Latest news with #MikaelaReuben
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Cook This: 3 nourishing recipes from Eat to Love, including zucchini Parmesan egg muffins
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Our cookbook of the week is Eat to Love by nutritional chef Mikaela Reuben. Jump to the recipes: zucchini Parmesan egg muffins , edamame cilantro hummus and citrus olive oil cake . Nutritional chef Mikaela Reuben has cooked for some of the world's biggest celebrities, including Ryan Reynolds, Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson. For more than 15 years, she's toured with rock bands, joined movie stars on location and worked with high-performance athletes. Writing her cookbook debut, Eat to Love (Appetite by Random House, 2025), Reuben realized that as skilled as she is at nourishing others, it hasn't always been easy to do the same for herself. As she worked on Eat to Love, the title took on different layers of meaning. It started with how food represented love in her family. Reuben's paternal grandparents were concentration camp survivors and passed down the idea that eating together, sharing food and recipes was love. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'In the world where only the grandchildren had the grandmother's recipes, where generations were preserved in mouthfuls, where the culture moved from person to person, that, to me, was such a beautiful story to see and to learn,' says Reuben. 'In the process of creating the book and in my time as a private chef, I had to really focus on what self-love and self-nourishment looked like for me, and feeding myself was one of those things.' Reuben, who grew up in Victoria and divides her time between Vancouver and New York, is certified as a holistic nutritionist, sports nutritionist and raw food chef. In Eat to Love, she features more than 115 plant-forward recipes. Travelling the world with her clients, she's accustomed to cooking on the fly and adapting to the situation — an approach that extends to the book. 'Being able to work with what you have became a metaphor for my life and a metaphor for how we made the book. Really, truly, make the recipes work for you,' says Reuben. Realizing that some cooks prefer clear direction, 'I tried to make precise guides for those who need that guidance. Then, go rogue.' Reuben weaves her nutritional knowledge throughout the book, explaining the building blocks for healthy eating and categorizing each recipe by health benefit. Though she cooks with animal products, plants are at the heart of the book. 'I cook plant-forward because of fibre and because of nutrients. You can come to me and say, 'I'm vegan, I'm keto, I want all the meat in the world, I want low-carb, I want whatever.' I will still cook plant-forward food for any client that I have. All that changes is whether I choose starchy or non-starchy vegetables, or how I do the mixing, or what their goals are.' Reuben says that much of her confidence has come from someone showing her how to do something, from kicking a soccer ball to making crêpes, and then building on it. Growing up in Victoria, Reuben was a dancer, runner, soccer and field hockey player — but she credits playing rugby for her resilience. 'Rugby was the one, and it was the one that taught me about believing I could.' At 16 and 17, her team played women's clubs in England, Scotland and Wales, which was intimidating. 'We did it. We all survived. As a woman, learning to move (my) body like that and being fearless at some points gave me so much. So, I think I owe a lot of my boundary-pushing nature to rugby,' says Reuben, laughing. Shooting the book was an adventure that unfolded as Reuben travelled to five of her favourite spots in coastal British Columbia with friends over the summer of 2019: the Gulf Islands Galiano, Salt Spring and Hornby, Squamish and Jordan River. Reuben's friend, photographer Robyn Penn, shot Eat to Love, which was a full-circle moment. They grew up together, and Penn was the reason Reuben met her late mentor, 'Wayno' ( Wayne Forman ), a nutritional chef and caterer to the stars, on a trip to Maui. 'What we were looking for was so different from what I think a normal cookbook would be,' Reuben says of the shoot. 'We went in, and we hit the market off the ferry. 'What's fresh? What's beautiful?'' Many of the recipes in Eat to Love arose from that spontaneity. 'The hard part' — the development and testing — came after. The recipes range from tonics, plant milks and smoothies to staples (including protein add-ons: tofu, tempeh, fish, poultry and beans), sauces and spreads, and reflect how Reuben likes to compose meals — layering components and mixing and matching multiple dishes. 'It's not just a cookbook,' says Reuben. '(My recipes) are made to be adaptable and to build, not just with flavour, but with nutrition. And so, it's really important to me that people understand that it's a hybrid book. If it's just one thing that helps them, I hope it brings them joy.' Makes: 12 muffins or 24 mini muffins (6 servings) 6 cups grated unpeeled zucchini 1 tbsp sea salt 3 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese (see note) 1 cup almond meal 1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions 1 tsp fresh ground pepper 1/2 tsp onion powder 5 eggs, beaten Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin or 24-cup mini muffin tin with muffin cup liners or parchment paper, or use a silicon muffin tray. Place the grated zucchini and salt in a colander and massage the salt into the zucchini for 15 seconds. Let sit for 20 minutes, then gather the zucchini in a dish towel or a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze until dry. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, Parmesan, almond meal, thyme, green onions, pepper and onion powder, mixing thoroughly. Add the eggs and stir well to combine. Add about 1/3 cup of the mixture to each muffin cup if making standard muffins, or 2 tablespoons if making mini muffins. Bake regular muffins for 30 minutes or mini muffins for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Serve warm. