Tag: Healthy Cooking

Summertime, and the living is easy … as well as scrumptious

Continuing on Summertime theme… this week is summertime FOODS, always a fun topic. Summer seems in part to be in about the food, specifically the fresh produce and veggies. Easy to find everywhere, fun to find at your local outdoor markets! Keep it local folks- support your local farmer (especially the organic ones) and your community will be better off for your actions.

Monday, today, we will start the week off with HERBS – hopefully your herb garden is flourishing by now. My mint is taking over already! (see photo!) MintThese wonderful words are from Kathy Weber: Wedge Wood Flowers: Herbs for culinary, medicinal and ceremonial use: She is one of the fabulous growers at the Whole Foods Farmers Market in Garden City on Tuesdays! There are 2 recipes (bottom of page.) One is from Kathy and the other is from Linda Nunes- the Healthy Eating specialist at Garden City Center Whole Foods. She made us this luscious salad last week as the taste sampler food for the day. Want to know what is being made this Tuesday? Sorry, it’s a secret you will have to come on down to see/taste for yourselves!

“Now that is it summer in our area, the farmers markets are filling up with fresh greens, strawberries, peas and herbs. All of these wonderful offerings from the fields will give us an early summer salad just right for us.
Snipping herbs regularly helps the herb plants grow bushy and full and provides more for us to use. Pinch the tops of the plants to prevent flowering and going to seed. If that happens, the flavor becomes bitter.  That is another reason why snipping herbs daily is a good idea.  If you have more herbs that you can use, dry the sprigs on a paper towel and store for cooking.
Use herbs in the summer to bring out the flavor in meals. Here are some tips where using herbs.  Use dried herbs when cooking sauces and soups. Dried herbs have more intense flavors.  Use fresh herbs in salads, as a garnish in soups or sauces, and add sprigs of parsley or basil in a sandwich. Then taste how good that is! (Note, from Ronfleur and Liz- put a bit of mint on my turkey wrap { turkey, a touch of low-fat feta dressing, lettuce and a sprinkle of mint} and it was WONDERFUL! ) 
Plan to enjoy the early summer time enjoying all the bounty provided to us and know that more is soon to come to us from the fields.”
Kathy learned to love herbs from her parents.  Her father lovingly tended his herb garden and often brought in lettuce, scallions, and parsley for a salad for supper.  Her mother loved to make herb tea from herbs that she dried for the winter and so she grew up understanding how to grow herbs and health benefits they provide. Currently she is studying to become a herbalist with Susan Clements. Learning to make tinctures, salves, and creams.
She has combined all her knowledge of herbs and turned it into a business,
Wedge Wood Flowers: offering a wide variety of herbs for culinary, medicinal and ceremonial use. “I love to help folks, learn to grow and use herbs. Along with my herbs, I make cold pressed soap using essential oils and clays. I often use herbs in making soap.  This year I can be found at farmers markets, Pawtuxet Village, on Sat., Whole Foods University Heights and Cranston on Mon and Tues. I also will be at Washington Co Fail in Aug, Woodstock Fair, and Hebron Fair in Conn. I can also be found at various festivals and harvest fairs. Information on where I will be can be found on my Facebook page, Wedgewood Flowers.”  Kathy’s email is wdgewood89@aol.comif you have questions for her.
Here is a recipe with snap peas from Kathy
Cook in water a handful of snap peas for 1-2 min. Toast 2T sliced almonds. Combine 2T oil, 2 T fruity vinegar salt pepper. Combine romaine or spring greens with 1/4 cup chives, and tarragon, add peas, and almonds
Here is the recipe from Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Specialist,
Linda Nunes.
Combine fresh greens using red and green lettuce. Add sliced strawberries and chopped basil. Make a simple dressing by blending, 1 cup strawberries, 1T Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar, and 1 shallot.  Pour over the greens and enjoy the flavors.

You went to the local market and now you are home…..

You have all this fresh fabulous food now ( plus a few greeting cards and a few gifts for yourself) – Now what?

Healthy cooking does not mean blah, expensive or boring.  You just purchased food that is bursting with flavor all on its own so you are one step ahead already.  Now we want to keep as much nutritional value as possible, and make the food as health and yummy as possible. As everyone knows, that means cutting the fat and so the calories. The Mayo Clinic is full of recommendations such as roasting instead of frying.. Here are more ideas from the Mayo Clinic website. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-cooking/NU00201

Using herbs and spices:Creating meals using spices and herbs is one of the best ways to add color, taste and aroma to foods without adding salt or fat. Choose fresh herbs that look bright and aren’t wilted, and add them toward the end of cooking. Add dried herbs in the earlier stages of cooking. When substituting dried for fresh, use about one-half the amount. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- Read last week and get your GROW ON for your herbs.

Baking: Besides breads and desserts, you can bake seafood, poultry, lean meat, vegetables and fruits. For baking, place food in a pan or dish surrounded by the hot, dry air of your oven. You may cook the food covered or uncovered. Baking generally doesn’t require that you add fat to the food. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- baking fish, chicken or veggies in foil with some lemon juice and fresh herbs is easy to cook and clean! Naturally it is good for the taste buds too.

Braising: Braising involves browning the ingredient first in a pan on top of the stove, and then slowly cooking it covered with a small quantity of liquid, such as water or broth. In some recipes, the cooking liquid is used afterward to form a flavorful, nutrient-rich sauce.

Broiling and grilling: Both broiling and grilling expose food to direct heat. To grill outdoors, place the food on a grill rack above a bed of charcoal embers or gas-heated rocks. If you have an indoor grill, follow the manufacturer’s directions. For smaller items such as chopped vegetables, use foil or a long-handled grill basket to prevent pieces from slipping through the rack. To broil indoors, place food on a broiler rack below a heat element. Both methods allow fat to drip away from the food.

Poaching: To poach foods, gently simmer ingredients in water or a flavorful liquid such as broth, vinegar or juice until they’re cooked through and tender. The food retains its shape during cooking. For stove-top poaching, choose a covered pan that best fits the size and shape of the food so that you need a minimal amount of liquid. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- try poaching salmon ever so easy and soooo good!

Roasting: Like baking, but typically at higher temperatures, roasting uses an oven’s dry heat to cook the food. You can roast foods on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. For poultry, seafood and meat, place a rack inside the roasting pan so that the fat in the food can drip away during cooking. In some cases, you may need to baste the food to keep it from drying out. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- don’t forget you can roast veggies too!

Sauteing: Sauteing quickly cooks relatively small or thin pieces of food. If you choose a good-quality nonstick pan, you can cook food without using fat. Depending on the recipe, use low-sodium broth, cooking spray or water in place of oil. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- our saute pan is used just about every day. Sauteing some opinions with mushrooms is one our favorites to add to almost anything.

Steaming: One of the simplest cooking techniques is steaming food in a perforated basket suspended above simmering liquid. If you use a flavorful liquid or add seasonings to the water, you’ll flavor the food as it cooks. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- do you have a rice cooker? If you do then start using it- adds no heat to your kitchen, and is basically another type steam cook method.

Stir-frying: A traditional Asian method, stir-frying quickly cooks small, uniform-sized pieces of food while they’re rapidly stirred in a wok or large nonstick frying pan. You need only a small amount of oil or cooking spray for this cooking method. The gang of Beauties and Beasties add- It is so easy to have a high ratio of veggies here and only a little meat.fish, or tofu, so the calories are small and the bulk factor is large.

Enjoy your local food and have a good time feeding yourself, your families, and your friends.