Food Spotlight: Quinoa

I have recently been introduced to the whole grain quinoa, pronounced keen-wah, not qwin-oh-ah, which I learned the hard way.

I asked for qwin-oh-ah at the grocery store. The store employee cocked her head to the side and gave me the same confused look my dog Snickers does when I ask her where her ball is. Staring at the Kroger employee I repeated my request, “Can you tell me where to find qwin-oh-ah?”

The employee’s befuddled look remained so I added, “It’s a grain. Supposed to be really healthy for you.”

“Oh,” she responded, recognition finally settling in. “It’s called keen-wah, by the way, and you can find it in the bulk bin area,” she added with a chuckle.

As a writer I like to think that I have a fairly decent command of the English language. Apparently not.

So, the correct pronunciation of quinoa is my early Christmas gift to you, to save you from embarrassment at the hands of a grocery store clerk.

You’re welcome.

What exactly is quinoa?

It looks like a grain, it’s cooked like rice, but it’s actually the seed of the Chenopodium quinoa plant which is related to beets, Swiss chard and spinach. Because of this close relation to green leafy vegetables it’s loaded with nutrients—manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus.

But the real news is that quinoa is a complete protein, meaning it has all nine essential amino acids that make up a protein. This is fabulous news for vegetarians who are concerned about protein intake. Typically vegetarians need to ingest different types of protein throughout the day to ensure they get all the different amino acids they need. Quinoa supplies everything they need, so no food combining is necessary. The only other plant food with a complete protein profile is soybeans.

One cup of cooked quinoa supplies 8 grams of protein, that’s more protein than in an egg.

Quinoa also has a much lower glycemic index rating than other carbohydrates such as white rice or white potatoes. Making it a great substitute for those items.

So, you get the benefits of a whole grain, i.e. high fiber content, and the satiety of a protein. Win-win!

Where to find it?

I found it at Kroger in the bulk food area. You can also look for it in the aisle with other grain-like products, rice, cous cous etc.

How to prepare it?

While it could easily be an entrée, I typically serve it as a side dish. Think of it as a substitute for rice. And like rice, you should rinse it before you use it. Quinoa has a bitter-tasting substance on it called saponin, a natural plant chemical. Most of the saponin is removed before it hits your grocer’s shelf, but just to be sure, give it a good rinse under cold water. I put it in a fine mesh metal strainer and run it under cold water for several minutes.

Here’s my favorite weekday preparation of it. I made it the other night and served it along with some broiled mahi mahi. We started the meal with the butternut squash soup recipe from last week. Yum!

Quinoa pilaf with pine nuts 

And here’s a recipe that sounded interesting, but I haven’t tried it. It’s from the Cooking Quinoa website and apparently the author’s favorite quinoa recipe. She wrote an entire cookbook on quinoa so you’d think this one would be good.

Balsamic Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ – ½ cup best quality extra virgin olive oil (depending on if you are watching calories)
• 2 Tbls Dijon mustard
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 ½ cups quinoa
• Bouillon cube
• 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes (Not in oil)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 4 oz blue cheese
• 1 can black beans

Instructions

·      Make dressing by combining vinegar, mustard, garlic, shallots and olive oil.  Season to taste.

·      Add quinoa and bouillon to three cups of boiling water.  Boil for 10 minutes.

·      Rinse quinoa with cool water and place in a fine mesh colander.  Boil more water and place quinoa and sun dried tomatoes in the colander over the water.  Cover with a kitchen towel and lid.  Steam for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

·      Cook red pepper in a small skillet until tender.

·      Combine red pepper, blue cheese and black beans with quinoa. Add dressing and toss. 

Enjoy your qwin-oh-ah…I mean, keen-wah!

Food Spotlight: Apple

First, a moment of silence to honor Steve Jobs, the co-founder, visionary and technological whiz that created Apple Computer, who died yesterday.

Like many people, Apple products fill our house. I’m typing this on a MacBook Pro. I have Apple TV, an iPhone, iPod and all my kids have an iTouch. We are such fans of all-things-Apple that we have numerous older versions of iPods scattered around the house like dirty socks, stuffed in drawers, old gym bags and in between the cushions of the sofa. I love the products he created, I admire his vision and passion and am deeply saddened by his passing.

As a small tribute, I dedicate this blog to him. The topic of course, is the apple.

