quick & healthy spinach potato soup February 5, 2012

I was inspired by the baby spinach and crouton soup recipe in Gourmet Today – but this is the quick & cheap version:

3 russet potatoes, cubed

1 10oz pkg frozen spinach

1/2 onion, diced

1 tsp each butter and olive oil

1 cup milk

2 tbsps chicken base

Place potatoes in a couple cups of water and simmer.  Place spinach on top of potatoes and let it steam while potatoes are cooking.  Meanwhile, sautee onion in 1 tsp butter, 1 tsp olive oil until brown and translucent.

Blend onion, cooked potatoes, spinach, milk, and chicken base (or vegetable stock if you want to go vegetarian).  Add water until soup is desired thickness.    Serve with bacon bits, cheese, yogurt, or crackers.

Super Slaws and Salads July 29, 2011

When the heat index starts climbing over 100, I usually lose both my desire for hot comfort foods as well as my motivation for cooking them.

Step in salads and slaws. Most Americans don’t even eat half as many fruits and veggies as we need in a day, and this is a perfect opportunity to do so. And because so much produce grown in the good ole USA is in season now, you can do it on the cheap too!

Salads are easy. You can buy a bag at the store and a bottle of dressing of course, but with a little more time you can come up with some great-tasting creative combos of your own as well. Here are a few of my favorites this summer.

Tomato Cucumber Salad
Chop tomatoes (whatever are on sale) and cucumbers up into bite-size cubes. Add a touch of sea salt to taste. Enjoy.
(For an extra nutrition boost, add fresh spinach, diced carrots, radicchio, or red cabbage)

Easy Bean Salad
1 can white beans
2 tbsp giardiniera (we prefer Pagliacci’s Hot, but beware, it’s spicy!)
1 cup fresh spinach, shredded

Ginger Peach Slaw
2-3 cups savoy or napa cabbage, shredded
1-2 peaches, diced
1 cup spinach or other lettuce, shredded
2 tbsps orange juice
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp canola, safflower, or grapeseed oil
½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp garlic powder
Salt and sugar to taste
Mix fruit and veggies. Mix liquids and spices into a dressing. Pour dressing over veggies and enjoy.

Apple Slaw
2 cups savoy or napa cabbage, shredded
1 tart apple, shredded
1 cup fresh spinach, shredded
1 tbsp sunflower seeds or small walnut pieces
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste

What’s On My Food? :: Pesticides On Food June 16, 2011

What’s On My Food? :: Pesticides On Food.

 

This is my favorite website of the week.  I fully agree with their statement in the “how much is too much” section that it depends on the chemical, person, and exposure time and level.  Because we are all exposed every day to a multitude of chemicals I appreciate this handy tool to help minimize exposure from food.

Just click on your fave foods on the right hand side to compare organic and conventional.

USDA issues final rule on organic dairy June 14, 2010

USDA issues final rule on organic dairy.

The rules have changed just a little for organic milk – the cows now must spend 120 days outdoors, have access to the outdoors for 30% of the year and be pasture-fed for at least 30% of the year.  Besides the obvious benefits regarding humane treatment, pasture-fed dairy cows produce milk with more CLA and omega-3 fats than those fed corn and soy.  Organic milk is already produced from cows who eat pesticide-free foods, are not cloned, and are not treated with antibiotics or hormones.  When deciding whether it is worth the cost, do remember that the cows that produce regular milk are kept out of the milk production line for two weeks after taking antibiotics in order to prevent them from getting into the milk, and only about 17% of conventional cows do receive rBGH.  For those of you in the Houston area who are interested in pasture-fed raw jersey milk, check out www.texascheese.com.

Mediterranean Lentils and Rice June 7, 2010

I have a confession – I love lentils. They are so much quicker than beans, and better for your wallet, waist, and the environment than a meaty meal. Here is one of my favorites. It makes a lot – roughly 3 meals for 4 people, so freeze the leftovers and save yourself a night of cooking!

One 1lb bag lentils, rinsed and sorted
1 tbsp chicken base
1/2 red onion, sauteed
1 tsp garlic
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 tsp cumin
2 tsps coriander
1 lemon, sliced

Sautee onions in a dutch oven or pot until translucent and starting to brown. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon. Pour in 1 1/2 quarts water. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add lemon and simmer 15 more minutes. Serve on top of brown rice with a green side salad. Garnish with cilantro for a meal that looks as good as it tastes!

grilled portabella burger June 7, 2010

A few weeks ago I was at a wonderful restaurant called the Elbo Room in Saugatuck, MI. After a delightful conversation with the chef Lance, I enjoyed the most delish mushroom burger on naan there – if you are ever in the area I highly recommend it! If you aren’t making the trip to Saugatuck anytime soon, here is my rendition (minus the naan which I have not found a good, healthy recipe for yet.)

1 portabello mushroom cap, cleaned well and drizzled with olive oil
1 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (I used a can)
mozzarella cheese to taste

Grill mushroom cap. sprinkle with mozzarella towards the end. Add tomatoes, pesto, and serve on your favorite naan, chapati, or hamburger bun. Make plenty and enjoy! At 5g saturated fat (depending on how much cheese), 24% of your daily calcium needs, and 9g protein this is a fun vegetarian option to the classic burger.

Pesticides on produce and ADHD…is there a link? May 17, 2010

The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics recently published a study that indicated kids with higher levels of pesticide byproduct concentrations in their urine were more likely to have ADHD.  

Taking urine samples from 1139 children and interviewing their parents about ADHD symptoms and treatments, they determined that those with the highest levels of organophosphate metabolites were about 1.5 to 2 times as likely to have ADHD.   Does this mean that your kids should stop eating broccoli and start noshing on fries?  Not quite.  

First, this is simply a cross-sectional study, done at one point of time with one sample per child, so they cannot really claim that pesticides cause ADHD…yet.  And lastly, nobody can prove that it was eating produce that caused the increased exposure to organophosphates.   The authors suggest that prospective studies be done to determine whether it is causal or simply a correlation.  However, this study was very well-done, with a large sample group and ruling out of many other potentially confounding factors such as age, ethnicity, SES,  and gender. 

What’s a parent to do?  

First, take a deep breath.  America still has some of the healthiest kids in the world, and we are fortunate to have such a safe, consistent food supply.  Keep eating your 5 a day of fruits and veggies, and keep your mind at ease by following the steps below:

1) wash your fruits and veggies with lots of water. 

2)  remember that USDA-certified organic produce does not use these types of pesticides 

3) check out the EWG’s list of most and least contaminated produce to determine what is most likely to have pesticide residue.  I know we can’t all afford to buy 100% produce and eat lots of it, this website gives great info on where to prioritize your organic dollar.

Want to read more but can’t handle the whole article in JAAP?  Check on this article from the Washington Post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/17/AR2010051700005.html

, or click here for more information on how safety levels are set for pesticides.

Hummus – many ways April 17, 2010

What is a great source of fiber and protein, healthy monounsaturated fat, and even folic acid?  Hummus!  It is also a decent source of iron and calcium, and is the perfect dipping “sauce” for toddlers who like to dunk  every bite.  Here are some of my favorite recipes and adaptations.  Most hummus recipes call for tahini, which I found to be rather pricey and I didn’t use it in very many recipes.  I substitute sesame oil, which adds wonderful flavor to stirfries and can also be used as a relieving massage oil on sore feet after a long day of chasing kids.

I buy the bagged garbanzo beans, or chickpeas (same thing), in order to save money.  I soak them overnight, simmer them for a couple hours after breakfast, and then we enjoy hummus by lunchtime. 

STANDARD HUMMUS

2 cups chickpeas

1/4 cup olive oil

2-3 Tbsps water (more water adds a fluffy consistency, especially if you decrease olive oil)

1 tsp diced garlic

2 Tbsps lemon juice

1 tsp sesame oil

Blend well.  Salt to taste.  Add a couple kalamata olives and refrigerate for a couple hours for extra flavor.  Garnish with parsley and serve with pita as an appetizer.

JALEPENO HUMMUS

2 cups chickpeas

1/4 cup canola oil

1-2 pickled jalepenos (depending on how spicy you like it)

2 tbsps lime juice

water and salt to taste

TEX-MEX HUMMUS

2 cups chickpeas

1/4 cup canola oil

2 Tbsps lime juice

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup fresh spinach

(for some extra heat, add 1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder)

Salt to taste.  Serve Jalepeno and Tex-Mex hummus with tortilla chips – the green color looks great in a bowl next to a traditional salsa.

Great green-eating resources February 19, 2010

Organic.  Carbon footprint.  Locavore?  The terms are becoming more common and more numerous, as more people look to live and eat in a manner that is healthier for themselves and for the environment.  As I’ve been preparing for a presentation at Arbor Gate next week I came across a great book called Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan, a dietitian from Park City, Utah and also a mother of two little ones. I love her practical approach to “greening” your kitchen and reducing your dietary carbon footprint while still enjoying great foods and beverages (like chocolate and coffee).   Speaking of carbon footprints, check out The Center for Science in the Public Interest eating green scorecard to check your diet.  Check out the rest of their site for more scientific information and evidence-based motivation to eat green!   One of my other favorite websites has been   http://www.localharvest.org/.  I have always been fond of farmer’s markets and trying their weird and wonderful products, and local harvest as well as www.pickyourown.org  are good sources for farmer’s markets, CSA’s, and farms where you can pick your own produce.

Options with Oatmeal February 10, 2010

We love oatmeal at our house.  In fact, we probably eat oatmeal about five mornings a week.  In keeping with my goal of minimizing packaged food and consuming more minimally-processed foods, we either buy it in bulk (I love HEB’s bulk steel-cut oats) or in the 2.5lb canisters.  The best thing about oatmeal is that you can get very creative with it.  This morning we had the standard cinnamon-raisin oatmeal, except John decided he wanted sprinkles on it.  Colored sprinkles make even the healthiest foods go down easy!  I like to get the quick oats, mix them with filtered water, and then microwave for 60-90 seconds.  Voila!  Great texture and a great base for the following flavor combinations:

maple syrup and pecans or walnuts

cinnamon raisin (no sugar needed, it’s pretty sweet as is!)

lemon zest or extract (about 1/4 tsp) and craisins

molasses, cinnamon, and ginger (add just a touch of the spices for a gingerbread-cake flavor)

homemade jam, any flavor, and nuts

bananas

Get creative!  If you have a favorite muffin recipe or type of pancakes, just use those flavors in your oatmeal.  Still not convinced?  You can always grab your favorite pie filling and add that…or do my favorite combo when camping -  chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter…