Hi, I’m Jen and I live in Carlsbad, California (north San Diego), with my husband, Patrick, and my furry, four legged daughter, Kiwi, and together we WELCOME YOU to Carlsbad Cravings!!! I’m a cystic fibrosis survivor, lung & kidney transplant recipient, LOVER of life and FOOD!
At Carlsbad Cravings (est. 2014), you will find only my tried and true daringly delicious recipes with big, BOLD flavors – or what I like to describe as extraordinary flavors out of everyday ingredients. My #1 goal is to create the best version of every recipe (in my opinion), whether it’s Mexican, Italian, Asian or Greek. And if it’s not the best, then it doesn’t get shared! So, you can cook with confidence from my website, and hopefully you’ll think each recipe is “the best” too and discover many new favorites!
How it began
Some people escape in dreams of sandy beaches and sunny skies, I escape in dreams of mangos, chipotle peppers and bacon. My creativity as a former interior designer flourishes in the kitchen as I find something so satisfying in creating delicious, flavorful (spices are my forte!), fresh food…and then eating it!
As Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:
“Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. …” or something delicious!
I have been cooking and creating new recipes almost every day of the week since I got married in 2006 (see our love story here) and even created my own binder long before Carlsbad Cravings was born (see recipe binder below). When I was in desperate need of a kidney transplant and would come home from work exhausted with legs and feet so swollen I could only wear sandals and skirts (none of my shoes or pants would fit!), all l wanted to do was cook. Cooking and creating reinvigorated my exhausted self by feeding my mind, body and soul.
After I was blessed with new-found energy from my kidney transplant in October 2013 thanks to my doner sister (my lung transplant was in 1999), my doctor cautioned me about going back to work when I was so immune-suppressed. At that point, I was wondering what to do when my sister-in-law suggested I start a food blog. The words pierced my soul and I knew that was what I was supposed to do. I researched how to start a cooking site, how to turn it into a living and then I jumped in and never looked back!
Since launching Carlsbad Cravings in February 2014, I have shared over a thousand recipes that have reached over 140 million readers. I am honored every day to be invited into your homes. Thank you for making my recipes, trusting my recipes, leaving comments and for following along! You are the reason I’m allowed to do what I do! xo
Getting started – What seasonings to stock
To make every recipe the best version of itself, I rely heavily on seasonings. Seasonings MAKE a recipe! To that end, many of my recipes look like they have many ingredients, but often most of them are just dump-in spices, so please don’t be intimidated. I cook with the same spices all of the time, so once you purchase them, you’ll have everything you’ll need! Here are the pantry spices I recommend (you can purchase them little by little):
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- dried basil
- dried parsley
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- chili powder
- chipotle chile pepper
- ground cumin
- smoked paprika
- cayenne pepper
- ground ginger
- chicken bouillon
- beef bouillon
jump to recipe button
To help readers succeed and eliminate any guesswork, I include detailed tips and tricks in every recipe post. If you just want the recipe, you can use the “jump to recipe” button located at the top of every post to skip directly to the recipe. With that, everyone wins! Now, I hope you enjoy exploring my site and hopefully will create your own recipe binder full of Carlsbad Cravings favorites!
Want to Know More?
If you are curious about my journey with cystic fibrosis, my lung transplant, kidney transplant, love story
and more of my life, click on the links below:
Do You Love to Cook?
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Donna Wiesinger says
I think your Facebook page has been hacked! It has your intro but the postings are junk.
I hope you can get your content back. Yours is one of my favorite cooking groups and websites.
Jen says
Thanks so much Donna! Yes, it was hacked unfortunately…such a pain! We’re working on it – I hope everything will get straightened out!
Amy Clark says
4/15/25. Has your fb account been hacked?
Jen says
Yes it was 🙁 So sad!
Elaine Winkel says
Your Facebook site has been hacked. People are posting click bait all over it.
Jen says
Thanks Elaine! We’re working on it – So sad! 🙁
Lois Fleck says
I’m sure you’re aware your Facebook page has been hacked. Any luck recovering your account?
Jen says
No luck at all! I’m sorry for all the weird posts!
Lois C Fleck says
Are you back as of 4/17/24? There are a few of your recipes posted, but I’m not sure. I trust the links in the comments to click on for your recipe…
Jen says
My Facebook is still hacked but my website is not hacked so you can still search my recipes on my site. Thanks for your patience while we try to figure this out!
Vickie Krivacs says
Your Facebook account been hacked. It is posting very weird stuff
Jen says
Yes it has! I’m sorry for the content! We’re hoping to get it resolved soon!
Karen Ferrero says
Your FB account has been hacked and its ruining your brand! Get your husband, sister, niece, whatever to take care of this for you. It shouldn’t be that hard. You are too good to be ruined in this way!
Jen says
Thanks Karen! We are all trying! If you can please report the page and as many posts as you can that would be amazing. Thank you!!!!
carlinb says
Hey Jen,
I know how hard it is to loose a facebook account. It took me months to get mine back.
I was able to get my Virginia States Attorney to handle it for me. You might want to contact your state attorney.
