Comunidad Health Foods

Are you in need of a last minute side dish for the 4^th? If so, I have the perfect recipe for you (really, even if you don’t need a recipe for tomorrow, I still think you’ll like this Thursday, Friday, or sometime next week). Asparagus is one of my favorite warmer weather vegetables, and what better way to celebrate summer than adding fresh tomatoes and a little bit of cheese to make it a truly memorable side dish?

I’ve tweaked the recipe a little – lightly sautéing the asparagus to get a little char on all sides (you could also grill them; I just haven’t yet conquered my oh-my-god-I’m-a-girl-I-can’t-possibly-use-the-grill phobia – maybe next year), using mozzarella instead of feta (though the latter would add a nice tang to the dish – really, use whatever cheese you love most and it will probably be fantastic), and taking great care in straining out some of the excess liquid to perfect the package. What you get is a side dish that is simple (not bland!) and delicious. The tomato-cheese topping would be equally good in other ways – I added some to my jalapeno chicken sausage sandwich and it was spot. On. I’ve also made the entire dish with an omelet, but grilled chicken or burgers would be great pairings, too.

 

I think I might be on a sugar high from all of these desserts I’ve been telling you about lately! 13 dozen cookies, the most outrageous layer cake I’ve ever made, Nutella FroYo – is it just me, or can you feel your pancreas begging you to give it and its poor insulin-generating cells a bit of a break? What do you mean, your pancreas doesn’t talk to you? Oh, nevermind…

To hush my internal organs and prevent them from staging an uprising, and to hopefully do the same for any of you with equally unruly body parts, I have something that is not at all a dessert. In fact, it can even be low-carb if you want it to be (as in, if you don’t decide that serving it with a side of warm, crusty Italian bread isn’t an absolutely fantastic idea), so we’re really pulling a 180 here.  You’re welcome.

I’m kidding.

No but really, these pizza portobellos are fabulous and the perfect remedy for a prolonged period of culinary indulgences. As it stands, it’s not vegetarian, but don’t let that dampen your spirits too much, all of my veggie-vore readers. Take out the turkey entirely or swap it with a crumbled veggie burger instead – I’ll bet most people will hardly know the difference. I used a turkey burger because that’s what I had. In fact, I described this dish in my notes as meaty, and I wasn’t even talking about the burger – I was talking about the mushroom. This dish is also kind of warm and comforting, so maybe wait until this heat wave rolls on by (come to think of it, a clean, crisp salad would have made a more seasonally appropriate blog detox than this, but alas, I’m doing the best with the busy hand I’ve been dealt) before hunkering down in your kitchen to make this. The good news is that if you’re not cooking for a crowd, you could totally make this on the stovetop and bake it in the toaster oven, no full oven heat required….which means no excuses. Unless you don’t own a toaster oven. In which case I need to ask why…no, no, that soapbox should be saved for another day.

 

Tomorrow is National Egg Day. I repeat: tomorrow is National Egg Day.  Finally, I have an excuse to gush on and on to you about the wonder of eggs and egg dishes. Ok, really, I won’t gush on and on – but I do have an egg-centric recipe to tell you about, and I thought leading into tomorrow’s “holiday” was a perfect time.

How many of you buy fresh broccoli? How many of you chop off those annoying stalks and toss them in the trash?

Yeah, I thought so. It’s tempting, right? I mean, what the heck are you supposed to do with those fibrous, tough sticks that hold up the “good part” of the veggie, anyway?

The answer to that question is simple: plenty! I was buying a fair share of broccoli and kept throwing the stalks in the freezer, convinced that there had to be another use for them. I hate throwing food away. I finally did some research when my bag of stalks was ready to burst, and found that if you just peel off the extra tough outer edge, broccoli stalks are actually pretty neat ingredients, and not just for boring soups. That would’ve been a good tip for before I froze them, but I’ve since learned my lesson.

And thus, this broccoli stalk omelet was born. It tastes like garlicky broccoli and eggs, not some concoction of weird, foreign ingredients you’ve never had before. You may not have ever eaten the stalk before, but if you’re a broccoli lover, then this dish shouldn’t take much convincing. The key is to just patiently give the chopped stalks a sufficient amount of time in the pan to become tender. When you mix those with slightly browned bread crumbs and a very healthy dose of garlic, you get an appreciable depth of flavor that isn’t always expected from the humble little omelet.

So the next time you find yourself with some leftover broccoli stalks, give this a try!

Savory Baked Eggs with Vegetables (LC) 

Comfort food. You think of lots of butter and heavy cream, right? Biscuits and gravy, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese – meals you guilt yourself about eating but that make you feel warm and safe when you do. I’m convinced that it doesn’t have to be that way. I love comfort food, yet I really hate heavy foods that feel like a ton of bricks settled in the pit of your stomach by the time you reach the bottom of the bowl. Lighter foods can still be comforting, can still evoke that warm and safe feeling so traditionally associated with those heavier meals. No guilt required (not that I think you should guilt yourself about anyfood decision – make your food choice mindfully, and enjoy whatever that choice may be; if you can’t eat it shamelessly, it isn’t worth it, if you ask me).

This dish – baked spinach with eggs – was loosely adapted from the Smitten Kitchen, and by loosely, I mean I changed very little about it aside from cracking an egg into the dish during the last few minutes of cooking. I also swapped all of the butter for olive oil and used whole wheat, homemade bread crumbs, not that there’s really anything wrong with a little bit of butter here or there; I just didn’t have any on hand, and was curious to see if the olive oil would be successful. I do, however, have serious issues with store-bought bread crumbs, when homemade are so much healthier and ridiculously easy to make. But I’m no doppelganger hanging out on your shoulder while you cook, so don’t let that guilt settle in if you like and happen o keep store bought crumbs in stock – remember what I just said about guilt? Yeah, it’s lame. If you like shake-n-bake, use it as proudly as I use my food-processed whole grain bread butts. (But if you haven’t tried making your own, I highly recommend it.)

 

But alas, I digress. This dish is so much more than olive oil and bread crumbs. The spinach is light and not soggy or greasy or slimy the way that some cooked spinach dishes can become – it tastes about as fresh as cooked spinach can possibly taste. The smoked cheddar cheese gives off this poser-bacon flavor and the eggs really come in with a protein/nutrition 1-2 punch. And did I mention it’s low-carb? Well, low-carb unless you choose to pair it with a warm, fresh loaf of bread – which is absolutely a fantastic decision, though I didn’t do that. Even without any herbs and spices, this is seriously one of the best recipes I’ve made in a long time, and I’ll be the first to admit that I use my seasonings (except salt) with a heavy hand. And comfort food? Folks, you have not tasted comfort food until you’ve tasted this baked spinach and egg dish. Forget your Aunt’s famous pot pie or your husband’s great-grandma’s secret recipe for biscuits. This is the new face of comfort food: healthy instead of heavy, without sacrificing any of the warmth and happiness that comes with taking that first bite. And then the second. And then the third. And then…

By the way, do not be intimidated by this recipe. It looks long, but it goes very smoothly and is very intuitive. If you need to, take a deep breath (I know I did!), and give it a shot, because it’s not a difficult recipe and the pay-off is absolutely incredible in the end.

One Year Ago: Savory Baked Eggs with Veggies, Sophisticated Stuffed Mushroom Caps

It’s hard to believe that in just 10 days I’ll have graduated college. I’m going to move back home, start a dietetic internship to become a Registered Dietitian – it’s not nearly as frightening as actually stepping out into the workforce (stay tuned in about 1 year when I reach that point), but it is definitely new for me. All of the habits I’ve gotten into living on my own, cooking for myself – these are all about to be challenged as I learn to adjust once again to the rules of living under my parents’ roof.

One food habit that I picked up while in college was eating more ground turkey breast. It’s relatively inexpensive, pretty darn healthy, and much easier to track down than grass-fed beef (at least around these parts). My family eats it occasionally, sure, but I think I might actually miss my turkey burgers and casseroles that may not be weekly staples, but are definitely on the menu a few times a month.

