Green Beans & Eggs

This is an old Armenian dish, one of my Grandmother's favorites. Traditionally it is served as a side dish, but my father used to make it for dinner on nights when got home late from the airport or a sports game. It is super simple and really fast to make!

I have lighten up the original Green Beans and Eggs recipe to make it a little more artery friendly :)

For 2 people as dinner:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 oz green beans, fresh or frozen (thawed), cut into 1 inch pieces or French cut
1 small Vidala onion, cut in half and sliced thin
6 whole eggs
6 egg whites (save the yolks you can use them to make Challah bread!)
Salt & Pepper
Two large slices, thick cut, sourdough - grilled or toasted
2 oz feta cheese (or grated sheep's milk cheese)

1. Saute onions in butter and oil over low-medium heat, until soft and translucent (8 min), season with a little salt and pepper
2. Add green beans and saute 1 minute more
3. Whisk together eggs with egg whites and pour over bean & onion mix
4. Stir into vegetables as if you were making scrambled eggs - continue to stir through the cooking process about 3 minutes.
5. Divide egg mix over toast. Top with cheese. (Serve with garden fresh tomato wedges - optional)
ENJOY!!!

(Would be great with an IPA or or good Amber beer - though traditional Armenians don't drink beer ;))

Spinach Salad

One of my patients asked for a spinach salad recipe so here goes!

1 bag of baby spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries (or 1/3 cup dried cranberries)
1 shallot, sliced
1/2 cup celery sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 strips, thick cut bacon (or 1 oz pancetta cut into little cubes)


Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried mint
1 small clove garlic, minced

1. Cook bacon or pancetta cubes until very crispy. Remove from pan and let drain on towel.
2. Arrange all other salad ingredients in bowl.
3. Whisk together dressing ingredients.
4. Crumble bacon or pancetta over greens. Drizzle dressing over salad and using tongs toss to combine.
ENJOY!!!

I might be a dietitian, but I can't lie - my new favorite thing is Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Frozen Yogurt - OBSESSED!!!! w/those little dark chocolate fishie goodness!

Artic Char with Lemon-Garlic Greens

Artic Char is a pink flesh fish, of the same texture as salmon. It is an oily fish with about the same omega profile as salmon is but it is not farmed. You can find it in fish markets like Captain Marden's in Wellesley or at Whole Foods. (Legal Sea Foods is one of the only restaurants I have seen serve it.) The taste is not as strong as salmon so it is a good alternative for salmon-frowners.

olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced thin
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 oz Frisse (green-white greens which look somewhat like frizzy hair)
1 pound of arctic char (or salmon if you can't find artic char)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram (herb)
1 lemon, quartered

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in saute pan. Saute shallot and garlic until soft and fragrant - pour oil, shallots and garlic into a bowl
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in same saute pan, place fish flesh side down, sear fish about 3 minutes. Flip, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook, skin side down, an addition 5-7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk mustard, juice of one lemon wedge and an additional 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil together. Poor dressing over washed frisse and toss to coat.
3. Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Gris!

WOW all! It has been almost a whole week since the last post! I have been traveling the northeast in search of knowledge and fun! I spent 2+ days in NYC at the Allergan conference for Lap Band Instruction and then 2 days in VT with the ponies.

The Lap Band conference was mighty interesting. It was definitely geared more for the surgeons, but I certainly picked up some good info for teaching patients about food/eating etc. I also gained much insight into how the band actually works (for some reason, where the band is placed causes signals to be sent to the brain which tell it that the body is not hungry. As soon the band is loosened, the patient is ravenously hungry again!) as well as getting to see a live surgery! All good info to take back to the hospital with me - now I just need to have some more band patients come through so that I can test out all this new stuff on them!

Creamy Fettuccine with Sea Scallops

You want the scallops good and seared on the outside like the ones in this photo. Done under very high heat the inside will stay moist and they will crisp up outside quickly!

8 oz spaghetti (Barilla Plus has good flavor and lots of fiber and protein)
1 pound, large sea scallops
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 8oz bottle of vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)
3/4 cup finely shredded manchengo cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1. Cook pasta as normal in boiling water. When there is about 1 min left until pasta is done, drop asparagus into water to blanch. Drain when done.
2. Meanwhile, pat scallops dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in saute pan over high heat - you want the pretty darn hot.
4. Whisk flour, milk and some salt and pepper in a bowl until smooth.
5. Heat stock in a sauce pan. Whisk milk mixture into warm stock, continue stirring constantly at a simmer for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
6. Oil should be hot, place scallops into hot oil (be careful oil will splatter) flat side down. Let cook 1-2 min, flip cook 1 min more.
7. Mix pasta, sauce, and scallops together with lemon juice, lemon zest, cheese and thyme. Toss to combine.
ENJOY!1

Did you know that a gram of alcohol has 7 calories? That's nearly twice the amount of a carbohydrate (4kcal/g) or protein (4kcal/g). Fat has 9kcal/g. Those 7 empty calories offer zero nutrition benefit in addition to its interference with the body's ability to use fat, sabotaging even the best weight loss plans.

Studies are always describing the cardiac health benefits of a glass of wine. The latest breaking news is about the benefits to bone density from a pint of IPA. Whether or not the health benefits of these are accurate in the real word (outside the parameters of a controlled study) is somewhat unknown. We do know somethings. Most people do not have just one drink. After one drink you are more likely to eat more and thus to over consume. The over consumption out weights any benefit from the alcohol.

And no - if the study says 1 drink a day is good for you, you can't save them all up and drink 7 on Saturday night! Ha!