Full video tutorial for Chard and Chorizo at my YouTube channel (click the photo above, duh!).

Eat Happy Kitchen is now available at ALL Raley’s (sauces), and 120 Hy-Vee stores that have the Health Department (sauces and spices).

Plus our cheese bites are now nationwide in the snack section of ALL HomeGoods stores!!

What what?!? How is this even possible?

Truth be told, these stores are giving us a real shot alongside the big boys.

We have a limited time to show them there’s demand for Eat Happy Kitchen products, so please go in store and stock up whenever possible.

I talk to at least 10 people a week who don’t know that they can find our products at their local store. Even if you think you’ve checked our retail tracker, it changes every week, so go here to put in your address.

You guys are the reason we stay in business.

I don't know how anyone grows a food brand these days without people who trust the company and support them.

Oh wait, the other companies raise millions of dollars of institutional investment.

We don’t have millions of dollars. (yet)

Instead, we’re at the phase of proving what a little company can do with scant resources. I’m a gal who knows how to do more with less. That’s for sure.

But everyday is a nail biter for Eat Happy Kitchen, and the fact that we’ve lasted this long is due to YOU.

Thank you.

Now, it’s summer, the season of harvest and bounty, so let’s do more with more.

My recipe for Chard and Chorizo is filling, super low carb, dairy free, and takes less than 15 minutes to get on the table.

Put this savory, Californian-Mexican inspired dish on your weeknight menu this week.

You can sub in a couple of teaspoons of my Taco Dust (although it’s out of stock on our website—this is where it pays to live near a store that carries it).

And if you’re a die hard dairy-head, then of course you can garnish with sprinkle cheese.

Now let’s make some food. I had oral surgery two days ago and have only been able to eat soft foods and gum on some little pieces of chicken, so I dream of the day soon when I can make this dish and shove it in my gob.

Love you mean it.

XO

Anna

Chard And Chorizo Annavocino Ehk

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CHARD AND CHORIZO

(Serves 4)

• 1 pound uncooked chorizo sausage, any casing discarded

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 pound Swiss or rainbow chard, washed and loosely chopped

• 1 (4-ounce) can fire roasted Hatch chilis

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Brown the chorizo on medium heat in a large, flat-bottomed nonstick sauté pan until cooked through. Set the cooked chorizo aside on a plate, reserving the fat in the pan.

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat up until it’s hot and shimmering. Cook the onion until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the chard, cook 3-4 minutes until it’s starting to soften. Add the Hatch chilis and stir.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cumin, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the spices over the chard mixture and toss until mixed. Add the cooked chorizo and toss. Turn down the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the chard has completely softened, about 5-8 minutes. Serve immediately.

*Recipe originally published at YouTube and updated for Substack newsletter subscribers at annavocino.substack.com.

I’ve been wanting to make keto Dan Dan Noodles for quite some time, and boy oh boy, am I glad I took the time to perfect this one.

My version of low carb Dan Dan Noodles (and my low carb hoisin sauce recipe) are really quite simple in execution, but they taste so addictively good.

Dan Dan Noodles is an addictively sweet and spicy Szechuan dish, but one you will never find a gluten free or low carb version of at any restaurant.

So if you’ve quit gluten or processed sugar and grains, and you’re craving a keto/low carb inspired version, you’re gonna wanna make this recipe.

Two key components to keto Dan Dan Noodles sauce are the hoisin sauce recipe below and homemade crunchy garlic onion chili oil. In fact, you should make both of these sauces to have on hand to go on soft-boiled eggs, veggies, or chicken. If you want to use store bought hoisin or store bought crunchy garlic onion chili oil, you can, just make sure to check the labels for no added sugar or gluten.

Quick Eat Happy Kitchen news update…Raley’s, Hy-Vee, and HomeGoods, oh my!

NorCal! Please find our Marinara, Pink Crema, and Puttanesca sauces on shelf at Raley’s!! This has been three years in the making, and we’re so excited to gain a foothold into the NorCal market. We are also being brought into Ukiah co-op, SAC co-op, Alameda Natural Foods, and both Harvest Markets. We will continue to add more NorCal independents now that we have Raley’s to open up distribution. Please support our retail partners and buy our sauces in store!

Midwest!! Our sauces AND spices will be on shelf at all Hy-Vee stores that have a health section (100-120 stores). This should happen after Labor Day.

NATIONWIDE HOMEGOODS SHOPPERS! You will now have the chance to impulse shop our cheese bites at the register at all US HomeGoods stores! Please let me know if you find a bag of cheese bites in store.

Building this business is a kick in the teeth most days, but announcing these store partnerships is a reason to celebrate!!

We update our stores every week—so if it’s been awhile since you’ve checked your address, please go here and do that. Most people I talk to have no idea that Eat Happy Kitchen is now in their local grocery store. For everyone else, the only way we stay in business is our website sales, so keep stocking up there. We appreciate you!

Wanna learn how to make homemade Kimchi??

The Cookstack Collective class with Betty Williams teaching you how to make not one but two kinds of homemade kimchi on Friday August 21st at 3pm EST.

Every month, my beloved Premium Substack Subscribers get access to a free cooking class from a different Substack food writer. Next month will be my class covering some new recipes from my impending new cookbook, so make sure you upgrade to Premium if you don’t want to miss these incredible classes.

I outlined the entire year of Cookstack Collective’s calendar here, and I will remind Premium Subscribers to sign up for each month’s class. Registration link for the kimchi class is below.

Check out the lovely conversation I had with Betty a couple of weeks ago, and of course, subscribe to her Substack while you’re there!

Back to Low Carb Dan Dan Noodles with Homemade Hoisin Sauce…

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The trend to add protein to everything feels so dumb sometimes.

I just read the ingredients on not one but three protein sodas in the RTD beverage case at Fresh Thyme in Cranberry, PA. The ingredients are utter garbage that would cause my intestines to tie into painful knots and completely defeat the purpose of getting extra protein in a soda.

I understand that not everyone wants to eat as much meat and eggs as I like to eat. We need variety, different flavors and textures.

So my Stupid Protein Pancakes were born.

At first, I thought it was a dumb idea to add extra whey protein to my low carb pancakes, but they turned out so delicious, I knew I was onto something.

Then I decided to take the eggs out of it completely and use the “flax eggs” recipe of 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water, whisked together and let sit for 10 minutes, become a binder substitute for eggs that works well in certain recipes. This is one of them.

The extra flax gives them a crunch (and fiber), the whey protein and cottage cheese give them protein, and the coconut flour layers in more fiber.

So as I murmured aloud to myself that making high protein pancakes is “stupid,” I eventually ate my words as these pancakes are stupid GOOD.

I put regular butter on them, but you can use a dairy free butter. And of course, you can sub dairy free cream cheese, yogurt, or cottage cheese for the cottage cheese.

These protein pancakes are a nice change up from eating eggs every day, or just a fantastic solution for anyone looking for gluten free, high fiber, and high protein pancakes that don’t have a lot of carbs.

But first, I’d like to update you on our pursuit of making the cleanest, most delicious sauces, spices, and cheese bites over at Eat Happy Kitchen.

Most of you who read this substack have never tried my products, but maybe if I incessantly tell you what it’s like to make and sell a clean food product, you will switch from the Big Food competitors one day.

As the delightful Mike Rowe said to me when I went on his pod earlier this year, I have to be relentless speaking about the struggles and tiny victories of running an emerging brand going up against the establishment.

Lately, it’s felt more like the struggles outweigh the victories. But that’s just business, kids.

Here’s a question that someone named Cheryl emailed to me a couple of weeks back:

I don’t see the word organic on your products. Did I miss that? And if not, why the choice not to go organic when that’s the direction of the movement?

This is a loaded question as I’ve harped on and on for years about the fact that people can game the system when being certified anything—and organic has some loopholes that some large conglomerates and farmers have famously gone through that I can get into at a later time.

The short answer is organic is too expensive. But we are in the process of getting Non GMO certified and will be announced very soon as we complete the documentation.

Our ingredients are extremely clean, and I make sure to over see the souring of all of it.

Our sauces are also certified seed oil free (lab tested), one of only three brands who are, and there are several organic certified brands that contain lower quality ingredients and seed oils. I will never acquiesce that organic soybean oil is okay because it’s been deemed organic.

