Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my food blog JuliasAlbum.com which I founded in 2012 to share my favorite recipes in hopes that other people would also enjoy them. I live with my husband in a small town in beautiful Colorado where idyllic nature and dramatic mountains are my backdrop and my playground when I am not in the kitchen.
What type of recipes can you expect to find on my website?
- Savory recipes. I don't have a big sweet tooth, so pretty much all my recipes are savory dishes. I do post an occasional dessert once in a while, but I'm definitely not a dessert person.
- Easy weeknight dinner recipes. The vast majority of my recipes are main courses, usually featuring some kind of protein (chicken, pork, lamb, beef, or seafood) together with vegetables (or fruits). I use spices and many other ingredients to make my dinner recipes flavorful and fun. My recipes are usually high in protein and rich in fiber.
- Pasta recipes. A lot of my dinner recipes are pasta dishes featuring a variety of pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, orzo, gnocchi, ravioli, tortellini, etc) combined together with cooked veggies and protein (usually chicken, salmon, shrimp, or scallops). I usually make a yummy sauce to go with pasta (sometimes creamy, sometimes not).
- Salads. I make it a habit to eat a salad everyday, either as part of dinner, or for lunch. You'll find new salad recipes posted on my website on a regular basis. You can easily add your favorite protein (such as rotisserie chicken, leftover cooked chicken, salmon, shrimp, etc.) to most of my salads to turn them into a complete meal.
- 30-Minute One-Pan recipes. Most of my recipes are pretty simple and can be done in about 30 minutes using only one cooking pan. You can expect more and better simple 30-minute one-pan dishes from me going forward.
- Gluten-free recipes. A lot of my recipes are naturally gluten-free or can be easily adjusted to be gluten-free.
- Easily adjustable recipes. Most of my recipes can be adjusted to be dairy-free, meatless, or gluten-free. I started providing tips about these adjustments and will make it into a system going forward.
My recipes are inspired by the seasons
I use whole foods and seasonal ingredients and make sure that my meals are well-balanced, nutritious, delicious, and fun. Many of my recipes are inspired by seasons and use a wide variety of seasonal ingredients.
- Autumn-inspired recipes. In the Fall, I publish a lot of butternut squash, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash recipes. When apples are in season from July through December - I try to utilize them in my dinners or salads. During September, October, and November, I like to incorporate ingredients we often associate with Fall (such as pecans, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, pumpkin) into my recipes.
- In the Summer, I always make use of fresh tomatoes, homemade basil pesto, and fresh berries. I love the peach season that usually runs from July to September. I incorporate fresh corn into my dinners and salads from May to September. I love fresh cherries from June to August.
My food philosophy
The recipes that I publish on my website are real meals that I cook for myself, my family, and friends. They reflect the way I eat and my philosophy to use a wide variety of ingredients. I use whole foods and seasonal ingredients and make sure that my meals are well-balanced featuring protein, veggies, fiber, complex carbs, adequate amounts of fat.
- PROTEIN-RICH and FIBER-RICH RECIPES. I prefer to eat protein-rich dinners that usually feature one of my favorite proteins (chicken, beef, salmon, shrimp, scallops, lamb, etc) accompanied by cooked or fresh vegetables and fruits - prepared in a simple, delicious and flavorful way. I usually serve my dinners with complex carbohydrates that are packed with fiber, which includes a large variety of fiber-rich veggies (asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, leafy greens, Brussel sprouts, and many other - too many to list). Some of my most favorite complex carbs are sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and fiber-rich fruits and veggies. I also love beans, wild rice, and quinoa.
- LOW-CARB AND MOSTLY GLUTEN-FREE. I prefer eating mostly low-carb and gluten-free foods. I do eat high-quality protein-based pasta about 3 times a week (see next point below).
- FLAVORFUL PASTA DISHES. I eat pasta dishes about 3 times a week. I always eat pasta with some kind of protein (usually chicken, steak, or seafood) and some kind of veggies. Often smothered in a delicious creamy or cheese-based sauce.
Fun facts about me
- I have an identical twin sister and she is a full-time food blogger, too! We grew up as best friends, always creating things as kids. We made clothes from scratch for our dolls (and for ourselves!). We even made our own dolls from scratch. As adults, now, we both have translated those skills into creating recipes from scratch.
- My educational background. Before food blogging, I finished my MBA (Master's Degree in Business Administration) with the specialization in Supply Chain Management, no less! 🙂 I could have been managing a warehouse or procuring equipment or spare parts for a manufacturing plant at this very moment. But here I am, food blogging instead!