Not all states offer this but I thought I would throw that out there.
Good Luck!
carlinB
Jen says
Thank you so much! It is so hard because they’re not seeing anything wrong on their end! Unfortunately California doesn’t offer this but I’m working with specialists to get it resolved. Cross your fingers!
Bernadette says
Sorry to hear you were hacked. Another fave of mine wash hacked awhile back. The Art Sherpa. It was brutal. She eventually got her account back. Not sure how. Sadly she passed away otherwise I’d suggest contacting to see if they had any ideas. Hope it gets fixed soon. This is so mean of people.
Jen says
Thanks Bernadette! I am now working with a company to get my account back. It could take weeks to months but hopefully eventually it will work!
Connie Tramell says
Jen, have you been hacked? I get terrible Facebook under your name, but I know it’s not you. Is there something we can do to get back to your recipes on Facebook?
Jen says
Yes! 🙁 Such a hassle! If you can report some of the bad posts that would be such a help so that Facebook can see there’s a problem. Thank you so much for asking!
Sue says
Unfortunately, I had to block your Facebook account which I loved so much. I reported it but the response I received was that everything was okay, yet the “pornography” continued. I hope once the problem is resolved that I can once again enjoy your content!
Jen says
I’m so sorry! It has been so bad! Thank you for reporting it! I hope it will be resolved soon!
Leigh says
Your Facebook page has been hacked.
Jen says
Yes, thank you! I’m working on getting it back – could take weeks to months.
Hillary Ladin says
Hey, do you know your Socials are hacked, Facebook.
Jen says
Yes, thank you! I have been blocked as well. I’m working with a company to get it back, but it could take weeks to months. So devastating. Sorry for all the awful content!
Jennifer Fulk says
Hi Jen! Long time follower here! I can’t count all the recipes I make from you ! I’m concerned about what happened to your Facebook page. I think you were hacked! So many inappropriate articles are coming up and people think you are posting them. I just thought I’d alert you to it .
Jen says
Thanks so much Jennifer! It’s been so awful! Facebook isn’t acknowledging the problem when I’ve definitely been hacked! If you can report some posts so they get flagged, that would be great!
Ellen Lonsdale says
Darn! Now your hacked FB thieves have blocked me and I can’t comment on it anymore to let readers know. Oh well, I tried.
Jen says
Oh man – I appreciate you trying though!!
Lori Parodi says
Amazing story and I’m so happy for you to be doing something you love at home!
I am heading to Carlsbad and your email
Caught my eye. I read your story and was instantly inspired!
Can’t wait to try your recipes out!
Cheers and hugs!
Lori
Jen says
Hi Lori! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m excited for you to explore my website and the place I love so much! I hope you love your time in Carlsbad and trying out some new recipes!
BRADY BOYD says
Jen, I love your cookbooks (bought 3 so far) and your online recipes. However, I believe that many of your fans are older cooks like I am, and they may have problems reading your aesthetically pleasing website and email font that’s almost unreadable to us. please change your website font away from light blue to a darker color or even black for better readability. it’s wonderful that your photos are so lovely, but your online font needs to be readable to your senior fans.
Jen says
Hi Brady! I am thrilled that you’re a fan and love my cookbook! I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having a hard time reading the blue font. One way to change the blue is if you print the recipe in black and white. There’s even an option to make it have a larger font when it prints. I hope that helps!
Ellen Lonsdale says
I also saw that your FB account had been hacked. The content was definitely not your style!!! I commented on every single posting to let readers know that it was hacked and that they should go to your actual website. Is that okay to do or should I delete my comments and just ignore the fake posts?
Jen says
Yeah thanks so much Ellen! I really appreciate your help!
Colleen says
Jen, I know your FB acct. was hacked. I report it daily but FB says that it doesn’t go against their standards. Today, I noticed a new one with your picture called The Talk! Not sure if it’s you or another hacker. Just wanted to let you know.
Jen says
Thanks for reporting it Colleen! It has been so difficult especially since they won’t block what is being posted even though it’s completely inappropriate. Hopefully we get it worked out.
Bernadette says
So it now looks like they have changed the name of the account to “The Talk “ have kept the followers , still using your photo and still doing the same junk. These people are despicable.
Jen says
Hi Bernadette! I know it’s been awful!
Melanie says
Hi Jen,
I love your recipes and miss seeing them on your Facebook page! Are you not going to be able to recover your Facebook page? I tried to report it, but they said the content didn’t go against their rules. Now I see your picture on The Talk Facebook page. It’s so wrong what these hacker are doing.
Jen says
Hi Melanie! They really are putting me through the ringer on FB! I am hoping we’ll get it back but it is taking a lot of work and time to try to recover it. Thank you for reporting it!
Brent J says
Hi Jen, I have been a follower of yours for a few years & love your recipes. I noticed on FaceBook you have started posting links to non-food related topics including politics. Have you been hacked or are you posting those? I hope not but If so, I will be unfollowing you
Jen says
Yes, I have been hacked and blocked. They have even changed the name of the page. I am working on getting it back, but it could take months.