Ayurvedic Spices & Super Grains

I made these handouts for a project at work and thought I would share.  Our chefs were in a cooking competition and wanted to exhibit the health benefits of the ingredients used.  I was amazed at the medical healing properties of the spices - it's no wonder the are incorporated into so many cultural foods.  

It's Fall

There is a chill in the air and the leaves are changing color - It's Fall in New England!  I really don't know how I lived without one of the best seasons for 20 years of my life.  Fall brings pumpkin coffee, comfy sweaters, boots, pumpkin cream cheese, apple cider, and apple picking!

The girls and I wandered out to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA for a day of picking apples, enjoying apple cider, and devouring apple cider donuts - YUM!  My favorite part was eating apples right off of the tree.  There is seriously nothing better than a fresh picked apple - so juicy and crunchy.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

We left the orchard with almost 30 pounds of apples... Time to cook and bake! 

I originally planned to bake an apple cake as well as homemade applesauce, but I was enjoying the fresh apples for snacks so often that I was left with only enough apples to make applesauce.
Boyfriend loves this applesauce and does a little happy dance every time he eats it - it must be good if Boyfriend likes it!

Here's my recipe for baked applesauce:

INGREDIENTS:
5 tablespoons water
1/4cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh NH maple syrup (for a sweet New England twist!)
4 lbs apples, peeled, cored, and halved

METHODS:
Preheat oven to 375*
Combine all ingredients in a large Dutch oven; toss to coat.  Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until apples are tender, stirring once after 45 minutes.

Happy Fall!  

Mamma's Turkey Chili

It's the middle of November and it's still 70 degrees out - where is fall?  The leaves are changing color and falling to the ground, but the air is still so warm. I need to move back east STAT!

Boyfriend loves football - I guess most men do, but his Sundays consist of sitting on our couch watching every single game on television.  Me being the girl I am, cannot stand to watch football ALL day, so I have vowed to cook something on Sundays to take up some time and keep me entertained while the boy is glued to the television.

This Sunday boyfriend put in a request for chili.  I reminded him that it's still sunny and 70 degrees outside, but he insisted it was time for chili and rice (one of his favorite meals).   Boyfriend and I both love the mother goose's chili, so I did my due diligence and emailed Mother Goose for her recipe:

Ingredients
2 pounds ground turkey 
1 large green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 large garlic glove, minced
1/3 cup chili powder 
3 cans red kidney beans 
3 14-oz. can tomatoes
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 


Method
1. On saucepan over high heat, cook ground turkey, green pepper, onion, and garlic, stirring frequently, until all pan juices evaporate and beef is well browned (about 15 minutes). 
2. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 minute.  Drain liquid from kidney beans into meat mixture; reserve beans. Stir in tomatoes with their liquid, tomato paste, water, salt, sugar, and bay leaf; over high heat, heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in reserved kidney beans. Cover and simmer 15 minutes longer to blend flavors. Discard bay leaf
4. Serve with brown rice & cheese

Browning beef with pepper, onion, and garlic

Stir in tomatoes with their liquid, tomato paste, water, salt, sugar, and bay leaf

Kidney beans reserved for later

The whole mixture before boiling

Adding the kidney beans 

 Boyfriend has a very specific way of putting the chili in the bowl....
* Not sure why these pictures turned out so yellow though. ugh

First comes the brown rice 

Then the cheese 

And then finally add the chili on top

Mix it all up and ENJOY!! 

Boyfriend attempted to make this recipe one time when we lived in Boston, but he somehow switched the chili pepper and cayenne pepper.  Yep, he added 1/3 cup cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder... To say that chili was spicy is an understatement!!!  We added a bunch of sugar to the chili because it's supposed to balance out the spicy, but it was still pretty hot.  Luckily one of our friends really likes spicy food, so he had enough dinner to last him a week.

This batch had the right amount of ingredients added and it was scrumptious, even if it does still feel like spring! I'm just happy to have something to keep me busy while football Sunday continues. Until next week...

