Tackling Quinoa… The Saga Continues

June 30th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review | Recipes - (0 Comments)

I recently wrote a post on quinoa, and since then I have completed my fifth attempt eating quinoa. First time was successful tasty-ness because I made the quinoa in a college cooking class with some helpful tips. Second time, I completely screwed up the quinoa because I did not rinse it well enough (I did not have the proper strainer). Third time, my boyfriend made more of a breakfast quinoa (with craisins, almonds, brown sugar, honey, pomegranate juice) and it turned gray. Seriously, the quinoa turned blue-gray. Sick. Perhaps this was due to the presence of an alkali (base turns anthocyanin a gross blue/purple/gray–just sharing a tidbit with those fellow soon-to-be RD’s). And we could still taste that faint astringent hearty flavor (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve had quinoa). 

Fourth and fifth attempt, was more of a success only because we mixed cheese in it (with sun-dried tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms) and created a casserole (fat + salt + sugar= tasty, but slightly unhealthy Americanized food). I could tell my boyfriend was scared to try this fourth attempt because by now, quinoa just seemed like a food neither of us could fully come to enjoy. I know what you are thinking: I need to rinse it better! Trust me, after that awful sour second attempt, the quinoa was rinsed thoroughly.

Anyway… the cheesy goodness recipe worked pretty well!

A few things I have discovered through this process with quinoa: when cooked as a savory dish it is best to use some reduced sodium chicken broth; rinse the quinoa for about 3 minutes straight; it may taste better if you cook it dry in a saute pan first to try and toast it before cooking (like risotto). Oh, and I always get pretty full (defeated) very quickly when eating quinoa (like I feel when eating a bowl of oatmeal). It is just a nutrient-dense food, and fills you up!

If anyone else has some helpful tips, let us all know!

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Healthy Snack Ideas

June 29th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Now that it is summer I have so many more healthy snack ideas because of all the fresh produce available! I am obsessed with fresh produce this time of year.


1. Nectarines and Yogurt: Think peaches and cream. If you like things like peach milkshakes (ahem–from Chick-fil-a perhaps) or peach ice cream this is the healthy snack alternative for you. Mix 1 cup of light activia vanilla yogurt (or vanilla Greek yogurt) and 1 nectarine cut up.
Nutrition Facts: 175 calories, 0.5g fat, 33g carb, 2g fiber, 8g protein (with light yogurt;Greek yogurt=18g protein). Good source of calcium, vitamin A, riboflavin.

2. Frozen Fruit Bar: make your own with your favorite 100% juice, and fresh fruit you have left over that may be about to go bad (works best since it has more sweetness as it has had longer time to ripen). Use a popsicle tray, or small cups. Fill with juice and fruit (you can blend the fruit and juice together first if you prefer). Then, stick a popsicle stick in the middle, or cut straws in half if you don’t have popsicle sticks. Tovolo Yellow Groovy Pop MoldsYou can always add things like yogurt, or protein powders to add protein to this snack.
One idea for the pop molds to the left

Approx. Nutrition Facts: (1 Pop, 8oz.) 90 calories, 0.7g fat, 21g carb, 2g fiber, 1g protein. Good source of vitamin C. 

3. Fresh Tomatoes (or Sun-Dried), Low Fat Cheese, and Whole Grain Crackers: Laughing cow cheese came out with a new light mozzarella, sun-dried tomato, basil flavor. Each wedge is only 35 calories. Just spread some on a whole grain cracker or pita as pictured below!

Approx. Nutrition Facts: (5 pieces) 165 calories,  7g fat (2.7g saturated), 21g carb, 3g fiber, 7.5g protein. Good source of calcium, vitamin A and C, riboflavin, niacin.
4. Sliced Fresh Veggies and Light Sour Cream Dip: Slice up any of your favorite veggies ahead of time so that when you are ready to snack they are there waiting. Cucumbers, zucchini, squash, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, grape tomatoes, etc.
Light Vegetable Dip Recipe:
Take a 16 oz. container of light sour cream, and mix in 1/2 C. blue cheese, 2 tsp. white vinegar, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. If you want a Mediterranean/Greek flavor, mix in feta cheese, and dill! You can basically mix in whatever seasonings are your favorite!
Make this ahead of time too so it is ready for snacking.