Also there are organic brands that have sugar and other fillers which, while technically organic, are not things you should be eating. There’s a workaround for everything, I guess.

I talk about how to read food labels, interpret the marketing jargon, and understand the FDA’s regulations better as a consumer at length with Vinnie Tortorich in the Fitness Confidential podcast, so please check that out.

Cheryl never wrote me back to let me know she received or cared about what I wrote her, but what I’ve learned over the years is that if one person voices a concern to me, then many more people think it but aren’t saying anything.

It’s so important to know your makers, understand where your food comes from, and support smaller brands who are prioritizing good food over profit margins. This is why I go to great lengths to describe my journey, the good and the bad, along the way.

I think Eat Happy Kitchen is at a make it or break it point. The grocery business is designed to decimate and suck the money out of small businesses like mine because they know there are brands lined up right behind me, lined up like cattle to slaughter.

But what Big Food doesn’t know is that I’m not in this to be kicked around or just to make money. I’m in this to grow a business and change the face of grocery store shelves. To quote my beloved father-in-law Al, they’ll never take me alive.

Sometimes the journey makes me cranky, and I wind up writing a recipe like Stupid Protein Pancakes, that can for a moment put a smile on my face and remind me to stop and enjoy the pancakes.

If you wanna support a small business making a big change, please hop over to Eat Happy Kitchen and pick up some of our gorgeous, delish, and super clean products. Your purchase literally keeps us in business.

XOXO

Anna

Stupid Protein Pancakes Annavocino Ehk

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STUPID PROTEIN PANCAKES

(Yields six 4” pancakes)

I eat these pancakes with butter and fresh blueberries, if I can find the berries in season. I do not use maple syrup nor any kind of syrup made from an artificial sweetener or sugar substitute. I do not judge you if you do. Please live your life, you do you, after all, these are just stupid protein pancakes.

• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup ground flax meal, divided

• 3 tablespoons water

• 1/4 cup coconut flour

• 1/4 cup plain whey protein

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup full fat cottage cheese

• 3/4 cup whole milk or diary free milk

• 2-4 tablespoons avocado oil, butter, or coconut oil, for frying

• Butter

• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries for serving

Place 1 tablespoon of the flax meal in a small bowl and whisk in 3 tablespoons water. Set aside and let stand for 10-12 minutes before proceeding with remaining steps.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup flax meal plus the coconut flour, whey protein, baking soda, and arrowroot powder. Add the vanilla extract, milk, and cottage cheese, then whisk until smooth. Mix in flax/water mixture from the first step.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of avocado oil to medium high heat in a large-bottomed, nonstick sauté pan until the oil is hot and shimmering. Do the sizzle test: drop a pinch of the batter into the oil to see if it sizzles, and when it does, you are ready to cook the pancakes.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out three portions into the pan to cook. Let cook 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn. The pancake will turn a darker brown. When the pancake feels secure enough to flip, carefully get your spatula under the pancake and quickly flip them, one at a time. Continue cooking an additional 2-3 minutes, pressing down on pancakes to make sure the middle gets cooked. Tip the pan around to let the oil roll around and cook the edges of the pancake. Repeat with the second batch of oil and batter to make the remaining pancakes.

Remove from heat when cooked through and serve with extra butter and blueberries.

TL;DR

• What it is: Salmon Burgers are an easy weeknight summer meal that only takes a few minutes of active prepping and cooking.

• Why you’ll love it: Delicious flavor components bring the salmon to life, and are the centerpiece to a summer meal, but they’re secretly easy to put together (and not at all fishy tasting).

• How to make it: Make a burger mix, heat up the pan (or grill), and fry up these salmon burgers lickety-split.

I hear y’all murmuring about the Costco Salmon Burger patties in the low carb community. So I trot on over to read the ingredient list and see that they’re gluten free (yay), but have potato powder (boo) and seed oils (extra boo). So while the nutritional panel of Costco salmon burgers might show only 2 grams of carbs, I think it’s more important to focus on the ingredient list, and if you can make some from scratch, I encourage you to take the deep sea plunge on this salmon burgers recipe I wrote for Eat Happy Too.

You are welcome to spark up the grill for this particular salmon burger recipe, but I’ve made it even easier in my instructions so you can turn on a pan, fry up the delish patties, and have dinner on the table quickly.

And while you can use canned salmon (which would cook quicker because canned salmon is pre-cooked), my recipe calls for fresh salmon, which you cut up into bits to incorporate into your burger mix, like ground meat. Make sure you use a sharp knife as cutting up raw salmon steaks into pieces is a lot easier with a good tool. You should be sharpening your knives regularly anyway, which I trust that you’re already doing, right? Right?

Save your salmon skins and fry them in the pan when you are done frying up the burgers for a crispy treat.

As for mayo…sigh…I have some bad news to share.

Recently UC Davis did a study on products claiming to contain avocado oil. If you’ve followed my work for any amount of time, you probably already know where this is going…

I have loved Chosen Foods Classic Avocado Oil Mayo for a few years now, and have told hundreds of thousands of people that it’s the only store-bought mayo I use (truth).

Well…my beloved Chosen Foods mayo was shown to not be “compositionally consistent with authentic oil.”

WTAF. To say I am crestfallen is an understatement. What exactly is in there? Was it a faulty test? Why does it say 100% avocado oil on the label if there isn’t authentic avocado oil contained within?

I have a bajillion questions and will be investigating further, but it’s leading me to a conclusion that I need to figure out how to scale own mayo recipe over at Eat Happy Kitchen. I mean, I’ve done it with sauces, spices, and cheese bites, so why not mayo?

So there goes the next 18 months of my life while I figure that out. If I can find a manufacturing partner who can make a clean mayo that’s also delicious, I will let you know as soon as I know.

Until then, I also recommend making my One Minute Mayo recipe.

Now let’s get some salmon burgers on the table (and into our bellies)…

XOXO

Anna

Salmon Burgers Annavocino Ehk

158KB ∙ PDF file

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SALMON BURGERS

(Yields 4-5 Burgers)

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• Zest of 1 lemon, minced

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

• 1/4 onion, minced

• 1 pound wild caught salmon, skin removed and flesh chopped into small pieces

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• Butter lettuce leaves

• Sliced avocado

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, egg, dill, and onion. Fold in the salmon pieces and mix until combined. Season will with salt and pepper and fold the seasoning into the burger mix. Divide and press into 1/2” thick burger patties, then lay the burger patties on a large plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil to medium high heat in a large sauté pan or cast iron pan. Gently place the salmon burger patties in the pan to retain their shape and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove the patties to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and the lemon juice. Serve the salmon burgers wrapped in butter lettuce leaves garnished with a dollop of lemon-mayo and avocado slices.

*Recipe originally published in Eat Happy Too, then revised and updated for Substack newsletter subscribers at annavocino.substack.com.

TL;DR

• What it is: A savory, umami, briny seafood dish brought to life with Puttanesca sauce served over my favorite Mediterranean flavors combined into a cauliflower rice dish.

• Why you’ll love it: A gorgeously plated easy weeknight dinner that can be doubled for a dinner party or brunch menu.

• How to make it: Sauté cauliflower rice and flavor it with olives, sun dried tomatoes, seasonings, and basil, and top it with garlicky pan-seared shrimp served alongside a hearty Puttanesca sauce.

If you’re looking for shrimp recipes with cauliflower rice because you’ve been missing the carb-heavy usual suspects, I’ve got low carb, high protein recipes for Shrimp and Cheese Grits, Blackened Shrimp, Coconut Crusted Shrimp, shrimp with Mexican style rice, shrimp scampi with pasta).

Maybe you’ve heard of Puttanesca Sauce and you’ve wanted to give it a try. This recipe for Mediterranean shrimp cauliflower rice covered in delish puttanesca sauce has been my new summer obsession.

What even is Puttanesca sauce?

Like most iconic Italian dishes, Puttanesca sauce has conflicting origin stories…and Italians will argue about which is the correct one. I’m not going to get into the details here because we need to get to the recipe, but suffice it to say Puttanesca sauce literally translates to hooker sauce. And honey, I’m here for it. This sauce is delicious. Consider me the hooker and the hookee.

