THE CANDID RD

My Last Valentine's Day As a "Single Lady"

2012-02-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

I know I'm not technically single, but I'm also not married, so some might still call me single. Yesterday was my last Valentine's Day as a single, non-married women (or at least, I hope it was). I wonder if it was also the last Valentine's Day we will celebrate. I hear all of these stories like, "One you are married, everything changes"....does that mean no more romantic Valentine's Day candlelight dinners with Nick whispering sweet nothings into my ear?!

Last night we went to dinner at the place I work. Yes, I work at a supermarket, but for the past two years they have planned a special dinner for Valentine's Day, and the price and food is unbeatable!

Here is the menu.

We received rose wine for the beginning of our meal, and a cabernet and shiraz blend to have with our entree.

Amuse-Bouche: Cucumber, Crab and Caviar

Appetizer: Pork Tenderloin with Truffled Potato and Sauce Foyot
(This, by the way, was heavenly. The pork was cooked perfectly, and it just melted in my mouth, in a really good way).

Greens: Carpaccio Mezzaluna with Rolled Greens and Yakima Smoke Salt

Intermezzo: Citrus Sorbet
(See the little citrus garnishes? Those were covered in sugar, and so delicious)

In between the first part of our meal we had a nice conversation, and drank our wine. Nick couldn't get enough wine (such a lush). No, I'm kidding, he didn't even drink the red wine, only the rose. What's the deal with Italians who don't drink red wine?! Ok, I guess I'm one of them too, but not because I don't like it. It just hurts my stomach sometimes. The red wine last night was such a perfect pairing with our meal, and luckily, no stomachache!

Nick's Entree: Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Bacon and Blackberry Jam
(This also came with a little potato pancake, which Nick devoured in two seconds. I tried the beef and it was amazing)

My Entree: Grilled Tomato Pesto Shrimp with Ohio City Pasta
(My entree was ok. The shrimp were delicious, but the Ohio city pasta was fried and crunchy....not what I expected. It was tasty, that's for sure, but very difficult to eat with a fork. I was certainly not left hungry though, that's for sure!)

Dessert: Brioche/Banana Brulee Over Zabaione and Pop Rocks

(This dessert wasn't as decadent as last year's bananas foster, but it was delicious none the less. The best part of the dessert had to be the Pop Rocks! I felt like a child again. I loved it)

So another successful Valentine's Day has gone by, and as for us not celebrating Valentine's Day once we are officially married, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm not even really into Valentine's Day, but you better believe I'll still be expecting some chocolate or a nice meal. In fact, once we're married I'll be expecting it even more. Nick has no idea what he's getting himself into. Muahaha

QUESTION: How did you spend your Valentine's Day? If you hate it and spent it doing nothing, I want to hear! Trust me, it's just an excuse to eat chocolate and have good food in my opinion (or watch sappy romantic movies on TV). What's your favorite Valentine's Day dessert? I thought I'd ask because I once thought there was no such thing as a delicious V-day dessert that didn't include chocolate, but I've been proven wrong the past couple years (especially last year).

Tofu Chocolate Mousse Heaven

2012-02-13T06:05:00.001-05:00

Let's be honest. No women really wants flowers on Valentine's Day, they want chocolate (Nick, are you reading this??). Normally I'm not into tofu, but I am into chocolate, and the other day I experimented with silken tofu and came up with the following recipe with which you can woo your special girl or guy tomorrow.

Tofu Chocolate Mousse Heaven
(Makes ~2 servings)

Ingredients

12 ounces silken tofu (firm)
6 ounces dark chocolate (I used 85% dark)
3 T maple syrup (the real stuff!)
Berries for garnish and extra flavor/nutrition

Directions

1. Strain the tofu and then add it to a food processor, and blend well (for about 1-2 minutes).

2. Melt the chocolate in a double-broiler.

3. Once the chocolate is melted, add the maple syrup, and mix well (the texture will change dramatically, and it's ok!).

4. Add the chocolate/maple syrup combination to the pureed tofu. Puree everything together for about 1 minute.

5. Pour into a bowl and chill for about an hour.

6. Serve with berries.

Nutrition Facts

So as you can see the tofu adds some protein and fiber to this dessert, but it's still not considered "healthy", so don't be fooled! But is it delicious? Oh yes. Absolutely.

QUESTION: Do you ever use silken tofu to make desserts? I'll be honest, I don't. Tofu gives me a stomachache, but I really wanted to try this recipe, and I'm glad I did!

What are you doing tomorrow for Valentine's Day? Anything? Nick and I are going to a dinner where I work (yes, I know, I'm a huge loser, but they serve the best Valentine's dinner!). Then we are coming back and whispering sweet nothings to each other. haha, jk.

Joy Bauer's Turkey Chili (made low FODMAPs and Gluten-Free)

2012-02-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

I was privileged to meet Joy Bauer in January, and since then I've been perusing her website and checking out all of her wonderful recipes. Among one of the recipes she shared with us when she visited was this turkey chili recipe. The onions and garlic, which pretty much make any chili taste amazing, are two things that I can't eat on my low FODMAPs diet, so I set out to make this FODMAPs-free (or at least, free of FODMAPs that I can't control. Broccoli and beans contains FODMAPs, but Beano helps me digest those better!).

Turkey Chili
(low-FODMAPs and Gluten-free)

Adapted from Joy Bauer

(Makes ~8 large servings)

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey (at least 90% lean)
1 28-ounce can roasted tomatoes
2 cups water
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. brown rice flour or corn flour
2 cans beans (I used white beans)
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the turkey, stirring to break up the meat. Add the tomatoes, water, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the beans and broccoli, and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

If you want, garnish with avocado and serve with jalapeno cornbread. That is, if you want to be cool like me ;)

Nutrition Facts
(1/8 of entire batch)

Excellent source of fiber, vitamins A and C

Excellent source of iron

Not too high in sodium

Only 261 calories.

NOT BAD!

QUESTION: Do you prefer beef or turkey in your chili? Or, do you like it vegetarian??
Any fun weekend plans? I'm working all weekend. Wahoo (haha, sarcasm.....)!

Jalapeno Cornbread (Gluten Free and Whole Grain)

2012-02-08T07:10:00.001-05:00

One of the reasons I hate to follow recipes is because I always end up buying ingredients that I use once, and then never use again (sort of like the tahini in my last post). I bought corn flour for this recipe, but had a ton left over because the recipe called for such a tiny amount. I wanted to find a good recipe for which to use the rest of the flour, but failed (seriously, look up "recipes with corn flour" and you will be very disappointed!). I finally read the corn flour package and it said that you could "use it in any of your favorite cornbread recipes, in place of corn meal, for a richer cornbread", so I tried it out with the following recipe;

Whole Grain Jalapeno Corn Bread
(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)
(Makes 12 pieces)

Ingredients

2 cups corn flour (whole grain)
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk + 2 T lemon juice)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

Directions

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. (** I greased mine with garlic olive oil! **)
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm.

So tasty! Stay tuned for my next post, which will include the recipe for this FODMAPs-free turkey chili (below), a modified version of a Joy Bauer turkey chili recipe.

Cornbread Nutrition Facts
(1/12 of batch)

Remember my butternut squash cookies? Nick loved them so much that I also tried them using only corn flour. They were delicious, by the way.

QUESTION: Do you like cornbread? What's your favorite kind? Have you ever used whole grain corn flour for your cornbread? It truly does make a richer cornbread!

Halibut + Tahini + Panko = ????

2012-02-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

DELICIOUS!

That is.... with a few additional ingredients.

The American Heart Association recommends that we get at least 2 servings (~ 8 ounces total) of fish each week. Specifically, fish that is loaded with omega-3 such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon. But if you live with someone who doesn't like any of those fish, or if you personally can't stand any of those "fishy" fish, then go ahead and choose another type of fish (or other seafood, such as scallops and shrimp). Generally speaking most fish contain less calories, less fat (more omega-3), and less cholesterol than meat, so you're doing your heart some good either way! Also, do yourself a favor and buy your fish from a supplier that uses sustainable practices (talk to the people who sell you your fish, they can most likely help answer any questions you have. If they can't, buy it somewhere else).

So why did I add tahini to my halibut? I made pumpkin spice hummus for a Thanksgiving day appetizer, but had tons of tahini leftover. I am not a huge fan of hummus, and neither is Nick, so I don't make it often. I knew I had to find some new ways to use tahini. I had some frozen halibut (pretty much the only fish that Nick will eat), Panko crumbs, and some delicious spices, so I came up with the following recipe....

Tahini and Curry Panko-Crusted Halibut
(Makes 1 Serving)

Ingredients
1 large halibut filet (5-6 ounces, cooked)
~ 2 tsp. tahini
~1 tsp. curry powder
~1 tsp. ground pepper
Sea salt, as needed
~2 T Panko crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Layer the ingredients onto your halibut, in order of how they are listed above.

3. Cook in preheated oven for 10 minutes

4. Switch oven to broiler-mode, and broil on high for about 2 minutes (or until the Panko is browned and extra crispy).

It may sound strange, but it was seriously delicious, and I've made it three times since!

NUTRITION FACTS

Based on the USDA nutrient database halibut has about 400 mg EPA and DHA (types of omega-3) per 6 ounces, cooked. That's about half as much as most salmon contain, but hey, it's better than none at all!! I typically recommend getting somewhere around 600 mg EPA/DHA per day, which is why I just make it easy and take fish oil supplements. It's rare that I use supplements to make up for the lack of something in my diet, but it's the one type of supplement I suggest most people take.

QUESTION: I need more tahini recipes that don't involve hummus. Any ideas?!

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night?? Nick and I went to a friend's house for the first half, and then watched the second half at home. What a GREAT game!

My Candid Opinion on Resveratrol Supplements

2012-02-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Today's post is in honor of your heart. After all, it's National Heart Month, so I'm helping you watch out for your heart (and the rest of your precious organs), as I watch out for my own.......

I don't get it!

Source: iStockPhoto

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I do not understand the obsession with antioxidant supplements. I'm not talking about multivitamins that contain antioxidants, I'm talking single-antioxidant supplements (specifically high-doses) like beta-carotene, vitamin E, resveratrol, etc. There are certain ones I am ok with, such as a lower dose (around 500-1000 mg) of vitamin C to "enhance immunity" (although the research really isn't there) but overall I don't think it's safe to take a single-dose antioxidant pill, because our bodies weren't made to consume antioxidants in that way. The best way to get antioxidants, in my opinion, is to eat FOOD! The following foods are loaded with different types of antioxidants;

Broccoli

Spinach

Pumpkin

Sweet Potatoes

Berries

Flaxseed

Grapes

Wine

Did you know that there are still thousands, if not millions, of antioxidants that have yet to be discovered? You could be eating them right now, and they could be working with the other antioxidants in your foods to provide the benefits that we already know about. You can not get those same benefits from a single-dose antioxidant supplement.

Source: iStockPhoto

In other words, antioxidants work in synergy with other nutrients/antioxidants, and our bodies weren't designed to get large doses of antioxidants by themselves. In fact, our bodies have a very unique antioxidant system of it's own, and when it needs to make antioxidants, it does, and there are even certain times when we need things like free radicals (the very things that antioxidants prevent and/or destroy) to sent messages to our body and alert them of damage.

WIKIPEDIA:

Consequently, organisms contain a complex network of antioxidant metabolites and enzymes that work together to prevent oxidative damage to cellular components such as DNA, proteins and lipids.^[1]^[14] In general, antioxidant systems either prevent these reactive species from being formed, or remove them before they can damage vital components of the cell.^[1]^[13] However, since reactive oxygen species do have useful functions in cells, such as redox signaling, the function of antioxidant systems is not to remove oxidants entirely, but instead to keep them at an optimum level.^[15]

If we consume too many antioxidants (in pill form) and destroy those free radicals, who will send the message that damage has occurred? The perfect example of this problem was found in the beta-carotene study tested beta-carotene supplements to see if they effectively prevented cancer in smokers In short, the beta-carotene supplements increased the rate of lung cancer in smokers. Also this study showed that high-doses of vitamin E increased risk of dying. No thanks.

This brings me to the reason why I simply do not understand resveratrol supplements. The idea to test resveratrol came from witnessing that the French have a lower rate of coronary heart disease than Americans, despite a high intake of saturated fat. Today's Dietitian wrote a fabulous article on Resveratrol in their latest issue. It was noted that the French drink considerably more red wine than Americans, so fast forward many years of research, and resveratrol is in the spotlight. Resveratrol is a phytonutrient (plant nutrient) with antioxidant properties, and it's found mainly in red grapes, red wine, certain berries, and peanuts (read the article in Today's Dietitian to find our more about resveratrol's mechanism of action). Studies on resveratrol have been shown to help protect against everything from heart disease, to cancer, to Alzheimer's disease. Oh yeah, and it may also make fat men fitter.

Source: iStockPhoto

That's all well and good, but here are the problems I see......

1. Drugs need years and years of research before they go on the market, and even then we often find that long-term effects are not what we thought. Supplements require zero research before going on the market. Case in point; more research (and not just on animals) is needed before I would ever suggest a resveratrol supplement! And I'm not talking about research from this man who clearly faked much of his research on resveratrol (who knew research could be faked?! haha, I did! Well, maybe not faked, but manipulated). I'd rather not risk my life on hope, personally.

Source: iStockPhoto

2. Here is the part I really don't understand. The French Paradox. Why are researchers studying the effect of high doses of resveratrol, when one 5-ounce glass of red wine contains as little as .06 and as much as 1.89 mg resveratrol?! NO ONE IN FRANCE/SPAIN/ITALY IS DRINKING ENOUGH WINE TO GET EVEN CLOSE TO THE AMOUNT USED IN RESEARCH AND FOUND IN SUPPLEMENTS!! So why are we testing such large doses ?? If red wine is truly benefiting the health of the French and others in that area, than why not make pills with the amount of resveratrol that equals the average daily consumption of the French?! Why must more always be assumed to be better?!

Source: iStockPhoto

I can't drink red wine because it contains FODMAPS, so personally I wouldn't mind a resveratrol supplement that contained the same amount of resveratrol as 1-2 cups of red wine (~3 mg, not 20-1000 mg!). To me, that makes more sense (although I probably still wouldn't take it). That would equal two glasses of wine, minus the alcohol. I'll make up for the health benefit of alcohol by taking my 3mg resveratrol with a shot of vodka.
How about that for good science?

QUESTION: I'm curious, what are your thoughts on antioxidant supplements? Would you ever take a 20mg resveratrol pill? Would you take a 100-200 mg one?

Who Would Have Thought, At Age 29....?