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How to Make Homemade Pizza

June 25th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

My boyfriend and I made homemade pizza the other night–meaning we made the dough from scratch! Ah! Crazy! I know. Not really, it is pretty easy to make dough if you have a mixer with a dough hook.

We used simple, fresh ingredients. So, compared to your processed frozen cardboard box pizza (PS- California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza has trans fat… I learned this the hard way) homemade pizza can help you eliminate the crap load, 40 ingredient, unnatural pizza. An easy alternative would to be to pick up some dough at the grocery store, and then make the rest at home. Or, the frozen pizza brand I do like is Amy’s Pizza because it is more natural ingredients, yet still has a great flavor.

Homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe
Ingredients (makes 1 medium size thin crust pizza, serves 2):
    Dough:
  • 1/2 C. Warm Water
  • 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 1/4 C. White Flour or Whole Wheat White Flour (regular whole wheat can be too dense)
  • 1 tsp. Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Honey
  • Cooking Spray to Grease Bowl
  • Toppings: 
    • 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
    • 2 tsp. Crushed Garlic
    • 2 Tomatoes, Sliced
    • 1/4 C. Sun-Dried Tomatoes
    • 1/2 C.- 3/4 C. Mozzarella, sliced in 1/4 in. slices
    • 1/4 C. Fresh Basil, sliced
    • 1/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese for the crust 
    • Pizza Sauce: 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. Dried Oregano, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. Dried Basil, 1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley, 2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes, Salt and Pepper (Combine all in a saucepan and simmer for 10 mins).

Directions (Pizza Dough Directions modified from Betty Crocker):

1.
Heat water to about 105 degrees F, in microwave. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. With a wooden spoon, stir in half of the flour and all of the oil, salt and honey. Stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is easy to handle.
2.
Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy. Spray a large bowl with the cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place 20 minutes.
3.
Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 48 hours. (If dough should double in size during refrigeration, gently push fist into dough to deflate it.)
4.
Move the oven rack to the middle position of the oven. Heat the oven to 425°F. Place dough on center of an ungreased cookie sheet or 12-inch pizza pan (a pizza stone is best–if you have one, pre-heat the pizza stone before placing dough on it). Press the dough into a 12-inch round or rectangle, using floured fingers. Press dough from center to edge so the edge is slightly thicker than the center.
5.
Add the toppings: 
  • Brush dough with olive oil. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the crust. Brush the entire dough with crushed garlic.
  • Spread the pizza sauce over the dough to within 1/2 inch of edge.Top with sliced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced mozzarella.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheeses are melted and lightly browned.
Top with Basil to finish. Cool, cut with pizza cutter, and enjoy Nutrition Facts (Serving: 2 slices… I ate 3, BF ate 5 I think): 314 calories, 12g fat, 5.4g monounsaturated, 5g saturated (comes from the cheese), 36g carb, 5g fiber, 17g protein.
 


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Re-Discovering Quinoa and it’s Magical Protein Powers

June 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

When I mention quinoa (KEEN-wa) to the average person, they have no idea what I am talking about. I explain that it is technically a seed that we eat like a grain (we eat it like we do brown rice) with higher nutritive value than other grains. It has a real hearty flavor and slightly chewy texture. Quinoa comes from a plant like spinach or beets, and the leaves of the quinoa plant are highly nutritious, but I haven’t heard of people eating them. Quinoa is unique for being a complete protein which means quinoa is a great food for vegetarians and vegans, and great for those with gluten intolerance (gluten free food). There are very few non-animal sources of complete protein foods (complete protein means it contains all essential amino acids); the most popular are spirulina, soybeans, and quinoa.

