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Archive for September, 2010

28 Sep Fries, A Love Affair… Part One

I’m a dipper. And a dunker. Yes, I’m happiest when I have something to dip or dunk into something else – cookies into tea, chips into salsa, veggies into hummus, my spoon into chocolate pudding, fries into … anything, really. Hmmm… fries. Homemade baked fries, of course. I realized last night that over the past few months I’ve been on an unconscious mission to turn as many vegetables into “fries” – a.k.a. sweet, crispy baked sticks of dipping goodness – as possible. I blame the formerly sugarless, now sugar-loaded organic ketchup at Trader Joe’s for making me go fry crazy.

Branching out beyond potatoes and sweet potatoes was a small revelation to me. As far as I can tell, the difference between a roasted vegetable and a “fry” is (1) shape (two to three bite wedge or rectangle), (2) crispiness (a nice crisp give when you bite into it) and (3) handle-ability (not mushy, but stands up to the pick up and dip action – try doing that with a roasted tomato… soooooo not going to work!). The other key piece is what you’re dipping them in. Remember painstakingly tearing open tiny package after tiny package of ketchup at McDonald’s when you were a kid? Mickie D’s beef tallow soaked potato sticks were good but not the same without a swish into that puddle of sugary red goo. The dip matters.

So, dear scrumptious living friends, what follows is my latest obsession foray into the “fry” world (I’ll be posting a followup with a basic formula for making healthy, yummy, interesting fries out of almost any veg, with dips to dunk in to your heart’s content, very soon).

Butternut Squash Sticks of Goodness

1 butternut squash

olive oil

good quality salt

perhaps some dried herbs, such as rosemary or thyme.

Preheat oven 425 degrees and prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. With a vegetable peeler, peel skin of off squash neck, then using a sharp, heavy duty knife, cut off stem and butt of the squash, like so:

(Save the butt for roasting! Maybe make a roasted butternut squash and tomato soup… or at least look out for an upcoming post about one.) Take peeled neck (which should be solid, no cave of seeds to deal with), set up on one end, carefully cut into ~1-inch slices, then cut those slices into sticks (~3/4 to 1 inch), like so:

They look like sticks of cheddar cheese, don’t they? Notice, there’s some variation in thickness. Just be sure not to make them too different, or it’ll seriously mess with your cooking time. I actually prefer these fries to be on the thicker side. Squash can get squishy when baked too much (which is usually what we want), but for fries, we want them cooked enough to bring out the butternut sweetness, but not so much that they can’t stand up to a good dipping. Place squash sticks in a large bowl, drizzle one or two turns of olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Then, spread on prepared baking sheet, like this:

Bake for 20 minutes, then check. Flip over if you need, in order to evenly brown and crispify each fry. Check back in another 20 minutes. Again, you want them done enough (not hard and raw, but slightly tender), but not too much (in which case, you may want to turn your fries into a nice blended soup! See other hint above). If you’re closing in on doneness but want more of a outside crisp, try switching your oven to the broiler (high). (Remember, all ovens are different, so may have to adjust temp and times slightly.) Remove from oven and sprinkle with good quality salt. (I’ve baked them already salted, which is fine, but more and more I like the fresh sprinkle at the end. Somehow it intensifies the flavors more for me.) The batch below was a little less crisp than I usually like, but time wasn’t on my side today. Fortunately, that didn’t make difference to my mouth or belly – both were very happy with the outcome. Butternut Squash Fries. Maybe next time I’ll toss them with some cumin or some nutmeg….

22 Sep How to Absolutely Guarantee Nutritional … Failure!

If you want to improve how you eat, there is no dearth of advice on television, in bookstores, online or in your mother’s kitchen. There are numerous lists of “super-foods” and formulas for how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you need in every meal. But, let’s be honest, it can be overwhelming to keep track of everything everyone thinks you should do on a daily basis for basic healthy eating success. So, I thought maybe a little change of perspective would help.

