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admin 7:34 am on July 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

Recipe For Summer Squash

Low in calories and full of flavor, summer squash will soon be overflowing at the farmers’ market or produce stand. Perfect for pasta, sandwiches, soups, casseroles, grilled or even raw (my husband loves to munch on zucchini sticks with hummus), squash are easy to prepare. Here are some of our favorite recipes.

With my first squash purchase of the season, I made this quinoa salad with roasted zucchini, oregano and feta and ate it for lunch almost every day last week.

Quinoa with Roasted Zucchini, Feta & Oregano
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese
2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large saucepan, combine quinoa, water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Slice zucchini into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place on a baking sheet and season with olive oil, dried oregano, pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until just tender. Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl, add zucchini and set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, add feta, oregano and lemon juice – toss and serve. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Calories: 157 calories
Total Fat: 5 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 gram
Protein: 6.5 grams
Carbohydrate: 22 grams
Sodium: 236 milligrams
Cholesterol: 3 milligrams
Fiber: 3 grams

admin 7:25 am on July 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

Want Some Ice Cream?

It may seem like it’s “bad for business,” but I’m a dietitian who absolutely loves ice cream! Working at an ice cream shop for years not only helped pay for my education, it made me a connoisseur of the creamy cold stuff. Since I’m a firm believer that no food should be completely off limits, it’s okay to indulge in ice cream — just keep these tips in mind.

The Cold, Hard Nutrition Facts
A half-cup serving of vanilla ice cream can range from 140 to 230 calories and 7 to 14 grams of fat per serving. This isn’t so bad if you can keep that portion to just a half cup. This is why I always urge my clients to order the smallest size available (usually a kid’s size) or to measure out portions and then put the container out of sight. If cookie and candy-filled ice cream is more your style, be especially careful as a half cup of cookies and cream or cookie dough might go as high as 270 to 300 calories and 17 to 20 grams of fat. Calorie and fat content varies significantly from brand to brand, so check the labels on your favorites to get the most accurate info.

Ice cream does contain calcium (about 10 to 15% of your daily needs per serving). But you’re better off getting the majority of your calcium from lower-fat, less sugary options like skim milk and non-fat yogurt — they have closer to 30% per serving.

Shop Around
Rather than just buying from the grocery store, find a local ice cream shop where they make their own (this will help you indulge less often). I was shocked to see how much junk and preservatives go in to many store-bought ice creams, too. There are some decent brands out there, but they are few and far between so check ingredient labels carefully. I like some of Ben & Jerry’s flavors, and Häagen-Dazs just came out with a line called “Five” — it only contains five simple ingredients (and you’ll recognize everyone of them).

If you really want to control what’s in your ice cream, try making your own. Electric ice cream makers make it easy, and they don’t cost much more than a few family trips to an ice cream parlor. All machines operate a little differently, so check the directions on your machine. Choosing vanilla or fruit flavors and going light on the “mix-ins” will help keep the calories on the lower end of the range — check your machine manual for recipes, too.

Tips for Ice Cream Bliss
Frozen yogurt and light ice creams are a reasonable option. They are often lower in fat but do still contain a decent amount of sugar and calories. Amazingly, some flavors may have a similar calorie count to regular ice cream. Soft-serve varieties also tend to be lower in fat and calories because they aren’t as creamy. What about gelato? This Italian version of ice cream has gotten trendy in the States recently. It’s made a bit differently and has less air churned into it. Gelato has amazing flavor and super-creamy texture (and there are so many flavor options), but the calories and fat are very similar to regular ice cream so don’t overdo it.

Of course, there are times when only the real thing will do. But if a half-cup portion just isn’t going to cut it, look to the yummy add-ons. Trade high-calorie, high-sugar toppers — cookies, fudge and whipped cream — for a small amount sprinkles (a.k.a. “jimmies” or “shots”), nuts or fresh fruit. A refreshing and fizzy ice cream soda made with sparkling water is another great option, too.
admin 7:22 am on July 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply

Good Eats For Healthy Skin

Creams are helpful on the outside, but don’t count out what goes inside your body when you’re looking to keep your skin clear and fresh. Here are some foods to pile on your plate and ones to avoid.

