Food In Many Forms

How do I find time to cook at home?  How do I prevent getting bored of the same foods when I am cooking for one? How do I incorporate seasonal produce into my food routine? These are typical questions that come up during a nutrition counseling session. My clients often want easy answers at first. They want a meal plan; they want to be told what to eat. But the more they learn about good nutrition, and the more they prepare their own food, the more they learn to eat their own favorite foods in different ways and to plan out their meals in a way that works for them.  Let me tell you about my experience when I first was learning to cook and feed myself. I remember when I started this blog, back in college, around 3-4 pm, I would start running through the mental inventory of the food in my fridge. Would I start with rice, pasta or tortillas? Did I have a good protein? Did I have leftovers I needed to use up?  By the time I was walking home after class, I...

I was sitting at home at 4 o'clock in the afternoon today contemplating what to do with some leftover corn tortillas, when I found a cooking light recipe for "Smoky Potato and Greens Tacos". Although the resulting tacos were a bit different, they were quite tasty. Cooking Light recommends potatoes, radishes and greens with fresh cheese. I substituted sweet potatoes and used lightly cooked onion instead of radish to give me the same crunch. The queso blanco was also delicious as an appetizer all by itself until I could pull everything together.  Ingredients 2 corn tortillas 1 medium sweet potato 1 cup spinach/ arugula/ your favorite greens 1/2 cup sliced onions 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro 1 oz queso blanco Salt and pepper, to taste Fresh lime juice (optional) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potato, and bake for 45 minutes. Dice sweet potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute onions and mix in greens prior to taking it off...

This recipe totally made me rethink enchiladas - the nontraditional ingredients really worked well together! I felt like the original recipe could use even more vegetables, so I changed the recipe to double up the veg for next time. Ingredients : 8 (5 inch) corn tortillas 1 unpeeled butternut squash, seeded 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 onion, chopped 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 1 cup enchilada sauce 1/4 cup goat cheese,  crumbled 1/4 cup cotija cheese,  crumbled 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional) 1/4 cup sour cream, for topping (optional) Directions : 1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 2. Lay the tortillas flat onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place the butternut squash half into a microwave-safe dish cut-side-down, and pour in the water. Cook in the mic...

Some dishes, you just don't forget the first time you had them. In particular, the egg chilaquiles I had at Lauriol Plaza have been stuck in my mind: Three scrambled eggs with tortilla chips, and green tomatillo sauce. Topped with Monterey Jack cheese and sour cream. Served with seasonal fruit. Recommended for a hang over. - Lauriol Plaza Menu It came to my table still piping hot and comforting after a late night on the town. So, now that I have the time, I had to try my own version of it, perfectly portioned for 1. Ingredients : 1/2 cup salsa  3 oz chicken or vegetable broth 1 large egg 3 corn tortillas, in pieces, baked til crisp at 375 degrees OR 2 oz tortilla chips .75 oz queso fresco Nonstick cooking spray  Directions : 1. Heat salsa and broth in large saucepan to medium-high. Stir in the chips, coating all of them well with the mixture. As soon as the salsa mixture is at a boil, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes...

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...

The last of the Tortilla Pizzas are baking in my oven, and they look spectacular! I think scallions and tomatoes are the perfect toppings for these little gems, and they toasted up very nicely. I am even considering eating one for breakfast tomorrow morning so I don't have to wait til dinnertime to enjoy them!  Of course, I always end up tweaking the recipe a little bit when I'm making it, mostly if I'm missing ingredients. This time, I left out the chopped onion that was meant to be mixed into the refried beans. Since I only used about half of the refried beans in the can, I'm glad I skipped that step.  Also, since the recipe makes so many servings, I'm testing the stability of the pizzas in the freezer and in the fridge. I'm always looking for new delicious leftover foods! Honey What's Cooking? Mexican Tortilla Pizza Number of Servings: 4  Serving Size: 1 pizza Ingredients Non-stick cooking spray 8 small yellow corn tortillas 1/2 can ref...

I'm totally on a Mexican Food Kick these past couple months... Mexican Noodles, Mexican Pizza, Mexican Dip... but hey, I will always take advantage of an opportunity to use taco seasoning and tons of fresh vegetables! So when my work today brought me to the CDC recipe database -  http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx  - I obviously chose the tortilla pizza to go in the cookbooks we are sending home with students next week after they visit the University Farmer's Market.  And isn't it only fair that I try out some of these recipes first?   And just to make this a little more interesting, I'm going to have a little nutrition face-off with a fellow blogger's Tortilla Pizza recipe - someone who "watches her weight" and tells us how her recipe is full of protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. We will see about that!  Skip below for recipes - I'm warning you, I might ramble a bit! Honey What's Cooking Mexican ...

So, I know I've talked about Ellie Krieger in the past, but I'm not sure I've ever actually made one of her recipes. She is the only Chef on the Food Network that is also a Registered Dietitian, and you know I am in support of that! This past Cinco de Mayo, I finally decided to make one of her recipes - a five-layer Mexican dip. It disappeared in the first twenty minutes of the party, and it was pretty easy to make. The only time-consuming part of the recipe was chopping up the veggies, but it was worth it! And the best part about Ellie's recipes? She does the nutritional analysis for me :) Ingredients 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo 4 tablespoons lime juice 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves...

Hungry Girl is a great resource for low-calorie recipes, but as with most things, it's all checking your nutrition labels and making the best choices at the grocery store. I learned that the hard way when I tried to make Hungry Girl's Chicken Flautas . The Hungry Girl (HG) wants fat-free cheeses, corn tortillas and plenty of spices. My little downtown grocery store has none of this.  Let me cut to the chase - this 188 calorie recipe became a 420 calorie recipe out of no where! Mostly, I blame the tortillas, only afterward did I realize that flour tortillas have more calories than corn tortillas. It is still a great recipe even with my inadequate groceries, and it makes me think I want to start an under-500 calories series . It is a bit overdone, but being informed is always a good thing! Ingredients: 1/4 cup salsa 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese 4 oz. cooked and finely chopped skinless lean chicken breast 3 tbsp. diced onion 1/8 tsp. cayenne ...

Don't let it's looks deceive you, this Turkey Noodle Casserole is pure delicious-ness. The peppers gave it a nice little kick without being overwhelming. Now if you like a little heat, you could probably use two or three chipotle peppers with no problem, but I liked it with just one. Doing the recipe analysis for this recipe, I was shocked how many calories 1 cup of cheese can have (about 400 calories for the brand I chose)! It's easy to forget at the grocery store that the cheese is all made with whole milk, unless it says otherwise. I feel especially silly for buying whole milk cheese, since I know 2% tastes exactly the same . Just making that simple switch could save you around 120 calories in this recipe and 12 g of fat ! Turkey Noodle Casserole (Serves 6) Ingredients 1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for preparing the pan 10 ounces rigatoni or other shaped pasta 1 medium onion, diced 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon taco seasoning 1 teaspoon drie...

Remember that menu I made for the week? It went out the window tonight in favor of enchiladas. I walked to the grocery store just to get sauce and taco shells, even after buying all my groceries for the week based on my "planned" menu. Oh well.  Sandra Lee has a recipe that uses the leftover components of black bean burgers to make black bean enchiladas. Well, I   didn't want black bean burgers, but I have to give Sandy Lee some credit for the idea. Ingredients: Filling: 1/4 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained, divided 1/4 cup canned corn 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Enchiladas: 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce 4 soft taco shells 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in a small pan until browned. Turn stove to low and add garlic, beans and corn. Cook until heated through. Stir in cilan...