Category Archives: Recipes

Pumpkin Nutrition

1 Reply

Sandy              By: Sandy Spitler (Dietetic Intern)

Pumpkin is everywhere as the fall season comes full circle, from carving them at Halloween to the endless variety of pumpkin flavored coffee drinks, it can incorporated into almost anything you can think of. While pumpkin compliments breads, ravioli, beer, and pie, this fall squash also packs a bounty of health benefits. Below provides evidence to why it is perfectly acceptable to obsess over pumpkin not only this fall but all year long: 

  • Pumpkin seeds help elevate moods and improve sleep  – especially needed during the fall and winter months as the weather cools down and daylight fades away. Pumpkin seeds are rich in the essential amino acid tryptophan needed in the production of serotonin – a major hormone that affects mood and sleep. Regular consumption of pumpkin may even help prevent depression.
  •  Aids in weight loss – as good source of fiber, with 3 grams per 1 cup serving, and only 50 calories, pumpkin can help you feel fuller longer, preventing you from reaching for the candy corn or indulging in a candied apple.
  •  Protects your heart – nuts and seeds, including pumpkin seeds, are naturally abundant in phytoesterols, plant-based chemicals shown to reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and blood pressure. After carving all your pumpkins, keep the seeds to roast in the oven to use as a snack or added crunch in salads.
  •  Keeps vision fine-tuned – 1 cup of mashed pumpkin provides more than 200% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin A, aiding to keep your eyesight sharp. 
  • May reduce risk of cancer – pumpkins are rich in carotenoids, displayed by their bright orange color, enhancing the antioxidant beta-carotene, possibly aiding to prevent cancer. These antioxidants also foster skin’s smoothness by helping to prevent wrinkles.
  •  Refuel after a tough workout – 1 cup of cooked pumpkin gives you 560 milligrams of potassium compared to a banana’s 420 milligrams. Potassium aids to restore your body’s electrolyte balance after a grueling workout allowing your muscles to perform at their best.

The endless supply of pumpkin goes hand in hand with its long list of health benefits, giving perfect reason for the obsession with this fall super-food. As the fall air cools down and winter nipping at our toes we begin searching for warm, filling, meals to fuel our bodies through. Warm up with this comforting, delicious, and nutrient dense pumpkin chili, easily modified to please any palate. Recipe below:

Slow Cooker Pumpkin & Bean Chili

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon olive oil
  • olive oil cooking spray
  • 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 can (15oz.) black beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 can white northern beans, drained & rinsed
  • 3 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 can solid-packed pumpkin
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chile
  • 1 cup fresh tomato, diced OR 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 avocado, sliced and used for topping
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, used for topping

 

Directions:

  1. 1. Heat medium sauté pan over high heat and add ½ teaspoon olive oil to pan
  2. 2. Add onions then garlic to heated oil in pan and cook for 3-4 minutes
  3. 3. Add cooked garlic and onions to crock pot followed with remaining ingredients (except for the avocado and cilantro saved for topping). Allow ingredients to cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours
  4. 4. Top with cilantro and avocado if desired.  

Tip: You may also replace 1 can of beans with ¾ lb. lean ground turkey by simply browning the turkey in sauté pan and then combine with remaining ingredients in crock pot.

edamame

Edamame

Leave a reply

By: Jillian Ouhrabka MS, RD, LDN,CHC

Recently I have had clients asking me about edamame and the nutritional value of it. Many of us enjoy edamame steamed but how to incorporate it into recipes? I have a great Edamame and Sweet Potato recipe for you to try!

What is Edamame?

Edamame is considered a legume and is really just boiled green soybeans.

What nutritional value does Edamame have?

In a 1/2 cup serving of shelled edamame you will find:

  • Calories: 120
  • Fiber: 9 grams
  • Fat: 2.5 grams
  • Protein: 11 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 13 grams
  • Sodium: 15 grams
  • 10% of the Daily Value for vitamin C
  • 10% Daily Value for iron
  • 8% Daily Value for vitamin A
  • 4% Daily Value for calcium

Edamame and Sweet Potato Salad

Servings: 6          Time to prep: 30 minutes            

Ingredients:

  • 4 Large Sweet potatoes
  • 5 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ½ red onion (sliced thinly)
  • ½ edamame, shelled
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh chives minced
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • Freshly ground pepper and salt (optional)
    • (Add your favorite spices to make it unique! Try red pepper or cumin)

Directions:

  1. Using a vegetable brush, scrub sweet potatoes under running water. Cut each potato into 1-inch cubes
  • Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to large skillet on medium-high heat. Add half the potatoes to the skillet in a single layer, reduce heat to medium and cook covered for 4 to 5 minutes (stir after 2 minutes)
  • Once potatoes are tender, transfer to a bowl or plate, and repeat process with the other ½ of potatoes
  1. Next, mix onion, edamame, celery, and parsley in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and set bowl aside
  2. In small bowl whisk lemon juice, mustard, and remaining olive oil together. Pour over sweet potatoes and gently toss until potatoes are evenly coated.
    • At this point you can add a dash of salt (optional) and pepper to taste (give it a twist by adding red pepper or cumin)
  3. You can serve this dish immediately or cover and refrigerated until ready to serve.
pesto-sauce

Go Green with Pesto!

