Super Natural... Every Day?

In 2008, shortly after I started my blog, I discovered 101 Cookbooks, one of the most popular food blogs on the web. Heidi Swanson seemed like the sort of person who ordinary people want to spy on, or live vicariously through, depending on your perspective. After all, would wouldn't be curious about a vegetarian hipster from the Bay area who travels, cooks healthy, exotic food and photographs it all as she goes?

After a while I became disenchanted. Who was this health nut of a character with a pantry full of ingredients like tempeh, millet and wild nori seaweed? I found it all a bit much. However, with Heidi's new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, selling like hotcakes, I decided to give a go at a few of the simpler sounding recipes.

I made:

Green Lentil Soup

And Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries

I really liked the lentil soup, despite the small rock I bit into one particular bite. (They aren't kidding when they tell you to pick through your lentils! There is a reason for that, I've learned.) The soup was simple, dotted with spiced butter and sprinkled with green chives. The flavor was reminiscent of an Indian daal, and it was very tasty with wheat saltine crackers.

The baked oatmeal was rich (even more so because I substituted part leftover coconut milk from the lentil soup for the regular milk) and a hearty yet healthy breakfast. I loved the flavors of the coconut, spices, blueberries and walnuts all layered in one dish.

Heidi, maybe you and I can be friends again after all.

Healthy Stuffed Zucchini

A not very good picture of Stuffed Zucchini. Blame Food Network for this one.

Continuing my "light fare" theme for the week, my sister-in-law Chelsea recently introduced me to a light version of stuffed zucchini. This recipe comes from Ellie Krieger, the host of "Healthy Appetite" on Food Network, and it is amazing!

Instead of the typical heavy meat and cheese filling, Ellie bulks up a little meat with cooked bulgur (you'll never know it's in there), and adds tons of Mediterranean flavor with spices, currents and pine nuts. I loved this recipe! You can use the filling in any summer squash, bell peppers, or even eggplant. We weren't sure what this would taste like, but even my husband, sworn enemy of raisins, commented that the currents add a nice sweet note to the filling.

Note: To cook bulgur, simply mix one part bulgur with two parts boiling water, cover and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

6 medium zucchini

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small chopped onion (about 1 cup)

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 pound lean ground beef (at least 90 percent lean)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, strained and juice reserved (about 3/4 to 1 cup juice)

1 cup cooked bulgur (1/3 cup uncooked)

3 tablespoons dried currants

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted in a dry skillet over a medium-high flame for 2 minutes

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

1/2 cup low-sodium tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cut each zucchini in half crosswise. Using a melon baller, carefully scoop out zucchini flesh, leaving about 1/4 inch flesh intact on all sides and leaving zucchini closed at the bottom of each half. Reserve zucchini flesh for another use, or discard. Reserve zucchini tubes.

3. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion sand cook, stirring, until they are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add ground beef, cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes and cook until meat is just done and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add bulgur, and diced tomatoes and currants and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts and parsley. Let mixture cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Using a small spoon or clean hands, gently stuff zucchini halves with beef-mixture.

4. Place zucchini halves in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Combine reserved tomato juice, tomato sauce and salt and pour over zucchini. Cover tightly with foil and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and rotate zucchini. Re-cover, return dish to oven and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until zucchini is cooked through but still slightly firm. Place 2 zucchini halves on a plate and serve with tomato sauce.

Light Italian-Style Breaded Chicken

Courtesy of Cooking Light

After several half-hearted recent attempts at slimming down, I decided to pull a tried and true trick out of the hat, one that began as a competition amongst college roommates. Back in the days of the Freshmen 10 (pounds), I competed against my 5 roommates to see which girl could go the longest without sweets.

I won.

Reasoning that if I did it once, I can do it again, I declared on Monday that this week would be dessert-free, sweets-free, and (as much as possible) low sugar in general. I also wanted to try some healthier recipes. Several have been very good, and so of course I would like to share with you, readers!

The first one comes from Cooking Light- a breaded Italian-style chicken. The chicken comes out with an excellent flavor and perfectly cooked. Browning in the pan and finishing in the oven is a brilliant solution to my frequent under- and over-cooking meat. I have also used the same method with fish fillets and different herbs with wonderful results. Squeeze a little lemon over it, and bon appetit!

Light Italian-Style Breaded Chicken

2 (1 1/2-ounce) bread slices

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

Cooking spray

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

4 lemon wedges

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Tear bread into pieces. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until breadcrumbs measure about 1 3/4 cups.

3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.

4. Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a second shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a third shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Working with 1 breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat evenly on both sides. Place chicken on a large plate. Repeat procedure with remaining breast halves, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumb mixture; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 2 teaspoons olive oil, swirling to coat. Add 2 breast halves to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and remaining breast halves. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Serve with lemon wedges.

