Here is a great resource for discovering what fruits and veggies are in Season, as well as what each fruit/veggie offers as far as nutrients.
Click this link and access each fruit/veggie from the right-hand side of the page!
http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/general.html
I have no idea why but I have a hard time with carrots. Cooked, raw…doesn’t matter, I just usually pass! But when eating seasonally, and locally, carrots are a common staple at my local co-op so I have been keeping an eye out for appealing carrot recipes.
I was browsing the spices at Whole Foods yesterday when I found these fabulous little packets of mixes (sans all the junk) from Simply Organic Foods! This of course led me to their website last night and there are just TONS of cool recipes! This one caught my eye because my house is HUGE on Agave syrup, and this recipe called for it!
Doesn’t get much easier people.
Mix it all in an oven safe dish, bake at 350 for 40 – 50 minutes.
I had some pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s in the fridge so I added those about 10 minutes before the carrots were done, GREAT COMBO!
Note: I ate this as my dinner, since the lentils added protein. My Husband ate his with a steak and said it was a great combo. The kids found it a bit too spicy so I would probably split the batch next time and just cook theirs with less seasoning. If you are ever making a taco dinner, or having a Mexican Fiesta and you have a vegetarian or Vegan coming serve this dish, it would be excellent in a taco shell!
Actually as I ate the leftovers today lots of ideas came to mind:
The 411 on the Baked Glazed Carrots (w/o lentils): 130 calories, .5g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 270mg sodium, 31g total carbohydrate and 1g protein
The 411 on Carrots Nutrients: Vitamins A, C, K; potassium; alpha- and beta-carotene antioxidants; fiber.
OK. I know what you are thinking, and you are right! I totally had insomnia and got sucked into this “infomercial”…and yes I called! But I am not even going to bow my head because it was a call that changed my life!!!! I have never ordered anything from the television prior to the Nicer Dicer, nor since, but this product ROCKS!
I don’t mind cooking, though 9 times out of 10 I will find a short-cut if there is one! If someone else can do it better than I can why would I re-invent the wheel? Thus my love for pre-made pie dough, Whole Food’s pizza dough, Trader Joe’s frozen Garlic Cubes…I could go on and on! Well the only thing about eating fresh and healthy that I frankly think BLOWS is all these darn fruit and veggies have to be peeled, cleaned, chopped or diced. I think if a recipe called for a bell pepper and you could just drop the whole darn pepper in…well more people would probably eat their veggies. I HIGHLY DISLIKE chopping and dicing. I know some of you may find it therapeutic and even relaxing-yeah for you! I do not!
So two years ago when I saw this infomercial I thought why not? Guess what, it is the real deal and it rocks! I am putting this video in so you can see 1st-hand how it works (sorry about the guys annoying accent)! I have had mine for two years and nothing has cracked, broken-notta! It really is a work-horse and gets used in our house almost every day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssNVPIOoRFQ
And this is the only product of this kind I am endorsing! If you go buy a slap-chop that is your own fault!!! (NOT THE SAME THING PEOPLE)
I think for my kids, part of what makes it all fun is helping. I got out some cilantro, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green beans and onion….then let Ellie choose what she wanted to put in her Crab Salad! I give her a cutting board and a plastic knife and she cuts and cuts (with really no progress) and gets to feel like she is making the Good Stuff! She also loves to grind the pepper!
Yummy!
| Serving Size 1 cup (155g) | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories 42 | Calories from Fat 4 |
| Hide Daily Values | % Daily Value* |
| Total Fat 0g | 0% | |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% | |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% | |
| Sodium 28mg | 1% | |
| Total Carbohydrates 10g | 3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | ||
| Sugars 4g | ||
| Protein 1g | ||
| Vitamin A | 3% | Vitamin C | 9% |
| Calcium | 3% | Iron | 3% |
| Thiamin | 4% | Riboflavin | 2% |
| Niacin | 6% | Pantothenic Acid | 6% |
| Vitamin B6 | 8% | Potassium | 5% |
| Phosphorus | 2% | Magnesium | 4% |
| Zinc | 2% | Copper | 3% |
| * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. | |||
I think I was watching the Biggest Loser (like 3 seasons ago) when I first heard them talk about ”Spaghetti Squash”. So here is the news folks….sometimes I can be a little too LITERAL! Every so often when I was at the PCC or Whole Foods I would go to the pasta aisle and look for “Spaghetti Squash”. You know, Spaghetti made from squash. FTLOG! So just this week, 3 years- later I am standing at a local Farmer’s Market down in the Hood Canal area when right in front of me is this huge pile of yellow squashes and a sign that says “Spaghetti Squash”.
