http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/11/18/making_healthy_meals_on_the_cheap/
Fun article from my time at Share our Strength teaching cooking classes!
ENJOY!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Strawberries standing tall
Spring time means flowers, warm weather, first trips to the beach and succulent spring harvest strawberries! There is nothing better than a fresh strawberry shortcake on a summer's afternoon. Making fresh biscuits to use as the base and serving the treat with still warm biscuits is the secret to the success of this one!
For 6 servings
3 Cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 pint half & half
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Splenda or Sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon
6 fresh made biscuits (biscuit recipe below)
Biscuits
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup skim milk
1. Combine all ingredients in bowl - do not over mix - just form into a mass
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
3. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter, dump dough ball on flour, flatten to about 1 inch thickness
4. Either use cookie cutter to cut out 6 rounds or cut with a knife into 6 squares
5. Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray
6. Place biscuits on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes
7. Remove and place biscuits on wire rack to cool slightly
MEANWHILE
1. Whip up half and half to desired thickness in a metal bowl with a wire whip, once happy with consistency of cream, add vanilla, sugar and cinnamon and whip to combine
2. If strawberries are not already sliced, go at it
TO CREATE:
1. Slice open a biscuit
2. Place approx 1-2 tablespoons cream on bottom half, then 1/2 cup strawberries, then 1-2 tablespoons cream and then put the top back on
3. Serve with extra cream if needed!
ENJOY!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sunday Fun Day
Alas I have been troving the acres of Westchester County, NY at another horse show and have been unable to connect to the Internet. (I really need to get one of those wireless cards don't I!) While no tents blew down this time and the show moved a long at an unremarkable pace, I was still happy to get home on a Saturday night so that I might enjoy one of my most favorite breakfasts on Sunday morning. Anyone who knows me, knows that pancakes rein supreme in my world (pretty much all kinds but mostly ones with chocolate chips), I think it goes back to the special holiday breakfast dad used to make G$$ and I, which really only occurred on Christmas morning. Anyway, in a pretty close second place is this concoction Mom always makes on Sunday mornings, which is her self proclaimed "bacon day".
*1/2 bagel (I prefer the top half of a sesame bagel :) or you could also use a piece of a baguette sliced lengthwise so you have lots of crust!)
*sliced muenster cheese, enough to cover the surface (obviously you can use a different cheese if you don't like muenster)
*1 slice of bacon, cooked until very crispy
*tomato slices
1. cook bacon until very crispy, drain on paper towel until ready to use
2. toast the 1/2 of a bagel or bread to your desired toastedness (is that a word?)
3. cover surface with cheese, place in toaster over (or big oven) on 325 to bake until cheese is melted
4. slice a small tomato (I like the ones that are about the size of golf ball - they come in a plastic flat from Costco- otherwise I recommed Cherry Tomatoes they will have the most flavor) - 1 tomato will be perfect for 1/2 a bagel
5. When cheese is melted remove from oven, crumble bacon over the top of the cheese, then place the tomato slices on top
ENJOY!!!!
**As always to lighten it up you can use low sodium bacon; turkey bacon; or natural bacon; for cheese if you want to a lower fat cheese go right ahead - I will warn that 50% less fat cheese tastes fabulous - you really won't know the difference, however, 75% less fat cheese and non fat cheese is CRAP don't waste your time you will be sorely saddened!
*1/2 bagel (I prefer the top half of a sesame bagel :) or you could also use a piece of a baguette sliced lengthwise so you have lots of crust!)
*sliced muenster cheese, enough to cover the surface (obviously you can use a different cheese if you don't like muenster)
*1 slice of bacon, cooked until very crispy
*tomato slices
1. cook bacon until very crispy, drain on paper towel until ready to use
2. toast the 1/2 of a bagel or bread to your desired toastedness (is that a word?)
3. cover surface with cheese, place in toaster over (or big oven) on 325 to bake until cheese is melted
4. slice a small tomato (I like the ones that are about the size of golf ball - they come in a plastic flat from Costco- otherwise I recommed Cherry Tomatoes they will have the most flavor) - 1 tomato will be perfect for 1/2 a bagel
5. When cheese is melted remove from oven, crumble bacon over the top of the cheese, then place the tomato slices on top
ENJOY!!!!
**As always to lighten it up you can use low sodium bacon; turkey bacon; or natural bacon; for cheese if you want to a lower fat cheese go right ahead - I will warn that 50% less fat cheese tastes fabulous - you really won't know the difference, however, 75% less fat cheese and non fat cheese is CRAP don't waste your time you will be sorely saddened!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Be a facilitator of your own prosperity...
Hommos
1 can (I use the larger Progresso can in the bean section) Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans/Ceci Beans, drained, liquid reserved
5 tablespoons Taheen (also spelled Tahini) - (I use the can with a brown/orange label & a man's face or an white jar with orange lid and blue writing in another language), be sure you completely stir the Taheen as it will come separated
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 LARGE cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Combine everything in food processor. You will need to add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the reserved chick pea liquid to thin out the hommos so that it gets nice and smooth
2. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then as it is processing. Let the food processor run for about 4-5 minutes. Adjust the taste with more lemon, salt, pepper to your desire.