- I love naturally orange foods and regularly eat naturally colored orange veggies and fruits, such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets (both orange and red), oranges, peaches, apricots, mango, persimmons, and papaya. There is something about the orange color in fruits and vegetables that makes them irresistable to me. My recipes reflect my love for orange foods.
- I traveled extensively between 2016 and 2019 and published a lot of useful international travel articles about places to visit, and things to do - if you love to travel, you might like them. I traveled through Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand), Europe (Italy, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Monaco), the Caribbean (Barbados), the Middle East (United Arab Emirates), and Canada.
Connection with nature
One of the most important parts of my life is feeling connection with nature. I live in a very small town in Colorado, with the most picteresque mountains and groves of aspen trees and evergreens at my doorstep. I like hiking steep terrain in wilderness (usually alone, but sometimes with my husband and friends) as a way to keep myself in decent shape through regular (and challenging) physical activity. Being outdoors in nature keeps me both physically and mentally balanced, it energizes me and recharges my batteries. Food blogging can be a lonely jorney with a lot of time spent indoors, in the kitchen, or being glued to a computer screen. Getting outside and physically challenging myself while being nurtured by nature makes everything better: it improves my mood and sleep, lowers the stress, gives me energy and motivation, and simply makes me a happier person.
Featured On
- My recipes have been featured on major sites, such as Huffington Post, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Parade, The Kitchn, Delish, Brit+Co, Food Network, BUZZFEED, PUREWOW, and Greatist.
- For a detailed list of some of my recipes featured on these sites + links to those features, check out my Press page.
Join me on Social Media!
Subscribe to my recipes by e-mail:
Subscribe to my e-mail list here and I will send you delicious recipes every week. You will also get an email every time I publish a new recipe. The subscription is 100% free and you can unsubscribe at any time!
The best way to contact me and get me to respond
- The best way to reach me (and get my response) is to comment on any recipe on this website or on this ABOUT page in the comments section below even if you'd like to communicate about something that doesn't have anything to do with a particular recipe. I always see your comments! And, if you indicate that your comment is private, I won't publish it. You can email me at inquiriesjulia { at } gmail { dot } com but my email gets cluttered and it's very very likely I might miss your message if you email me. See more at my contact page.
I am very happy that you landed on my website!
I love hearing your feedback about my recipes (both positive and negative - it helps me grow). I always see your comments and try to respond promptly. I just updated my homepage (as of October 2023) - it now provides a very good overview of my recipes - I highly encourage you to check out my homepage for helpful navigation! If you'd like to see my most recent food creations, you can find my latest recipes here.
Rita
Julia, I LOVE the recipes I have tried - especially the various salads and one-pan dishes. I saved several (most) of the Easter Brunch recipes you just sent out and I have a question. Can bacon (or ham or even ground chicken or beef) be substituted for sausage? Unfortunately, sausage doesn't agree with me. Thank you! And thank you for the work you do!!!
Margie
This is not to criticize your recipes b/c many of them are very appealing, but I often skip over them b/c whatever you spray(?) on them prior to shooting them is very shiny and, in my opinion, makes them look greasy and therefore unappealing to me. Can you tone down the shine to make the food look more appetizing (and less greasy?).
Alan G Bruzas
Hi Julia,
I love your recipes and have made several. I am old school and like to print out the recipes and save my favorites. May I suggest that you include your name on the printout version of your recipes. I like to give you credit and remember where the recipe came from. Currently, the printed recipes do not show the source.
Donna Reischel
Julia, I am enjoying your recipes very much but it does take me more than 30 minutes to prepare. What is your secret to prepare your delicious meals in 30 minutes? Sometimes it takes me 60 minutes to prepare. Help, I need it!!
Sheri Goff
Am enjoying reading your recipes and have tried a couple of them with some modifications due to ingredients on hand. Great ideas and combinations of ingredients! Am curious about which small CO town you live in only because we lived in Breckenridge for about 15 years after retirement. Had to relocate to a lower altitude for health reasons but we both grew up in CO (Denver) so have many ties to the area. Miss my mountains! One idea I have for some of your readers is that I keep skimmed evaporated milk on hand to substitute for milk, cream, heavy cream in recipes and it works well for me. I like it for soups and for pasta dishes. My husband is plant-based much of the time so we have many vegan or vegetarian meals. (lots of beans) I make a small portion of fish, seafood or chicken on the side for myself at times. Other times he will have what I am having for his protein source. Your recipes are easily adapted and because we always have many veggies on hand we eat flavorfully and well! Keep up the good work ..... I especially loved your personal photos this time! Good for your MIL. I am soon turning 79 ..... don't do horses or water but have hiked a lot and snowshoed especially when living in CO.
