Monday, October 22, 2012

'Tis the Season to be Squashy




There are many things to dread in the northwest with the change of seasons including the lack of sun. Along with the cold weather people tend to be pulled towards the comfort food, generally high fat and high starch foods, such as pasta with a cream sauce or maybe the chicken pot pie. Once I get my first squash in my CSA basket from Terra Verde I am fully prepared for the return of soup season. There are ways to make that creamy rich soup while staying away from the bottle of heavy cream, it is possible. 

When shopping through the market there are people who grab and go and people who linger and read the ingredients or labels of the goods they are buying. What are people looking at on the labels? They obviously care about their health in some shape or form but are they looking at the right things? Instead of tackling the whole Nutrition label lets just look at one component, the fats. Let's understand the breakdown and know what it means to consume saturated or unsaturated fats what what is can do to your health.

Most Nutritional Fact labels are broken into the main categories of Calories, Total Fats, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrates, and Protein. Some then have subcategories and even sub-subcategories. Under Total Fat there are 2 main subcategories specified, saturated and trans fat. There are many more types of fat but these are the two that are sub-labeled, why? Because they are seen as the most important to recognize. Both trans fat and saturated fat have been linked to many diseases including heart disease. Lipids start with a chain of carbons linked with single bonds. Saturated fat are lipids that are saturated with hydrogens to every carbon, some examples are coconut oil or animal fats. Unsaturated fats are lipids that are not completely saturated with hydrogens there for some of the carbons are required to form a double bond, some examples are canola oil or Flaxseeds. Trans Fat is the last subcategory usually specified on a label. Trans Fats are polyunsaturated fats that are made more hydrogenated making them more stable. One way of determining stability in a fat is by its physical properties at room temperature. A saturated fat or trans fat is characterized by being in a solid state at room temperature. A unsaturated fat is characterized by being a liquid at room temperature. Most foods come with a combination of different fats and it is that combination we need to look at. Both saturated fats and trans fats have been linked to disease so it is important to minimize those intakes. That can be hard, so a good way to instead of decreasing your total fat intake is to first replace the saturated fats you would have eaten with unsaturated fats. Is canola oil instead of butter. Even better in our recipe today is eliminating the saturated fats by using rich squash and cauliflower puree instead of heavy cream.




Winter Squash Soup


8 cups Stock (chicken or veggie)
1 Red Kuri Squash (or any winter squash of your choice)
½ Butternut Squash
3 cups small Potatoes cut in half (such as fingerling)
1 small head of cauliflower cut from stem and chopped
½ large onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Large Shallot
Crisped Ham for garnish

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400
  2. Cut Red Kuri and Butternut squash in half and remove seeds, spray with oil, salt and pepper. Place squashes on baking sheet and cook in oven for 40 minutes or until tender. Test for tenderness with a fork. May want to do this step the day before.
  3. While squashes are cooking bring a pot of water to boil with potatoes in it and bring stock to boil in a separate pot. Cook potatoes until tender.
  4. Dice the ½ large onion and put into an oiled pan with cauliflower to caramelize on medium high. This may take 15 minutes or more. After onions are caramelized add about 1 cup stock to pan and cover. Allow cauliflower and onions to steam until very tender.
  5. Once squash has cooked remove from skin and put half the batch into the blender with enough stock to allow contents to blend till a smooth puree. You may need to stop the blender a few times and stir to get a good puree. Do the same with the second batch. Depending on blender size it may take more then two batches to blend. Empty into a bowl or pot.
  6. Put the cauliflower, onion, and stock mixture into blender and blend until smooth. You will need to add more stock to make a smooth puree. Add to squash puree in bowl or pot.
  7. Drain potatoes when they are tender and smash with a fork. Add to purees.
  8. Add remaining stock to puree and mix until combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Dice shallots and sauté in pan with olive oil until tender. Mix into soup.
  10. Dish up, garnish with cooked chicken breast, crisped prosciutto or ham.

Don't forget to save the seeds and roast them (especially the meaty Red Kuri seeds)



Sunday, October 14, 2012

Enough with the Eight Dollar Sandwich

School has started and it is way too easy to just go for that $8 sandwich instead of making your own lunch in the morning. It is close to impossible for me to make and pack a lunch in the morning and still make it to campus on time. The other options on campus are either way more expensive, not for the nutritionist, or not for the foodie. Usually it ends up a mixture of the three. I have been able to solve my lunch dilemma with a little extra time added onto my Sunday dinner. 