Some of my My Favorite Foods

On a recent outing with my mother, she took me to one of her favorite resautants in Sonoma, The Red Grape.   After odering a nice cold glass of wine, I opened the menu and this entree immediately caught my eye.  Once I read all of the ingredients, I could not tear my attention away to even glance at the other menu options.  So I guess I decided what I wanted for lunch pretty quickly...

YES! The Farmer's Market white pizza!!  It's a pecorino romano base with roasted red beets, grilled corn and goat cheese, topped with fresh avocado slices. 
For those of you who don't know me well, goat cheese, beets, avocado, and corn are four of my all time favorite foods.  I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was when I realized that all of these foods came TOGETHER on a PIZZA!!  And all this time I thought I was weird for eating avocado, beets, and goat cheese on an English muffin - seems like whoever created this pizza has the same taste buds.  So exciting. 


The best part is that the restaurant had whole wheat dough as a substitution.  It made the RD in me smile even more.  The crust was pretty thin and light which made for a totally satisfying, yet not too filling lunch.  I wasn't able to finish the whole thing at lunch and took the rest to go.  This wonderful pizza was just as tasty - if not even better - the next day, cold, for lunch!  I'm not sure what it is about these flavors that makes them blend so beautifully, but I was in heaven the entire time I was eating this pizza. 

I cannot wait to visit the Red Grape and enjoy this pizza again.  I may even have to try something new (doubt it though!)

Mamma's Matzo Ball Soup

We all have those childhood favorite foods that remind us of holidays and special occasions. Well, for me it's my mother's Matzo ball soup. Everyone makes matzo ball soup differently (and equally delicious), but nothing says passover and the beginning of spring to me like mamma's matzo ball soup. Since we didn't have sedar at my parents' this year, she didn't make her soup. (Insert sad face here)
Missing it terribly, I decided to attempt the feat of re-creating the wonderfulness. I jotted down a few notes while she explained to me how she makes her soup. I had a VERY difficult time getting past the cleaning and cutting of a WHOLE CHICKEN! For those of you who know me well, you understand how difficult this is for me. I cannot handle the texture of raw meat, especially meat that actually looks like the live animal... eeeek.


So after many deep breaths, I bought the whole chicken...
I cannot imagine having to actually touch the raw meat on bones, so while I was in Safeway I asked the innocent, sweet looking butcher for some disposable gloves. When I explained that I needed them in order to make this chicken he stated, "You are kidding me, right?" Well no Mr. butcher man, I am not. But thanks for the gloves, I could not have gotten past this step without them!
I tried to take more pictures of me holding the raw meat, but I was so grossed out dealing with a whole chicken that it took 110% of my attention. After all of the torture, my matzo ball soup came out great!! and better yet, BOYFRIEND LIKES IT!!!! Food #3 that he will eat. Must be a winner!
Since my mom makes this soup from scratch and she gave me verbal instructions about how to make it, I tried to create some kind of recipe. This is what I have come up with so far:

Mamma’s Matzo Ball Soup

1.Place a whole chicken without skin or legs or wings,

WITH giblets into pot with water and bring to boil

2. Skim the ‘skum’ off the top

3. Lower the heat to a gentle boil

4. Add: 1 tsp chicken bullion and black pepper

5. Add: veggies- carrot (12), parsnip (2-3), parsley bunch, boiling onions (4), parsley (head)

6. Lower heat to simmer for at least 45 min – 1 hour. Longer = better

7. Take out giblets and chicken and pull off the bone – put chicken meat back in

8. Make matzo balls according to directions in a separate pot

9. Add mazto balls to soup 10 minutes before serving

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Passover. Next year in Jerusalem!

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!

Olive Oil Pound Cake

RD Tip: Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat (a healthy fat). Per the American Dietetic Association's position paper about Functional Foods, there is some evidence that eating about 2 tbsp (or 23g) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fats. To achieve the benefit of olive oil, it should replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total amount of daily energy intake. This pound cake is a perfect example. Rather than using a 'pound' of butter (a saturated fat), this recipe substitutes the bad fat with a healthier monounsaturated fat - olive oil.

