're hot (cold arepas taste terribly). They are very filling, with relative low calories, low glycemic index and no gluten. Venezuelans eat arepas almost everyday (me included) and they're deeply ingrained in our culture.

Trying to figure out an appropriate diet snack, I came out with a great solution: oatmeal cookies. Full of fiber, they sounded like a satisfying option to curb my sugar cravings. Considering this, I logged on to Foodbuzz and scanned several recipes until I found something I liked. And the winners are: apple oatmeal and peanut butter-chocolate oatmeal.

New Year's Eve is near and all around the world Champagne bottles are being sold at an impressive rate. This year is almost over and what's the best way to receive the next one? With a glass of bubbly, of course! Here's another idea for you: how about impressing all your friends and family with Champagne trivia? I'll help you out with that.

Christmas is near and that means family, presents and great food. In this post, which is going to be a bit more personal than usual, I'll tell you about the food I eat during the holidays. To begin my story, I'll tell you that I live in Venezuela, South America. Our Christmas traditions are very different from those in the U.S., but they are equally beautiful and enjoyable.

I'm not a soup person, definitely. Given the choice, I'll almost never eat it. However, there are some soups that warm my heart and my stomach, including chicken broth, pumpkin soup, tomato soup, onion soup and goulash. Chicken broth is known for its healing properties, being my number one choice for an upset stomach and flu symptoms. It's very easy to make and you can always add noodles, vegetables, rice or even an egg to make it richer.

Before you jump screaming “of course!”, let me tell you something: I don't like them. Yep, that's right. I don't like marshmallows. I've always loved the way they look, like fluffy little pillows of sugar, but after the first bite, I remember that I don't like them and give them to someone else.

My nephews, as many small children, are picky eaters. They can identify a vegetable quickly enough to run away from it before their parents notice they're gone from the table. Myself, I eat my vegetables because I HAVE to, not because I WANT to, and I've admitted before that I don't eat enough greens. How can this situation be reversed? With a bit of imagination, of course. Veggies in disguise!

 

If you've tried pesto sauce, you've probably fallen in love with its wonderful flavor and vibrant green color. Fresh homemade pesto, with superb basil aroma, will undoubtedly sweep you off your feet. But did you know that pesto offers nutritional benefits too? Read on!