LBK and Your Friend Fiber

I recently had the opportunity to spend a lovely long weekend with family in Longboat Key, which is right outside of Sarasota, Florida. Not only did we spend time taking in the gorgeous views of the bay and the ocean, but we indulged in leisurely lunches outdoors and utilized the fresh local seafood to prepare dinner. We stuck with tradition and made fish tacos with local grouper. The grouper was dusted in blackening spices (chili powder, turmeric, garlic, cumin, chili flakes, oregano, onion, coriander, salt and pepper), pan seared, and served with black bean corn mango salsa, guac, warm tortillas, and some garnishes of jalapeno, cilantro, radishes, and lime. Somehow the fish tacos always taste better when we are down there; whether it is the salty ocean air, the palm trees blowing in the breeze, or the great company, I am already longingly looking forward to my trip next year. 

Since it is National Nutrition Month and my dear friend requested some info about fiber and how to integrate it into her diet, I thought I'd take a little time to discuss something that most people in the field of nutrition LOVE to talk about...poop...well, in particular fiber. I know I've mentioned fiber before, but since it's such a critical part of a balanced diet, it can't hurt to bring it up again.  Fiber is found in a plethora of delicious and versatile foods that allow it to be extremely accessible and easy to integrate into your normal diet.


Benefits of Fiber:

• Gets your bowels going and flowing
• Prevents constipation and helps keep your intestines healthy
• Lowers cholesterol 
• Satiates, so you feel fuller longer and less inclined to snack or make poor choices out of ravenous hunger
• Reduces the risk for colon cancer and heart disease
• Stabilizes blood sugar 

Fiber is found in plant-based foods and is the component of the plant that can not be digested.  Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, bran, brown rice, legumes, seeds, and nuts all have a combination of the two types of fiber (soluble and insoluble) that help contributes to fiber's beneficial functions. The recommended daily allowance for healthy adults is 38g/day for males 19-50 years old and 21g/day for females 19-50 years old. Fiber needs decrease with age. 

Here are some ideas of how to integrate beneficial fiber into you daily routine, your bowels will thank you!

Breakfast: 

Oatmeal or farro w raisins, cinnamon, chia seeds, and walnuts made with skim/hemp milk or water

Whole wheat toast w almond butter, banana, and a drizzle of honey

Whole grain cereal like Food for Life Ezekiel's sprouted cereal with fat free yogurt and wheat germ or with  regular, hemp, or rice milk. 

Snack:

Orange

Apple with almond butter

Whole wheat crackers with mashed avocado topped with sea salt (williamsburg mayo/jewish butter)

Lunch:

Vegetarian chili

Mixed salad with chickpeas, sunflower seeds, and avocado with oil and vinegar. 

Grilled vegetables with hummus on whole wheat bread/pita

Lentil soup

Snack:

Apple and cheese

Carrots and hummus

Homemade trail mix with dried fruit

Edamame

Dinner:

Seared red snapper fillet w black bean corn salsa

Whole wheat pasta with lean turkey meatballs, mushrooms, and tomato sauce

Farro salad with chickpeas, roasted eggplant and tomatoes, feta, and mint

Kale, tofu, and peas with red curry over brown rice

Remember that too much fiber can cause a reverse affect, but drinking plenty of water and exercising helps keep movement occurring in your GI (gastrointestinal tract). 

Happy National Nutrition Month! This ones goes out to you RG. Hope it helps you get that fiber fix you were craving!

In case you were wondering about Henry...he loved getting his vitamin D too!

Happy Birthday Little Bitty Baby Blog!

My little bitty baby blog is a year old and, although it has a long way to go from where I would ideally like it to be, I am happy with its progress and look forward to its evolution. Throughout the course of the year, I have been able to share and divulge tidbits about myself, offer nutritive ditties, and hopefully inspire individuals to go shopping and discover the pleasure of cooking at home. Cooking for yourself is one of the initial steps that enable you to become a better you. The more control you have over what you are eating and putting in your body, the more control you have over your health. Whether it is cutting back to ordering take out two times a week instead of four, or replacing whole milk with skim, or switching from white refined grains to whole grains, small changes initiate a chain reaction that ultimately leads to a better, healthier you. 


