Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A Tribute to the Food of the Month - Aaron's Favorite Turkey Burgers


My brother-in-law shares the same love for cooking as I do and this year for my birthday he sent me his favorite turkey burger recipe for June's Food of the Month. It was such a thoughtful gift and I was very excited to make this recipe since olives and feta cheese are right up my alley.

I made the burgers this Thursday when our friends Jena and Ryan came over for dinner. Although it's a big statement I can say they are the best homemade turkey burger I have ever made; and believe me I've made a lot. He also sent me a great recipe for homemade french fries which was ironic since at work I just talked about satisfying cravings, specifically french fries, in a healthy way. If you've been craving a burger and fries try making them at home with healthier ingredients. Not only will you save money but you'll save fat and your arteries as well!

Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam, Olives and Feta (Source: Bon Appetit August 2008)
Burger Ingredients (pre-olives)
Oven Fries:
-Two pounds unpeeled russet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch sticks
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-1.5 tsp cracked coriander seeds
-1 tsp dried thyme
-Course salt
-I also added some fresh rosemary, chopped
Toss ingredients in a large bowl and bake at 450 degrees for 40-50 minutes (or until crispy).
Ratings: Sina: 5, Ryan: 3.5 (per Ryan "a 4 if I would have made them crispier")

 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Crop Share Box #3

Even though Box number 3 came three weeks ago I didn't post yet because I had one more dish to make with its contents. This box was filled with greens and very easy to use although during my excited state from getting more vegetables I ate the asparagus and used the rhubarb before I took the picture. Whoopsie. Once again a lot of random salads were made with this weeks share and aren't listed below. So far my favorite thing about this farm is that they send a lot of lettuce, spring mix and spinach with each box, which means I always have salad ingredients. 


What this box contained:
Romaine Lettuce, Saute Mix, Salad Mix, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Baby White Turnips (gave to our neighbors), Pea Vine, Potato Onion, Green Garlic and Bok Choi

Pictured Items from Left to Right:
Pea Vine, Bok Choi, Green Garlic, Romaine Lettuce
In bag in back: 1/2 Saute Mix, 1/2 Salad Mix
Things I forgot to picture: Asparagus and Rhubarb

New Recipes I made from this box:
Soba noodles, tofu and vegetable stir fry (Source: Power Foods Cookbook)
This dish was a 2 in 1 since it used my bok choi from this box and the broccoli from the box I picked up this week. A few downfalls came with this dish but were more related to my poor job buying the ingredients. First, I realized that I ate both the red peppers that I bought for this dish in salads this week. Then I remembered that I wasn't able to find buckwheat soba noodles or any soba noodles for that matter. Ours really turned out to be a "rice noodle, tofu and vegetable stir fry."
Ratings: Sina: 3, Ryan: 3 (we both agreed it needed more vegetables--ahem...the red peppers it called for-- but we liked the asian flavors)

Sauteed Greens with Potato Onions
I decided to saute the greens with diced potato onions and minced garlic in olive oil. I then sprinkled on salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Ratings: Sina: 3, Ryan: 2.5



Monday, June 20, 2011

Brisket Birthday Dinner

Yesterday was my husbands birthday so the dinner menu was centered around him, which means one thing, BEEF. While reading my Cooking Light magazine this past month I came across a page showing beef brisket sandwiches that looked amazing. After returning to the page to find the recipe I saw that it was an add from Beef It's What's For Dinner. Wandering to their website for the first time I found a basic recipe that was perfect to work off of to make the sandwiches (recipe below). I chose to make them in a crock pot instead of the oven since we were out golfing while they cooked.

On the side we had Grilled Corn with Roasted Jalapeno Butter (Source: Cooking Light June 2011). Roasting the jalapeno reduced the spicy kick and the honey and lime zest gave it a great sweet balance (sounds weird but tasted great). 

Lastly, we balanced our plate with a salad made with lettuce and spring mix from my crop share, red peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese and an avocado. Topped with my coworkers favorite vinaigrette (if she's okay with me sharing it I'll post it tomorrow). 

Even though corn is a starchy vegetable I think we did a good job trying to live up to the MyPlate food guide!

It was delicious and enjoyed by all but it didn't stop there, per Ryan's request we had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake from DQ! I rarely feel like a meal was the perfect amount of food and all worth remaking but this one nailed it. Not too much food a great combination. 