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven before serving. Variation: You can replace the Parmesan with either pecorino or Manchego if you would rather use a sheep cheese, for either health or flavour. Serving note: Serve these with kale Caesar salad , cauliflower leek soup or arugula and roasted squash salad (the recipes are in the book). Makes: about 1 1/2 cups (4 servings) 2 cups frozen shelled edamame 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to garnish 3 tbsp tahini 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste 3 tbsp water 1 1/2 tbsp gluten-free tamari 2 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp ground cumin, plus more to taste 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the edamame and boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain and let cool. If desired, set aside some edamame for garnish. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender. Pulse in the food processor or blend on medium-high, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed, until very thick and smooth. Adjust the seasoning with lemon juice, cumin and salt. Garnish with the reserved edamame and olive oil, if desired. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serving note: Use this as a bowl builder. Start with a layer of hummus, then top with Green salad or roasted veggies. You can also spread it over seed bread and top with olive oil, flaky salt and fresh herbs, or serve it as part of a crudité platter. My favourite way to use it is in collard roll-ups. Spread a blanched collard leaf with 4 to 5 tablespoons of hummus, top with some quick pickled onions or caramelized onions, ribbons of carrot and English cucumber, arugula or sunflower sprouts, and chopped fresh cilantro or green onions; season with salt, pepper and hot sauce, and wrap up like a burrito! Makes: 9 servings 1 1/2 cups almond meal 1/2 tsp grain-free baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp sea salt 2 eggs 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp orange zest 2 tbsp fresh orange juice 1 tsp lemon zest 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 325F (165C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) square cake pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the sides. In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and it springs back lightly when touched. Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Variation: You can also use a round cake pan, as pictured. For a sparkly garnish, sprinkle 1 tbsp coconut sugar over the top before baking. Serving note: This is wonderful topped with fresh fruit, blueberry compote or coconut cream! Recipes and images excerpted from Eat to Love by Mikaela Reuben. Copyright ©2025 Mikaela Reuben. Photographs by Robyn Penn. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our cookbook and recipe newsletter, Cook This, here .
National Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
Cook This: 3 nourishing recipes from Eat to Love, including zucchini Parmesan egg muffins
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content Our cookbook of the week is Eat to Love by nutritional chef Mikaela Reuben. Article content Nutritional chef Mikaela Reuben has cooked for some of the world's biggest celebrities, including Ryan Reynolds, Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson. For more than 15 years, she's toured with rock bands, joined movie stars on location and worked with high-performance athletes. Writing her cookbook debut, Eat to Love (Appetite by Random House, 2025), Reuben realized that as skilled as she is at nourishing others, it hasn't always been easy to do the same for herself. Article content As she worked on Eat to Love, the title took on different layers of meaning. It started with how food represented love in her family. Reuben's paternal grandparents were concentration camp survivors and passed down the idea that eating together, sharing food and recipes was love. Article content Article content 'In the world where only the grandchildren had the grandmother's recipes, where generations were preserved in mouthfuls, where the culture moved from person to person, that, to me, was such a beautiful story to see and to learn,' says Reuben. Article content 'In the process of creating the book and in my time as a private chef, I had to really focus on what self-love and self-nourishment looked like for me, and feeding myself was one of those things.' Article content Reuben, who grew up in Victoria and divides her time between Vancouver and New York, is certified as a holistic nutritionist, sports nutritionist and raw food chef. In Eat to Love, she features more than 115 plant-forward recipes. Travelling the world with her clients, she's accustomed to cooking on the fly and adapting to the situation — an approach that extends to the book. Article content Article content 'Being able to work with what you have became a metaphor for my life and a metaphor for how we made the book. Really, truly, make the recipes work for you,' says Reuben. Realizing that some cooks prefer clear direction, 'I tried to make precise guides for those who need that guidance. Then, go rogue.' Article content Article content Reuben weaves her nutritional knowledge throughout the book, explaining the building blocks for healthy eating and categorizing each recipe by health benefit. Though she cooks with animal products, plants are at the heart of the book. Article content 'I cook plant-forward because of fibre and because of nutrients. You can come to me and say, 'I'm vegan, I'm keto, I want all the meat in the world, I want low-carb, I want whatever.' I will still cook plant-forward food for any client that I have. All that changes is whether I choose starchy or non-starchy vegetables, or how I do the mixing, or what their goals are.' Article content Article content Reuben says that much of her confidence has come from someone showing her how to do something, from kicking a soccer ball to making crêpes, and then building on it.