Leave a reply

By: Jillian Ouhrabka MS, RD, LDN, CHC

What is Pesto?

We all love it but what is Pesto exactly? Pesto is easily made in a food processor and while there are variations, it is typically composed of basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese.

Get Creative!

Spice up your Pesto with a little orange rind or add home grown veggies!  If your garden has cilantro, thyme, chives, mint, or parsley (or any other green) add it for a twisted Pesto or try a new Pesto Recipe:

Kale Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts
  • 4 cups of firmly packed kale
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1/4 salt (optional)

Directions:

  1. In food processor finely chop garlic
  2. Add nuts and pulse
  3. Add Kale and pulse
  4. With food processor running, add olive oil, and water until you have created a paste
  5. Using a spoon, mix in the cheese and salt (optional)
  6. Add to your favorite dish!

Suggested Use:

You can add Pesto to most any dish for a great burst of flavor! Try adding it to:

  • Pizza or Pasta Sauce
  • Chili
  • Beans and Rice
  • Lettuce, turkey, and hummus wrap
  • Quinoa
  • Salad

 

 

dill tilapia

Get Grilling! Lemon Dill Tilapia

Leave a reply

Grilling is a great way to cook healthy foods with little to no kitchen cleanup. Grill veggies on the grill using aluminum foil or try kabobs! Fish and Chicken are great on the grill, and this is a healthy way to cook, draining excess fat from the meat.  Try this lemon dill tilapia recipe to get started!

Lemon Dill Tilapia

Servings: 4, 8oz servings                               Prep: 15 minutes              Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition Per Serving: 240 calories, 10g Fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 55mg cholesterol, 65mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4g sugar, 26g protein

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. tilapia (cut into 4 fillets)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 2 cups chopped zucchini
  • 2 ears of corn (slice into about 1 inch thick pieces)
  • 2 lemons (cut into thin slices)

Directions:

  1. Preheat outdoor grill (if cooking inside, preheat oven to 450 degrees)
  2. Using a large mixing bowl, combine oil, garlic, and dill
    1. Evenly pour mixture into 2 bowls
  3. In one bowl, add zucchini and corn, coating with the oil, garlic dill mixture evenly
  4. Next you need 4 large pieces of aluminum foil (you may need to double up for thickness), spray with non-stick cooking spray, place corn/zucchini mixture in the center of each
  5. With the 2nd bowl of oil, garlic and dill mixture, coat the fish fillets an dplace one fillet on top of each corn/zucchini pile in the aluminum foil packets
  6. Add 2 to 3 slices of lemon to the top of the fillet
  7. Fold each aluminum foil packet to seal shut
  8. Cook for 20 minutes, remove from heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before opening
  9. Enjoy!
Spinach-poached-egg

Spinach, Peppers, and Poached Eggs!

Leave a reply

Takes about 20 minutes to prepare and cook

Ingredients

  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • 1 sweet onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp low fat cheese (grated)
  • 2 tbsp. vinegar

    Directions

  • Thinly slice the onion and pepper.
  • Using a little olive oil, sauté onion and pepper in pan over medium heat.
  • Cook onions and pepper until soft
  • In separate pot add 3 to 4 inches of water, boil water and add 2 tbsp vinegar
  • When water starts to boil, reduce heat to a simmer
  • Now it is time to add the spinach to the onions and pepper. Saute the spinach briefly (about 1 minute) until it is wilted.
  • To poach the eggs: Crack in a small bowl one at a time and then drop into the simmering water one at a time.
  • Allow eggs to cook for about 3 minutes (longer it cooks, the more firm it will be)
  • Once eggs are cooked to desire firmness,  place the spinach, peppers and onion on two plates. Place eggs on top of veggies, add a little bit of low fat cheese, pepper and enjoy!
  •  *Make your eggs and veggies to go by adding them to Whole Wheat Toast or English muffin.
hummus

Healthy Hummus with Tomatoes and Cucumber

Leave a reply

Make your own hummus as a healthy snack, side dish, or appetizer!

Prep Time: 15 minutes           Servings: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans (drain them in colander and rinse under running water)
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½  teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tomatoes (diced)
  • 1 large or 2 medium cucumbers (diced)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

*Serve with pita bread, flat bread, or vegetable sticks (carrots, broccoli, celery, pepper, etc)

Directions:

  1. Using a food processor, combine: garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, vinegar, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Mix until ingredients form a smooth mixture (I actually like to leave my hummus a little thick and chunky so you can mix it less if you like this too!)
  2. In large bowl gently toss tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining lemon juice (you can add more pepper, herbs, or other spices to this if you wish)
  3. Serve hummus on small plates with tomato and cucumber salad on top
  4. Add pita bread, flat bread or vegetable slices
  5. Enjoy!
1384884888_cd1f[1]

Vegetarian and Delicious Peanut Butter Stir Fry Recipe!