The end of summer marks the end of berry season—a sad moment indeed. But luckily, apple season is in full swing.

Apples have been around since, well, since Adam and Eve. Maybe it’s because of this history, this ancient reputation and familiarity that they fell out of favor. The media, always looking for splashy new headlines, has recently been espousing the attributes of more exotic fruits like pomegranate, acai berry and goji berry.

Sometimes old stuff is really just that, old and tired, like my stirrup pants and big hair. Those relics belong in the past never to be seen again. But sometimes, old stuff is a classic, like the little black dress and Chanel No. 5. The apple might not be fancy, but it’s a classic. One that has a plethora of health benefits deserving of its adage at keeping the doctor away.

A recent study found that eating apples lowers cholesterol levels, plaque and inflammation in artery walls. Another study published by Dianne A. Hyson, PhD, RD, a nutritionist and researcher at the University of California at Davis, states that “in addition to their cardiovascular benefits, there’s some evidence that apples help regulate blood sugar and control appetite, protect against cancer and safeguard the lungs.”

And they’re full of fiber, Vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, thiamin, magnesium and phosphorus.

Huh. And here I thought they were just a simple, easy snack to throw in my kid’s lunchbox.

Since we’re in the heart of apple season might I suggest an outing this weekend? Apple picking. We love Carter Mountain Orchard outside Charlottesville. On a sunny day it’s absolutely beautiful and there’s something about gathering your own food, seeing how it’s grown and enjoying the outdoors that make this a fun, family activity.

Carter Mountain is Open Daily from 9:00 am — 6:00 pm. (Extended hours on Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm). Click here for directions.

Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Fuji, Granny Smith, Stayman, York and Winesap varieties are ready now. (My favs are Golden Delicious, Jonagold and Fuji).

If you’re not quite sure what to do with all those apples, try making homemade applesauce. It’s really easy and if you select sweeter varieties you don’t need to add sugar. E.g., sweet apples are Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Winesap, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady. Use a mix of apple varieties for a really flavorful dish.

Here’s a quick and easy applesauce recipe.

Ingredients

•                1 teaspoon cinnamon

•                4 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

•                ½ teaspoon nutmeg

•                2 tablespoons water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until apples become very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher.

Enjoy!

Food Spotlight: Sweet Potato

After two days of steady rain, we’re finally getting a break.

I was certainly ready for autumn. Ready for the kids to go back to school. Ready for a bit of scheduled normalcy. But cold, rainy days, um, no. That I hadn’t prepared for. That’s November weather, not September.

The one good thing about cold weather is soup. I love its warmth on a cold day.

So, in honor of the start of soup season, I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes, Sweet Potato Chowder. It’s creamy, delicious and since it’s mostly a broth-based soup, a good option for those of us watching our waistlines.

Before I get to the recipe, read through this list of the health benefits of sweet potatoes. They just might surprise you, and hopefully encourage you to make them a regular part of your diet.

They contain beta carotene.

The body converts beta carotene into vitamin A which is necessary for healthy eyes and skin. One sweet potato provides 260% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A.

They help regulate blood sugar.

What? You say. How is that possible, it’s got carbohydrates? Don’t those spike your blood sugar levels? While sweet potatoes are mostly carbs, when they are boiled, they have a glycemic index (GI) rating of 46. Which is considered low. That’s a good thing since low GI foods break down carbohydrates more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, helping to stabilize your blood sugar levels.

Researchers believe it’s not just the low GI rating in sweet potatoes that impacts blood sugar levels. There’s something in sweet potatoes called adiponectin. Adiponectin is important because it helps our bodies metabolize insulin. People with diabetes tend to have lower levels of adiponectin and sweet potato extracts have been shown to significantly increase adiponectin levels in persons with type 2 diabetes.

They are a good source of other important nutrients.

One potato provides about 100 calories, 2 grams of protein, 22 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of fiber, 0 grams of fat, 12.5% of RDA of vitamin B6 and 28% of RDA of vitamin C. 

Sweet Potato Chowder (Adapted from The Daily Soup Cookbook by Leslie Kaul)

1 TBLS unsalted butter

1 small Spanish onion, chopped

1 ½ tsps sugar

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

3 cups vegetable stock

4 sweet potatoes, peeled, halved and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 ear fresh corn, kernels sliced from the cob, about ½ cup

½ cup Half-and-Half*

½ tsp minced fresh garlic

¼ cup chopped fresh curly parsley

1.     Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar and caramelize for 10 minutes, until tender and golden.