Traditional Puttanesca sauce has anchovies at the base for its umami flavor profile. My scratch recipe in Eat Happy Italian does. But when I decided to develop this recipe for a jar, I omitted the anchovies for a few reasons: Americans think they don’t like anchovies (I am not going to take on that much mistaken bias), and taking out the anchovies makes it available to more people with different dietary preferences or restrictions.

Eat Happy Kitchen’s jarred Puttanesca sauce uses capers, real Kalamata olives (no cheap-ass basic black olives here, fam), and caper brine to achieve the exact same flavor profile.

This sauce is so good it won Pasta Sauce of the Year in the 2024 Shelfie Awards by Startup CPG, an honor I will talk about until the day I die.

Let’s talk Cauliflower Rice.

Cauliflower rice is a great way to get all the rice feels without all the carbs. It’s a frequent menu item for gluten free, grain free, low carb, and keto diets.

If you need other versions of cauliflower rice, please take advantage of my Substack recipe index or just put the word “rice” into the search bar.

I turn cauliflower rice into a high protein dish by adding a healthy portion of shrimp. And when you eat this recipe, you will. get. full. Isn’t that what we’re all after at the end of the day? Good food that fills our bellies? And if it’s easy to make, all the better.

As always, I’ve included the downloadable, printable PDF of this recipe, or you can print the Substack recipe card, plus I will paste the whole recipe into the bottom of the post.

Note: if you hate the flavor profile of Puttanesca (I don’t know your life, maybe olives did you dirty at some point), you can substitute any preferred red sauce. Or you can use the Shrimp Scampi sauce in Eat Happy Italian, or this spicy Shrimp Fra Diavolo.

Shrimp Puttanesca With Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice Annavocino Ehk

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SHRIMP PUTTANESCA WITH MEDITERRANEAN CAULIFLOWER RICE

(Serves 4)

Note: to chop basil into ribbons (AKA a “chiffonade”), lay the basil leaves on top of each other, then roll them up lengthwise like you’re rolling a cigarette or the devil’s lettuce. Then thinly chop the rolled basil leaves perpendicular to the rolled up leaves, and they will come out like ribbons.

In place of the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, you can use an equal amount of Eat Happy Kitchen Salt Dust.

If you want to make homemade Puttanesca sauce, use the recipe in Eat Happy Italian, or you can sub regular marinara, just make sure you check the label for no seed oils and no sugar added!

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 sweet onion, diced

• 1 bell pepper, diced

• 2 bags of frozen cauliflower “rice,” or grate 1 head of cauliflower on the large side of a box grater to make rice

• Salt and pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, loosely chopped

• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 1/2-2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp, rinsed and patted dry, then seasoned with salt and pepper

• 1 jar Eat Happy Kitchen Puttanesca Sauce

• 7-10 basil leaves, chopped into ribbons for a garnish

• Freshly grated parmesan, optional, for garnish

Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, flat bottomed sauté pan on medium high heat. Cook the onion and pepper until they’re soft, about 3-4 minutes, then add the bags of cauliflower rice. Toss the cauliflower rice in the heat, and season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the garlic powder and onion powder. Let cook for 8-10 minutes, only stirring every 2 minutes so that the contents of the pan can get a bit of a sear on them. Drizzle the white wine vinegar over the vegetables, tossing to stir, and season again with salt and pepper. Fold in the Kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts. Cook for 2-3 additional minutes, then turn the heat down low while you cook the shrimp in the next step.

Prepare a second large flat bottomed sauté pan by heating the remaining olive oil to medium high heat. Add the garlic slices and cook for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, sear the shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side until the shrimp is bright pink and cooked through. Season the shrimp well once more with salt and pepper.

In a separate sauce pan, bring the jar of Puttanesca sauce to a low boil, then reduce the heat and ladle in a few scoops of sauce onto the cooked shrimp, then remove the shrimp from the heat. Plate the cauliflower rice into shallow pasta bowls, then scoop the shrimp on top. Pour over the desired amount of sauce per person and serve immediately. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan, if desired.

Here’s the menu with full links to the recipes and the video below:

A colorful Hummus Platter, Sesame Tahini Chicken Salad, and Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette.

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It’s hot all over the place.

It’s also the precious quiet summer time where unless you are currently on a vacation food bender free-for-all, this time period is a perfect chance to reconnect with quitting sugar and processed foods.

I surveyed the “second new years” vibe over at my Eat Happy Facebook Group (you should totes join), and there was a lot of mea culpa responses of folks struggling to stay on plan.

Which of course, got me thinking…

Why is it even harder to quit processed foods for the second (or thirty-second) time?

I mean, we know what to do. We know the actions we need to take. We did it before, and we can do it again, right?

But we don’t do them. Why is that?

Are we addicted? Sure, that could be true. Sugar and processed carbs are designed to be deliciously addictive. When I have a bite of that homemade gluten free cake Torri made me, I never seem to have that internal limiter that says, “hey, why don’t you only have a bite.” Sugar doesn’t work that way in my reptilian brain.

Or is the inability to draw a boundary with ourselves and others a matter of lifestyle and environment? Maybe. Lots of us live in divided households. We have exposure to the very trigger foods that look temping every time you walk past them. Or in my case, if I have the trigger food in the house, that will be all I think about until I allow myself to eat that food. Then I’m off the rails and off and running into carb-land, which is a place that’s never satisfying, and the outcome ain’t good.

Is it a self-soothing comfort thing? “Just a few bites will cheer me up.” or “I’ve been working so hard, I deserve a treat.”

Is it a discipline issue? “A few bites aren’t gonna kill me.”

Is it social pressure? “It’s so-and-so’s birthday, I don’t wanna be rude and skip the cake!”

Only you know the reasons behind why it’s so hard to recommit to goals.

I know my reasons, and I also know that I have to be an active participant in figuring out why so that I can get back to behavior that serves my long-term goals.

If you’re on the struggle bus, just know you are not alone. This is actually part of the process of figuring out what works for you.

Second New Years is the opportunity to reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and environment and take the time to design the life you wanna live.

Who’s with me??

And let’s not forget, my cookbooks, sauces, spices, and cheese bites are ALL designed to HELP you on that journey.

Stock up on the good stuff. Make a low carb pizza instead of calling for takeout. Whip up the Low Carb Chicken Fried Rice In A Bag and get back on track eating something yummy. And then before you know it, you’re back to whipping up NSNG® meat and veg simple dinners. Make sure you look at my Substack index of recipes, whip out those Eat Happy cookbooks you spent good money on, and of course, stock up on good food, starting with sauce, spice, and cheese bites to fill the pantry. ;)

OK, let’s make some cold soup! Wash your veggies and herbs (and maybe avoid Taco Bell for the foreseeable forever).

As always, I’ve included the printable PDF, the Substack recipe card, and I’m pasting Cold Cucumber Dill Soup below.

No need to turn on the oven. You could even grab a rotisserie chicken and chop up pieces, or pre hard boil lots of eggs for extra protein.

Also check out these summer recipes to make your life easier (all here on Substack, links below):

Blackened Shrimp Salad Cups

Cold Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Grilled Halloumi and Watermelon Salad

Low Carb Panzanella Salad

Bright Chopped Salad with Feta Dill Dressing

Seared Carpaccio

Now let’s make some summer soup…

Cold Cucumber Dill Soup Annavocino Ehk

155KB ∙ PDF file

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COLD CUCUMBER DILL SOUP

(Yields 2 cups)

• 2 English cucumbers, chopped, plus additional diced cucumber for garnish

• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

• 1 cup full fat Greek yogurt (or use plain cashew yogurt for dairy-free)

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/4 cup loose fresh dill, plus extra springs for garnish

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

• Additional veggie broth or chicken broth, optional, for a thinner soup

• 1 tablespoon diced red pepper, for garnish

Combine the cucumbers, green onions, Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, dill, salt, cayenne, and white pepper in a Vitamix or food processor. Blend until puréed smooth. You can add veggie broth or chicken broth, if you’d like the soup to be thinner. Chill for 6-8 hours in the fridge, or overnight. Serve cold, garnished with dill sprigs, diced cucumber, red pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

You chefs love a livestream private cooking class.

I know this because you are always tuning in when I do one.

Well, have I got a treat for you.

I’ve gotten together with 11 other Substack food luminaries to teach monthly livestream cooking classes, starting with the delightful Rebecca Blackwell of Let’s Get Lost on July 17th from the galley of her sailboat to make 3 easy summer dishes: A colorful Hummus Platter, Sesame Tahini Chicken Salad, and Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette.

