What a Week and Yes, a Recipe Too - White Beans and Greens!

The week before last was a banner one for healthier food policy. The week started off with First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announcing tighter new federal standards for marketing food to children.  On Thursday, she revealed proposed revisions to the "Nutrition Facts" label on packages of commercial products, which made it to this point in the review process in record time.  The changes are now open to comment for 90 days at the FDA. I think it will be very challenging for the food companies to object too strenuously to these changes, as the First Lady has achieved so much good will with these companies as well as with the press and the public with her health efforts. On Friday, Sam Kass capped the week off by announcing some healthier changes to WIC, the Department of Agriculture's supplemental nutrition program for "women, infants and children." These changes include an increase in benefits for fruits and vegetables and the allowance of yogurt and more whole grains.

What hard work and political finesse led up to last week's announcements! I suspect this was strategically planned to occur in the President's second term, but with enough time remaining to see these changes through.  A lesson that patience and timing (on top of a whole lot of hard work and forging connections) can be everything.

The proposal for the new Nutrition Facts label seems like a great boon for the savvy consumer.  I like that the calorie count will be in a larger font so I don't have to break out the reading glasses to see it.  I really like that information will be based on more realistic serving sizes, and not on arbitrarily created puny ones designed to trick us into underestimating how many calories we consume. Anyone who's read a label has seen instances where, for example,  a bag of chips that appears to be the amount one person would eat alongside a deli sandwich, reads 2 or even 2.5 "servings per container."  Seriously, I only know one person who could open that bag and eat only half the chips.

Another great new revision proposed will be the identification of added sugars.  We've had sugars on the label for years but added sugars would distinguish between the sugar that occurs naturally in the food from the sugar added to sweeten it.  For example, plain yogurt contains sugar, but sweetened yogurt contains that naturally occurring sugar plus however much sweetener a company adds.

I am a big fan of clear, usable information, but I do recognize that the public must still want to use the information.  I was surprised to read studies done recently that even where more markets were added to known food deserts, that people didn't change their eating habits, or that when calorie counts were added to the menus in chain restaurants, that people didn't change their orders.  My habits change when I read nutrition facts and calorie counts. For example, that really delicious quinoa and spelt scone at a European bakery chain - anyone else do a double take on that one? I even had a twitter conversation with someone I follow when she tweeted a photo of the menu with the shockingly high calorie count shown, but didn't identify the restaurant. I recognized it immediately because I'd had the same experience a few weeks earlier. Information is power, people!

So this recipe happened a couple of times lately, here in the healthier kitchen.  I came across this recipe in last month's Bon Appetit magazine, and even shared the link to it on Facebook because I was so excited about it. The dish has the flavor of the overnight cooked white beans one gets in Tuscany, but done in a more reasonable time frame and with the punch of healthy greens.  Yes, using dried beans makes everything take longer, but as long as you plan ahead and soak the beans the night before, this is a perfect weekend dish to make and enjoy all week. In fact, if you soak the beans tomorrow night, you can make this for the absurd cold snap forecast for Thursday.  I've streamlined the recipe a little so here is my adaptation.

Just make sure to soak the beans the night before!!

This makes a large amount of beans.  If you don't love them as much as I, try making a half batch.  If you do go for the full recipe, you can serve it the first time as a main dish or side dish to some other protein, and make a soup with the remainder.  To make the soup, add stock, either chicken or vegetable to the beans and greens to thin it out and throw in some already cooked tiny pasta shape.  Serve with the same drizzle of olive oil and shaving of Parmesan as usual.


White Beans and Greens

(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Serves 6 - 8

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 anchovy fillets, drained
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
scant 1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
a few turns of freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (if you don't have Aleppo, use 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes), more if you like heat
1 sprig rosemary
1 pound dried cannellini or gigante beans
1 pound kale, chard, spinach or mustard greens (or a mix!), cleaned and ribs and stems removed and coarsely chopped
4 cups arugula or watercress
juice of 1/2 lemon, more if it's particularly small or dry
Parmesan cheese to grate on top

1.  Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add in the anchovies and stir until they just start to dissolve.  Add the garlic and stir into the anchovies until they dissolve completely.