2.     Add the thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper and stir to coat the onion.

3.     Add the stock, sweet potatoes, corn and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

4.     Stir in the Half-and-Half

5.     Remove the bay leaf and puree about a quarter of the chowder in a blender or food processor until smooth. (Note: I puree the whole pot since I like an overall smooth consistency.)

6.     Return the puree to the pot and stir in the garlic.

7.     To serve, ladle the chowder into bowls and top with the chopped parsley.

* You could substitute skim milk here to cut down further on the fat content, but research has shown that cooking sweet potatoes with a little bit of fat helps the body absorb beta carotene. 

Food Spotlight: Tomato

Nothing says summer like the tomato. Cherry, heirloom, grape, beefsteak. The varieties are endless and so too appear to be their health benefits.

The most lauded compound in tomatoes is lycopene, a carotenoid touted for cancer-preventing properties. The research is strongest for linking lycopene to a lower risk of lung, stomach and prostate cancers. But studies also suggest it could be beneficial in lowering the risk of cancers of the cervix, breast, oral cavity, pancreas, colorectum and esophagus.

While lycopene gets all the press, researchers are unclear about whether it's really lycopene that’s at work or the interaction of lycopene with other compounds in the tomato that provide the benefits. Thus to get the most out of it, scientists recommend eating tomatoes and tomato products rather than taking lycopene supplements.

When summer’s over, don’t fret. Processed tomatoes (e.g., canned, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce and even ketchup) contain higher levels of lycopene than fresh tomatoes. So you can enjoy the health benefits all year long.

In addition to lycopene, tomatoes are packed with traditional nutrients. They are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber. A cup of fresh tomatoes provides 57.3% of the daily value (DV) for vitamin C, 22.4% of the DV for vitamin A, and 7.9% of the DV for fiber.

How to pick a good one

Choose tomatoes that have a deep, rich color. Not only is this a sign of a delicious tasting tomato but the deep color also indicates that it has a greater supply of lycopene.

Tomatoes should be well shaped and smooth skinned with no wrinkles, cracks, bruises or soft spots. Ripe tomatoes will yield to slight pressure and will have a noticeably sweet fragrance.

How to store them

Store tomatoes at room temperature since they are sensitive to cold and it impedes their ripening process. They will keep for up to a week, depending upon how ripe they are when purchased.

To hasten the ripening process, place them in a paper bag with a banana or apple. The ethylene gas these fruits emit increases the tomato's maturation. If the tomatoes begin to become overripe, but you’re not yet ready to eat them, place them in the refrigerator (if possible, in the butter compartment which is a warmer area), where they will keep for one or two more days.

Removing them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before using will help them to regain their maximum flavor and juiciness.

There are hundreds of ways to enjoy tomatoes. In summer I like to eat them raw, drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Or, for a yummy summertime soup, try this cold gazpacho recipe.

Enjoy!

Asian Gazpacho (from the In8 recipe book)

6 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (or 1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes)

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp. dry sherry

2 Tbls. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbls. light soy sauce

4 scallions, white part only

4 thin slivers of fresh ginger

¼ - ½ tsp. Chinese chili sauce, depending on your taste

2 limes

·      Place the tomatoes over low heat in a sauce pan.

·      Add in the vegetable broth, sherry, cilantro, soy sauce, scallions and ginger.

·      Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

·      Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

·      Puree in a food processor or blender.

·      Chill.

·      Just before serving stir in the chili sauce, the zest from one lime and the juice from both limes.

Food Spotlight: Avocado

The Subway restaurant chain recently announced plans to add avocados to its mix of sandwich ingredients and all I can say is, “It's about time!”

In addition to being creamy and delicious, avocados are packed full of nutrients including fiber, potassium, vitamins C, E, K and B6 and folic acid.

In the past avocados have gotten a bad rap because of their fat content. And yes, they are high in fat. (An average avocado has 29g of fat, which is 45% of the recommended daily allowance.)

BUT…it’s the good fat. Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. The same one found in olive oil. Thus avocados have the same heart healthy benefits as olive oil. They lower blood cholesterol levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein, the bad stuff) and raise levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein, the good stuff), for a total effect of lowering cholesterol overall.