The Province
06-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Province
Eat like a celebrity: Vancouver personal chef Mikaela Reuben pens plant-forward cookbook
Eat to Love: Where Health Meets Flavor has received praise from such celebrity clients as supermodel Karlie Kloss and actors Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson Celebrity personal chef Mikaela Reuben is the author of a new cookbook titled Eat to Love. Photo by Robyn Penn / Appetite by Random House Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Mikaela Reuben's cookbook all started with a road trip. 'I gathered a few girlfriends, one was a photographer, one was a food stylist, and we spent the summer travelling from destination to destination throughout British Columbia,' she recalls of the trip that kicked off in 2019. Their road trip took them to some of their favourite places in the province, including Hornby, Saltspring and Galiano islands, as well as Squamish and Whistler. When she looks at the book now, she recalls a 'lot of laughter and a little confusion at times' during the process. 'I'm so proud of what we created,' she says. It was a backward way of creating the compilation of eats, considering that she hadn't yet decided which of the recipes she's cooked up during her 10-plus years as a personal chef would be featured. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We were using the markets and the kind of situations we were in to develop the recipes,' Reuben recalls. Thankfully, the Victoria-born, Vancouver-based food creator had plenty to pull from for her first book, titled Eat to Love: Where Health Meets Flavor: 115+ Nourishing and Adaptable Plant-Forward Recipes from a Nutritional Chef (Appetite by Random House, $40). 'I was cooking things that I knew my clients had loved, and then I had to kind of go in and tweak after and make sure that each recipe worked,' she says. With the aim to match maximum nutrition with maximum flavour, Reuben's recipes are intentionally adaptable to suit preferences and dietary needs, including vegan, dairy-free or grain-free alterations. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I've tried to build out the recipes so that they are usable, or potentially usable, by a wide audience,' she says. Praise from some of her celebrity clients, such as supermodel Karlie Kloss, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson, for the B.C. chef's cooking are peppered on the back of the new hardcover tome. Reuben also received high praise for her cooking from Vancouver's own Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, who are clients. 'The care Mikaela puts into every detail is unmatched. From the exciting flavours to the specificities of the health benefits, she cares about it all … and you can taste it,' they said in the book. The nutritionally focused chef takes a whole-food, plant-forward approach to cooking. That angle is informed by her background in sports, dance, kinesiology, physiotherapy and nutrition. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I just realized that in all of this body stuff I was focusing on, there was the food aspect missing,' Reuben says of the shift away from bodywork to body fuel. 'For me, one can't exist without the other.' She found her way into the world of personal cheffing by chance, encountering the late Hollywood caterer and personal chef Wayne Forman in a friend's kitchen where she was cooking a meal. Impressed by her dish, Forman and Reuben stayed in touch. One day, she picked up the phone and it was Forman on the line asking if she might be available to cook for a client. That call would change her life. 'The next day at school, I asked for a year leave of absence, and I bought a one-way ticket,' Reuben says. 'I ended up never going back.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Reuben worked with Forman, who catered films and cooked for stars, as well as cooking on the road for bands such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, for a few years. Busy with his own business, he ended up passing clients along to Reuben to help her create her own roster. 'He really, truly gave me one client that believed in me from the beginning, and I ended up working with him for a few years,' she says. 'And to be honest, once I kind of mastered the art of food and healthy food tasting good, I continued to get clients through word of mouth from different communities and networks.' Spending about six months a year back home in B.C., the rest of her time is spent travelling the world as a personal chef to celebrities or working as a consultant. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'll teach other chefs how to use healthy ingredients if they're maybe really well trained in culinary but they don't know a lot about nutrition,' she explains. 'Or, if someone's an aspiring chef, and they know a lot about nutrition because they've taken some classes, I'll go in teach them a little bit about cooking.' With Eat to Love, Reuben brings that knowledge to other people's cooking. 'It's for anyone that is curious about bringing a little more health and flavour into their kitchen,' Reuben explains. The book also includes information such as pantry staples to help readers easily stock their shelves like Reuben does. 