Dippy Fun Veggies

Making dips and spreads is a terrific way to get more veggies into your life and have healthy party food. I went to the West Hollywood Book Fair today and I love their culinary stage because I always learn something new. I hadn't figured out a way to work pepitos into my food life and Aida Mollenkamp shared this recipe -- what a terrific way to get pepitos and squash together!

Other veggie dip ideas: roasted bell peppers with hummus, artichoke w hummus, avocado cucumber cilantro salsa. And if you don't have time to cook, you can buy hummus with some kind of veggie flavoring (Trader Joe's has a hummus with olives) and dip with crunchy veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and sweet peas instead of chips to get a double whammy of delicious, easy, and healthy.

Kale with Garlic and White Wine: Quick Recipe

Don't know what to do with Kale? There are so many different kinds. My favorite is more tender--the curly red kale or a curly green kale. The other kales seem to have a tougher texture. If you have other ideas about the many varieties of kale, please send them in!

Kale is great for detoxing, and I think of it is one of Mother Nature's wonder sweepers. That's right, it helps sweep your system clean! Even better- this takes less than 15 minutes to prep and cook. Organic Kale is encouraged to avoid pesticide toxicity.

Ingredients
1 Bunch Kale
2-3 tbl olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
fresh ground pepper
2-3 dashes of white wine or veggie broth

1) Strip the leaves away from the stalk. You can just tear away, as if you were tearing a piece of paper. Throw out the stalks (they are too tough for my tastes!). Rinse the leaves in water and strain. If the leaves are bit wilted, leave in water for about 5 minutes, allowing the leaves to plump up from the water.
3) If you like shredded leafy dishes, then you can take the leaves to the chopping board and chop them as you wish. I like to cook quickly since I'm usually hungry, so I just cook the leaves as I tore them.
4) Prep garlic--2-3 cloves chopped or as they are peeled.
5) Heat pan/skillet at high heat. When it's warm (about 30 seconds) a few dashes of olive oil will give a thin layer to the bottom of the pan. Wait 10 sec, then put in garlic to sizzle! Fresh ground pepper in the oil now helps gives a more roasty taste to the pepper. When the garlic is slightly brown, add leaves. Stir with spatula so that the leaves are thinly coated with the black pepper and olive oil about 20 sec.
6) Add 2-3 dashes of wine or veggie broth to bring out the veggie flavor. Wine helps make the kale sweet and you get some extra antioxidants!
7) Turn heat down to medium and cover to help cook the kale. Check the kale in 30 seconds-1 minute. It should be ready and a rich bright green color...as with all stir fry, don't let the green veggies start going brown--take them off the stove as they are just wilted and know they continue cooking from the heat. You want the veggies barely cooked and brightly colored.
ENJOY!

Other great kale recipes you can try can be found on this world's healthiest food encyclopedia site.

Yummy Halibut Recipe

From one of my favorites--- wellness doctor and author: Dr. Mark Hyman
A great halibut recipe that brings in a rainbow of veggies, low glycemic load, and a yummy lean protein.

How to prioritize when to buy Organic

While fresh seasonal wild/organic fruits and veggies are the best option, it's not always the realistic option. Whether you're prioritizing due to time or budget, here are some quick strategies to help optimize your health more easily. It needs to be easy enough so that you'll actually implement your healthier choices into your day-to-day lifestyle.

1) The freezer section has great options like Wild Boreal Blueberries, Organic Strawberries, Green Beans. And for some fruits and veggies, you don't need to prioritize them to be organic or wild. Having a stock of fruits and veggies on hand in your freezer increases your chance of more servings. And often, the frozen versions are great quality and a very positive option when you just haven't gotten to your grocery shopping!

2) If you went to the Farmer's Market and got overzealous and can't finish up your portions before it goes bad, package your fruits and veggies while they are still good and put them in the freezer for a different day! You might put the fruit in a smoothie, or the veggies in an egg scramble or mixed veggie sautee, and you will save yourself from wasting your Farmer's Market finds.