Strawberries, Red Peppers, Kiwi
These fruits and veggies are packed with vitamin C, an antioxidant shown to prevent damage to the skin and possibly help prevent aging. Vitamin C also helps form collagen, which supports the skin’s structure and keeps it smooth.
Other vitamin C-rich foods: Potatoes, tomatoes, citrus fruit, broccoli
Recipe to try: Green Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Carrots, Apricots, Spinach
The antioxidant beta-carotene is in these fresh foods. Beta-carotene converts in the body to vitamin A, which we need to create new and healthy skin cells. It also protects your skin from bacteria and viruses and keeps it hydrated.
Other beta-carotene-rich foods: Collard greens, romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes
Recipe to try: Glazed Mini Carrots

Sunflower Seeds, Almonds, Olive Oil
Rounding out the antioxidants are the vitamin E-rich foods. This vitamin protects cell membranes from free-radical damage, especially brought on by UV rays. Of course, sun screen helps, but a serving of nuts and seeds every so often can help strengthen your cells from the inside.
Other vitamin E-rich foods: Mangoes, peanuts, chicken breast
Recipe to try: Cumin-Roasted Almonds

Water
At least half your body is made from water (50 to 60%) and that includes your skin. Not drinking enough water can dehydrate and give off that pruney look (no one wants that). Instead, keep your skin radiant by sipping water throughout the day. No need to chug gallons — you also get water from other sources such as fresh fruits and veggies.
Other hydrating sources: Sparkling water or seltzer, fresh juices
Recipe to try: Refreshing Berry Spritzer

Flaxseed, Salmon, Tuna
All rich in omega-3 fats, these foods help prevent inflammation (who needs puffy skin?). Their heart-healthy oils also keep skin nice and shiny. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that elderly folks who consumed higher amounts of fish and veggies throughout their life had fewer wrinkles. It could be the combo of the omega-3s in fish plus antioxidant-rich veggies, though researchers can’t say for sure right now.
Other omega-3 foods: Sardines, walnuts, tofu
Recipe to try: Saucy Salmon

Foods To Skip
Alcohol is not your skin’s friend — especially in excess. All alcohol, including wine, liquor and beer, should be limited to 1 drink for women and 2 drinks for men daily. Sweets such as cookies, cakes and candies have been said to increase acne breakout. Just remember this: If you’re binging on carb- and fat-laden goodies, you’re probably skipping other healthier stuff like fruits and veggies and not getting the antioxidants and nutritional benefits you need. There’s also conflicting research on milk — some evidence shows that milk contributes to acne. But researchers aren’t sure if the hormones in the milk are the real culprit. Your best bet is to purchase hormone-free milk and stick to 2 servings of dairy per day.
admin 9:08 am on May 23, 2009 Permalink | Reply
Tags: Agustín Gaytán, anthropologist and maize historian, Arte, Arte Salon Holdings Inc., Arturo Warman, British Columbia, British Columbia Canada, chef, cuisine historian, dog food food delivery food processor, Food, food food dehydrator raw food recipes food hygiene, Hernán Cortés New, Keyword dog food food delivery food processor, little wild cob, Mexico, Puebla, Puebla Mexico, raw food bird food pet food food coupons, raw food diet, scale gas engines, Sierra Madre, Spain, Tortilla, United States (3), V of Spain

Tacos – Authentic Mexican Tacos & Guacamole

FROM The Jasmine Cooking Show

The mainstay of the Mexican diet was, and still is, the tortilla, made from corn. The tradition continues today with little change. The kernels are cooked with lime to remove the husk and then ground on a stone slab with a grinding stone. The dough is formed into little round balls and then patted out by hand into thin round cakes or wrapped in a corn husk, the tamale, to then fill and eat. The versatility of the tortilla as a wrapper in endless. They are used for tacos and enchiladas, among native Mexicans, tortillas are commonly used as eating utensils, as a plate as in a tostada, and much more. In the United States the tortilla is no longer seen as just an ethnic bread. This is partially due to the increase of the Hispanic population.

In northern Mexico and much of the United States, tortilla means the flour version. Flour tortillas are the foundation of Mexican border cooking and a relatively recent import. Their popularity was driven by the low cost of inferior grades of flour provided to border markets and by their ability to keep and ship well.