Each class will be recorded and posted on a private link for later viewing.

If you’ve been considering upgrading to become a premium subscriber, now’s the time. You’ll access the cooking class deal of the century…premium subscription costs $5/month or $50 for the year.

Below the jump here is the link for Premium Subscribers to register for this month’s class, plus I’ll send it again in a chat.

Here is the schedule for the upcoming cooking classes to whet your appetite…

Friday, August 21, 2026, 12 pm Pacific/3 pm Eastern: Join Betty Williams for a fermentation primer and learn to make 2 kinds of Korean kimchi: quick-pickled Cucumber Kimchi and fermented Cabbage Kimchi.

Sunday, September 20, 2026, 2pm PT (5pm ET): Join your girl Anna Vocino to cook through some of the best recipes from her new cookbook, Eat Happy Cocktail Hour! Anna will show us how to make some low-carb party food, including Low Carb GF Pigs In A Blanket, Caprese Martini, Dill Pickle Ranch Dip, and Pom Pom Mocktails.

Thursday, October 15, 2026, 10 am PT/1 pm EST: Join Nicki Sizemore to make two seasonal staples — a whipped ricotta dip and a grain-free pumpkin apple cake — alongside simple practices for cooking with more intention and joy.

Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 4 pm EST/ 1 pm PST: Join Kerry Faber to make a cozy fall favorite, Cabbage-Wrapped Chicken Parm Meatballs.

Friday, December 4, 2026: 5pm Central/ 6pm Eastern: Stephanie Hansen - 3 Holiday Recipes including my Baked Brie with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa, and Roasted Shrimp

Sunday, January 24, 2027, 3 pm Central, 4 pm Eastern Rachel Ciordas - Focaccia Pizza, Ice Water Salad, and a Champagne Cocktail- all GF

Tuesday, February 27, 2027, noon EST: Emma Frisch, Classic Italian Bolognese Pasta with a Frisch Twist - batch-cooking for families, tips for picky eaters, and dietary restrictions

Tuesday, March 16, 2027, 4 PM Pacific / 7 PM Eastern: Just in time for St Patrick’s Day, join Kate McDermott and learn to make a Classic Irish Apple Tart in this virtual session live from her Pie Cottage kitchen. You will receive a bonus recipe for a delicious custard sauce to serve with the tart, too.

Sunday, April 18, 2027, 9 am PST /1 pm EST/7 pm Italy time CET: Join Lolly Martyn to meal prep like an Italian nonna: We’ll make the simply delicious family favorite pasta e ceci (chickpeas) and effortlessly whip up some veggie broth and sugo (red sauce) for your freezer or fridge at the same time!

Friday, May 7, 2027, 12 pm PT / 3 PM ET: - Buying the Best Meat - join butcher and sustainable food advocate, Steve Sabicer, for a practical one-hour workshop on navigating today’s confusing meat landscape. Learn what meat labels actually mean, how to buy on a budget, and the questions you should ask your butcher, meat counter, or online vendor. You’ll also learn a few simple at-home butchery techniques to help stretch your dollars with minimal effort.

Thursday, June 3, 2027, 1 pm EST: Sheryl O’Connell - Summer themed - likely legume-based and portable salads - TBD.

Holy carp, that’s quite the line up.

I will be joining each and every one of these classes, so roll through and hang out. We might learn some things…

Read more

Red Cabbage and Kale Slaw is my recipe alternative to overly mayo-ee, wet, sugary Cole slaw recipes.

One day I’ll publish an actual Cole slaw recipe, but frankly, this slaw recipe from the OG Eat Happy cookbook is so much better, and every year I keep coming back to it.

Unlike other side dishes at the BBQ, this one gets devoured. Is there another recipe with both kale AND cabbage that can have those bragging rights at the cookout?

I just got back from a week of doing press in Atlanta. I lived there for 10 years, went to college there, co-founded an improv theater company there that’s still going strong (way to go Whole World Theatre!), and still have deep ties in the ATL.

It was an incredible week getting to promote my involvement in Toy Story 5 as Mrs Potato Head, but even more importantly, getting to shine a light on being the founder of a mission driven company in Eat Happy Kitchen.

But with all the activity means other things fall by the wayside.

I haven’t been posting on social media as much as I should. I haven’t been emailing my private list as much as I should. I haven’t been recipe developing or filming content as much as I should.

The pressure feels like a lot, and I need a break but don’t see a world where I can ever truly take time to myself.

The reason for this peek inside the emotional roller coaster of running a company and choosing to be the public face of it…I hope you guys who are stressed out there know you’re not alone.

The thing that works for me is to make sure I’m still eating right and working out, or else I would’ve burned out years ago.

Quitting processed foods, sugars, grains, seed oils, etc, is what has kept me sane. In the past, when I received bad news or good news, I would use food as a reward. That has completely shifted, and I’m so grateful for that. It didn’t come without shifting a whole bunch of beliefs that were no longer serving me.

Choosing what to eat will always be something that I have to practice each and every day.

I am a creative person. I am a sensitive person. These are good qualities to have and why I can tap into those skills to do voices, tell jokes, write recipes, edit content, take food photos, produce cookbooks, invent food products.

But I also have learned that I have limits. I need to always feed my mind positivity. I need to love myself more and be less hard on myself. To grow this food business, I need to be extra careful not to burn myself out. But I don’t know what that looks like. I just keep going, and I hope that what I’ve created eventually catches hold in a big way. And if not, I can say with full authority that I put my whole self into it.

OK enough kvetching. Let’s get to the FOOD.

WHO WANTS TO GRILL SOME YUMMINESS FOR JULY 4th??!!

Happy Burfday, ‘Murica.

Here are 10 of my favorite summer grilling recipes for your menu consideration.

Followed by an updated version of the wonderfully delish Red Cabbage and Kale Slaw in PDF form, Substack recipe card, and pasted into the body of this post.

I love you all.

Oh, and please stock up on the combo Griller Pack of BBQ Dust and Salt Dust while it’s 25% off for a few more days…

XOXO

Anna

Red Cabbage And Kale Slaw Annavocino Ehk

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RED CABBAGE AND KALE SLAW

Serves 8-10

• 2 cups kale, rough stems cut away and discarded

• 1 head of red cabbage, destemmed, quartered, then shredded on the largest side of a box grater

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

• 1 teaspoon minced shallot

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (check the label for no seed oils or sugar or make your own using my recipe for homemade mayo)

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling on the kale

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup dried sugar free cranberries, currants, or cherries (optional)

Lay the kale leaves on a flat surface, drizzle with some olive oil, then massage the kale leaves for one minute. Finely chop the kale leaves.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped kale and grated cabbage. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, shallot, mayonnaise, and olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste. Add the dressing to the kale and cabbage mixture, tossing to coat evenly. Toss in the dried fruit pieces, if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

*Recipe originally published in Eat Happy cookbook, then revised and updated exclusively for Substack newsletter subscribers at annavocino.substack.com.

Asparagus Swiss Stuffed Meatloaf is still one of my all time favorite ways to eat meatloaf.

Please press play on the video above to see a tutorial of exactly how to make what is the prettiest meatloaf you’ll ever make. While you’re at it, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Once I hit 5000 subscribers, something magical is supposed to happen like rainbows and unicorns and good karma and world peace.

Just like a meatloaf should be, my recipe for Asparagus Swiss Stuffed Meatloaf is savory, a bit sweet (if you use one date in the glaze), and has some real classy looking meat jewelry (TM Vinnie Tortorich) in the form of asparagus in the center of each slice.

BUT FIRST!!

Cookstack Collective for my Premium Subscribers!

I’ve gotten together with 11 other Substack food writers who are incredibly accomplished recipe writers, cookbook authors, food bloggers, and cooking class wizards to teach a monthly cooking class called Cookstack Collective.

Over the next year, paid Substack subscribers will be invited to live Zoom classes hosted by a different cook each month, with fresh recipes, helpful tips, and the chance to cook along or simply tune in and enjoy.

Along with access to the live classes, paid subscribers will also receive the class materials and all 12 recordings, making this a practical and delicious extra you can come back to all year long. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading, this is a great reason: more good dinners, more useful ideas, and more connection in the kitchen.

