All about asparagus

So I bought a huge bulk of asparagus at costco a few weeks ago so I've tried to come up with some tasty ways to incorporate it in my diet. I'm sure you know any green veggie is great for you, but here are some specifics: 

Nutrient Values:   % of USRDA Serving size 5.3 ounces Protein 6% Calories 20 Vitamin A 8% Protein 3 grams Vitamin C 20% Carbohydrate 3 grams Thiamin 15% Fat 0 grams Riboflavin 6% Cholesterol 0 milligrams Niacin 6% Sodium 5 milligrams Calcium 2% Potassium 400 milligrams Iron * Dietary Fiber 3 grams Vitamin E *

Last night I wanted something quick and could only use the ingredients I had (i'm pinching pennies at the moment) so I cooked some asparagus with minced garlic, canola oil, and about a teaspoon of seasoned salt. Then poured that over some thin spaghetti with 1 tablespoon of smart balance butter (light with FLAx) and pecorino romano. -I have to add how much I love smart balance. The one that's made with flax seed is SO great for you because it provides you with your essential fatty acids (mono & poly unsaturated fats) these are the good fats that lower bad blood cholesterol.

Then tonight I made some brown rice and quinoa with asparagus and caramelized onion mmm. you'll need:

• 2 shallots (chopped)
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup asparagus (about 15-20 stalks)
• 2 limes (squeezed)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 medium clove garlic

Heat a skillet or saucepan to medium/low heat (about 3.0) and add the canola oil, garlic, and shallots. Let the onions simmer in the low heat, keeping an eye on them until they start getting soft and turning light brown (about 14 minutes) the idea is to cook them very slow over a low heat. Then as soon as they're soft, add the asparagus and seasoned salt and  let cook for about 4 minutes.

Cook the rice and quinoa (however directed on package) and place in bowl. I use instant brown rice and organic dried quinoa. Once asparagus is ready, pour the asparagus and onions over the rice. Add the lime and soy sauce, toss, and enjoy =]

Smart Snacking

This is what i ate today (mid-day) over the course of several hours. It's actually best to have small snacks periodically than to stuff yourself in one sitting so that you can stay more satisfied and prevent drops and spikes in your blood sugar. For my first lunch snack I ate the sweet berry couscous. Then about an hour later, I enjoyed an orange spinach salad with oranges and orange vinaigrette. Then almost two hours later I prepared the lentils with rosemary and garlic but added organic quinoa. The coolest part about Quinoa (I think) is how the sprout germs out of the quinoa seed once it's fully cooked.

AND: 1 cup cooked quinoa has:

•  155 calories
•  30 g carbohydrate
•  3 g fat
•  3 g dietary fiber 
•  5.5 g protein

It's delicious and you can easily add it to all sorts of foods. Quinoa is also gluten & wheat free and is a GREAT source of magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus.

The lentil soup recipe was exactly like the lentil salad I posted earlier except I added about a cup of chicken broth to make it a soup.

*the recipes for the first 2 pics are in older posts as well*

Coffee and the Press

Being an amateur coffee connoisseur, I'm upset that it took me so long to jump on the french press wagon. Most coffee snobs will agree that it's the only way to drink coffee. I received one for christmas and i've been using it every day since. It's amazing that something so easy could taste so delicious. What makes this technique different from traditional brewing is the thick froth you get as a result of the pressure pushing the grinds away from the water. Because this froth is made directly from the coffee, it has an entirely different texture and flavor than the froth that comes from steamed milk. All you do is pour hot water over ground coffee and press! 

Salads, Soy pasta, and Sweets

This past saturday, I went over to my cousin's house for lunch. This was one of the most delicious things I ate that day. It's a spinach chicken salad- a healthier take on the traditional chicken salad. She found this delicious recipe from www.overtheoven.com which offers a mobile app that gives you quick access to hundreds of healthy recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2  tbsp of Soy sauce
• 1  tbsp of Vinegar
• 1  tbsp of Vegetable oil
• 1/2  tsp of Instant minced onion
• 1/4  tsp of Sugar
• 1/8  tsp of Pepper SALAD *
• 2  cup of Cut-up cooked chicken
• 5  oz of Spinach, torn into bites-size pieces (about 2
• 1/2  of Cups)
• 2  cup of Broccoli flowerets, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1  can of (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 4  slice of Bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled Crated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions:

Prepare Piquant Dressing; pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes. Toss chicken, spinach, broccoli and water chestnuts. Sprinkle with bacon. Serve with cheese.