It’s not all wine and roses though. With all that fat comes high calories. (A whole avocado contains 322 calories. That’s the same as consuming two and a half bananas.) So, as much as it pains me to say this, we should eat them in moderation.

I like to dice one and add it to a salad or put slices on a sandwich. And of course, there’s guacamole. My favorite store brand is Wholly Guacamole. They sell a three-pack at Costco. Don’t worry, you don’t have to eat it all within a week, guacamole freezes really well. Just don’t defrost it in the microwave. Defrost it in the refrigerator.

For a real treat, make your own guacamole. My family loves this recipe. Enjoy!

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados

1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, stems and seeds removed, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

A dash of freshly ground black pepper

           

• Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel with a spoon, put in a bowl.
• Using a fork, mash the avocado.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. (Note: Depending on how spicy you like things, you might want to start with half of the jalapeno pepper)

Tip: The best method for preserving leftover guacamole is to vacuum-pack it. I have a Food Saver machine which works great. If you don’t have something like this, place the leftovers in a bowl and press plastic wrap over the entire surface of the guacamole and up the sides of the bowl, eliminating as much air as you can. It’s the oxygen in the air that makes it turn brown. Or, you could just eat all of it. Which is what I tend to do.

Food Spotlight: Raspberries

With ten times the antioxidant activity as tomatoes, three times that of kiwis and 50% more than strawberries, raspberries are a powerful little red fruit.

Raspberries are special because they contain ellagic acid, a compound found in very few foods.

A lot of research is being conducted on ellagic acid since it fights free radical damage. These studies suggest ellagic acid may have anti-cancer effects against liver, esophageal, prostate and colorectal cancer.

Ellagic acid is highest in red raspberries at 1500mcg per gram of dry weight fruit. Strawberries have less than half that level at 639mcg, walnuts have 590mcg, pecans 330mcg, and cranberries 120mcg.

In addition to its potential as a cancer fighter, raspberries are also an excellent source of fiber, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B2, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and copper.

All this goodness, but I hardly ever buy them. And I even like them.

My problem with raspberries is that unless I devour the package in the car on the ride home from the grocery store, they spoil. To say they’re highly perishable is an understatement. They last one day, two days max.

Lately, burned out from apples, bananas and grapes, I decided to try something different. I bought frozen raspberries.  

Luckily, freezing raspberries doesn’t significantly alter their antioxidant properties so I’m still getting all the benefits without the hassle of spoilage. (The one exception is vitamin C, which apparently gets destroyed by freezing. But I can drink orange juice for that.) And the best part is, frozen raspberries keep up to a year. A YEAR!

I’ve been indulging in a delicious raspberry smoothie as a snack. It’s creamy and thick and by using Greek yogurt I get 12 grams of protein which fills me up. Also, at roughly 140 calories this only seems like a diet splurge.

It’s healthy AND delicious. Give it a try.

Raspberry Smoothie (140 calories)

¼ cup frozen raspberries

½ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt (I like the Fage brand)

1-2 tsp honey

2 Tbls of skim milk (add more if it’s still too thick)

Put everything in a blender and frappe away!

Food Spotlight: Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

I opened the refrigerator and peered at its Spartan contents—Greek yogurt, celery, radishes, various cheeses and a door full of random condiments and sauces. (How long does Thai Fish Sauce last anyway?)

Not satisfied I moved on to the pantry where I was greeted by boxes of whole grain pasta, high fiber cereal and protein bars. Good God, I thought, there’s nothing good to eat around here! A sentiment unanimously echoed by my husband and three children.

Of course that’s not true. There’s plenty to eat, it’s just not the food I want to eat. I was craving something sinful, something fatty, salty, sugary and loaded with trans fat. This is exactly why I don’t buy those items. I can’t eat it if I don’t have it.

With a heavy sigh and a shrug of my shoulders, I plodded back to the refrigerator. This time I pulled out a tub of Trader Joe’s Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus, the celery and radishes and made myself a little crudités plate. And I have to say…um, yummy! That hummus is the best stuff ever!

Finding a quick, healthy snack is always a monumental challenge for me, probably because the entire food industry is out to sabotage me. They’ve built billion-dollar businesses based on convenience. They’ve got “grab-and-go” down to a science, whereas healthy snack options typically fall into a “some assembly required” category.

When I’m in a hurry or just plain hungry, I don’t want to assemble anything. But thankfully, I always keep hummus on hand and when I’m really smart—typically only once a month when there’s a full moon—I cut up vegetables ahead of time so I really do have a “grab-and-go” healthy option.

