Debunking the paleo diet | Christina Warinner | TEDxOU #gardencuizine

Edamame Dill Cous Cous #wholegrain #healthysidedish #GardenCuizine #recipe #NNM

Edamame Dill Cous Cous

whole grain 

serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup Edamame
1/2 cup Whole wheat Cous Cous
1/4 cup fresh Dill* chopped
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons (Tbl sp) olive oil
1 Tbl sp Garlic, minced or freeze-dried
pinch salt and pepper

Putting it all together
In a quart pot, saute onion in olive oil. Add garlic and dill, stir. Add water and edamame and bring to boil. Stir in cous cous. Cover and turn off heat. Let sit covered until liquid is absorbed. Serve when ready. Can be easily reheated in microwave.

Great as a side dish during National Nutrition Month®! Serve with additional lean protein such as tofu, salmon, chicken or fish. And, don't forget to add non-starchy vegetables to your meal; such as, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, bok choy or salad. 

We made this last night for dinner with stir fried tofu and broccoli to keep it vegetarian.

*GardenCuizine Kitchen Tip: Rinse fresh dill and shake off excess water. Store in an airtight plastic baggie in the freezer. You will always have dill when you need it!

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

Fall side dish: Quinoa with #garden tomatillos and yellow split peas #GardenCuizine #recipe #healthycooking

Tomatillo Arvejas Partidas 

Amarilla Quinoa

whole grain side dish

Serves 6
Ingredients
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion (or however much you want to add)
2 garden tomatillos skin removed, rinsed and chopped
1 T chopped sweet garden pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup dry quinoa grain
2 cups water or left over bean water (we just cooked a pound of pinto beans that yielded 2 quarts of beans with liquid and had some leftover bean liquid)
1/4 cup dried yellow split peas
1/4 tsp dehydrated garlic
1/4 tsp dehydrated ginger
pinch salt and black pepper
1 T fresh parsley or 1/2 tsp dried parsley 
1-2 Tblsp of your favorite hot salsa

Putting it all together
In a medium-sized pot with lid: heat olive oil, saute onion and tomatillos
Stir in curry powder, thyme then quinoa
Add remaining ingredients and stir
Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a simmer
Cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes)
Stir in parsley and hot salsa
Keep covered until ready to serve

We served this nutritious side dish with Harry's (his mom's recipe) homemade crab cakes and steamed broccoli.

Buon Appetito!
Recipe and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

@cheezit @GoldfishSmiles @Quaker Quick Whole Grain Family Snack Mix @kidseatright #NNM

Dietitian Approved
Quick, Whole Grain 

Family Snack Mix

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Snacks and Sweets are a major contributor to added sugars and saturated fat intake. What's the solution? Plan ahead and make healthy snacks for your family to help prevent eating unhealthy snacks. 

This affordable, healthy family snack is under 200 calories and is a good source of dietary fiber. The best part is convenience - it can be made in just a matter of minutes. Make a large batch and teach your family how to portion out a handful.  

Portion Control Tip: keep a small Dixie cup in the storage bowl to use as a 2 ounce serving scoop.

Ingredients
2 cups whole grain cereal (Quaker Oat Squares, Cheerios, etc)
1 cup low salt nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews or mixed nuts)
1 cup raisins
1 cup whole grain Cheez-It® crackers OR whole grain Goldfish® crackers

Putting it all together
Easy - Put all ingredients in a bowl. Gently mix to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Data: one handful (30g) made using Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, whole almonds and whole grain Cheeze-It crackers: 151 calories, 11g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0 zero trans fat, 25mg Sodium, 3g (12% DV) dietary Fiber, 5g Protein, 11g total Carbohydrates, (6% DV) calcium, (8% DV) iron

Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Whole grain Moroccan @HodgsonMill Couscous #healthy #recipe #GardenCuizine

Recipe for 
Whole grain Moroccan Couscous
Good Source Dietary Fiber, Low Sodium

Do you know what couscous is? A National dish in Morocco, couscous is actually a pasta available in very small or large grain sizes. The larger size (caper size) is referred to as Israeli couscous. The smaller size is more popular and most often served in restaurants. Couscous cooks fast and makes a nutritious wholesome side dish.

