Spring Fever

“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want - oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” Mark Twain

Well, I think it's official - spring feels like it's here today. After a long test week last week, I know that I am not alone in saying that I'd rather be outside playing than typing up blog entries on a day like today.

So here is a happy St. Patty's Day recipe to keep things short and simple:



Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

2 c. whole wheat flour (or any combo of whole wheat, whole wheat pastry and Irish style)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
2-3 tblspn. honey
turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and honey. Add more or less honey, depending on how much sweetness you prefer. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

Sprinkle some sugar in the center of the parchment paper and spoon the dough out on top. Use a spatula to shape it into a circle, roughly 8-9 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches high. Sprinkle sugar all over the top of the loaf. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, and bottom of loaf is browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a rack (at least 2 hours), then cut into slices. Keeps in the refrigerator for 5 days and in the freezer for 3 months.

Grade "A" Snacks

My glamorous life as a full-time student is stunningly predictable. If I’m not studying, then I’m probably worrying about where I’m going to be getting my next meal. But during exam season, the last thing on my mind is what to cook for dinner or how I can track down something healthy to eat. Suffice it to say, when I’m hungry and crunched for time, all I want to do is to reach for a greasy burger or a tub of ice-cream. Recently, during another one of my All-You-Can-Cram & Eat sessions, I resolved to give this whole “snacking healthy” thing a try and compiled a list of my favorite snacks that are fast, simple, affordable, and of course, healthy and yummy too. Whether you’re a student, working professional, jet-setter, rockstar, or simply a hungry, hungry, hippo, hopefully these ideas will help get through the day and leave you feeling healthy and happy!

• Low-fat yogurt with cut fruit (my personal favorite are banana slices or cantaloupe) or with granola sprinkled on top.

• Whole wheat/grain bread with cheese sandwich. Be sure to look for the whole wheat or whole grain label on the package.

• Rice cakes topped with natural peanut butter and banana slices.

• Edamame steamed with a bit of salt and lemon juice.

• Chocolate dipped strawberries. I have a terrible sweet tooth, so this is one of my personal favorites. But don’t forget, everything in moderation!

• Fruit salad. The key to this snack is to make it in bulk and have it already prepared so that it’s waiting in the fridge when you want it. Drizzle a bit of lemon juice as a natural preservative and it will stay fresh for longer.

• Lettuce wraps with ham, turkey, or chicken breast slices, tomato slices, and string cheese. Or cut the string cheese in half, so that way you can enjoy another wrap!

• Low-sugar cereal with low-fat milk. This is absolutely one snack that I can’t live without. Sometimes cereal can be the best meal of the day!

So the next time, you’re low on time and on brain fuel, go for a healthy snack instead of a greasy bag of chips, and you’ll be well on your way to earning that “A”. Go get ‘em, Tiger!

For Optimum Health Buy and Eat Local

Have you ever thought about how long it takes your food to get from the field to your table? If you buy produce from across the country, do you factor in the time for packaging, shipment, and eventual consumption? Not only is purchasing food that has traveled a long distance unsustainable in practice, but fresh produce loses nutritional value sitting on the shelf or in your refrigerator waiting to be consumed. Buying locally can be easy and inexpensive when you’re armed with the right information. A great site for information on where to buy locally is Food Routes. Another resource, and local advocate of fresh and healthy eating, is the the Urban Nutrition Initiative, a Philadelphia based organization.

A great dish to make with local produce that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare is this Creamy Vegetable Combo. Try out the recipe below!

Creamy Vegetable Combo
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Healthy Request Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
3 cups chopped vegetable combination, such as: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots

Directions:
Heat the soup, milk, lemon juice, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.


Calories: 65
Total Fat: 1g

Healthy Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day can be a pretty fat filled holiday what with all the chocolate and eating out and possibly drowning your sorrows with a big tub of ice cream. Here is a quick recipe for some healthy heart cookies to replace the usual sugar overload:
Sugarless Heart Cookies
by Becky Jones
To make these cookies, you will need the following ingredients:3/4 cup margarine, softened1 package (0.3 ounces) mixed fruit sugar-free gelatinEgg substitute equivalent to 1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 3/4 cups all purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:In a mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and gelatin. Beat in the egg subsitiute and vanilla. Mix together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, mixing well. Chill for 1 hour.Preheat your oven to 400. Roll the dough mixture out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with heart-shaped cookie cutters (or any shape you desire). Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are set. Cool on wire racks.
Yields about 6 dozen
Diabetic Exchanges: One serving (2 cookies) equals 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat, 59 calories, 49 mg sodium, trace cholesterol, 5 gm carbohydrate, 1 gm protein, 4 gm fatNote: You can change the taste of these cookies by trying different flavors of gelatin.

Fried Plantains (Platanos Maduros)

Plantains are larger, starcher cousins of bananas and are the staple food in parts of West Africa and the Caribbean.  Plantains are uglier, longer and have tougher, thicker skins than bananas.  Above on the left, are bananas and on the right is a plantain.  Plantains can be bought at most grocery stores.  Many smaller corner stores that cater to Caribbean or West African residents sell plantains too.  

When they're green and under-ripe, they have a similar taste and be cooked like potatoes.  As they become riper, they become sweeter .  Over-ripe (black), they can be fried or baked into a delicious dessert.  

To fry plantains, peel the plantain and cut into one inch slices.  Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat.  Once the oil is warm, add the plantains.  When the edges of the plantains brown (like on the left) they're done!  You can season with lime juice, pepper or salt if you'd like.

To bake plantains, heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Peel and slice plantains in half length-wise.  Place in a greased pan and sprinkle with oil and a little salt if you'd like.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!  

Comfort Food Upgraded

I love to cook. I love to eat. And I love food that tastes good, which to me usually means swimming in fat and oil. So, this is a problem. And in an effort to be healthy, I have looked into upgrading some of my favorite comfort foods so they are still delicious, but have a healthier aspect to them. I think it is a great way to ease into eating healthier foods if the thought of it makes you cringe.
Since I will be posting on here regularly, I might as well make a confession up front: I love the magazine Real Simple. It is a bible of sorts to me and this recipe is from there. You will be hearing about this magazine a lot I am sure (next week, I am thinking of cheap healthy recipes...send suggestions, if you have any!), so I thought I would just be up front about my obsession from the beginning.
This recipe is for crispy chicken and collard greens. To me, the recipe is not only healthier, but also makes cooking the chicken a lot easier than frying it (which, to me, is a nightmare and I always manage to get hot oil all over my hands and never get quite the amount of crispiness I want). And actually, this recipe is relatively cheap too as most of this food would probably already be in your house. And, then you have some leftover healthy cereal in your cupboard too.
Alright, I'll stop blabbering. Nutrition info follows the recipe.

Crispy Chicken and Garlicky Collards

Improve on the cornflake-coating trick (my mom used to do this!!) by using multigrain cereal to increase the fiber. Baking rather than frying the chicken eliminates a whopping 24 grams of fat per serving.
Ingredients:
1 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces and skin removed 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups multigrain cereal flakes, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
2 bunches collard greens, thick stems removed and leaves cut into 1-inch strips
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Heat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, toss the chicken and mustard to coat. In a separate bowl, mix the cereal, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with the cereal mixture and bake on a baking sheet until golden and cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the collards in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and squeeze out the excess water.Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, collards, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the chicken and lemon.
Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 395; FAT 15g (sat 3g); CHOLESTEROL 92mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31g; SODIUM 468mg; PROTEIN 37g; FIBER 8g; SUGARS 3g