3000 B.C. – Excavations in the valley of “Valle de Tehuacán”, in the state of Puebla, revealed the use, for more than seven thousand years, of the basic cereal by excellence of the Mesoamerican diet, a little wild cob that along with roots and fruit was a complement for hunting. According to Agustín Gaytán, chef and Mexican cuisine historian, in a Greeley Tribune newspaper article:

Sometime about 3000 B.C., people of the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico hybridized wild grasses to produce large, nutritious kernels we know as corn. Mexican anthropologist and maize historian Arturo Warman credits the development of corn with the rise of Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Mayans and the Aztecs, which were advanced in art, architecture, math and astronomy. The significance of corn was not lost on indigenous cultures that viewed it as a foundation of humanity. It is revered as the seed of life. According to legend, human beings were made of corn by the Gods.”

By the time Spaniards reached the shores of what is now Mexico in the 1400s, indigenous Mesoamericans had a sophisticated and flavorful cuisine based on native fruits, game, cultivated beans and corn and domesticated turkeys.

1519 – When Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), also known as Hernando Cortez, and his conquistadores arrived in the New World on April 22, 1519, they discovered that the inhabitants (Aztecs Mexicas) made flat corn breads
. The native Nahuatl name for these was tlaxcalli. The Spanish gave them the name tortilla. In Cortés’ 1920 second letter to King Charles V of Spain, he describes the public markets and the selling of maize or Indian corn:

This city has many public squares, in which are situated the markets and other places for buying and selling. . . where are daily assembled more than sixty thousand souls, engaged in buying and selling; and where are found all kinds of merchandise that the world affords, embracing the necessaries of life, as for instance articles of food. . . maize or Indian corn, in the grain and in the form of bread, preferred in the grain for its flavor to that of the other islands and terra-firma.

1529 – In the monumental manuscript books, General History of the Things of New Spain (Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espana), by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun (1450-1590), it is known that the Aztec diet was based on corn and tortillas, tamales and plenty of chilies in many varieties. Considered one of the fathers of culinary history. He compiled and translated testimonies of his culinary informants from the native language Nahuatl into Spanish. His work is the most complete record of Aztec foods and eating habits.

Sahagun was sent to New Spain (Mexico) to compile, in the Aztec language, a compendium of all things relating to the native history and custom that might be useful in the labor of Christianizing the Indians. The work thus undertaken occupied some seven years, in collaboration with the best native authorities, and was expanded into a history and description of the Aztec people and civilization in twelve manuscript books, together with a grammar (Arte) and dictionary of the language.

1940s – In the 1940s and ‘50s, one of the first widespread uses of small scale gas engines and electric motors was to power wet grain grinders for making masa. A hand press or hand patting were used to form the masa into tortillas.

1960s – Early tortillas took hours to make but by the 1960s, small-scale tortilla-making machines could churn out hot, steaming tortillas every two seconds.

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admin 12:26 pm on May 22, 2009 Permalink | Reply
Tags: Cook (4), Egg, Egg white, Egg yolk, Flour, Frying pan, Home (4), Mixer

Let’s Make Chiles Rellenos

Recipe Instructions:

1. Rinse the chiles.
2. Preheat your oven to broil.
3. Place the chiles in a 9 x 14 baking dish and place on the top shelf of your oven.
4. Watch and listen closely. When the skins start to make popping sounds and to char and turn black in places, take the chiles out and flip them over. Be sure and use a potholder so you don’t burn your hands!
5. When both sides are fairly evenly charred, remove them from the oven.
6. Wrap each chile in a moist paper towel or place in a sealed plastic bag to steam.
7. After a few minutes, check them. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chile.
8. Cut a slit almost the full length of each chile. Make a small “t” across the top, by the stem. Pull out fibers and seeds (this is where the heat is) and replace with a slice of cheese. You can set these aside, for a few minutes or a few hours if you put them in the refrigerator.
9. Whip the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks have formed.
10. Heat the oil in a skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan.
11. Beat the egg yolks with one tablespoon flour and salt. Mix the yolks into egg whites and stir until you have a thick paste.
12. Roll the chiles in 1/4 cup flour and dip each one in the egg batter. Coat evenly. Fry, seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain.
13. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a medium saucepan (either one or some of each). Place one or two Rellenos on each plate and pour salsa over them. Serve them immediately and brace yourself for major compliments!

How To Make Chiles Rellenos