Whole Grain Grub

bread alone

I usually eat a slice of bread every morning. I cover it with creamy (or, when I’m in the mood, crunchy) peanut butter and half of a sliced banana. Latley, however, I’ve been sick of the cheap, poorly made bread I’ve been buying for the past year now.

Last month, I discovered Bread Alone. Believe me when I say I will never eat generic bread again.

Why do I love Bread Alone?

• It’s organic and has VERY minimal ingredients
• It’s local (the bread is baked in New York’s Hudson Valley)
• The bread is baked fresh and never frozen
• The bread is sold at most supermarkets in NYC as well as cafes and farmer’s markets
• You can absolutely taste the quality. You know how corner store bread (even whole wheat) does that thing where you can squeeze it and it condenses into a ball and then it will slowly take “shape” again. Not this bread. It is fluffy and and firm with no added fillers – or whatever the heck is in cheap bread that makes it do that.

It is a little more expensive, I paid about $4.50 for a loaf of whole wheat, compared to $2.50 that I pay for the low quality whole wheat bread. But it’s time to start shelling out more money for things that are important in life. And there is nothing more important than what we eat.

pan seared

I just realized that I never made fish and blogged about it before. Probably because I never really cook fish. But this was the BEST fish I have ever. Ever. Ever, ever, ever made.

And pretty simple actually.

Part 1: The fish

Here’s what you do:

• buy a fresh salmon steak (fresh means it shouldn’t have a fishy smell)
• clean it with vinegar. This also gives it a little flavor
• rub it in a little salt and pepper (both sides)
• heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on med-high just before it reaches it’s smoke point – then add the fish. Cook on one side until it looks crispy then flip over. Also shake it around a little bit. You know, like they do on cooking shows.
• meanwhile the oven should be preheated to about 325
• put the fish on a glass or aluminum tray and bake until fish flakes easily with a fork. It should be around 10 or so minutes. But keep checking.

Part Two: Mango Salsa (Got this recipe from Chef Mu’s cooking demo…or something like it)

What you need:

• mango (soft)
• green onion (maybe 2 or 3 pieces)
• cilantro
• jalapeno pepper (half of one – seeds removed)
• lime (1 or 2)
• garlic (1 or 2 cloves)

What you do:

Chop, dice and mix it all together. Couldn’t be easier. Let the food processor help if you need it to.

You know you have problems when you’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years and you still need spell check to help you get “vegetarian” right. What the freak!

I JUST figured out that the only way I can master the spelling of “vegetables” is by breaking it down to vege and table.

Anyhoot. This is nothing new or wild and crazy but sometimes it just takes a picture to give you a meal idea or stimulate new ideas of your own.

t'was nice

yum

The deets:

• The salad was just lettuce, shredded carrots, an assortment of olives with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and pepper. I forgot to put garbanzo beans! That would have been great.
• The bread was toasted with a bit of lemon and pepper goat cheese, sliced tomatoes and fresh sage and basil (inspired from the recipe below)
• And of course I added my 2 % greek yogurt with grapes and blackberries.

Very easy, hearty and delish.

smells nice

My girl Marly is the QUEEN of chickpea recipes. The other day I went to her house and she made a delicious curry chickpea dish. I love them because they are so cheap and versatile. The next day I decided to make a spin off of her recipe.

Here’s what you need:

• Can of light coconut milk
• 2 cans of chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon of thai red curry paste
• 2 tablesppons of curry powder
• 5 green onions (or whatever onion you have)
• Fresh Basil
• Potatoes (I think Marly used roasted squash instead)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what you do

• In a small pot of boiling water, add chopped potatoes and cook until they become semi-soft
• In a big pan, heat coconut milk and then add red curry paste. Stir until it dissolves.
• Add chichpeas. Then add cooked potatoes.
• Add curry powder.
• Lastly add the chopped green onions and basil (then salt and pepper).
• I served with whole grain rice.

cooking

sorry the pesto isn't on better display

Pesto is soooooooo easy. All you need is basil, olive oil, nuts (I use almonds because it’s all I have. Lost of people use pine nuts) and garlic.

For this recipe I used about 3/4 cups of EVOO, a handful of almonds (I chop them into three parts first to give the food processor a break), a cup or so of fresh basil and 3 (ish) cloves of garlic. If you are worried about garlic breath (which this recipe is sure to cause) use less garlic. For non-vegan pesto you would add maybe 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. You can also add salt and pepper to taste.

Next you chop this up in the food processor for a couple minutes and you have yourself some pesto.

And if you want to make sandwiches, buy a fresh baguette, toast it and spread the pesto on each slice. Then add whatever you want inbetween (I used avocado, tomato and basil). Great picnic food.

hi there

This week, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association published a study that aimed to determine the effectiveness of a 6-week beauty salon-based health intervention, Steps for New You, in improving, physical activity, and water consumption behaviors in Black woman.

The reasoning: African Americans, especially women, have low fruit and vegetable consumption, which is related to higher rates of obesity, morbidity, and mortality in comparison to whites. Community-based approaches are recommended to address this problem, including beauty salons, which are conducive environments for health information dissemination.

The intervention included scripted motivational sessions between the cosmetologist and clients, information packets, and a starter kit of sample items. Data were collected using pre- and posttest questionnaires.

The results: The mean intake of fruit and vegetables was significantly higher for those who were in the intervention group, compared to those who were not. These findings suggest that the intervention may have had a positive effect on fruit and vegetable consumption by treatment group participants. However, further work is needed to refine the methodology, especially strengthening the intervention to increase physical activity and water consumption.

Interesting. Whatever works. Would you be receptive to people pushing you to increase your fruit and veggie consumption while getting your hair done?