Thursday, May 26, 2011

Frozen Entrees

We have all had days when cooking is the last thing on our mind and we are scrambling for something quick to eat that doesn't throw off our healthy eating. My husband and I always have a few frozen Kashi and Amy's meals on hand for the mornings we don't have time to make a lunch (or the nights he's traveling and I'm too lazy to cook for one). While frozen meals are quick and easy options for lunch they can also be loaded in fat and sodium so reading the food label becomes a must. It can be hard to know which packages are healthy options and which ones to stay away from.  Before you decide to go out for lunch read on to see some healthy frozen meal options and my recommendations for choosing healthy frozen meals. You may not be able to meet all the recommendations so prioritize what means the most to you.

Recommendations for choosing healthy frozen meals:
     300-500 calories
     10-17 grams of total fat or less (or 30% of total calories from fat or less).
     No trans fat and if possible low in saturated fat
     Less than 600 milligrams of sodium
     4 grams or more of fiber
     10 grams or more of protein
*Another thing to think about when choosing a frozen meal is will it fill you up. Some meals have larger serving sizes than others. If you choose a favorite dish that has a smaller serving size you may want to add more vegetables, beans or chopped nuts to the top for increased protein. You could also pack a piece of fruit and yogurt to go with it.
Helpful hint in browsing the freezer section: Look for packages that use whole grains or say "double the veggies" as a start.

A few Good Single Serving Frozen Meal Choices
Kashi-Lemongrass Coconut Chicken:
300 calories, 8g of fat, 680mg Sodium, 7g fiber, 18g Protein
                        -meets all recs but sodium

Kashi-Black Bean Mango (vegan option):
    340 calories, 8g Fat, 380mg sodium, 8g Protein, 7g Fiber
                        -meets all recs but protein

Lean Cuisine"Spa Cuisines" -Chicken in Peanut Sauce (uses whole grain noodles):
            280 calories, 6g Fat, 550mg sodium, 21g Protein, 5g Fiber
-meets all recs
-no artificial flavors or preservatives

Healthy Choices -Asian Beef Terriyaki:
            290 calories, 5g Fat, 570 mg sodium, 16g Protein, 3g Fiber
                        -meets all recs but fiber

Smart One- Thai Style Chicken Rice Noodles:
            260 calories, 4g fat, 570mg sodium, 14g Protein, 2g fiber
                        -meets all recs but fiber
Amy’s- Light in Sodium Indian Mattar Paneer (organic vegetarian option):
            370 calories, 11g fat, 330mg sodium, 13g Protein, 6g Fiber
                        -meets all recs

Amy’s- Light and Lean Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas (vegetarian option):
             240 calories, 4.5g Fat, 480mg sodium, 8g protein, 4g Fiber
                        -meets all recs

Interested in finding healthy frozen family sized meals that taste good too? Watch Twin Cities Live today, May 26th at 3pm on Channel 5 to see a few healthy and non-healthy family frozen meals and what the experts thought of the taste!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Crop Share Box #1

This is the second year my husband and I have joined a crop share with our neighbors. We have a full share every other week package and our first box came last week. As a new addition to the blog I plan to share my journey cooking through all the unique vegetables that the boxes contain. I'll share what was in the box, new recipes I try with the vegetables and other information about the vegetables. To give you guys a better understanding of how the recipes tasted my husband I will also rank the taste of recipes. That way you can distinguish which may be worth trying. Our rating scale will be out of 5 stars.
  • 5 stars: Mouthwatering, when can I have it again? Will definitely make again.
  • 4 stars: Very good, a definite recipe to repeat.
  • 3 stars: Tasted good but nothing special, would make a variation of it again.
  • 2 stars: Something was missing but has potential to be fixed.
  • 1 star: Not good, would never make it again. 
After the cold and wet spring I wasn't sure what I would find in my first box. With much anticipation my neighbor Greta and I went together to find our pick up location and vegetables. After splitting things with Greta here is what our share looked like. 


Crop Share Box #1 
What this box contained: 
Sunchokes, Parsnips, Ramps, Overwintered Spinach, Black Radishes, Sorrels, Chives, Watercress and Nettles

Pictured Items from left to right:
Ramp, Spinach & Watercress (in bag), Sorrels, Chives
Sunchokes and Black Parsnip in front of bag

New recipes I made from items in this box: 
Fried Sunchoke chips with Rosemary Salt Source: Epicurious (from Greta)
Rating: 4.5 stars from Sina, 4 from Ryan

Other Recipes I've made so far:
Potato salad with Chives Recipe edited from recipes my mom made as a kid and online recipes
-Baby Red Potatoes, boiled then cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used ~5 pounds)
-Chives, diced (~1/2 cup or to taste)
-Light Sour Cream (~1 cup)
-Salt and Pepper to taste (don't be bashful)
Rating: Sina: 3 stars,  Ryan  2 stars
I love potato salads with a sour cream base but I think I would add garlic and more pepper next time.