2.  Add onions into the pan, along with the salt and pepper.  Let cook until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the Aleppo pepper and stir again. Let cook another 2 or 3 minutes.

3.  Add the rosemary, beans, and 8 cups of water.  Raise heat on burner to let this come to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  This will cook for about 2 or 3 hours until the beans get soft and creamy.  You might need to add another cup or two of water if the pan contents start to look a little dry.

4.  With the back of a large spoon or with a potato masher, crush about 1/4 of the beans and mix well.  Add the greens and mix in and let cook until all the greens are wilted and incorporated.

4.  Add the lemon juice and stir.  If it's really thick and dry, add a splash more water.

5.  Top individual servings with a grating of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good quality olive oil.  Serve with slices of a baguette or country Italian bread.

Ellie Krieger's Lasagna Rollups

I love pasta. My family loves pasta. We are conflicted about our strong preference for pasta. Or at least I am. As I've committed to cutting back on the "white stuff" I have definitely turned pasta into more of a special dinner than an everyday event. And, I keep trying to find a whole grain pasta that I can love. In the meantime, I've limited whole grain pasta to use in dishes that feature vegetables and nuts which complement the flavor of the heavier, grainier flavor of whole wheat pasta.

My feeling is that for that once in a while Italian favorite, don't mess with the white stuff. I've said this before, but I just can't subject my family to a delicious, long cooked Bolognese, for example...on top of whole grain pasta. It would be like serving it with a seedy, sprouted, whole grain bread, which though it can be delicious toasted and topped with almond butter or jam, for example, or in a sandwich with turkey, avocado and white bean spread, just doesn't go with a traditional Italian specialty. Some things we just don't mess with. In our house, Bolognese gets white pasta, usually penne, and a baguette. Since a sauce like this is a once in a while dinner around here, I figure that's OK.

I've recently noticed a quiet revolution in the whole wheat pasta area that gives me hope that we can incorporate a little more pasta back in to our regular rotation. Many Italian producers have begun making whole wheat versions that are significantly better in both taste and texture than the first brands I tried a couple of years ago. I think the texture has been the biggest obstacle for me with whole wheat pasta - it tends to be stiffer and chewier than white pasta. And not in a good way.

A couple of recent purchases have put some of those concerns to bed. I recently tried Garofalo brand whole wheat spaghetti, which cooked in about the same amount of time as regular spaghetti, and had much more of a regular spaghetti texture. I made it with roasted vegetables, but I will definitely try this one in more dishes in the future.

I'm sharing this recipe with you straight from the cookbook though I've inserted a few of my own suggestions in brackets. This is one of the few recipes I haven't messed with and usually make exactly as is. I highly recommend Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave to anyone looking for recipes that are both healthier and still delicious. I've liked everything I've made from this book, and it also provides the nutrition information (just so you know, I am not being compensated to say this. I really like this book).

For this recipe, I use whatever brand whole wheat lasagna noodles I can find, and I haven't been disappointed in any. In this recipe, the taste and texture of whole wheat work beautifully. This is a hearty vegetarian meal that I have served to children (not just my own, who we know will at least try anything I serve). It's not a weeknight dinner for us, as it takes just a little too long for everyday, but it's a great Sunday evening dinner and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day. It's a lovely presentation although my photo does not do it justice at all.

The recipe includes a home made sauce, but mostly I use a good jarred marinara sauce to speed things up. I have found many brands that are not too high in sodium. Just use your favorite. An eggplant or artichoke sauce would be great too. I find that although the recipe calls for the rolls to either bake sitting upright or flat, the noodles are just a little too wide for them to sit upright easily in the pans I have. If you have a really deep pan, it would be fine. So I usually lay them flat. Once, though, in a fit of ambition, I cut the already cooked lasagna noodles lengthwise down the middle so that they were thinner. When I rolled them up they were not as high when seated upright in the pan. This is actually a better size for smaller children. If you do this, just remember to sit them with the ruffled side up for a nicer presentation.