Make Half the Grains in your diet Whole Grains
For more dietary fiber look for "whole wheat" couscous. Tonight, we used Hodgson Mill's brand of whole grain couscous. (Eat whole grains and products made from whole grains for better health!) Reading product labels can be helpful. Look for the words "whole grain" on package labels when you are shopping.

Cooking Couscous
American recipes call for boiling the grain, but authentic recipes for couscous "steam" the grain. For this recipe we boiled the couscous.

Healthy Cooking on a Budget
Couscous makes an affordable and healthy side grain to accompany the rest of your meal. Serve couscous with a lean protein entree and side vegetable for a balanced meal. You'll find this recipe super easy to make and it takes only a few minutes to cook. 

Here is our favorite way to prepare couscous, which was inspired from a Cooking Light recipe many years ago:

Serves 5 (90g serving size)
Ingredients
2/3 cup (104g) whole wheat couscous, uncooked
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 
NO added salt necessary when using chicken broth
1 Tablespoon (14g) olive oil
1 teaspoon (2g) sweet curry powder
pinch minced dried hot peppers from your garden or hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon (0.5g) grated ginger
1 teaspoon (3g) minced garlic
2 Tablespoons (20g) minced onion
2 Tablespoons raisins or Craisins (40g) or other chopped dried fruit
1 Tablespoon (4g) minced fresh parsley
1/2 ounce (14g) toasted almond slices 

Putting it all together

• In a small pot, saute the onion in olive oil; add the garlic and ginger; stir in the spices
• Add broth and dried fruit; turn off heat
• Set aside until ready to make.
• When ready: bring the broth mixture to a boil; stir in the couscous. Turn off the heat. Cover and let sit 5 minutes. 
• Stir in the toasted almond slivers just before serving.

Buon Appetito!
GardenCuizine Whole Grain Couscous Nutrition Data (with chicken broth and Craisins): using USDA Nutrient Reference data 
Good Source: Dietary Fiber
Serving size 1/5 of recipe: 90g; Calories 158; total fat 5g; Saturated fat 1g; trans fat 0; cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 113mg (5% DV); total carbohydrate 28g (2 Carb exchanges); Dietary Fiber 3g (13% DV); Sugars 6g; Protein 5g; Vitamin E ~1.3mg (~7% DV); Iron 1.2mg (7% DV)

Related Links
Whole Grains Council notes that couscous is not a grain, "There is no couscous plant!"
Blog post, recipe and photo collage Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Tarahumara Popping Sorghum * Make half your grains - Whole Grains! #GardenCuizine

Tarahumara 

Popping Sorghum is blooming!

So far I'm really enjoying growing this interesting whole grain in our garden. Sorghum stalks grow tall like corn. The leaves have a distinct white stripe down the center. The plants bloom a tassle-like top, which reminds me of wheat, but it's wheat-free. 

Sorghum's white seeds can be harvested, dried and ground into gluten-free sorghum flour or popped like popcorn. Sorghum flour as an ingredient works well combined with other grains; it's especially good in recipes for pancakes or bread.

Photo Copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved.

International Year of Quinoa 2013 #GardenCuizine @QuinoaCorp @aiq2013 @IYQ2013

• Quinoa, also spelled Quinua, gets the honor of being in the international spotlight this year. Quinoa is an ancient grain, not a newcomer by any means. Have you ever tried it? My family has been enjoying whole grain quinoa for years now. I first had quinoa that was sold by Ancient Harvest Quinoa Corporation back in the 1980's when it was being offered in my health food store. Today, quinoa products are available in common grocery stores, not just in specialty food markets.

• Quinoa cooks up quickly and has a pleasant light and fluffy texture. Like rice, it works well in soups or cooked with added flavors from veggies, fruits, nuts and herbal seasonings.  

• Quinoa provides such exceptional nutrition that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations wants us all to celebrate quinoa and quinoa farmers for providing such a nutritious functional food in the fight against malnutrition and world hunger.

• And, if you enjoy gardening, you may want to try quinoa in your garden. Quinoa grows similar to amaranth, adding rich colors and texture to yard and garden landscapes.