Beer Braised Beef Brisket Sandwiches (Inspired and Adapted from a Beef It's What's For Dinner recipe)
-4 pounds of beef brisket - fat trimmed off
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-salt & pepper
-1 (12 ounce) bottle of beer
-1 (12 ounce) bottle of chili sauce
-Olive Oil
-2 onions (chopped into 12 pieces each)
-Buns

Directions: 
Rub minced garlic onto beef. Heat oil in a pan and place the beef in the pan and brown it on each side (1-3 minutes per side). Remove beef from heat and season with salt and pepper
Turn crock pot to high and place the chopped onions on the bottom and the beef on top of them. Mix the bottle of beer and chili sauce and pour over the beef. Cover and let cook for 4-5 hours. Remove beef from crock pot and slice thinly against the grain. Place back in the crock pot on low until you are ready to eat. 
Serve with good buns and the sauce on top.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Crop Share Box #2

I realize I have box #3 from our crop share and I haven't posted about box #2 yet. I just finished up the supplies from box #2 so I can share all my recipes. Most of the vegetables I added to our normal dishes and a lot of it was used for salads. I found the ingredients in this box more difficult to use than the veggies we received in our first box. The Hon Tsai Tai I ended up throwing away since it wilted before I figured out what to make with it.


What this Box Contained:
Spring salad mix, Garden herb pack for planting (basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, savory, parsley), spinach, red radishes, asparagus, rhubarb, Egyptian walking onions and green garlic. 

Pictured Items from Left to Right: 
BACK: Spring mix, Garden Herb pack, Spinach
FRONT: Red Radishes, Asparagus, Hon Tsai Tai , Green Garlic, Egyptian Walking Onions, Rhubarb
This picture was taken before I split the items with our neighbor so you can see what the size of a full share would look like. 

New Recipes I made from this Box:
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp  Recipes Source: Whole Living Magazine
Ratings Sina: 4.5, Ryan: 3.5 (he's a hard critic)
Comments: This recipe was super easy to make. It took me about 5 minutes to prep it and the rest of cook time was for baking. It was delicious: very fresh and not too sweet. 

Tex-Mex Salad
-Spring salad Mix topped with grilled seasoned chicken breasts, avocado, diced red peppers & tomatoes, canned no added salt black beans (drained and rinsed), canned no added salt corn (drained and rinsed) and topped with crumbled tortilla chips:
-Dressing: A mix of light sour cream, lime juice, avocado and taco seasoning (I didn't measure the ingredients)
Ratings: Sina: 3.5 (Ryan wasn't home for this meal. I had it with my friend Heather)


Fresh Egg Scrambles
Before I even write about this let me tell you about my egg scramble morning. My dear friend Brent came over for one of our routine brunch dates. We were really excited to do egg scrambles and diced red potatoes with herbs. We spent about an hour chopping everything before we turned on the oven to hear a constant DING, DING, DING noise. Even after hitting the off button multiple times it still kept coming back. So, we find the oven manual which tells us to turn the oven off. Not knowing how to turn a gas oven off we have to call my husband who's at a bachelor party and get step-by-step instructions from his very handy friend on turning the gas line off and unplugging the appliance.  We thought about going out for brunch at this point but we were too determined to cook since all our food was chopped and ready to go. So, what comes to my mind but to use the grill.  Of course that didn't go as planned either since  it wouldn't heat over 275 (I found out later the gas connection was kinked). Check out the picture below. All I can say is thank you for the Cheez-it's we bought on an impulse at the store since we had about 3 hours of waiting, cooking, stirring and more waiting before we had our slow cooked egg scrambles, which by the way were amazing. The slow cooking definitely paid off because these were the most fluffy tasting eggs I've ever had (although I can't say I plan to make more eggs on the grill anytime soon).

So what were in the scrambles: 
Egg scramble #1: Eggs whipped with skim milk and mixed with chopped green garlic & Egyptian walking onions then topped with sharp provolone cheese
Egg scramble #2: Eggs whipped with skim milk and chopped chives mixed in with leftover white cheese added at the end (not sure the type).  
Breakfast Potatoes: Diced red potatoes, chives, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. 
Rating: Sina: 5 (Ryan once again was gone for this meal)


Friday, June 10, 2011

Eating Healthy on the Road

Eating healthy on the road can be done! If you prepare ahead of time and pack healthy snacks you can save money and make eating healthy more convenient and easy. Below I listed some foods rich in fiber and/or protein that you can pack for a trip to help fill you up. If you prefer to make a pit stop at a fast food restaurant or gas station and aren’t sure what to buy then check out my mini section of what to choose. First, make sure to stop before you reach the point of starvation when the inhibitions to eat unhealthy go down and any food sounds good to eat.