The only thing stopping me from a healthy lunch is the need for complete convenience. For me, it's not about just making lunch the night before, it's about making them all before the hectic week even begins. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to make all your PB&Js on sunday night for the week but really there are many different ways to make a nutritious and delicious lunch that will last for the week in the fridge. You can make soup, pasta salad, slow cooked stews, breakfast parfait, the list keeps going. Storing them can be a pain but ever since I started canning I realized there are a ton of more uses you can get out of a Mason Jar then just canning, including lunch storage. Mason Jars are my new favorite Tupperware. You can buy all different sizes and the top fits on all of them! Just pick whether you want a wide mouth jar or a narrow mouth jar for your collection. I have both for different canning projects but I still only need to sift through 2 different sizes of tops. There is no more time searching through your tupperware for the one matching top, AND there are no leaks or spills! Mason Jars have the air tight seal so you don't have to worry about your soup leaking all over your work. I don't see any better way to bring my lunches to school. For the first of the many Mason Jar Meals to come here is a n all time favorite: quinoa salad.


Layered Quinoa Salad


Ingredients

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
8 Cremini Mushrooms, chopped
1/2 Onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon "Better than Bouillon" (optional)
1/2 bunch Asparagus, cut into 2 inch sticks
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1+ cup cooked Spinach
1+ cup fresh diced Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste 
5  Pint Narrow Mouth Mason Jars

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat or low, cover with top
2. Allow Quinoa to cook for 20 minutes or until water is gone
3. While Quinoa cooks sauté mushrooms and onions with olive oil in a pan over medium high heat 
4. Cook down until onions  and mushrooms are tender
5. Add "Better than Bouillon" beef stock paste to mushrooms for flavor (can be found at Costco) and salt and pepper to taste
6. Set mushrooms and onions aside to cool
7. Using the same pan as mushrooms and onions add olive oil, asparagus, salt and pepper to taste
8. Allow asparagus to cook down until tender
9. Set aside Asparagus to cool
10. Add spinach to pan and allow to cook down, salt and pepper to taste
11. Using 5 narrow mouth pint jars layer spinach on the bottom of each, then diced tomatoes, quinoa, mushroom mixture, and asparagus.
12. If there are left overs, make an extra for a saturday lunch or have it with your dinner!

This post, like all, is about being creative with your food. Add some chicken or tofu for more protein (any protein you desire). Enjoy your time in the kitchen and at the table. Remember, have passion for your food and compassion for your body! 








Friday, October 5, 2012

Subscriber to Fiber


Diet after diet tries to tell you eliminating something is going to solve a weight problem and usually the diet asks you to remove one of our essential nutrients. There are about 45 essential nutrients our body needs to complete its processes. To name a few, there are fats, carbohydrates, sugars, minerals, and vitamins. It is pertinent that we allow our body all the nutrients it needs and requires in the most balanced way possible.

For many of these diet fads carbohydrates are the enemy when really they are exactly the opposite. Carbohydrates can be broken down into two categories, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are the sugars and complex carbohydrates are the starches and fibers. This is where I see the big issue in cutting out carbohydrates: cutting out fiber.

What makes fiber so different from the other carbohydrates? The enzymes in the body cannot break down the connecting sugars; therefore the fiber passes through the body. Water soluble fibers break up in water and form a gel making them easily digested. These soluble fibers are found in oats, barley, legumes, and citrus fruits. Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water and are found in whole grains and vegetables. Both of these dietary fibers are shown to reduce heart disease, diabetes, diverticular cancer, and colon cancer to name a few. 



Now comes the challenge for some: finding ways to eat adequate dietary fiber that actually tastes good. My BeePower Bars are one my favorite breakfast items packed with all the nutrients needed to wake up our brains and our digestion. When I'm craving my bars I will make a batch at the beginning of the week as a part of my breakfast, lunch, or workout recovery snack. This is a great recipe to start from but it leaves a ton of room for creativity. If you hate raisins then add whatever dried fruit you love. If you are allergic to wheat there are great substitutes for the few wheat ingredients. And on top of the convenience and creativity of this recipe, they actually do taste delicious! Foodie vs. Nutrition, I say it's a tie!





BeePower Bars

Ingredients 

1 cup prunes, chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins, chopped
1/3 cup sour cherries, chopped
1/3 cup dried blueberries
1 ½ cup whole oat flour
½ cup finally ground pecans
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup finally ground almonds
½ cup chopped almonds
2 tbsp oat bran
3 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/3 cup flaxseed
2 tbsp Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp honey
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp water








Cooking Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F
  2. Measure out and chop all dried fruits, add to bowl
  3. Grind pecans and almonds in food processor or nut flours can be purchase (Bob's Redmill or Coop bulk section)
  4. Mix all ingredients in bowl until completely combined
  5. Spray pan with vegetable spray or line with parchment paper
  6. Empty mix into 9x9 baking pan and press down evenly with hands
  7. Bake in oven for 35 minutes
  8. Let cool in baking pan
  9. Turn pan over onto a cutting board to remove from pan
  10. Each recipe should yield approximately 15 bars. 
Like I said, substitute anything, be creative and remember to have passion for your food with compassion for your body.