Read more about Quinoa 

in my Dave's Garden article
"The International Year of Quinoa"

Related Links 
International Year of Quinoa 2013 
Quinoa Recipes

Next time you make Stuffing, Spice it up! 'n keep it ♥Heart Healthy! #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

"Good Stuff"

Stuffing with Hot Peppers 

from the Garden!

Our mouths were tingling this Thanksgiving from the aromatic, heart-healthy, stuffing made with Capsicum chinense 'Yellow Mushroom' hot peppers from our garden! 

"What's in the stuffing?" was the question asked from someone who used to get heartburn from high fat, high calorie stuffing in the past. Nothing fancy, just a simple classic stuffing with a few added hot peppers. Hot peppers are easy and fun to grow. Try growing some in your garden. 

Okay, so I tossed in a persimmon too! This was our year for experimenting with persimmons in the kitchen. The mild, sweet flavor of persimmon gets lost when combined with anything spicy, I've noticed. But, persimmons add nutrients and dietary fiber.

Heart Healthy Stuffing
No need to add Salt
Think about the main ingredient - bread. Read the bread label. Bread contributes plenty of sodium. 

Low Fat
With plenty of protein from your main entree, their really is no need for added protein in the stuffing, let alone the added saturated fat and calories that meats like bacon or sausage contribute. So at Thanksgiving at our house - you won't find added high fat sausage in stuffing anymore. Gone are the Andouille sausage stuffing days. But, guess what? This was "Good Stuff!" It pleased even the most picky eaters and those seeking pronounced flavor in stuffing. 

Does your stuffing recipe call for using a whole stick (or two!!) of butter or dotting the casserole with butter? Do your arteries a favor, just use a small amount of olive oil when cooking the veggies. Trust me, this stuffing has plenty of flavor and your family will NOT miss the saturated fat and dietary cholesterol from the butter.

GardenCuizine Freestyle Recipe: meaning, no need to measure out ingredients. I'll note what I used, but exact measurements are not necessary. Recipe for 8x8 baking dish. 

Ingredients  
1/2 loaf Challah and/or whole grain bread cubes (or enough to fill up your baking dish)
2/3 cup chopped Celery
Hot Peppers* any kind (we used 2 Yellow mushroom peppers)
2/3 cup chopped Onion
2/3 cup chopped Carrots
1 teaspoon dried Thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground Sage*
1 teaspoon dried Marjoram*
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed Rosemary* 
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
1 3/4 cups plus 12 ounces Turkey stock (or vegetable stock if you want to keep the recipe vegetarian) Note: if you're roasting a Turkey make a small pot of stock with the giblets, water and chopped carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, parsley stems and black peppercorns. Turkey stock can be used for gravy too!
3 Eggs
1/8 teaspoon ground Nutmeg 
Persimmon (optional) - we used American native Diospyros virginiana
1 to 2 Tablespoons Olive oil

*or 1 tsp poultry seasoning 

Putting it all together

• Butter your baking dish. 
• Chop up your veggies and saute them in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until fragrant and somewhat tender. *The key to this recipe is to add just enough hot pepper to please both those who like spicy and those who don't like their food too spicy. Sprinkle sage, rosemary, thyme and marjoram over the veggies while cooking. Ladle in a few scoops (about 12 ounces) of turkey broth. Simmer until carrots are tender and turn off heat and let cool. 
• Meanwhile, cube the bread - no need to let it go stale or dry it out. In a large bowl toss the bread cubes with chopped parsley.
• Add in the sauteed vegetables; stir gently to combine and scoop into baking dish.
• In another bowl whisk 1 3/4 cups cooled stock with the eggs; add nutmeg (you can add a chopped, ripe persimmon - optional). Pour the liquid egg mixture over the seasoned bread cubes. It should be good and moist almost like a bread pudding. Add more broth as needed. You should see the liquid, but it should not cover the top layer of bread cubes.
• Bake at 350°F covered until set (about 30 minutes), remove cover to brown top layer (another 15 minutes or so). 

Buon Appetito!
Photos and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved. Revised 11/26/2021

Whole grain Job's Tears | fascinating natural bead for jewelry #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Job's Tears

The Most Fascinating Plant 

in Our Garden

Adults and children find Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) a fascinating plant. The seeds are large and easily planted by children, making Job's Tears a good selection in a Children's Garden. Botanically and as a natural food source, Job's Tears is a member of the family Poaceae (grass family) and is considered a gluten-free, whole grain. 

