Healthy eating should be hip, simple, and fun. You only live once, but you eat multiple times a day.
November 21, 2012 Leave a comment
Five super-simple, blast-from-the-past, feastalicious dishes to complete your table:
Loafin’ Lentils from Skinny Dish!
Sesame Greens from Skinny Dish!
Crave-Worthy Brussels Sprouts from Skinny Dish!
Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes from Skinny Dish!
Oh My Stars Pumpkin Pie
November 17, 2012 Leave a comment
Lentils in a flash!
Step aside, split peas! This experimental, transcontinental lentil stew is now on the go-to dinner list. It’s quick (2 main ingredients, no chopping needed), cheap ($2.50 for the whole pot), and such a totally delicious way to warm your heart and soul. And, it’ll please your bean-pushing, fiber-focused dietitian. With 9 grams of fiber and 17 grams of protein per serving, you won’t be hungry for days!
Accidental Lentil Stew
Makes 8 hearty servings (about 1 cup each)
4 cups filtered water
1 16-ounce (1 lb.) bag dried red split lentils
(newly available at Trader Joe’s for $1.69)
1/2 of a 16-oz bag organic frozen chopped spinach (or other dark leafy green)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 Dorot frozen garlic cubes)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
Place all ingredients in a medium-size soup pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with bread, multigrain crackers, or nothing at all.
Nutrition Info Per Serving: 222 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 340 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 17 g protein, 19% vitamin A, 3% calcium, 18% iron.
Top with hot sauce for a more fiery experience. Happy stew season!
September 20, 2012 7 Comments
As a child, 1982 was the year I yearned for a Chia Pet. I wanted the ram. I didn’t even know what a ram was, but I wanted it. It was the commercial that won my heart, with it’s catchy tune and fancy time-lapsed photography. Who knew that 30 years later, Dr. Oz’s team and even Nuts.com (one of my favorites) would be all over their nutritional benefits.
Chia seeds (‘chia’ is actually Mayan for “strength”)–which were used widely by the Mayans and Aztecs as early as 3500 BC to increase stamina and energy–are a SUPER superfood because they have a crazy high amount of nutrients for a crazy low amount of calories. And unlike chia’s friend the flax seed (also a Super), they don’t have to be ground to reap the benefits.
Chia seeds are high in:
So how do you eat them? How DON’T you eat them is more the question! You can literally toss a tablespoon or two into anything. They’re tasteless and simply contribute a fun, crunchy texture to your food. Here, I added them to a dessert and a pina-colada-type smoothie with only positive feedback. Here are 40 more ideas. Chia Cheers!
Chia Blondie Ingredients
Chia Blondies
Makes 16 small squares or 9 large squares
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 flaxseed meal
1/2 cup filtered water
1 15.5-ounce Trader Joe’s Blondie Bar Baking Mix (or other blondie or brownie mix that bakes in a 9″ X 9″ pan)
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance margarine
1 medium zucchini squash (green or yellow), shredded
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Soak chia seeds and flaxseed meal in water in a medium bowl for 5 minutes, until a thick gel forms.
Stir remaining ingredients into chia flax mixture until well mixed.
Spread mixture into a lightly greased 8- or 9-inch square or round baking pan.
Bake for 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Feel your cholesterol dissolving, one bite at a time.
Chia Blondies, made with green zucchini
Nutrition Info Per Small Square (1/16th of recipe): 178 calories, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 1.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 1.5 g monounsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 232 mg sodium, 39 mg potassium, 22.5 g carbohydrate, 3.2 g fiber, 13.3 g sugar, 2 g protein, 5% vitamin A, 1% vitamin C, 2% calcium, 6% iron.
Nutrition Info Per Large Square (1/9th of recipe): 317 calories, 15 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 2.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 412 mg sodium, 68 mg potassium, 40 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 23.5 g sugar, 4 g protein, 10% vitamin A, 2% vitamin C, 4% calcium, 10% iron.
What the critics said:
Bitchin’ Husband: “If I have a second, will my hair grow green?” (Ha ha, Funnyman)
6-Year-Old Daughter: “Two more please!”
4-Year-Old Son: “Mom! You never gave me dessert!” (Trying to get another)
2-Year-Old Son: “I not like this.” Two minutes later: “Why you eat my dessert?!?!”
Chia Colada
Chia Colada
Makes 3 1-cup servings
Chia seeds are rich in soluble fiber, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, & help to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, & promote heart health. Salud!