In August my friend, Kitchen M , made some olive oil pound cake and brought it into work for us all to enjoy. Like everything Em makes, it was absolutely to die for!

During my trip to Israel we visited the Golan Olive Oil Mill. The store was not much different than what you see in Napa Valley, but the owner was such an amazing salesman, that I just HAD to buy something. Although they had a bunch of foofy olive products for skin, hair, face, etc., I decided to go for good 'ol olive oil.

I bought the bottle that is in Hebrew because I thought it looked cool and that it would be a great souvenir.

Since the bottle is in Hebrew, I had to take a picture of the English one so I could translate it.

This is the Gold Label Olive Oil called Tabha. It is the first cold press Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This olive oil is unique because it is extracted without the pit. It is clear, delicate & light and an exclusive product of the "Golan Olive Oil Mill"

This olive oil was quite a pain to get home. Since I am a chronic over-packer, my suitcase was a little heavy on the flight back to the US. I made it from Ben Gurion airport to LAX alright, but I knew there was NO way they would let me travel back to SFO with such a heavy suitcase. My good friend Shelby was nice enough to keep my olive oil in LA and mail it to me. When she came to visit San Francisco last weekend I was sure to have some fresh baked olive oil pound cake for her to thank her for her kindness.

I searched online for an olive oil pound cake recipe, but couldn't find any. I remembered Kitchen M's post about her bread, so I immediately checked her blog for the recipe. Since Kitchen M didn't post the recipe on her blog, I don't think I can post it on mine either. She was nice enough to share her yummy recipe with me, and if any of you would like it, I would be more than happy to e mail it to you also.

I made the cake at home for boyfriend to try and BOYFRIEND LIKES IT! It's a miracle! I took half of the cake to work the next day and everyone there loved it also. The mixture of orange zest, olive oil, and sherry wine create a sweet, yet light citrus flavor that's so addictingly wonderful.

My mom has an annual Valentine's day party which she spends days baking for. Since I have a new found love of baking, I decided to help her this year. I made two of my olive oil pound cakes for her party and it disappeared! This recipe is absolutely a keeper!

Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinner

I was pressed for time this week in between my travels and needed to think of a quick meal as I was STARVING after work. I stopped at Trader Joe's on my way home for some ready made balsamic rosemary chicken, veggies (yellow zucchini, broccoli, snap peas, mushrooms, and some cherry tomato - sized heirloom tomatoes), and bottled spaghetti sauce (only 40kcals per serving!).

When I got home I boiled some water for rigatoni. I sauteed the veggies with some EVOO and garlic, set them aside, and cut the chicken up into cubes. I left the tomatoes out of the saute so they didn't get mushy.

When the pasta was done I mixed in the vegetables, chicken, tomatoes, and some marinara sauce. I of course sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top and enjoyed!

The BEST part of this meal is that it only cost me $15.00 and took about 20 minutes to make. I had enough food to feed me and my friend dinner, take some for lunch the next day, and still had enough left over for both of my parents to enjoy when they returned from vacation.

Who said eating healthfully was expensive?! The pasta was packed with colorful veggies and lean protein from the chicken - what else could a dietitian ask for?

Happy New Year. I wish everyone happy and healthy eating in 2010!

Breakfast for Dinner

Yesterday my friend, Kitchen M, brought me one of her fabulous Buttermilk English Muffins to taste. I forgot to eat it at work and brought it home. When I got home from work, my mother said that she was craving Joe's Special (usually a breakfast item). Quite a coincidence that I had an English muffin waiting for me too, so breakfast for dinner it was!

My mom found this recipe on Epicurious and we started cooking.

1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the Tabasco, salt, basil, and pepper. Whisk just enough to combine; you should still see large bubbles. Set aside

2. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft but not beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ground turkey and continue cooking until uniformly brown, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cover with the spinach, place a lid over the mixture, and cook for about 3 minutes, just until the spinach wilts.