　
Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce

(reprinted, with permission, from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger,

Taunton Press, 2008)

12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 pound) [W: I have found this is 1 1/2 boxes of whole wheat noodles]
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped [W - you can find these presliced]
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups Easy Tomato Sauce (recipe follows) or store-bought marinara sauce
One 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain well and spread them out on a sheet of aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking [W: I use waxed paper sprayed with cooking spray].
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, stir in 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce, and simmer for 2 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and the nutmeg.
Spread 1 cup of the remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, then roll the noodle and stand it up or lay it down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles, ricotta mixture, and mushroom mixture. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with the Parmesan and mozzarella, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.
SERVES 6
Serving size: 2 rolls
Per Serving
Calories: 500;Total fat: 18gMono: 4.3g,Poly: 1.2g;Sat: 7.5g,Protein: 26g;Carb: 56g;Fiber: 12g;Chol: 76mg;Sodium: 1110mg
Excellent source of
calcium, fiber, iron, niacin, potassium, protein, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin C
Good source of
copper, pantothenic acid, selenium
　
Easy Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 11/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained and the tomatoes chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and
cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the remaining ingredients and cook,uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
SERVES 6
makes 3 cups;Serving size: 1/2 cup
Per Serving
Calories: 94;Total fat: 3gMono: 2g,Poly: 0g;Sat: 0.3g,Protein: 2.5g;Carb: 14g;Fiber: 3g;Chol: 0mg;Sodium: 476mg fiber

Mrs. Obama's Healthful Eating

Foodies have been buzzing about Michelle Obama's recent visit to Miriam's Kitchen, a DC center that feeds the homeless. Yesterday's New York Times Dining section featured her on the front page. Apparently, Mrs. Obama spent some time talking about healthy eating and promoting fresh, unprocessed and locally grown foods. Ruth Reichl, Editor of Gourmet magazine, applauded Mrs. Obama for promoting healthy eating for everyone, not just her own family. "Clearly Mrs. Obama is making a point. She thinks communities across the nation deserve to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables." What stood out to me is an anecdote about a terrific sounding creamed spinach without the cream, made by the White House chefs. Despite the fresh ingredients, and the creative, healthy recipe, Sasha did not like the dish. "No matter what you do,"sometimes kids are like, 'It's green!'." (exciting update!! - 3/18/09 - White House recipe for creamed spinach can be found at: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/eat-your-greens/?partner=rss&emc=rss)

I think the key is to keep trying. Maybe they only take what my son and daughter's third grade teacher called a "no thank you portion" at first. As they get older and have seen the vegetable on your plate for so long it seems normal, maybe they'll try it again and like it. Maybe they'll never like it, but you'll never know if you don't keep trying from time to time.

On that note, try salmon. Salmon seems to be the workhorse in my fish repertoire and I probably cook it close to once a week. There are many reasons why, when I stand at the fish counter, I am repeatedly drawn to salmon. We all know it's a healthy source of Omega - 3 fatty acid, which we are told helps prevent heart disease. It's a versatile protein that can be cooked in a myriad of delicious ways and is near to impossible to ruin. Lately, it's been one of the less expensive fish options available. And, this is a biggie...many kids will eat it. Both of mine will, as will several of my younger nieces and nephews. For taste, I prefer wild Alaskan salmon. This also seems to be the salmon of choice as far as sustainable seafood and health issues go. I have tried the organically farmed Irish salmon available at a number of stores, and, in a pinch, it's fine too.

For a number of years, I relied on a miso/soy sauce glaze from Cooking Light which my family loved. I have since received two other Asian inspired recipes for sauces to use with salmon which have been uniformly popular. However, the sodium content of the miso and soy sauce, even the low sodium soy sauce, keeps me from using these recipes as often. Plus, variety is crucial when you eat salmon as often as we do.