¼ cup chia seeds soaked in ½ cup filtered water for 5 minutes
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 banana
2 cups refrigerated coconut milk
(or 1 cup canned coconut milk plus 1 cup water)
Blend and do the hat dance.
Nutrition Info Per 1-cup Serving: 202 calories, 10 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 8 g protein, 11% vitamin A, 52% vitamin C, 15% calcium, 34% iron.
August 16, 2012 7 Comments
Light, Fluffy, Rich, Lower Sugar!
Looking for a sweet dessert without the chemicals, weird artificial flavor taste, and without added sugar? Impossible! Forget it! Oh wait. Enter: Monkey Cake.
Sugar–with it’s highly inflammatory, blood sugar-spiking, acne-growing, and teeth-rotting attributes, combined with the fact that it doesn’t even do your laundry–has sent me on a dessert mission. A mission to create a lower sugar baked good that’s not only highly tolerable, but bordering on cravable. This one does it, especially if you’re part monkey. The sweetness comes from bananas and a touch of Truvia, a natural calorie-free sweetener from the stevia plant. The coconut oil–gaining new health praise–adds a subtle tropical kick. Give it a whirl–it’s easy as pie!
Money Cake (Low Sugar)
Makes 12 hunks
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup filtered water
3 Tablespoons Truvia Baking Blend (or other stevia leaf extract for baking)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (like Bob’s), or 2 1/2 cups brown rice flour (like Bob’s)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mash banana, water, and stevia together, and stir in oil and vanilla until well-mixed.
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. Combine flour mixture and cinnamon with wet mixture by stirring in gradually.
Pour mixture into a greased 9″ x 9″ square or 9″ round baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes, until top is golden brown. Let the cake cool before cutting.
Nutrition Info Per Hunk: 150 calories, 5 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 202 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 3 g protein, 7% Iron.
The trick with using stevia baking blend in recipes is to substitute it at a 1:2 ratio for sugar. The stevia is sweeter and has a nasty aftertaste if overdone. The original version of this recipe called for 1/2 cup sugar (8 Tablespoons), and 3 Tablespoons of stevia baking blend does the trick without any nasty.
July 19, 2012 2 Comments
Is it possible? The following combo comes up all too often: The desire to get healthy challenged by an extreme dislike for veggies. It’s possible that the right veggie experience just hasn’t happened yet. But until then–and also handy to know when your favorite veggies are out of season–here are a handful of ways to get closer to your 40-gram daily fiber goal without veggies in the picture:
Breaking Down the 40-Gram Goal:
10 grams of fiber per meal (3 of those) + 5 grams of fiber per snack (2 of those)
Happy fibering!
April 16, 2012 2 Comments
Out-Of-Hand Nuts (and a few Seeds)
Unless you have an allergy (obvious, and more about why those are on the rise here), it’s time to pop some nuts into your mouth. A new study published in Nutrition Research concluded that even though nut enthusiasts generally have a higher overall calorie intake, 1/4-ounce or more per day of OOHN (Out-Of-Hand Nuts) meant better overall intake of healthy fats and fiber, and a lower intake of cholesterol, sodium, and sugary carbs. More OOHN also meant lower risk of high blood pressure and better “good” HDL cholesterol–both indicative of lower heart disease risk. And yes, the researchers coined the acronym for Out-Of-Hand Nuts, which literally means nuts that you eat out of your hand versus those stashed in cookies, bread, cakes, etc.
While OOHN lovers DID consume more calories than OOHN anti-lovers, the lovers generally had similar or lower Body Mass Indexes. Perhaps it’s all the calories burned tossing the nuts into one’s mouth. Have you had YOUR out-of-hand nuts today?
April 2, 2012 4 Comments
Day 1: Green Apple Juice
Guest Post by Megha Shah Even
I began the 7-Day Skinny Dish detox, along with my husband and sister-in-law, as a healthy start to the new year. My experience with other detox programs is limited: it has been a year since my last detox and with the assumption that all detoxes are alike, I was dreading this one. It turns out that my last detox stunk. This detox is AWESOME!
The first thing I noticed was how bright and vibrant all the veggies looked when I wasn’t cooking the life out of them. I could really taste each fruit/vegetable. I was sure I’d never had blueberries that tasted so good! Although the individual ingredients in each recipe were familiar to me, the combination was such a delightful surprise. Each meal was packed with flavor and I was eager to try out the following day’s recipes. There were a number of standout meals: Mango Summer Salad, Veggie Pupusas, Tofu Feta, Walnut, and Beet Salad, Curried Lentil Stew, Arugula Salad with Pan-Seared Butternut Squash. However, the real star of the show was the Fiery Cashew Dip (*drool*).
