Pureed soybean curds. Mmmmm. Who'd like a big plate of them?

Chockful of nutrients, low in calories, eating tofu has been linked to lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of certain diseases, including cancer.  

But that's not going to convince your kids to give it a try.

Welcome to the year of the monkey! February 8th marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, celebrated by people throughout the world, especially in China. The 15-day festivities are a time to come together with family, express gratitude, and look forward to another year. In some ways, it’s like the American version of Christmas, New Year’s, and Thanksgiving Day all rolled into one, long celebration.

Did you have a New Year’s resolution to start eating healthier and making more dishes from scratch in 2016? Cookbook authors Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman, both contributing photography and food editors for VegNews magazine, understand. The Toronto pair recently published DIY vegan: More Than 100 Easy Recipes to Create an Awesome Plant-Based Pantry (St. Martin’s Press, 2015) to help guide readers toward making more food at home.

“Mom, what’s for dinner?” It’s a question my kids used to ask all the time. I found myself fumbling through my thoughts on a daily basis, too, about 3 p.m. wondering what should we eat tonight? The result, not always, but sometimes, was either picking up Chinese food, throwing together a quick meal that no one (myself included) was really looking forward to eating, or getting so overwhelmed with everything else going on that we had cereal for dinner.
 

Roasted Crispy Cricket Tacos and Plantain Empanadas share the menu with traditional Jalisco favorites like Corn Sopes, Beef Barbacoa, and Cochinita Pibil. Such is the assortment of inventive dishes that have become the trademark of El Arrayán restaurant.