Breakfast Before the Big Feast

This is just a friendly reminder to eat breakfast on Thanksgiving day! You may think that skipping breakfast makes up for that third helping of your favorite Turkey Day foods...but you are wrong. 

Eating something in the morning...anything...jumpstarts your metabolism and gets your body to start burning calories. So if you eat a second helping of stuffing and cranberry sauce, at least your body is prepared to burn off some of those extra calories. But skipping breakfast slows down your body's metabolism. That third slice of pumpkin pie is going to sit nicely on your hips because your body isn't in the mood to quickly burn any calories.

I encourage you to review my words of wisdom from last year, on how to have a delectable Thanksgiving without feeling disgusting the next day. But if there is one piece of advice you are going to heed to tomorrow, let it be to eat breakfast. A large breakfast is unnecessary - you just need to get a lil bit o' something to start your metabolism. Here are a few suggestions for a light, yet substantial Thanksgiving breakfast: 

-one egg (boiled or sauteed) on top of a whole wheat english muffin
-1 cup cooked oatmeal with 1/2 cup chopped fruit (banana, apples, frozen blueberries, etc.) and 2 tablespoons almonds
-1 slice of whole wheat toast topped with 1 tablespoon peanut butter (or almond butter) and 1/2 a banana 

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat well and be well!

Trans-Fats: Clarification

Hopefully by now you are all reading the ingredient lists of the foods you buy and looking for products that contain zero trans-fats. And hopefully you are looking for the word "hydrogenated" in that ingredient list, which should trigger an automatic response of "ew! no trans-fats for me!" Good. 

However, a few weeks ago when I was shopping for Halloween candy I kept finding different words listed in the ingredient list (yes, I read the ingredient list of candy). Fully hydrogenated vs. partially hydrogenated vs. hydrogenated ...This got me thinking: do all these words mean the same thing? So after a little research (and a longwinded discussion with my co-workers) I came across some useful information regarding these variations of the finicky word "hydrogenated". Based on this newfound information, I must clarify parts of what I said in my previous post on identifying trans-fats. 

To clarify: if the ingredient list says...

"Fully (or Completely) Hydrogenated"... the product does not contain any trans-fats. Apparently the process by which fully hydrogenated oils are made does not result in trans-fats. Good to know.

"Partially Hydrogenated"... the product does contain trans-fats. As soon as you see these two words together, put the product away and look for a trans-fat free option.

"Hydrogenated"...the product may contain trans-fats. Ugh. How typically complicated. I would err on the side of caution and look for an alternative product. There is probably a healthier option that contains fewer ingredients anyways. 

I do not want to ruin anyone's love of candy, especially those who are big fans of Halloween. And annually having a few pieces of candy that are laden with partially-hydrogenated oils is not going to kill you. So feel free to stop reading now, if you would rather stay in blissful ignorance of the candies made with and without partially hydrogenated oils. For those who wish to be well-informed, read on. 

Candies that do not contain the word "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated":

--Reeses

--Kit-Kats

--Nestle Crunch bar

--Payday

--Peppermint Patty

--Mounds Bar

Candies that contain the ambiguous word "hydrogenated":

--3 Musketeers

--Milky Way

--Butterfingers

--Twix

--Snickers Almond

Candies that contain partially hydrogenated oils: 

--Snickers Dark

--Snickers Original

--Snickers Peanut Butter

--Baby Ruth 

**This is not a comprehensive list - just candies for which I was interested in knowing the ingredients lists. If there is a candy missing from the lists that you want to know more about, feel free to let me know or look it up yourself and report back! 

One-Bowl-Wonders

Making a meal with various side dishes can be fun and enjoyable (albeit, time intensive). And sometimes making a meal that is a one-bowl-wonder is just as satisfying. A one-bowl meal is nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed by; and making this type of meal is not a sign of laziness, nor is it due to lack of creativity. Some meals just taste better in a bowl! Plus...these types of meals are usually quick to make and require far less clean-up than a multi-dish meal. 

The reason I am even writing this post is because over the past couple of days I found myself cooking one-bowl meals, for no real rhyme or reason. The recipes were incredibly delicious, easy to make, and perfect meals for those looking for relatively simple cooking. So I figured, why not share these recipes with you all? Try 'em out and let me know your thoughts!

Do you ever make one-bowl-wonder meals? If so, what are they? 

Spaghetti Squash Scampi
Serves 2
*this recipes only uses half of the spaghetti squash, but I recommend cooking the whole thing and using the remaining half for another dish!

Ingredients:
-1 spaghetti squash, cut in half (lengthwise) and seeds discarded 
-1 leek (or onion), chopped - be sure to clean the leeks
-1 tablespoon butter
-1 tablespoon olive oil

-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

-2 tablespoons capers
-6 black cured olives or kalamata olives
-1/2 cup white wine
-2 cups frozen shrimp, scallops, and/or squid, thawed (I used the frozen seafood mix from Trader Joe's which consists of all three: scallops, shrimp, and squid)
-dash of ground black pepper
-handful of parsley, chopped
-Parmesan cheese, as topping

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Place squash (cut side down) in a 9x13 baking dish and add 1 cup of water. Bake for 35 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce through the squash skin. Wait for squash to cool, then scrape out insides of one half of squash into a bowl (it looks like spaghetti...hence the name of the squash). 
2. Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and cook for 5-7 minutes, until translucent & just beginning to becoming a golden color.
3. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to skillet; stir for another 1 minute. 
4. Add the capers, olives, and white wine. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add seafood to skillet and simmer for additional 5-8 minutes, until shrimp starts to curl & become pink, and/or other seafood is cooked through (goes from translucent color to solid white). Add ground black pepper. 
5. Stir in parsley and mix well. Serve in a bowl and top with cheese.

Quinoa, Sweet Potato, & Kale Bowl
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health cookbook
Serves 4

Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 red onion, chopped
-1 hot pepper (like jalapeno or chile) or 2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 sweet potato, diced
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained according to package
-1 1/2 cup water
-1 bunch kale, leaves thinly sliced, and stems separated & chopped
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-3 tablespoons dried currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
-2 scallions, minced
-1/2 lemon, juiced
-ground black pepper
-3 tablespoons crumbled cheese (such as gorgonzola, feta, or goat cheese)

Directions:
1. Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the red onion and hot pepper (or garlic), and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. 
2. Add sweet potato, salt, and a dash of ground black pepper to saucepan; stir for 2 minutes.
3. Add quinoa and water to saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and sweet potato is tender.
4. As saucepan simmers, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, chopped kale stems, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, until kale stems start to soften. 
5. Add kale leaves to skillet and sauté until leaves are wilted, but still bright green. You may need to add 1/4 cup of water to help steam the leaves a bit. 
6. In a large bowl combine quinoa mixture with kale. Add the dried currants, scallions, and lemon juice. Mix well. 
7. Serve in a bowl and top with crumbled cheese.