Duh. Why I am outing myself I have no idea, but long and the short of it is I brought home a bright yellow “Spaghetti Squash” and then went to my go-to website for new recipes and ta da….tons of preperations….HUGE SHOUT OUT to www.foodtv.com.
search=following results Spaghetti Squash Recipes
So being a novice I went with the basic, simply “Spaghetti Squash w/ Marinara” for two reasons 1) It looked easy and 2) What is not good with Marinara dumped over it?
I must admit I am a convert, and already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The big surprise…….the family liked it too! I will admit the kids dumped parmesan cheese all over it, but hey…if you are going to “sell it” as a pasta you must let them treat it like one!
Huge hit. Another Vegan delight. And after a huge bowl, I don’t even feel that full. No spiked insulin….no deisre to be beached on the couch. All-in-all a good find!!!
YUMMY
One has to admit….this looks pretty damn good! At our house we eat at least one of these a day! Favorite preparations include 1) Using as a chip and scooping up humus 2) sprinkled with lemon pepper and 3) In a salad which often is just cut up cucumbers, sliced cherry tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper!
CRUNCHY & CRISP!
For me just the word Lentil conjured up images of a dark, grainy, flavorless, mud-like bowl of mush. No idea why. I really can not even remember a time I ever ate a lentil, but I was pretty sure I didn’t need Lentils in my life. However the more I started exploring my new way of eating I kept running into Mr. Lentil. He was everywhere when it came to SuperFoods, Clean Eating, Real Foods, Whole Foods….so on and so on.
So one day I am at Trader Joes and I see a package of Steamed Lentils, Ready to Eat Warm or Cold. Ok, I will try them….then I can say I did it and be done with it. OMG! I LOVE LENTILS!!! Where have they been my whole life! I am a total self-confessed Lentil-Aholic!! I eat these little babies pretty much every day, but def. every other day!
I have created a Lentil stew/soup that I ADORE and keep in my fridge at all times!
Why are Lentils a Power Food, a SuperFood? Check it out!!!
Loaded with fiber, folate, iron, protein, and other vitamins and minerals, lentils are a nutritional fountain of youth. Researchers who studied the elderly found that eating these earthy-tasting seeds (and other legumes) is the single most important dietary factor in longevity.
Health Benefits
(from the website WholeLiving.com)
Let’s start with the folate. Lentils contain more of this important B vitamin than any other unfortified plant food. In addition to protecting against coronary artery disease by lowering levels of homocysteine in the blood, folate helps prevent birth defects. And folate coupled with vitamin B6 (also plentiful in lentils) may help reduce women’s risk of developing breast cancer.
When it comes to fiber, a mere half cup of lentils provides around a third of your daily requirements. Thanks to this fiber, your body absorbs the energy from lentils slowly, which helps keep blood-sugar levels even. About a quarter of lentil’s fiber is soluble, which helps lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease and keeping your digestive system running smoothly.
Lentils also deliver an impressive amount of blood-fortifying iron — especially when paired with a food containing vitamin C, such as citrus fruits or peppers. And like other legumes, lentils are a significant (and virtually fat-free) source of protein.
How to Buy
The most common type of lentils sold in the United States are the relatively large, all-purpose brewer. Whether you purchase lentils prepackaged or in bulk, look for those that appear largely unbroken (bags with broken lentils appear “dusty”). Buy from a source that has a good turnover, and when you get home, don’t mix newly purchased lentils with older ones; the older they are, the longer they take to cook. Keep them stored in a cool, dry place, and they will stay fresh for several months.
Cooking Tips
While lentils share many health benefits with their legume cousins, they gain a distinct edge when it comes to preparation: Lentils need no presoaking, and they cook in less than an hour (in some cases, under 30 minutes). Of all the kinds available, red lentils cook the fastest, because they are sold with their hulls removed. But they also provide less fiber than the black, brown, or green varieties, which come with their hulls intact. Sort through lentils before cooking them to remove any small stones or twigs. Spreading them out on a platter with a contrasting color will make this task easier. Then briefly rinse the lentils.
When you cook them, make sure you avoid cast-iron or aluminum cookware, because these materials can adversely affect lentils’ appearance and also may lengthen cooking time.
Text by Cheryl Redmond; recipes by Sandra Gluck
First Published: September 2006
MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods
