Turkey Kielbasa with apples, cucumbers and quinoa

It's apple season, which means fall is here! Many of you are sad I am sure, that fall usually means an end to BBQ season, so this recipe combines a great part of summer (grilled kielbasa/sausages) with a fall staple (fresh apples)!!

*1 tablespoon olive oil
*1 white onion, sliced
*2 cloves garlic, sliced
*2 Macintosh apples (I like the tartness of these in the dish, but you could use Cortland or Baldwins too), peeled, cored and sliced
*1 cup white wine (use a wine that you would WANT to drink - don't use a 'cooking wine', cooking wine = bad wine and that will give terrible flavor to your dish)
*1 tablespoon stone ground/grainy/French style mustard
*24oz turkey kielbasa (or chicken sausage) cut into 2" pieces
*2 springs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
*1 cup cucumber, grated
*1 cup black or red quinoa
*salt and pepper to taste

1. Set oven to 350 degrees
2. In an oven safe pan, heat oil on stove top over medium-low heat. Add the onions, half the apples and garlic, saute until soft. Remove from pan.
3. Turn heat up to medium-high (you may need to add a touch more olive oil). Sear the kielbasa, by placing in pan. Let cook about 2 minutes then flip and cook 2 minutes more, you want each side to be nicely browned.
4. Turn heat back down to medium, add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden/plastic spoon to get up all the brown bits. Then add the mustard, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
5. Arrange kielbasa pieces on top and transfer pan to oven, roast for 30-40 minutes, until the kielbasa is well browned.
6. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Use a box grater and run the cucumber over the larger grating holes. Set cucumber aside.
7. When kielbasa is cooked, stir in the reserved apple and sprinkle with thyme. Serve kielbasa mix over the quinoa, then top with a small amount of grated cucumber which will lighten the dish and refresh/cleanse the palette for the next bite.

ENJOY!!

The brain cannot be fooled by artificial sweeteners

Public release date: 22-Sep-2013
Contact: Ivan E de Araujo
ivan.araujo@yale.edu
203-747-5476

Leading to a higher likelihood of sugar consumption later

The results of the new study imply that it is hard to fool the brain by providing it with 'energyless' sweet flavours. Our pleasure in consuming sweet solutions is driven to a great extent by the amount of energy it provides: greater reward in the brain is attributed to sugars compared to artificial sweeteners.

Professor Ivan de Araujo, who led the study at Yale University School of Medicine USA, says: "The consumption of high-calorie beverages is a major contributor to weight gain and obesity, even after the introduction of artificial sweeteners to the market. We believe that the discovery is important because it shows how physiological states may impact on our choices between sugars and sweeteners.

"Specifically, it implies that humans frequently ingesting low-calorie sweet products in a state of hunger or exhaustion may be more likely to 'relapse' and choose high calorie alternatives in the future.

"The results suggest that a 'happy medium' could be a solution; combining sweeteners with minimal amounts of sugar so that energy metabolism doesn't drop, while caloric intake is kept to a minimum."

The study identified a specific physiological brain signal that is critical for determining choice between sugars and sweeteners. This signal regulates dopamine levels – a chemical necessary for reward signalling in the brain – and only arises when sugar is broken down into a form where it is usable as fuel for cells of the body to function.

Research was performed in mice, using a combination of behavioural testing involving sweeteners and sugars, whilst measuring chemical responses in brain circuits for reward. The researchers believe the findings are likely to reflect in humans.

Professor de Araujo says: "According to the data, when we apply substances that interfere with a critical step of the 'sugar-to-energy pathway', the interest of the animals in consuming artificial sweetener decreases significantly, along with important reductions in brain dopamine levels.

"This is verified by the fact that when hungry mice – who thus have low sugar levels – are given a choice between artificial sweeteners and sugars, they are more likely to completely switch their preferences towards sugars even if the artificial sweetener is much sweeter than the sugar solution."

Now that the team know that dopamine cells are critical in sugar/sweetener choice, they hope to identify the associated receptors and pathways in the brain.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/w-tbc092013.php

Dannon Yogurt Coupons

I know I have some people out there who love themselves some coupons!! Here is a printable version for you!

Dannon Yogurt Coupons

Under desk pedal exerciser

These are great little machines to get for under your desk or for use why you watch TV to help you get more movement into your day! I had a patient who found one in the weekly specials section at Aldi's market or you could google it and find a great deal on one too!

Under Desk Pedal Exerciser

Pumpkin Soup

As we all know - because we can see those leaves starting to drop - fall is approaching and with fall and apples, also comes colder weather and pumpkins!! Many people carve them and forget that you can eat them all together (except in the form of pie) but today we are going to share a recipe for pumpkin soup!

