Food for Real

Over the week, I decided it was time for a little red meat! I was feeling like I needed a change, so I looked into some Whole Foods recipes and decided to try a few new things! I decided to go for a lean cut (the round roasts being the leanest) of beef, and I kept my portion to about 3.5-4 ounces (about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards). By keeping it lean and portioned out correctly, you can whip up a great helping of protein, some iron, and some B vitamins! Grass fed beef is an excellent choice if you’re in the market for something a bit different. You can find grass fed beef clearly marked in the meat section at Whole Foods.

Here’s the recipe (modified from Whole Foods). This was enough for dinner for two with leftovers!

• Grass fed, lean cut of beef (about a pound)
• Canola Oil (tablespoon) (Check out this cooking with oil guide by Top Chef Marcus Samuelsson!)
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cups red wine (check out this great cooking w/wine guide from Cooking Light)
• 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley (or more if you like!)
• Chopped chives to taste
• 2 tablespoons of a healthier version of butter (see the one I used below!)

Method:

1. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper to taste
2. Heat oil in heavy cast iron skillet (or just a heavier one if you don’t have a cast iron) until very hot, but don’t let it smoke!
3. Brown steak on both sides to your liking (I like mine medium to medium-well, so I cooked it for about 6-7 minutes on both sides.
4. Remove the steak and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm
5. Add shallots and brown them for about 1 – 2 minutes
6. Add wine, scrape brown bits from bottom of the pan as you stir the wine.  Bring to a brisk simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until the wine is reduced to a glaze.
7. Stir in the parsley and chives
8. Remove from heat and whisk in the “butter”
9. Pour over the steak and you’re done!

I paired this with a Brussels sprouts/apple side, recipe from Whole Foods! Check out this awesome recipe.

And I roasted some small potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour:

1. Wash the potatoes
2. Drizzle olive oil over them
3. Add salt, thyme, and pepper to taste
4. Roast for about an hour.

This was a delicious meal, and because I used a lean cut of beef and a butter substitute, I was able to decrease the saturated fat content of the meal by a lot!

This is a great recipe for a special occasion or if you just feel like doing something a little special for dinner that night. I loved having Whole Foods Recipes as a way to learn more about cooking steak, since I don’t have much experience with it! Once I have used a few more recipes, I think I will be ready to make up my own. This is a great way to learn how to cook. Pick one ingredient that seems foreign to you, use a few recipes from your favorite cook book or website (or blog!), and once you become comfortable with that ingredient, you’ll be surprised at how many variations you come up with yourself! And then all of a sudden, you’re making up your own recipes. Pretty cool. Enjoy!

I’ve been cooking and eating a whole lot of quinoa and brown rice lately,  so I decided to switch it up a bit with an udon noodle dish last week! I love to keep it simple and fresh in the kitchen, but this can often lead to predictability as I use pretty much the same ingredients every week: kale, broccoli rabe, asparagus, salad veggies, salmon, chicken, tofu, eggs, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, oranges, apples, strawberries, blackberries, and Larabars. It keeps my grocery list easy-to-remember, but I was starting to feel like I needed something a little different. Hence, the udon noodles. I paired them with a variety of veggies, olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and lemon pepper salmon. The dish was fresh and perfect for spring time (which appears to finally be here, horray!)

Udon noodles are quick-to-cook and go great with just about anything.

The Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil a pot of water.

The Salmon: Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the salmon, sprinkle salt, lemon pepper, fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and dill. Put in the oven for 15 minutes.

The noodles: Add them to the boiling water for about 10 minutes. When they are done, add pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice and a few drops of olive oil. (doesn’t get easier than that!)

The veggies: Brown some white onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat. Wash, cut and add your favorite veggies and let them soften in the garlic/onion infused olive oil over low heat for minutes, covered and stirring occasionally.

Mix the veggies and noodles on a plate. Put the salmon on top and there you have it! A delicious springtime meal less than 20 minutes later.

Enjoy!

It was a great weekend! Went to the cape again and saw some pretty amazing things. Here’s a photo recap of moments I love…

Cranberry bogs! I love the bogs at the cape. Such a great symbol of New England farming!

And worms in the forest…

Richie and owls of course! Doesn’t get better than that!

The Catalpa tree in the front yard at the Cape house! Many memories of climbing this thing (and often falling off)…

My new favorite fuzzy socks courtesy of my dad!

The best hidden gem at the Cape: Scargo Pottery.

And the fun things we purchased there…

Things we did not purchase but equally enjoyed…

My absolute favorite comfort: Hot Chocolate with whipped cream on a chilly weekend morning!

My favorite little animal…

A big thumbs up to a fun weekend…

Saturday was my family’s annual Passover – one of my favorite times of the year! We had a total of 28 people at this dinner with whom I was honored to share such a special night with. I love Passover for many reasons, but my two main reasons for loving this holiday are:

1.) It teaches self acceptance, how to love others, and how to appreciate life.

2.) Different (delicious) foods represent certain aspects of life, which brings a whole new experience and perspective to eating.

Every year, my family and friends gather around a long table and read from the Haggadah – A story about the history of the Jewish people. We drink wine, talk to our loved ones, share laughs and always a few memorable moments.

Me and the chef!

Two of the only Jews at our Passover! You don't have to be Orthodox to enjoy a good time

Before dinner, we drink wine which represents happiness and celebration. We eat hard boiled eggs (I made 3 dozen!!!) to represent life. We eat parsley, which represents the coming of spring, and we dip it in salt water to represent the tears of those who have lost loved ones. We also eat a delicious mixture of walnuts, wine, apples and cinnamon called charoset, and we put it on matzah, which represents the bread Jewish slaves had to bake on their backs in the sun without yeast (which is why it’s flat). And on another note, my mother made this year’s Passover dinner completely gluten free, because my oldest niece was just diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease, so she could eat without worry!

Eggs- a representation of the cycle of life

One of my favorite parts of the Haggadah

My nephews and niece!

My dad teaching my oldest niece about past Passovers

My ever so stylish youngest niece Eliana

Some travel internationally or cross country for the event!

My sister-in-law brought her cousin who was a first timer this year! And Angel came all the way from Spain!

I love to eat in representation of life, because it draws a connection to what we put in our bodies to what is meaningful.

Quick Nutrition Tip: When you are going to a dinner party, and you know there is going to be massive amounts of food, make sure to eat before you go! I had a good breakfast, a good workout, and one of my favorite hearty lunches: Kale, brown rice, and tofu stir fry. That way, you attend the party perfectly hungry, but you don’t end up over doing it!

Eating a healthy meal the afternoon of a big dinner party can help you control portions later when you're at the celebration!

Thanks for reading about this special time. I think that Passover teaches some important lessons: To be kind, generous, and thankful for the loved ones we know and the food we eat.

What’s your favorite holiday? Do you have a connection with a specific food that represents something to you?

Be well, and enjoy the day!

The past week, I’ve been feeling like I needed to add a little color to my own diet! With busy days followed by busy nights, it’s hard to go grocery shopping during the week, and this has the potential to result in dinners consisting of greasy Chinese food or too much pizza! In order to combat the desire to give in to these easy-to-order-and-therefore-take-no-time-out-of-my-schedule foods, I decided to throw a few kitchen staples together to create this colorful, healthy dish! I call it, “The dish to make when you really should go to the grocery store but you wanna take a nap” or in short, “The Compromise.”

The Compromise

This is enough to make 2 dinners and 2 lunches as you soon shall see…

The Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 16 oz total)
• Whatever spices you have/feel like using. I used oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
• Whatever veggies you have left in your fridge
• Olive oil
• Brown Rice

The Method:

• The Chicken: cover with tablespoon olive oil and spices and seasonings. Cook at 400 F for 30 minutes.
• The Rice: Cook to instructions
• The Veggies: Simmer all allium veggies (garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, etc) in olive oil on low heat until you hear it crackle. Add your veggies on LOW heat and stir occasionally pretty much the whole time you cook the rice and chicken minus the short time it takes to chop and wash the veggies.
• Combine everything and you’re done in 30 minutes.

This is what my fridge usually looks like...stocked with veggies, fruit, proteins, snacks, etc. I did not take a picture of what fridge looked like that day I made "The Compromise," but it was about a quarter of the way full.

And it makes two extra lunches!

Check out the awesome lunch box Elizabeth got me for my bday! LOVE it.

Life has been good. I feel fortunate to have such amazing friends and also such an interesting profession! I  attended ANCE last week to see some amazing Massachusett’s based RD’s speak, and it really made me feel thankful that I have put so much time and effort into becoming a Registered Dietitian (soon!!!)! I have to say I was a huge fan of Jean Caton’s talk on Nutrition Entrepreneurship at ANCE as I hope to one day start my own private practice. Also my social media savvy friends Elizabeth Jarrard, Jessica Maillet, Janel Ovrut, and Lindsey Toth led a discussion on RDs in Social Media, and I must say it got some excellent reviews!

At ANCE: The lovely Kara Lydon of http://peaceloveandfood.com/ and Jessica Maillet of http://www.afeteforfood.com/

I also discovered that I am obsessed with the Cappuccino from Tatte Cookies in Brookline on Beacon Street. I haven’t gotten the chance to try their food yet, but check out how adorable the decor is in there!

mmmm nothing like the first cup

And homemade animal cookies?! I'm sold.

Rolling pins on display? Adorable!

Another favorite from last week was the Geneen Roth’s book reading at Boston Public Library from her new book Lost and Found. Check out my review on Guiltless: Mind Body Spirt…and Money.

Twinsies! Janel and I definitely wore black dress, gray tights, tan boots, and scarf on the same day. Fashionistas? Perhaps.

And check this out! Sargent College at BU named Food For Real best of the food web this week! What an honor! Sargent Choice is an amazing program at Boston University that provides healthy, delicious meals to BU students, faculty and staff. Check out the post here!Follow Sargent Choice on Twitter.

And that’s all folks!

Care to Share? What’s on your food mind lately?