Food In Many Forms

These delicious stuffed squashes made a nice accessory to our pre-finals dinner of turkey, dressing, cooked kale and multitudes of baked goods. And did I mention they're gluten-free? Ingredients: 4 small acorn squash 1 1/2 lbs of sage bulk sausage, crumbled 1 cup onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 Granny Smith apples, cubed Non-stick cooking spray Fresh black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick spray. Trim a thin slice from both ends of each acorn squash, then cut them in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut side down on the prepared baking sheet and bake until very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 35 minutes. Turn the squash halves cut side up and spray with nonstick cooking spray. While the squash bakes, saute the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula as finely as possible as it cooks. Once the sausage is cooked through, transfer it to pap...

In a master's program of over 275 people, there is always someone hosting a dinner, a party or a happy hour. I may be a reluctant cook when I'm home by myself, but I love to cook for others when I get the opportunity! And all the better when I can use my dietitian super powers to feed someone special!  One of my good friends is a celiac, and when I know she is attending, I am sure to bring something gluten-free! This time the theme was Mexican - a great potluck theme for anyone going gluten-free. Corn tortillas can easily replace flour tortillas in any recipe, and the rest of the fixings tend to be naturally gluten-free. For this enchilada recipe, I just made sure to check the ingredients label to make sure the sauce was safe too. Ingredients 4 Gluten-free Corn tortillas 4 oz Grilled chicken, sliced 1 1/2 cups Monterrey jack cheese, shredded 2-3 Scallions, chopped 1 can black olives, sliced 1 packet Enchilada sauce, Frontera Green Chile Enchilada Sauce ...

I just finished testing this recipe to prepare for my demo tomorrow - it actually turned out really well, I would even say it exceeded my expectations! I learned about the "Simply Cook" online cookbook from a fellow dietitian, and former classmate. The cookbook is kind of like a dietitian's dream come true - it includes cooking basics, nutrition education, food safety and storage information, and most importantly, recipes! The recipes are even designed to focus on food staples found in many food pantries! I chose the Mexican Skillet Rice for the demonstration for tomorrow because previous participants asked for one-pot meals that were affordable and easy to make. This recipe was a little vague on some details, so I added amounts for the tomato and cheese. I also recommend cooking the onions prior to adding the turkey if you want them to brown well. I estimated that the recipe would produce four portions, but they are very large portions, and are proportionately hig...

Banana, Kale, and Almond Milk Smoothie In a blender, puree 1 medium  banana , 1 cup chopped  kale , and 1 cup  almond milk  until smooth. 201 calories | 5 g fiber | 5 g protein | 4 g fat We made these smoothies at work on Monday as part of an Employee Health Fair during Commitment Week. It generated a lot of great discussion, but people were not too eager to try it because of the strong kale smell and the bright green color.  We also used 2% milk because we didn't have almond milk, and a lot of people were hesitant to try it because they were lactose intolerant.  Next time we make smoothies, I want experiment with almond milk or soy milk, try using spinach and experiment with a combination of fruits.  

I think the "Cupcakes" turned out pretty well, but they really look and taste more like muffins. They would be great for a quick breakfast and are a lot better than some of those oatmeal breakfast bar recipes I've tried. I ended up doubling the recipe, which made 26 muffins. I ended up using almost an entire zucchini, two small apples, shredded carrots and chopped raisins, and I definitely recommend using some kind of dried fruit to add some sweetness. It seems like a lot of people just use the leftover fruits and vegetables from their juice smoothies, which I think is a great idea! 

In case you didn't know, it's National Nutrition Month ! Every year, RD's spend the month of March making posters and handouts, cooking up delicious food for others to sample, and devoting their time to educating the public and their fellow employees through health fairs and lunch and learns.  Please tell me what other health profession invests so much time and effort into helping others during the month they should be celebrated? Ahh.. to be a dietitian .  So naturally, we dietitians will be at the employee health fair next week... our focus will be fiber and we're planning on baking high fiber cupcakes for everyone to try. Because after all who doesn't want to feel full and poop on the regular? I plan to test them this week, so I'll keep y'all posted! Magic Fruit-and-Veggie Cupcakes Ingredients Cooking spray (optional) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 1 tablespoon soy flour 2 tablespoons wheat germ 1/2 cu...

I always tell my patients, the worst thing that can happen to their diet is complacence . When you stop working to improve your diet, it will inevitably go in the opposite direction . So I recently set some goals for myself to improve my own diet. 1) Eat more meals at home 2) Cook more meals at home 3) Use more home-cooked meats , rather than processed/packaged meats 4) Bulk up on vegetables at lunch and dinner 5) Use only whole grain products at home A lot of this has to do with finding products and recipes I enjoy, but also making time to prepare meals ahead of time. At first, this meant using a lot of frozen vegetables and microwaveable rice, and cooking meat in large batches for several days. But eating 90-second brown rice and frozen broccoli everyday can get a little boring, even if it does help me meet my goals. So now that I have a regimen that I am comfortable and happy with, it's time to shake it up a bit . Asparagus is going to be in season in Maryland ...