I've tried some other marinades with maple syrup and they are often tasty enough, but this recipe is something special. It's simple both in terms of required ingredients and method. The end result is, as with the roasted cauliflower, more than the sum of its parts. This dish, while not fancy, is as appropriate for guests as for a weeknight family dinner. As the recipe amounts are per fillet, it can be reduced and expanded without much mathematical prowess.

I found the inspiration in The Balthazar Cookbook, from the restaurant of the same name in New York City and adapted it to make it a little more user friendly for the home cook. For purposes of reducing the sodium content even further, read the labels of the bread crumbs and the Dijon mustard carefully. I found whole wheat bread crumbs with no salt added at Whole Foods recently. I no longer use the readily available commercial brands of bread crumbs as the ingredient lists often include corn syrup and chemicals in addition to the bread. I have made bread crumbs myself from time to time, and if you are inclined to do so, that's another way to control the contents. However, having some already on hand makes this a go to weeknight recipe.

Mustard - Crusted Salmon
(adapted from The Balthazar Cookbook)
serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 salmon fillets, each about 6 -7 ounces
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard per fillet
1 teaspoon whole wheat bread crumbs, per fillet

-Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
-Spread 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard on the rounded, non-skin side of each piece of salmon.
-Sprinkle 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs on top of the mustard on each fillet. Use your fingers to gently press the crumbs into the mustard.
-Heat a large, ovenproof saute pan over a high flame and add the olive oil (note - If you have a non-stick pan that can go in the oven at 450 degrees you can use that. Many nonstick pans are not appropriate for that heat, though. Also, if the handle is not heatproof, try covering it with aluminum foil before you put it in the oven). Let pan get nice and hot. When you feel a good amount of heat rising as you hold your hand about two to three inches over the surface of the pan, add the salmon, mustard coated side of the fish down. Lower the flame to medium and sear the fish until a crust forms, about 3 -5 minutes.
-Carefully flip the fillets and sear the other side for about 2 minutes more.
-Transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Balthazar recommends serving this with lentils, which would be delicious. I recently served this with roasted broccoli and a quinoa "salad." Last time, I sauteed spinach (see last post!) and made a dish of white beans. I'm a little deficient in the photography department or I'd have a photo to share. I hope to add photos to the blog soon!

**For those of you who can't use bread crumbs, try one of the maple syrup marinades: Mix 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons orange juice and dash of salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Marinate the salmon in this for an hour or two in the refrigerator. Reserve the marinade and pour into a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until it reduces a little. Grill the salmon either on a grill pan coated with cooking spray or olive oil or barbecue grill until the fish flakes easily. Serve with the reserved, reduced marinade. You can even garnish with some scallions or chives if you like. This is great with brown rice or whole wheat couscous or even a quinoa salad.

How Green Is Your Dinner?

There are many things that I will not do for my health until such time, if ever, as I am pressed completely to the wall. For example, I will never completely give up pasta. Some people feel this type of strong commitment to chocolate. For me, it's pasta. I will limit my portions, I will try each generation of whole grain pastas and I'll cook it al dente to lesson the amount of starch and, therefore, decrease the speed at which it is converted to sugar in my body (this one sounded reasonable when I read it, but boy, does it sound completely desperate now). But, I don't think l will ever be able to completely excise it from my diet. And if I eliminated it from my family's, there'd likely be a mutiny.

Eating extra vegetables at every meal is one way I've found to cut back on the pasta. Dark, leafy greens seem to do the trick really well. They are packed with good vitamins, calcium, anti-oxidants and fiber, and when cooked well, taste great. They taste great with pasta and grains as well as beans. And the best part is that it's so easy to prepare them.

So, kale. I love kale. My family tolerates kale. But they eat it! Kale was another vegetable I had never eaten before last winter and now serve regularly. Often, I just saute it in a large non stick frying pan in a little bit of olive oil, with minced garlic and crushed red pepper. Pretty much the same way I've done spinach over the years. Kale retains a little more body than spinach and doesn't get as mushy when sauteed, which I really like. I'll provide the recipe below. Recently, I threw some leftover kale, as well as the tougher ribs I'd cut from the kale leaves the day prior, into a beef and barley soup that was cooking away on my stove. It was delicious and there was not a word during dinner. Just a lot of noisy slurping.

