By Breana Lai, M.P.H., R.D., Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

For many of us, the promise of a good cup of coffee gets us out of bed in the morning. Somehow, prying off the warm covers doesn't isn't so hard when I know there is a warm cup of coffee waiting. But coffee is very personal. Everyone has a choice coffee-brewing vessel, coffee style and coffee mug.

Whether you choose to brew your coffee in a single-cup brewer, an automatic coffee maker or a French press, keep in mind there are variables that can affect the quality of the coffee you make. There is a reason the coffee from your local coffee shop tastes better. The coffee is freshly brewed, the beans were just ground, the milk was just steamed and the machine costs as much as a small car.

Don't Miss: Recipes for Coffee Shop Drinks at Home

While we can't all have the fancy machine (and barista to make the coffee), we can take some lessons from coffee shops to brew a perfect cup of coffee at home. Here

coconut french toast Dudes, Mother's Day is right around the corner and you've got to make the mother of your child(ren) an amazing breakfast in bed. No, you can't pour cereal in a bowl and tell her that's what the kids wanted to serve her. She knows better and won't love your 'effort'. You claim non-cooking skillz. Fair enough, but I've got the easiest french toast recipe that will score you huge points (you know what huge points are, right? *wink*). I'm serious. She will not believe you actually made this and you can't ever let her know how truly simple it is to make. Why am I giving you the awesome secret recipe?! (Maybe my hubs will read it and make it for me. Hint, hint)

Coconut French Toast With Pineapple Syrup
4 pieces King's Hawaiian Sliced Bread (it's on the regular bread aisle)
1 can coconut milk
1 bag sweetened coconut flakes
2 eggs butter cut frozen pineapple sugar strawberries (optional for serving)
roasted coconut chips (optional and found at Trader Joe's)

1. Combine 1/2 cup coconut milk

I am not a vegetarian.Filet mignon cooked medium rare is my dream dinner. But, a few years ago, I started learning about the environmental impact of meat production and decided our family needed to do its part to reduce that negative impact on the earth. When I made the goal to "eat less meat," I admit I felt intimidated. I was venturing into new territory and wasn't sure how well I could stick to the goal. In the end I discovered that cutting back on meat was actually easy! Our family never felt like we were "missing" anything because we were able to still enjoy meat by using it in a more thoughtful and resourceful way. Here are the things our family did to make our "eat less meat" journey doable and enjoyable!

-By Jane Maynard

MORE ON BABBLE

The 25 healthiest foods for under $1

20 vegan meals you can make in 20 minutes or less

10 hearty and nutritious quinoa salad recipes

Maryse ChevriereInspired by Slow Food's $5 Challenge, the Editorial team decided to create a dinner for two that would fall under 10 dollars. While it ended up being a lot easier than we thought, we did face a few obstacles when determining the guidelines for this challenge.

First, do we ignore pantry staples like butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the overall price? We settled on yes. Do chili flakes, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other common spices fall under pantry staples as well? Yes, again.

Another tricky question that came up: Since we are only making these recipes for two, how do we determine the pricing when buying packages of pasta, for instance, when only half is used? The way we dealt with this issue is that the price of the meal should be $5 per serving, leaving us with a grand total of $10 for two people. This way, you could cost out the ingredients based on how much you used, not on how much the packaging was. If you were making one of these dishes for four people, then the total cost

One of the most important features of any meal is the different textures it combines. This menu pairs tender roasted carrots, creamy avocados, delicate sprouts, and juicy lamb. Pure, clean flavors and a meal you can feel good about -- all achievable in well under an hour on a weeknight.

The Menu

Lamb Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt

Serves 4-6

2 pounds ground lamb
1 cup whole milk yogurt (you kind of need the whole for the texture)
Handful of fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely chopped

1. Heavily season the ground lamb with salt and pepper.

2. Mix yogurt, chopped cilantro, garlic and add salt to taste; set aside.

3. Cook burgers on grill or under the broiler, flipping once.

4. Serve burgers hot with yogurt sauce on the side.

Save and print this recipe at Food52.

Carrot Avocado Salad

Get the recipe for Carrot Avocado Salad on Food52.

The Grocery List

Serves 4

2 pounds ground lamb
Whole milk yogurt
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 pounds carrots
1 orange
1 lemon
Thyme

Danielle Walsh

Photo by Kenji Toma












The secret to an ice cream sandwich? A soft cookie. Harder cookies will smush the soft ice cream out of the oh-so-perfect sandwich when you bite into it, causing pain and anguish as that delicious ice cream falls to the ground--or, worse, into your lap.

See more: Top 20 Best-Tasting Burger Recipes

But we take it a step farther, dipping half of our cookie into a tempered chocolate sauce, then letting it harden in the freezer to hold in all that creamy goodness. Let's call it a deliciously practical way to save your pants from being ruined by ice cream (or, let's be real, your ice cream being ruined by pants).

Chocolate Chip and Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 16.5-ounce log refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough or two 16-ounce tubs pre-portioned chocolate chip cookie dough rounds
2 pints premium banana ice cream, slightly softened
2 ripe bananas, cut into very thin slices
1 11.5-ounce package bittersweet

There are certain labor-intensive recipe phrases that can make the

"If you're aiming for springy and crisp tofu, pressing it is an essential step," Mallory Stuchin, senior digital editor at Everyday Food, told us. You know when people say tofu's like a sponge when cooked, soaking up whatever delicious flavors you're cooking with? The same sponge principle is at work when tofu is just sitting in its package.  "Tofu retains a large amount of the water it's stored in, so pressing it will release the excess liquid and allow it to firm up while cooking." Like a wrung-out sponge, the pressed tofu can soak up even more of those delicious ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and scallion flavors in the pan.

What kind of tofu should I use?
"For stir-frys

Breakfast is all too often forgotten or skipped during the workweek, but on the weekend, it suddenly takes on a charged, almost obsessive appeal for people when it gets pushed to a few hours later in the day and gets renamed brunch. And that's because nobody wants to wake up for breakfast.

So we thought: Why not push back breakfast even farther? Why not make it for dinner? Perhaps then, people will start having breakfast every day of the week.

We're talking about a quick and easy meal here. Cooking dinner generally requires a bit more commitment than cooking breakfast, we think, so breakfast is a logical choice for anyone who may be reluctant to cook in the evening. Eggs, for example, in any shape or form, are one of the quickest things you can whip up in the kitchen. Fancy a basic cheese omelette? Ten minutes. (Five if you're practiced or a seasoned French chef.)

All of the recipes featured here can be made at home for about $20 or less, excluding the cost of small amounts of basic