For those readers who have been with me from the beginning or those who just started reading with this post, I deeply appreciate your taking your time to read my words, look at my pictures, and hopefully walk away with some inspiration, knowledge, and motivation. 


Here are some of my favorite posts from over the year:


This green pasta recipe because it was inspired by a loyal follower


Because I love a good taco night, especially if it is accompanied by a cold beer


This expose which demonstrated that it is hard to cook all the time


I can't live without beans or a good Mexi night 


A pretty picture and Henry's grand introduction


This sandwich is out of control and life changing 


Who doesn't love a rollatini?


This and this takes me to my happy place


I revealed something we all question and this cioppino looks complicated, but it's not


I really do love beans!


My first post! I've come a long way...but still have a ways to go

Let Me Entertain You, Let Me Make You Smile...

Dinner For Two

I felt inspired by a magazine that I recently acquired that is devoted to gatherings. Whether it is a get together for two or twelve, the stories shared in the magazine demonstrate that there is a multitude of ways to make your guest feel special. I had the opportunity to entertain twice this past weekend-purveying artisanal smoked fish from the institution Russ and Daughters for brunch and composing a simple home cooked dinner for a dear friend. Food brings us together and good sustenance usually leads to a great time.

Spelt with toasted coconut and kale with a sesame soy dressing

For my dinner gathering of two, I once again utilized my new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, to aid in inspiring my meal. I put together a simple and delicious potato and cauliflower soup that was enhanced with aged gruyere and finished with oat bran mustard croutons. For the croutons, I utilized a left over oat bran everything bagel from my brunch that stood up well in the soup and added a crunchy and flavorful element.

Despite the clean-up that usually follows entertaining, the convivial company and the act of sharing a meal always supersedes any size stack of dishes.

Cauliflower Soup with Aged Gruyere and Oat Bran Mustard Croutons

Recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Serves 4 to 6

Croutons

1 Oat bran everything bagel or 6 oz whole wheat bread, torn into cube-like pieces

2 tbsp Earth Balance Spread

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp sea salt

Soup

2 tbsp Earth Balance Spread

2 shallots, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp Salt

1 large potato, peeled and cut into small cubes

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 ½ cups vegetable broth (if you want a whiter soup use water)

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

2/3 cup grated aged gruyere, plus additional for garnish

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Croutons-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place bread in a bowl

Melt Earth Balance over medium high heat and whisk in olive oil, mustard, and salt until combined.

Pour sauce over bread and mix well.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until crunchy and golden. Flip half way through.

Soup-

Melt Earth Balance or olive oil in a large pot.

Mix in shallots, onions, and a tsp of salt.

Sauté until onions are soft.

Stir in the potato, cover, and cook for 4-8 minutes or until the potatoes are softened.

Uncover, add garlic, and broth.

Bring to broil and check that potatoes are tender, if so, add cauliflower.

Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked.

Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender.

Stir in half of the cheese and the mustard.

If you prefer a thinner soup, add water or additional broth.

Taste and add additional salt if needed.

Top with an additional sprinkling of cheese and a few croutons.

Brunch For 7

Don't Get Your Coconuts in a Twist

 

Recently, I have been feeling highly motivated to experiment with creative vegetarian cuisine. If I had to put a label on my dietary habits, I would fall along the lines of a pescatarian who dabbles in Pio Pio’s deliciously roasted and flavorful chicken and someone who fully embraces the comfort of turkey meatballs on a Sunday night. To find inspiration, I flipped through a lovely cookbook called Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. It is a vegetarian cookbook devoted to wholesome natural recipes. I found the author's philosophy about ingredients and cooking very in tune with my beliefs and was immediately consumed with decisions on which recipe to attempt first.