3. Stir the spinach into the meat, cooking briefly to eliminate excess liquid if the mixture seems watery. Pour the egg mixture over it all, stirring with a spatula from the bottom until the eggs begin to set. Remove from the heat and stir a few more times, as the eggs cook through from the residual heat. Serve immediately.

I spread some pumpkin butter on the English muffin and enjoyed this yummy breakfast for dinner. This was simple and quick to make and totally delicious! I made some alterations, additions and substitutions to the recipe we found to make it a little healthier and nutrient dense - take a look below.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs ( I used 3 whole eggs and 4 egg white)

Splash or two of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce ( I used Trader Joe's hot chili sauce and used it to top the scramble as well)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil or oregano ( I used both)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter ( I skipped the butter)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 pound lean freshly ground beef ( I used ground turkey)

3/4 to 1 Pound fresh spinach ( Naturally, I used a pound)

I also added about 1/2 c of sliced white mushrooms and one medium sized baked potato cut into cubes.

It was so much fun to cook with my mom for a change - and she didn't even tell me I was cooking to slowly!

Recipe courtesy of: Epicurious, February 2002 ; A Real American Breakfast

Linguine with Scallops and Veggies

After eating out almost every night for the past couple of weeks, I decided a home cooked meal was in order. I have discovered that working all week does not leave much time for grocery shopping, so I didn't have much to work with. We had frozen scallops, frozen mixed vegetables, pasta (of course) and various leftovers from previous recipes.

I boiled a pot of water for linguine; which up until I started this blog was about the extent of my cooking skills... Threw some olive oil, red onions, vegetable broth, garlic, and basil into a skillet to cook the scallops, heated up the frozen veggies in the microwave, and mixed it all together.

This dish was not overwhelming with flavor, but it wasn't terrible either! I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top (my favorite) and it turned out to be a nice little dinner. My motto is that anything with parmesan cheese is delicious - I rarely eat pasta or pizza without it.

I have always been skeptical about coking without a recipe, but practicing with Cooking Light recipes has definitely build up my confidence!

Happy HEALTHY Holidays

Still in RD mode, I made some handouts for my weight management class and decided to share the info with all of you also!

Did you know?
--Americans gain about 5lbs from constant celebrating this time of year.
*Considering 1 lb = 3500kcals, those kcal dense holiday meals add up quickly!
--A study from the New England Journal of Medicine found that most people gain about 1 lb. between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain:
Eating regular meals and snacks every day makes it easier to resist over - eating at festive events. When you are busy preparing holiday gifts and meals and you skimp on meals, nosh on protein packed snacks, like low fat cheese or yogurt, to blunt your hunger before gathering with friends and family. Make it a new family tradition to go for a walk after the meal. A 1 hour walk can burn up to 250kcals... that's a large chunk of that delicious meal!
At parties, pile your plate with lower-fat foods to limit high-calorie splurges. The following foods have fewer calories, fat, and sodium and more fiber that other holiday items:

• Whole Grains: Whole wheat rolls, wild/ brown rice, and quinoa
• Shrimp, lobster, fish, and other steamed seafood
• Plain, or lightly dressed vegetables and salad greens
• Meat and poultry WITHOUT gravy
• Fresh fruit

Depriving yourself of holiday treats can backfire and make you crave that food even more, leading to over eating. Curb calories from "naughty" foods by taking small portions. The first few bites of food provide the most pleasure anyway. Pick which foods you want to splurge on before the meal rather than mindlessly nibbling on anything that comes your way. Once you have finished your "sweetie treaties", fight the urge for more by:

• Sitting far away from buffet tables, candy dishes, and cookie filled plates
• Excuse yourself from the table when you are finished eating
• Keep your mouth busy talking to friends and family
• Chew gum or suck on a breath mint to prevent picking at food and grazing
• If you can, brush your teeth - the taste of toothpaste dulls taste buds

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asparticlekey=77296