6 servings.

* Piquant Dressing Shake all ingredients in tightly covered container.

Nutrition Information Per Serving

1 serving Percent of U.S. RDA

Calories 175 Protein 24% Protein 9 17 Vitamin A 46% Carbohydrate, 9 11 Vitamin C 66% Fat, 9 7 Thiamin 8% Cholesterol, mg 40 Riboflavin 16% Sodium, mg 440 Niacin 20% Potassium, mg 480 Calcium 8% Iron 12%

From the files of Al Rice, North Pole Alaska. Feb 1994

For dinner tonight, I made the veggie pasta with soy sauce again and some mashed sweet potato and banana for dessert. All I did was steam one sweet potato for 10 minutes and mashed it with a ripe banana and topped it off with a table spoon of brown sugar. This little treat is an EXCELLENT source of vitamin A and potassium- it's also one serving of veggies and fruits!

SDA and recipes

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but i've been so caught up in school i've hardly had time to create something new. The other day I joined the Student Dietetic Association (SDA). I never met so many people just like me! As I sat down at a table, behind me girls filed in, sat down, and properly placed their tupperware's full of homemade spinach salads, fresh fruits, and organics snacks. More girls and a few guys dressed in underarmor leggings, basketball shorts, nike running shoes, and their SDA's shirts assembled the snack tables full of more fresh fruit, whole grain chips and hummus. (It was like I died and went to social heaven) The meeting proceeded to inform everyone about all the upcoming events, organizations, and plans for the spring semester. I jumped on the most recent event which was the potluck "meet and greet" dinner last night. Not knowing annoying at all, I decided to go and bring a couple of my favorite recipes. I made the lentil bean salad and a fresh greek pine nut couscous :)

It was really easy, all you need is:

• 1 box pine-nut couscous (pre seasoned)
• 3 asparagus stalks
• 2 vine tomatoes 
• about 8 kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (or cilantro)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• salt and pepper to taste

I use the Near East pine nut couscous, there's a great blend of seasoning and it only takes five minutes to cook. 

While the couscous is cooking, steam the asparagus for 3 minutes and then transfer to a bowl of ice water (to shock the asparagus keeping it crisp and green) A few minutes after the ice bath, chop the asparagus into 1 in pieces. Then dice the tomatoes and roughly chop the parsley. Add all the chopped ingredients, olives, and cheese to the couscous and squeeze the half lemon over the salad and toss together. Add salt & pepper and enjoy!

Here is a picture of the food table at the potluck last night! perfect.

There was a spinach garden salad, green apple & blue cheese arugala spring mix salad, whole-grain black bean chips, rice, black beans, vegetable lasagna, sausage lasagna, macaroni salad... and for dessert: whole wheat banana bread made with apple sauce, brown sugar, and ghirardelli chocolate chips (i'll be getting that recipe soon)!

Orange Spinach Salad and Rosemary Parmesan Lentils

For dinner last night, I really wanted to make spinach and orange salad. I searched food network for a orange balsamic dressing and found an easy one. Then all I added to the salad was navel orange slices (that's what i happened to have in the house) and toasted almonds. I also had a can of lentils that i really wanted to eat because they're such a great source of iron and I have trouble meeting my DRI of iron. I searched up another recipe for bean salad and found a delicious Rosemary and Pecorino Romano (an Italian cheese like parmesan) bean salad from, my favorite, Giada De Laurentiis! Hers called for edamame (soy beans) and cannellini beans. So i just used the same recipe for her dressing, but used parmesan instead of pecorino, and poured them over canned lentils. The bean salad had a fresh lite flavor but probably a little bland for the unsophisticated palet (no pretention here). Next time I make it, I'm thinking of cooking the lentils in some chicken or beef broth for more flavor. 

