You Can Grill Peaches too! July 31, 2009

I think my enjoyment for grilling has intensified. I’m not going to call it an obsession, but I would be fine grilling every day.

So I promised I would try grill peaches and here is the scoop. They were wonderful! (Were you expecting anything else?) Thanks to Martha Stewart this time, I found a great recipe that smelled terrific while it was cooking. I served these hot (too hot) with a little light whipped cream. Best wishes!

Grilled Peaches

Peaches, sliced in half and cored

Juice of one lemon

1 tbsp canola oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tbsp water

1. Toss peaches in a bowl with lemon juice and canola oil to coat.

2. Place peaches on a parchment lined, large piece of aluminum foil (heavy duty works best), leaving space on all the edges.

3. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla and water. Brush mixture onto all sides of the peaches.

4. Wrap up the foil to make a packet. Grill over medium high heat for 15 minutes. Allow peaches to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I made my peach packet up about 3 hours before I actually grilled them. This allowed the peaches to really soak in the marinade. You may want to try this too.

Purple Potatoes July 30, 2009

Last week in my organic delivery (www.palmettoorganics.com) I received purple potatoes. 

Raw purple potatoes

I didn’t think much of them at first because they just looked like potatoes. When I cut them open I expected to see white flesh. But I was thrilled to find out that they were an intense purple color. Truly they were beautiful. (I know, I’m such a food nerd.) I didn’t even know there was such a thing as purple potatoes. Another culinary adventure awaited!

I ended up roasting the potatoes, as you would any potato. They were delicious. (Recipe below). The cool thing about these potatoes is that they have more nutritional value than your run of the mill potato. Remember, intense color in produce = intense nutrients and antioxidants. I’m still trying to track down a website with the nutrient facts for this cool spud but have not found one that I trust yet. Surely these guys are packed with all kinds of extra benefits due to its rich color.

I’m also not too sure where to buy these beauties yet, but I haven’t been looking either. I am going to check out my local healthy food market and Whole Foods to see if I can find them. If you ever run into them I highly encourage you to buy them. They are delicious. They taste like potatoes but with just a little more depth and riches.

Here’s an easy recipe for roasting potatoes

Potatoes, cut into 1-2″ pieces

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh, cracked pepper

Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

2. In a large bowl pour olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary. Mix together and let sit for a couple of minutes. Add potatoes and toss to coat.

3. Spread potatoes in single layer on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping potatoes once halfway through.

5. With 3-4 minutes remaining, sprinkle Parmesan on top of potatoes and return to oven.

6. Remove from oven and serve.

 

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

 

Some Food for Thought July 24, 2009

I am listening to a webinar on helping families become healthier. It has included some impressive facts. Trust me, these guys know what they are talking about. Here are a couple of key points the researchers mentioned:

1. The average American person consumes 42 tsp of sugar a day as opposed to 2 tsp a day in the 1950’s.

2. “Diabetes can be created in 2 weeks by eating a very rich, high calorie/sugar diet.”

3. Families should eat more foods that do not have a nutrition facts label.

4. 50% of the calories in the American diet are “empty calories” (sugar, fat/oils, and alcohol).

5. A fat-free Fig Newton has 60 calories.  A 1/2 of a cantaloupe has 30 calories.

I mention these statements because they cause you to think. We need to start rethinking how we eat. Hopefully this blog gives you a few fresh ideas. Have a healthy day!

Eat Peaches July 23, 2009

Peaches are in season people and they are delicious! Pick some up and enjoy this juicy summer fruit. Eating seasonal fruit helps keep variety in a healthy diet. To pick the best peaches, look for ones that are firm but give slightly when pressed. A rock hard peach is no fun. They should also smell sweet and like a peach. That’s a good rule of thumb. If  a piece of produce don’t not smell like it should , don’t buy it.

Guess what! You can grill peaches. I just saw a recipe yesterday that I am going to try. It involves cooking cored peaches in a tin foil packet on the grill. I’ll let you know how it goes.

To conclude, here are the nutrition facts for one large peach:

68 calories, 2.6 g fiber, 11% of the daily value (DV) for vitamin A, 19% DV vitamin C, 7% DV niacin, 10% DV potassium, and a glycemic load of 5. Not bad peaches. Not bad.

Kashi Original Pilaf – Jazzed Up July 22, 2009

I needed a quick side dish for dinner tonight. I usually keep a pouch of the Kashi Original Pilaf (microwavable) in the pantry. But I was not in the mood for it’s plain jane flavor. So I came up with an easy, jazzed up version with items in my pantry. This is was easy and delicious.

