About Jen

I’m 28 and live in Austin Texas with my wonderful husband Evan, dog Ginger, and cat Skiddy. We are a pretty laid back group (except for Ginger). When I’m not working with clients or practicing yoga you can find me in the kitchen or on the back porch BBQ’in’ with good friends and family. When it comes to food I like to think outside of the box and go off the recipes my mind tends to dream up. I’m always experimenting with new ingredients and thinking of ways to prepare fresh foods in a unique way. I also LOVE to compete in cooking challenges, well any challenge really I hope to update the blog 4-5 times a week at a minimum. You will probably also begin to notice that I can tend to get addicted to certain ingredients… (like yuzu). I’ve had several friends, family, and clients inquire about my recipes so here it goes. Please subscribe to my blog and join me on this experimental culinary journey.

What to expect: Healthy recipes that are good for you, some classics (that have been spruced up), some not so healthy recipes (still made with quality ingredients that can be enjoyed in moderation), around town reviews, and beer and wine parings! I hope you all enjoy, cheers!

39 Responses »

Paige on August 3, 2010 at 2:43 pm said:

Jen,
I am always searching for good recipes online (especially healthy ones), and have ended up with some pretty bad ones!!! I always see your posts on facebook and your meals sound YUMMY!! I just signed up to your blog today and am excited to find some good recipes Also, congrats to you and Evan on your engagement!!
Paige Preas

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zestybeandog on August 3, 2010 at 2:54 pm said:

Thanks Paige!
I’ll keep updating as often as possible. Feel free to give me suggestions of foods or ideas you like Thanks for the congratulations, we are sooo excited, December 18th, 2010 is the big day!!! I hope all is well with you!
-Jen

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Dennis on August 14, 2010 at 8:25 pm said:

I can’t wait to try the cheesy Bison and roasted veggie bake!!!!!!

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Essence Garage on August 30, 2010 at 2:11 pm said:

This is a pretty cute blog. – Andrew H

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- zestybeandog on August 31, 2010 at 8:06 am said:
  
  Thanks Andrew!
  
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ReadersHeaven on September 24, 2010 at 12:07 pm said:

Hi, nice to meet you !

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Curt Stimpson on October 7, 2010 at 3:58 pm said:

I like your blog…recipes look interesting. Nice to see you on Foodista too!! Hook ‘em!

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- zestybeandog on October 7, 2010 at 4:37 pm said:
  
  Thanks Curt!
  
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Blair on November 1, 2010 at 2:46 pm said:

Hi Jen,

My name is Blair and I write for http://www.favedietsblog.com – the FaveDiets blog. I was looking at your blog the other day and I came across your great recipe for Healthy Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf with Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I enjoyed the recipe so much that I linked to it on my most recent blog post. You can read it here: http://www.favedietsblog.com/mashed-sweet-potatoes-a-healthy-tasty-thanksgiving-alternative/.

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks!

Blair

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- zestybeandog on November 2, 2010 at 6:51 pm said:
  
  Thanks Blair for mentioning my site on your blog! I checked it out and those look like some good recipes. I’m all about branching our from the traditional!
  Take Care!
  
  Jen
  
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Sandra on February 3, 2011 at 12:22 pm said:

Jen, Your recipes look great! I’ve been wanting to try cooking with veggies I’m not that familiar with, e.g. kale, chard, so this gives me some wonderful ideas. Any possibility that you’d mind sharing what other dishes you serve each recipe with? For example, the bacon and chard recipe – what kind of other dishes do you serve with it?

Thanks so much!
Sandra

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- zestybeandog on February 3, 2011 at 12:41 pm said:
  
  Hi Sandra! Thanks for the kind words! I would serve the bacon and swiss chard with something like this http://zestybeandog.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/panko-breaded-chicken-with-a-zesty-mushroom-and-white-wine-caper-sauce/ But really it goes well with most things, I even have been putting it on pizza lately! I’m on a leafy green kick right now so there will be plenty more recipes to come that are accompanied by leafy greens! Thanks for checking my blog out!
  
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Tiffani on June 29, 2011 at 11:36 am said:

Jen! You make me want to drop everything and go grocery shopping! I love the receipes…I will spread the word!

Tiffani

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- zestybeandog on June 29, 2011 at 11:51 am said:
  
  Awe thanks for the kind words! Wish I was grocery shopping right now!!!
  
