The BEST tasting summer dressing for greens! #SesameTahini #GardenCuizine

Summer Sesame 
Tahini Dressing

This dressing will get anyone to enjoy superfoods such as kale greens! It was inspired by Michele's Sesame Tahini Salad Dressing that we sold so much of, and used when we had our restaurant: Garden of Eden Natural Foods and Country Kitchen Inc. 
 
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Sesame Tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon lite soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast*
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
pinch onion powder

Putting it all together
Combine all ingredients. Mix together with a small whisk.

Serve over your favorite salad greens, kale, chicken, tofu or fish.

Enjoy!

*Nutritional Yeast adds Vitamin B12 and fabulous flavor to foods! You can find it at supermarkets such as ShopRite.

GardenCuizine Nutrition data: coming soon - check back!

Recipe and photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing #GardenCuizine #healthy #recipe

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

People seem to have a love or hate relationship with cilantro. Personally, I find more people love this cilantro dressing than dislike it. The flavors of fresh cilantro and lime pair perfectly with a Southwest Salad topped with avocado, black beans and corn like the one we just made at our Inspira Health Network healthy cooking class on Summer Salads.


Yields 9 one-ounce servings 
Ingredients
Juice of 3 limes
1 cup Cilantro, lightly packed
1/2 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt

Putting it all together

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Mix until well blended. Pour into a serving container - I like to use a jelly jar. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data: Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing: 
Good Source Vitamin C
Low Sodium, Low Saturated Fat
One ounce: 68 calories, total fat 6 grams, saturated fat 1 gram, Vitamin C 10% DV
Related Links
Coriandrum sativum About Cilantro - Missouri Botanical Garden
Blog post and recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Homemade Low-fat Ranch Dip or Dressing #GardenCuizine #NNM

Low-fat Ranch

Preservative free ~ No artificial flavors

    Ranch dressing continues to be a favorite of just about everyone I talk to. As a dietitian, my challenge is to steer individuals towards a healthier diet and lifestyle. Commercial Ranch dressings are loaded with over 20 ingredients including MSG. Here's how to quickly prepare a much healthier Ranch dressing with less than half the calories and fat as commercial Ranch. Even your picky eaters will enjoy the garden fresh and delicious flavor.

Yields: 10-12 ounces (about 24 tablespoons)
Suggested Serving Size: 1 to 2 tablespoons

    Ingredients
1 cup lite mayo
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 1/2 teaspoon (tsp) apple cider vinegar added to 1/2 cup low fat milk)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic - finely minced
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1 Tablespoon fresh dill - chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder

    Putting it all together

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jelly jar. I like using a jelly jar (less clean up!).
• Whisk or shake well to combine.
• Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Shake again before serving.

    National Nutrition Month Snack Tips: Keep washed and cut veggies such as carrots, celery and sweet peppers stored in baggies on a visible shelf in your refrigerator. Have homemade Ranch in a container nearby as a healthy snack dip.  
Also, note that dill weed freezes well. A fresh bunch of dill can be rinsed (shake off excess water) and stored in a freezer baggie and used as needed in recipes.

Enjoy as a dip for raw veggies or as a salad dressing. Note: for a thinner consistency - simply add more milk as desired.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Low-fat Ranch Dressing: 1 Tablespoon (15g): 34 calories, 3 g total fat, 0 saturated fat, 101 mg sodium, 1g total carbohydrate 
Photo and blog post recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

5 minute @RothCheese Blue Cheese Dressing and @Chobani Dip #GardenCuizine #SuperbowlXLVIII

5 Minute 

Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip

Making your own blue cheese dressing and dip is quick and easy, plus homemade provides you with more calcium and much less sodium and fat than store-bought. So, forget about using mayo and sour cream - use Greek yogurt for a healthy version that tastes just as good.

Chicken wings with blue cheese dip are one of the most popular foods for Super Bowl Sunday. According to the National Chicken Council, Americans will eat over 1.25 billion wings today on game day. Fast food blue cheese dips can be 5½ x’s higher in calories, 12x’s higher in fat, and 70mg lower in calcium than homemade blue cheese dip.

First of all, avoid "fried" chicken wings; bake your own wings to avoid consuming excess calories. For example, KFC original recipe whole wing 47g = 145 calories per wing; 370mg sodium per wing, and total fat of 9g in just one chicken wing.
 
Rather than dip your veggies or baked wings in high fat, high calorie, blue cheese dressing - make your own low fat, more nutritious version in 5 minutes or less!

Serves 3-6 
Ingredients

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (we used Roth Buttermilk Blue - a Wisconsin blue cheese made from Holstein cow milk. Creamy and tangy with a sweet finish)
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (we used Chobani)
1/2 teaspoon reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup 1% milk

Putting it all together 
Combine yogurt and blue cheese crumbles in a bowl. Stir in Worcestershire and add milk to thin to desired consistency. Transfer to serving container. Recipe can be doubled as needed.

