When we found out that my husband’s blood sugar levels were elevated, we knew we had to do something about it. He was only slightly overweight, but he carried the excess weight around his abdomen – the kind of fat that is linked not just to heart disease, but also to insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar, and – eventually – diabetes.

Shedding a few pounds and exercising more had improved the situation somewhat, but not enough. So we started reading on the subject, and the more we read, the more we were convinced that we needed to fundamentally change the way we were eating by adding more veggies, fruit, whole grains and healthy oils to our diet, and reducing our consumption of sugar, white flour and processed foods.

We still expect our food to be delicious, and I still love baking. When searching for recipes to make, I have grown accustomed to automatically tweaking recipes so that they work with our new lifestyle. I started writing down and taking photos of the recipes I was making, and posting them on a private blog for our family’s use, when a family member who liked what she saw asked me one day,”Why not turn this into a public blog? I’m sure lots of people would find it useful.” That’s how Healthy Recipes was born.

Browsing through this blog, you will see that many of the recipes feature whole grains, olive oil and low-fat dairy, but many others include butter, whole eggs and meat. My definition of “healthy” may be different than others’. Healthy, to me, means homemade; not mass-manufactured and factory-processed; fresh and wholesome, with no preservatives, artificial additives, and trans fats. A recipe that uses a simple list of ingredients that I am able to pronounce and that my grandparents would have recognized.

I’m Vered DeLeeuw, a blogger, a foodie and a mom. I’m excited that you’re here! If you still have questions, try browsing the FAQ section. If you need to contact me, please use the form below. Bon Appétit!