I’ll be teaching my class in September so we can cook some recipes from my new cookbook Eat Happy Cocktail Hour (coming out 10/13).

The very talented Rebecca Blackwell of Let’s Get Lost will be teaching the first class on 7/17 from the galley of her boat (I’m resisting the urge to invite myself over) to make 3 easy summer dishes: A colorful hummus platter, sesame chicken salad, and watermelon and feta salad.

For $5/month, I think that access to monthly cooking classes is such a value added to my premium subscribers. I will be sending out more info on a separate post in a week or so.

OK, back to our delish meatloaf recipe. As always, here’s a downloadable PDF, plus I’m using the Substack recipe card insert now, and pasting the whole recipe below.

Asparagus Swiss Stuffed Meatloaf originally appeared in my second cookbook Eat Happy Too, and I’ve updated/rewritten it for clarity here for you, my lovely Chefs. It is keto, low carb, gluten free, and high protein.

Enjoy!

XOXO

Anna

Asparagus Swiss Stuffed Meatloaf Ehtoo Ehk Annavocino

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ASPARAGUS SWISS STUFFED MEATLOAF

(Serves 4)

Meatloaf:

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 pound ground pork

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

• Olive oil spray for the pan

• 10-14 asparagus stalks, rough ends trimmed and discarded

• 4 slices Swiss cheese

Glaze:

• 4 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 soft pitted date, pulverized (optional, for a sweeter glaze)

• 1/4-1/3 cup water

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, add the beef, pork, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chopped onion, almond flour, egg, parmesan, tomato paste, basil, and parsley, combining with your hands until well mixed. Separate into two even sections. Spray a 4x8 meatloaf pan with olive oil spray. Press the first half of the meat mixture into the loaf pan.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients, adding more water 1 tablespoon at a time if the glaze is too thick. Brush half of the glaze onto the meat in the loaf pan.

Then lay the asparagus stalks lengthwise atop the glazed meat. Then lay the Swiss cheese slices atop the asparagus. Press the remaining meat mixture into the loaf pan, flattening the top. Spread the remaining glaze evenly atop the finished meatloaf.

Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour until the meatloaf is done through. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Cut with a sharp knife into slices and serve.

Check out my BTS video of my experience at the world premiere of Toy Story 5 this past week.

We got some good photos and made great memories…

Plus we’re busy producing (and going to perform in) the 2nd Annual Corkscrew Comedy Festival here where I live in the Santa Ynez Valley June 18-20th…

Aaaaand, finally, I’ve got a new cookbook coming out, and SO MANY of you have pre-ordered it already—THANK YOU!!

This Wednesday 6/17 at 5pm PST (8pm EST), I’m doing a private mixology class that’s just for you early bird pre-orderers.

If you haven’t pre-ordered yours, this is your reason to do it early!

(plus your card isn’t charged until the book drops in October)

Here’s what it is:

1. Pre-order the book.

2. Upload your receipt.

3. I’ll send out a private zoom link the morning of the event.

4. It will be recorded, so if you can’t attend live, I will send out the recording.

What wee will cover in the mixology class: how to stock the bar and fridge for your next party, how to make flavor infusions and infused liquors, and how to remove the sugar from cocktails and mocktails without sacrificing flavor.

UPLOAD YOUR PRE-ORDER RECEIPT HERE to get your goodies (and to get the Zoom link for the mixology class).

OK, Happies.

This recipe for the Meaty Mary is from the new cookbook, and I’m so excited to share it with you.

The Meaty Mary combines some of our favorite things: meat, meat, meat, and vodka (with a soupçon of marinara for tomatoey-ness).

Traditional Bloody Mary recipes use sugar filled mixes, tomato juice, and Clamato. Instead, I’m using my very own Eat Happy Kitchen Marinara (which is elegant, cleanly-sourced perfection, and worth every penny). You can use whatever sauce you want in yours or make your own from scratch. I’ve given you those tools in Eat Happy Italian.

The butter poached shrimp that I use to garnish this cocktail is another recipe in the book…tease that I am, you’ll have to order the book for that recipe. Or just use pre-cooked poached shrimp from the grocery store.

Cheers, my darlings.

XO

The Meaty Mary From Eh Cocktail Hour Ehk Annavocino

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THE MEATY MARY

(Yield 1 Cocktail)

Note: you can use a jar of Eat Happy Kitchen Marinara Sauce , choose any brand of clean store-bought, or make your own marinara based on the recipe in Eat Happy Italian.

If you’re making homemade bacon for this drink (and you should), then reserve the bacon grease to help the salt and smoked paprika stick to the rim of the glass. Olive oil will also serve the same purpose.

To rim the glass:

• Sea salt

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

• Bacon grease, at room temperature, or olive oil

Cocktail:

• Ice cubes

• 2 ounces vodka

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) Eat Happy Kitchen Marinara Sauce, or use your favorite brand

• 1 tablespoon pickle brine

• 1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish

• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon no-sugar-added hot sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt

• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Plain soda water, to float (optional)

Garnishes:

• Pimento-stuffed olives

• Dill pickle spear

• Celery stalk

• 1-2 crispy cooked bacon strips

• 3-4 Butter-Poached Shrimp (see page 159, Eat Happy Cocktail Hour)

If you’d like a seasoned rim, in a shallow dish, combine the sea salt and smoked paprika and stir together. Roll the rim of a highball glass in room-temperature bacon grease or olive oil, then rill in the salt-paprika mix.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the vodka, marinara, pickle brine, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, celery salt, smoked paprika, and a few twists of freshly ground pepper. Shake until ice cold, about 30 seconds. Strain into a highball glass and float soda water to fill the glass if desired. Garnish with an extra twist of pepper, plus olives, a pickle, celery, crispy bacon strips, and shrimp.

*Recipe originally published in Eat Happy Cocktail Hour, then republished with permission for Substack newsletter subscribers at annavocino.substack.com.

That is a sentence I never thought I’d write.

Hubs is assigned the task of photo and video documentation as movie milestones like this don't come along too often in the life of a voice actor who’s used to hiding way, way behind the mic in her career.

In times like these, I rely on my low carb way of eating to help keep me sane. This recipe for Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs has been a staple for the past two months. When I first thought of the recipe, I imagined it would be a fun way to get kids to eat meatballs…and what mom doesn’t want that?

But after the first time I created these gluten free, ooey-gooey meatballs, I was blown away by how good they were. I might not eat regular, non-stuffed meatballs ever again.

For the meatball recipe itself, I always use some version of the one I’ve been making for 30+ years from my low carb Italian food cookbook Eat Happy Italian.

I use the slow cooker for these meatballs because two hours on high is foolproof for the most tender meatballs ever. To make them low carb/keto, I use almond flour or crushed pork rinds in place of breadcrumbs.

So many restaurants make a delicious meatball, but for those of us looking for gluten free and/or low carb, you have to make your own at home. And these are insanely delicious.

Just a few things before we get to the recipe…

If you live in SoCal, I am co-producing the Corkscrew Comedy Festival here in the Santa Ynez Valley over father’s day weekend. GET TICKETS HERE and laugh your meatballs off!

Eat Happy Kitchen brought back the Griller Pack for Father’s Day! Get our BBQ Dust and Salt Dust for 25% off. We only made 50 of these packs, so claim yours while we gots ‘em, fam. You’ll use these dusts all summer to grill everything you can dream up (and you can use Salt Dust in this meatball recipe like I do).

Don’t forget to upload your pre-order receipt for Eat Happy Cocktail Hour! This is my new cookbook, dropping 10/13, and I’m teaching a private mixology class on June 17th to everyone who pre-orders the book by 6/15.

The recipe for slow cooker, gluten free, low carb Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs is printed below, also in the Substack recipe card format, and attached here as a printable PDF.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs Ehk Annavocino

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Note: you can use a jar of whatever flavor Eat Happy Kitchen pasta sauce that strikes your fancy, choose any brand of clean store-bought, or make your own marinara based on the recipe in Eat Happy Italian. I use 1 tablespoon of Salt Dust in place of the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, but that’s because I’m obsessed with Salt Dust and use it on literally everything.