Here are seven things you can do during an average day to guarantee healthy eating failure (hey, that’s one for every day of the week!). That’s right. If you want to eat nutritionally bankrupt food, if you want to over-eat, if you want to deplete your immune system and exhaust your nervous system, just follow these simple steps:

1. Don’t plan ahead. Don’t think about what you’re going to eat for the day or the next couple of meals – especially if you’ll be at work and your office is surrounded by high-calorie, high-fat fast food options, or you’ll be running errands all day and far from your fridge, or if you’ve got plans for back to back to back meals out. Whatever you do, don’t think ahead about bringing or choosing healthier options!

2. Let yourself get good and starving. There’s really no better way to ensure overeating and reaching for the fattiest, most calorie-dense, processed foods than waiting too long to eat; so long that you’re too hungry to think straight to make healthy choices OR to slow down enough that your hormones and brain can catch up and register what you’re shoveling into your mouth.

3. Don’t keep healthy snacks near by. If your schedule is inconsistent and you can’t easily plan ahead for where and what you’re going to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, or if there’s a chance you could get stuck at the office or in your car for long periods of time, whatever you do, don’t stock healthy, satisfying snacks in your desk, glove box or purse. This way, when you need fuel between real meals, you can reach for your boss’ candy jar or grab another soda or cup of coffee, string yourself out on sugar and caffeine and come crashing down a few hours later. SO. MUCH. FUN!

4. Be the supplier. Keep a stock of cookies and candy on your kitchen counter or in an overflowing candy dish at your desk, readily available for anyone – you, your office mates, your family – who’s hungry, stressed out, procrastinating, bored or distracted to dip into again and again and again. That way, with minimal effort, you and the people around you can ride a choppy sugar-induced energy rollercoaster all day long, which is sure to deplete your immune system, disrupt your sleep, spoil your appetite and load on extra calories.

5. Don’t take time to breathe. If you never stop to breathe – between meetings and errands, over meals, before or after difficult situations, etc. – you can be sure that stress will wind you up and spin you out straight to the candy jar, the happy hour fried cheese sticks, the extra glass or two (or three) of booze, insomnia, mood swings… do I really need to keep listing the consequences of not managing stress?

6. Do not, under any circumstances, drink enough water. Let yourself get dehydrated. Really dehydrated. This will disrupt your digestion, give you a false sense of hunger (which is pretty insatiable until you finally eat or drink something hydrating), make you cranky and generally unpleasant to be around.

7. Do not even think about moving your body. Don’t take breaks in your workday to stretch out the kinks of computer gazing and typing. Don’t get outside for fresh air everyday. Don’t take the stairs, don’t walk an extra block, don’t ride your bike. Don’t go for a run or to a yoga class. We all know that consistent exercise can lead to other healthy habits – it doesn’t just move lymph to help your immune system function more effectively, it also makes our bodies crave healthy food (and vice versa) – so …sit there, watch more television and grab another beer or cookie while you’re at it.

There you have it. If you really want to reinforce habits of eating unhealthy – i.e. highly processed, low-nutrient and high-calorie foods, eating too much, eating when not truly hungry – well, this guide should certainly help.

17 Sep Word on the Street…

Another quick round up of interesting news I found this week. Lots to pass on about transitioning from summer to fall, falling for fake fish, failing to hit five a day and figuring out exactly why doctors receive little to no nutrition training….

Nice post from Whole Living Daily on maintaining or finding space for yourself, especially as we transition from free-wheeling days of summer to the hustle and bustle of back to school and fall’s holiday season.
As the season changes, our bodies naturally want more sleep, especially if we want to keep up with hectic holiday schedules and effectively fight off or heal from colds and flues. That’s Fit has a nice summary of some of the ways we can be sabotaging this precious time of rest.
Marion Nestle’s alert about hearings on GM salmon.
New York Times exposes how little doctors are taught about nutrition. That’s why it’s a good idea to seek nutrition advice and counseling from nutrition and health counselors.
According to studies, practically no one in the U.S. is getting their five-a-day fruits and vegetables.

How about you? Are you able to keep the easy going feeling of summer? Are you feeling the pull of fall in your sleep patterns? What do you think about the disconnect between nutrition and medicine? Are you a five-a-day statistical average or an out-lier?