We grow Job's Tears in pots on a sunny porch. To me, the tall green blades look similar to lemon grass. By the end of the summer at around this time (early September), perfectly round bead seeds emerge like magic.  

The seeds develop a hard outer shell and are much too difficult to hull the quantity needed for use as a whole grain. Hulled Job's Tears (hato mugi) grain can be found in Korean specialty markets.  

When left on the plant to mature, green seeds the size of canna seeds - about 1/4-inch in diameter - eventually turn darker in color. Homegrown seeds can then be picked, dried and saved to grow more plants the following season or used as actual beads in jewelry making.

Over 30,000 people have read my article on Dave's Gardens!

Check it out ~ Includes photos of handmade Jewelry
Job's Tears, A Fascinating Plant

Photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Quick Quinoa #Recipe Gluten Free 100% Whole Grain #GardenCuizine

Quick Quinoa
~ Low Fat, Low Sodium, Good Fiber ~

Whole Grain Side Dish

For a quick whole grain side dish, try organic quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Quinoa cooks faster than rice and is a refreshing change. Quinoa is gluten and wheat free, and it's very nutritious and versatile, lending itself to many recipes that can be served either hot or cold. 

The ancient, golden grain of the Incas, can be jazzed up by preparing it pilaf-style and adding nuts, fruits, herbs and seasonings. It can also be served plain. Quinoa makes great summer salad dishes too. I first tried it many years ago back when I had my health food store; it was served cold with grapes and cashew nuts and tasted so good; I've been cooking it ever since. 

Quinoa plants remind me of amaranth, bright and colorful with red tones among beige and more neutral browns the color of wheat. Quinoa has been a staple in South America for thousands of years, especially in regions of the Andes - the longest continental mountain range in the world that travels through seven countries, including Boliva, Peru and coastal regions of Chile.

Quinoa boasts a terrific nutrition profile too, providing all of the essential amino acids, making quinoa a good protein and iron source for a plant food. A typical way our family enjoys quinoa is making it with added sweet curry and coriander seasonings, which give it flavor with a yellow hue. I made it tonight and served it with grilled Teriyaki Atlantic salmon and steamed broccoli. Delicious, quick and easy!

Quinoa is becoming more readily available in stores. You can find it in bulk in grocery markets like WholeFoods or in bulk 4lb bags in stores like Costco. For a dark color variation, look for red quinoa.

And mark your calendars... 

The United Nations declared 

2013 the International year of Quinoa!

Quinoa Pilaf (serves 6)
Ingredients
 
1/4 Onion, chopped
dried hot chili pepper, minced (from your garden)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 heaping tsp (2 cloves) Garlic, minced
1 tsp (2g) Sweet Curry powder 
1/2 tsp (1g) ground Coriander

1 cup (170g) organic Quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup (41g) raisins or other chopped dried fruit
pinch salt (no more than 1/4 tsp) and black pepper 

Putting it all together

• Saute the onion and hot pepper in oil over medium high heat. 
• Add the garlic and spices, stir
• Add the quinoa, stir
• Add the water and fruit, stir
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat. 
• Simmer on low until water is evaporated. Turn off heat. Let sit 5 minutes covered. Fluff with fork or serving spoon before serving. Enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis Quinoa - calculated from USDA nutrient values:
Good Source: Dietary Fiber, Folate, and Magnesium
Low Sodium, Low Fat
Serving Size 115g (1/6 of recipe): Calories: 128, Total Fat: 2g (3%DV), Sodium 103mg (4%DV), Total Carbohydrate 24g (1.5 CHO servings), Dietary Fiber 2.4g (10%DV), Cholesterol: 0mg (0%DV), Potassium 221mg (6%DV), Protein: 4.3g (9%DV), Thiamin 0.1mg (7%DV), Niacin: 0.5mg (3%DV), Vitamin B6: 0.2mg (8%DV), Folate: 53mcg (13%DV), Iron 1.6mg (9%), Magnesium: 60mg (15%DV)
Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a caloric intake of 2,000 calories for adults and children age 4 or older

Related Links

Eat More Whole Grains 
National Whole Grains Council 
Healthy Grains
Photo and recipe Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. Quinoa plants photo taken near Cachora, Apurimac, Peru - compliments of Wikipedia.