Pasta with Ramps and Sorrel
Combine the following ingredients:
-Pasta noodles, cooked
-Sorrel and Ramps -washed, chopped and sauteed
-Olive oil
-Crushed red pepper
-2 garlic cloves
-salt and pepper
Sina: 3 stars, Ryan: 3


Interested in joining a crop share. Check out Local Harvest for farms close to you. 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Tofu

People assume I know how to cook everything since I spend a lot of time in the kitchen but to there surprise I'm just like everyone else and I have so many foods I have yet to try and so many more to master. I'm still nervous cooking new foods especially things like lamb and tofu. These are both foods I love to order when I go out to eat but making them at home is very intimidating.

Tofu is my favorite addition to Asian dishes. I  love the texture and way it picks up the flavor in whatever sauce you add it to.  It's also a great protein substitute for vegetarians, vegans or people who have trouble chewing meat.

Earlier this month my husband was traveling for work and I had time and no critiquing audience to try to prepare tofu on my own (two musts for a new food item). There are three main types of tofu available (firm, extra firm and silken).Not knowing what to buy I went with a firm tofu from Trader Joe's. I was lucky because my check out clerk saw it and gave me some tips on her favorite way to prepare it.  Since I was a new tofu cook I went with her suggestions. I was told to first cover it in paper town and a plate to get all the water out (I ended up doing this a few times until the tofu felt dry) and then cook it in a pan without oil. I was worried it would stick but just like she told me it didn't. I cooked it on each side until slightly browned and then tossed it with brown rice, broccoli, snap peas and soyaki sauce. To my excitement my whipped up meal of the vegetables left in the fridge, brown rice and tofu was tasty, simple and a definite remake for when my husband is here. I'm happy I tackled my first encounter with cooking tofu. Just like anything with cooking the more I prepare and cook it the more creative and confident I am with it.

My leftover Tofu Stir Fry at work the next day  
Tofu's Health benefits: Rich source of isoflavones (may help reduce the risk of cancer and osteoporosis), lean protein source (low in fat and calories and cholesterol free) and a good calcium source
-1/2 cup of tofu (~4 ounces) contains ~94 calories (4 ounces of ground beef is ~330 calories), 10 grams of protein and 227mg calcium

I'm ready to try more tofu recipes. Any suggestions? (Aunt Nancy I'm sure you have some good ones).

Monday, May 16, 2011

Vegetable and Herb Garden

This is a long overdue email but I’ve been busy in the yard weeding and planting my garden. One of the best perks of home ownership and a yard is the ability to have a garden. This is the second year I’ve planted an herb and vegetable garden. With all the imported and shipped vegetables at grocery stores you never know how many miles they’ve traveled before they reach your kitchen.  I love being able to go in the backyard to get herbs or fresh vegetables and know they only traveled a few yards before we eat them. It doesn’t get any closer than that. :) 

The first thing to know about vegetables and gardening is ANYONE can do it! I’m not a gardening expert but I've learned a lot from family and friends and had a plethora of vegetables last year. A successful garden doesn't have to come with experience. Trial and error along with water, sun and some TLC are the best ingredients for starting your own garden. If you don't have a yard a good idea would be to get a pot for herbs or a tomato plant. We cleared the space for our vegetable garden last year from a preexisting bed of hosta flowers. After much work removing the hostas and sharing them with neighbors and friends my mom graciously helped me till the space with shovels and mix in peat moss.  My husband finished it off with the toughest job; digging a trench for a fence to keep our dog and neighborhood rabbits out. Below is a picture of my garden before I planted.
Last summer we had great results with: kale, green beans (although the rabbits ate them all before we did), spring lettuce, cilantro, yellow squash and zucchini from seeds. We also had great outcomes with bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, basil, rosemary and oregano that we bought as plants. On the other hand our snap peas, onions, eggplant and cucumbers didn't do well.

This summer I decided to keep a lot of the vegetables that grew well and we love such as kale, peppers (habanero, jalapeno, banana and bell), green beans, zucchini and tomatoes. I also decided to try arugula, butter lettuce, one last shot at  cucumbers and expand our herbs to basil, oregano, dill, sage, mint, rosemary and a row of cilantro. After wishing I had more than 8 tomato plants last summer (we had no trouble eating them) we went up to 12 plants this year. That means we will have an endless supply of homemade salsa (likely spicy with the addition of our habanero peppers) and a few pots of  marinara sauce, tomato soup and tomato juice for Bloody Mary's during football season. 
  