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thefooddoctor on October 20, 2011 at 1:28 pm said:

Hello Jen
Thank you for stopping by my blog so that I can discover yours..you have some great looking recipes here

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- zestybeandog on October 20, 2011 at 3:44 pm said:
  
  Oh thanks! I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog! Good stuff I look forward to seeing more posts!
  
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gardenfreshtomatoes on October 21, 2011 at 10:21 am said:

Hi, Jen! Thanks for leaving me a comment, so I could come take a peek at what you’re doing!
Punching that ‘follow’ button, right now!

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- zestybeandog on October 21, 2011 at 11:20 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to your posts as well!
  
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ediblesubstance on December 18, 2011 at 11:33 am said:

Hi you have a really lovely blog, I want to let you know that I’ve selected you for the Versatile Blogger Award. You can find out about why I selected you and what you need to do in my link below.

http://ediblesubstance.wordpress.com/

Congratulations!

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- zestybeandog on December 20, 2011 at 8:06 am said:
  
  Thanks so much! Sorry it’s taken so long to reply, I was out of town on my first wedding anniversary!
  
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fivereflections on December 26, 2011 at 5:07 pm said:

poking around to see what it is like to live around your interesting area of the world…

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- zestybeandog on December 29, 2011 at 9:04 am said:
  
  Thanks for poking around! It’s always good to meet new people!
  -Jen
  
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  - fivereflections on December 30, 2011 at 12:06 am said:
    
    thanks Jen – i’m sure i’ll have questions, but they will be easy ones…
    
    Happy New Year from Maine
fivereflections on February 11, 2012 at 3:00 am said:

what’s cook’n this weekend? It is fun to see…

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- zestybeandog on February 13, 2012 at 9:46 am said:
  
  I’ve had some sick pets and have been experimenting for un upcoming food contest I will be in in March Writing up a new post as we speak
  
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  - fivereflections on October 5, 2012 at 12:59 am said:
    
    i was browsing your site, and now i’m hungry – too late to eat…. love all the recipes you guys try out…
    
    happy october… to you both from Maine
  - zestybeandog on October 8, 2012 at 10:09 am said:
    
    I always get hungry when I’m look through food blogs!! Thanks!!! Happy October to you!
Sophie33 on March 28, 2012 at 3:31 pm said:

I totally dig you & your lovely blog! I am so happy that recently I found your lovely & cool blog! Yeah!

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- zestybeandog on March 28, 2012 at 4:42 pm said:
  
  Thanks! I’m so happy you dig it! It’s always nice to hear! Cheers to you and your blog!
  
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radiantchildyoga on April 26, 2012 at 10:19 am said:

Jen, feel free to at least come to the free Kundalini Yoga class on Friday night at Yoga Yoga. If you can come to the Kundalini and Law of Attraction course Sat and Sunday, I’d love to see you! We lowered the price. Here is the link and video of me talking about the course: http://www.yogayoga.com/event/happily-ever-now-kundalini-yoga-and-law-attraction-shakta-kaur-khalsa

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- zestybeandog on April 26, 2012 at 12:28 pm said:
  
  I wish I could, I’m busy planning a party that’s happening Saturday for a friend. So I have lots of cooking and prepping to do
  
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midnitechef on May 1, 2012 at 9:31 am said:

Hi Jen, nice to meet you I’m also living here (Round Rock) and write about food. Also member of AFBA Hope to catch you at an event!

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- zestybeandog on May 1, 2012 at 9:35 am said:
  
  Awesome! Nice to meet you too! I’m sure we will see each other around in the near future! Cheers!
  
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Primlani Kitchen on May 2, 2012 at 9:40 am said:

Thanks for your kind words Jen. Envious that you live in Austin….It’s on my bucket list.

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- zestybeandog on May 3, 2012 at 9:13 am said:
  
  You are most welcome! Austin is a great place, you must visit!
  
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Garrett Fitzgerald on December 5, 2012 at 1:34 pm said:

Hey Jen,

You got some great (and hunger inspiring) recipes on your blog! We’ve just come down to Austin for the local food scene and I thought I’d invite you to check out CitySprout.com and tell us what you think!

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LAND OF FUN on December 31, 2012 at 11:17 pm said:

Happy New Year 2013 to you !

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- zestybeandog on January 4, 2013 at 8:01 pm said:
  
  Thank you! Happy New Year to you!
  
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Subhan Zein on January 6, 2013 at 5:07 am said:

Hello Jen,

Happy New Year to you. May 2013 bring you more happiness, love, and success. Thank you for keep following my blog. I hope my blog posts do not disappoint. Many blessings and much love to you.

Subhan Zein

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