Orange Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon-style mustard
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

Bean Salad (my version):

• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 cups lentils
• 5 oz parmesan cheese (shredded)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cracker black pepper

In a small, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but not brown, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rosemary. Set aside. Combine the lentils, cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper in a serving bowl. Add the garlic mixture and toss well until all the ingredients are coated.

Here's Giada's recipe

omelet du fromage!

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't eat very healthy today.. but it was family time and i'm not going to be super obsessive over food- Especially since I squeezed in a 5k run today (Thank you Eric Prydz) B] haha... anyways I wasn't in the mood for my usual waffle this morning for breakfast so I scraped this up and it came out better than I expected! 

Ingredients:

• 1 egg whole
• 1 egg white
• 1 small tomato (diced)
• 1 cup raw spinach (chopped)
• 1/8 cup mozzarella cheese
• sprinkle of capers

I sprayed the pan with some canola oil (better to use when cooking because it's less fattening and cooking with oils burns out the nutrients like monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and antioxidants found in extra virgin olive oil) then i just poured the first egg white, added the spinach, tomato, and cheese then added the final egg. I then lightly scrambled and tossed the ingredients creating and omelet. Then I topped it off with some capers. If you've never had capers, they're like tiny, salty olives with a burst of tangy flavor. Because they're slightly pungent, I didn't add any salt or pepper...and i think it was unexpectedly flavorful but still lite :)

Veggie Pasta Salad with Lemon/Soy Sauce

I went to Whole Foods today in search of lavender to make some lavender cookies with lemon icing. Unfortunately, they had none :( . Fortunately, I came across these delicious bow-tie noodles made from spinach, corn, and tomatoes. I usually never shop at whole foods because it's so outrageously expensive, but these were only $3.49/lb and i purchased 1/2lb (which makes two cups cooked pasta). I figured i could make some sort of pasta salad with my favorite ingredients. I made a simple sauce with lemon and olive oil but it didn't seem right. Then a lightbulb when off and i splashed some soy sauce over it, took a bite, then BAM an explosion of flavor! I actually impressed myself lol here's the recipe: 

• 1/2 lb vegetable bow-tie pasta
• 1 red onion slice (chopped)
• 1 small vine tomato (chopped)
• 3-4 asparagus 
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 medium clove)
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

I steamed the asparagus for exactly 2 minutes to cook it just a bit to bring out the flavor but still maintain all the nutrients. Then i placed it in a bowl of ice-water to keep it from cooking and preserve the crisp green texture. With the same pot of water i used to steam the asparagus, I cooked the pasta for approximately 12 minutes.


Once cooked, i placed the pasta and all the chopped ingredients with the lemon, soy sauce, and olive oil then tossed it. (You can serve this pasta salad hot or cold) 


Here are some other great finds at Whole Foods:

Quinoa (a grain like couscous) is SUPER healthy for you and easy to cook. Check these nutrient facts

French macaroons (*dies a little* my faaavorite- and these are all-natural)

Mint Water (yes i drink that chocolate mint, it's delicious)

WOW

So I considered the raw diet for about a second then quickly dismissed it because it seems way too restricted for my taste. But there was one item i was still curious to try; Almond Milk. Almond Milk is one of the popular substitutes for milk consumed by "raw foodists". Because of it's wide range of health benefits, I decided to purchase it pre-made.. instead of making my own. So i bought it today, took a sip and was in LOVE!

I use to drink soy milk (in attempt to be healthier) but it was just too viscous and sweet to consume on a daily basis or with my cereal and such. After trying this almond milk i was really surprised, even with the vanilla flavor it wasn't overpoweringly sweet at all! It had a really lite flavor and pretty much tastes just like regular skim milk and is only 90 calories/cup. I think you should definitely give it a try. As i mentioned, Almonds are very nutritious

Breakfast for Beginners: Eating healthy

So I'm a Dietetics and Nutrition major and i'm completely obsessed with cooking, food, and flavors. As I've already posted, waffles and fruit (in my opinion) are one of the easiest ways to have a delicious and nutritious breakfast

For my Waffle I chose to add:

• 1 tbsp of Mascarpone cheese
• 0.3 tbsp of honey *
• 1/4 cup of blueberries
• 1 small apricot
• 1/4 toasted almonds