 
I'm sure you will hear me talk about all the food I prepare this summer from my garden so stay tuned.

If you are looking for more information on gardening check out some of the resources below:
American Institute of Cancer Research: When to Plant Foods that Fight Cancer
University of Minnesota-Extension: Planting the Vegetable Garden




Sunday, May 8, 2011

Chocolate Overload

This post is for all the times I've been told that since I'm a dietitians I don't eat dessert or chocolate. No and No. Actually, dietitians have an obsession and love for food and dessert is the cherry on top of it all. When your job is centered around nutrition you are inevitably forced to think about food all day. My love for food makes me wonder what I'm going to eat for dinner while I'm eating lunch. I'm constantly excited to cook something new, eat something different or decide my next recipe to try.

My chocolate overload and new obsession with cake began the weekend of my father in law, Scott's birthday. Since I love to cook and my husband and I love to host we decided to treat them to a homemade dinner at our house instead of going out. We started with grilled vegetables. This time it was a medley of red peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms with parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper. This was accompanied with dry rubbed ribs, my moms brown rice pilaf and a healthier version of my friend Erin's corn bread casserole. Dinner was delicious but I think we'd agree that the most exciting part of the meal hadn't been tasted yet.
 
I love baking for Scott because he has a sweet tooth just like me. When it comes to dessert the richer the better! Knowing that Smitten Kitchen is always a great source for recipes I filtered through her cake options until I found the perfect choice, a chocolate sour cream cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. Mmm...just reading it makes me want to bake it again. You may be wondering why I'm sharing a cake recipe or you may think the reason I'm writing this post was because it was a lower fat version of cake. Was it low fat? No (although I did make a few changes to make it healthier). Was it AMAZING? That one gets a unanimous yes (even from my husband who rarely wants dessert). The reason I wanted to share this was to further prove "Everything in Moderation" even delicious chocolate cake. It was designed to be a three layer cake but since it was just my husband, mom and Ryan's parents we only made two layers. My mom and I did the cake in the morning and then layered it with the peanut butter cream cheese frosting before dinner. Then, as if that wasn't enough we topped it with a chocolate peanut butter glaze. It was decadent: moist, rich and creamy all in one bite. The perfect mix of peanut butter and chocolate. Although mine didn't turn out nearly as pretty as hers I was very proud of the outcome. For those of you who haven't been to the Smitten Kitchen blog I recommend checking it out now or clicking on the recipe link below. You won't be disappointed.

Recipe from www.SmittenKitchen.com 
Adjustments I made: In place of regular ingredients I used a light sour cream, 1/3 less fat cream cheese and reduced fat peanut butter
         

My amazing Teskey family
If you don't have 3 circle cake pans you can also make it in a 9 x 11 cake pan (which I did the weekend after for my friends fiancee's birthday. Make the full recipe, pour it in the 9 x 11 pan and bake it for 45 minutes. FYI: since it's in a 9 x11 pan without layers you won't need as much of the frosting. 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Juice Boxes

As a lot of my friends begin their journeys into parenthood it’s a great time to talk about juice. We can all think back to our childhood days and having juice boxes at lunch, during sporting events or maybe at a picnic or party. Juice boxes were a rarity in my house but I always relished in the times we had them. Little did I realize the parent have to do all the hard work in figuring out what kind to buy.  While my husband would be shocked to hear me write about juice since I often say adults don’t need it (not that we can’t enjoy it) I do think it is a good option for kids when the right kind is bought and the right serving is poured. Juice lacks the fiber and nutrients of real fruit but it is still a good source of Vitamin C and a way for picky kids to get a serving of fruit (if you buy the 100% juices). Before you go crazy buying juice for your kids beware of some downsides to juice. First, drinking too much of it can cause children to get to full for meals and also load them up on calories. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drinking too much juice can lead to obesity, tooth decay or cavities, diarrhea or other GI issues such as bloating or gas. It’s important to know how much juice children should have each day. Most people agree that infants under six months of age are not recommended to have juice unless it is prescribed by a doctor to help with constipation. Once a child is six months old through the time they are six years of age juice should be limited to 4-6 ounces per day and not given to children in bottles or sippy cups. It’s best to give it at a meal or set snack so the kids don’t suck on it all day and cause more damage to their teeth. Older children should limit juice intake to 8-12 ounces or less per day and adults should limit their juice to 4-6 ounces per day. One way to make juice go farther is to dilute it with water. I also recommend buying “juice” glasses that range from 4-6 ounces to help with portion control. In addition to juice, another newer option on the market is coconut water. While my friends reminded this weekend that it isn’t cheap it is a good alternative to juice. It is lower in calories and sugar than juice and rich in electrolytes for rehydrating. Most products I’ve seen are 100% pure coconut water and have no other ingredients added. One Coconut water at Trader Joe’s (11 ounces) contained 60 calories.