The Food Revolution and YOU!

When I watched this 20 minute clip tonight, I knew that I had to post it on my blog. It shows one of my heroes, Jamie Oliver, giving a speech upon receiving the TED award this year. He discusses our role in health care and child education... and it all starts in the kitchen. I found his speech to be moving, interesting, and really- where else are you going to see kids who can't recognize a potato or a tomato? Maybe on Oliver's TV show that debuts March 26th...

To find ways to support Oliver's Food Revolution, see: http://www.tedprize.org/jamie-oliver/

How to Stay Thin Forever

It’s January, the month in which thousands of Americans resolve to improve their health, be it through increased exercise, better diet, or both. Today, a co-worker of mine related how she is attempting to lower her high blood pressure (which has been up for over a year now) naturally, but didn’t know where to start. I typed up a few ideas that I’ve picked up through nutrition classes and reading health magazines over the past few years since college, and gave it to her. I wanted to post it on my blog as well.

Whether you’re looking to lower your blood pressure, lose a few pounds, or have more energy, I hope you find one or two new ideas that will help you to achieve your objectives for 2010. A few are geared specifically towards a salt-restricted diet, but most are general guidelines for a healthy eating. I’m a big believer in balance. I have never gone on a "diet" because I believe that they are only temporary solutions when a balanced, healthy lifestyle is the true solution. Through small, smart decisions, I believe that anyone can enjoy health and thrive.

Healthy Start

Always start with a whole grain breakfast (like cereal with low-fat milk, oatmeal, or whole wheat toast). Also great: fruit ( I like frozen berries in my cereal) and lean protein (like eggs cooked in olive oil or turkey bacon).

Healthy Snacks (Eat One Every 3-4 hours)

Fruit, especially apples, oranges, cut up melon, berries, bananas

My Formula for Healthy Lunch/Dinners

1) Start with a whole grain like:
Whole Wheat pasta
Whole Wheat bread
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat tortillas

2) Add a lean meat or legume like:
Chicken
Fish
Lean beef
Turkey
Pinto/black/kidney/garbanzo beans
Lentils
*Avoid processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage, lunchmeat, ham - they have too much salt*

3) Always include at least one vegetable (fresh or frozen are best) and, if possible, a salad with a low-fat dressing (best kind: vinaigrette).

Tips

- Remember: the more colorful the fruit/vegetable, the more nutritious it is. (Bright orange and dark green are especially good for vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach or kale.)

- When you buy canned foods, always buy "low-sodium" ones.

- Use herbs to add flavor instead of fat or salt. Mrs. Dash contains a blend of herbs and spices and no salt. Try growing fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley.

- Whenever possible, cook foods in regular olive oil (which contains healthy fats).

- Replace butter or margarine with heart-healthy Smart Balance or Promise and full-fat mayonnaise with low-fat, canola-based mayonnaise.

- My favorite way to get 2 servings of fruit quick is a smoothie. The easiest way to make it:

Buy bananas, cut them into chunks and freeze them. Later, combine a few banana chunks with frozen fruit like berries, peaches, etc., add juice or soy/rice/almond milk, and blend in the blender until smooth.

Low-fat yogurt (like Yoplait or Dannon)
Kashi bars or Fiber One bars
Natural oven roasted almonds, cinnamon brown sugar flavor
Whole grain crackers (like Triscuits) with thin slices of cheddar cheese (not processed American cheese)
Celery with natural peanut butter
Hummus with carrot sticks
Carrot sticks with light Ranch dressing
Dried fruit

Cooking with Seinfeld

In 2006, moms cheered as Jessica Seinfeld (wife of you-know-who) published a cookbook titled Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Foods. The premise is that moms can steam or roast and then puree vegetables and surreptitiously add them to familiar favorite foods, thereby injecting an added measure of nutrition into picky eaters’ diets.

Yet as I flip through the pages, I scratch my head. Scrambled eggs with cauliflower? Chili with carrots? Chocolate pudding with avocado? Can these recipes really fool people besides small ignorant children? How is the quality of taste affected by these added ingredients?

The Test
I decided to put Seinfeld’s methods to the test. I volunteer to bring a dessert to family home evening and experiment upon my siblings and parents. My siblings certainly qualify as picky eaters, turning their nose up at anything other than "white kid food" (read: pizza, hamburgers with no vegetable condiments, Caesar salad, artificially flavored meats and cheeses, and so forth). My dad is a fairly tough food critic in his own right.