2012-02-01T07:11:00.001-05:00

Who would have thought, at age 29, I'd be begging for a new camera for my birthday? And more specifically, begging for a new camera that can help me take better pictures of food!?

Who would have thought, at age 29, I'd order the sesame seared tuna and request that before anyone starts to eat, I take a picture of our food at the restaurant (with my old camera, that was about to die...hence the awful picture)?

Who would have thought I'd be ok with Nick ordering FRIED chicken?!

Who would have thought, at age 29, I'd be engaged to the best man in the world?! And, who would have thought I'd be engaged to someone who I swear always ends up putting on the same colored shirt as I do (no, we do not plan this, I promise, it just always happens!).

Who would have thought, at age 29, I'd still feel like I was 19, and I'd still have a mom and dad who treat me like an angel, and who look incredible (the picture below is from Thanksgiving)?! And, who would have thought, at age 29, I'd have a brother who is about to get his license?!?!?! Everyone, watch out!

My birthday was on Monday, January 30th, and obviously I turned 29. And who would have thought, at age 29, my way to "Celebrate" my birthday week would be to take a break from cooking and take a day off from blogging?! NOT ME! I never would have thought!

Enjoy your Hump Day everyone! I'll be back on Friday with one of my favorite types of posts; an opinion post. A very CANDID opinion post ;)

QUESTION: Will anyone be watching the movie Groundhog Day tomorrow? It's my favorite movie of all time (well, it might come in second to Forrest Gump). It's GRRRROUNDHOGGGG DAYYYYYY!

Thai Peanut Sauce Stir-Fry and Chicken Skewers

2012-01-30T06:47:00.000-05:00

I have this insatiable craving for peanut butter, at all times of the day. Does anyone else have this problem? Last year I made this peanut sauce with noodles and chicken, but I wanted to try something new when Nick told me he had invited his mother over for dinner. I had my eye on a couple recipes, but ended up with the following recipe that was a huge success (although, I'll warn you, it was messy!).

Thai Peanut Sauce Stir-Fry and Chicken Skewers
(Adapted from EatRight.org and a recipe from About.com)

Ingredients
(Serves 6)

Peanut Sauce

2/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced (I omitted the garlic, but wanted to include this in case you don't want to omit it!)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
juice from 2 limes
1-1.25 cups water (depending on how thick you want your sauce!)

Stir-fry and Skewers

4 cups broccoli, chopped

2 cups sliced yellow pepper

2 cups sliced carrots

3 cup cooked brown basmati rice (or any type of brown rice or quinoa)

2 pounds chicken breast

12 wooden skewers (soaked)

2 green onions, chopped (I omitted this, because of FODMAPs)

Preparation

1. Sauce: In a small saucepan over very low heat, whisk together all ingredients until well combined (add more or less water, depending on how thick you want your sauce). Keep warm.

2. Bake the chicken at 350 degrees (I sprayed mine with some garlic olive oil and added some fresh ground pepper before baking). Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. Let it cool for about 15 minutes (while preparing the vegetables, below).

3. Add the vegetables to a large saute pan, and coat with about three-fourths of the peanut sauce (the remaining sauce is for the chicken). Saute the veggies for about 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender (stir on occasion).

4. Cut the cooled chicken into 1-inch cubes. Put the chicken on 12 soaked skewers (each person gets 2 skewers).

5. Add the chicken to a grill pan, brush with remaining peanut sauce and heat on medium (you may end up with leftover peanut sauce, but the leftovers can be used for tomorrow's dinner!). Heat until he chicken is hot and ready to be enjoyed.

6. Grab a plate and add your rice (or other starch), the vegetables, and two skewers on each plate.

Nutrition Facts
(1/6 of meal)

** I forgot to use low sodium soy sauce in this evaluation, so the true sodium content should be lower than this! **

I kid you not, this meal was amazing! Nick gave it a 9.5 out of 10. I will definitely be making this again. The sauce was super easy to make and I used it on pasta with chicken the next night. If you want to decrease the calories in this meal you could skip the second skewer, or stick to only 1/4 cup brown rice, instead of 1/2 cup.

QUESTION: Do you crave peanut butter like I do? What's your favorite way to use peanut sauce? Do you have another favorite sauce that you use for multiple types of meals?

Broccoli Brownies (Gluten Free)

2012-01-27T06:40:00.001-05:00

We had an event at work a couple weeks ago and I had a dietetic intern with me who at one point mentioned broccoli brownies. Obviously I was curious and I requested that she bring some in the following week (she's an intern, I can boss her around. haha, jk). She was a pretty fantastic intern. Low and behold the following weekend she walked in with a plate full of broccoli brownies! She admitted they didn't turn out quite as delicious as she had hoped, and after one bite I had to agree. While they were tasty, I could see whole chunks of broccoli in them and it was sort of a turn off. I actually gave them out to the team members and they loved them (or at least that's what they told me). I decided I wanted to try my own version of a broccoli brownie so I started searching online and found this one that was adapted from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I was happy to see that it called for broccoli puree, rather than broccoli chunks, so I made some modifications and came up with this recipe;

Broccoli Brownies
(Makes 12)

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
4 ounces dark chocolate squares, such as Lindt (60-80%)
1.25-1.5 cups broccoli puree (steam the broccoli then puree in a food processor or Magic Bullet)
1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar (or 1/2 cup real brown sugar)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour (or brown rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 inch pan with coking spray.

2. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave.

3. In a large bowl combine melted chocolate, broccoli puree, brown sugar, cocoa powder, butter and vanilla, and stir until smooth.

4. Add the egg whites, mix again. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix again, until smooth and blended.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven....it took my oven 20 minutes to bake!).

ENJOY

NOTE: They taste best when they are warm, and even better with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla frozen yogurt!

I only made a half batch the first time I made these, just in case they didn't turn out. Here is the batter.

I was licking the spoon and the bowl like a mad women, which I took as a good sign that they were going to be delicious!

And delicious they were.

Chewy and moist. And, a good source of fiber. Take that fiber companies! And if I wanted to add fake fiber, I could, but this is all real fiber from oats and broccoli. I love it.

A "C-" is still passing ;)

QUESTION: What's the craziest fat replacement you have used in a baked good? My other favorites are applesauce and pumpkin.

Shepherd's Pie, With Sweet Potato Topping (FODMAPs Friendly)

2012-01-25T06:35:00.001-05:00

Shepherd's pie is defined as " A meat pie baked in a crust of mashed potatoes". This recipe differs from a "true" shepherd's pie because the potatoes aren't mashed, but whatever, this is 2012, I can make a Shepherd's pie with potato slices if I want! :)

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
(Adapted from my low FODMAPs booklet)

Serves 6
Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 T garlic infused extra virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1 medium zucchini, grated
1.5 pounds extra-lean ground beef (I used 96% lean)
1 bay leaf
3 T bunch fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups tomato paste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Dash of pepper
2 T chopped parsley

1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into thin slices
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips

Potato Topping

1 sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 t extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425. Heat 3 T garlic olive oil in a large pan and add carrot and zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add ground beef, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for about 8-10 minutes (or until beef is browned).

3. Add tomato, Worcestershire, and tomato paste and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Remove from heat, and add parsley and pepper to taste.

5. In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 T garlic olive oil and cook eggplant and yellow pepper until softened (eggplant will turn golden brown).

6. Next, place the sweet potato slices on a baking pan and lightly spread with the 1 t extra virgin olive oil. Bake the sliced potato in the oven for 20 minutes.

7. Assemble the pie; layer of the meat combination, next the eggplant, then the meat combination, then the yellow pepper, and the last layer will be the remaining meat combination, then top with the cooked sweet potato slices.

8. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the inside is nice and bubbly.

This is what the pie looks like before topping with potatoes.

This is what it looks like after topping with potatoes.

NUTRITION FACTS
(for 1/6 of the pie)

Even though I was FULL after eating one serving of this, I wanted more because it was SO GOOD! I actually added zero salt to this recipe and as you can see above the sodium was pretty low. That being said, Nick complained that it wasn't salty enough. If you want to add some salt, be my guest, but personally I didn't think it needed it. Nick still loved the dish, and ate it without adding more salt :)

QUESTION: Have you ever made a Shepherd's pie? Do you find that you like salt more or less than your significant other?

Medicine In Your Spice Cabinet

2012-01-23T06:55:00.004-05:00

Nick and I have learned a hard lesson about cabinets; do NOT paint them! Yeah, painting cabinets is a labor-intensive job and most cabinets are better off without paint. So, overall our cabinet project wasn't the biggest success, but I did manage to better organize what was inside our cabinets and drawers after taking everything out and putting everything back in. For example, my spices used to be all over the place, but now I have this nifty little spice rack that pulls out and drops down. They are all placed in alphabetical order (for now) making it easier to find the spice I need.

And speaking of spices, today I am going to discuss some of the amazing health benefits that two of my favorite spices provide. Starting with my favorite (ironically), garlic.

Garlic

What a great picture, right? I wish I could say I took it myself, but it is from this article in the New York Times. This is a garlic bulb, and the individual sections are each garlic cloves (in case you didn't know the difference).

I know you may be wondering why am I blogging about something I can't eat. Even though I can't eat garlic, I still love it and try to enjoy the flavor by using my garlic infused oil (which, by the way, probably provides very minimal health benefits). Nick, my lovely Italian Stallion, can eat three garlic cloves in a sitting (or four). After watching Nick eat a dish with four cloves of garlic in it the other day, I decided to start adding chopped garlic cloves to many of the dishes I make (I chop the garlic and then add it to the dish after I have cooked the dish, so it really just adds more flavor to Nick's portion but doesn't distribute throughout the dish to my part of the dish. So sad.). Here are some reasons to eat more garlic;

Garlic has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-clotting properties.

Allicin is the active ingredient in garlic that provides the anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties, and it tends to be destroyed by heat.

While cooking garlic may destroy most of garlic's beneficial properties, the antioxidant properties are probably not effected by cooking (yeah!). The most notable antioxidants found in garlic are vitamin C and selenium.

You are supposed to crush garlic before consuming it, and let it sit for about 15 minutes to help release some of garlic's healthy compounds

There are sulfur-containing molecules in garlic (such as Allicin) that produce hydrogen sulfide gas, which may help expand blood vessels and thus lower blood pressure.

Studies suggest that you need about 2-5 grams of garlic per day in order to get any benefits (1 clove is about 1 gram).

Read more here and here

Wondering what type of recipe calls for raw garlic? Well, there's Original hummus, Black Olive Hummus, and garlic broccoli. Do you know any others?

Turmeric

Turmeric is an ancient spice that is found in curry dishes and is a kitchen staple in India. Turmeric is actually a root (like ginger) but because it's so difficult to grind you almost always find it already ground. I love turmeric, but it's one of those very distinct spices with which you can easily ruin a great dish. It's a great flavor, when used correctly. I love how it "stains" any dish it comes in contact with yellow! I once heard that yellow dye is made with turmeric, can anyone second that statement? Here are some of turmeric's benefits;

Curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, may inhibit the cell enzymes that contribute to inflammation (inflammation can cause chronic diseases such as cancer and arthritis).

Studies show that turmeric may aid in the prevention of acne, allergies, Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma, cancer, cholesterol problems, inflammatory bowel disease, and type 2 diabetes (to name only a few).

Try to get 1/2 - 1 teaspoon per day, if you can, and keep it in the fridge to extend shelf-life.

If you use curry in your cooking you are likely getting some turmeric, but studies suggest it's not enough. Some curry blends have more turmeric than others. It's best to stick with plain turmeric, or just add extra turmeric to your curry blends.

Try some of these recipes; Indian-Style Rice with Cashews, Raisins and Turmeric, Pork and Carrot Curry, AllRecipes' 20 Best Turmeric Recipes, or you could do what I do and add it to simple egg dishes, homemade soups and stews, or cooked vegetables! Also try adding turmeric to;

QUESTION: What is your favorite dish with garlic and/or turmeric?

Some other great medicinal spices include cinnamon, ginger, and coriander, just to name a few! Happy Monday everyone :)

Clean Eating's Pork and Carrot Curry

2012-01-20T06:50:00.004-05:00

I've said it before, I'm not a fan of the information provided on Clean Eating Magazine, but I do love their recipes. I always end up making about 3-4 of their recipes from each issue that comes out. Sometimes they are a flop (because I often have to modify them to fit FODMAPs) and other times they are delicious. This one was definitely a hit, but most likely would have tasted even better had I not omitted the garlic and onion.....

Pork and Carrot Curry
(Source: Clean Eating Magazine)
( Serves 4 )

Ingredients

1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
3 T minced fresh ginger (I used ground ginger powder)
3 cloves garlic (I omitted the garlic)
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika (I used smoked paprika)
1/2 t ground turmeric
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 T olive oil (I used garlic extra virgin olive oil)
1 yellow onion, halved and cut into thin wedges (I omitted the onion)
1 can chopped tomatoes, in their juices
10 oz. small fingerling potatoes, halved in length
3 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut into diagonal 1/4-inch thick slices
2 T coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

1. In a medium bowl mix together the Greek yogurt and all the spices. Add the pork and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature until you are ready to cook it, otherwise cover and marinade until you want to cook the pork
(I let mine marinade over night.)

2. In a medium saute pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil on low. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Then cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the pork and marinade to pan. Stir in the tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots, plus 1/2 cup water.

4. Increase heat to medium, cover and simmer until pork is cooked through and the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender (~15-18 minutes).

5. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with cilantro (and top with more Greek yogurt if you want!).

I doubled the recipe so I could have some to give to my mom and dad. As you can see the end result is more like a stew, but I used a slotted spoon to strain the excess liquid.

I could eat this every single day of the week. The best part was that Nick actually enjoyed it too (and he claims to hates curry recipes). I did end up adding whole cloves of sauteed garlic to his bowl!

What you can't see in the nutrition facts are all the antioxidants from the spices and the vegetables. I purposefully chose this recipe based on the antioxidant-packed spices (turmeric, ginger, garlic), tomatoes, carrots, and my ability to add more antioxidants by choosing dark purple potatoes instead of white.

Nutrition Facts
(1/4 of the dish)

QUESTION: What's your favorite curry recipe? Do you like Clean Eating Magazine?

Stay tuned for Monday's post, where I will describe some of the health benefits of two of my favorite spices. And no, I don't mean the benefits of taking these in a supplement form!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Few Starches and Lots of Wine to Prevent Breast Cancer!?