Another surprise was the realization that I’ve likely been dehydrated for over 10 years. I immediately noticed a difference with the increased water intake–my skin felt soft and aglow! I found a strange comfort in the water-pee-water-pee rhythm of my days. The shakes/juices (Green Apple Juice. YUM.) provided a nice perk in the morning and mid-afternoon tea was a great way to simulate the ritual of morning coffee. I did not feel hunger at any point during the week and found this detox to be f-u-n! I suggest asking a friend or family member to join in–it was helpful to share funny texts with my husband and sister-in-law throughout the week. The only negative for me was a moderate headache in the evening for the first four days. I blame years of caffeine addiction.
In my opinion, the 7-Day Skinny Dish detox takes a common sense approach to healthy eating. I was able to keep the party going for another week due to all the leftovers. Post detox, I have added kale to my weekly shopping list and have incorporated quite a few recipes into my weeknight meal line-up. I have continued with a high daily water intake and have increased the percentage of raw foods in my diet. I felt lighter and shed a few unwanted pounds without really trying. I enthusiastically recommend this detox to anyone who wants to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle, or is simply in need of a fresh approach to healthy eating. Word up, people! Do it! BEST. DETOX. EVER.
Megha Shah Even is a GreenSchool Educator at The New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY., where she leads plant science workshops for students in grades K-8. She is a compost enthusiast (loves food, hates waste) and is often spotted near grubby patches of land sneaking post-lunch organic matter into the soil. Megha is also an apprentice on a rooftop farm and currently lives in Queens with her husband, two cats, many plants, and an efficient army of red worms.
March 26, 2012 11 Comments
SKINNY DISH's "Stick With You Oatmeal"
1. Replace your eggs, bacon, or cold cereal with Stick With You Oatmeal, Baked Oatmeal, or warm oat bran (like cream of wheat, only better at lowering your cholesterol). Add fruit for extra fun. Make this a permanent change.
2. Mound half your plate at lunch and dinner with veggies. Cooked, raw, both, low-fat, and the same one every meal if that’s how you like it. Just get half your plate to be naturally colorful twice a day. The bigger plate, the better.
3. Start taking 1000 milligrams of essential Omega-3 fatty acids daily. I prefer the algae-derived kind (like this one) since that’s where the fish get it, but any will work. The Omega-3′s are extra good at improving your blood lipid levels and lowering your heart disease risk, and they make your skin as soft and smooth as a baby’s bottom!
4. Replace eggs in baking with ground flaxseed meal (like the one made by Bob’s Red Mill, found at most grocery stores). Flaxseeds are not only rich in Omega-3′s, but–like oats–they’re high in soluble fiber which does quite a doozy at lowering bad cholesterol. For each egg in a recipe, use 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal soaked in 3 tablespoons warm water for 5-10 minutes until a gel forms. Toss that gooey goodness into your recipe as you would an egg. You can also just ADD flaxseed meal to just about anything… smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal, oat bran, and soy yogurt.
5. Enjoy beans or lentils as your “meaty” entrée as often as possible. They’re exploding with soluble fiber, but they also have zero cholesterol and saturated fat–you won’t be adding any bad guys to your system, and you’re stocking up on good guys. A double win! Make it a goal of getting 1 CUP of cooked beans or lentils daily. Tips here, including ways to make them less farty.
Give these changes a solid try for 3 months, and then get your cholesterol levels tested again. I expect to hear glowing reports!
March 1, 2012 6 Comments
Photo by: Whole Foods Market
Now that about 12 unrelated people have asked me about baked oatmeal–and 1 of them even brought me a sample (yum!)–I decided to test it out for myself.
Oatmeal in itself (even the 1 1/2-minute-in-the-microwave-old-fashioned kind) can be too time-consuming in the morning (I know, what has our busy world come to?!). And as you smarties already know, oats contain more soluble fiber than any other grain. Soluble Fiber is the champion at lowering bad LDL cholesterol. It works like this: Soluble fiber reduces the amount of bile reabsorbed in the intestines, which means more bile is excreted through bathroom activities. The liver panics and snatches LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream to make more bile salts. Down goes your LDL cholesterol number, and your doc starts smiling again. Take home message: Eat more oats. Capiche?
