Recipes

By: Amy Bortnick

Too busy to cook dinner every night? Trying to not spend a ton of money at the grocery store? Here’s how you can take 1 main ingredient and turn it into 5 new dinners.

1) Chicken

• Grilled chicken parmesan with mozzarella and tomato sauce
• Chicken stir fry with brown rice, broccoli, and sauce of choice
• Chicken paninis with spinach, roasted tomato, and pesto
• Breaded and baked chicken strips with buffalo sauce served over salad
• Chicken kabobs with zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers, marinade and BBQ on a stick

2) Ground Turkey

• Turkey Chili
• Turkey Burgers with carrot fries
• English muffin pizzas with spinach, cheese, and ground turkey
• Turkey meatballs with whole wheat pasta with basil and olive oil
• Italian turkey meatloaf

3) Eggs

• Sweet potato with spinach and egg scramble
• Savory omelete with goat cheese, spinach and onions
• Egg salad sandwiches made with light mayo and terragon
• Add hard boiled eggs to a Greek or Caesar Salad
• Quiche feta, salmon, and dill

4) Black Beans

• Healthy baked nachos with black beans, avocado, and salsa
• Mix with rice, veggies, and tofu for a vegetarian stir fry
• Make homemade black bean burgers
• Process to make a bean dip for veggies and pita chips
• Black bean soup

5) Salmon

• Make fish tacos with whole wheat tortillas, cabbage, and yogurt sauce
• Top with salsa and serve with roasted vegetables
• Make salmon cakes
• Teriyaki salmon with pineapple and snap peas
• Salmon chowder with vegetables

Yesterday, I got home late from work and wanted something quick and easy to eat for dinner. I contemplated peanut butter toast or running out to get something. Instead, I turned to my quick, nutritious go-to meal, Sweet Potato with Egg and Spinach Scramble. This meal is loaded with nutrients, satisfying, and it comes together in just 10 minutes.

First, I stabbed my sweet potato with a fork before wrapping in a moist paper towel, and microwaved it for 5 minutes.

While this was in the microwave, I cooked 2 eggs on the stove top and sauteed some spinach in some olive and a sprinkle of salt.

I sliced and peeled my sweet potato, just in time for the stove ingredients to finish cooking. Then I simply plated everything and finished.

What are your go-to meals for busy weeknights?

Check out one of our student intern, Amy Bortnick’s, favorite recipes! The fall and winter seasons are a great time to take advantage of seasonal produce like pumpkins. They are full of great nutrients like carotenoids that fight aging, vitamins A and C, and fiber.

Ingredients:

• 4 (6-inch) pitas, each cut into 8 wedges
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed kernels, toasted (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Place pita wedges on baking sheets; coat with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 6 minutes or until toasted. Place tahini and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add parsley; pulse until blended. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl; sprinkle with pumpkin seed kernels, if desired. Serve with pita wedges.

Amy is a senior at the University of Maryland studying the field of Nutrition and Dietetics. Thanks for the great recipe Amy!

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Most of us have no problem getting the necessary amount of grains and protein daily. However, most Americans struggle with getting the right amount of servings of fruits and vegetables. Cooking vegetables can get repetitive and most of us think of them as something we have to eat, not want to eat. The Vegetarian Slow Cooker, by Judith Finlayson, provides us with a unique way to meet our vegetable needs, with delicious, easy to prepare recipes. Even if you are not a vegetarian these dishes would be great as sides or for when you are trying to cut back on your meat consumption. Some of the recipes include braised tomato bruschetta, butter bean and barley risotto, caramelized onion quiche, and broccoli and cheddar cheesecake. Now do you believe me?

These meals are not only healthy and delicious, but they are all designed for your slow cooker, allowing for a hot meal when you walk in the door. The step by step directions make these recipes fool-proof and each recipe comes with tips on saving time and things you can prepare in advance. Judith also provides a description of each meal, how it is best served and the nutrition benefits behind it. I encourage you to take steps towards a overall healthier lifestyle, by increasing your vegetable intake with these creative, feel-good recipes.

BY: Christine St. Pierre

This summer has found me with a serious lack of motivation to cook.  I blame the heat.  During those days where the air felt like a thick blanket, the thought of being near an oven or stove was downright repulsive.   Salads were my saving grace.

Some months back (pre-heat wave), I mentioned that I enjoy cooking, so when 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipesarrived, I was nominated to try out the cookbook.  With the temperature back down to tolerable levels and the chance to try something new, I started to feel the excitement of cooking coming back.

The cookbook is well organized and includes an extensive array of main dishes as well as appetizers, soups, vegetable sides, breakfast foods and desserts.  Author Carol Fenster, Ph.D does a great job of making these recipes versatile and adaptable to a wide range of dietary restrictions.  Alternatives to dairy, eggs, or other animal products are included to make any recipe completely vegan, and there is even an appendix for adding animal protein in some of the recipes for households with both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.  One of my favorite things about the book was the list of Flavor Boosters included in the introduction—these items can add tremendously to the meal, especially when familiar tastes like wheat, milk and eggs are removed.

