Featured Food Blog: The Actor’s Diet

Name: Lynn Chen
Name of blog: The Actor’s Diet
Twitter: @MsLynnChen
Location: Los Angeles, CA

How would you describe your culinary style?
Lazy, and nostalgic.  And cheap – I’m a struggling actress!!!

What is the main source of inspiration for your recipes?
Usually whatever we have in the house – so that could be anything from what’s in season at the farmer’s market, to a product I’ve been sent to review, to what’s leftover from takeout.  I’ve been known to save dressings, condiments and sauces from restaurants and repurpose them into an entirely new meal.

If you could have one food while stranded on a desert island, what would it be? 
It’s embarrassing how often I eat cantaloupe and honeydew, but since I blog about what I eat every single day, my poor readers are subjected to me eating half a melon – scooped straight out with a spoon – quite often.  I like it because it’s filling, takes a long time to eat, refreshing, and I’d imagine it’d probably be easy to prepare on this desert island…

For someone new to your blog, which recipe do you recommend they try first? 
My Cajun Brownies with Potato Chips – sweet, salty, and spicy!  I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback about my Vegan African Stew.  And if you have a lot of instant oatmeal packets lying around and don’t know what do with them, try my instant oatmeal pancakes.

What is your ultimate guilty food pleasure? 
I struggled with binge eating and anorexia for many years, and part of my recovery has been letting go of labeling foods as “good” or “bad.”  I eat pretty much everything I want and crave these days, without any guilt, but my stomach is pretty sensitive when I overdo heavy cream or cheese dishes.  That doesn’t stop me from consuming them on a regular basis, though.

Define Yummly.
Embracing food and all of its magic.