I find some people who are afraid to experiment with their grains are afraid to make quinoa because they don’t know how to cook it, and automatically think it is complicated because “ooo it is a healthy food”. This is nonsense because it only takes 15 minutes to cook (cooked like rice). And people in South America have been eating quinoa for thousands of     years! So, it is not like this magical seed we have just discovered.                                      Image Source  
    

Quick Tip: Cook quinoa like popcorn! I haven’t tried this yet, but apparently, you can throw some seeds in a dry heated pan, and let them pop like popcorn. Then, you can eat it like a cereal grain, or like popcorn!

                                                                      Haha, cute cereal   Image Source
Quinoa Nutrition Facts: Plain, 1 cup serving: 222 calories, 3.6g fat, 39g carb, 5g fiber, 8g protein, good source of iron, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese.

Recipes:
Quinoa Pilaf, Ellie Krieger
Yellow Quinoa, Ingrid Hoffman
Cranberry Walnut Quinoa, Juan-Carlos Cruz

Here are some good tools for cooking with quinoa: A very fine mesh strainer to rinse the soapy saponin off the quinoa before you cook it (you must rinse it!!), and a cookbook with recipes for different grains (not just quinoa). It has one with macadamia nuts that I like.
  

<–Featured on Food Renegade this week.
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Gianni at Home: Crepes

June 19th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

This weekend my sister, her boyfriend, Gianni, and I made a video similar to Giada at Home crepe recipe. We were watching her make crepes, and decided Gianni should make his own version of her show! See the video below of Gianni making crepes with raspberry and Nutella filling!

Sorry for the bad video quality–all we had laying around was an old camera.

Did you know? Crepes are not the most unhealthy thing. They are mostly an egg-based food; it really just depends on the filling you put in the crepe to determine whether it is healthy or not. So, if you fill your crepe with fruit, veggies, or maybe almond butter, you have made a healthy crepe!
Nutrition Facts: One crepe plain is about 65 calories, 1g fat, 10g carb, 1g sugar, 9g protein.

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Healthy Fried Chicken

June 14th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Traditional fried chicken is about 375 calories and 25g fat per serving. And most Americans will chow down on 2 servings (750 calories, 50g fat!). I love to make a healthy crispy chicken to satisfy that crunchy texture.

Recipe for Healthy Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
  • 1 pound chicken tenderloins
  • 1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 C. whole grain crackers (suggested: All-Bran Crackers or Wheatables Nut Crisp Crackers)
  • 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 C. skim milk
  • 2 tsp. hot sauce
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. In a food processor (or you can use a zip top bag and crush), chop crackers finely with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  2. Create an assembly line: wheat flour in one bowl, egg with milk and hot sauce in another bowl, and cracker mixture in the last bowl.
  3. Heat oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Dip the chicken tenderloins one at a time in the flour, then egg, then cracker crumbs, and place in saute pan to cook.
  4. Cook on first side for about 5 minutes. Flip using tongs to brown the other side for an additional 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts:  Per 4 oz. Serving: 350 calories, 17g fat (12g monounsaturated), 3g saturated, 18g carb, 3g fiber, 29g protein, 19% DV iron, 96% DV niacin.

**Note: if you are used to southern fried chicken this dish will not even come close because southern fried chicken is a completely different food (uses the skin, is usually fried twice, etc.), this recipe is simply a healthy alternative.

KFC Double Down Image Source
When we ate this meal, my boyfriend tried to make a KFC double down. HAHA. He put a few pieces of chicken with some cheese and something else (not sure), and just ate it!

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What’s In Season: June and July

June 12th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Nutrition News - (0 Comments)

Fruit:

  • strawberries, all berries
  • cherries
  • peaches
  • apricots
  • watermelon
  • currants (similar to raisins)
  • pineapple
  • rhubarb

Vegetable:

  • tomatoes
  • summer squash
  • corn
  • beets               
  • turnips
  • peas, beans
  • greens
  • cucumber
  • fennel
  • cauliflower
  • onions
  • basil (June)

                                                                     Make a fresh tomato basil salad!        