This recipe makes a flavorful salad dressing or party dip. We served this as our Super Bowl XLVIII dip for veggies and sweet potato chips.
GardenCuizine Homemade Blue cheese dip Nutrition Data: coming soon...
Pizza Hut blue cheese dip 1 serving: 42g: 220 calories; 24g fat; 440mg sodium; 20mg calcium (2%DV)
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved.

Nutritious KALE salad by Chef @SeamusMullen #GardenCuizine @pfizer @SpiritOfWomen @InspiraHN @arthritis_org

Kale Salad

with Fruit and Heirloom Veggies 

Yesterday, celebrity chef Seamus Mullen took a drive from the Big Apple to visit South Jersey to share his tips on living and cooking with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He was diagnosed with RA in 2007. Seamus prepared an inflammatory fighting veggie recipe - kale salad. The event took place at Appel Farms and Music Center in Elmer, NJ.

Chef Mullen made diet and lifestyle changes to deal with RA swelling, stiffness and pain – a challenge for chefs especially, since they stand long hours on hard kitchen floors and have to be able to bend their fingers around and grip chef’s knifes. Rheumatologist Dr. Barry Shimmer spoke before the cooking demo about the clinical diagnosis and the importance of communicating disease symptoms to your doctor.

Seamus lived in Spain for years and enjoys cooking Spanish cuisine. He was Executive Chef and Partner of Boqueria’s flagship Spanish restaurant when it opened in New York's popular Flatiron district in 2006. Five years later (August 2011) he opened Tertulia in Manhattan’s West Village. Tertulia’s boasts 2-stars from The New York Times and 3-stars from New York Magazine. 

Chef Mullen's latest culinary venture is about to open real soon this Fall - a tapas and wine bar El Colmado located at 600 11th Ave, NY, NY in Gotham West Market. Despite such a busy work schedule, Seamus has committed himself to spread the word about RA and share his story and love of cooking in hope of inspiring others to improve their diet and lifestyle. You may find kale in some recipes in his cookbook released last year: Hero Food: How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better - Andrews Mcmeel Publishing.

Kale - Brassica oleracea

“Kale is delicious,” said Chef Mullen as he prepared kale salad. “Kale is dense in micro-nutrients,” including vitamins A, C, B6, dietary fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium and potassium. Tuscan kale (also known as Dinosaur kale) is a popular kale cultivar you can grow at home or find at farm markets. He tore Tuscan kale off the ribs and set it aside in a salad bowl and added whole grapes and Spanish Marcona almonds. 

Chef Mullen used a food processor to thinly slice nutrient-rich, locally grown patty pan squash, heirloom watermelon radish and shallots that he added to the kale. The salad was seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper before being tossed with creamy vinaigrette - Yum! Kale has been a favorite of mine for decades. 

Honey Buttermilk Vinaigrette 
Ingredients for the flavorful vinaigrette dressing included: buttermilk, garlic, champagne vinegar, honey, dill, salt and fresh ground black pepper. Olive oil was blended in last and slowly to maintain an emulsion.

The kale salad was delicious considering kale can be a tough green. In years past kale was most often relegated as a garnish or only served in health food restaurants, but today, thanks to more delicate varieties like Tuscan Kale, you see home cooks and chefs using raw kale in everything from salads (especially kale Caesar salad) to smoothies.

Event sponsors included Pfizer and Spirit of Women.
Related Links 
Rethink RA with Chef Mullen 
More about Rheumatoid Arthritis
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Homemade Just Peachy Black Bean Dip in 5 minutes #recipe #GardenCuizine @foodbankSJ

"Just Peachy" Black Bean Dip

Low fat ~ High Fiber ~ Low sodium

Boost your nutrition and weight management diet with high fiber protein from beans. Serve beans as a side dish or puree beans for dips or sandwich and fajita spreads. Pureed beans are quick and easy to make in just 5 minutes. Kids love homemade bean dips too, which make a tasty snack on whole grain crackers and raw fresh vegetables. Try and avoid the temptation to serve bean dips with tortilla chips to encourage eating more veggies.

Black beans are low in fat, cholesterol-free, and provide 30% of the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber. One ounce of black (or white) beans yields 2 grams of protein. In general, beans are inexpensive and readily available in cans or dried. Dried beans are easily hydrated. Simply rinse, soak in water and then cook until tender. Of course, you could also grow your own beans in your home or community garden.

To reduce flatulence sometimes associated with legumes, introduce beans to your diet gradually. Some people find products like Beano helpful.

Ingredients

1 can cooked black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup prepared salsa: Food Bank of SJ Just Peachy Salsa! (of course, homemade or any salsa can be used. We like to support our local food bank)
splash hot sauce (optional)

Putting it all together

• In a small bowl or directly in your storage container - using a hand held blender - puree the beans, water, lime juice and cumin. Add more water if needed.
• Stir in the cilantro and salsa
• Enjoy!
• NO added salt is necessary

Serve with your favorite multigrain crackers and rinsed raw garden vegetables, such as baby carrots, celery, cucumber slices, bell pepper slices and grape tomatoes.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data ...coming soon
Related Links
Support your local food bank  Food Bank of South Jersey
Nourish Healthy Kids List of Legumes
USDA canned Black Beans fact sheet

Photo, recipe and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.