Parsnips for Grandpa

I was making soup with assorted root veggies and as I started chopping a parsnip, childhood memories flooded into my mind. The sweet, coca cola-like smell reminded me of Grandpa. I remember my Grandma boiling parnips on the stove while we sat at the table. He was my favourite person when I was a kid. He was the kindest, funniest person and will remain the man all men will always have to live up to. He died almost 20 years ago and I miss him everyday.



Parsnips are one of those root veggies that's peeking right about now. They are available pretty much all year, but the blast of the first frost is what brings out the sweetness. They are very high in calcium and potassium. They also contain vitamin C, vitamins B1, B2, B3, iron and zinc.

They can be eaten in a number of ways. I love to roast them as an alternative to potatoes. Really, all you have to do is mix them up with some olive oil and spice of your choice, like salt, pepper and cayenne. Roast them at 400 for about 30-minutes, or if you have a toaster oven or a broiler, you can broil them.

Or a simple soup:
1 celery stalk, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 medium parsnips, chopped
water or veggie stock
salt and pepper

Saute onion and celery in a little olive oil until fragrant and a bit translucent. Add parsnips and continue cooking for about 7 minutes. Cover with stock and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper and simmer until parsnips are tender.

Pulse half the soup in the food processor and return it to pot. Give it a stir and add more salt and pepper if you wish.

Take care,
The Nutritionista

Friday's rant for freshness

Sorry for the lack of post but feel free to take a peek over at TasteTo.com for my rant on the new Food Guide. Keep checking every Friday for posts by yours truly.

Take care,
The Nutritionista

The Importance of Being Leafy

I thought today I would straight up post a recipe. A friend of mine recently turned me on to Rapini Pesto. Rapini or broccoli rabe is a bitter green and blanching it first for this dish, eliminates some of it's bitterness. It is also great steamed and eaten with rice and a little lemon.

Rapini is a good source of Vitamin C and A. It is also contains Indol-3-carbinol, a mighty anti-oxidant found in green leafies.


Rice Pasta with Mushroom, Asparagus and Rapini Pesto



Cheese-free Rapini Pesto
- one bunch of rapini (blanch the rapini in a large pot for about 4 minutes and then plunge into cold water. Drain it well, pressing down on it so you're getting all the water out that you can)
- 1 medium sized clove of garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (toast them in a frying pan on medium heat until fragrant)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- juice of half a lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Whiz it all up in the food processor. If it seems not oily enough, then add more oil.

For the pasta:
- one bag brown rice pasta (I used spirals but you can use whatever short pasta you like)
- about 2 cups porchini mushrooms, sliced
- one bunch asparagus, steamed and then chopped into 1 inch sections
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- olive oil
- splash of white wine
- juice of half a lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- rapini pesto

In a large pan, saute mushrooms and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil on med heat, until mushrooms start to caramelize. Add asparagus and a tiny bit of water (like a spoonful) and turn heat down and put lid on pan to steam them a bit. After about 5 minutes of steaming, add wine and lemon juice. Continue cooking until asparagus is tender. Add salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta the way you normally do. Drain and return to pot. Add about 2 tbsp pesto and stir. Then add mushrooms and asparagus to pot and stir.

Yum!

Wanna Date?

Some days I just feel like something sweet. It doesn't happen often but I am always seeking out new recipes for baked treats that are still somewhat healthy and are without dairy, wheat or sugar.
I had some dates and some oats in the kitchen so I made date squares!

Dates are a great source of potassium, which is an essential mineral needed by your body to maintain a healthy nervous system and to help with the body's metabolism. Dates contain more potassium then bananas. They are also high in some B-vitamins like niacin and also have some magnesium and folic acid.

Soaking dates is a great way to soften them in order to blend them easier. They also gain a much nicer flavour. You don't need to soak them long, about an hour is fine - you'll see they plump right up. The soaking water is often used as a sweetener or heck, drink it if you want. For this recipe, I kept the soaking water and used it in the filling.

DATE SQUARES



Filling:
about 34 dates, soaked in enough water to cover them.
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
Whiz it up in a food processor

Crust:
2 cups oats
1/4 cup flour, I used rice by accident but I would probably use spelt
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
enough non-dairy milk to wet the oats slightly so they bind

Fill the bottom of a small square pan with half the crust mixture and pack it in tight. Spread the filling on top evenly. Then add the rest of the crust and pack it as much as you can.
Bake at 350 for about 20-minutes.

Wraptastic!

I've been meaning to post some product reviews and never get around to it. So, here's the first one (that isn't wine).



Ezekiel 4:9 Wraps! They are made by Food For Life, a company devoted to making organic, yeast-free bread-products made from sprouted grain. Why sprouted? Well, sprouting grains increases the energy of a seed or grain, giving it back the living energy of a plant. This process releases enzymes, making the grain or bean or seed more digestible and easier to assimilate.

They are called Ekekiel 4:9 after the bible verse "Take also unto thee Wheat and Barley and Beans and Lentils and Millet and Spelt and put them in one vessel and make bread of it." Now this is something I can believe! The best part of this combination is that these beauties are a complete protein. Hallelujah!

Ok now I am sounding like a commercial. I am not usually a pusher of products so when I find a company that I love, I sing it. One caution is that by nature, they are not as flexible as most wraps. They are found in the freezer section of most health food stores. Give them a chance to defrost before filling them and be gentle wrapping them up. It's worth it. Fill them with veggies and hummus for a simple lunch or dinner. I like to fill them with whatever I have and bake them up. Like this:

SWEET POTATO BURRITOS

you need:
4 medium size sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 cup cooked kidney beans or 1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
cumin
cayenne
salt and pepper
1 cup water
wraps (like Ezekiel 4:9)
old cheddar cheese (optional)

In a pan... saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add beans and potatoes and spices (I'd say spice to taste...). Then add water slowly. You just want to make the consistency kind of mushy...but not watery.
Spread mixture onto wraps and roll up burrito style.

Bake in 350 degree oven until for about 10-minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can serve these with salsa or any toppings you'd like. YUM!

Take care,
The Nutritionista