Of course, I don’t just pack down the turkey meat from the package into patties and cook them just like that, so I’m always on the lookout for tasty ways to flavor the turkey to make a truly interesting burger. I think I got really lucky with these turkey Bolognese burgers, because they’re by far some of the best I’ve had. A lot of times, it’s the burger toppings that enthrall me, and they distract me from the essence of the burger – the turkey. And although the sauce poured over these burgers is truly fantastic and I’m equally looking forward to the tofu-avocado sauce I’m going to pour over them again tonight, the burger itself is also cooked to absolute perfection. No dry meat here, folks! I’ve never broiled a turkey burger before but after the success of this recipe, I think I’ll be testing it out with other recipes, too.

Overall, this dish is a keeper: the arugula lends its quintessential bite, the sauce had just a little bit of a spicy kick to it, and the burgers were melt-in-your mouth delicious and full of savory flavor from the mushrooms. I also made it lactose free by using nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese and forgoing the cheese on top, and I still found them to be delicious. Cheese certainly can make anything taste better, but when it’s this good on its own – that’s the mark of a truly exceptional recipe. So come on, go make this for you and your family. Maybe swap spinach in for the arugula for the kiddos if they’re not a fan of arugula’s distinct flavor. 

  

With Spring finally here – beautiful weather and all – I find myself drawn more to clean, fresh flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a burst of flavor or a robust sauce every now and then – I am still me, after all – but when Spring first arrives it just feels natural to me to scale back on the complexity of my meals and a eat a little more simply.

This recipe for fresh herbed turkey burgers was just the kind of meal I was craving: a modest serving of very lean meat, thinned out with a healthy quinoa filler and an array of fresh herbs. Unfortunately, I left my box of quinoa at my parent’s house the weekend before, and with it being Passover, my hands were tied in terms of being able to swap in any other grains. So, this was just a straight-up turkey burger with a combination of fresh and dried herbs. I did really like it, but I’m still curious as to how the quinoa would have changed it. I feel like it would have been just a little lighter, a little bit less carnivorous. However, the flavors were excellent so if you find yourself in a similar bind, don’t fret! In fact, because I can’t officially vouch for how it would/will turn out with the quinoa, I haven’t included it in the recipe below. If you’re interested in adding it back in, the recipe simply called for 1 cup, cooked according to the package instructions, mixed into the burger along with all of the other ingredients.

I rested my burger on top of a plate of arugula and topped it with a swirl of whipped feta, and called it a meal. The flavor of the feta paired so well with the herbs in the burger! However, feel free to leave that out if you’d like – I also don’t have the recipe for the whipped feta (it was part of a Passover potluck from the weekend before), but I’m sure you could find a recipe online or simply sprinkle a few plain feta crumbles over top the burger in the end. It would also, of course, make a nice sandwich, though I chose to eat it without the bun.

Vegetarianism and veganism fascinate me. Although I don’t ever see myself completely ruling out animal products, I can’t help but be drawn into all of the inventive and novel ingredients, preparation methods, and recipes that make being a vegetarian or vegan so vibrant and exciting. I especially love incorporating these concepts and ingredients – and, often, full recipes – into my own diet and cooking, just to add variety and embrace all of the incredible options we have before us for nourishing ourselves.

One of my more recent purchases has been nutritional yeast flakes. I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before in recipes from this past year. I think I’m still getting used to how to use them properly – I tried adding them to homemade popcorn and they all just fell to the bottom of the bowl, and I’ve scorched them more than once believing I could use them as a faux-cheese topping under the broiler (at least I didn’t think they would melt, but I still don’t know exactly what was going on in my head with that last one). But one recipe I just made was spot on, and I still can’t get over how deliciously savory the whole meal was.

I need a catchy name for this (I’m open to suggestions!), but for now, we’re going to go with the Cheesiest Cheeseless Omelet on Earth. This omelet bites back with its hot sauce and black pepper, and then it apologies for its enthusiasm by offering up a comforting, cheesy flavor that really could fool you if it weren’t for the fact that melty strings of cheese don’t get stuck between your fork and the plate. Feel free to add more vegetables – broccoli in particular would taste phenomenal – but personally, I kind of liked the simplicity of eating it as is. The only other change I would recommend would be to reduce the oil (and, therefore, the calories) if you plan to eat this with a side of some kind – toast, home fries, etc. A full tablespoon for one serving is no laughing matter, but it’s also not something to be too afraid of (think of all those heart healthy fats you’re getting!), especially if you’re eating this omelet on its own without tons of other accompaniments.