MOZZARELLA STUFFED MEATBALLS

(Yields 20-24 2” meatballs)

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 pound ground pork or ground loose Italian flavored sausage

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos

• 3/4 cup almond flour or crushed pork rinds

• 3-4 slices salami, minced

• 3 eggs

• 4-5 mozzarella sticks, cut into 1” pieces (or use fresh ciliegine small mozzarella balls, drained and pressed dry)

• 1-25oz jar marinara (check the label for no sugar added and no seed oils)

In a large mixing bowl, add all the meatball ingredients except for the mozzarella and marinara. Using your hands, combine everything until well mixed. Using a tablespoon or large cookie scooper, roll out 2” meatballs and place them on a plate.

For each meatball, press a hole with your thumb and insert a mozzarella piece into the center, making sure you cover it completely and seal up the meatball. Repeat with all the meatballs and place them in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Pour the entire jar of marinara over the meatballs. Cook on High for 2 hours, then serve, ladling the sauce over the meatballs.

XOXO

Anna

Do you like making delicious things and looking like a hero?

That’s what I thought. Me too.

Artichokes are the key to everyone’s heart. Pun intended…cause artichokes…and hearts…you get it.

Aaaanyhooters, I filmed this video last year, then I forgot I filmed it. Now it’s been revived, edited, shined, polished, and is ready to be your ultimate “how to prep and make stuffed artichokes” primer.

Every new video with recipe post costs about $500 to generate (groceries, paying my beloved editor) and 30 hours of work time, so if you could be a doll and click the heart on this post and maybe even comment and become a free subscriber, I would be forever appreciative.

Artichokes seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but my darlings, I’m here to promise you that you, too, can make artichokes from the gorgeous green flower you find at the farmer’s market into the delish fiber and nutrient filled delicacy that nature hides under pointy leaves with a pesky center choke.

Artichokes are crowd pleasers for sure. You don’t really hear people turning them down when you place them on the table. They feel indulgent, and yet they're low carb, high in fiber, and fun to tear apart with friends over cocktails. I have a fantastic grill finished artichoke recipe in my second cookbook Eat Happy Too, and a pan fried baby artichokes recipe in Eat Happy Italian, both are to die for recipes.

This recipe for stuffed whole artichokes uses the steaming method to cook the artichokes. If you have large bulbs, the steaming could take awhile. In my video, these took 50-55 minutes. When you see that the leaves are becoming tender and falling off the flower, you know you are ready to go.

I’m a firm believer that every great artichoke recipe needs a great dipping sauce, so please click over to my recipe for One Minute Mayo (which is actually a recipe for the perfect roasted garlic and lemon aioli).

Many thanks to the darling who is Marie Tortorich. She inspired me when she discussed her recipe for traditional stuffed artichokes (that include breadcrumbs for the gluten eaters) with Vinnie and me on the Fitness Confidential podcast, so I adapted my version to be gluten free, low carb, and hopefully just as delicious. Try it and let me know what you think.

Recipe for Stuffed (and steamed) Artichokes is here in PDF format, in the Substack recipe card, and pasted below at the very end of this post.

Note my note about the choke in the recipe itself.

I love you all, please enjoy this classic Italian spring/summer recipe for Stuffed Artichokes.

XOXO

Anna

Stuffed Artichokes Ehk Annavocino

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STUFFED ARTICHOKES

(Serves 4-8)

Note: you can scoop out the inedible center choke of the artichoke while prepping the artichoke if it’s tender enough to do so, or you can cut the cooked artichokes in half before serving and scoop out the choke or just starting eating the leaves and when you get to the choke, cut it out (this is my method).

• 4 artichokes, pointy ends trimmed, and pulled open as much as possible

• 3/4 cup almond flour or crushed pork rinds

• 1 tablespoon BBQ Dust, or your favorite BBQ seasoning

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

• 1 lemon, zested, then cut in half

• Salt and pepper

• 3-4 cloves minced garlic

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• Lemon Garlic Aioli, for serving

Prepare the artichokes: trim off and discard the pointy ends with scissors, chop off the top with a knife. Pull open each artichoke as best as possible as you will put the stuffing in there. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the artichokes to keep them from oxidizing while prepping the stuffing.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, BBQ Dust, parsley, the lemon zest, salt and pepper, minced garlic, and olive oil into a paste. Season the artichokes well with salt and pepper. Press the stuffing into each artichoke, getting some of stuffing down between the leaves, and leaving some on the top like a dome of stuffing.

Put 2 inches of water with 2 teaspoons of salt in a large braising pot, Le Creuset, or Dutch oven, squeeze the juice of the second half of the lemon into the water, and drop the lemon carcass into the water. Gently place the artichokes into the pot so that they don’t tip over. Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let steam in the pot for 50-55 minutes, or until the artichoke is fork tender and the leaves peel off easily.

Remove the artichokes from the water and let them drain and cool on a paper towel lined plate for 5-10 minutes. Garnish the artichokes with more fresh parsley, plate them on a serving platter along with Lemon Garlic Aioli or the dipping sauce of your choice, and serve to the thronging masses.

This Memorial Day Weekend is the official launch of grill season. I hope you have a few good ones planned. Today I’m serving up sauces, spices, and cheese bites in person in Los Olivos to celebrate the five year anniversary of my winemaker friend Sunshine Stricker’s tasting room and delicious wine Future Perfect (you should all join her wine club). She also happens to be a co-producer of the Corkscrew Comedy Festival, which is an annual comedy event extravaganza that we throw every year. If you live anywhere near SoCal and love comedy and wine, you need to get a hotel reservation ASAP and get your tickets June 18-20.

Now, before I get to burgers, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Eat Happy Kitchen’s summer grilling sale on Salt Dust and BBQ Dust. These are the only two spices I use all summer for all of my grilling needs. Literally everything you want to grill, you will use these two dusts.

And we put the bundle on sale…only through Monday night 5/25 at 11:59pm PST. I have to write this specific deadline because I receive emails from people upset that they missed the sale. It makes me hate the algorithm so much.

What does 25% off even mean? Regular price is $48, but you get all 4 spices for $36. That’s a really good savings, Fam!

Grab your Griller Pack here.

OK it’s Loaded Burger time, which is very similar to a Smash Burger.

One of the most important and frequent questions I get as a low carb recipe writer/cookbook author is…how many ways can you prepare ground beef?

We do seem to eat a lot of ground beef when we cut out sugar and processed foods and up our fat intake.

I guess I really just love burgers, so I’ve written a LOT of burger recipes over the years. Ground meat is less expensive, burgers are quick to prepare, and dropping the bun means I eat the good parts of the burger without filling up on a gluten free bun.

Here’s a round up of other burger recipes you will definitely want to bookmark and make this summer:

• Black N Blue Bacon Burgers

• Hickory Burgers with Run N Gun BBQ Sauce

• Hatch Green Chili Burgers

• Chicken Burgers

• Lamb Burgers

BUT THIS LOADED BURGER RECIPE…it’s so flippin’ delicious.

I included instructions for the grill or the stovetop. If you want to turn the burgers into a smash burger, then you can add the sautéed onions to the burger on your final flip, once it’s pretty much cooked all the way through. Then use a spatula to smash the onions down into the burger and immediately add the cheese slice.

Otherwise, make the recipe as-is, and you still get all the delicious flavors from these Loaded Burgers.

And if you want to be creative and add avocado slices, homemade ranch dressing, or whatever you have on hand.

Full disclosure: I think this recipe serves two hungry people who will eat two burgers each.

Here’s the recipe in a printable PDF, in the new-fangled Substack recipe card, and pasted in the body of the recipe below.

Loaded Burgers Ehk Annavocino Copy

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LOADED BURGERS

(Yields 4 burgers)

• 8 slices bacon, cooked, bacon grease reserved

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

• Salt and pepper

• 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

• 1 pound ground beef, highest fat content possible

• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 cup small cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

• 7-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, or white wine vinegar

• Cheddar cheese slices

• Pickles for garnish

• Whole butter lettuce leaves for wrapping

Cook the bacon until crispy, removing the crisp bacon to rest on paper towels, but reserve bacon grease.

In a large non-stick pan, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the reserved bacon grease and bring to medium high heat to cook mushroom slices until cooked through and seared, about 4-5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, then them aside in a bowl.