Things to pack in a cooler for the road
            -Sandwiches on whole grain bread
            -Yogurt
            -String Cheese
-Cut up Vegetables or baby carrots
-Fruit: orange slices or berries
Things you can bring with that don’t require refrigeration
            -Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread
-Fruit: Bananas, apples
-Almonds, Walnuts, Peanuts or other nuts
-Trail mix (watch your portion size, you may want to buy the pre-portioned single servings to make sure you don’t over indulge)
-Whole grain crackers (watch your portion of snack foods in a large container as it is easy to eat more than one serving at a time)
-Oatmeal packets: you can almost always find somewhere to get hot water

What to choose if you are eating out on the road
  • Choose calorie free beverages. Reach for water when you are thirsty. Energy drinks, juice and soda and some coffee drinks like iced mochas add a lot of sugar and calories to your daily intake.
  • If you are at the airport a lot of times a coffee shop or food stand will have some healthy options for travelers.

Twin Cities Live Fast Food Eat This, Not That
McDonald’s
  • Eat This
    • Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken= 320 calories, 9g Fat,  960mg Sodium
      • Newman’s Own Creamy Southwest Dressing (100 calories, 6g Fat, 340mg sodium)
  • Not That
    • Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken= 430 calories, 20g Fat, 920mg Sodium
      • Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing (170 calories, 15g Fat, 530mg sodium)
        • Save 180 calories, 20 grams of fat

  • Eat This
    • Hamburger= 250 calories, 9g Fat, 520mg Sodium
  • Not This
    • Angus Bacon & Cheese= 790 calories, 39 g Fat, 2070mg sodium
        • Save 540 calories, 30 grams Fat, 1550mg sodium
  • Eat This
    • Fruit ‘N Yogurt Parfait (7 ounces) = 160 calories, 2g Fat, 85mg sodium
·       Not This
o      Hot Carmel Sunday= 340 calories, 8g Fat, 160mg sodium
·       Save 180 calories, 6 grams Fat, 75mg sodium
·       Eat This
o      Grilled Honey Mustard Snack Wrap= 260 calories, 9g Fat, 800mg sodium
  • Not This
    • Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich= 620 calories, 29g Fat, 1200mg sodium
        • Save 360 calories, 20 grams Fat, 400mg sodium

Subway
  • Eat This          
    • Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki 6’’ sub = 380 calories, 4.5g Fat, 900mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Chicken and Bacon Ranch 6’’ Sub = 570 calories, 28g Fat, 1080mg sodium
        • Save 190 calories, 23.5 grams Fat, 180mg sodium
  • Eat This
    • Chicken Tortilla Soup (10 ounces) = 110 calories, 1.5g Fat, 440mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Chili Con Carne Soup (10 ounces)  = 240 calories, 11g Fat, 950mg sodium
        • Save 130 calories, 9.5 grams Fat, 510mg sodium
  • Eat This
    • Roast Beef 6’’ Sub = 320 calories, 5g Fat, 700mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Big Philly Cheesesteak 6’’ Sub = 520 calories, 18g Fat,  1370mg sodium
        • Save 200 calories, 13 grams Fat, 670mg sodium

Wendy’s
  • Eat This
    • Grilled Chicken Go Wrap = 260 calories, 10 grams fat, 730mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Asiago Ranch Club with Spicy Chicken = 670 calories, 34g Fat, 1830mg sodium
        • Save 410 calories, 24 grams Fat, 1100mg sodium
  • Eat This
    • Small Chocolate Frosty = 260 calories, 6g Fat, 115mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Small Carmel Frosty Shake = 680 calories, 15g Fat, 330mg sodium
        • Save 420 calories, 9 grams of fat, 215 calories
  • Eat This
    • Sour Cream and Chives Baked Potato = 320 calories, 3.5g Fat, 50mg sodium
  • Not That
    • Medium Natural-Cut Fries = 420 calories, 21g Fat, 460mg sodium
        • Save 100 calories, 17.5 grams of Fat, 410mg sodium

Other Tips to Help You Be Healthier on Vacation
  • Start out with a breakfast that isn’t all carbohydrates
  • If you are headed on a trip where you know you will be eating out for most or all of your meals then balance your day. If you are planning to go out to a fancy dinner that night then eat a light breakfast and lunch. Avoid ordering dessert every night. Or if you are doing a big breakfast one day then think small and simple for lunch and dinner that day.
  • Share meals at restaurants that offer large portion sizes. Since most of the time when you are on the road you don’t have a refrigerator it is a great way to stay leftover free. 
  • Explore your destination on foot. Ask at your hotel about places within walking distance or other scenic things near by you could visit on foot.
  • Think of activities that aren’t all sedentary. Think of renting bikes, going for a swim or walk on the beach.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The USDA unveils MyPlate

You’ve probably heard by now that the USDA Food Guide Pyramid has officially been retired and replaced with MyPlate. Like many dietitians I’ve spoken with I am very excited about the new USDA MyPlate. 

