Life Chef

If you have attended a recent Life Chef cooking demo, you’ve probably sampled some of these recipes. Many of you have asked for them, and I’m a little late getting them posted, but here they are! Quick, delicious and nutritious! Happy Holidays!

Corn & Edamame Succotash
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Corn kernels cut from 5-6 ears of grilled, charred, smoked or roasted corn (1 1 lb bag frozen corn kernels)
1 1-lb bag of frozen, shelled edamame (soy beans)
1 red bell pepper, small diced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onions and garlic until aromatic, about 3-4 minutes. Add corn, edamame and bell pepper. Season with spices and continue to cook until the peppers are crisp-tender (about 3-5 minutes). For added decadence top with crumbled queso fresco or other mild crumbly white cheese.

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Spicy Chickpeas
1 28 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
1 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a pot, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

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Mushrooms with Sage
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 pint Baby bellos or button mushrooms, halved or thickly sliced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
leaves from 1-2 stems of fresh sage, chopped or chiffonade
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat oil in a skillet or saute pan and cook mushrooms for about 10 minutes, or until they have released their liquid and the liquid has evaporated. Mushrooms should begin to caramelize. Then add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and stir in the sage. Continue cooking until aromatic, then serve drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil.

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Eggplant & Sundried Tomato Ragu
1 lg eggplant, peeled and large diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cup sundried tomatoes, re-hydrated in 1 cup hot water
reserved water from re-hydrating the sundried tomatoes
1 tsp fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
salt/pepper to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat and saute the onion until browned and caramelized. Add the remaining oil, garlic and eggplant and cook, stirring occassionally until the eggpant starts to become tender. Add the thyme, sundried tomatoes and reserved liquid and continue cooking until the eggplant is stewed and very tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in a little more fresh thyme just before serving.

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Quick Cooked Greens & Beans
1 bag pre-washed collard greens or kale
2 28 oz cans of white kidney or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 quart of vegetable or chicken broth (low sodium)

Heat stock in a large pot with the onion, garlic and spices. Stir in the beans and when the liquid begins to simmer, stir in the collard greens. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes and serve.

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Week Night Pomodoro Sauce with Green beans
2 lbs green beans, trimmed, blanched & shocked
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 28 oz can Hunts petitie diced tomatoes
1 bunch basil, leaves torn or roughly chopped
black pepper to taste
pinch of salt

Heat oil in a large saute pan and cook onions until just translucent. Add garlic and cook about 4 more minutes. Stir in the tomatoes (with the juices) and a pinch of salt and pepper. Allow to simmer over medium heat about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans to warm them through. Just before serving, stir in the basil.

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5-minute Fresh Cranberry Sauce
1 cup orange juice
1 lb fresh cranberries
1 jar orange marmalade
1 tsp cinnamon
2″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries have burst, then remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes and the sauce will thicken. For added sweetness stir in agave nectar or maple syrup.

This one is for the carnivores and it may seem like odd timing, coming at the end of the summer. But I’ve been on a slider kick lately (sliders are mini-burgers). Mostly because I’ve discovered you can make burgers that are 50% grated/chopped veggies and 50% lean protein (turkey etc) and the kids will devour them. (In all transparency, I’m NOT hiding veggies in the burgers, b/c I think kids should KNOW what they’re eating and they should LEARN that veggies are good. So when I make them, I divulge we’re eating turkey/veggie sliders and The Kidlet has seen and even helped me grate zucchini and carrots to go in them.) I’ll post the recipe separately b/c I want to get to some other points.

In doing sliders as a demo, I realize quite a few folks don’t know how to treat meat. And now I see why people make hockey pucks instead of juicy homemade burgers, golf balls instead of fork-tender meatballs, and door stops instead of succulent meatloaf.

If this sounds like you, here are a couple of tips that will hopefully amend your relationship w/ ground meat.

1. Meat = Muscle. If you overwork it, it gets tough. Makes sense when you put it that way, right? So combine all the ingredients you plan to use EXCEPT the ground meat, then mix it in last and handle it as minimally as possible. OR if you have time, mix it up, form your patties/meatballs, then let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes before you cook them.

2. For even cooking of a patty, form a divot by pressing your thumb in the center of the patty. By making the center slightly thinner than the edges, the cooking time for the entire burger will be about even.