2012-01-18T06:45:00.002-05:00

Please don't take the title of this post too literally. I've read a couple intriguing articles about breast cancer prevention lately; one had to do with starches in the diet and another had to do with wine in the diet. Briefly, the first study linked increased starch intake with an increased likelihood of breast cancer recurrence, while the second study showed that red wine might help prevent breast cancer recurrence. Interesting enough, this article published last November found that women who consumed as few as three servings of wine a week increased their risk of developing breast caner.

Source: iStockPhoto

So what do we do? Drink wine? Don't drink wine? Reduce our starchy foods? This is just an example of why it's important to not take everything you read at face value. I think people often read the titles of articles and just go with it...."Nice, I'm drinking some wine tonight! Heck, I'll have three glasses!" or "Crap, I'm cutting out starches for good. No more, I don't want breast cancer!". If you actually look deeper you will find that there are several problems with both of these statements;

1. The wine study had 36 subjects. Need I say more? Clearly more research is needed.

2. The starch study found that "increased risk of breast cancer was limited to those with low-grade tumors".

3. The starch study found that those who had a recurrence of breast cancer consumed an average of 2.3 more grams of carbohydrates for the first year, and those who did not have a recurrence of cancer consumed an average of 2.7 grams of carbohydrates. A majority of the carbohydrates were from starches. So in other words, the difference was about 6 grams. That's not a big difference. And the 2.3 grams of carbohydrates is a pretty decent amount, so don't go cutting your carbs too much, ladies!

4. Any time you read a study review you have to assume that the author interpreted the study accurately. Most often you can not actually read the study yourself, as it typically costs an arm and a leg, so you have to assume that they author read the study and interpreted it as he/she should have. Trust me when I say this is not always the case!

BOTTOM LINE: In regards to both of these studies, wait for more research to be presented. If you've had breast cancer and it was estrogen receptor positive, consider the fact that if you have a choice between red and white wine, the red is most likely going to be the better choice. As for starch in your diet, everyone (men, women, with or without cancer) should make sure they do not get too much starch in their diet. Choosing the non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, etc. over the starchy ones like corn, beans, and potatoes, might be a good idea, but don't stop eating starches all together, please. If anything, be more cautious about your serving sizes and daily snacking habits. Meet with a local dietitian to see how much starch (and carbohydrates) you should be eating each day.

Enjoy your Hump Day everyone! This is my Saturday today, so of course I have a long list of things to do, including making shepherd's pie and some mean thai peanut sauce (to be posted in the next week or so).

I'll leave you with this picture; the only one I got with Joy Bauer! It's blurry, I know, but pretend it's not. Pretty cool huh?!

"Smoked" Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Broccoli Slaw

2012-01-16T06:54:00.001-05:00

My camera broke, so I've been using my mom's. Considering how nice her camera is, I was hoping all of my pictures would turn out amazing, but I clearly need a photography lesson (I've known this for some time now....). I hope this photo can still make your mouth water, at least a little.

Please raise your hand if you are sick and tired of boring chicken (my hands are both raised, and so are the hands of many of my clients at work, and Nick's hands and feet are all raised).

Nick and I both love pulled pork sandwiches, but we also know that they are not so great for us. Most places that serve pulled pork not only use the fattiest part of the pork (obviously, it makes the best pulled pork!) but they add insult to injury by loading it with sugary and salty BBQ sauce. The other day I set out on a mission to make a pulled chicken sandwich that was not only delicious, but also simple and somewhat healthy. Here is what I came up with.....

"Smoked" Pulled Chicken Sandwich
(Makes 4 large sandwiches)

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (~2 pounds)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2-3/4 cup BBQ sauce
3-4 T liquid smoke

1 cup broccoli slaw
4 T your favorite slaw dressing

4 whole wheat buns

Directions

1. Pour the broth into a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken to the sauce pan and make sure the broth is covering the chicken (if it's not, add some water). Boil chicken for 18-20 minutes.

2. Take out the chicken and let it cool for about 20 minutes. Once it's cooled, use your fingers or a form to shred the chicken.

3. Add the BBQ sauce and liquid smoke, and blend it into the shredded chicken (I used my hands for this).

4. In a small bowl mix the broccoli slaw and slaw dressing.

5. Create your sandwiches!

Not bad, right? Aside from the sodium (yikes) this sandwich looks pretty healthy to me!

Nick loved this sandwich, and is already asking me to make it again. To me that means it's a keeper!

QUESTION: What have you done with chicken lately to jazz it up? Do you ever use liquid smoke?

Braised Beef with Butternut Squash, Petite Potatoes, Carrots, and Green Beans

2012-01-13T06:50:00.002-05:00

This dish gets the award for most colorful dish, ever. Don't you think? It's one of the things that really drew me to the recipe, the combination of butternut squash, carrots, green beans, and multi-colored potatoes. I made the rainbow!

I like to braise meat on my days off, because I can clean the house, blog, or do whatever I want really, without having to pay attention to what I'm cooking (I hope to get a slow-cooker and/or a pressure cooker soon, so I can use those methods too one day). Another great benefit of braising is that it emits a delicious aroma throughout the house. I found the following recipe in my FODMAPs booklet (which you can order by clicking on the link on my right sidebar). As you can see, the original recipe was written using the metric system.......

I converted the best I could, and ended up with the following recipe (oh, and I also changed the protein, in case you didn't notice. Nick claims to be allergic to lamb. Whatever).

Braised Beef with Butternut Squash, Petite Potatoes, Carrots, and Green Beans

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

2 T garlic-infused olive oil
1 pound lean beef, cubed (I used lean stew beef)
4 large carrots
3-3.5 cups low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 cups fresh green beans
10 petite potatoes (I bought purple, red, and white potatoes, for more color and nutrients)
Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and roast the butternut squash and potatoes for about 40 minutes (I seasoned mine with a bit of salt and garlic olive oil)

2. After the butternut squash and potatoes are roasted, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. While the temperature is adjusting, blanch your fresh green beans.

3. Heat a pan with your garlic-infused olive oil, then brown teach side of the beef. Add the chopped carrots to your braising pan and then place the beef on top/around the carrots.

4. Add about 3 cups of beef broth to the braising pan (or enough to cover the beef a bit more than half way).

5. Put the lid on the braiser and place in oven for about one hour. After one hour, flip the beef so the other side gets emerged in the beef broth. Heat for another 30-40 minutes, or until the beef is to your desired tenderness.

6. Add the corn flour to a small saucepan and add enough cold water to make a thick paste. Next, add the remains of the juices from the meat to your corn flour paste. If needed, add about 1/2 cup of beef stock to thin the paste into a sauce, and cook over a high heat until the sauce thickens (stir regularly).

7. Serve everything together on a plate, and garnish with parsley if you desire.

You might prefer a more watery/thinned-down sauce, but I like thick sauces (I guess this is more like a gravy, right?). This sauce ("gravy") was not great on it's own, but worked well when eaten together with all the other ingredients.

1 Serving
(Recipe makes 4 servings)

And since I am such an amazing daughter (haha) I brought some leftovers to my mom. She loved it.

QUESTION: What's your favorite slow-cooking method? Is it braising? Pressure cooking? Slow-cooker?

Tempeh and Baby Bella Lasagna (Vegetarian)

2012-01-11T07:20:00.004-05:00

The New York Times recently published this article about "semi-veganism". I'll be honest, veganism is just not for me. I suppose I could be called a "semi-semi-vegan" if you consider eating a vegan meal once or twice a month being a "semi-semi-vegan". I really just couldn't live without a little cheese, yogurt, and egg in my life (unless I had to for medical reasons). I do, however, make many vegetarian dishes, which you can check out on my sidebar to the right (and yes, some of them are vegan). If you are vegan and you want to make the following vegetarian lasagna recipe vegan, use a vegan cheese such as Daiya (it melts really well).

NOTE: Sorry about the large print. Sometimes I really HATE Blog Spot!

Simple Tempeh and Baby Bella Lasagna

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

1-14.5 ounce can roasted tomatoes, partially drained
1-8 ounce package traditional tempeh
1-8 ounce package of baby portobellos, rinsed and sliced
3 long lasagna noodles (if you have the shorter ones use 6)
16 ounces cottage cheese (I used a lactose free variety)
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese
1-2 tsp. garlic-infused olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Grab a half-sized casserole dish (~4.5 inches x 7 inches). You can choose to double this recipe, if you'd like, and in that case you would use a full size casserole dish (9x13).

3. Chop the tempeh into small chunks. In a large saute pan, saute the tempeh and baby bellas with about 2 tsp. garlic-infused olive oil. As you are sauteing, chop the tempeh and mushrooms as much as possible (to resemble the texture and size of ground meat). Saute until the tempeh starts to brown.

4. Grab the casserole dish and add a layer of canned tomatoes (~1/3 can), followed by a layer (~1/3) of the tempeh and mushrooms, followed by a 2 lasagna noodles (if using large lasagna noodles, use one large, broken in half), followed by a layer (~1/3 of the container) of cottage cheese, followed by 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layers until you are out of ingredients. You want the top layer to be cheese!

5. Cover with two pieces of foil, then bake for 50 minutes.

6. Take the foil off and finish baking for another 15 minutes.

This is a side view. Not the best color, sorry.

1 Serving
(Recipe makes 4 large servings)

I'm slightly skeptical about the protein in this recipe.... 46 grams?! I'm not so sure that's accurate (my estimate is more like 25-30 grams). But hey, I could be wrong (don't be fooled into thinking vegetarians and/or vegans can't get enough protein, check out this article!). I think the rest of the nutrition facts seem pretty accurate.

Nick gave this lasagna a rating of 7 out of 10, which I was pretty happy about because he was not excited about the idea of a vegetarian lasagna! I'll definitely be making this again (my score was an 8.5 out of 10. I need to master the spices a bit better, perhaps a bit more parsley, some pepper, and garlic oil!).

QUESTION: What's your favorite meat replacement to use in vegetarian lasagna?

Seared Scallops with Pomegranate "Sauce"

2012-01-09T06:49:00.000-05:00

About two months ago I found this recipe online for Seared Scallops with Pomegranate Sauce. I love pomegranates, and I really love scallops (as in, I order them whenever I see them on a menu), so it made sense that I saved the recipe and planned on making it ASAP. Well, ASAP didn't come soon enough, and it took me until 2012 to finally gather the ingredients and get to work! It was well worth the wait.

Seared Scallops with Pomegranate Sauce
(Serves 3)

Ingredients

2 pomegranates, for the juice (I didn't like the idea of juicing a pomegranate, so I used pomegranate juice, 1 cup)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used 2 tsp butter, because scallops taste better with butter!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar (I used Truvia just to cut down on the sugar content)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups trimmed watercress (about 1 bunch)
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1 pomegranate)

Preparation

Combine 1 cup pomegranate juice, vinegar, soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until reduced by half (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently. Keep warm.
Rinse scallops; pat dry. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.
Arrange 1/2 cup watercress on each of 6 plates; divide scallops evenly among plates. Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon sauce; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons seeds.

I made this recipe with my friend Janan, and a few issues arose during our preparation. First, we purchased the wrong kind of pomegranate juice. It wasn't true POM juice and we believe it was watered down, therefore the "sauce" was more like a liquid (as you can see from the photo). If you make this, use POM juice! Also, the original recipe said it served 6 people....well, if this were to have served 6 people they would have been left pretty darn hungry. We each had about three scallops, and there were three of us (including Nick). There were two scallops leftover (which I actually ended up eating later that night...). Also, I hadn't thought to serve this with a grain (duh Gina!) but we decided that if we were to make this again it would taste great served with a flavorful grain like quinoa or even wheat berries.

QUESTION: Have you ever made a dish that says it's supposed to serve a larger amount of people than it actually serves?? Do people test these things?!?!

Who Says Cheese and Peanut Butter Don't Go Together?

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it was that enticed me to dip my string cheese in peanut butter, but I did, and I loved it. Think what you want, but I tell you it's surprisingly delicious. Dietitians like me are always recommending a high protein snack, and I really don't think it gets any better than this.

String cheese (7 grams protein) + 1 T peanut butter (3-4 grams protein) = 10-11 grams protein

Yeah!

And I'm pretty sure one of my favorite TV dietitians, Joy Bauer, would approve. Have I mentioned that I get to meet her soon?! I can't really talk about it a whole lot on my blog, but I'm very excited. Joy has many of the of the same opinions about food and nutrition that I do, and whenever she is on the Today show I just love the answers that she provides! They are always realistic and research-based (great combination).

And how about these shoes for another wonderful discovery?

I found these on the OKAb website. They have a great selection of cute flip-flops to wear for a beach wedding. Why pay for expensive shoes when you are getting married in the sand?! These will match my cream-colored dress perfectly, and I'll show off my beautiful feet (which won't be beautiful until I get them heavily pedicured).

QUESTION: What's your favorite really random snack?!
If you got married on a beach, did you wear flip-flops? Just out of curiosity, what would you recommend as a centerpiece for the tables at a beach wedding and reception?

Make This Your Resolution: Learn To Reduce PMS Symtoms

2012-01-04T07:10:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, and I'm guessing if you're female you probably are, you get PMS. I can pretty much track exactly when my PMS is going to start, and it actually begins around week two of my cycle (sorry for any males reading this, but please read on because you can give your wife, girlfriend, mom, etc. this information! Of course, approach the topic with caution.....). So I guess for me the term "PMS" is sort of a misnomer because it's really "PPMS", as in "Pre-Premenstrual Syndrome". Some of my most common symptoms include;

Bloating after even the littlest bit of salt

Moodiness and agitation (ask Nick, he'll explain that better....)

Cravings and increased hunger

Sleepiness

Zits and face redness

As a dietitian I like to find ways that food and/or supplements can help alleviate symptoms of many things, such as PMS (and of course IBS....see the low FODMAPs diet). Today I want to give you a rundown of how I prepare for the dreaded one (or two) weeks a month during which I can be a monster.

Do you see the black dots? These are my worst days during my cycle. I mark them each month as a reminder to start specific supplements and to add specific foods to my diet during that week and the week before (in other words, the first and second week of my cycle).

DISCLAIMER: The following is not a prescription for a PMS cure. This is simply what I do and what works for me. The following recommendations may or may not work for you. Please consult your physician or registered dietitian to get recommendations for your personal needs.

The first and second week of my cycle I do the following:

1) I start taking extra calcium and vitamin D (1000 mg calcium, 400 IU vitamin D). This is on top of the calcium and vitamin D I get in in my multivitamin and from food, as well as the 1000 IU vitamin D I take every day.

Why calcium? Some studies have shown that women who suffer depression and "bad moods" as part of PMS have low calcium levels. Low calcium levels can lead to an increase in Parathyroid Hormone (PTH), which can have a negative effect on serotonin levels.