On a recent bone chilling evening, I decided on a curry and coconut accented split pea soup to serve alongside wheat berries with broccoli pesto and avocado. Both dishes turned out excellently and pushed me to experiment with ingredients that had been somewhat foreign to my pantry until now. Lite coconut milk and coconut oil added great depth to my soup, yet I was wary about coconut oil, which is full of saturated fat. After conducting some research and consulting with my fellow dietetic intern, I learned that not all saturated fats are created equal. The fat that is found in coconut oil is digested differently than that of saturated fat from animal skin, meat, and dairy. The medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil are immediately used for energy, and therefore are not stored in the body as fat (like long chain fatty acids). Additionally, they can boost the rate of metabolism, allowing for more lean body mass and can increase the rate of calories burned. Some studies have also demonstrated that coconut oil reduces total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Coconut oil is also a good alternative to butter for vegans and works well in baked goods. (1,2) Everything in moderation they say, and coconut oil is still a fat, and even good fat should not be taken advantage of.

Both recipes adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Serves 4-6

Split Pea Soup with Curry Brown “Butter” and Coconut Milk

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

5 ½ cups vegetable broth

1 ½ cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over

3 tbsp Earth Balance Spread

1 tbsp hot curry powder

½ cup lite coconut milk

Sea Salt

1 bunch chives, minced

Combine 2 tbsp coconut oil, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large soup pot over medium heat and cook until onions soften.

Add broth and split peas and cook until peas are tender, around 45-50 minutes

Once the peas are almost cooked, make the brown “butter”. Warm 3 tbsp of Earth Balance in a saucepan and let brown. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute.

Remove split peas from the heat and add the lite coconut milk, ¼ tsp salt and blend with an immersion blender.

Stir in 1/2 of the curry “butter” and season with a little more salt if needed

Serve with minced chives and a drizzling of the extra spiced “butter”

 

Wheat Berries With Broccoli Pesto

1 ½ cups organic wheat berries

5 cups raw broccoli cut into small florets and stems

2 gloves garlic

2/3 cup of toasted pine nuts

1/3 cup grated Parm

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 small ripe avocado, sliced

Cook wheat berries for 45 minutes or until cooked (soften but still semi-firm with a slight crunch) in boiling salted water and drain.

Blanch the broccoli for 1 minute in boiling water, drain, and run cold water over to arrest the cooking.

Pesto: combine 2 cups cooked broccoli, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, ¼ tsp salt, and 2 tbsp lemon juice in a blender and drizzle in olive oil until smooth.

Toss wheat berries with the rest of the broccoli, 2/3 of the pesto, and lemon zest.

Fold in avocado and finish with the rest of the lemon juice.

If you celebrate Valentines Day or not, treat yourself to one of these delicious recipes that are good for you inside and out...your heart will thank you.

 

1) St-Onge MP, Jones PJ. Greater rise in fat oxidation with medium-chain triglyceride consumption relative to long-chain triglyceride is associated with lower initial body weight and greater loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue, International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders, 2003 Dec;27(12):1565-71.

2) Traister J. Coconut Oil and Medium Chain Triglycerides 2011 Aug. www.livestrong.com

My Bananas Were Getting Old So....

I guess I am in a banana bread state of mind or I am not that creative when it comes to figuring out what to do with a bunch of aging bananas-either way I whipped up a whole-wheat banana bread studded with dark chocolate chips and sweetened only with honey. Perfect along side my Siggi's topped with chia seeds.

Banana Bread Pancakes

I got the craving for pancakes recently, yet wanted to step out of the box (literally and figuratively) and create a healthful and unique version. I uncovered a great recipe for these unconventional and tasty gluten free banana bread pancakes and studded them with blueberries.
I got the recipe here (thanks pesto)
This is not your traditional fluffy stack, but they put my craving at bay, especially with a decent drizzling of grade A pure maple syrup.
photo taken with instagram

Moroccan Rainbow Quinoa