Seasonal, simple, delicious, nutritious recipes
Serves 4
Chilled broccoli salad is a super-nutritious side dish. But instead of a heavy mayonnaise-based dressing, try this delicious Asian-inspired alternative instead!
2 bunches fresh broccoli (about 6 cups chopped)
1/2 red or vidalia onion, diced
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup blanched almonds, slivered or chopped
I make a batch of these almost every weekend to get us through the week. They are so much yummier than packaged energy bars! Let them cool completely before removing them from the muffin tin. They’re a little crumbly when they’re warm.
Here’s an easy, satisfying supper for about 50 cents a serving–and more than a day’s supply of vitamins C and K. For a slightly heartier meal, make it with two eggs per person, or accompany with a small serving of egg noodles.
Kale Soup with Rice and Lemon Makes 4 servings The bright touch of lemon in this soup is like a little ray of sunshine on a winter’s day. The soup also manages to be hearty without weighing you down. Unlike most soups, which taste better the next day, this one is really best the day it’s made.
Substituting whole wheat flour for white flour in baked goods such as quick breads, muffins, or pancakes can make these treats more nutritious. But unless the recipes have been specifically developed for whole wheat flour, the substitution can also turn your goodies into leaden lumps.
In muffins and other treats made with baking powder or soda, you’ll get better results with whole wheat pastry flour. This whole grain flour is nutritionally similar to traditional whole wheat, but produces lighter and more tender baked goods. Another good option is the confusingly named white whole wheat flour. This is a whole-grain flour made from a “white” variety of wheat. It produces whole grain baked goods that are almost as light in texture as those made with refined white flour.
You’ll find both in stores with a large selection of “natural” or alternative flours, or online.
This article was originally published on QuickandDirtyTips.com
If a recipe calls for tofu, it’s important to note whether regular or “silken” tofu is called for. They are not interchangeable. Silken tofu is softer and more fragile. It’s used in miso soup, and it’s often used to impart a creamy texture in dairy-free recipes for salad dressings, puddings, pies, and other desserts. Regular tofu has a slightly coarser texture and holds its shape better. You’ll find it used in stir-fries and grilled and baked dishes.
I used to think of this as a mock egg salad until I realized that I like it much better than regular egg salad! It’s great on crackers or as a sandwich or wrap filling.
Ingredients
1 package extra-firm regular (not silken) tofu
1 medium carrot, grated
3 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (or more to taste)
Garlic salt, to taste
Instructions
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 164 calories, 9 g fat, 8 g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 14 g protein.
Originally published at QuickandDirtyTips.com
I’m a big fan of the local food idea. Eating food grown close to where you live saves a ton of gas, spares the environment, supports local growers, and puts fresher, more nutritious food on your table. If you live in Southern California or the southeastern U.S., the growing season is more or less year-round. But what about the rest of us?
Where I live in Maryland, for example, not much grows in the winter. So how do we get our five-a-day without resorting to fruits and vegetables that have been trucked in from California or flown all the way from South America? Growing your own sprouts (or “micro-greens”) can provide you with fresh, crisp greens throughout the winter. And what could be more local than your own kitchen windowsill?
All you need to grow your own sprouts is a couple of quart-sized jars, some cheesecloth or sprouting lids like the ones pictured here, along with a supply of seeds and beans for sprouting. You can find everything you need at your local health-food store or online. In three to five days, you’ll be harvesting your own fresh vegetables. I usually have two jars going: One with smaller “salad” sprouts like alfalfa, clover, radish, or broccoli sprouts and another with larger sprouts like lentils, sunflower seeds, mung beans or other legumes.
The salad sprouts are rich in vitamins C, A, and K and a host of other nutrients. Broccoli sprouts also contain potent cancer-fighting chemicals. You can use salad sprouts in place of lettuce in sandwiches or wraps. We also love piling an inch or two of mixed salad sprouts on a slice of lightly buttered whole wheat bread.
The larger sprouts from beans and other legumes are particularly high in protein, fiber, folic acid and other B vitamins. Their heartier texture makes them good in soups, stir-fries, and omelets. If you are a baker, knead a half cup of sprouted sunflower seeds or wheat berries into whole-grain bread dough just before shaping your loaf. Or try some of these great, healthy recipes from Epicurious.com:
Yesterday, I wrote about new research showing that organically-grown produce contains more disease-fighting nutrients than conventionally-grown vegetables. Yet another reason to choose organic whenever circumstances and budget allow. After all, as any eco-conscious eater knows, organic farming is also better for the environment–or is it?
What if your organic produce is flown in from Chile? Do the fossil fuels burned transporting your organic food cancel out the environmental benefit of using fewer petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides? Obviously, local and organic would be ideal. But if you can’t have both, which is the better choice?
With the local food movement gathering steam, I’ve heard many people argue that local, conventionally grown food is more environmentally friendly than organic food from far away. But a recent post on the Terrablog cites new research from the University of Wales, finding that:
“In general, the food miles are actually a minor portion of the total ecological footprint of food. In the study of a basket of foods in Cardiff, transport amounted to only 2% of the total environmental cost. Growing conditions, packaging and processing made up the bulk of the impact. In fact, a separate article in the same journal shows that local food systems actually have slightly higher carbon emissions!”
What’s the “Ethicurian” to do? (I can’t take credit for that clever term, by the way. It’s the title of a great new blog devoted to helping people “chew the right thing.”) For what it’s worth, the readers of the Terrablog pretty much dismissed this new research as bogus. What do you think? What are your priorities in choosing the foods you buy?