Why vitamin D? Ok, so the studies are pretty weak when it comes to vitamin D and PMS, but one study did show that an increase in vitamin D helped decrease women's PMS symptoms. To be honest, I take 1000 IU vitamin D every day anyway, I just take the extra D because most calcium supplements contain vitamin D.

2) I start taking 250 mg magnesium everyday, which is in addition to the magnesium I get in my multivitamin (20 mg).

Why magnesium? Studies have shown that up to 360 mg mg/day can improve mood and reduce water retention in women. Magnesium may also reduce menstrual migraine. I do not take 360 mg/day, as you can see, but the amount I take seems to be working. Lately I've been toying with the idea of taking magnesium every day of the month.....

3) I increase my intake of foods that are a good source of magnesium. I don't take 360 mg magnesium from supplements (as was used in the study mentioned above) so I make up for it by adding more almonds, soy, yogurt, greens, and beans to my diet. These are all foods that are good sources of magnesium.

Source: iStockPhotos

4) I increase my intake of foods that are a good source of vitamin E. Vitamin E is found mainly in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. I eat more almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and vegetable oils as a way to boost my vitamin E.

Why vitamin E? Some studies have shown improved mood, decreased food cravings, and decreased PMS-related anxiety among women who take 400 IU vitamin E/day for three cycles. I personally do not agree with vitamin E supplements because of the possibility of a pro-oxidant effect. In fact, I steer clear of any single antioxidant supplement and try to only get my antioxidants from foods. Who knows if my increase in vitamin E from foods actually helps my PMS, but I refuse to take vitamin E supplements. I do, however, get 30 IU (100% DV) from my multivitamin. I think that's plenty.

5) I decrease my sodium intake. This is a no brainer. During the first two weeks of my cycle I feel like any extra sodium I consume makes me swell like a blowfish. I already have a very low sodium diet, but I try not to eat out a lot during this time because that's where I tend to overdose on the sodium (it's impossible not to when you eat out).

Source: iStockPhotos

6) I exercise, without fail. This needs no explanation, right? Exercise provides so many wonderful benefits, but most importantly it keeps me happy and energized, which is imperative during those two weeks.

I have yet to find a food that can decrease the amount of zits I get on my face, but I really don't think any one food can prevent that one. I do use benzamycin, which helps a lot. And as for the increased sleepiness I have a simple solution, a bit more caffeine. Like I said, this is what works for me and you may or may not agree with that one. I still stay under 400 mg caffeine, which seems to be a safe amount.

QUESTION: What are your PMS secrets?

New Year, New Cabinets, And The Best Shoes of 2011/2012

2012-01-02T06:53:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'm happy to say that on the last evening of 2011/first evening of 2012, I had the hottest shoes in town. Ladies were even commenting on them in the bathroom. Seriously, they were worth the $40 (discounted from $90) at White House Black Market. And to be honest, they were pretty darn easy to walk in.

And other than the shoe picture, this was the only picture I have from New Year's Eve. I made a resolution to not take pictures if I don't feel like it. And I didn't feel like it.

We actually had a lot of fun this year on New Year's Eve, because we didn't make a big deal out of it. Isn't that always the case? For many years my friends and I would get so excited about New Year's Eve, and we'd make it into such a huge deal, then it was never as fun as we hoped. This year we had a nice dinner then went back to our friend's house to relax and watch the ball drop. It was perfect. Now that it's the new year I just have to pray that I get any time to breath, as work is going to start picking up (you know, new year's resolutions and all....) and I can no longer be in relaxed holiday mode :( Oh well. You know me, I love to be busy!

Speaking of busy, Nick and I have been working on our nasty cabinets for the past month and a half.

We knew we could never make our kitchen bigger, but back in 2011 Nick and I both knew we could at least make our kitchen look nicer by taking down these ugly cabinets (which look a lot nicer from far away, if you can believe it.....) and painting them.

During the past month we have been living with the food, utensils, and other equipment from our cabinets scattered around our house...

Once the cabinets were painted we started putting things back and we've been living without the doors for about a week, while they get painted. Can you tell the cabinets were painted? Probably not, but I promise you they look MUCH better. They were previously stained in numerous places, chipped, and turning yellow. I know, gross.

The doors received their last coat of paint last night and will be added to the cabinets today. They will also be planed so they shut correctly. We're also going to add those neat gadgets that help your cabinets close slowly. So after everything is finished we will have gone from white, stained, chipped, uneven, and loud cabinets to cream, smooth and stainless, planed, and softly closing cabinets. I love it. I couldn't be more excited!

QUESTION: What are you most excited for in the new year? For me it's obvious.. my wedding!!

Make It Your Resolution: Stop Being Fooled By Labels and Other Hype

2011-12-30T06:30:00.001-05:00

Working at a supermarket allows me to get a feel for what types of labels can really fool a customer. One of the most common mistakes I see is depicted in the photo above (this was a gift from my friend Cathy. It opens up to a pad of paper. I love it!) Here are some more tips for you, based on what I've seen at work.

"Agave Light" and "Light Olive Oil" does not have less calories or fat

The word "light" or "lite" used on labels for sugars and/or oils most often means means the product is light in color. Sometimes it could means light texture.

Multigrain, nine-grain, whatever.... isn't necessarily whole grain, and isn't necessarily the best choice

Look on the ingredient list for "whole grains", such as oats, whole wheat flour, quinoa, amaranth, etc. You want these to be close to the top of the list, which would mean they are more prevalent in the product. If they aren't listed towards the top, look for another product.

Rye bread is most often not 100% whole grain (or even 100% rye)

Many people mistakenly believe that rye bread is 100% whole grain bread. Check out the rye bread in your store's bread aisle and you will see that most rye breads have enriched wheat flour listed as the first ingredient. The rye flour is typically somewhere towards the bottom of the list. So there may be some whole grains in the bread, but it's certainly not 100% whole grain (or rye!). Don't be fooled.

"Hazelnut spread with a hint of cocoa and skim milk" isn't good for you

I won't list the name of the product, but I am willing to bet you know what I'm talking about. I can't believe how many people think this "chocolate hazelnut spread" is actually good for them. Check out the sugar on the ingredient list, it's almost one full day's worth in one tiny serving size!

Peanut butter "with no cholesterol" isn't any better than any other peanut butter

News flash! You will never find cholesterol in any peanut butter, or other nut butter for that matter. Why? Because cholesterol is only found in animal products. Don't be fooled into thinking that a peanut butter that says "no cholesterol" on the label is any better for you than others. And let's not forget, chips are cholesterol free too...are they beneficial to your health? Not necessarily.

Extra crunchy peanut butter isn't necessarily any better for you than smooth, and neither is "Natural" peanut butter

I don't know what it is about the extra "crunch" in peanut and almond butters that make people think it's better for them...perhaps it's the perception of more fiber? I don't know, but crunchy or smooth, both varieties have the same nutrition facts (if they are the same brand).

And "natural" peanut butter isn't necessarily any better for you than "unnatural" peanut butter. It could still have added sugars and fats such as palm oil (so can organic nut butters!). The best type of nut butter, in my opinion, is one that is simply the nut and perhaps a bit of salt.

Just because the label says "Dark Chocolate" doesn't necessarily mean it has the health benefits of real dark chocolate

"Dark chocolate", also called "plain chocolate" or "black chocolate", is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with zero or much less milk than milk chocolate. The U.S. has no official definition for dark chocolate but European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids.^[2] <---- Wikepedia definition

So in other words, companies can call anything dark chocolate. Many companies will just darken their chocolate and call it "dark". I like to look for a percentage of cocoa, specifically 65% or more. And don't worry if you've been fooled in the past, I was consuming "Dark Chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder" for quite a long time until I read this (below).

Greek yogurt isn't always better, and all brands certainly aren't the same!

I like to recommend Greek yogurt to my clients because it's higher in protein and lower in sugar. That is....most of the time.

I was once fooled in the grocery store when I bought the Greek yogurt pictured above. It was definitely lower in sugar (most regular yogurts have at least 12 grams of sugar) but the protein was lower than most regular yogurts! I was bummed. Also, the calcium was low (I look for at least 20% DV) and there was zero vitamin D. Boo.

All margarine is not bad, and butter isn't always superior

This is a question I get quite often, "which is better, butter or margarine?". In my opinion there is no right answer. Butter is made from cream, therefore it contains cholesterol and saturated fat. Margarine is made from oil, therefore it's cholesterol free, but it does contain saturated fat. Something else that some margarines contain are trans fats, but they do not all contain them (look on the ingredient list and make sure there are zero partially hydrogenated fats). I typically say use whichever one you like best! They both contain fat and calories, and should be used in moderation, so choose base on your taste preference. And of course there are plenty of butter and margarine products out there that are lower in fat and calories, but that just requires a bit of research.

QUESTION: What was the last label or product that fooled you?
What are you doing for New Year's Eve? We still don't know, but all that matters is that I have an awesome outfit!

Honey and Pistachio Stuffed Dates

2011-12-28T06:45:00.000-05:00

This post is going to be short and sweet. And when I say sweet, I mean it. I found this recipe for stuffed dates online and I wanted to simplify it (as in really simplify) so I could give it out at work. People loved it at work, so I made it for some guests over the weekend. This could pass as a dessert or appetizer and can be made in 45 minutes. I know this might sound like a lot of time, but you can watch TV or listen to the radio while you are relaxing in the kitchen and making these. It's calming, really.

What you will need:

Salted and shelled pistachios (a typical 6-ounce bag)
~40-50 large dates (large Medjool dates work best)
~1/4 cup honey

What you will do:

1. Chop the pistachios

2. Add the honey to the pistachios and mix until the pistachio pieces stick together relatively well (well enough to stuff into the dates)

3. Pit the dates and stuff them with the honey and pistachio mixture.

Seriously, this recipe is too delicious not to make. You could put these out with a cheese tray, or serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Whatever you do, I don't care, make this (someone at work told me this was the best thing they had eaten all year)!

And now on to the dreaded new year's resolution........

I've been writing some posts on my recommendations for new year's resolutions, for other people (more to come this week and next), but have yet to declare my own. The reason for that is simple; I don't think you really care. I'll be honest, I don't really care what yours are, so I figure no one cares about mine. However, since I still continue to read posts about people's declarations of new years resolutions, I figure you might continue reading this one, so I'll go ahead and tell you mine; First, I resolve to do yoga twice a week, and get my arms nice and toned for my September wedding (so far I've been doing well with this) and my second resolution is to do a triathlon next year. Remember my biathlon this year? This year I'm going to swim too! Yikes.

There, it's in writing, now I must do them.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad on Christmas Day

2011-12-26T07:15:00.001-05:00

How was your holiday? Did you enjoy family time and good food? I know I sure did! Here is a brief recap;

Christmas Eve at Nick's mom's house

Nick, freaking out over his fantasy football scores (literally the entire Christmas Eve day)

The best Christmas tree ornaments, EVER!

And the prize for the most content and relaxed dog of the year goes to....the Japanese Shin; SAKE (as in the Japanese alcoholic beverage)

And our family must really think (ahem, know) we love beer, because they bought us a beer Christmas ornament, AND......

A beer-making kit with all the ingredients to make a couple special brews!!

Yesterday, Christmas day, we went to my aunt and uncle's house. Because my aunt, uncle, and cousin are all gluten free, and I try to limit my intake of wheat and gluten, I try to bring gluten-free recipes to most family gatherings. This year I brought a winter cilantro and cranberry quinoa salad (as well as some very non-gluten-free pepperoni bread for my family members who just love gluten!). The quinoa recipe was found on my favorite recipe website; Allrecipes.com. I made a couple modifications based on what I had in my kitchen.

Cranberry and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped (I used all green pepper)
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped ( I used all green pepper)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds (I used toasted walnuts)
1/2 cup minced carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Pour the water into a saucepan, and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then pour in the quinoa, recover, and continue to simmer over low heat until the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
Once cold, stir in the green bell pepper, red onion, curry powder, cilantro, lime juice, sliced walnuts, carrots, and cranberries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill before serving.

It was delicious. I'll definitely be making it again.

For dessert on Christmas day I had some buckeyes and my favorite festive dessert; rocky road fudge! My aunt wants to make these buckeyes for our wedding. I had to taste two of them to make sure they were good enough for the special occasion ;)

Have a great week everyone. I'll be back Wednesday with a great appetizer idea for the New Year, and then Friday with another "Make This Your New Year's Resolution" post.

Will I Ever Eat Gluten Again?

2011-12-23T06:29:00.001-05:00

'Twas the day before Christmas Eve, and all through the kitchen.....

smells of sugar cookies were swarming....

and Gina's dad was bitchin'.

The cookies were sugar, "but they weren't made the right way" .

A cookie cutter wasn't used, but to Diann and Gina it was "ok"!

Gina was happy that the recipe was quick....

and meanwhile she wondered if the wheat made her sick.

She'd been tested for Celiac two weeks before.....

and she wondered if she'd be able to eat holiday sugar cookies anymore.

She'd already given up so many foods.....

on the day before Christmas Eve, Gina wanted some good news.

At 6pm that eve, the doc gave a ring.

The news was so good, it made Gina sing!

The results were negative and she was alright.

She could have her sugar cookie, and enjoy her holiday night.

But of course for Gina, moderation is always key.

But boy was that cookie tasty, and her Christmas results the best gift that could be!

So, the results were all negative. My tTG-IgA blood test was negative, and my iron and vitamin D levels were all normal (a sign of Celiac is often low vitamin D and/or iron levels). And since my doctor was smart, he also measured my total IgA levels at the same time he measured my tTG-IgA, to make sure I wasn't one of the few people who doesn't make any IgA antibodies (this can result in a false negative). My doctor did end up recommending a low gluten diet, as he said my symptoms were indicative of gluten "Sensitivity", but that's just fine because with the low FODMAPs diet I am pretty much already following a low gluten diet. No big deal.

If you have questions, feel free to ask. But meanwhile, enjoy your holiday everyone!

This is last year's Christmas photo. I felt like I needed to add a Christmas tree to this post :)

Make It Your Resolution: Don't Fall For Supplement Scams

2011-12-21T06:41:00.000-05:00

With the new year approaching I know many people will be making resolutions, and often times those resolutions involve being healthier ("it's a new year, I'll start to treat my body with respect!"). For those who are thinking about starting a new supplement of some sort, this post is especially important. But let's be honest, this post is important for everyone considering dietary supplements/herbals are a $5.2 billion/year business!