As I was flipping through the cookbook, I wondered how I would ever decide on the first recipe to test; there were so many tantalizing options!  When I got to “Summer’s Bounty Vegetable Casserole,” however, the choice was clear.  Eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes all rank among my favorite fresh produce, and those combined with homemade pesto, mozzarella, and Parmesan sounded fantastic.  Not to mention, Shelley had made the whole office smell like pesto when she warmed up her lunch earlier in the week, and I had been craving it ever since!

The recipe was straightforward and I was able to make the pesto and roast the zucchini and eggplant during an afternoon break from class.  When I got home that evening, I layered everything as directed in a baking dish and put it in the oven.  40 minutes later, I sat down to a delicious dinner and contemplated what I would cook next!

I’m not gluten-free or a vegetarian, but this is still a cookbook I could see myself using regularly for its flavorful and nutritious combinations of fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and legumes.  It looks like I picked a good time to start cooking again!

Many of our clients have recently been diagnosed with Celiac’s disease or a gluten sensitivity and right away think about all the things they can’t eat as opposed to all the new things they can try. There have been a lot of new products on the market that are gluten free but some just don’t seem to compare to the original. That is until I tried Maple Grove’s Farm Gluten Free Baking Mixes. It is important to remember that gluten is not bad for you and does not need to be avoided unless you have the sensitivity, but I did want to try this mix to help out my gluten-free readers! I decided to test my skills in the kitchen and make these gluten free pancakes. These pancakes are doughier than I can remember regular pancakes being and with the addition of blueberries and a small squeeze of syrup, these were some of the best homemade pancakes I’ve had to date.

The mix was very easy to work with and they cooked the same as regular pancakes. The ingredients are wholesome and with 130 calories per serving of mix, these are pancakes I can feel good about eating. Even if you don’t have a gluten sensitivity, you may want to try this all-natural, low-calorie mix. My breakfast guests did not even know they were gluten free. Maple Grove Farms also has a great array of syrups including, all natural, organic, sugar-free, and fruit flavored which would make a great compliment to any pancakes. Try these products on your next lazy Sunday and whip up some homemade waffles or pancakes you can feel good about sharing with your family and friends. For recipes and more information visit their website!

I picked up this cookbook thinking I was going to find low-carb, diabetes friendly recipes to share with some of our clients. I am amazed to say that I have actually copied down a bunch of interesting, healthy recipes that I am excited to make myself. There are even pasta recipes in a diabetes friendly book! The book is clearly organized with tips on how to start if you have just been diagnosed with diabetes or are unsure how to manage it. There are discussions on different nutrients and how they affect the body including a grocery list with 20 foods you should always have on hand. My favorite section includes how to make over your food supply which has suggestions for replacement items and recipe adjustments. Then, the good stuff- recipes for appetizers, soups, breakfast, meats, poultry, fish, casseroles, pasta and grains, vegetables, salads, dressings and sauces, desserts, breads, snacks and beverages! That’s right everything you can think of there is a recipe for, and its diabetic friendly. Not only does each recipe have the nutrition information, there is also information on the exchange list, and the PCF ratio-the percentage of calories from each protein, carbs and fat. So whether you follow carbohydrate counting, exchange lists, or the ratio method each recipe is covered and easy to follow.

If you or someone you know is diabetic, or just trying to eat healthier, “The Everything Diabetes Cookbook” by Registered Dietitian, Gretchen Scalpi is for you!

We are all starting to plan for the fall and if you’re a parent of a child going back to school that means getting the school supplies, backpacks, and new fall clothes. However, what most people don’t think about when it comes time to go back to school is how to keep their children healthy and this means planning ahead for school lunches.

We always recommend that you pack your children’s lunch so you know exactly what they are getting, but we also know children also love pizza Friday’s and waiting in line with their friends to buy the school lunch. Buying lunch every once in a while is definitely not going to be harmful, but I would recommend getting a copy of the menu ahead of time and trying to discuss some healthy options with your children so they are not as easily influenced when it’s their turn to order.

Lunch in school is definitely one of the most important meals of the day because it could be a long time before their next meal. Therefore the lunch needs to be nutritionally dense to keep them full and the best way to do this is to make sure lunch is loaded with lean protein, healthy fats, and lots of high fiber carbohydrates.   Registered Dietitian, Danielle Omar gives some reasons and examples stating, “The healthy fat (from avocado, nut butters, nuts & seeds, eggs, and hummus) and the fiber (from the whole fruits, veggies, and whole grains) are going to slow down digestion and keep them full. The lean protein is going to provide satiety…which gives the meal that “staying power” for several hours. “

…read more on New Ideas for Back to School Lunches

Fruits and Veggies- More Matters is an organizations that motivates people to eat more fruits and vegetables to improve public health. They have a great amount of marketing and education programs and are very involved in school systems. They were kind enough to send us their recipe book for kids to review for all of our readers!

This cool fuel cookbook gives recipes for breakfast, side dishes, main dishes, smoothies, and snacks, and the main purpose is to incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables in each dish. Each recipe gives ingredients, directions, nutritional information, and what the recipe is a good source of, such as fiber or vitamin C. This book is easy for parents to follow and fun for kids to help out. Each recipe is titled creatively to make the experience enjoyable for children. Examples include Purple Party Parfait, Banana in a Blanket, and Crazy Curly Broccoli Bake.

If you have children or are even just trying to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet I would definitely recommend this cookbook.

For more information about this organization please visit, www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org