Fun at the Farmer's Market

I recently watched the documentary Food, Inc. and just as the website claims, I will probably never look at food the same way. Although I found the movie very informative, I am still at a loss about where to find grass fed chicken and beef- If anyone knows of a good, reasonable place, PLEASE let me know! Immediately following the movie I decided that I was going to be a vegetarian. Watching chicken and cows be slaughtered will do that to you... Of course the next day I went out for sushi and I couldn't resist the fish, so I decided to become a pescatarian. And after about 4 days of eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish, I began to crave meat again. So here I am back at square 1. I did however, vow that from now on I will buy local and organic whenever possible.

Every Sunday there's a fabulous farmer's market at the Mountain View train station. As we approach spring, I find it irresistible to be outside enjoying the sunny weather. Last weekend I bought some beets, broccolini, and bok choy - some of my faves.

I absolutely LOVE beets. They are super easy to make too! I must enter the disclaimer here: be forewarned that #1 and #2 will be a little pink... no you do not have bloody stools. But I always wonder how many people show up in the ER complaining of bloody stools a day or two after enjoying this wonderful vegetable. Please do share your stories!
RD tip: Beets are super healthy! They contain powerful nutrients that help protect against heart disease, birth defects, and cancers - especially colon cancer. Beets are high in folate, manganese, potassium, and fiber. For more nutrition info about beets check out this site.
My Asian friends at work: Em, N, L, and C always have the coolest vegetables. The biggest problem is my friends only usually know the Chinese or Japanese names of the vegetables and a lot of them are not even found in regular grocery stores. While at the farmer's market I spotted one of the vegetables my Chinese friends usually have. Broccolini is super easy to make by sauteing it with some EVOO, garlic, and soy sauce.
Bok choy is another one of my favorite Asian vegetables. I haven't make this quite yet, but I will most likely saute it the same way as the broccolini.

For dinner I had the beets, broccolini and quinoa. DELICIOUS!
I cannot wait to see what I will find at the farmer's market this week. Happy Sunday!

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

I am beginning to realize that my blog is turning into a baking blog, so for this month's RD meeting / pot luck I had to make a conscious effort to make something NOT sweet or baked and blog about it... I attended an awesome nutrition seminar at the CIA in St. Helena where I received some delicious olive oil as a 'party gift' and it got me thinking - of olive oil pound cake! haha

Of course when you rule something out, it's the ONLY think you can think about. Naturally, I could think of a million items I would like to bake, but no 'real food'. I called my cooking go-to-gal (Ronnie) and asked her for suggestions. A few weeks ago, I remembered Ronnie going on a small rant about how terrible it is when people put "weird stuff" in tuna salad - like relish... Ronnie came up with a great idea of making mini tuna sandwiches, but "without anything weird in it". She e-mailed me this great recipe that incorporates my new olive oil!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp olive oil

2tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp oregano

3 oz. tuna fish, water-packed low sodium

5 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

1 serving of bread of choice

METHOD:

Rinse and pat dry vegetables. Cut cucumber and tomatoes into bite size pieces, and mix with drained and flaked tuna in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, and oregano, and toss with tuna-vegetable mixture. Serve with toasted bread or crackers.

I used carrots and cucumbers instead of tomatoes - I personally don't like the seeds, texture, and juiciness of tomatoes in this type of dish.
The oil and vinegar actually held the tuna together better than I expected it would!
I served the tuna on croissants cut in half (so I would have enough) and sealed the deal with a cute umbrella toothpick. The mini sandwiches were such a hit at work that my boss stashed some away for dinner and lunch the next day!