Sitting at my kitchen table, I was happy I’d selected something good for me. (Although realistically given how my house is stocked I had no choice.) As I relished the cilantro and kick of jalapeno I contemplated all the goodness that I was putting into my body.

Hummus, which is made from garbanzo beans, is a fantastic snack option. The beans are full of protein and fiber, two nutrients that are exceptionally good at stabilizing blood sugar levels. When our blood sugar levels are regulated we don’t get those post-sugar crashes propelling us to reach for the next quick fix. Typically another sugar-laden treat.

The protein and fiber in garbanzo beans make them high in what scientists call "food satiety." A term used to describe how full a food makes us feel and how effective it is at eliminating our hunger and appetite.

According to The World’s Healthiest Foods website, “Participants in a recent study were found to consume fewer snacks and fewer overall calories when supplementing their regular diet with garbanzo beans. They were also found to report greater food satiety, with experiences of reduced appetite and greater food satisfaction.”

All that and it’s a relatively low calorie food too!

Next time you’re scavenging through the fridge and pantry for something to snack on, grab the hummus. But do yourself a favor and cut up your veggies ahead of time.

Food Spotlight: Salmon

You’d think salmon would be a non-controversial food. It’s a lean, low-calorie source of protein, making it a better choice than beef or chicken and it’s high in omega-3 fatty acids which are known to help prevent cardiovascular disease. Fish in general is so beneficial that the American Heart Association recommends eating two or more servings a week.

But, as with just about everything food related, it’s never that simple.

The issue with salmon is whether to eat farm-raised or wild-caught. 

Why all the fuss? Salmon contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a dioxin that scientists believe could be a carcinogen in humans. And the levels of PCBs vary greatly between wild-caught and farm-raised salmon.

What’s a safe level of PCBs?

Here’s where the issue starts to get murky.

The FDA set a safe upper limit of PCBs at 2000 parts per billion (ppb). The EPA set a much stricter (i.e., lower) standard at 24 - 48 ppb. Farmed salmon averages 27 ppb, right in the range set by the EPA. So, technically farmed salmon is well below the limit set by the FDA and okay even according to the EPA, but pushing the upper limits of what the EPA deems as safe.

Wild-caught salmon, on the other hand, averages only 5.3 ppb, five times lower than farmed salmon.

What to do?

While PCBs are an issue, their risk to human life is unclear. WebMD had this to say about salmon:

“The leading cause of death in the U.S.—causing 950,000 deaths a year—is cardiovascular disease. Eating two servings per week of fatty fish, such as salmon, can reduce the risk of fatal heart disease by 40%. The dangers of eating salmon, meanwhile, are unclear, largely theoretical, and based on studies in animals. The risks would appear to be much smaller than that of developing heart disease.”

WebMD further states that, “for most healthy adults, the health benefits of salmon far outweigh the much smaller and less-clear risk that PCBs found in it could cause cancer.”

That said, if limiting PCBs is a concern for you, buy and eat wild-caught salmon. If you’re okay using farm-raised salmon you can reduce the amount of PCBs you ingest by simply removing the skin and dark flesh and either grilling or broiling it so the fat drips off. PCBs are stored in the fat. Cooking this way reduces the PCB content by 20-30%.

All this talk of PCBs hasn't scared me away from salmon. I love it. In fact, I made the following dish this week. It's one of my favorite salmon recipes. It's easy to make and my kids like it too. Well, except my eight-year-old, but she doesn't like anything so her opinion doesn't count.

Enjoy!

Salmon with Rosemary (From The South Beach Diet Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound salmon
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried, crushed
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
• Capers (optional)

Directions:

• Cut the fish into 4 equal-size portions.
• Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary in a bowl. Brush the mixture onto the fish.
• To grill, arrange the fish on a grill rack or use a grill basket sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.
• Grill over medium-hot coals until the fish flakes easily (allow 4-6 minutes per 1/2" of thickness). If the fish is more than 1" thick, gently turn it halfway through grilling.
• To broil, spray the rack of a broiler pan with olive oil cooking spray and arrange the fish on it. Broil 4" from the heat for 4-6 minutes per 1/2" of thickness. If the fish is more than 1" thick, gently turn it halfway through broiling.
• To serve, top the fish with capers, if using, and garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Food Spotlight: Oatmeal

There’s something about these cold, dreary winter days that make me crave comfort food. The gray skies and chilly air seem to propel me toward the couch. Like Linus I drag my blanket to the sofa, snuggle into the corner and surf the TV channels for a romantic comedy. The piece de resistance for my perfect afternoon would be a bowl of freshly made cookie dough at my side, or maybe a whole chocolate cake.