Leave a reply

By:Jill Ouhrabka

My favorite healthy meal is a Peanut Butter Stir Fry-first introduced by my boyfriend’s sister. It is a very healthy, quick meal that is full of nutrients and tastes like a treat!

Servings: 2 (if main dish) 4 (if side dish)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup minced garlic

1 cup diced carrots

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 medium onion chopped or diced

4 cups whole pea pods

4 oz water chestnuts sliced

onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder (optional)

1 package Lomein Noodles

1 cup peanut butter

Soy Sauce

Directions:

Boil a little water in bottom of fry pan, add minced garlic

Add carrots, broccoli and onion to frying pan

Then add a little bit of water (1/4 cup), onion powder, pepper and garlic powder

As the vegetables cook, alternate adding water with rice vinegar

Next, add whole pea pods and sliced water chestnuts

Let cook for about 5 minutes

Then add 1/2 cup peanut butter, three tablespoons soy sauce. Let the sauce mix with the water/rice vinegar to coat the veggies, add some crushed cashews and serve over a bed of rice noodles or brown rice.

Enjoy!

Catherine A

Simple Roasted Carrots

Leave a reply
Restorative Nutrition is happy to promote Catherine Amoriggi and her creative recipes. Catherine has a deep love of cooking and passion for creating new recipes. We will be featuring some of her recipes and you can get more ideas at her blog: http://www.cookingwithcath.com/

Simple Roasted Carrots

By: Catherine Amoriggi

Is that a rainbow?? Nope, it’s only carrots! Only carrots? Carrots are a great source of vitamin A and antioxidants so unleash the power of beautiful skin while eating something simply delicious.

This is a really great simple side dish that would go great with any main course (particularly a nice roasted meat or a hearty pasta). Carrots are a refrigerator essential. They have a good shelf life and are relatively inexpensive. Sometimes carrots get a bad rap for not being the most flavorful vegetable, but I simply adore them. When you roast carrots, they take on a very sweet, caramelized flavor. I roasted different colored carrots for this dish. This is the perfect side dish because although the carrots would be great served hot, you can also enjoy them at room temperature or cold. So lets get cooking!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of purple carrots
5 medium sized orange carrots
3 tbs. olive oil
2 whole garlic cloves, still in the  peel
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
crushed red flakes
1/2-1 tbs. balsamic glaze
1/2 tbs. roughly chopped fresh parsley

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Wash, trim and peel all of the carrots. Cut the carrots into similar sized matchsticks. Do this by cutting the carrots in half width wise and then half length wise (or so forth).
  3. Toss the carrots in a roasting pan with the olive oil, garlic cloves, salt, black pepper and red pepper. Make sure that the carrots are spread out in one layer.
  4. Place the pan with the carrots in the oven.  Roast for about 8-15 minutes or until the carrots are tender yet brown and caramelized. Take the pan out of the oven.
  5. Top the carrots with the parsley, balsamic glaze and salt and pepper to taste. Put into a serving dish and enjoy!
Catherine A

Light Pumpkin Bread with Olive Oil

Leave a reply
Restorative Nutrition is happy to promote Catherine Amoriggi and her creative recipes. Catherine has a deep love of cooking and passion for creating new recipes. We will be featuring some of her recipes and you can get more ideas at her blog: http://www.cookingwithcath.com/

Light Pumpkin Bread with Olive Oil

By: Catherine Amoriggi

This is not the most traditional pumpkin bread recipe that I make; however, it is special. The olive oil adds a nice citrusy note and the whipped egg whites make it super light and airy. It is a nice change of pace from the typical pumpkin bread.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup+ 1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips
5 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup milk

  • Tip: To make this recipe even healthier, substitute egg beaters for the egg yolk, and use low fat or skim milk in place of regular milk. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pans with olive oil.

  1. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and olive oil until well combined. Next beat in 2 eggs (one at a time). Incorporate the pumpkin, vanilla extract and milk into this mixture.
  3. Next add the flour mixture and chocolate chips into the pumpkin mixture. Make sure everything is well combined; set  aside.
  4. Separate your remaining 3 eggs into whites and yolks. Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until you get soft peaks, about 3-5 minutes.
  5. In batches, gently fold your whipped egg whites into the batter mixture. Once incorporated, place an even amount of batter into each loaf pan. Immediatley, place them into the oven and cook for about 30-45 minutes or until a  wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then remove from the pan and let it cool on a wired rack for about 30-40 minutes.