Ford sent me on a #onetankadventure to the Hudson Valley to check out all the best food destinations there and I think I ate better that weekend than I have in a long time.

First I went to the Culinary Institute of America where, after a tour of the gorgeous campus, I joined a real class and made fish chowder with them. It was a dream come true for me. The students and teacher were so kind, and wait til you see what they thought of my soup!

The next day I went to Damon Baehrel’s for a 15-course meal that blew my mind. Everything he serves — and he does it all on his own, from gathering to prep to cooking to serving to cleaning up — comes from his property. Everything. All the sauces, powders, seasonings… and even the three kinds of sap that I drank. You have to see the video to believe it.

And then last but not least I stopped by the Farm Box for some famous juice shots and then made my way to Crimson Sparrow for an incredible, seasonal dinner. Watch how I didn’t miss a beat, or a meal, even after the two previous days of gorging.

Should you be in that neck of the woods I highly recommend any and all of these places for your own #onetankadventure. These people take food seriously, and it shows. Everything is healthy, locally-sourced, and most important, delicious. I hope you’ll watch all three videos and let me know what you think!

It’s time for episode 9 of TV Dinner on ulive and I saved the best for last. (Last one just for now, not to worry.) My friend Brooke Hammerling came over and I made my favorite post-workout meal: avocado toast with an egg on top.

Brooke runs Brew PR, a firm she founded to provide media relations to cool tech companies. Among other things, she’s also a big supporter of charity: water. I don’t need to tell you that she, just like the rest of us, is busy. It’s hard enough to find the time to workout; who wants to come home and start slaving over the stove after? Not me. Not Brooke. And I’m guessing not you, either.

Avocado toast with an egg on top is not only the fastest, easiest meal to make, but it packs the necessary 1-2 protein-carb punch that your body needs post-workout. Win – Win. Time to get familiar with it.

And like I said, this is the last episode of TV Dinner — for now — but I have a Valentine’s Day special coming in a few months. And until then, you can catch up on the other 8 episodes and recipes. Be sure to let me know if you make any of them and how they turn out.

Hope you had as much fun watching as I did makin ’em!

Episode 8 of TV Dinner on ulive is a special one because my guest is the most special person. It’s my fiance, Brian, and we’re talking about weight loss management. A few years ago before we met Brian lost almost 100 pounds through obsessive calorie counting. Yes, one hundred pounds. (He even chronicled it on a special Twitter feed: @brianstelter25.) It still feels incredible to say how much weight he lost, even though it’s been talked about countless times.

As many of you know though, losing it is one thing, keeping it off is another. It’s a true testament to his strength that he’s managed to do so — for years now! — cause I know from living with him that it’s not always easy. He has a raging sweet tooth, but has learned when to indulge and when to hold back. But it’s important for him to not deprive himself. He still needs and wants to eat substantial meals — but now he’s more mindful of what those meals are. Enter these scallops and mashed cauliflower, which are so great. Sure, it’s a little bit of trickery substituting for mashed potatoes, but it works. You feel full (in a good way) and you’re getting a ton of flavor (and nutrition) too.

Another lesson I’ve learned from him is portion control. This one’s tough for me because if it’s in front of me, I’m gonna eat it. But he’s taught me that it’s often okay to leave food on your plate. I tease him that a clean plate = love, but I know he’s right. Sometimes. At least about this.

There are dozens of ways to make scallops — ceviche, miso-glazed, you name it — but this simple lemon and garlic recipe was actually the first meal I ever made for Brian back on Valentine’s Day 2012. He loved it then and (luckily) he still loves it now.

It’s time for episode 7 of TV Dinner on ulive and this one is going to blow your mind. It’s quinoa for breakfast. Maybe you’ve already had it and you’re all, Jam, you’re mad late to this. But for those of us who always thought of quinoa as a dinner food, this is a game-changer. The woman behind it? My new friend Liz Stein, founder of the incredibly successful and delicious granola company Purely Elizabeth. All of their food is free of soy, dairy and gluten and certified vegan as well. (Try the pumpkin fig granola and you’ll never eat another kind again.)

Anyway my friend Noah introduced me to Liz and I knew right away I had to have her on TV Dinner. But since her company’s granola recipe is a secret, she suggested we make this banana nut breakfast quinoa instead. I was hesitant about starting the day with quinoa cause I always thought of it as savory, not sweet, but this recipe won me over with the first spoonful. It tastes and smells like french toast because of the cinnamon and vanilla, but instead of the carbs and by proxy, guilt that comes with those slabs of egg and butter-drenched bread, you have a bowl of yummy superfood goodness.

You must try; it’s so easy to make. Liz brought up a good point the day we were filming, too: you can make a huge batch of plain quinoa and keep it in the fridge or freezer. That way when you’re ready for a little breakfast action, just heat it up and toss in the seeds and spices.