3. Get your sear on! For maximum flavor, and to help hold your burger together, you want to get a nice sear on the outside. Sear does not mean burnt crust, so don’t get carried away. But you do what a hot pan or grill to start, and once you put your burger on the grill, LEAVE IT ALONE. Do not move it for at least 4 minutes. That’s about the minimum time you need for a hot pan/grill to sear one side of a reasonably sized burger. If you’re making monster burgers you may need some more time.

4. DO NOT MASH YOUR MEAT. Under NO circumstances is that acceptable. When you take that spatula and mash your meat, where do the juices go? OUT. Instant dry burger. Boo. Waste of meat, time, and charcoal. The #1 mistake most home cooks make is they “mess with their food” while its cooking. There’s all this poking and prodding, mixing and stirring, moving and mashing going on. Once the food hits the pan/grill your job is pretty much done. Let the heat do what it does best: cook. Mashing your burger is especially detrimental if you’re using a lean protein like ground chicken, turkey, pork. Or even salmon burgers. There’s not much fat or moisture to start with, and when you mash it, you almost guarantee a tough dry burger. Leave it alone.

5. Flip once. This kind of revisits #4 with that “mess with your food” thing. If you get a good sear on, there’s no need to keep flipping your burger. They’re like pancakes, really, in that they only need one flip. If in doubt, give your burger enough time on one side that you can see it’s cooked about 1/2 way through. Then you know it only needs a few more minutes (4-7) on the second side. When in doubt, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.

6. If you use a thermometer here’s what you’re looking for: Rare 120° to 125°, medium-rare 130° to 135°, medium 140° to 145°, medium-well 150° to 155°, and well-done 160° to 165°. [According to the USDA Cooking ground beef at moderate temperatures will reduce shrinkage and help retain juices and flavor. Overcooking draws out more fat and juices from ground beef, resulting in a dry, less tasty product.] It should noted that meat cooked to well-done or charred meats (burned) pose a risk of causing cancer because long exposure to high temperatures breaks down the amino acid creatine, forming heterocyclic amines (HAs), which are carcinogenic and are linked to cancer.

7. Be clean. Ground meat is especially susceptible to contamination and bacterial exposure. A steak has maybe six sides that can come in contact with contaminants, but ground meat, by being pushed through a grinder and then handled and mixed has an exponentially increased surface area and opportunities for contamination. So while I would never put and ice cold steak on the grill, (it’s good to let large cuts of meat, especially on the bone, come to room temp before cooking) I would also never let raw ground meat hang out at room temperature for any length of time. Keep it cold, keep it covered, keep it clean. And before you mosey off to cook those burgers, take a few minutes to go ahead and clean up your prep area (bowls, cutting boards, mixing utensils etc) to minimize the opportunity for ground meat to contaminate your kitchen.

8. If you’re using lean protein, add moisture. Ground pork, turkey and chicken can be dry. Salmon burgers can be even drier. To add moisture add grated zucchini or carrots, sauteed and finely chopped mushrooms, diced onions and bell peppers, grated broccoli stems. You’re only limited by your imagination and whatever veggies you have on hand. An egg can add moisture and protein, as well as help bind a burger that seems “loose” (but it also adds fat).

9. Binders. I used to be a breadcrumbs, milk, egg binder kinda gal, but I’m finding now that if there’s some fat in the meat (ground turkey is 80% lean, instead of ground turkey BREAST which is 99% lean) then the burger holds together just fine. The point of a burger is that you have a patty that holds together, so I’d save the super-lean stuff for something else that’s crumbly (like a lettuce wrap, or tacos). That’s just my preference b/c I want to taste as much meaty flavor as possible, and not binders and fillers. I may make exception for meatloaf, maybe.

10. Quality matters. When it comes to meat, the quality or cut of meat that your ground meat came from does matter. There are such things as “hamburger meat” and “ground beef.” I don’t mess with it. Too vague. Too many cow parts involved, and usually produces a very fatty burger that shrinks into a meat nugget and doesn’t “fit right” on the bun. [According to the USDA Beef fat may be added to "hamburger," but not "ground beef." A maximum of 30% fat is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef.] I want ground steak. Better flavor, less shrinkage, predictable end result. So I aim for ground chuck, ground sirloin etc. Those are actual cuts of beef that have been ground. [According to the USDA Generally, ground beef is made from the less tender and less popular cuts of beef. Trimmings from more tender cuts may also be used.] If I’m feeling really persnickety, I’ll ask the butcher to actually grind up some steaks for me, but I’m typically not that high maintenance, and can find what I need in the meat case. If you can, buy your ground meat from a [*reputable* -- can't stress that enough] place that grinds meat in-house. Fresh just tastes better.