I do, however, use spinach in just about everything else I can think of. If it seems to go with a winter soup, I throw some in just before serving. Sometimes, I buy the big bags of spinach at Costco and then it's a spinach week around here. Sauteed. Swirled into soups. Spinach salad. With pasta. I prefer baby spinach when I'm buying at the grocery store this time of year. It cooks more quickly, and there's usually no trimming of tougher stems required.

After mastering spinach and kale, I turned to chard. Turns out, my husband likes the mix of chard and spinach as a sauteed side dish. Chard comes in a red tinged form, too, which can be fun on the plate. Chard is a little milder and softer than kale.

Broccoli rabe intimidated me. Is it broccolini? Is it kale? How to cook it? Trader Joe's used to sell it already cut up in salad like bags, so when I came across this Giada De Laurentiis pasta recipe, I decided to try it. The trick is to boil the broccoli rabe briefly before cooking it further in a skillet. Takes out some of the bitterness. Sadly, the Oz-like brains behind Trader Joe's have decided to no longer carry that item, so I have had to start cutting my own rabe.

I noticed just yesterday, however, right in my neighborhood Safeway, an entire rack of precut and bagged greens: mustard, kale, chard and collard. No excuse not to try them any longer.


Sauteed Greens (works with spinach, kale, chard, or a mixture of them)
(serves 4)

1 bunch kale, chard or spinach, or bag of precut greens
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
pinch dried crushed red pepper
kosher or sea salt

If using a bunch of kale or chard, cut the tender leaves away from the tougher, spiny stems. You can save the stems for a soup or other longer cooking stew if you like. I try to do that if possible, but sometimes they are wasted. Cut up the leaves into smaller pieces, the size you like for salads.

Wash the greens in cool water, and spin dry lightly, leaving just a touch of water on the leaves.

Heat a tablespoon or so of extra virgn olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. If you prefer, you can use a mister or olive oil spray. Add the minced garlic and let it soften just briefly. You do not want it to brown.

After about a minute, put a large handful of the greens into the pan and stir frequently from the bottom. As the greens soften, add the rest of the greens by handfuls until all of the greens have softened. If the pan seems dry during the process, add a 1/4 cup of water or stock. Once the greens have softened and darkened, add a pinch of kosher or sea salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

You can serve this as a side dish with a pasta dish, or most meat or chicken dishes. I like it over brown rice or quinoa.


Orecchiette With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
(adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian)

(serves 4 with leftovers, unless you have a teenaged son )

We love this dish with broccoli rabe as well as with kale or chard. With kale or chard, you don't have to boil the greens first.

2 bunches broccoli rabe (or 1 large bunch chard or kale)
16 ounces dried orecchiette pasta or other small shape like penne or farfalle (for this dish we go traditional and use white pasta. Feel free to try whole wheat or rice pasta if it suits your diet better)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound Italian chicken or turkey sausage, casings removed (if you like it very spicy, use spicy Italian sausage, if you like it less spicy, use mild sausage)
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional) - use a real Parmigiano Reggiano, please. no green cans!!!
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Strain the broccoli rabe out of the pot and set aside in a bowl, leaving the pot ready for cooking the pasta.
-Cook the pasta in the same pot of water, stirring occasionally, until tender, but al dente, or firm to the bite. Reserve one cup of the pasta cooking liquid and then drain the pasta.
-Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the larger pieces with the back of a spoon, until the sausage is brown and juices form, about 8 minutes. Spoon most of the resulting liquid out of the pan and discard. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil, the minced garlic and the crushed red pepper to the pan and cook about 1 minute. Add the broccoli rabe and toss to coat. Cook until greens are soft and tender. Add the pasta and enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Stir the Parmesan cheese, if using, and the black pepper into the pasta mixture. Serve.