I recently read an article in Nutrition Action Newsletter (written by the Center for Science in the Public Interest), which disclosed some tips on avoiding supplement scams, particularly for supplements sold online.

source: iStockPhoto

Here are some of the tips;

1. Ignore the pedigree. If you see an ad for a supplement on a website that you believe to be reputable, don't assume that means the website host agrees with the product or supports use of the product. Most sites sell their space to ad networks without even knowing which ads they are running. You've probably seen it on blogs, right? How many times have you read a blog about "healthy body images" only to see an add for a weight loss supplement on the bottom? I hate that.

2. Don't fall for before-and-after photos. Come on, you're smarter than that. It's 2011 and you know that by now technology can do so many things! One of those things is the ability to take a photo and manipulate it to make it look "better". Oh, and most of the "doctors" and "physicians" you see on the television are actors. Don't be fooled.

source: iStockPhoto

3. Beware of "free" trials. This is often just a way for the company to gain access to your information and credit card number. You may get charged each month, such as with this "Acai Berry Scam".

4. Don't blindly trust "review" websites. The websites www.dietpillsforwomen.org is an example of a scam review website. If you read the fine print of their disclosure you will learn that they do not claim accuracy for their reviews, and that they are paid commission on the pills they sell.

5. Look for a street address. A website that only has a toll-free number or e-mail address as their contact could easily be offshore and out of reach if you run into a problem with their product.

6. Check for complaints. Many online consumers will post complaints about products on websites such as complaintsboard.com, complaints.com, and ripoffreport.com.

If you want to learn more about dietary supplements, in general, check out this post I wrote last year.

QUESTION: Do you have other tips for avoiding online supplement scams? Have you ever been scammed?

And on a completely different note....how's the weather where you live? It's way too warm here to be Christmas. I wish winter would get here soon, so it can go away sooner than later (we are just putting off the inevitable here in C-bus) and it can actually feel like Christmas!! Ugh.

My Iron Chef Test

2011-12-19T06:20:00.002-05:00

I could be the Next Iron Chef. Why? Because I just passed the "improvise" test in my own kitchen. That's right. I wanted to make pizza for dinner but all I had was instant yeast, brown rice flour, and cheese. I had no real toppings, no sauce, and I wasn't able to use garlic or onion because they contain the dreaded FODMAPs. What did I do? I improvised!

No sauce? No garlic? No problem! Take a jar of fire roasted tomatoes, add about 2 tsp. garlic olive oil (or regular olive oil and 1/2 clove whole garlic), and puree.

Voila...pizza sauce!

I followed this recipe for the crust, but used my "homemade pizza sauce" for the sauce, and infused more garlic into the pizza by using garlic olive oil in the dough, instead of plain olive oil. This pizza was my best one yet.

I think the garlic in the crust and in the sauce really elevated the flavor. Plus, I'll admit, I went a little crazy on the cheese. I did end up finding a jar of banana peppers in the fridge, and that was our only topping.

And, I had some sauce leftover for my spaghetti squash dish the next night. Below is a bowl of spaghetti squash topped with steamed vegetables, ground turkey, and my sauce. I also added grated parmesan cheese and pepper.

So long story short, my can of fire roasted tomatoes and my garlic olive oil turned into the perfect pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce. Not bad for my improvisation test, right?!

And on a completely different note, I just finished reading a fantastic book called The Art of Racing in the Rain. I know I read about this on someone's blog, but I can't remember who. Whoever it was, thanks for the great recommendation!!!

QUESTION: When was the last time you had to improvise in the kitchen? What was the last great book you read? I'll take suggestions anytime!

Enjoy your week everyone! Can you believe Christmas is SUNDAY?! And to those who celebrate, Happy (almost) Hanukkah!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink, Pumpkin and Oat Cookies (Gluten Free)

2011-12-16T05:30:00.002-05:00

I often wonder if Food Network (and other networks that have shows all about food!) has had an effect on our country's obesity epidemic. I mean, how many times have you watched the Food Network and started craving something...like cookies? Or pasta? Or a big juicy steak? You can't deny that it's happened at least once, maybe even without your awareness. This is exactly what happened to me the other day. I was sitting on the couch watching one of the shows on cake making, and I all of a sudden got the urge to make cookies. I remembered this recipe for Pumpkin-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, that Grace had posted back in October (ok, I had written it down, my memory isn't that good!) and I knew I just had to make them. My plan was to make them my own and add some new ingredients as a way to clean out the kitchen. Here is what I had;

Brown rice flour

A large canister of oats, with only a bit left

Random golden raisins

A bit of mini chocolate chips

Some carob chips

A few walnuts

So I did a bit of modification to Grace's recipe and came up with this;

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Pumpkin-Oat Cookies!
(Makes 40 cookies)

Ingredients
1 cup pureed pumpkin (or pureed sweet potato or butternut squash)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
1 egg, beaten
1-3/4 cup oats
1.5 cup brown rice flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1.5 cups add-ins
(I used; 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup carob chips, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup golden raisins)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a medium bowl mix together the two sugars, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Add the soften butter and blend well.
4. Add the beaten egg and the pumpkin
5. Add the oats and the 1 cup of add-ins
6. Use a spoon to form cookies as you normally would with chocolate chip cookies, and put them on a greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

8. ENJOY!

Nutrition Facts
(1 cookies)

So at least I didn't make a really bad-for-you cookie after sitting and watching cake designers make a three teared cake with buttercream and chocolate candies on top....I mean...considering how much I was craving a piece of cake after watching that show, these cookies have some pretty good stats! And, while they didn't taste like a buttercream cake, they were delicious (even Nick approved of them, and is actually asking me to make them again!).

QUESTION: Which food show on television really increases your appetite?! For me it's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Also Top Chef.

Have a great weekend everyone. I'm off to Steeler country for the day for work, then I work tomorrow and have Sunday off to do some last minute Christmas prep (and finish my wedding invitations!).

Quick-Braised Salmon with Broccoli

2011-12-14T06:48:00.002-05:00

I've had my Le Creuset braiser for almost a year now, yet I've only used it to braise one time. I recently found a great recipe for braised salmon and was completely intrigued (I'd never heard of braising fish!). While most recipes that require braising take several hours, this was a quick-braise. Fish is much more delicate, therefore it doesn't need to soak in the liquid as long as meat does in order to get tender.

Quick-Braised Salmon and Broccoli
(Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Magazine)

Ingredients

2 8-oz. thick-boneless, skinless wild salmon fillets
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, plus additional to taste
1 T garlic olive oil
1 cup low sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 medium head broccoli, cut into thin spears
Juice 1 lemon, divided
6 oz. plain Greek yogurt
2 T finely minced fresh tarragon
2 T finely minced fresh mint leaves
salt, to taste

** The original recipe called for regular olive oil, not garlic olive oil. It also called for 1 medium leek, thinly sliced crosswise, white and pale green parts only, instead of chives. I did not use the leeks because they contain FODMAPs. The chives worked pretty well as a substitute, I think.**

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and season with pepper. In a large braiser or ovenproof saute pan, heat oil on medium-high. Add salmon and sear for 3 minutes per side, until lightly golden. Transfer salmon to a plate and keep warm.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add 1/4 cup broth to pan. Add chives (or leeks!) and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until liquid evaporates and chives (or leeks) soften. Add remaining 3/4 cup broth and broccoli; mix well.

4. Return salmon to center of braiser, nestling between chives (or leeks) and broccoli. Drizzle half of lemon juice over salmon; cover and transfer pan to oven. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until salmon and broccoli are tender. Remove from oven and, using slotted spoon, transfer salmon and vegetables to a platter, over with foil to keep warm. Reserve 1/2 cup pan juices.

5. Prepare Lemon-Herb Sauce: in a small bowl, combine yogurt, tarragon, mint, remaining lemon juice, and reserved 1/2 cup pan juices; mix well. Season with salt and additional pepper, to taste.

6. To serve, halve salmon fillets and plate each with Lemon-Herb Sauce and chive-broccoli mixture.

This is what it looked like when I took it out of the oven, after I cut off a piece of the salmon to have a taste :)

This was DELICIOUS! And the sauce tastes really good on other cuts of meat as well.

QUESTION: Have you ever braised fish? Do you like to use mint in your recipes?

Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

2011-12-12T06:30:00.001-05:00

Several months ago a client told me about a pumpkin-stuffed shell recipe she made. I never did get the recipe from her, but I was reminded of the recipe the other day and decided to look for a similar version online.

For those of you who are following a low FODMAP diet, this recipe has been modified so you can enjoy it. If you're like me and you are also lactose intolerant, you may need to eat just one shell at a time, or stuff your shells with less ricotta (ricotta cheese seems to give me a lot of issues if I eat more than a couple ounces at a time).

Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Makes 8 servings

This recipe is based on one from Country Living magazine.

24 jumbo pasta shells
1 tablespoon garlic extra-virgin olive oil
22 ounces ricotta cheese
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg white
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) purchased tomato sauce

** If you want to use regular olive oil and whole cloves of garlic (instead of using garlic olive oil and zero garlic cloves), go ahead! Just use the same amount of olive oil mentioned in the recipe (regular olive oil, not garlic), but add 2 minced cloves of garlic in step two below.**

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer to a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup parmesan and all remaining ingredients except tomato sauce.

4. Fill each pasta shell with pumpkin-ricotta mixture. Spread the jar of sauce in bottom of 13-by-9-inch pan (leave about 1 cup of the sauce to add on top of the shells). Arrange the shells in pan (seam-side up).

5. Top the shells with the last cup of the sauce and then cover pan with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil. Sprinkle shells with remaining parmesan. Bake 15 minutes longer.

These were so good that I forgot to take a picture of them on my plate. Oops. Moral of the story; make these today!

QUESTION: Have you ever stuffed a shell? What did you stuff it with? What's your favorite stuffed shell recipe?

Today is my "Friday" because I get Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited! It's been a long week for me (in a very good way because I've been very busy at work) and I plan on finishing all of my Christmas shopping over the "weekend". I do love having the ability to shop on weekdays.

Enjoy your week everyone! I'll be back on Wednesday with a fantastic salmon recipe.

Fully Loaded Oatmeal

2011-12-09T06:19:00.003-05:00

Oatmeal, chocolate peanut butter, 1/2 banana, and 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Now this is a good way to start the morning!

I mean think about it....you've got your whole grain (oats), your protein (almonds and nut butter), your half cup of fruit (banana), your fiber (oats, almonds, banana), and your milk/dairy (extra almond milk). Not only that, but you've also got chocolate!

Next we've got oatmeal with banana, honey roasted nuts, and a bit of natural calorie-free sweetener. I had a cup of unsweetened almond milk, and coffee to drink (multiple cups of coffee, I might add).

This was another fabulous combination that was a great example of a "ChooseMyPlate" breakfast. Of course, more than one-quarter of my breakfast is grain....but oh well, close enough.

This was last year's obsession....

Oatmeal with pumpkin and peanut butter. Can you believe I haven't had this for an entire year?! I used to be obsessed!

QUESTION: Go ahead, tell me your favorite way to eat oatmeal, or any other hot cereal. And what do you normally eat for breakfast on weekends?? Speaking of weekends, have a great one! I'll be working :)

Opening a Pomegranate, and Blogger Pomegranate Recipes

2011-12-07T06:30:00.001-05:00

Pomegranates are arguably the most beautiful fruit on Earth. Seriously, they could make any dish look pretty. Not only are they pretty, but they are loaded with nutrients (just to name a few; fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and plant nutrients called tannins, which can help get rid of free radicals that damage our cells).

In my last post I asked you for some recipes that you like to use with pomegranates, and you definitely pulled through! But first I wanted to share something I love to do with pomegranates and that is add them to plain Greek yogurt (because I add everything to plain Greek yogurt). Who needs "Pomegranate Flavored Greek Yogurt", which typically has about 5-6 grams of added sugars, when you can just add your own pomegranate to plain yogurt and get ZERO added sugars, and loads of nutrients?!

I get a lot of questions about how to open a pomegranate, and how to get the seeds out without making a huge mess. This video explains my favorite way to extract the seeds without getting "red dye" everywhere.

And now it's recipe time! Here are some that you submitted.

Pomegranate and Walnut Chicken

Butternut, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Muffins

Grace suggested using the pear and pomegranate salsa as a compote to a white fish.<------Great idea!

Jessie said; I tend to put pomegranates into anything - salad, smoothies, on sandwiches (great with leftover turkey), mixed with nuts (candied or plain), with yogurt ... pretty much everywhere :)

Coco did an entire dinner party devoted to the pomegranate. Check out here recipes here!

Jess (Fit Chick in the City) said; I love eating them with a sweet potato and coconut butter. <---- Sounds heavenly!

Jennifer suggested this roasted pumpkin salad, with pomegranates. <---- It's so pretty!

Michelle Voss, from Facebook, says she enjoys pomegranates mixed with chopped oranges <--- Sounds like the perfect winter fruit salad!

EA Stewart (The Spicy RD) suggested using pomegranates as a garnish, such as with this recipe. <----great idea! Crepes are so pretty on their own, but pomegranates just heightened their beauty.

Here is an entire blog post that contains some favorite blogger pomegranate recipes! The black bean pomegranate dip really intrigues me.

I also really enjoy adding pomegranates to oatmeal. Have you ever tried that? It's pretty darn amazing. Speaking of oatmeal, Friday's post will be all about oatmeal, because it's been way too long since I've posted any pictures of oatmeal! Seriously, last year I believe I posted oats about a million times, this year.....zero.

QUESTION: What's your favorite winter fruit or vegetable? Mine are pomegranates and brussels sprouts.

Holiday Appetizer; Pomegranate and Pear Salsa

2011-12-05T06:10:00.000-05:00

Looking for a holiday appetizer to bring to a party, or to put out at your own party? Look not further! Last year I made this pomegranate and pear salsa for customers at work, and it was a huge hit, to say the least. I made it again this year and people liked it so much that I recently decided to make it for a holiday party I attended (Recipe Source).

Pomegranate and Pear Salsa
(Serves about 10)

Ingredients

2 pomegranates or 1 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cups 100% pomegranate juice
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 medium Bartlett or Asian pear, cored and diced
1 tbs granulated sugar

Preparation

1. Score each pomegranate and place in large bowl of water. Break pomegranates open in water to free seeds. Pull and break seeds from membrane; seeds will sink to bottom of bowl. Strain, place seeds in medium mixing bowl.

2. Add pomegranate juice and lime juice to seeds; toss to coat evenly. Add minced red onion, cilantro and diced pear; stir to combine. Sprinkle sugar over seed mixture; stir to combine. Serve with tortilla chips, fish or chicken.

This tastes great with blue corn tortilla chips.

Aren't the colors pretty? I think this appetizer is not only delicious, but beautiful.

QUESTION: What's your favorite way to eat pomegranates? Please provide a recipe and link and I will post it on my next post!

Three Years After Starting the Low FODMAP Diet....

2011-12-02T06:25:00.001-05:00

.....it's become more popular than ever! Last month even the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about it. And of course my all-time favorite dietitian magazine, Today's Dietitian, wrote an article about it several months ago.

And I recently found this study that was published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, which compared symptoms of those with IBS who followed a "Standard IBS diet" with those who followed a low FODMAPs diet. Here is the abstract;

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that the consumption of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) may result in symptoms in some patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The present study aimed to determine whether a low FODMAP diet is effective for symptom control in patients with IBS and to compare its effects with those of standard dietary advice based on the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Methods: Consecutive patients with IBS who attended a follow-up dietetic outpatient visit for dietary management of their symptoms were included. Questionnaires were completed for patients who received standard (n = 39) or low FODMAP dietary advice (n = 43). Data were recorded on symptom change and comparisons were made between groups.

Results: In total, more patients in the low FODMAP group reported satisfaction with their symptom response (76%) compared to the standard group (54%, P = 0.038). Composite symptom score data showed better overall symptom response in the low FODMAP group (86%) compared to the standard group (49%, P < 0.001). Significantly more patients in the low FODMAP group compared to the standard group reported improvements in bloating (low FODMAP 82% versus standard 49%, P = 0.002), abdominal pain (low FODMAP 85% versus standard 61%, P = 0.023) and flatulence (low FODMAP 87% versus standard 50%, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: A low FODMAP diet appears to be more effective than standard dietary advice for symptom control in IBS.

Here are some important points about the low FODMAP diet from the article in Today's Dietitian;

What are FODMAPs?

They are short-chain carbohydrates that are often malabsorbed in those with IBS. The acronym stands for:

Fermentable

Oligosaccharides

Disaccharides

Monosaccharides

And

Polyols

Why are these foods considered "trouble foods" for those with IBS?

The short-chain carbohydrates typically end up undigested in the colon, where gut bacteria happily ferment them and thus produce the side-effect of gas and bloating. Not fun.

What are some foods that contain FODMAPs?

If you peruse the internet you will find hundreds of different lists of foods that contain FODMAPs. The lists all seem to be different, and it can get very confusing. The article in Today's Dietitian, as well as the booklet I will discuss below seem to be very consistent and accurate. I have stuck with these lists.

FODMAPs exist in some very commonly consumed foods, which is why many people with IBS have trouble figuring out the exact cause of their discomfort (I've heard this before, "everything I eat causes a problem!!") . Here are some examples of problem foods;

Fruits: Unripened bananas, apples, pears, peaches, mangoes

Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, onion, beetroot, chicory root (Inulin), beans and soy products (don't want to give up your beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and soy? BEANO can help with these!)

Grains: Wheat, rye

Sweeteners: Sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, malitol, HFCS, agave, honey

Spices: Garlic (garlic is hard to avoid, especially if you love to cook. I have found that garlic olive oil works great as a replacement).

What are some foods that those with IBS can enjoy instead of some of their favorite fruits, veggies, grains, and dairy products?

Fruits: Berries, cantaloupe, oranges, ripe bananas, grapefruit

Vegetables: Squash, spinach, kale, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant (although eggplant does give me some problems...)

Grains/Starch: Quinoa, rice, oats, popcorn (corn)

Sweeteners: Stevia, sugar, brown sugar, molasses

Spices: Cinnamon, pepper, salt, cumin

Much of the research on FODMAPs started (and continues) at a university in Australia. Visit this link to order the booklet you see below (scroll down all the way once you get to the site). This has been the most accurate information on the low FODMAP diet I have found. The booklet also contains some great recipes and grocery lists.

After three years of being on this diet, I still struggle to stick to the plan 100%, but I feel better than ever and my quality of life has skyrocketed. Please feel free to ask me any questions about my journey adapting to the low FODMAP approach to IBS management, or any other questions you might have!

QUESTION: Do you know someone who is following the low FODMAP diet? Do you think you could benefit from it yourself? Have you ever had to drastically change your diet?

If you're wondering how my Celiac test went on Wednesday, it didn't happen. As it turns out my visit on Wednesday was just a doctor visit to see which tests I needed. On the 16th I am getting my blood tests done, as well as an upper GI series. I have to fast all morning and afternoon and I am NOT looking forward to it! I'll keep everyone updated.

Have a great weekend!! Are you doing anything fun? Tonight I'm making stuffed pumpkin ravioli for a dinner party with friends. I'll post it soon.

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

2011-11-30T06:25:00.003-05:00

Recently I was out with my good friend Cathy and she was telling me about the pumpkin grilled cheese she made. I quickly told her that the next time she makes the recipe she has to take a picture and do a guest post. Then I realized, I should make it myself! So...I did, with a few modifications (see my recipe below, and Cathy's recipe below that).

Gina's Pumpkin Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients
(Makes 1 sandwich)

2 pieces whole grain bread
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 tsp. garlic olive oil
1 slice pepper jack cheese
2 slices swiss cheese
2 t butter

** You can use another type of cheese if you want, but this combination worked well for Nick and I. Also, if you want to saute real garlic cloves instead of using garlic olive oil, that's fine too. We don't use garlic in our household because they contain FODMAPs. **

Directions

1. Add the pumpkin and garlic olive oil (or sauteed garlic) together in a pan and heat on medium for about a minute.

2. Grab your bread and add the cheese to one piece and spread the hot pumpkin puree and garlic onto the second piece. Close the sandwich.

3. Heat the butter in the pan until melted, then add the sandwich to the pan and heat each side for about 2 minutes (or until both sides are crispy and brown).

ENJOY!

Nick ate his with ketchup, because...that's just how he eats grilled cheese. I ate mine without dipping it in anything, and I was in heaven.

Here is Cathy's original version of pumpkin grilled cheese sandwiches;

Cathy's Pumpkin Grilled Cheese Recipe

Ingredients
(Makes one sandwich)

1/4 c pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp sriracha (can omit if you can't stand the heat)

1/4 c diced sauteed yellow onion

sprinkle of black pepper

1 wedge swiss cheese (35 calorie) -- room temp --OR use a Tbs of grated parmesan cheese

1 slice of thin cheese--any flavor

Directions

-Combine first five ingredients and set aside

-Toast 2 slices whole wheat bread

-Lightly butter one side of each piece after toasting.

-Evenly spread pumpkin mix on top of unbuttered side of one piece of bread. Lay cheese slice on top. Cover with second piece of bread, leaving the buttered side up.

-Heat pan to med-high
-Cook sandwich on both sides until it's heated through and the cheese is melted. (about 2 mins per side)

ENJOY!

Want to try this sandwich with some tomato soup? Check out Nicole's recipe for roasted tomato soup!

QUESTION: What's the craziest thing you've put on a grilled cheese sandwich??

By the way, thank you so much for all of your questions and comments about my impending Celiac test (it's happening today at 2:30pm!!). I promise to do a follow-up post with the results, and answers to some of your questions.

Getting the Test. The Celiac Test.....

2011-11-28T06:10:00.001-05:00

I'm finally taking the plunge and getting tested for Celiac Disease. I've been teaching clients for the past year or so that it's important to get tested if you have family members who have been diagnosed with Celiac, yet I haven't practiced what I preach. I have a cousin who was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, and an aunt who is "gluten intolerant", and as you all know I have had GI issues my entire life, plus I was iron deficient at one time in my life (and haven't really been tested since then) both of which are signs of Celiac. Many people believe that GI upset or weight loss are the two main symptoms of Celiac Disease, but in reality weight gain, iron-deficiency, depression, dermatitis, and osteoporosis or osteopenia are more common symptoms.

The New York Times wrote a fantastic article about the testing that is done for Celiac Disease. The following passage, taken from the article, describes two of the proteins that are looked for when tested;

One protein is an enzyme called tissue transglutaminase, or TTG, that is found in many cells of our body. TTG is released from the damaged intestine during active celiac disease, and antibodies to TTG are found to be elevated in the blood of most patients with untreated celiac disease.

The other protein to which the body’s immune system responds to abnormally in someone with active celiac disease (and occasionally in some other disorders) is a group of proteins found in gluten called gliadins.

I've been following the low FODMAPs diet for over two years now, and since wheat contains FODMAPs, I try to stay away from it. The other two grains that contain gluten are rye and barley, which I really don't consume. So I know my intake of gluten has been pretty low, but I've certainly not been "gluten free". I drink beer, eat gluten-containing samples at work, sometimes eat desserts at parties, plus I take bites of Nick's pastas and breads on occasion, but I want this test to be as accurate as can be, so after reading the following passage from the New York Times article I decided to increase my gluten intake before getting tested.

Going on a gluten-free diet for many months, and particularly for a year or more, can lead to the most commonly used diagnostic tests for celiac disease to no longer being helpful. Even intestinal biopsies can go back to a normal or near-normal appearance if you have been gluten-free for a long time. Without an intestinal biopsy that shows the abnormalities of celiac disease, you cannot be diagnosed with celiac disease. The only way to make a diagnosis of celiac disease after starting a gluten-free diet is to go back on gluten. This is referred to as a “gluten challenge” and is the subject of another discussion.

Here is what I've been eating/drinking:

BEER; Barley contains gluten

Wheat cakes; made from wheat and other gluten-containing ingredients

Panko Bread Crumbs (made from wheat bread)

Tuna: Yes, this does contain wheat, check out the ingredients!

Toasted Oats: While oats aren't a natural source of gluten, many are contaminated. Also, this particular cereal has wheat clearly listed in the ingredient list.

And, of course, Thanksgiving leftovers (turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread).

QUESTION: Do you have any tips for me before I get tested for Celiac? The big day is Wednesday!

If you know someone who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease within the past 12 months (or if you have been diagnosed yourself), I encourage you to check out what the University of Chicago is doing this season to help those who have been diagnosed. Check out how you can help, or receive a generous gift of your own, here.

The Best Thing I Ate, And Some Simpe House Updates

2011-11-25T07:20:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving! Mine was very relaxing and.....filling.

We follow the proper food-safety procedures in the Casagrande household.

And we start each Thanksgiving meal with some fiber (pumpkin spice hummus).

And even the men in the household eat the gluten free stuffing (and I am getting married to a man who doesn't like gravey, as is noted by Nick's plate below.)

This was my plate. Half vegetables (brussel sprouts smothered in oil and vinegar, topped with pancetta), sweet potato mash (with bananas and honey!) and random pieces of raw squash from the relish tray, one-fourth turkey (covered in gravy), and one-fourth grain (butter-loaded, and completely full of the stuff that I normally don't eat, gluten free stuffing).

I did go back for seconds (and got more turkey) and I also had two desserts. the pecan pie had chocolate chips inside, and it was by far the best pecan pie I've ever had, and my favorite part of yesterday's meal. Sorry, I'm an awful blogger because I didn't even take a picture. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, and it was gone before I knew it. Here is a picture form last year (it's the best I could do!).

Let's depart from food and nutrition for a second, because I think we've all had enough of that in the past day or so (or at least the food part). I'm thankful that Nick and I have finally made the time to start on some much needed house updates!

When we bought our house a year ago last May, it was a blank canvas. There were a few small updates that had been done to the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, but other than that it had not been updated in a very long time, and all the walls were white. The area we moved to is known for it's old houses, with lots of charm, but I failed to find the charm in our house for quite a long time. Thankfully that charm is slowly showing itself. We really wanted a house that we could make our own, and that we could work on for the next several years. Our goal was (and still is) to do small updates throughout the first couple years, then after our wedding do some of the larger updates (like new windows). Here are some of the small things we have done in the last couple months.

We took down these curtains...

I actually liked how much light we got once the curtains were down.

The problem was the curtains just sort of hung there, with no purpose whatsoever.

So we replaced them with these!
Ok, they are the same curtains, but my aunt sewed some fabric onto the top so we could move the rods up towards the ceiling. Joyce, our decorator, said this would add the illusion of more space in our living room, and open it up. She was right.

And then we added a simple decoration between the two rods. We stuck with our bronze color scheme.

Next we took down this ugly dining room light.

And replaced it with this one. I love it.

Our next project is going to be tough, but in the end it's going to be worth all the hard work. See these AWFUL cabinets?!

They are not only ugly, but they don't close properly. We are going to paint them and plane them (that's what Nick says...I'm kind of scared). This is going to be a three weekend project, but by the end they will be a nicer color and I'll be able to shut them with ease (I'm crossing my fingers).

We also plan on painting this workout room and adding a television to the wall that the elliptical faces (the current television that is in our living room). I need my TODAY show when I'm working out! I also want to be able to use Exercise TV upstairs, rather than in the basement where I currently do those workouts.

QUESTIONS: Do you enjoy decorating your house? What was the last update you made in your house, or your condo/apartment, or even your bedroom or dorm room?

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Have you ever had chocolate chips in your pecan pie?!

Healthy (or not) Holidays to You!

2011-11-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

Are you sick and tired of listening to dietitians like me preach about "watching your portions" and "eating more fruits and veggies" over the holidays? If so, don't read any further, and just check out this article that I (somewhat secretly) really enjoyed. And if you want to read some tips for maintaining your weight and sticking to your health and wellness goals over the holidays, please read on!

I told myself that the moment I heard holiday music playing at work I would post my tips on dodging holiday weight gain. Well, I'm a bit late ( I heard holiday music over two weeks ago ) but I couldn't bring myself to post this the first week of November! I love the holidays, I just don't like celebrating them prematurely.

So, during the next couple months we will be surrounded by heavy carb-loaded dishes and desserts.......

As if our everyday food environment wasn't bad enough, this next month (or two) is about a million times worse! How in the world does one prevent that average 1-2 pound weight gain each year? I'm not going to re-write a post I already wrote, so if you'd like to read some great blogger tips on dodging holiday weight gain, check out my post from last year at this time.

If you have food-pushers in your family (and you know who they are!), you will love this post from another blogger on how to deal with them. The one tip I will add this year is that you should be thankful for, and take advantage of the new, very simple ChooseMyPlate logo, which can help you put together a pretty delicious and filling plate on Thanksgiving and at any other dinner/lunch party you attend during the holidays.

Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables, one-fourth lean protein, and one-fourth a grain (preferably a whole grain). I realize the plate above uses a sweet cranberry salad as a fruit, and the starchy sweet potato as the grain, but on Thanksgiving you may need to make a few modifications :)

If you plan on going back for seconds, I always suggest getting more lean protein (such as white turkey) and non-starchy vegetables (such as the asparagus above, or green beans).

As a registered dietitian my goal is not to take the fun out of the holidays and prevent people from enjoying good food and being merry. But really, the holidays are a time for family, friends, fun, giving, and being thankful for all that we have, and we should try to take the focus off of food. I hope this holiday season you get to spend lots of time with your friends and family, and most importantly you have fun and live in the moment. The holidays are long, but they go by fast! Enjoy them.

And if enjoying the holidays means a little indulgence..... (Below is Nick's first plate from last year's Christmas dinner). I suppose I can be ok with that!

After all, I can't deny that I may have had more than one of these.....

QUESTIONS: Let's depart from the idea of "healthy holidays" for a second. What's the one dessert you look forward to most during this time? For me it's chocolate dipped waffle cones, rocky road fudge, Christmas ale, and pecan pie!

What are you thankful for this holiday season? I'm thankful for the fact that both Nick and I have a stable job and income. We're blessed to have the ability to go to a job that we love each and every day. And I really never forget that.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Gluten Free Fig, Apple, and Sage Stuffing

2011-11-21T05:55:00.003-05:00

Are you having guests at your house this year who are on a gluten free diet? Are you on a gluten free diet? Have no fear! I have a grocery store customers-approved recipe at your service! I made this stuffing yesterday at work, and it was so pretty that the graphic artists took a picture of it and sent it to me. I asked the customers to tell me (honestly) if they liked it, and a majority of them loved it. I'm so glad I got to test this recipe before making it for our Thanksgiving gathering.

For many people the stuffing is a very important part of the Thanksgiving feast, and my goal was to make a traditional stuffing recipe, but to make it gluten free for my aunt, uncle, and cousin, all following gluten free diets. Of course I love it too because I am on a wheat-free diet (sort of). The only problem is that it's loaded with figs, apples, and onions, all things I try to avoid on my low FODMAPs diet. Oh well, Thanksgiving will have to be a day of thanks, and a bit of suffering for me :)

This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found in Clean Eating Magazine. Enjoy!

Fig, Apple & Sage Stuffing

Prep time: 25 minutes • Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

· 2 loaves Gluten Free whole grain bread (brand of your choice), chopped into 1/2-inch cubes

· 1 T olive oil

· 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

· 3 to 4 celery ribs, finely chopped

· 1 large white onion, finely chopped

· 1 t dried thyme

· 1 t chili powder

- 1 t rosemary

· 2 t sea salt

· Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

· 10 to 12 unsweetened dried figs, chopped

· 2 gala apples (or Macintosh), cored and chopped

· 3-4 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus additional as needed

· 2 T chopped fresh sage

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide bread among 2 rimmed baking sheets and arrange in a single layer; transfer to oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once, until lightly toasted.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat oil on medium-high. Add carrots, celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir thyme, rosemary, chile powder, salt and pepper. Add figs and apples and stir well to combine. Remove from heat, add bread and stir to combine. Stir in broth. Stuffing should be uniformly moist but not wet. Stir in sage.

3. Coat a large baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and add stuffing. Drizzle with an additional 1 to 1 ½ cups broth (you want the consistency to be moist, but not wet). Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until the top is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

QUESTION: What's your favorite part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal? For me it's stuffing, I won't lie. I also love turkey with cranberry sauce on top.

Quick Chicken, Pumpkin, Brocolli, Curry Soup, and What I'm Making For Thanksgiving

2011-11-18T06:07:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of soup. It's too bad I live with someone who hates it.

"I HATE SOUP, GINA!!"

Because of that fact, I never make large batches of soup, I just make single servings. I keep low sodium chicken or vegetable broth in my house at all times during the cold fall and winter months.

Who says you have to take more than five minutes to make a delicious and hearty soup for dinner? I'm not one to spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen making dinner, especially on nights when I get home at 7:30pm, so I've been coming up with quick and healthy recipes over the past couple years (see my "Quick and Healthy Recipes" column on the right). This one is next to be added on that list!

5-Minute Chicken, Pumpkin, and Broccoli Curry Soup

INGREDIENTS
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cooked broccoli
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 ounces grilled chicken
2 t garlic olive oil
1 tsp curry

DIRECTIONS
Add everything to a saucepan and heat until it's to your desired temperature.
Serve with a piece of whole grain bread or eat alone and enjoy (it's filling!).

You can add the Greek yogurt on top of the soup separately if you want, but I mixed the Greek yogurt into my soup, and since I accidentally brought it to a boil it "broke" and curdled a bit. It made for a not-so-pretty soup, but it certainly didn't lack flavor. This soup was so good that I made it two nights in a row.

When I first made this soup I figured I would need something else to eat with it, but this soup was the perfect amount of calories, protein, and fat to fill me up for dinner.

QUESTION: Do you have any easy soup, stew, or chili recipes you'd like to share? Here are some more of mine from previous posts:

Thick and Meaty Chili

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

Sweet Potato Soup

What are you making for Thanksgiving? My aunt, uncle, and cousin are on gluten free diets so this year I am making them some gluten free stuffing.

This recipe is from Clean Eating magazine, and I am basically following it exactly, but substituting gluten free whole grain bread for the regular bread. I am also going to make some of Nicole's pumpkin spice hummus, with pita (why not add a Greek twist to a traditional Thanksgiving meal?!). This will be Nick and my first Thanksgiving together (was that proper English?). Can you believe it?! After six years we're finally going to be together on Thanksgiving. I'm definitely thankful for that!

Flank Steak With Cilantro Almond Pesto

2011-11-16T05:40:00.002-05:00

I never said it was pretty.

But it was delicious. I promise. I seriously need help taking appetizing pictures when it's dark outside. Any tips?

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking Light.

Flank Steak With Cilantro Almond Pesto

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
Optional: Four whole grain tortillas
Optional: 2 bell peppers, sauteed

Preparation

Prepare grill, or grill pan.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until finely chopped (about 15 seconds). Add yogurt and juice; process until smooth.
Grill steak 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak with pesto.
If you want to turn these into tacos, add the steak and pesto to tortillas with sauteed bell peppers (we were going to do this, but at the last minute we decided not to).

I made my pesto without garlic (garlic contains FODMAPs), but Nick and our friend Janan enjoyed theirs with garlic (I had a taste with the garlic and it was fabulous). While this may not be the prettiest dish, it truly was delicious and very simple. As you saw in the first photo, we served the steak and pesto with baked butternut squash, spinach, and sauteed bell peppers (the bell peppers could have been used to turn this meal into steak tacos, but we decided not to do that).

QUESTION: What's your favorite pesto dish? Have you ever made pesto with almonds?

Before I forget to post it, I wanted to share this article from the Wall Street Journal, about the low FODMAPs diet. It sounds like it's really catching on here in the states. Probably because...it works!

I'm Addicted

2011-11-14T06:10:00.000-05:00

Open up!

Do you have any idea what this is? It's a spoon full of heaven (aka: pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt, granola, and unsweetened cocoa powder).

It's true, I'm addicted to unsweetened cocoa powder.

A full tablespoon provides only 10 calories, 0 sugar, and a whopping 2 grams of fiber (that almost makes it a good source!). And that's not to mention the loads of antioxidants found in cocoa powder (specifically cocoa powder is high in flavanoids). Seriously, what more could you ask for?!

And you might be thinking; "Gina, why wouldn't you choose the Special Dark Blend"? You know, because clearly anything that's "dark" must be better for you, right?

First of all, the Special Dark blend tastes really bitter. I mean, I love dark chocolate, but the powder just isn't for me. Also, for the longest time I tried to find out whether the Special Dark cocoa powder was really any better for you, since it was indeed dutch processed. Several weeks ago I realized the answer to my question was right in front of me (see below)!

So, it turns out the Special Dark cocoa powder is actually less nutritious, so I do not use the Special Dark blend unless I'm cooking. But of course, I rarely use cocoa powder to cook with, I just eat it! Here are some of my favorite ways to eat this delicious ... ingredient:

On top of my breakfast.

My breakfast typically consists of Greek yogurt (plain), some type of fruit, granola, natural sweetener, and cocoa powder.

I also add it to my oats, but I do not have a picture. Just imagine this bowl of oats (below) with cocoa sprinkled on top. Yes, that's a sweet potato in my oats!

Added to snacks.

And more snacks.....

This is a cup of Greek yogurt and vanilla almond milk, topped with unsweetened cocoa powder, natural sweetener, and some strawberries. So good.

And sometimes I will add cocoa powder to plain Greek yogurt and dip strawberries in that.

Vitamins, protein, calcium, great taste, so tasty.

Any idea what this is?? If you guessed a spoonful of peanut butter dipped in cocoa powder, you're right! It's like a Buckeye on a spoon.

And the obvious, desserts!

Plain Greek yogurt with cocoa powder and some Reece's PB cups. A "healthier" dessert, right?

And of course I add it to my homemade ice cream, because vanilla gets old after awhile.

LIGHT CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM RECIPE
(Makes ~10-1/2 cup servings)

1 cup vanilla almond milk, 2 cups chilled half and half, 3/4 cup sugar, mix well, add to ice cream maker, pour in about 2 T cocoa powder while the machine is running, let run for 18-20 minutes. Once it's finished, add whatever you want for "add-ins", such as chocolate chunks or frozen brownie bites.

QUESTION: What's your latest food obsession? Do you ever use unsweetened cocoa powder?

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Nick and I did a lot of entertaining. We had Nicole (Prevention RD) and her husband over for dinner on Friday and made chicken marsala with roasted butternut squash and spinach salad (had a blast!). Then Saturday morning my parents and family friends came over for brunch, which consisted of oatmeal chocolate chip pancakes and spinach mushroom omelets. This was after a nice 25 minute run that Nick and I accomplished. We're turning into "serious" weekend runners ;)

Need To Get Regular? Saute Some Spicy Broccoli!

2011-11-11T06:22:00.002-05:00

Who needs "probiotic yogurt" to stay regular when you've got thousands of vegetables to choose from, which can get you regular in no time?

Nick and I get about 50% of our fiber each week from broccoli or other cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower. No joke (ok, I've never done the math, but that's my guess). Since we like broccoli so much it's imperative that I continue coming up with new ways to prepare it (although, we'd eat it in any form, really).

Here are some of the reasons why I make sure to eat at least 1/2 cup of broccoli (or other cruciferous vegetable), everyday:

Vitamin C for collagen repair (especially good for the small capillaries that help with circulation, and for gum health). Vitamin C also acts as an antioxidant, and works with other compounds in broccoli to increase it's ability to act as an antioxidant.

Fiber for heart health and a healthy GI tract.

Folate for heart health and for DNA synthesis (especially important for young women who may become pregnant, or who are currently pregnant.)

Phytonutrients that act to bolster antioxidant defenses, and some of which actually act as antioxidants.

Phytoestrogens, which are "plant estrogens". They act similar to human estrogen, but instead of binding to estrogen receptors on cancer cells, and helping to replicate the cancer, it binds to the receptor and prevents the binding of human estrogen, thus preventing the growth of hormone sensitive cancers (prostate and breast cancer are two examples).

Beta-catoene, lutein, xeaxanthin (all carotenoids), which can help prevent numerous types of cancer (especially colon and bladder) and which help protect the eyes, and the skin from UV rays.

Spicy Sauteed Broccoli
(Adapted from a recipe in Nutrition Action)
Makes ~ 4 cups

Ingredients
1 head of broccoli
2 T garlic olive oil
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. salt

** If you want to use actual garlic cloves, you can, just use regular olive oil and 5 cloves of thinly sliced garlic **

Directions

Rinse and chop the broccoli (including the stem, if you're like me and you like it!). Plunge the rinsed and cut broccoli into a pot of boiling water (enough water to cover the broccoli) for 3 minutes, then rinse under cold water.

Add the garlic oil to a hot pan (set on medium) and saute the red pepper flakes for about 30 seconds (this is when you would saute garlic, if you choose to use garlic). Stir in the broccoli and saute until hot. Season with ~1/8 tsp. salt.

Serve hot, if you can.

So, if you are not feeling "regular" these days, grab some broccoli instead of "special yogurts" (or in addition to, if you want). You'll save some money and get some serious nutrients while you're at it! And if you take probiotics for immunity, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that a nice dose of green veggies can help with immunity too.

Check out these other ways to enjoy the benefits of broccoli;

Roasted Broccoli with Curry

Broccoli Sprouts

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

QUESTION: What's your favorite way to eat broccoli? Or if you don't like broccoli, what's your favorite immunity-boosting green veggie?

Need some ideas for adding more cruciferous veggies to your holiday dishes? Check out this article from USAToday.com.

One more thing, I really appreciated all of your comments (positive and negative!) on my last post about the Dean Ornish Program. I read each one of them and appreciated what I learned from your honest opinions.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!!

The Dean Ornish Program; Does It Really Work?

2011-11-09T06:10:00.000-05:00

The other day I was getting ready to leave work and I noticed a guy looking at the pamphlets and handouts on my desk. Whenever I see customers looking at the information on my desk I go up and introduce myself. The man asked if I could help him find foods that were less than 10% fat. Right away I thought he was referring to the Daily Value (10% of the Daily Value for fat), and I thought "this will be easy....". I soon realized he meant less than 10% of the total calories. Yikes. That's difficult. I soon found out this man was following the Dean Ornish program.

When following this program the key is to look at the calories from fat (listed next to the total calories), and make sure they are 10% or less of the total calories. Obviously high fat foods, such as the almonds below, would not make the cut (150 total calories, 120 from fat, so almost 100% of the calories in these almonds are from fat.)

Nut, legume, and seed butters such as the soy butter below would not make the cut either.

What about a popcorn snack that is given a name that signifies "health", such as the popcorn snack below (sorry, can't give brand names on my blog, boo)? The total calories is 120, but the calories from fat is 20, which is almost 20%. Failure. On this diet you'd have to pop your own popcorn, with very little oil.

And what about fish? The fish below is orange roughy, which is a lighter white fish. Sadly the calories from fat make up more than 10% of the total calories, so this is out too.

What about this sports bar, below? Nope, too much fat.

And you better believe that salad dressings are not allowed, unless they are fat free (fat free and also loaded with sugar and sodium......).

Have we finally found something we can eat? I think so! Cereal. The calories from fat are about 5%, so this is allowed.

You can read more about the Dean Ornish Program here (source: WHFoods) and here (source: WebMD). Dean Ornish's website does provide a very detailed list of the foods you can eat on this plan, which is helpful (it includes hummus made without oil or tahini. Yuck).