I haven’t done that, thank God, but the desire’s there.

Fortunately it’s sunny today, which lifts my mood and makes me think I can make it one more day without morphing into a cookie-dough-eating sloth.

Since I know I shouldn’t eat like that, I’m always looking for substitutes. Looking for healthy options to satisfy my comfort food cravings. Lately, I’ve rediscovered oatmeal. It’s creamy, hot, and when I add a little brown sugar, fruit and nuts, it seems almost decadent. And oatmeal is one of those foods that’s ridiculously healthy for you. Not only is it loaded with vitamins and minerals but it’s also a great source of protein—a half-cup has 5 grams of protein, almost as much as an egg.

While that’s fantastic, the real superstar in oatmeal is the fiber. Oatmeal is a whole grain and contains a specific type of fiber known as beta glucan. Study after study has demonstrated that this fiber lowers cholesterol.

In fact, studies suggest that individuals with high cholesterol (above 220 mg/dl) can lower their cholesterol by 8-23% by consuming just 3 grams of soluble oat fiber per day (an amount found in one bowl of oatmeal). This is significant since each 1% drop in serum cholesterol translates to a 2% decrease in the risk of developing heart disease.

Dr. James W. Anderson professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine suggests that, “Whole-grain products like oatmeal are among some of the best foods one can eat to improve cholesterol levels, in addition to other lifestyle choices.”

Oatmeal’s benefits go beyond reducing cholesterol. New research is uncovering benefits such as:

·      Reducing the risk for elevated blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and weight gain

·      Reducing the risk of developing breast cancer (Pre-menopausal women eating the most whole grain fiber (at least 13 g/day) had a 41% reduced risk of breast cancer, compared to those with the lowest whole grain fiber intake (4 g or less per day)).

And here I thought oatmeal just made me feel warm and cozy on a cold winter’s day.

Here are a couple of recipes to jumpstart your oatmeal consumption too. Enjoy!

The Perfect Bowl of Oatmeal (according to the World’s Healthiest Foods website)

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

•                2-1/4 cups water

•                dash salt

•                1 cup regular rolled oats

•                1/2 tsp cinnamon

•                1/4 cup dried cranberries

•                1/4 cup chopped walnuts

•                1 TBS flaxseeds

•                1 TBS blackstrap molasses

•                1 cup milk or dairy-free milk alternative

Directions:

1.   Combine the water and salt in a small saucepan and turn the heat to high.

2.   When the water boils, turn the heat to low, add oatmeal, and cook, stirring, until the water is just absorbed, about 5 minutes.

3.   Add cinnamon, cranberries, walnuts, and flaxseeds. Stir, cover the pan, and turn off heat. Let set for 5 minutes. Serve with milk and molasses.

Here’s one for the kids. I know it sounds kind of gross, but they’re really good.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with chickpeas!

(from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious)

Ingredients

•     Nonstick cooking spray

•     1 c firmly packed brown sugar

•     3/4 c trans fat-free soft tub margarine

•     2 large egg whites

•     2 tsp pure vanilla extract

•     1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

•     2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

•     2 cups flour

•     1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

•     1 tsp baking soda

•     1/4 tsp salt

•     ¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

•     ¾ cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.     In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth.

3.     Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas, chocolate chips, nuts and raisins.

4.     Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.

5.     Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten.

6.     Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 - 13 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool.

7.     Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Note: I mash the chickpeas up a bit before adding them to the batter. They disappear better into the mix this way.

Food Spotlight: Kale

I fell in love with kale fifteen years ago after trying a recipe from Food & Wine magazine. A slightly bitter, green, leafy vegetable, I liked its tartness and ability to hold its own against the pungent Asian dressing the recipe called for. But those attributes are also its downfall.

It’s bitter, although not as much as collard greens. And it’s tough, literally. The leaves are more similar in texture to cabbage than lettuce, which at the time was surprising to me, but it shouldn’t have been. Kale is after all, part of the cabbage family.

