^Agreed on the owner being a dick, but I can't shop at Trader Joe's. The Trader Joe's in NYC is so crowded I had a panic attack immediately after walking in and had to just walk right out again. Otherwise I would shop there.
There does seem to be a food snob attitude about frozen veg, but most of our top chefs & nutritionists here (who are pretty good, imho ) say it's an acceptable alternative if not using fresh. The freeze processing is much faster and happens at harvest site rather than later at factory. This. Especially US-size portions, from my experience. A little pasta is good and goes a long way. Plus those creamy sauces just overkill. Plain, with garlic, a little olive oil...
If you're dying for a creamy sauce, though, a healthy alternative is pureed cauliflower. It really does have a very thick, creamy consistency, and with a few spices makes a great sauce for chicken or pasta. Or you can just puree it with some cottage cheese, fresh basil and pepper and eat it with a spoon. YUM!
Thanks for the recipes. I've never tried a Greek salad I don't believe. The soup sound delicious. Thanks, never saw this on all the websites I visited. I will definitely have to keep this in mind. I had no idea you could make creamy sauce from pureed cauliflower.
http://www.grandmaskitchen.com/recipes/tasty-side-dishes/crunchy-parsnip-patties What do you guys think of this?
^I'd ditch the crumbs and cook it in olive oil rather than butter. It'd still be pretty fatty, but healthier, and served with something light like roasted veggies or a salad and some white fish it would be delicious! If you really want to go healthy, butter should be an occasional treat. If you must use a fat to cook in, as opposed to baking or roasting, olive oil is a much healthier choice. There's a similar Ojibwe dish my mom makes. It's basically the same thing but with grated zucchini and carrot in the parsnip cakes and then grilled in olive oil.
That would be tasty! You could do a sweet version with sweet potato and raisins or dried cranberry. You could even use crushed almonds instead of the bread crumbs the original recipe suggests. Man, that would be tasty. I'd probably bake that instead of fry it, though, because it could get a bit heavy. Also, shiitake mushroom would be a nice addition. There are a lot of American indian foods like that. Sometimes my mom would make fish cakes. It's a great way to use extra fish. Just do the parsnip/zucchini/carrot cakes and flake the leftover fish into the mix.
do americans know the joy of hummus/humous/houmus/hummous/however it's spelt? it goes with lots of stuff and if you make it yourself can be pretty healthy
You're kidding, right? Hummus has to be one of the most widely eaten foods in the world! Of course Americans know it! So easy to make, too. I usually throw 3 or 4 garlic cloves in the bottom of a blender, throw the chickpeas, tahini, and a splash of olive oil on top, and blend.
I make hummous every week. Here's a hummous photo I've already posted in another thread. Home made hummous with cucumber and radish on wholemeal pita.
I did a very healthy and delicious soup tonight. They had only those jumbo fat asparagus at the market, which really isn't the best for eating -- you really want to get the thinnest, tenderest asparagus spears you can find. But I wanted asparagus, and I like a challenge. I also had some bits about the kitchen and in the freezer that needed using, and soup's the best way to get creative with all those bits. It's spring here, so this is a nice, light, vegetable soup: 1. In a deep pot, saute 1 small white onion in two tablespoons olive oil. Chop the jumbo asparagus spears, a large carrot, 4 celery stalks, 1 small golden potato, 1 small red potato, and a half a bag of baby peas, and 2 chopped tomatoes, and add all to the pot. Saute on high, stirring occasionally, as you add freshly ground black pepper (just a bit, this is supposed to be a mild soup), a dash of sea salt (no more, the bouillon has salt in it), a bunch of turmeric, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. 2. Fill the pot with water and add a heaping tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon Chicken base (I swear by this shit, as someone who doesn't cook with meat often but also needs to have a good stock ready for soup whenever -- their vegetable and beef bases are delicious too!). Cook for an hour or so on low heat. It turned out really amazing. Very light, but still really earthy and hearty. That recipe made me one huge bowl for dinner and 3 quarts for in the fridge. I should get between 4 and 6 more servings out of that depending on whether I eat it as a meal on it's own or have something with it. I can only guesstimate the calories, but I can't imagine the whole pot had more than 700 calories in it!
^tsq, that sounds delicious! I found a tasty hummus at Aldi's (grocery store). I tried the red pepper hummus and found it to be addictive and delicious. I have yet to try making my own hummus. It was easier to buy it on my first tasting. Now that I know I like it, I want to make my own. Is it OK to use canned chickpeas? That is all we have around here. The nearest farmer's market to me is in Charlotte, North Carolina. That is over an hour drive, not to mention that I hate driving in the big city. I have become comfortable with my rural home... perhaps, too much.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/eight-layer-fruit-salad-supreme/detail.aspx I think this would be great but its probably isn't the healthiest thing is it?
^That's a hell of a dessert -- and yeah, easily as much sugar and fat as a cake. If you want a healthful fruit salad just mix all your fruit in a bowl with som plain yogurt, a dash of vanilla, and maybe some coconut. Top with a dallap of whipped cream and you've still got dessert, but a lot healthier. You should totally make your own, homemade is the best! And yes, canned chickpeas are perfect. Chickpeas are actually really hard to deal with dry. You can soak and boil the fuckers for days and they never seem to get fully tender!
Thanks, tsq! I have some "garlic in brine with spices" (yeah, it's in a jar from the dollar store). I'm thinking this would be great in a homemade hummus. I cannot handle black pepper, but am open to ideas for other ingredients to add. I'm excited about making this as soon as I buy the chickpeas. I'll let you know how it turns out.
chick peas, garlic, some olive oil, lemon and some tahini, though you can leave either the olive oil or tahini out if you don't have them. Just don''t leave both of them out. It's very simple because there is no way to ruin it and any combination of more or less of something is good.
Wow. I just realized the nutrition info below the recipe. Sugars 44.2g Holy crap, you weren't kidding.