3) Prioritize buying organic for the "Dirty Dozen" list and go ahead and buy the conventional varieties from the "Least Contaminated" list.

This list below is known as the "Dirty Dozen" that you should avoid buying conventional and prioritize to buy Organic. According to the Environmental Working Group, common growing practices make these crops the most likely to contain pesticide residues:
Apples
Peaches
Bell Peppers
Pears
Celery
Potatoes
Cherries
Raspberries
Imported Grapes
Spinach
Nectarines
Strawberries

If organic produce is cutting into your overall budget, it's okay to prioritize a bit and use non-organic varieties of the fruits and vegetables listed below, which tend to contain the least amount of pesticides. You should still make it a habit to wash them thoroughly before eating or cooking to remove dirt and bacteria. According to the Environmental Working Group, these are the least contaminated fruits and vegetables.
Asparagus
Kiwi
Avocados
Mangos
Bananas
Onions
Broccoli
Papaya
Cauliflower
Pineapples
Corn (sweet, frozen)
Peas (sweet, frozen)

photo credit: Omer Kamran

How to Eat More Tasty Veggies!

People say they eat healthy, but do you really eat enough healthy foods?
If you enjoy watching the FoodNetwork, you're showing curiosity about food--good news!
But the CDC warns that 90 percent of us do NOT meet the daily recommended fruits and veggies consumption! Most people need to double their veggie consumption. The US and UK governments each have a fruits and veggies public health campaign: "5 a day".

How? Start adding greens supplements and try these quick and easy veggies recipes that I've created for today's busy lifestyle.

Truth is, you're more likely to ACTUALLY eat healthy if you pre-make your food or find ways to make it easily while you're busy doing other things. If you premake your veggies to include extra leftovers, you can pack them for lunch or grab them quickly for a snack. After you've done your grocery shopping, you're excited about your food--cook your veggies while they are fresh OR while you're fresh with energy. I aim for quick veggie recipes that require only 15 minutes (or less) of active time. MMM-mmm tasty!

Here are some ideas for the month of November. Take advantage of the winter roots and squash that the stores are carrying in preparation for the Thanksgiving feasts.

COOKING CONCEPTS TO KNOW

* the oven and timer allows you to cook root veggies and squash without thinking about it, with about 5-10 min of prep time.
* sautee your veggies lightly in these basics: olive or grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and garlic or shallots and then add some pizazz like wine or other flavors.

1) Carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes (whatever roots you like, whatever you can find)
A friend asked: What do parsnips look like? white carrots!!!

Aim to buy sweet potatoes and not yams. Cut into similarly sized pieces as carrots so that slices cook evenly. Depending on your sweet potato size, you might need to cut your sweet potatoes in quarters to match the carrots.

a) preheat oven or toaster oven to 425. wash, peel (optional), and slice roots thinly, diagonally.
b) spread parchment paper on a baking pan, spray or brush oil (olive or grapeseed) on parchment paper.
sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic or shallot slices on parchment paper.
c) if you like herb taste and have fresh or dried thyme (optional), add. if you like sweet/spicy, sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg
d) place roots as one layer across parchment paper. drizzle a very thin layer of oil on top. add salt, pepper, garlic to your
preferences. place in oven. set timer to 20 min.
e) at 20 min. timer buzz, take a spatula to flip/toss the roots. return the roots to the oven and heat for another 20 minutes.
don't forget to set the timer again. this time, set it for 15 min=20min, depending if you think your oven is strong.
roast until roots are tender and golden. if you like them extra crispy, leave in the oven longer.
PERKS of roasting veggies: the flavors intensify. you can ignore the cooking and multitask. roots make great leftover. if you're cooking for 2, the toaster oven is quicker to preheat.
VITAMINS: Carrots are known for vitamin A. parsnips are more nutritious and wellrounded than carrots in vitamins and minerals--bonus B3, E and the potassium (helps combat muscle cramps). Sweet potatoes are known for A and C.

More 15 minute recipes to come...
2) Kale with white wine and garlic
3) Pea sprouts with chix or veggie broth and garlic
4) Green beans with black sesame seeds