Cherry Pecan Pilaf

1 pouch Kashi Original Pilaf (found in rice isle)

1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

1/4 cup pecans

1. Heat a small skillet to medium low. Toss in pecans and cook until toasted and warmed through, about 6-8 minutes. Stir throughout cooking process. Remove from heat and roughly chop.

2. Prepare Kashi according to directions on bag. Before microwaving, add chopped cherries to pilaf and stir.

3. Spoon heated pilaf on serving plate. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Another Grilling Success – Bok Choy! July 21, 2009

I have discovered another wonderful vegetable to grill: Bok Choy! This stuff is great. It’s one of the vegetables that I have seen in recipes or at the grocery store and just kind of drawn a blank. But alas, the mystery is over.

I received baby bok choy in my organic delivery about a month ago. Unsure of what to do with it I turned to my faithful friend, foodnetwork.com. There I learned that all you had to do was throw the whole head of bok choy on the grill for a couple of minutes and, wha-la, you have a new cooked veggie.

I made the grilled bok choy and made sure I had some “normal” veggies to serve with it for my husband. I assumed that he would not like it. He tried it and declared, “This is what is in Mama Fu’s pad thai! I like it.” Awesome! Thank you Mama Fu’s. So perhaps, this new mystery vegetable can make it into your cuisine. It’s too simple to not try it.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

1-3 heads of bok choy (1 head serves 2)

cooking spray

1. Preheat grill to medium heat (or whatever temp you are cooking other food).

2.Rinse bok choy heads thoroughly. They are usually sandy. Pat dry being sure to keep the head in tack.

3. Spray head lightly with cooking spray on all sides.

4. Grill bok choy for about 2 minutes on each side. Leaves will wilt and slightly char. Avoid blackening the whole head.

5. Slice head down the middle and serve.

Healthy Happy Hour July 20, 2009

I definitely enjoy a good glass of wine. Every now and then, a fresh margarita hits the spot. But whether you are a daily or occasional drinker, it is really important to know how many calories you are drinking. 

One of my slogans is “Don’t drink your calories!”  This applies to your day in and day out beverage consumption. So if you enjoy alcohol daily, you need to pay attention to the quantity. If you drink occasionally (weekends), you still need to pay attention as some drinks pack a powerful calorie punch! Below are some tips to help you make the best choices at the bar.

1. Avoid drinks from mixes. These mixes are usually loaded with sugar (thus why they taste so good) and are very high in calories. If you really enjoy these types of drinks, go to places where they make them from scratch and use fresh ingredients. You can also ask the bar tender to go easy on the sugar. If you are drinking these drinks just because they are  sweet, save your liver and the calories and just drink diet fruit juice.

2. Keep track of how many glasses you have had. Once again, the calories add up quick.

3. If you are not sure about the calories, and trying to be conscious, white wine and light beer are usually good choices. See below for the calorie counts:

  •1 oz hard liquor = 70-80 calories –> great to mix in club soda, diet soda, or diet juice

  •8 oz white wine = 150 calories

  •8 oz red wine = 170 calories

 •12 oz light beer = 110 calories

 • 8 oz cranberry juice = 150 calories

 • 8 oz frozen pina colada mix = 170 calories

 • 8 oz margarita mix = 280 calories

So please drink moderately and with your calories in mind! On a closing note, the research to support a serving of alcohol a day for good health continues to go back and forth. The recommendation still stands at 1 serving a day for women and 2 servings a day for men. Research from Europe was released earlier this year that women who drank only one serving a day of alcohol were at a greater risk for breast cancer! Yikes! Make your decision wisely.

Starbucks is on the A-list! July 6, 2009

This is just unbelievable! Starbucks has released a new smoothie line that actually looks really good on paper. I haven’t tried them yet, but look forward to it.

The Vivanno smoothie line has a short list of ingredients and includes fiber and protein. I am still a believer in homemade smoothies but this is a great solution when you are on the road. Please post your thoughts on how it tastes!

Here are the nutrition facts for the Strawberry Banana Vivanno

<!–

–>

Serving Size		16 fl. oz.
		Amt Per Serving
Calories		270
Fat Calories		5
Total Fat (g)		.5
Saturated Fat (g)		0
Trans Fat (g)		0
Cholesterol (mg)		5
Sodium (mg)		110
Total Carbohydrates (g)		56
Fiber (g)		7
Sugars (g)		41
Protein (g)		16
Vitamin A		4%
Vitamin C		100%
Calcium		10%
Iron		10%
Caffeine (mg)		0

Strawberry Banana Vivanno