Seafood:

  • clams, crab, crayfish, lobster 
  • pollack
  • trout                                                                    
  • scallops
  • sea bass

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Vegas Food

June 8th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Miscellaneous - (6 Comments)

I’m back from my Las Vegas trip! And of course I have a list of foods to share with you all! Let the food parade begin…

Light Custard with Strawberries from the Bellagio (pictured top). The topping is sugar! Some sweet ladies bought our group this dessert and a banana split to celebrate the trip.
Some ladies got Chocolate Croissants from Paris Hotel (pictured right). The French don’t get fat, right?


Next the girls saw the statue of liberty made of jelly beans. I didn’t see this because I wasn’t feeling too hot that day.

At dinner that night we went to an organic restaurant at Mandalay Bay called the Border Grill. They have all natural and organic foods including margaritas! I got non-traditional mulitas which are portobello mushrooms layered with black beans, onions, sauteed greens, and guacamole.

My sister ordered the enchiladas (pictured below).

For dessert, the Border Grill has this Pastel with cream cheese, puff pastry, chocolate chunks, mousse which was delicious! It was like eating a pimped out cream puff.

Next… I bring you the world’s largest chocolate fountain! Seriously. The fountain is at the Bellagio in the chocolate shop.

There were also these cute mini desserts like mini key lime pie, or mini fruit tarts (pictured below).

One day we went to Serendipity where you can get ginormous sundaes. My sister got frozen hot chocolate and I got a classic sundae.

 But, don’t worry–we ate a salad before we got out desserts! The carrots on top were dried carrots and tasted just like a potato chip.

For dinner that night we went to Emeril’s restaurant, Delmonico, at the Venetian and I had his version of fancy BBQ salmon. I wasn’t a fan of the fried onion strings, but oh well, the salmon was cooked perfectly. 


Oh, and P.S.–this salmon was a $40 piece of fish. Crazy. Six waiters came out and put our plates in front of us all at the same second. Our friend got the scallops special which I was almost jealous of because it looked so good!

Our last day we went to lunch at Olives at the Bellagio so that we could watch the fountains one last time. We had olive tapenade and delicious Greek salads.

We had a fun time in Vegas, but I definitely want to go back because I didn’t get to see everything I had wanted to see. Until ne
xt time, Vegas…

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Alcoholic Beverage Choices for the Health Conscious

June 1st, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Miscellaneous - (6 Comments)

This will be my last post until I return from Vegas. So, I figured I would highlight the lowest calorie drinks since I am about to head out to Sin City, and would like to be friendly to the waist-line. First of all, it is important to remember that what is considered safe for alcohol is 1 drink per day for women, and 2 drinks per day for men. And no, you can not save up, and then go to Vegas and binge drink–not healthy. However, this is Vegas we are talking about.

Adiós sugary sweet pineapple cocktail!

Top Choices for Lighter Alcoholic Drinks:

  1. Wine: on average about 100 calories per 5 oz. glass, plus wine contains heart healthy polyphenols
  2. Vodka Soda/Vodka Diet Tonic: about 70-90 calories depending on the vodka brand/proof
  3. Champagne: one flute is only about 75 calories
  4. Coconut Rum is surprisingly lower in calories than other hard liquors: 51 calories per oz.; just mix with a diet tonic, and splash of orange juice and you have a drink under 100 calories! Don’t forget there are other light liquor choices like tequila, brandy, scotch which are all about 65 calories per oz.
  5. Bacardi and Diet Coke/Diet Tonic: a traditional cocktail at 65 calories per 5 oz drink, but I’m not a huge fan of coke…
  6. Gin and Diet Tonic: a personal fav at 120 calories per 6 oz.
  7. Lemon Juice and Lime Juice will only set you back 10 calories; add to a flavored liquor on the rocks or with diet soda/tonic.
  8. Light Beer: about 60-115 calories depending on brand

When not at a bar, you can get more healthy conscious by buying 100% fruit juice, diet mixers, mixing sangria, skinny margaritas, or pomegranate cocktails!

Did you know?? Alcohol is not a carbohydrate–it is a separate category. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram which puts alcohol in-between carbohydrates and fat (less energy per gram than fat, but more energy per gram than carb/protein). This means is that it can be easy to consume hundreds of calories from alcohol without realizing.

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