Now, what to look for when picking out juices boxes for your kids. First, make sure you pick a juice that is made from 100% fruit juice. Next, take a peak at the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t have a lot of added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I did some research on some of the main brands on the market and broke them down into three categories for you.

Good Name Brand Choices

Juicy Juice
-All Juicy Juice products are 100% juice
-All Natural, no high fructose corn syrup
  • Juicy Juice
    • 6.75 ounce slim juice boxes (apple) = 100 calories
    • 4.23 ounce fun size juice box (apple) = 60 calories
  • Juicy Juice Sparkling Fruit Juice
    • Lower in sugar (20 grams per can) than regular juicy juice
    • 1 can = ~8.26 ounces = 90 calories and 1 serving of fruit
Minute Maid
-All natural, 100% juice
  • 1 juice box = 100 calories
Capri Sun 100% Juice Pouches
- All natural, no artificial color, flavors or preservatives, 100% Juice
o       1 pouch = 80 calories = 1 full serving of fruit

Next, Tier of choices. Not as good as the ones listed above but still better than some of the options on the market. While these products have added juice they don’t use high fructose corn syrup.

Capri Sun
-Sugar added as second ingredient behind water and before juice
  • Capri Sun 25% less sugar
    • Sugar is the second ingredient. Less sugar but not 100% fruit juice.
    • 1 pouch = 60 calories,  16g Sugar
  • Capri Sun Sunrise
    • 2nd ingredients is sugar (before juice concentrates)
    • 1 pouch = 60 calories
Juice Boxes I wouldn't recommend. These juices used high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener and had more added sugar.  

Capri Sun  Roarin’ Waters
  • uses High Fructose Corn Syrup and splenda added
  • 1 pouch = 30 calories
Sunny D Orange Juice and blends
-High Fructose Corn Syrup added to sweeten it. Listed as the second ingredient
  • 8 ounces = 100 calories
Hi-C
-Use High Fructose Corn syrup and sugar to sweeten
-Juice from concentrate
  • 1 bottle = 6.75 fluid ounces = 90 calories

Monday, May 2, 2011

Food of the Month

This months featured food is so sensational that it has a catch phrase; the incredible edible egg (did I get the tune in your head...).  The egg has been a much debated food in the nutrition field. Once looked down upon for its cholesterol content it is now a beloved staple in most households and breakfast menus.  Eggs are extremely nutritious for us. They contain the most bio available form of protein (the highest quality of protein you can buy) and they pack in a lot of vitamins and minerals without a lot of calories. One large egg contains ~70 calories, ~6.3g protein. If you choose to just eat the egg white then you will consume 17 calories and 3.6g protein but you will also miss out on a lot of the vitamins and minerals found in the yolk. They can be enjoyed alone, in a casserole, on a salad, sandwich or in pasta (mmm...carbonara). Eggs play a key role in cooking with their ability to leaven, emulsify and bind. Just as important it is to know how your partner takes his or her coffee it is equally as important to ask "how do you like your eggs?" While I prefer them over easy or poached my husband prefers them over hard or hard boiled

My favorite breakfasts always contain eggs. They are a staple in our refrigerator and never make it to their expiration date. They are a great source of protein and keep you feeling satisfied for longer than most carbohydrate rich breakfasts.  With Mother's Day less than a week away I wanted to share a scrumptious egg bake dish perfect for a mid morning brunch. This delicious recipe comes from my childhood neighbor Patti. The original recipe is for a cheese and sausage egg bake but I am going to post a vegetarian variation I made last year when I hosted Mother's Day brunch.  It's great for entertaining since you make it the night before.

Vegetable Egg Casserole 
Serves:  10-12 
Make the night before you plan to serve it

12 eggs
4 cups milk
4 slices of bread, cubed
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
1 zucchini
1 cup diced roasted red peppers
1 bundle of asparagus cut up
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup to 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
-Sausage as desired, sauté before adding
1. Beat together the eggs and milk.
2.  Break up the bread and layer it on the bottom of a greased 9 x 11 pan
3.  Add vegetables and cheese, salt and mustard
4.  Pour eggs over top of mixture. 
5.  Refrigerate over night.
6.  Bake at 350 degrees for ~1 hour and 15-30 minutes or until it barely shakes in the middle.
7.  Let it sit for ~ 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

*To make the original sausage and cheese egg casserole saute the sausage and add in place of the vegetables

For another favorite egg dish check out January's "weekend of food" post to see my poached eggs with manchego cheese, crushed red peppers and prosciutto breakfast