Using a plate for meal planning is nothing new in the nutrition world. Many methods we use for educating patients with diabetes or for disease prevention are already using plates. Take the American Institute for Cancer Research for example. They promote “The New American Plate,” which recommends 2/3 of our plate's be filled with plant based foods and 1/3 dairy and milk products. The good thing is now the USDA’s My Plate correlates with these methods, which syncs and simplifies the message we are sending to consumers about healthy eating. In addition, the new MyPlate will be a great teaching tool for the public, especially kids, since it is easy to practice and apply to the way we eat.  
A few changes were made to the USDA recommendations besides the shape. First, the former meat and beans group is now displayed as the protein group. Next, they changed the milk group to the dairy group and lastly they no longer display the fat group on their visual. The new group names are more inclusive and recognizable and make the overall look of the plate simple and neat. The elimination of fat on the plate is not to say that we don’t need essential fats but more to show us that we don't need to make room for fat on our plate at each meal. Most Americans following a healthy diet get enough essential fats from natural foods such as nuts and fish. In addition, fat is often part of our plate from cooking our food in oils or from added fats like salad dressings.   

There are a few main points made on the USDA’s MyPlate website but the two I I was happy to see are the things we should all focus on to consume healthy meals: choosing appropriate portion sizes and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.  As the website states: “Enjoy your food, but eat less.” In addition, they recommend a lot of other important tips like watching the sodium content of food, choosing water, making half your grains whole grains and choosing skim or 1% milk.

Overall, it’s a great change but making the meals will still require a lot of effort. Luckily it summer and fruits and vegetables are readily available for us to start practicing!




Saturday, June 4, 2011

Food of the Month

I know what you're thinking it's June 4th and I'm a little behind on my food of the month. I apologize for my neglect to the blog.  I've been outside pulling out bushes, weeding my garden and our summer season of weddings and bachelorette parties officially began last night. So needless to say I've been very limited on finding free time to blog but I haven't forgotten about this months food. After many dinners on the grill due to a broken oven I thought I would dedicate this month (...ahem...the best month of the year...) to turkey burgers. Turkey burgers are so easy to make and can be a healthier alternative to beef burgers. I'm not talking about buying turkey patties and throwing them on the grill. I'm talking about homemade turkey patties. Starting with ground turkey, adding in chopped veggies, cheese and spices, forming them into patties and then tossing them on the grill to cook.  The combinations and varieties you can make are endless which makes them a fun food to cook throughout the summer months.

The first thing to know is what to look for when you buy ground turkey since the varieties at the store aren't all the same. Frozen ground turkey is usually dark meat and can actually contain skin in it. This type of turkey is just as high in fat as ground beef. I recommend not using this type of turkey. Regular ground turkey, which is labeled as 93% lean is usually part white and part dark meat and can still be fairly high in calories and fat although still less fat than ground beef. Ground turkey breast, is the lowest in fat. This can also be used in recipes but it dries out easily so you may need to add an egg to the burgers. I tend to buy the lean ground turkey for burgers since it doesn't get as dry but find that the ground turkey breast works well in soups, stews and chili's.

This past week I decided to make crop share turkey burgers. I chopped up some of the ramps I had left, which by the way I'm obsessed with. If you are ever at a farmers market and see them BUY them. You can add them to almost anything for a garlic/onion flavor. I then added in my leftover chives, some spinach and crumbled feta cheese. We grilled them and topped them with a thin slice of Swiss cheese and served them on a whole wheat bun with a side of corn and asparagus. It was a delicious dinner. The burgers were very juicy and flavorful.


If you prefer to follow a recipe for your burgers try the one I listed below for a start before you get creative with your own combination. The cucumber-feta topping would be perfect on a hot day. My aunt also has an AMAZING hoisin turkey burger recipe that I posted below

Turkey Hummus Sliders- Food Network (recipe suggested by Greta)

Asian Turkey Burgers Cooking Light 2001 (provided by my Aunt Nancy)
Combine 1/2 cup hoisin sauce, 1/4tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground Ginger and 2 pounds of ground turkey. Shape into 8 patties and grill or broil.