* (If you want to be sugar conscious, sprinkle 0.3 tbs of granulated or powdered sugar instead. Although natural, Honey provides 17g of sugar for 1 tbsp)

Almonds are such a great addition to any breakfast food because just 1/4 provides 45% of your manganese, 45% of your vitamin E, and 25% of your magnesium (all based on your recommended daily values). Most importantly, Almonds are a great source of monounsaturated fats which are the healthy fats that lower your "bad cholesterol" by promoting the good cholesterol called "LDL" that takes the fatty cholesterol out of your blood and back to your liver. Although cooking slightly breaks down the nutrients in most foods (like these almonds) i only stirred them in a stir fry pan by themselves for 2 minutes... just to bring out the nutty flavor.

So with this breakfast you'll fulfill one serving of fruit (you need two daily), antioxidants from apricots & blueberries, along with your healthy fats, and multi-grains from the waffle all for 389 calories

The mascarpone and waffles i prefer are:

Gardening

So my Dad has found a new interest in gardening and (to my excitement) he's planted some of my favorite foods. Here's the progress so far :D

Tomatoes

Chilis

 Lemon grass

eggplant!

Fourtet

a couple of my favorites from Fourtet, great for this gloomy cold day  

Joris Voorn

A sick producer, from (where else?) the Netherlands <3 Get on this pretty chill perfect progressive, here are a couple of my all time favorites..

Nalin & Kane- Beachball- (Joris Voorn remix)

Blank- Joris Voorn (Original Mix)

Goldfrapp- Believer (Joris Voorn Remix)

Lunch Time

So this is one of the best snacks i've stumbled upon. It's a sweet berry couscous salad. I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentis... mmm but i added blueberries, honey, and whole wheat couscous instead of plain

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) couscous
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted and skinned hazelnuts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, if desired

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cranberries, apricots, and cherries. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the couscous and remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid until the couscous has absorbed all of the cooking liquid, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Using a fork, fluff the couscous to break up any lumps. Add the almonds and hazelnuts and toss. Spread the mixture evenly on a baking sheet until completely cooled, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the couscous to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Serving Suggestion: Drizzle the couscous with 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil for a moister texture.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP- a Banksy Film

So my boyfriend showed me this documentary yesterday and i thought it was pretty damn interesting. You have to watch the whole thing (i'm not gonna spoil it for you) But... it's about the evolvement of the street art revolution with the two most prominent artists: Shepard Fairey and Banksy.

One of Shepard Fairey's latest editions:

 (I heart dexter!)

Greek Salad

So I had a craving from some tzatziki sauce (the greek cucumber sauce in gyros). This low-fat dressing is easy and delicious.
You'll need:
        2 (4oz.) packages of non-fat plain greek yogurt
        1/2 fresh lemon (juiced)
        1 medium cucumber (grated)
        3 tbs fresh chopped parsley
        2 tbs fresh chopped dill (or dried)
        3 cloves garlic (minced)

You can combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together for a thick consistency. For  a less viscous dressing, combine in a food processor for a few quick pulses.

Then.. pour over a fresh raw spinach salad topped with sliced red onion, tomato, kalamata (greek) olives, feta cheese, and capers. You can add as much or as little of the salad ingredients as you want.

Complete with Lime & Basil infused water

To add a little zest, infuse your water with a few fresh basil leaves and 1 lime sliced and juiced. Another great combo is mint and raspberry 

Power to the PRYDA

So i have 20 more miles till i reach the green level on my Nike+ profile. My favorite way to power my runs is Eric Prydz. His latest track Glimma is peaking perfection! 

Get off the DeadMau5 and play the pryda.

1. Animal (Original mix)
2. Viro (Original Mix)
3. Pjanoo (DadaLife Gorilla Mix)
4. On off Love (Armin van Buuren Mash up)


Complete with Nike+ lunarglide

I'm a creature of habit and i definitely love my breakfast. I always toast a van's multigrain waffle, add some mascarpone cheese (a creamy, low-fat, transformable spread) drizzled with honey and fresh fruit. Coffee is a must; Starbucks french roast

One of my favorite gifts this christmas from Crate & Barrel. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and this book offers so many quick delicious recipes with simple fruits, breads, and brunch foods <3