The Food That Tames My Dark Side

Believe it or not, I have a little bit of a dark side. Yes, I do my best to stay positive at every turn but when the cold weather and the frenzy of the holidays comes around, I have to admit, even I can get a little cranky.

That said, there are definitely some things that get me excited for the holiday season. I don't know about you, but many of the things that get me in the wintertime mood are food-based (of course!). As my boots and sweaters get folded back into my regular wardrobe, I start fantasizing about fireplaces (a rare treat), red wine and traditionally cold-weather produce like sweet potatoes & brussels sprouts. I know, I know, it's not cookies or cakes or giant birds, but I really do just melt at the thought of a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes - - nature's candy! 

Believe it or not, I have a little bit of a dark side. Yes, I do my best to stay positive at every turn but when the cold weather and the frenzy of the holidays comes around, I have to admit, even I can get a little cranky.

That said, there are definitely some things that get me excited for the holiday season. I don't know about you, but many of the things that get me in the wintertime mood are food-based (of course!). As my boots and sweaters get folded back into my regular wardrobe, I start fantasizing about fireplaces (a rare treat), red wine and traditionally cold-weather produce like sweet potatoes & brussels sprouts. I know, I know, it's not cookies or cakes or giant birds, but I really do just melt at the thought of a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes - - nature's candy! 

Last Chance: Peaches & Nectarines

The sweet yellow flesh of Peaches and Nectarines make them two of my favorite fruits. Peaches and Nectarines can both be found from about May to September so as Summer draws to a close, this may be your last chance to find them in your grocery store or farmer's market.

At only about 60 calories each, these fruits contain about 2 grams of fiber, and are filled with about 10% of your daily needs for Vitamin A and even more Vitamin C (Peaches 17%; Nectarines 13%). So why is this so great?...

The sweet yellow flesh of Peaches and Nectarines make them two of my favorite fruits. Peaches and Nectarines can both be found from about May to September so as Summer draws to a close, this may be your last chance to find them in your grocery store or farmer's market.

At only about 60 calories each, these fruits contain about 2 grams of fiber, and are filled with about 10% of your daily needs for Vitamin A and even more Vitamin C (Peaches 17%; Nectarines 13%). So why is this so great?...

Quin-what?

Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”), which we think of, and prepare, as a grain, is actually the edible seed of a South American plant. It also packs a pretty powerful punch. One cup of cooked quinoa contains about 21% of your daily fiber needs, 16% of your daily protein needs and 15% of your iron needs (based on a 2,000 calorie diet), in 222 calories. For an easy and delicious recipe using quinoa, here’s a recipe for “Cranberry-Walnut Quinoa Salad” from FoodNetwork.com.

Tip: This salad travels well as a snack or lunch to bring with you to work.

Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”), which we think of, and prepare, as a grain, is actually the edible seed of a South American plant. It also packs a pretty powerful punch. One cup of cooked quinoa contains about 21% of your daily fiber needs, 16% of your daily protein needs and 15% of your iron needs (based on a 2,000 calorie diet), in 222 calories. For an easy and delicious recipe using quinoa, here’s a recipe for “Cranberry-Walnut Quinoa Salad” from FoodNetwork.com.

Tip: This salad travels well as a snack or lunch to bring with you to work.

Did You Know?: Household items can help you perfect your portions

You’ve likely heard that, as many Americans have issues with portion control (and as restaurants and fast food chains continue to offer larger and larger portions), we all need to pay more attention to our portion sizes; however, you probably have no idea how to translate this good advice into real life situations. Most of us don’t measure or weigh our food each time we sit down to a meal, so we have to estimate our portion sizes by “eyeballing” them. A great way to do this is to compare portions of food to everyday household items. For example, did you know that one serving of peanut butter is 2 tablespoons, or approximately the size of a ping pong ball? Now you do. For 9 more tips like this, check out the Food Network’s “10 Ways to Measure Perfect Portion Sizes.”

Image: FoodNetwork.com

You’ve likely heard that, as many Americans have issues with portion control (and as restaurants and fast food chains continue to offer larger and larger portions), we all need to pay more attention to our portion sizes; however, you probably have no idea how to translate this good advice into real life situations. Most of us don’t measure or weigh our food each time we sit down to a meal, so we have to estimate our portion sizes by “eyeballing” them. A great way to do this is to compare portions of food to everyday household items. For example, did you know that one serving of peanut butter is 2 tablespoons, or approximately the size of a ping pong ball? Now you do. For 9 more tips like this, check out the Food Network’s “10 Ways to Measure Perfect Portion Sizes.”

Image: FoodNetwork.com

Have your cake too! (Tips for whole-wheat baking)

One of my favorite ways to literally live a healthy life and have my cake too, is baking with whole-wheat flour. I mostly implement this strategy when making muffins and other quick bread recipes (muffins, biscuits, popovers & loaf breads that don’t require kneading because baking powder and/or baking soda are used to make the product rise). I generally replace ½ of the all-purpose flour in the recipe with whole-wheat flour and find that the altered product is as delicious, and nearly as tender, as the original recipe; however, I would not completely replace the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour as the high protein content of whole-wheat flour will make for a very dense product when used alone. Check out this page from www.foodnetwork.com for more “Tips for Baking with Wholegrain Flours.”

And remember…over-mixing any quick bread recipe can result in a too-dense product so you want to be extra careful not to over-mix when making a quick bread recipe that includes whole-wheat flour.

One of my favorite ways to literally live a healthy life and have my cake too, is baking with whole-wheat flour. I mostly implement this strategy when making muffins and other quick bread recipes (muffins, biscuits, popovers & loaf breads that don’t require kneading because baking powder and/or baking soda are used to make the product rise). I generally replace ½ of the all-purpose flour in the recipe with whole-wheat flour and find that the altered product is as delicious, and nearly as tender, as the original recipe; however, I would not completely replace the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour as the high protein content of whole-wheat flour will make for a very dense product when used alone. Check out this page from www.foodnetwork.com for more “Tips for Baking with Wholegrain Flours.”

And remember…over-mixing any quick bread recipe can result in a too-dense product so you want to be extra careful not to over-mix when making a quick bread recipe that includes whole-wheat flour.