Sue Ready
I follow your recipe site and have noted you do your own photography. I have been a food blogger for the last 12 years and do follow a lot of food blogger sites. I want you to know that your recipes and photography are beyond amazing one of the best sites I have come across. Each one is carefully executed easy to follow and the photos make your dishes so appealing! Congratulations on a job well done!
Sue Ready
Sockfairies.blogspot.com
Julia
Thank you, Sue, you are so sweet! It's so great to get a compliment from a fellow food blogger! 🙂 I do all of my own photography because I truly love cooking + photography combined! The process of cooking and then capturing the end result with my camera really invigorates and excites me!
suesi
I have made a number of recipes since I joined. I find however that many recipes call for heavy cream. For many reasons, I cannot use this (calories, do not keep on hand, need to limit some lactose products). Any suggestions for lightening up those recipes?
Julia
Many of my recipes that call for cream can be made with dairy-free full-fat unsweetened coconut milk or even with lite coconut milk. Thicker dairy-free alternatives, such as cashew milk, should work, too.
You can alo try making bechamel sauce using a roux (butter or olive oil and flour) and milk. I have one recipe that uses this kind of sauce:
https://juliasalbum.com/easy-homemade-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/
Joy Fisher
Hi Julia,
Thanks for the 7 day series of dishes. I made the Thai coconut salmon curry and it was fantastic. I also added mushrooms as I think mushrooms belong in almost everything (lol). I plan to try the Avocado Mango Salad tonight.
I do have a question. On the recipe where is states servings and then calories. I just want to make sure I'm reading this correctly. If it says Servings: 4 people and the calories: 354Kcal. Does this mean that the entire dish is 354kcal or each serving is 354kcal and there are 4 servings in this dish?
Julia
Joy, I am glad you liked my line-up of 7 dishes for this week! 🙂
About your question, the nutrition information (including the calories) is per 1 serving, not for the whole dish. Most of my recipes make 4 servings, so the calorie info is per each serving. 🙂
Joy Fisher
thanks. That is what I thought, but wanted to make sure.
Tracey
Julia,
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes! I love receiving your recipes in my IN box and I love your style of cooking! Thank you for doing what you do!!!!
Julia
Tracey, your thoguthful comment makes me so happy - thank you, I really appreciate it. ❤️
Jessica Hoff
Thank you for making life a little more simple with the wonderful recipes! Makes checking my email exciting.
Julia
Wow, Jessica, so glad you're enjoying my emails! 🙂
Jody
I absolutley LOVE your recipes! I have made many of them and an always inspired to be creative myself. I usually print them and put them in a sleeve to protect them - I'm kinda messy 🙂 Do you have a way to print them horizontally in two columns so I can see the ingredients and the directions at the same time? Thanks so very much!
Julia
Jody, thank you for appreciating my recipes and sharing such a positive comment!! ❤️❤️ My print format is dictated by the recipe formatting software I use, not sure if this software has an option of printing in 2 columns, but I will look into that!
Trish
Thank you Julia!!!
I’m so happy to have discovered you and your fabulous recipes! It’s always a struggle to figure out what to make for dinner, especially on workdays. Your recipes have changed that. I especially love your one pan, 20-30min meals on workdays. They are always easy and delicious. I must also say that I’m always excited to get your emails to see what else I can make! lol
Thank you again!
Julia
Trish, your comment really made my day! ❤️ I am so glad you look forward to my e-mails and my recipes. More to come! 🙂
Nina
Hi, Julia. Your recipes are my kind of meals! Do you have a cookbook? Would love it if you would consider writing one! Pleeease! 🙂
Julia
Nina, thank you for trusting and appreciating my recipes! 🙂 I'd love to do a printed cookbook at some point! 🙂
Tina
The recipes posted match my taste 99.9% of the time. I want to try all of them, although it will take me some time to accomplish that task. The recipe's are easy to follow.
Julia
Tina, I love hearing that! ❤️❤️ So glad my recipes match your tastes. Great minds think alike! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Jean Wyenberg
Hi Julia
What is the best thing to use in your lovely creamy recipes for someone who is lactose intolerant? Not my issue but a friend who I like to cook for.
Many thanks
Jean
Julia
Jean, I am sorry for my delayed response.
➡️ My number one dairy-free choice for cream would be unsweetened coconut milk.
➡️ You can also use thinner dairy-free milks, such as almond, oat, or cashew milk. If using thinner milks instead of cream, add half the amount first, and then add more, if needed.