September 2008

Sweet Potatoes and Coconut

September 15, 2008

Okay, I tried it.

I think I was semi-successful at recreating the soup I had in Ireland, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup.

Just a few notes. Mine doesn’t have the rich orange color that yours probably will. I had to use sweet potatoes, batata doce, from here in Brazil which have a white flesh and look like this.

I’m looking forward to trying it with sweet potatoes from home when I return around the holidays. The starch from the potatoes makes this a really thick soup so if you like it thinner add more chicken stock. I loved it, but my husband said it was a little too sweet for him.

4 – 5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ tsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4.5 cups chicken stock or broth
½ cup light coconut milk

Heat olive oil in soup pot, add potatoes, onion and carrot. Cook on medium for about 8 minutes stirring frequently. Add garlic, butter and sugar; cook about 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add cinnamon and stir to coat vegetables, about 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Using an immersion blender, puree all ingredients until smooth. Stir in coconut milk. Garnish with finely shredded coconut, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

New Blogger at Charity Mile

September 15, 2008

Just wanted to let you all know about my new blogging gig. I am very excited!

I will be writing for Charity Mile. The blog focuses on athletic events for a cause. I’ve planned a few 5Ks in the past so my focus will be on event planning with some race nutrition and international events mixed in.

My first post went up today and you can find me there on Mondays and Wednesdays for sure with a few extras added in throughout the week. If you have an interest in race events, stop by and check out some of the information.

Photo by cohdra, www.morguefile.com

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 12, 2008

I hope everyone has a great weekend! These are some of the things I really enjoyed reading this week.

Tonic News Network had a great post about eating locally. It provides an interesting list as to why it is beneficial. My favorite one is Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic.

This is a big reason why I didn’t jump on the organic bandwagon when it was becoming so popular. People seemed to be buying organic and forgetting about the fact that it had to get to them in Indiana from California. I think there is much more awareness now though and things are changing to support local AND organic.

I am a Food Network addict. I haven’t been able to watch it a lot recently, but it used to be on constantly before we made our move. I enjoy Good Eats from time to time because I have a love of food science behind my nutrition/health/cooking exterior. Eat.Drink.Better. posted this week about how Alton Brown is going to focus his show more towards sustainable and local food choices. Can’t wait!!

Now, I’m a Google fan, would love the experience of working there some day just to see what all the hype is about. However, I have to admit that this post at That’s Fit made me a little queasy. I love the salty and savory breakfast combo, but it has to at least look appetizing. Just something to make you glad you are a healthy eater.

I just started reading Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat and I am loving it for a daily laugh. This post about reducing your consumption of beef products had me laughing out loud.

Jell-No!

September 11, 2008

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been on any type of restrictive eating plan (aka, diet) where sugar free, fat free pudding or flavored gelatin was your main source of dessert.

Yes, my hand is up.

Not recently though. Over the past couple years whenever eating this lackluster sweet, I could immediately tell I’d eaten the chemicals.

Speaking of chemicals, is there any actual food in this stuff?

For those who may not know gelatin is made from collagen which is in animal connective tissue. I remember the day I learned this in one of my nutrition classes. I was a bit grossed out.

Connective tissue? Yum, bring on dessert!

I guess one could stretch that technically this is a natural ingredient despite the face that it is processed. It is just all the other stuff in there. Flavors, colors, and in the fat and sugar free versions, aspartame or similar sweeteners. The fat and sugar free pudding is similar as far as chemical sweeteners go.

A dessert filled with this stuff usually leaves me with a headache and feelings of sluggishness. I think it is mainly from the over consumption of aspartame.

If you think about all the desserts boxed pudding and gelatin are used for, it is usually an excess amount of the stuff. Not only do you use the pudding mix, but sugar free, fat free whipped topping as well. Too much!

I continue to be amazed how as a society we’ve accepted these foods as healthy or diet friendly. I am a believer that you are better off eating a homemade cookie or piece cake with real ingredients than a spoonful of chemicals.

No doubt this stuff has some staying power. Although in the beginning it wasn’t there to be diet food, it was more there for convenience. I learned when I read Something From the Oven that cookbooks throughout history are filled with gelatin desserts from boxed mixes.

Then the non-fat, non-sugar versions came out and it was instant low calorie, health food.

I’m guilty of indulging in a gelatin dessert and a pudding cup in the past. Speaking of this did you see the Sex and the City movie? I was just able to see it on the flight back from Ireland. I loved the part where Charlotte would only eat pudding cups in Mexico. Too funny!

Anyway, this is one of those foods that was relatively easy for me to give up. Not nearly as difficult as diet soda! However, I do think I’ve kicked the diet soda habit except for my occasional cocktail. I’m having a hard time parting with it as a mixer.

Photo by Seemann, www.morguefile.com

Wear Your Food

September 11, 2008

A post just for fun. I found these yesterday and just had to share.

I love it when plain t-shirts are made funny especially when nutrition and health are the focus. These tees from FoodTee Market are perfect for health-focused foodies.

I love the grainiac one! I just wish they came in another color besides white. I’m not a white tee fan.

Maybe a little early holiday shopping?