GardenCuizine Recipe: Baked Haddock with Millet Pilaf and Steamed Broccoli

Haddock Dinner Recipe

Baked Haddock with millet pilaf and steamed broccoli

Yields: Dinner for 3
(easy to modify to suit your family size)
Preheat oven to 350ºF

Ingredients:

• 15 oz. Haddock (for 3 people, we usually order a little less than one pound of fish - Approx 15 oz. so each adult serving is approximately 5 oz.)
• Broccoli
• 2 cups Water
• 1 cup Millet (found in health food or gourmet stores, in packages or bulk)
• 1/2 cup carrot
• 1/2 cup celery
• 1/2 cup onion
• Olive oil
• Seasonings: your preference (we used: salt-free Spike, salt (dash), paprika, tumeric, onion powder, black pepper, hot pepper, curry powder)
• Garden herbs: your preference (we used: garden fresh thyme and parsley)

Putting it all together
Fish
Rinse and pat the Haddock fillets dry with a paper towel. Place in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and season, turning to coat. Season as you prefer, we used salt, paprika, tumeric, onion powder and salt-free spike (I like salt-free seasoning blends best, so we can better control the amount of salt added). Cover and bake at 350ºF until fish is opaque white in color and flakes with a fork, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Millet
The millet only takes 20 minutes. Ratio of water to millet is 2:1. One cup of millet will yield 898g of pilaf and serve 4-6. Rough chop (small size) some carrots, celery and onion (mirepoix). Use however much of this aromatic trio you desire -- it can be more or less than 1/2 cup -- no need to get hung up on the measure (more carrots = more vitamin A). Saute using a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil directly in the pot you will be cooking the millet in. I regularly cook in old-fashioned, 'Cornflower Blue' CorningWare, since it can be used on a stove-top. Alternatively, stainless steel pots with tight fitting lids work great too. Add whatever seasonings suit your fancy. Again, we used salt-free Spike seasoning, black pepper and a pinch of salt; we also added hot pepper* and curry powder.
Stir in the millet and then add the water. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, then cover with a tight fitting lid. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until all the water is absorbed - about 20 minutes. If desired, stir in some fresh cut garden herbs just before serving.

• *The GardenCuizine pantry is never without a stash of Chiltepin peppers (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare). These tiny peppers are HOT stuff (50,000 - 100,000 Scoville Units) a little goes a long way! They are known as bird peppers and are small (only ¼ inch round in diameter). Just one adds the perfect amount of heat and will not overpower the dish. Your food will still be palatable to those who don’t like things too hot. And adding a little heat makes food tasty, and allows you to decrease the salt used in your cooking.

Broccoli
Steaming is easy and preserves the water soluble vitamins. First wash and trim off enough florets to serve 3 people or however many you are cooking for. Place in a covered dish with a little water added - microwave until tender, but still bright green in color, approximately 3-5 minutes. We never add salt. A low fat salad dressing can be added to the broccoli at the table for those who don't like it plain.

Garnish
Pick something fresh from your garden. I simply used a parsley sprig, if we had been making dinner for company, you may have seen a nasturtium bloom or two.

Buon Appetito

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis calculated from USDA nutrient values:
5oz Baked Haddock: Calories: 158, Total Fat: 1.32g (2%DV), Cholesterol: 105mg (35%DV), Potassium 565mg (16%DV), Protein: 34.3g (68%DV), Niacin: 6.55mg (33%DV), Vitamin B6: .49mg (25%DV), Vitamin B-12: 1.97mcg (32%DV), Magnesium: 70mg (18%DV), Selenium: 57.3mcg (81%DV)

140g Millet Pilaf: Calories: 165, Total Fat: 5.61g (8%DV), Cholesterol: 0, Protein: 3.74g (7%DV), Dietary Fiber 3.27g (13%DV), Vitamin A: 1706 IU (34%DV), Manganese .55mg (27%DV)
Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a caloric intake of 2,000 calories for adults and children age 4 or older

Copyright (c) 2009 Wind. All rights reserved.