(Tips to help navigate healthy meal times with your finicky offspring.)

You’re committed to your workout. You’ve meal planned and grocery shopped. You’re all set to step into a healthier lifestyle, but then you find yourself sitting down to yet another dinner of prepared chicken nuggets, boxed mac n cheese, and 10% fruit juice. What happened?

It’s possible, that your kids are sabotaging your desire for change. Who dictates the meals in your house: the health-centric adults who are making changes for the better, or the picky eater tyrants who insist they only like packaged foods?

Recently a new client asked me about her “picky eaters” and we shared a revelation. In the 1970s there were no picky eaters! There were happy kids who ate dessert, and sad kids who didn’t. There were kids outside playing after dinner, and there were kids still parked at the dinner table scowling at their uneaten Brussel sprouts. There were kids who went to be full, and kids who went to bed hungry. But growing up, I never heard of a picky eater.

Contrast that to the situation many of us face at the dinner table: a meal for the adults and a separate meal for the kids. That conundrum is summed up in an article by journalist Landon Hall “When did kids start to eat apart from adults?” who proposes that food manufacturers and marketers have programmed our children and taken over our dinner tables.

In light of a recent Wall Street Journal article by Shirley S. Wang, there may actually be obsessive-compulsive tendencies amongst the pickiest of the picky. But here are some tips from experts about how to navigate dinner time with the everyday variety picky eater who may be sabotaging your healthy meal plans.

Nicci Micco, Editor-at-Large at Eating Well Magazine, says the solution to getting your kids to eat anything is “Don’t give up!” As a mom and a nutrition expert she offers 5 Tips to get your kids to eat anything and I tend to agree with her advice.

A North Carolina family took on healthy eating as a 100 day challenge and posted their experiences at www.100daysofrealfood.com where you’ll even find a section devoted to the challenges of converting children to a “real food” diet, as well as suggestions for school lunches and other kid-centric tips.

Susan Stiffelman, a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist, says don’t turn your dinner table into a battle field. See her video advice on handling your picky eater without making every meal a cause to fight.

Start your little one’s on a healthy path early and stay the course. Carolyn Land Williams, M.ED., R.D. posted these healthy recipes for Toddlers 18-24 months on the Cooking Light website. Encourage your little one to explore new flavors while not overpowering their delicate sense of flavor and you’ll create a love of healthy foods early in life.

The best advice I’ve learned (and seen put into practice) is from film producer Laurie David who authored The Family Dinner and maintains the site www.thefamilydinnerbook.com. The book and the website are fantastic tools to bring your family, peaceably to the dinner table, for healthy meals as a part of a family tradition. Chock-full chapters include: over 75 kid-approved, fantastic recipes by Kirstin Uhrenholdt; tips on teaching green values; conversation starters; games to play to help even the shyest family member become engaged; ways to express gratitude; the family dinner after divorce (hint: keep eating together) and much more. I love this book.

My family recently returned from a vacation where our goal was to eat only real food. Vacation is usually the time when fast food and sodas reign supreme, but this time we cooked real food, limited drinks to water, milk and 100% fruit juices and actually SAVED MONEY by doing so. The kids were no worse for the wear and I managed to spend a week at the beach without gaining any weight. Talk about a win-win!
When making good choices for your family you can still enjoy kid-friendly foods, though you may have to actually cook them instead of relying on the microwave. My rules to making good food choices are pretty simple: “If it didn’t fall off a tree or plant, or doesn’t have a face and a mama, don’t eat it. If it’s man made, or laboratory produced, don’t eat it. If you read the label and there are more than five ingredients, you need a dictionary to understand the ingredients, or the ingredients are acronyms (BHT) or have numbers (Red #40) don’t eat it.”

Bottom line, it’s a waste of your time, energy and resources to prepare separate meals for the kids. Be a role model in healthy eating. Be responsible in the choices you make for the entire family. Be patient and encouraging and positive when it comes to guiding your kids toward better choices. Be vigilant as the guardian of family time at the dinner table. In other words, Be The Parent.

Happy eating and remember: Eat real food!