The best part is that part of the proceeds go to three organizations devoted to improving the eating habits of youth and nutrition in schools – The Food Studies Institute, Two Angry Moms and Better School Food.

Teff

September 10, 2008

Ever heard of it?

I hadn’t, but Ethiopian food is one of the cuisines I have yet to try. Apparently this is an up and coming grain which is a cereal crop in Ethiopia.

I’m really getting into this introduction of new grains that seems to be the trend in healthy eating. It is exciting that there is a whole world out there of different textures and flavors to be discovered.

The Purdue University Department of Horticulture provides some info on Teff and some recipes. It is often ground into flour and is grown in the US, but usually in small amounts to supply Ethiopian restaurants.

I came across it while catching up on my magazine reading last night. Apparently Teff is full of iron, calcium and fiber. In addition, it appears to be very low in gluten.

It can be eaten like oatmeal or mixed with things like ground meat to add nutrition to burgers or meat loaf. I did a little search and actually found it mentioned on several food blogs throughout the past few years.

So what’s the news? Have I been left in the dark with this new-to-me grain, or is everyone else just now discovering Teff too?

Adding it to my list of new foods to try:
Black Rice
Quinoa
Teff

Photo by Rasbak, Wikimedia Commons

Travel Kitchen

September 9, 2008

Having been gone for 3 weeks, I came back to a severe case of what I will call travel kitchen. You know, when the fridge is empty and only a few dry ingredients remain in the pantry.

I was honestly ready to hop back into the kitchen after all the great foods I had while traveling, but there really wasn’t much to make. It also doesn’t help that we returned on a Sunday and we now live in a place where no grocery stores are open on Sundays.

Even yesterday, I was stuck in the apartment waiting for our delayed luggage to arrive so I had to come up with something.

Luckily I had an onion that managed to make it through the extended travel period so I pulled out what has become one of my favorite recipes.

I combined the lentils, some rice and onions to make Mujadarrah. I found the recipe at Allrecipes.com a last year. I absolutely love it. It is so quick and easy to make, filling and good for you.

I’ve come to discover lentils just recently. They make such a great addition to rice dishes and soups. And of course they are really entering the media as a valuable food when it comes to health. They contain lots of soluable fiber, B vitamins and protein.

For the recipe I use, I add a chicken bouillon cube and cumin to the lentils for flavor. Yesterday I sprinkled in some curry powder as well. Once in the bowl, I top it with some hot sauce. I love spicy food.

So there you have my make-do meal until I can get to the market. It is just a good thing that onion hung around.

Do you have any go-to meals that you turn to when the fridge and pantry are low?

A Week Full of Foods

September 8, 2008

I am back at the computer and in my own kitchen after a wonderful week city-hopping in Europe.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Last week was not nearly as leisurely as my time in Ireland which translated to little time at the computer and limited web access.

One thing the week did not lack was interesting food. I am going to be honest and admit that there was a lot of splurging last week. But what better place to do it than in Europe where some of the best foods in the world originated.

I’ve returned with a renewed inspiration for cooking, along with a desire to return to some healthier foods. There is that feeling of the need to detox a bit after so many sausages and beer.

As I do that I am planning to research some of the best things I had while traveling and try my chances at recreating them at home.

I love this season in the US – fall, apples, Halloween, pumpkin, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It gets me excited about cooking and baking and this year I have this blog to share it.

Here are some of the more cultural foods I had the opportunity to try this past week. I plan to get back to regular posts this week and incorporate some of my inspiration from my travels.

Pork-filled Dumplings and Sauerkraut in Prague

Medovnik (Honey Cake) in Prague

Goulash and Bacon and White Bread Dumplings in Prague

Turkish Lamb Kebab in Vienna

Langos (fry bread) with garlic and cheese in Budapest

Hungarian Paprika Chicken with Egg Dumplings in Budapest

Easy Labels

September 1, 2008

Last week in Ireland I stopped in one of those upscale, healthy foods grocery stores to grab something for lunch. I ended up with a Mexican Bean Wrap. After making my purchase I realized that I used the handy labeling on it to make my selection. It looked like this:

Then on Friday I was checking out all my favorite food blogs and came upon Very Good Taste again and this post about food labeling in the UK. This is basically what I was witnessing on my packaging.

One thing I’ve found to be true is that the more you cut fake, shelf-stable foods from your diet the less you need food labels.

Sure, I know from past calorie counting that there are about 80 calories in an apple, but other than that who cares. My point is, we know fresh, healthy foods like produce are good for us. We really don’t need a specific number to tell us that.

However, for foods like the wrap I got, it is helpful. It was delicious by the way.

I found the above post to be really interesting because it outlines all the politics that go into food labeling. We have similar problems in the US. All this infringement on rights of either the consumer or manufacturer.

Then I think they purposely make it confusing so people really don’t know what they are eating.

I understand food labels well, but that is only because I was required to study them for about 2 years of my life! I doubt the general public is going to put in that much effort. I’ve also found they are really hard to explain to someone else.

I wish we could come up with a similar system, where the important things are listed right out in the open for you. I know several attempts have been made at simplifying it, but they are brand specific.

A cohesive, simple program that everyone follows would be perfect. Dreaming, I know.

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