The Plan
The recipe I chose: brownies - with spinach and carrots. I envision the deceit in my mind: To the naked eye, I imagined it will appear a nice chocolaty brownie, innocuous looking with its dark coloring, and so attractive with the powdered sugar I will sprinkle on top. Just in case the flavor is slightly off, I planned to serve it with some nice vanilla frozen yogurt.

The Prep
Monday night after work, I prepared the purees, steaming the carrots and wilting the spinach, then blending these until smooth in my food processor. I worried that it wasn’t quite smooth enough, but it was the best my machine could do. I melted the chocolate, then mixed in the purees, sugar, etc. In the end, the batter looked grainy. Concerned, I sprinkled some semisweet chocolate chips on top. I baked the brownies (they emerged from the over looking relatively normal), sprinkled with powdered sugar, and headed over to my family’s house, leaving the brownies in the car and hoping they would be cool by the time we finished decorating the Christmas tree. (Seinfeld warns that the spinach flavor will remain detectable while the brownies are yet warm.)

The Panic
The moment of truth arrives: My dad asks, "Didn’t you bring some dessert?" My husband runs out to fetch the pan of brownies from my car, but as he places the pan into my hands, I notice with chagrin - they’re still warm! Worse, my mom reveals that she thought I wanted plain vanilla yogurt, and they must be served alone. Panic strikes and my entire cooking life flashes before my eyes. A grim vision of the future looms before me, in which I am discovered, my reputation soiled, and no one in my family will henceforth partake of my baked goods without poking and prodding and questioning me to death.

The Results
I improvise with some whipped cream and chocolate sauce and serve the rather dense squares of brownie, holding my breath. Mom and dad both comment that the brownie is good (my dad even says, "Very good!"). Little sister and adult brother, no comment. The only suspicious one was my 15-year-old brother, who has some kind of nutritious sixth sense which protects him from consuming any substance which might be beneficial to his body.

"What’s in this brownie? What kind of chocolate is in this? Is there anything organic in it?" Finally, we put him to peace by assuring him that the air he’s breathing is organic and he finishes it in silence.

The Conclusion
The brownies with carrots and spinach were OK. I don’t know that anyone will ask for the recipe, but it packs loads of vitamins and fiber into a decent chocolate treat. In my opinion, Seinfeld’s book is most beneficial for parents with kids who refuse to eat vegetables and/or fruit and are still young and gullible enough to eat foods with textures and flavors that are slightly "off". It also may also benefit adults who are looking to eat foods that pack more of a nutritional punch.

But shhhhh... It’s our little secret!

"I Yam What I Yam!" -Popeye

Food has been my lifelong passion. Baking is my favorite, but I enjoy cooking in general. As a single women, however, upon arriving home after a full day’s work, after dealing with clients and answering phones and typing till my fingers were numb and trying to placate my boss, I wasn’t always motivated to whip up a gourmet meal on ordinary weeknight. A dinner of a hot dog or a Lean Cuisine or takeout was a fairly regular occurrence.

However, now that I’m married, I feel a renewed desire to be in the kitchen. When I make dinner, I'm not just serving myself but the person I love most in the world, and cooking is one of the main ways in which I express love for people. I try to maintain a balance between cooking food that will make my husband happy and food that will keep him healthy, convincing him to consume as many phytonutrients as possible by making them as palatable as possible.

I also have to take into consideration Paul's allergy to mushrooms and my IBS, which rules out dairy, food with a high fat content, some vegetables, articifical sweeteners, and any fried foods. (Basically, anything that makes life worth living is out.) Entrees are usually easier for me to decide upon than side dishes. If anyone has any favorite recipes, by all means, please share! As for me, I decided to share with you my favorite easy, non-dairy, healthy side dish: Whipped Yams.

A note on yams: Remember, sweet potato flesh is yellow, paler, and dry in texture. Yam's flesh is darker and closer to an orange hue, and naturally sweeter and moister than sweet potatoes. Yams aren’t the famous superfood that sweet potatoes are, but they are still rich in vitamin A and contain more Omega-3 fatty acids than sweet potatoes. If you’d like to substitute sweet potatoes for yams, you may, but you will probably need to add more brown sugar and liquid to achieve the desired flavor. You may also need to use a hand mixer to achieve the smooth texture.

Stacy’s Whipped Yams (serves 2):

Take 2 small yams, or one large, halved yam, wash and pat dry.

Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until the flesh becomes soft to the touch. (This will make it easy to whip by hand.)

In a medium bowl, place ½ T. Butter, 1 T. Brown sugar, and a dash of cinnamon.

Slice open yams and scoop out flesh into the bowl. Using a fork, whip together until smooth, adding 1-2 T. Vanilla soymilk, rice milk, or almond milk to add moisture. (This imparts a delicious vanilla flavor and aroma.) Excellent served with ham or pork!