Summer is over, so it’s time for the kickoff of Kidlet Vs Mom in the School Snack Battles …

Week 1 of school: Kidlet wants to bring lunch to school b/c it’s healthier and “School lunch is nasty.”

Week 2 of school: Kidlet gets teased for his tortellini w/ meatballs. “The other kids said ‘Ew’,” and asks for a “normal” lunch.

Week 3 of school: we actually went on vacation but promised to eat only “real food” the entire trip.

Week 4 of school: Kidlet reminds me to pack a snack in his lunchbag for snacktime. I think of the uneaten apple sauce, Goldfish pretzles, 2% milk cheese sticks, peanutbutter granola bar, and Go-gurt that have returned home and ask, “What do you consider a snack if not this stuff?”  His answer: Gummy Worms and Fruit Gushers.

Someone remove the knife from my heart please.  School, specifically peer pressure, is RUINING my healthy eater!

Ok, this is where Moms get smart.  I’ve done this before: it’s time to break out the healthy alternatives to conventional “snack” foods.  I head over to Sevananda Natural Foods Market (you probably have a similar co-op in your neck of the woods) and I stock up on stuff like YummyEarth Organic Vitamin C Lollipops, Gummy Bears and Sour Gummy Worms; and Annie’s Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies, Gummy Bunnies, Bunny Grahams and Organic Orchard Fruit Bites.  I also get the fruit leathers and rolls by the Stretch Island Fruit Co and a variety of Kashi chewy granola bars.  Add to that a few flavored apple sauces and some Veggie Straws and Pirate Booty and I feel like I can now do battle against the conventional snack companies like Frito Lay, Betty Crocker and all those folks.

Now, don’t get me wrong, NONE OF THIS STUFF REPLACES REAL FOOD.  But if I have to put in some “snacks” that can hold their own against Cheetoes, Fruit by the Foot, and Gummy Worms then I may as well get the “cleanest” version of junk food I can find.  I still pack a healthy lunch w/ all foods I think he “should” eat, but I want him to feel comfortable amongst his peers and not feel like he’s missing out on snack time b/c I didn’t pack Doritoes and a Coke.

Sure he can have a soda, but I feel better giving him something all-natural w/ real sugar like Hansen’s or Reed’s or Boylan’s and he loves that stuff. And of course he can have chips, but I’d prefer to give him chips by Kettle or Terra or Boulder Canyon brands.  I even make sure the juice boxes are 100% juice and aim for the lowest sugar content as possible b/c some have 30 grams for 6 oz. box and that’s CRAZY high. Especially for the kidlet who only weighs about 45 lbs and that’s soaking wet w/ his shoes on. In fact, Apple & Eve’s Fruitables contain fruit and veggie juices and claim to have 1/3 the sugar of “regular” brands. Or Hansen’s Natural Juice Slam which provides 17 vitamins and minerals in 100% juice blends.

Ok my point in including all of these links is so that you can find “healthier” or “natural” alternatives to the 100% crap snacks that are heavily marketed toward children. Remember these are snacks and treats, and a lunch made of organic puffed rice flour and fruit leathers is NOT a nutritious lunch just because it’s labeled “organic” or “natural.”  But hopefully you can Combat the Crap as the Snack Battle Begins.

Remember: Eat Real Food.

When snacking, try to pull in something from each of the main 5 food groups: fruit, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy.  Here are some suggestions, some of which we created at the Back To School Expo, hosted by Cross Roads News.

Multigrain Cheerios + Yogurt Covered Raisins + Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas)

Veggie Chips/Straws + Wasabi Peas + Sesame Sticks + Shredded Coconut

Popcorn + Banana Chips + Peanut Butter Chips (or Peanuts) + Dark Chocolate Chips

Banana Chips + Almonds + Dark Chocolate Nibs + Dried Cherries

Rice Crackers + Garden Veggie Cream Cheese + Sliced Turkey

Apple Slices + Peanut Butter + Craisins

Carrot/Celery Sticks + Hummus + Multigrain Crackers

Lowfat Cheese + Multigrain Crackers + Cherry Tomatoes

Whole Wheat Mini Pitas + Hummus + Olives & Grape Tomatoes

Multigrain Crackers + Marscapone Cheese + Grapes + Honey

Whole Wheat Tortilla + Peanut Butter + Banana + Agave Nectar

Whole Wheat Tortilla + Lowfat Cheese + Turkey Breast + Spinach