In short, these are the foods to emphasize and avoid on this program (source);

Individuals following the Ornish Program are encouraged to eat whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and soybean products in unlimited quantities.

Individuals following the Ornish Program must avoid all meat and dairy products, except egg whites, nonfat milk, and nonfat yogurt. To adhere to the strict limitation on dietary fat intake, individuals on the Ornish diet must restrict the consumption of plant foods that contain high amounts of fat, including all vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and avocados. All caffeinated beverages must be eliminated, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages is discouraged.

His website provides a food pyramid that is very helpful, and it indicates that fish such as salmon and mackerel are allowed on occasion, as well as healthy oils, nuts, and flaxseed. So lots of grains and fresh fruits and veggies, and a few almonds, every now and then.

If you check out his website you will see he does provide some of his clinical research. I find it strange, however, that he only provides one heart disease study, and it's weak, at best. There weren't many people in the study, most of them were males, and the control group (the group not following the plan) was simply asked to follow the recommendations of their doctor (why not an RD? The control group should at least be somewhat realistic). The results of the experimental group's labs and cardiac events were compared to the control group at 1 and 5 years. There was a "greater improvement with the experimental group as compared with the control group". Well, no crap! This study would have been much more valid had he added a third group; a "high fat" group, or a "high protein" group. If the Dean Ornish (experimental) group had done better after 5 years compared to a control, a high fat, and a high protein group, then perhaps this study would have effectively convinced me of the benefits of this program.

I'm sure there is other evidence to support this (although I could not find it, in regards to heart health), but what about evidence that suggests that carbohydrates are really what's making us so unhealthy? According to the book Good Calories, Bad Calories carbohydrates are mainly to blame for the obesity epidemic. Gary Taubes, the author of this book, provides pages and pages of research that suggests carbohydrates are mainly to blame for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and some other chronic diseases. In his book, he writes;

On a diet of 10% fat, two out of every three men will have small, dense LDL and, as a result, a predicted threefold higher risk of heart disease. The same pattern holds true in women and in children, but the percentages with small, dense LDL are lower. Some research suggests that the more saturated fat in the diet, the larger and fluffier the LDL-a beneficial effect.

Did you know that when you get labs from your doctor, which indicate your LDL levels ("bad cholesterol") it's really just telling you how much cholesterol is packed into your LDL particles? More and more research is saying that the better test is one that measures the size of your LDL particles. Smaller and more dense LDL seems to be worse than larger and fluffier LDL.

And what about the Mediterranean diet? This diet has been shown over and over again to have a beneficial effect on heart health, and it's 25-35% fat. Enough said.

Who is to say that the intense restrictions of the Dean Ornish plan aren't what really makes the person following the plan "healthier"? You can't really eat out at restaurants, and you can't eat at other people's house for dinner (or any other meal) without being a major burden. You are restricted from the gravitational pull that is our "unhealthy eating environment". You are shielded from society's ability to grab your appetite and rouse it all day long with food photos and smells and noises. While you still may see those pictures and hear those noises and smell those smells, you can't have them, so they don't really effect you (and if they do effect you still, you probably won't be able to follow this plan for too long).

I'm not saying that I disagree with the Dean Ornish program, but to me it just sounds like another strict diet plan that "works" because you end up eating less crap and you have less food from which to choose (read Lauren's post about "Boring Yourself Thin") If you make anyone actually stop and think about every single thing they put in their mouth (such as with this diet) they are going to most likely eat healthier. The man I was talking to at work left with a cart full of brown rice, figs, and canned beans. As this man said, "these are my staple foods, because most everything else has too much fat".

QUESTION: Have you read about Dean Ornish? What are your thoughts?

The Chicago Tribune recently published this great article about fat. Check it out if you're unsure about good vs. bad fats, and their sources.

Tempeh Bacon "BLT"

2011-11-07T06:35:00.000-05:00

Tempeh is made by culturing soy beans and then binding them into a "cake". I love tempeh because unlike tofu it doesn't give me major stomachaches. You see, tofu has sugars called oligosaccharides, which are basically short chains of sugars that most people malabsorb. But the cultures that are added to tempeh actually breakdown these sugars, making tempeh much easier to digest. I love it!

I really wanted to make tempeh bacon after seeing this recipe on Grace's blog. I didn't want to wait three hours though, since I wanted to test it at the demo kitchen where I work, so I found this (quicker) tempeh bacon recipe at Healthy Happy Life. I made it once and loved it, then thought it would taste fabulous as a BLT, but of course I made it with spinach so it should really be called a "BST".

Tempeh Bacon "BLT"

Ingredients
(Makes 3 sandwiches)

5 ounces tempeh (2/3 a standard package)
1-2 T maple syrup
1 T olive oil (plus 2 t for pan)
1 t liquid smoke (plus 1/2 tsp for "mayo")
1 t low sodium soy sauce
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
a dash of cayenne

6 slices of whole grain bread
1 tomato
1 cup spinach

6 T plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Very thinly slice the tempeh. (** I didn't cut my "bacon" as thin as the original recipe. I wanted a thicker bacon, personally, so I made it about 1/4 inch thick)

2. Combine all ingredients in a shallow dish.

3. Soak tempeh in marinade for 2-3 minutes.

4. Turn saute pan on high, add 1-2 tsp olive oil. Lay the tempeh flat on skillet. One layer only. Drizzle a bit of excess marinade onto skillet-it should be sizzling a lot now.

5. Allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip (** 2 minutes if you make it thicker like me **). Allow to cook for another minute on other side-or until both sides are crisp and browned.

6. Lay cooked tempeh on a plate to cool. Sprinkle with black pepper and thick sea salt to taste.

7. For a crisper tempeh bacon, do not pour excess marinade in skillet, and allow all liquid to steam off of pan while cooking.

8. Now its time to build the sandwich! First, mix together the Greek yogurt and 1/2 t liquid smoke.

9. Toast the bread, then spread the yogurt/liquid smoke evenly among three of the pieces of toast.

10. Place some spinach on each of the three pieces of toast with spread, followed by tomatoes, followed by 5-6 pieces of "bacon". Then top with the other piece of bread.

ENJOY!!!
(And I promise, you will enjoy this. I even had meat lovers who liked this recipe when I made it at work!)

QUESTION: Have you ever tried tempeh? Have you ever used liquid smoke?

Breakfast Parfait To Keep My Fire Burning!

2011-11-04T06:31:00.002-04:00

As a child I never went a day without breakfast, which is why as an adult the idea of skipping breakfast is just crazy to me. The reasons to eat breakfast are endless, but here are some of the main reasons to eat breakfast according to the latest issue of Today's Dietitian Magazine;

It kicks starts your metabolism. Think of your metabolism as a fire. It can't keep burning unless you feed it fuel! If you don't feed it fuel for several hours, it starts to die and that's just not good.

Breakfast eaters are more likely to have a BMI under 25 (According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey)

There is a lot of research that shows a positive relationship between between eating breakfast and having a healthier nutritional intake throughout the day.

Some research shows that breakfast eaters are less prone to overeating at night.

Breakfast is the perfect opportunity to add a good amount of fiber, and hopefully one or two servings of fruits/vegetables into your diet.

Some studies show that eating breakfast may enhance memory and increase attention span.

Research has shown that eating breakfast, especially one that contains carbohydrates, can improve your mood.

Especially important for women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, breakfast can be a great way to get the recommended amount of calcium and folic acid (for pregnant women the recommendations are 1000 mg calcium/day and 600 mcg folic acid/day).

If you are pregnant a prolonged fast can result in slow growth of the baby and maybe even preterm labor. Eat breakfast!

Many people think that breakfast has to be large. I had a client once tell me that she doesn't eat breakfast, but that she has a piece of toast with peanut butter every morning. Ummm....that's breakfast! It doesn't need to be a giant meal, it just needs to be something. I have other clients who say they "don't have time" for breakfast, and then a light goes on when I tell them they can have a banana, an apple, a yogurt, and/or a granola bar (on-the- go food!) and that would be perfectly sufficient.

The best breakfast is one that includes;

A whole grain
Some calcium
One or two servings of fruits and vegetables

I go through breakfast fazes. This summer I loved using fresh strawberries in my breakfast.

Last year I was on an oatmeal + almond butter + sweet potato + yogurt kick.....all year.

Here is my favorite breakfast, as of now; A Fruit and Yogurt Parfait!

Two layers of pumpkin, blueberries, plain Greek yogurt, granola, and unsweetened cocoa.

Question: Do you go through breakfast phases? What's your favorite breakfast (currently)? Does your breakfast change during the weekend?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Panko + Wasabi + Orange Roughy = Delicious?

2011-11-02T06:30:00.000-04:00

I usually buy fresh fish, but lately I've been buying more frozen varieties. I know, I know, fresh is "Best" (although I'm still not convinced that fresh fish is any better as far as nutrition is concerned), but on nights when I get home at 7:30pm frozen fish is just so convenient, and it actually tastes really good, if prepared correctly. Another benefit of the frozen fish is that Nick will eat it. Not to say that he wouldn't eat fresh fish, but typically when I buy fresh fish it's salmon, and he just hates salmon.

Recently I bought some orange roughy. What the heck is orange roughy anyway? I'm not really sure, but when I bought it I knew that, similar to cod, it had a mild fish flavor that Nick would enjoy.

After looking at the nutrition information online I learned that orange roughy has some of the lowest amounts of omega-3 out of all fish available to man (oops). I think this is my last time buying the orange roughy, I just wanted to try it because I don't think I'd ever had it. It tasted a lot like cod, which Nick and I both enjoy. Despite not having much omega-3, orange roughy is super low in calories, contains a good amount of protein, and zero saturated fat.

Wasabi Panko Crusted White Fish

Ingredients
4 ounces orange roughy
1 tsp wasabi mustard
2 T Panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Spread an even layer of mustard on the fish and then dip into the Panko bread crumbs so they evenly coat the fish. Place the fish on a baking sheet and bake for ~12 minutes. Switch your oven to broil (choose the high setting) and broil for 2 minutes.

Delicious? Yes. Pretty? No. I mean, it's green. But this is now going to be a staple dinner in our household. We've had it twice since I first made it (although the second time I used cod). Nick loves it and it gives us a nice break from the usual eggs, beans, turkey, lean beef, or chicken for protein sources. One day I'm going to try this recipe from Andrea of Andrea's Wellness Notes, because it's like a healthy fried salmon! I asked Nick if he'd eat it, and he said no. Ugh. Why can't he like salmon?! Tonight for dinner I'm making braised salmon. Nick will have to find something else to eat. Recipe posted soon!

QUESTIONS: Does your significant other like to eat fish? Do you ever buy frozen fish? Want to share any fun and simple recipes??

Creepy Lobster and The Healthiest Halloween Snack

2011-10-31T06:23:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!! How about this for a creepy photo?! It looks like the lobster is staring you down, right? It also looks a bit drunk. Too much Blueberry Ale.

Nick and I had surf and turf on Friday night, but I didn't take any photos because it wasn't pretty. I need lessons on cracking open a lobster and extracting the meat. Despite the mess, the lobster was delicious. And even more delicious was our outstanding win against Wisconsin on Friday, GO BUCKS!

Did you know that a study from iVillage showed that 83% of parents buy Trick-Or-Treat candy that they like, so they can eat the leftovers?

Nick and I are part of that 83%, even though we're not parents. I do not buy my candy too early, as in September 1st when it first appears on shelves. If I did that it would be gone long before Halloween (I'll admit, we dipped into this bag on Friday night. Reece's were calling our names. Oh, and then again last night, we had some Snickers from another bag. Yeah, we're still children when it comes to candy).

Did you carve a pumpkin this year?

Nick and I bought one pumpkin and carved it together. Actually he scrapped all the guts out, and I did the carving. It was great team effort. Nick was also in charge of extracting the pumpkin seeds. Did you know that pumpkin seeds are one of the healthiest foods available this time of year (and all year, really)??

They are loaded with protein, monounsaturated fats, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, and so much more! Studies have shown they are good for men's bones, diabetes, lowering cholesterol, and arthritis. So, don't throw away those pumpkin seeds.

Baked Pumpkin Seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Clean and dry your pumpkin seeds
3. Add about 2 tsp. oil per 2 cups (I used garlic olive oil)
4. Add your seasonings (I used salt and pepper)
Bake for ~20 minutes, stirring half way in.
5. ENJOY!

QUESTION: Will you (or did you) be dressing up for Halloween this year? If so, what will you be (or what were you??). Are you handing out candy to kids tonight? We are, and I'm so excited!!

Roasted Carrots and...Celery?

2011-10-29T06:58:00.001-04:00

Do you ever have food that you don't really know what to do with? I bought 2 large stalks of celery for a soup I was going to make, but never ended up making the soup. I'm not a huge fan of celery, but I'm too cheap to just toss it and let it go to waste. I was really in the mood for some roasted carrots, so I thought I'd try roasting the celery right along side the carrots, why not?!

Roasted Carrots and Celery with Garlic and Curry

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds carrots
2 large stalks of celery
2 T garlic oil
2 tsp. curry powder

** If you want to make them sweet, take away one T olive oil and add 1-2 T maple syrup **
** If you want to use regular olive oil, that's fine, just use a few cloves of chopped fresh garlic instead **

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you want, shred the carrot's outer layer (this is not necessary but some people like their carrots shredded). Rinse the carrots and celery well, then chop them into somewhat equal sized pieces.

2. Add all veggies to a large ziplock bag and add the oil and curry (and garlic if you choose). 3. Zip the bag, allowing some air to get in the bag. Shake the bag and get the ingredients evenly distributed among the veggies. 4. Dump the veggies onto a large baking pan and evenly distribute them on the pan. 5. Roast for ~20-30 minutes.

Once they cool down a bit (like in the photo below) they get all shriveled up and ugly. So yeah, they aren't as good as when they are straight out of the oven. But if you just pop them into the oven at 350 for ten minutes, they are good as new! If you don't want to do that, just zap them in the microwave, I promise they are still delicious.

I probably won't be going out of my way to buy celery for roasting again any time soon, but I'm officially addicted to roasted carrots. Nick and I can't get enough. No more baby carrots for us! I'm sticking to the larger carrots that aren't as processed and are much cheaper.

QUESTION: Do you like roasted carrots? Or, do you prefer your carrots cold, dipped in Ranch dressing? :) What do you do with celery, if you do in fact eat it? I'm curious, other than celery and PB I just don't understand the appeal of celery.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!! Are you going to be dressing up for Halloween?!