Now back to the recipe at hand. This version takes about 40 minutes and can be made on a Sunday night and packaged up to be inhaled while biking, walking, or sleep-walking to work. It pretty much feels like an indulgent coffee cake. Have it for dessert!
Modified from the original version on About.com here, this one has less sugar and all the taste.
All-The-Rage Baked Oatmeal
Makes 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
3 Tbsp flaxseed meal (finely ground flax seeds)
1/4 cup warm filtered water
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (optional)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or soy milk
2 Tbsp melted Earth Balance margarine
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (preferably organic)
6 chopped fresh strawberries (preferably organic)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil an 8″ square or round baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flax meal with the warm water until the mixture forms a gel (about 5 minutes). Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the quick-cooking oats, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and ginger. Set aside. In another small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond milk and melted margarine. Add this to the dry ingredients, followed by the flax mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and strawberries until evenly distributed.
4. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cut into 8 squares and serve warm with almond milk or soy milk.
NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING (including brown sugar): 219 calories, 6 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 48 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 5.5 g protein, 1.5% vitamin A, 10.5% vitamin C, 13.5% calcium, 14% iron.
Leave the brown sugar out for an even lower sugar version. Enjoy this with herbal tea and more fruit for a high-powered way to start the day. Happy oat-ing!
February 22, 2012 5 Comments
Celery Root by Lee Court Farms, found on WiveswithKnives.net
Guest Post by Robyn Selman
You don’t see recipes for celery root (celeriac) very often. It’s definitely one of the ugly ducklings at the produce stand. But once you peel off that gnarly brown exterior (resembling the surface of the moon), you get a low-starch, low-calorie root vegetable that smells and tastes like a mixture of celery and parsley, and is a champion source of fiber, potassium, and cancer-fighting antioxidants. When baked until tender, the texture reminds me of cooked carrots. I always find myself turning to Mark Bittman’s cookbooks when I want to cook with a less familiar vegetable, and I was not disappointed with this recipe. Gratins with root vegetables make perfect winter meals, especially when you add beans and whole grains to make them really filling.
White Bean and Celery Root Gratin with Bulgur Crust
Adapted from Mark Bittman – How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Serves 4
½ cup fine-grind bulgur
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the baking dish and drizzling
1 ½ pounds celery root, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained but still moist, liquid reserved
1 teaspoon sweet or Spanish smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram leaves or 1 teaspoon dried or fresh oregano
Photo by Robyn Selman
Put the bulgur into a heatproof bowl and pour 1 cup boiling water over the top. Stir, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Once the water has absorbed, fluff with a fork, drizzle with a little oil, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Lightly oil a 2-quart soufflé dish, gratin dish, or a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 °F.
In a large deep skillet, add 3 tablespoons of oil and heat over medium heat. When hot, add the celery root and cook for about 8 minutes, until it starts to brown. Add the onion and some salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the vegetables are soft and golden brown.
Off heat, stir in the garlic, beans, paprika, and herbs. Add some of the reserved bean liquid if it seems dry (it should resemble a thick stew). Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Spread the bean and vegetable mixture into the pre-oiled pan. Top evenly with the bulgur and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the edges and top are browned and bubbling happily. The time might vary depending on how deep your baking dish is.
Serve immediately or let rest for up to an hour and serve at room temperature.
Notes:
If you can’t find finely ground bulgur at your store (I couldn’t), then you should just buy regular bulgur and grind it yourself in a coffee or spice grinder at home. The first time I made this recipe I did not grind it and I was sorry. The bulgur pieces became so hard from baking that it hurt my teeth to bite down on them. So I made it again, this time grinding it first in my small coffee grinder reserved for spices until it looked similar to fine bread crumbs, and the result was MUCH better. Just goes to show that recipe instructions are chosen for good reasons and I should really pay attention to them!
Don’t have celery root? Other vegetables you can use include: potatoes, parsnips, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, carrots, summer squash, green beans, asparagus, or cabbage.
Robyn Selman is a recovering “picky eater.” After eating pre-packaged, processed foods her whole life she decided to make the switch to fresh, homemade meals and has never looked back. Now she approaches cooking with the mindset of “the more vegetables, the better” and loves trying out new recipes. She tries to buy local whenever possible and loves Community Supported Agriculture. Her life happily revolves around her work, her husband, and their crazy cat. She loves board games, hiking, dancing, good books, and good coffee. You can read more on her blog, Robyn Cooks.