Even though I liked kale, I only prepared it for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. For some reason it never became a staple in my house. It was put on a pedestal along with sausage stuffing, butternut squash soufflé, and pumpkin cheesecake, only to be consumed once, maybe twice a year.

At a recent dinner party I was served a delicious salad featuring raw kale and I began to reconsider my position on this vegetable. Who knew it could part of your daily diet? It never occurred to me to think of it as a substitute for lettuce. 

After researching the nutritional qualities of kale it’s clear we should be eating more of it. Actually, we should practically bathe in the stuff. Like its cousin broccoli, it’s ridiculously healthy for you.

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Did you get that? All that goodness IN ONE CUP!

Additionally, its high concentration of carotenoids and flavonoids, two types of antioxidants, have linked kale consumption with a reduced risk of bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate cancer.

Okay, I'm now convinced.

A special note about vitamin K.

Too much vitamin K can be a problem for people taking anticoagulants such as Warfarin (also called Coumadin, Jantoven and Marfarin). High levels of vitamin K may interfere with these drugs. If you’re taking these drugs or similar ones, consult your doctor before adding kale to your diet.

While you can find kale year round, it’s a cold weather vegetable and at its freshest now.

Look for firm, deeply colored leaves with hardy stems. The smaller leaves will be more tender and milder in flavor.

Store it, unwashed, in an airtight plastic bag for up to five days in the refrigerator. 

Here are two easy recipes to get you started.

Kale with Creamy Sesame Dressing

Kale Chips (This one I’m dying to try. I’ve been told it’s fantastic.)

Food Spotlight: 100-Calorie Snack Packs

Food manufacturers, in an effort to appeal to health conscious consumers, have begun packaging their products in single serving snack packs. Lining the grocery shelves are 100-calorie packs of Oreo cookies, Chips Ahoy!, Cheese Bits, Cheetos and other snack foods. In theory, this is a good idea. Dividing your favorite treats into smaller portion sizes allows you to indulge a little without going overboard.

Yeah, in theory it’s great. However, like a lot of theories it breaks down in practice.

This first problem with these snacks is the assumption that you’ll only eat one package. It is scientifically proven that protein, fiber and water are the elements in food that give you a feeling of satiation. They fill you up. These 100-calorie snack products are mostly sugar and carbohydrates which do nothing to satisfy your hunger. Chances are you’ll reach for another pack, and another, until finally, stomach still grumbling, you angrily walk down to the vending machine, punch A-7 and retrieve your Snickers bar.

These products are not designed to fill you up. They’re actually a launch pad for other poor choices.

The second, and more fundamental issue I have with these products is that they are a nutritional wasteland. They have very few vitamins, minerals, or other important nutrients. You’re consuming empty calories.

But Dianna, they’re CONVENIENT!, you say. Yeah, I know, that’s the one thing they have going for them. But with a little planning you can have some healthy snack options lying around the house or in your office.

Here’s a list of my favorite 100-calorie snacks. I broke them down in to two categories—snacks for the office and snacks for home. Stock up on some of these and conquer your mid-morning hunger pangs with a healthy choice!

Healthy 100-Calorie Snacks for the Office

• Half an apple with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
(peanut butter is shelf stable, so you can keep a jar in the office)
• 6 Wheat Thins crackers with two teaspoons of peanut butter
• 3 cups of unbuttered popcorn
• 1 package of Quaker Instant Oatmeal (regular flavor)
• 1 banana
• Starbucks Tall Skinny Latte (THAT’S what I’m talking about! And if you walk to Starbucks that’s a bonus!)

Healthy 100-Calorie Snacks for Home

• Yoplait Light Fat-Free yogurt
• 1/2 cup Fage Non-Fat Plain Greek yogurt plus 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing with mixed raw veggies
• 2 cups raspberries
• 28 grapes
• 1 cup blueberries
• 
1/2 medium cantaloupe
• 15 strawberries dipped in 1⁄4 cup Cool Whip Lite
• 45 steamed edamame (green soybeans)
• 
1/2 red bell pepper dipped in 3 tablespoons hummus
• 2 – Sargento Light String Cheese

Food Spotlight: Broccoli

I know what you’re thinking, broccoli, bleck! Yeah, I know. Even for a veggie lover like me, broccoli is a little tough to take. But there are couple of reasons why you should add it to your weekly diet.