In the same pan on medium high heat, add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion slices, until they sear and then start to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium low, cover pan, and cook 12-15 minutes until onions start to get brown and caramelized. Remove cover and turn off heat when onions are desired doneness.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, yellow mustard, coconut aminos, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and garlic powder well with your hands. Make 4 burgers, place on a plate, and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl fold the cherry tomato pieces, chopped basil leaves, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat the grill up to 500 degrees and the grill burgers until you reach your desired doneness, about 2-3 minutes per side for medium. Lay the cheese slices atop each burger to melt for the final minute of cooking.

If cooking on a stovetop, heat a flat bottomed nonstick sauté pan to medium high heat and cook the burgers through, about 2-3 minutes per side for medium. Add the cheese slices atop each burger to melt in the final minute of cooking.

Plate the burgers by laying down a butter lettuce leaf, the burger with cheese, lay atop two bacon slices, then the onions, mushrooms, and tomato basil mixture. Garnish with pickle slices and top with the final butter lettuce leaf. Repeat plating for the remaining burgers and serve.

*Recipe originally published at AnnaVocino.com, then revised and updated exclusively for Substack newsletter subscribers at annavocino.substack.com.

Before I start letting you know about your new favorite way to eat Brussels sprouts…

We have just a few hours left to use the discount code NYMAG10 at checkout at Eat Happy Kitchen.

This is a flash sale, and I want to make sure you use it to get your goodies at a discount.

TL;DR as to what happened on Friday/Saturday: NY Mag surveyed for people’s favorite jarred sauce, claiming Rao’s is the undisputed champion. Hundreds of you answered the call, and within 45 minutes, the survey was taken down. Boo hiss.

OK, back to the only way to eat Brussels Sprouts…with a brown butter Alfredo sauce.

I have a number of delicious Brussels sprouts recipes in my cookbooks and here at Substack, including two of my favorites (and soon to be yours):

Creamy Dill Pistachio Brussels Sprouts and Cheesy Sprouts (one of my most popular Substack recipes).

Cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts are a great way to get fiber, phytonutrients, all the health benefits of feeding the gut bacteria yadda yadda.

My job is to make those vegetables delicious. And oh boy have I with this recipe.

I wrote this one two years too late, or else it for sure would’ve made it into my third low carb cookbook Eat Happy Italian.

Brown butter Alfredo sauce is restaurant quality, but full disclosure: it’s super easy to make at home.

When you go low carb, you probably keep cream, butter, parm, and garlic on hand. Now you just need to practice cooking the sauce, so start tonight by making this recipe.

What’s the best butter for Alfredo sauce? The butter you can afford, is my short answer. I’ve been using Plugra when I can find it. I also enjoy the grass-fed butter in the green package from Costco.

Probably the biggest mystery with how to make a brown butter sauce is how brown is the brown butter. The answer: brown but not burnt. If anything turns too dark of a brown (espresso colored) or black, you are burning your sauce. Since this is a brown butter Alfredo, you are adding freshly minced garlic, so that’s another component of the dish that you want to brown but not burn. Just keep an eye on it, and you’ll be fine.

I gave both air fryer and oven instructions to cook the Brussels sprouts to they’re soft and tender, with some crispy leaves (which are the best part).

As always, I’ve provided a downloadable PDF, pasted the recipe here on this post at the very end, and now am using the Substack recipe card template so that you can print that from your desktop, if desired.

Brown Butter Alfredo Brussels Sprouts Ehk Annavocino

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BROWN BUTTER ALFREDO BRUSSELS SPROUTS

(Serves 3-4)

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, rough ends trimmed and discarded, then cut into quarters

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the Brussels sprouts

• Salt and pepper

• 3 tablespoons salted butter

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat an air fryer or oven to 375 degrees. Toss the Brussels sprouts pieces well in olive oil, then place them into the air fryer basket or parchment paper lined baking sheet and season them well with salt and pepper. Cook for 9 minutes, then toss the pieces and cook for another 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter in a large frying pan on medium high heat. Let the butter melt and start to bubble and turn brown. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, being careful to only let the butter and garlic turn golden to brown and not burn.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the heavy cream, which will boil because of the hot pan. Whisk in the parmesan and keep whisking as the cheese melts into the sauce and the sauce thickens. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

When the Brussels are done cooking in the air fryer (the larger pieces should be soft and the leaves will be browned and crispy), pour the pieces into the brown butter Alfredo sauce and toss to completely coat the Brussels sprouts in the sauce. If needed, season once more with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Quick, you have time to run by the store and grab some jalapeño peppers!

Make sure when you chop, deseed, and devein those peppers that you wear gloves. Do NOT raw dog it with bare hands and then touch your face, nose, and eyes. Unless you like burning, which I don’t think you do.

Y’all know I love party food, bar food, pub food, football food, finger food, apps, starters, you name it…

That’s why I wrote my new cookbook Eat Happy Cocktail Hour.

I’m about to send out the early-bird pre-order bonuses as soon as I get the Bonus Recipe PDF back from the publisher (today, I hope).

If you haven’t pre-ordered the book and you are sure you’re gonna buy it when it comes out, would you be so kind to do that? Your card will not be charged until the book drops…AND I’ll send you bonuses that will make you happy you did!

Go to this site and click on your preferred bookseller. Pre-order the book. Take a screenshot of your receipt. Upload your receipt back at the site.

I see each and every name come through, and I shriek with joy that you support my work. I will send out the aforementioned bonuses as soon as I have them.

Now let’s make some poppers, kids!

As always, here’s the PDF version of this updated, rewritten recipe, as well as the Substack recipe card, and I’m pasting the text in natively to this post as well.

Jalapeno Poppers Ehk Annavocino

131KB ∙ PDF file

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JALAPENO POPPERS

(Yields 20 poppers)

Note: I now use Eat Happy Kitchen Taco Seasoning to sprinkle atop these at the end for extra flavor. You can make your own from the recipe in the original Eat Happy cookbook or buy your own store bought, just check the label for no sugar, anti-caking agents, powdered seed oils, or grains/fillers added.

• 10 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half, deseeded and deveined

• 2 slices bacon, cooked, cooled, and broken into pieces

• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

• 1/2 cup Colby Jack shredded cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup almond flour or crushed pork rinds

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

• Taco seasoning, sprinkled for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the prepped jalapeño halves on a foil-lined or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, combine the bacon pieces, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and garlic powder until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the jalapeño halves until all the mixture is distributed evenly.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the topping ingredients: almond flour, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top of the cheese filed jalapeño halves. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn up the oven heat to 400 degrees and cook for 20 more minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the topping is golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the taco seasoning lightly on top. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

I swore I wouldn’t buy another gadget after my beloved, and oft-used Homemade Yogurt Maker.

But then I saw some folks on the national internet making stuffed waffles using a new fangled contraption called the Presto Stuffler.

What can I say, I just needed it. I needed to see if it would work. I needed to try my low carb blueberry chaffle recipe in it.

I needed a pot roast sandwich, but make it keto.

And just to ensure that I didn’t throw $44 down the toilet, I filmed a video to share my experience with y’all.

HOLY FART KNOCKERS, THIS THING SLAPS!!!

You can make a chaffle sammie with any leftover meat laying around in your fridge, or you can go sweet and make stuffed Belgian waffles for the fam. I don’t use it for that second purpose, but the multi-purpose-ness of it all helps me justify getting a new gadget. The ladies will get it.

Real quick, we are doing a Mother’s Day flash sale over at Eat Happy Kitchen. Enter MOTHERSDAY10 at checkout and get 10% off sauces, spices, and cheese bites.

And don’t forget to upload your cookbook pre-order receipt to Eat Happy Cocktail Hour’s site—the bonus recipe PDF will be ready from the publisher Monday, and I’ll send it out as soon as I receive it!

OK, let’s do this thing…

The full recipe is pasted below, and I have a PDF here that you can download and print to save in your files. Plus I’m using the new Substack recipe card feature because i’m told that’s what I need to do for SEO (sigh).

Pot Roast Stuffed Chaffle Sammie Ehk Annavocino

163KB ∙ PDF file

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POT ROAST STUFFED CHAFFLE SAMMIE

(Yields 2 ginormous stuffed chaffle sandwiches)

Note: I used leftover Puttanesca Brisket Pot Roast, but you can use any pot roast or braised meat of your choice for the sandwich filling.

