Behind the Recipes
We’ve got a new team member heading up The Dish, which is our collection of healthy recipes featured on the JOY magazine website. Her name is Sidney Fry, and she’s got some serious credentials.
Sidney is a two-time James-Beard-Award-winning food and nutrition writer who loves creating simple, healthy recipes and thoughtful, actionable content for the hungry consumer. A healthy living proactivist, Sidney is also a registered dietitian nutritionist, recipe developer and mama of three based in Birmingham, Alabama.
That’s her basic bio, but you learn a little more about Sidney’s background, her thoughts on what “healthy” means, plus her favorite healthy snacks in our interview with her below. And give her a follow on instagram at @whole_fry to keep up with all her healthy eating adventures.
When did you first get interested in food and cooking?
Sidney: Most of my favorite memories as a child revolve around food and dinner tables with my parents and grandparents. I've always loved reading food magazines and cookbooks, too. I started baking a lot in high school. Cakes were my favorite projects. Big decadent layer cakes. The kitchen always felt like home for me, not only my comfort zone but also my blank canvas, the place where I could go to escape and create.
What is your background in healthy recipe development?
In college I thought I was going to be a doctor until I fell in love with the science of food. I took a nutrition course and loved it so much I shifted gears, majored in nutrition and went on to become a registered dietitian. I've always loved to cook but learning the mechanism behind the foods we eat and how they affect our mood, our mind and our bodies has always fascinated me. When I first started cooking, I was always tinkering with recipes, swapping out certain ingredients and foods for others to make them lighter, brighter, tastier and healthier. My dream was always to work in a test kitchen but my love for literature and writing steered me into an editing role. I landed a job as Nutrition Editor at Cooking Light magazine where I was able to nurture, cultivate and expand my abilities in the test kitchen as well as the content space. I quickly fell in love with recipe development. Creating recipe makeovers became a big part of my role. I've never looked back.
What says “healthy” to you and why do you put an emphasis on eating healthy?
"Healthy" to me is feeling your best. When I don't eat well, I don't feel well. I try and choose foods that add to my energy and performance and mood rather than take away from them. A diet rich in whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and protein sources from seafood and animals who are treated well—these are the things that say healthy to me and that should fill a plate.
Quality is everything to me, and when we focus on foods that actually have a story to tell — like who grew it or caught it or cooked it and why —we feel our best. And we are able to support our communities!
I emphasize healthy eating because I am convinced that our diet drives everything. Our moods, our athletic ability, our doctor visits, our energy levels, even our social lives. What we eat affects how we feel and how we function every day. Why not fuel our bodies with the best?
What are some of your favorite go-to healthy snacks?
I love a nut butter and fruit pairing like crunchy apples dipped in almond butter or a banana slathered in crunchy peanut butter. I love a creamy-crunchy pairing like raw carrot, bell pepper, radish or cucumbers dipped in hummus or pesto or guacamole. A small piece of toast schmeared in almond butter or avocado is another favorite. One thing I always keep in my fridge are homemade energy bites—just a mixture of rolled oats, nut butter and either dates or dried fruit or a mashed ripe banana all combined and rolled into bite-size balls. Sometimes I'll add cacao powder or collagen powder - and always a little sea salt!
Anything else you want JOY readers to know about you?
I love to cook, I love to swim, I love to run, I love to write, I love to eat, and I love to take naps. I also love ice cream. I love farmer's markets, and I always come home with too much. I have 3 kids (Jack, 6; Carlyle, 4; and Margot, 2). Between my kids and all of my jobs, I am always looking for hacks and quick-healthy-food-fixes for myself and my family. It's so much fun to create new things and new ideas. And what I love most is sharing them with readers and friends and family.
Check out Sidney's Healthy Recipes.