3. Serve immediately or chill to enjoy later!
ENJOY!!
1 can (I use the larger Progresso can in the bean section) Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans/Ceci Beans, drained, liquid reserved
5 tablespoons Taheen (also spelled Tahini) - (I use the can with a brown/orange label & a man's face or an white jar with orange lid and blue writing in another language), be sure you completely stir the Taheen as it will come separated
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 LARGE cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Combine everything in food processor. You will need to add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the reserved chick pea liquid to thin out the hommos so that it gets nice and smooth
2. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then as it is processing. Let the food processor run for about 4-5 minutes. Adjust the taste with more lemon, salt, pepper to your desire.
3. Serve immediately or chill to enjoy later!
ENJOY!!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Don't settle for bad bread
A follower recently had a baby who has since been diagnosed with soy and dairy allergies. At first thought that doesn't seem like a huge life altering disaster, but the baby is breast fed and thus mom can no longer eat soy or dairy products as she will pass those allergens through her system and breast milk to the baby. The only real problem mom has had with this restriction is finding bread at the store which does not contain soy or dairy (today food manufacturers get their kicks from putting dry milk solids and soy lecithin in everything!). She found one product at Whole Foods but stated that it tasted "atrocious". Being a bread fanatic myself, I understand her pain and so here, my dear, is a bread recipe you can make at home which will taste 4 times better anyway because you are going to eat it piping hot from your own oven!
1 teaspoon yeast (I get the Bread Machine yeast in a jar-it ends up being cheaper)
2 cups warm water
4-6 cups UNBLEACHED white flour (you might need even more)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried rosemary (optional)
1. Find a BIG bowl in your house. Combine yeast and water in the bowl. Give the yeast about 3 minutes to start to "wake up" before putting any more ingredients in.
2. Add 4 cups of flour, oil, then salt (and rosemary if desired).
3. Combine ingredients. Use one in the bowl, and hold onto the bowl with the other hand here is your motto, "One hand dry, one hand wet." Swirl the 'wet' hand around in ingredients to get the flour to incorporate into the water at the beginning.
4. Continue to add more flour (about 1/4 cup at a time). Each time making sure to kneed all the loose flour into the dough. You will have to kneed it for about 7-10 minutes, adding a dusting of flour each time the dough gets to sticky. You will kneed the dough until it starts to feel soft and look smooth - not straited or bubbly.
5. When the dough feels nice, take it out of the bowl and put a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of the bowl. Replace the dough into bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with dish towel and let rise on counter top for 1+ hours.
6. Heat oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam. Punch down dough and form into a ball or loaf-type shape and place on cookie sheet. Let dough rise a few minutes while the oven heats up.
7. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes
ENJOY!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A friend asked me the other day for directions down the vitamin isle of her local pharmacy, while I gladly put in my two cents, I couldn't help but think about the factors driving a thriving supplementation industry in this country.
Theoretically, there is no real need for supplementation of any kind if (BIG IF) you are doing the right things and you do not have a inborn condition which requires more or less of a certain substance. Every diet based on religious or cultural beliefs still allows for a diet completely balanced in all vitamins and minerals. Even vegetarianism, if practiced correctly, provides all the nutrition the body needs. Only the vegan followers need supplementation and that is with B12. So why the need, or the craze with all these vitamins?
The majority of Americans perceive an ideal life as a great job which they either love or it pays very well, or both; they have a nice house; a nice car; maybe they have 'perfect' children; pets; thriving social life; 'good health' etc etc. Not many people put 'ability to consume a balanced diet' or 'sound mind, healthy body' in their list of things which would make life more idealistic. The media is all over the release of scientific studies on disease prevention and nutrient interactions and is constantly 'enlightening' citizens as to how they can prevent disease with certain nutrients or lifestyle activities. The relentless "go-go-go" lifestyle of working American takes in all this information by relies on the convenience (of a pill, packaged diet foods etc) to the actual thought process over purchasing, production and consumption choices surrounding nutrients in the food itself.