It’s the Monday after a very big holiday weekend, and I’ll bet even if your celebrations occurred on Friday or Saturday, you’re still feeling the effects of all of that food-and-family time. The amount of leftovers in my fridge is astonishing, and I found myself this morning reworking my meal plan for the week before going grocery shopping to try to use more of the leftovers instead of cooking too many new things. It can be overwhelming to be presented with so much food – even if the majority is healthy.

Sometimes, after a big holiday, you just need something simple to eat. It’s even better if it’s very healthy, since many people find themselves in “detox mode” (I use that term loosely – we’re not talking about an actual detox here!) after a holiday filled with culinary indulgences. This cucumber-tomato salad and omelet is the perfect meal for the morning after a holiday – it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s good for you, and it tastes really good, too. Of course, I made this in the middle of February when no one on the East Coast of the United States should be buying tomatoes, so this meal wasn’t given the opportunity to shine as it would in, say, July. Someone really should slap the back of my hand with a ruler for even attempting it. Still, even with the lackluster tomatoes, I liked it. I have every intention of making this as tomatoes come more into season.

And maybe even before that, with all of these leftover cucumbers and tomatoes from seder crudite I have on my hands…

I wish I had a seven layer triple chocolate cake, a batch of sugar cookies, or even a simple vanilla cupcake to share with you, because those are the foods that I’m “feeling” right now. Yesterday was “Match Day” for dietetic internships, the next step toward becoming a Registered Dietitian, and I got matched! And I did celebrate with a slice of triple chocolate cake, but unfortunately, I was not the one who made it, so I can’t extend that celebration to you in the form of a recipe. I can, however, virtually celebrate with you by directing you to past celebratory chocolate cakes, such as this classic chocolate cake with ganache frosting and these two chocolate cakes – one traditional, one gluten-free. Almost.

What I do have for you is a much more “appropriate” recipe to share with you in celebration of my acceptance into a dietetic internship – as in, this dish is the picture of health, and it’s absolutely delicious, too. It’s also free of wheat, barley, oats, or rye, which makes it a prime candidate for anyone getting the Passover Bug – another reason I thought it’d be nice to write about today, as Passover slowly approaches. I make my meal plans at the end of the week so I haven’t decided yet what I’ll be making for dinner over Passover, but meals like this are truly perfect. Eating well on Passover can be challenging. You get so focused on the items you can’t eat, and what you can replace them with, that you lose sight of all of the wonderful things you can still eat. For some reason, for most people, it isn’t about all of the naturally kosher for Passover foods; it’s about cakes and brownies made from matzah cake meal. Suddenly, it becomes perfectly acceptable to eat cake for breakfast for 8 days straight, when the truth is there are so many incredible dishes out there that don’t require any out-of-the-ordinary ingredients. Nevermind that you can still eat quinoa (many people also still eat rice and corn), beans, tofu, salads, eggs, hummus, and nuts. It suddenly becomes all about the wheat, barley, oats, and rye, and the copious amounts of matzah people feel obligated to plague their body with instead. My goal this year is to eat matzah as little as possible, and to focus instead on all of the foods that I love eating throughout the year that I can continue eating over the 8 days of Passover.

This meal – a rosemary-garlic chicken breast paired with simply sautéed snow peas and red peppers – is naturally kosher for Passover. It’s this kind of meal that I gravitate towards. It’s easy, simple yet far from bland, and surprisingly filling. You could throw in a baked potato or quinoa salad if you’re really missing the grains, but I ate it all by itself and was more than satisfied. Of course, you don’t have to be Jewish and celebrating Passover to enjoy this dish – in fact, that’s the whole point! It’s a beautiful meal to serve as Spring starts to bloom around us, whether you’re celebrating a holiday or not.