'People can reference what's in my pantry and what I used to create the whole book,' she says. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When prompted to pick a favourite recipe from the collection — a question that makes most cookbook authors cringe — Reuben pointed to a sauce section in the book rather than a single recipe. 'If I were to tell any reader to do one thing, it would be to look at my green sauce section. There's a cilantro pesto, a regular chimichurri, and a chermoula,' she says. 'Just to inspire people to add even more herbs into the cooking … 'Herbs are being neglected a little bit, and they offer so much support to our bodies.' Lentil Bolognese over Zucchini Noodles from Eat to Love by Mikaela Reuben. Photo by Robyn Penn / Appetite by Random House Lentil Bolognese over Zucchini Noodles Lentil Bolognese 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil + more to serve 1½ cups (375 mL) diced red onions 1¼ tsp (6 mL) sea salt + more to taste 1½ cups (375 mL) thinly sliced celery 1 cup (250 mL) dry red lentils, rinsed This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 1 cup (250 mL) water 2 (14 oz/398 mL) cans diced tomatoes 1 cup (250 mL) roughly chopped fresh basil + more to garnish 2 tbsp. (30 mL) minced drained capers 1 tbsp. (15 mL) pressed garlic (or more if you love garlic) 1½ tbsp. (22.5 mL) balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice ½ tsp (2.5 mL) chili flakes + more to taste (optional) Zucchini Noodles 8 cups zucchini noodles (about 4 medium zucchini) (see note) 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste Note: You can cut the noodles to your desired length with kitchen scissors. Instead of spiralized noodles, you can make 8 cups of zucchini ribbons. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the red onions and 1 tsp of the salt and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the celery and sauté for 3 minutes, until the onions and celery are soft and translucent. Add the lentils and water, and bring to a simmer. Stir well, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, capers, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, chili flakes and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, for 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Season with more salt or chili flakes to taste. (Store cooled sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the noodles on the prepared pans so that they are lying flat (overlapping is OK). Place both pans in the oven and roast for 5 minutes, until the zucchini noodles are steaming and softening. Serve the zucchini noodles topped with the lentil Bolognese, sprinkled with salt and, if using, chili flakes, and garnished with olive oil and basil. Makes 4 servings. Excerpted from Eat to Love by Mikaela Reuben. Copyright © 2025 Mikaela Reuben. Photographs by Robyn Penn. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved. Read More
Vancouver Sun
06-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Vancouver Sun
Eat like a celebrity: Vancouver personal chef Mikaela Reuben pens plant-forward cookbook
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Mikaela Reuben's cookbook all started with a road trip. 'I gathered a few girlfriends, one was a photographer, one was a food stylist, and we spent the summer travelling from destination to destination throughout British Columbia,' she recalls of the trip that kicked off in 2019. Their road trip took them to some of their favourite places in the province, including Hornby, Saltspring and Galiano islands, as well as Squamish and Whistler. When she looks at the book now, she recalls a 'lot of laughter and a little confusion at times' during the process. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I'm so proud of what we created,' she says. It was a backward way of creating the compilation of eats, considering that she hadn't yet decided which of the recipes she's cooked up during her 10-plus years as a personal chef would be featured. 'We were using the markets and the kind of situations we were in to develop the recipes,' Reuben recalls. Thankfully, the Victoria-born, Vancouver-based food creator had plenty to pull from for her first book, titled Eat to Love: Where Health Meets Flavor: 115+ Nourishing and Adaptable Plant-Forward Recipes from a Nutritional Chef (Appetite by Random House, $40). 'I was cooking things that I knew my clients had loved, and then I had to kind of go in and tweak after and make sure that each recipe worked,' she says. With the aim to match maximum nutrition with maximum flavour, Reuben's recipes are intentionally adaptable to suit preferences and dietary needs, including vegan, dairy-free or grain-free alterations. 'I've tried to build out the recipes so that they are usable, or potentially usable, by a wide audience,' she says. Praise from some of her celebrity clients, such as supermodel Karlie Kloss, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson, for the B.C. chef's cooking are peppered on the back of the new hardcover tome. Reuben also received high praise for her cooking from Vancouver's own Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, who are clients. 