The body is a pretty cool machine. Take for instance Vitamin D. The body needs it, we can't really find it in our food supply, so humans went through this great evolutionary process to produce it ourselves from something we get everyday - sunlight! Now, there are a few kinks in this system that still need a few thousands to work out but for the most part the system has good intentions. While we don't know how much vitamin D the body actually produces on a daily basis, how the mechanism differs from person to person, or how much vitamin D is to much, we do know that the production system is effected by how much sunlight is able to penetrate the skin, and this depends on the angle of sun throughout the day and the year as to 'how strong' the sun's rays are. The sun's rays are also deferred if you wear sunblock. Since many Americans 'enjoy' the luxury of an indoor desk job and when they do venture outdoors have been trained to lather on the sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, we can be pretty darn certain that most Americans are vitamin D deficient. The favorite saying to parents in the pediatric clinic when I worked in WI was, "you can put your kids outside starting October 1st in nothing but there underwear and leave them outside 24 hours a day until June 1st and they still will be vit D deficient, there just isn't enough sunlight here, and if you cover them with sunscreen all summer they will never get enough sunlight to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D." So for those of us blessed enough to live north of Florida and Texas, a little vitamin D supplementation is probably not a bad idea. For all my ladies out there, some calcium wouldn't hurt you either. Women are much less likely to take in calcium in their diet to the same degree as men, and the only time we (women) retain calcium in our body & bones is during our period, so it is very important that we keep calcium levels in the black (as opposed to red :)). Otherwise, if you are nervous that your food choices might stink, a multivitamin could ease your anxiety. Here are some suggestions below:
Vitamin D3 - 400 I.U. tablets; take 1 tab/day (if you think you are vampire take 1 tab, 2x/day)
Calcium - 1200 mg/day, use 600mg Calcium CITRATE tablets (a few people can not tolerate the Citrate form, for these people use the carbonate form but realize that it is not as well absorbed so you will need to take more); take 2 tablets/day, 1 tab in am and 1 tab in pm
Multivitamin - ie Centrum, One a Day, CVS Multi etc - BOYS!!! be sure that your multivitamin is FOR MEN - unless you bleed profusely on a regular basis I don't want you getting iron poisoning from the added iron to regular multivitamins
Theoretically, there is no real need for supplementation of any kind if (BIG IF) you are doing the right things and you do not have a inborn condition which requires more or less of a certain substance. Every diet based on religious or cultural beliefs still allows for a diet completely balanced in all vitamins and minerals. Even vegetarianism, if practiced correctly, provides all the nutrition the body needs. Only the vegan followers need supplementation and that is with B12. So why the need, or the craze with all these vitamins?
The majority of Americans perceive an ideal life as a great job which they either love or it pays very well, or both; they have a nice house; a nice car; maybe they have 'perfect' children; pets; thriving social life; 'good health' etc etc. Not many people put 'ability to consume a balanced diet' or 'sound mind, healthy body' in their list of things which would make life more idealistic. The media is all over the release of scientific studies on disease prevention and nutrient interactions and is constantly 'enlightening' citizens as to how they can prevent disease with certain nutrients or lifestyle activities. The relentless "go-go-go" lifestyle of working American takes in all this information by relies on the convenience (of a pill, packaged diet foods etc) to the actual thought process over purchasing, production and consumption choices surrounding nutrients in the food itself.
The body is a pretty cool machine. Take for instance Vitamin D. The body needs it, we can't really find it in our food supply, so humans went through this great evolutionary process to produce it ourselves from something we get everyday - sunlight! Now, there are a few kinks in this system that still need a few thousands to work out but for the most part the system has good intentions. While we don't know how much vitamin D the body actually produces on a daily basis, how the mechanism differs from person to person, or how much vitamin D is to much, we do know that the production system is effected by how much sunlight is able to penetrate the skin, and this depends on the angle of sun throughout the day and the year as to 'how strong' the sun's rays are. The sun's rays are also deferred if you wear sunblock. Since many Americans 'enjoy' the luxury of an indoor desk job and when they do venture outdoors have been trained to lather on the sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, we can be pretty darn certain that most Americans are vitamin D deficient. The favorite saying to parents in the pediatric clinic when I worked in WI was, "you can put your kids outside starting October 1st in nothing but there underwear and leave them outside 24 hours a day until June 1st and they still will be vit D deficient, there just isn't enough sunlight here, and if you cover them with sunscreen all summer they will never get enough sunlight to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D." So for those of us blessed enough to live north of Florida and Texas, a little vitamin D supplementation is probably not a bad idea. For all my ladies out there, some calcium wouldn't hurt you either. Women are much less likely to take in calcium in their diet to the same degree as men, and the only time we (women) retain calcium in our body & bones is during our period, so it is very important that we keep calcium levels in the black (as opposed to red :)). Otherwise, if you are nervous that your food choices might stink, a multivitamin could ease your anxiety. Here are some suggestions below:
Vitamin D3 - 400 I.U. tablets; take 1 tab/day (if you think you are vampire take 1 tab, 2x/day)
Calcium - 1200 mg/day, use 600mg Calcium CITRATE tablets (a few people can not tolerate the Citrate form, for these people use the carbonate form but realize that it is not as well absorbed so you will need to take more); take 2 tablets/day, 1 tab in am and 1 tab in pm
Multivitamin - ie Centrum, One a Day, CVS Multi etc - BOYS!!! be sure that your multivitamin is FOR MEN - unless you bleed profusely on a regular basis I don't want you getting iron poisoning from the added iron to regular multivitamins
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