1 15 oz can cannelini or great northern beans, strained and rinsed
1 vidalia onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup skim milk
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (plain)
14-16 oz of low sodium chicken broth or mushroom stock
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon (per person) part-skim ricotta cheese
optional: sauteed mushrooms

1. Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over low-medium heat in a saute pan. Add onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until soft, making sure to stir them frequently so that they don't burn.
2. Add cooked onion and beans to food processor and blend with milk until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and stock and blend until combined.
3. Pour soup into a sauce pot over low-medium heat and warm to desired temperature. Be sure to stir often so that soup doesn't break or burn to the bottom of the pan. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve topped with ricotta, a sprinkle of thyme and rosemary and sauteed mushrooms if desired

ENJOY!!

Tomato Sauce

Summer is coming to an end (sigh), I have spotted leaves falling off the trees which pisses me off because that means snow is coming. I try hard to preserve the memory of summer and so for me that means I make things like tomato sauce from all the extra garden veggies for a little bite of freshness all winter long! You could add meat to this sauce for some extra protein if you so desire, just cook it before adding to tomatoes.

*Approximately 10 pounds of ripe tomatoes (I'm not really sure to be quite honest - I have a GIANT salad bowl and it was piled high with tomatoes, when they were all cut up they filled a 4 gallon stock pot 3/4 of the way)
*1 medium eggplant, diced
*2 cups onion, diced
*6 cloves garlic, chopped
*1 large bell pepper, deseeded and diced
*1 cup carrots sliced
*2 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
*1 teaspoon dried sage
*1 teaspoon dried thyme
*sea salt
*ground black pepper
*olive oil
*1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Cut out core of the tomato. Using a pairing knife (the small one in a set), grab the skin of the tomato and peel off - discard the skins. Once peeled, quarter the tomato (at this point I usually removed the seeds and to do so, I have a fine mesh strainer sitting in a bowl, I squeeze the seeds out of the tomato quarters into the strainer - the seeds will sit in the strainer and the juice will flow through the strainer into the bowl, you want to save this juice) and then put tomato quarters into your pot. When you have finished all tomatoes, set the pot on the stove and turn to medium heat.
2. Discard the seeds you have collected in the strainer. Pour the juice into a smaller stock pot and simmer until juice is reduced (you will at that point return this juice to the tomato sauce).
3. Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over low-medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until very soft, but keep the heat low so that they don't burn. Remove onion mix to a bowl. Add a touch more oil to the pan and saute the other vegetables with some salt and pepper
until soft. If the pan looks dry (eggplant soaks up a lot of fluid) you can add some of the simmering tomato juice to moisten).
4. Remember to stir cooking tomatoes while you are preparing everything else.
5. When tomatoes have heated through and are starting to release their juice and simmer, turn heat down to low/simmer. Let tomatoes start to reduce. If the eggplant mix is finished cooking, remove from heat and add to onions in bowl.  When the tomatoes have reduced in pot by 1/2-1 inch, add the vegetables and all the seasoning and remaining tomato juice, and stir.  Continue to let cook, stirring periodically, until pot is reduced by 1/2 and sauce appears thicker.
6. Remove pot from heat. Let sit about 30 minutes. Then divide sauce into containers for freezing. I recommend quart or pint sized containers. Let sit in containers without tops for 2 hours, then cap the containers and place in freezer. (You don't want to put hot containers into freezer because it raises the temperature of the freezer and can cause thawing and refreezing of other items in the freezer which causes 'freezer burn').

Enjoy on pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza, roasted eggplant etc!

Kale, Sweet Potato and Apple soup

Apple season will soon be upon us and the next crop of kale will be ready to pick also! I understand from the food trendies that kale 'is so last year' but that doesn't mean we can't keep making great recipes with it. Keep this recipe in a safe place for when we get to apple picking season!

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound kale, carefully washed and stemmed
1 large sweet potato (or yam), peeled and cut into small cubes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 vidalia (sweet) onion, diced small
1 small MacIntosh apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup fat free, plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon , chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

1. Bring the broth to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add the diced sweet potato - let cook until soft. Add the kale, cover and simmer for 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a saute pan over low-medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, cumin, salt, and let cook for about 8 minutes. Then add the apple and cook an addition 5 minutes.
3. In a blender working in batches, puree the cooked kale, sweet potato, apple-onion mix, cooking liquid and yogurt until smooth. CATION - use a THICK dish towel to hold down the top of the blender! The steam will make the top very hot and it could pop the top off so be careful!
2. At this point you can either put the soup back on the burner to stay warm or garnish with a small amount of rosemary and eat.

ENJOY!