For more recipes from Liz and Purely Elizabeth, check out their Fall magazine which is full of great ideas. And there also may or may not be an interview with yours truly.

It’s time for episode 6 of TV Dinner and one of my favorite meals to cook at home: spicy corn salad with shrimp and avocado. You know I love me some Mexican food. But unfortunately it’s not always the healthiest cuisine. In fact it’s usually not. Which is why my friend Falcon, a chef and restaurant consultant, was the perfect guest for this episode because he specializes in making low-cal, healthier versions of our favorite foods.

For his wife Gita, a friend of mine who works in restaurant PR, he makes a special kale puttanesca whenever she’s craving her beloved Italian red sauce. Good husband, right? She says it beats her cravings for a big bowl of pasta, which we can all relate to. He says it has the same great taste and texture, but none of the guilt. (Don’t worry, I plan on making it with him one day and posting the recipe here.)

Meantime, try this spicy corn salad with shrimp and avocado and let me know what you think.

Chef Francis Derby — part of the opening team at wd~50 and now of The Cannibal here in NYC — wants to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. At least not at his place! He’s just started adding multiple vegetable dishes to his meat-heavy menu, including this tomato and peach salad, which couldn’t be easier to make. It’s great as is — very tasty when both tomatoes and peaches are in season — but add any other vegetables of your liking. If you want it to be a meal all its own, add a piece of fish on top or on the side.

It’s time for episode 3 of TV Dinner on ulive and this is one of my favorites, because Sarma Melngailis has fast become one of my most favorite people. For the uninitiated, Sarma is the founder of One Lucky Duck, proprietress of NYC restaurant Pure Food and Wine and the author of two cookbooks. She is one of the pioneers of the raw food movement and while her credentials are super impressive, it’s her infectious energy that I love.

Her warmth, her glow — it’s from all that yummy green juice she drinks! I actually made her favorite green juice recipe when she came over and it was divine. If she lets me, I’ll share it with you guys too.

For now, enjoy one of her restaurant’s signature dishes: the heirloom tomato, fennel + avocado pressed salad. It is delightful and fresh and sweet and amazing — just like her. And it was so easy to make. Just think: you can bring one of NYC’s hottest restaurants right to your kitchen.

If you’re interested in how food affects your health, where your food comes from and the politics behind some of it, you should follow her on Twitter. Homegirl is SMART. I love that she can tell you why eating raw and/or vegan is so good for you. And if you love dogs even half as much as I do then you’ll love her instagram feed, full of adorable snapshots of her “One Lucky Puppy” Leon.

It’s time for episode 2 of TV Dinner, my Web video series for ulive! This was an unbelievable afternoon. Chef Sam Talbot came over and I made the chickpea tabbouleh with fuji apple from his cookbook, The Sweet Life. You may know him from Top Chef, the Surf Lodge or being a general food man about town, but what you may not know is that Sam has been living with diabetes since he was 12 years old. But he doesn’t let it get him down; no, his upbeat spirit about it is infectious. He understands how his diet plays a huge part in his health and by proxy, his happiness, so he eats well without giving up anything. Sure he watches his carbs and sugar intake, but by incorporating whole grains and lots of fresh herbs, citrus, and vegetables, he maintains an active, sweet life.

Even if you don’t have diabetes I highly recommend his cookbook, which is chock full of awesome, vibrant recipes. This chickpea tabbouleh in particular was super easy to make and what surprised me the most was that the amount of parsley and mint wasn’t overwhelming in the least. In fact, it added to the dimensions of flavor in a huge way. And it packs an incredibly healthy punch. Did you know that parsley has three times as much vitamin C as an orange?

Chew on that while you watch the show. And if you missed the first episode of TV Dinner, you can catch up here.

It’s one thing for people to love the first episode and it’s a whole other to inspire people to change the way they think about food. My friend Felicia wrote a beautiful blog post this morning about watching my show and wanting to “invite a lot more diversity” into her diet. She’s going to start documenting her pasta and sugar intake in order to hold herself accountable, so if you want to follow along with her adventure or just show her a little love, visit her blog and let her know you’re there, shaking your pom poms for her. I know I am.

Felicia’s not the only one who loved the first episode of TV Dinner though. The New York Observer gave it a rave review and Grub Street (New York Magazine’s food blog) gave it a shout out too!

Tomorrow on episode two: Sam Talbot from Top Chef! Stay tuned; it’s a good one.

In this first episode I made a garlic shrimp white bean extravaganza, which you’ll see is not only super simple, but also healthy and delicious. Huge thanks to my first guests, Brian and my friends Maya and Matt, who were such great sports. And of course my amazing crew Adam and John and all the super talented producers and editors who brought this series to life.

You can watch the episode by clicking HERE or on the photo above. And this is just the beginning! I’ll be posting two new episodes a week for the next five weeks, so please stay tuned.