Amazon link to the Presto Stuffler waffle maker I use: https://amzn.to/46gXcFM

• 1 3/4 cup crushed plain pork rinds

• 1 1/2 cups shredded ColbyJack or cheddar cheese

• 4 eggs

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted pork rinds)

• Avocado spray or olive oil spray for the waffle maker

• Leftover pot roast, cut into small pieces

In a large mixing bowl, combine well the pork rinds, cheese, eggs, cream, cayenne pepper, and salt. Divide the mixture evenly in half and then each half evenly again to make four even sections of chaffle batter.

Spray the waffle maker with avocado oil spray and heat it up to make the first stuffed chaffle: place one section of the batter on the bottom side of the waffle maker, press in the pieces of the pot roast, then add a second section of batter on top using a spatula to spread it evenly.. Close the waffle maker and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping the waffle maker halfway through. When the waffle maker opens and the chaffle is golden brown, cooked through, and removes easily from the waffle maker, the sandwich is ready. Repeat the second time with the remaining chaffle batter and pot roast pieces. Cut each sammie in half and serve immediately.

I have been traveling so much, I have neglected my beloved Substack readers, which is by far my favorite place on social media to hang out, share my recipes, interviews, and updates with growing Eat Happy Kitchen.

And while 95% of the content here is free, the Premium Subscribers who throw in some cash help me get badly needed recipe-development groceries, and you deserve a special thank you!

These two recipes are just that.

Tomorrow I drive to Sacramento to pitch Raley’s grocery store in person, and then drive to LA right after for a call back for a high profile animated job. I gotta do what I gotta do to grow Eat Happy Kitchen AND to keep working voice over jobs to pay my bills.

Am I weird that I’m looking forward to some good thinking/alone time in the car for two days?

OK, let’s get to the food. I LOVE THESE RECIPES SO MUCH! Easy to make, but tastes like restaurant quality. Comforting to eat and full of flavor, but low carb, dairy free, gluten free. That’s a winning combo.

HERE’S THE LOOPHOLE TO BECOMING A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER:

Pre order 3 or more of my new cookbook Eat Happy Cocktail Hour.

As a bonus, you will receive a year-long premium subscription (or extending your existing one).

This means, you will get access to French Onion Meatballs, Salmon Stuffed Avocados, Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon Mustard Sage Sauce, and the clean, delish homemade version of Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil, to name a few.

I am going for a bestseller this go-round, and to do that, I need to sell a LOT of books.

If you pre-order three or more books, you will have a wonderful holiday gift for friends and family on October 13, and in the meantime, get exclusive access to some yummy recipes and cooking classes that I do just for my beloved premium subscribers.

All the bonuses will be emailed to you later this week, so bear with me as I gather all the info from your receipt uploads.

Now let’s cook…

Read more

This delicious classic from my second cookbook Eat Happy Too deserves a rewrite and a spotlight. So that’s what I did.

Chicken Paprikash the way I do it is yummy, savory comfort food at its finest.

This is a Hungarian dish usually served with noodles or rice, but this version is so delicious on its own, it’s easy to keep it low carb.

But first, if I may be so bold…

HERE’S MY HEARTFELT (AND FINAL) EARLY BIRD BOOK PRE-ORDER REQUEST!

If you are here because you love my cookbooks and trust my recipes to feed you all the deliciousness without all the sugar…

Will you please take a moment to go pre-order Eat Happy Cocktail Hour?

Based on pre-orders, we’re deciding if there’s enough interest to do a book tour, and this tells the publisher how many to order.

So…no presh over here…ugh.

You Happies are amazing at supporting my work, and for your efforts, I’ve devised a list of book bonuses that I’ll be sending out shortly.

I always want to give the most value possible as I appreciate you so much, and I never take this audience for granted.

Go to this site and choose your preferred bookseller (Amazon, Target, Bookshop, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, or directly from the publisher).

Then upload your pre-order receipt or a screenshot to the site so that you get your goodies as soon as they’re ready.

This book is a beautiful hardcover that you’re gonna want to dive into as soon as you get it, plus it will look super cool on the bookshelf—and it makes a great gift—reserve 3 copies!!

OK, here’s my revised and updated version of Chicken Paprikash Stew.

You can make this recipe dairy free by omitting the sour cream or using dairy free sour cream. If you’re new here, I happened to be totally dairy free when I wrote Eat Happy Too, so that book is 80% dairy free (or can be made dairy free) and 100% delicious.

Here’s the downloadable, printable version:

Chicken Paprikash Stew Annavocino Ehk

147KB ∙ PDF file

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Click here for the full recipe video or watch it at the top of this page.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH STEW (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Serves 4-6

• 2-3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

• 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (check the label for no sugar added)

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• Parsley, chopped for garnish

If making in the Instant Pot:

Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper. On the Sauté setting of Instant Pot, heat the olive oil until hot and shimmering and sauté the bell pepper and onion until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté 1-2 more minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the paprika, smoked paprika, and onion powder, mixing the spices into the vegetables.

Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and let the skin brown for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, select the Manual setting at 20 minutes with the vent on the “Sealing” setting. Let the whole cook cycle run its course, waiting for the pressure valve to descend before opening the Instant Pot lid. Remove the lid and take out chicken thighs, put them on a plate, and cover with foil. Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting, bring sauce to boil, and let the sauce reduce for 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the sour cream, if using. Plate the chicken thighs, pour sauce over them and serve, garnished chopped parsley.

If making in the Slow Cooker:

Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper. If your slow cooker has a Sauté setting (or do the following in a large pan on medium high heat), heat the olive oil until hot and shimmering and sauté the bell pepper and onion until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté 1-2 more minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the paprika, smoked paprika, and onion powder, mixing the spices into the vegetables.

Add the chicken thighs to the slow cooker, skin side down, and let the skin brown for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours. Remove the lid, take out chicken thighs, put them on a plate, and cover with foil. Turn the slow cooker back to the Sauté setting, bring the sauce to boil, and let the sauce reduce for 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the sour cream, if using. Plate the chicken thighs, pour sauce over them and serve, garnished chopped parsley.

XOXO

Anna

These low sugar devil’s food Easter “eggs” are the Easter treat we didn’t know we needed.

These are SO GOOD.

I will make these in a regular muffin pan one day, a la Hostess Cupcakes.

Mine are as low as sugar as possible to make the recipe work, but they are still a splurge, so be mindful of that.

If you’d like info on WHY I still use sugar in my recipes. Please read the intro to the sweets chapters in ALL of my cookbooks, or this post right here. A lot of you are new to my work, and I don’t want anyone to be confused. I eat low carb 95% of the time, and then for sweet treats, I use the least of amount of sugar I can to make the recipe work.

If you want to use sugar subs or artificial sweeteners, please google the quantities as I don’t know how to answer those questions. Those kinds of sweeteners hurt my tummy, so I don’t work with them.

OK, let’s make these and have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Here’s the silicone egg-shaped muffin pan in case Amazon can still deliver to you before Sunday. And if not, just make them in a regular muffin pan!

Full, printable PDF recipe here, and it’s printed below.

Devils Food Easter Eggs Annavocino Ehk

164KB ∙ PDF file

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LOVE YOU, MEAN IT, MY CUTE LITTLE BUNNIES.

XOXO

Anna

LOW SUGAR FUDGY DEVIL’S FOOD EASTER “EGGS”

Yields 16-18 egg-shaped muffins

The silicone pan I use from Amazon, make sure you place it on a baking tray in the oven b/c these are kind of flimsy (but get the job done).

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1/2 cup coconut flour

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or use regular cane sugar

• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted (or use coconut oil)

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

• 4 eggs

• Avocado oil spray or coconut oil spray for the muffin pan

• Heavy cream, whipped for filling

• Raspberries for garnish, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, melted butter, whole milk, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk them until smooth. Whisk in the eggs until blended.

Spray a muffin pan or egg-shaped silicone pan with avocado oil or coconut oil spray. Lay the silicone muffin pans on a baking sheet. Pour the batter evenly into the egg molds, and bake for 13-15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and with the back side of a spoon, press an indentation into the wide-side of the eggs.

Let the muffins cool completely, then whip heavy cream with the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until it’s very dense. Using the tablespoon, scoop a spoonful of vanilla whipped cream into each egg’s indentation to resemble the “yolk.” Or you can pipe in the whipped cream using a pastry bag or plastic baggie with the corner cut off.

Serve immediately, garnished with fresh raspberries, if desired.