First, it’s a superfood. And I mean SUPERFOOD. If you were stranded on a desert island with only broccoli as sustenance you’d be one lucky duck. (Minus the whole issue of getting yourself stranded on an island of course.)

Broccoli is loaded with vitamins A, B6, C, K, E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate. And it’s also a good source of minerals. Specifically, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.

As if that wasn’t enough, it also has protein and fiber.

Crazy, right?

The second reason you should eat broccoli—consumption of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, turnip greens, mustard greens, and collard greens) has been linked with prevention of cancers of the breast, endometrium, colon, prostate, lung and bladder.

Scientists believe compounds in broccoli called isothiocyanates may help prevent cancer by ridding the body of carcinogens. Stated more simply, these compounds help detox your body at a cellular level.

I don’t know about you, but after the holidays a little cleansing from the inside out sounds pretty good.

With all this goodness in a little green floret, why does broccoli get such a bad rap? It’s not cooked properly, or creatively.

Broccoli is often a soft and mushy mess. No wonder no one wants to eat it!

Properly steamed broccoli should be bright green and still retain a bit of its crunch. A head of broccoli steams in roughly 5 minutes.

If you’re tired of plain old steamed broccoli, try these preparations:

Spicy Roasted Broccoli

A head of broccoli

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy foods)

1) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees

2) Wash the broccoli under cool water, cut off the stems and cut any large florets into quarters

3) Place the broccoli on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

4) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tender (but not mushy!)

5) If the broccoli looks a little dry, drizzle more olive oil over the top before serving.

Note: I made this Wednesday night and my meat-and-potato loving husband remarked, “Hey, this is pretty good.” 

I haven't tried the next two recipes but they sounded good too.

Broccoli with Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives

Broccoli Marinara

Enjoy!

Food Spotlight: Clementines

‘Tis the season for those sweet easy-to-peel oranges called clementines.

This little orange stuffs a lot of goodness into a tiny package. One clementine is only 35 calories, plus you get 5% of your daily fiber, 60% of your daily vitamin C and it’s a good source of niacin, thiamin, folic acid and potassium.

My issue with the fruit is the quantity it's sold in. Why are they only sold by the truckload? You can’t just buy four. No, you have to buy a crate-full.

So of course, that’s what I bought. And now I’ve got clementines out the ying-yang. I offer them to every guest that stops by, to the mailman and garbage collector. And I’m considering making them into a citrus-themed wreath.

I love them, really I do, but other than enjoying them as a convenient snack what do you do with them?

Sunday night, out of desperation, I searched the internet for clementine recipes.

Here’s what I made: Spinach salad with clementine-vinaigrette and fish tacos with clementine salsa. It was delicious!

Maybe I can hold off on building that wreath after all.

Here are the recipes for those two dishes. Enjoy!

Spinach Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette (modified from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook)

1/3 cup walnut halves

1 pound flat-leaf spinach

1 teaspoon grated clementine zest (about 2 clementines)

2 tablespoons clementine juice (about 3 clementines)

1 teaspoon finely minced shallot

pinch of salt

pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons walnut oil (you can find this at Kroger and it makes this dressing fabulous)

1. Toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. Combine the zest, juice, shallot, salt, pepper, and walnut oil in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

3. Place the spinach and walnuts in a serving dish. Drizzle the dressing over the spinach and walnuts and toss gently. Serve immediately.

Fish Tacos with Clementine Salsa

For the salsa:

3 clementines, peeled and segments chopped into small pieces

½ roasted red pepper, chopped (Buy a jar of peppers. You don’t have to roast your own)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice from ½ a lime

½ teaspoon cumin

1. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. (Can be made ahead of time and left on the counter for flavors to blend.)

Note: This takes a while to prepare. Not because it’s a difficult recipe, but because it takes some time to peel and chop the clementines.

For the fish:

4 cod fillets (you can use tilapia, mahi mahi or any other white fish you enjoy)

Zest from one lime

Montreal steak seasoning

Olive oil

1. Place the fish on a baking sheet.

2. Drizzle each piece of fish with some olive oil, lime zest, and Montreal seasoning

3. Broil for 8 minutes, or until fish flakes easily

To serve:

Extreme Wellness Tortillas (in Mexican aisle at Kroger)

Sour cream

Baked Fish

Clementine Salsa

1. Fill each tortilla with ¼ to ½ a fish fillet, some clementine salsa and a dollop of sour cream.