'The care Mikaela puts into every detail is unmatched. From the exciting flavours to the specificities of the health benefits, she cares about it all … and you can taste it,' they said in the book. The nutritionally focused chef takes a whole-food, plant-forward approach to cooking. That angle is informed by her background in sports, dance, kinesiology, physiotherapy and nutrition. 'I just realized that in all of this body stuff I was focusing on, there was the food aspect missing,' Reuben says of the shift away from bodywork to body fuel. 'For me, one can't exist without the other.' She found her way into the world of personal cheffing by chance, encountering the late Hollywood caterer and personal chef Wayne Forman in a friend's kitchen where she was cooking a meal. Impressed by her dish, Forman and Reuben stayed in touch. One day, she picked up the phone and it was Forman on the line asking if she might be available to cook for a client. That call would change her life. 'The next day at school, I asked for a year leave of absence, and I bought a one-way ticket,' Reuben says. 'I ended up never going back.' Reuben worked with Forman, who catered films and cooked for stars, as well as cooking on the road for bands such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, for a few years. Busy with his own business, he ended up passing clients along to Reuben to help her create her own roster. 'He really, truly gave me one client that believed in me from the beginning, and I ended up working with him for a few years,' she says. 'And to be honest, once I kind of mastered the art of food and healthy food tasting good, I continued to get clients through word of mouth from different communities and networks.' Spending about six months a year back home in B.C., the rest of her time is spent travelling the world as a personal chef to celebrities or working as a consultant. 'I'll teach other chefs how to use healthy ingredients if they're maybe really well trained in culinary but they don't know a lot about nutrition,' she explains. 'Or, if someone's an aspiring chef, and they know a lot about nutrition because they've taken some classes, I'll go in teach them a little bit about cooking.' With Eat to Love, Reuben brings that knowledge to other people's cooking. 'It's for anyone that is curious about bringing a little more health and flavour into their kitchen,' Reuben explains. The book also includes information such as pantry staples to help readers easily stock their shelves like Reuben does. 'People can reference what's in my pantry and what I used to create the whole book,' she says. When prompted to pick a favourite recipe from the collection — a question that makes most cookbook authors cringe — Reuben pointed to a sauce section in the book rather than a single recipe. 'If I were to tell any reader to do one thing, it would be to look at my green sauce section. There's a cilantro pesto, a regular chimichurri, and a chermoula,' she says. 'Just to inspire people to add even more herbs into the cooking … 'Herbs are being neglected a little bit, and they offer so much support to our bodies.' Lentil Bolognese 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil + more to serve 1½ cups (375 mL) diced red onions 1¼ tsp (6 mL) sea salt + more to taste 1½ cups (375 mL) thinly sliced celery 1 cup (250 mL) dry red lentils, rinsed 1 cup (250 mL) water 2 (14 oz/398 mL) cans diced tomatoes 1 cup (250 mL) roughly chopped fresh basil + more to garnish 2 tbsp. (30 mL) minced drained capers 1 tbsp. (15 mL) pressed garlic (or more if you love garlic) 1½ tbsp. (22.5 mL) balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice ½ tsp (2.5 mL) chili flakes + more to taste (optional) Zucchini Noodles 8 cups zucchini noodles (about 4 medium zucchini) (see note) 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste Note: You can cut the noodles to your desired length with kitchen scissors. Instead of spiralized noodles, you can make 8 cups of zucchini ribbons. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the red onions and 1 tsp of the salt and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the celery and sauté for 3 minutes, until the onions and celery are soft and translucent. Add the lentils and water, and bring to a simmer. Stir well, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, capers, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, chili flakes and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, for 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Season with more salt or chili flakes to taste. (Store cooled sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the noodles on the prepared pans so that they are lying flat (overlapping is OK). Place both pans in the oven and roast for 5 minutes, until the zucchini noodles are steaming and softening. Serve the zucchini noodles topped with the lentil Bolognese, sprinkled with salt and, if using, chili flakes, and garnished with olive oil and basil. Makes 4 servings. Excerpted from Eat to Love by Mikaela Reuben. Copyright © 2025 Mikaela Reuben. Photographs by Robyn Penn. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
