My Visit to Napa Valley and a Recipe for High-Pro Guaco (AKA Gluten-Free Quinoa Guacamole)

I spent a few glorious days in Napa Valley recently for the Food & Culinary Professionals‘ culinary workshop at the Culinary Institute of America. Wow, that’s a lot of culinary in one sentence, and I certainly experienced a lot of culinary magic during my time there. In an upcoming Cooking with the Moms podcast, I’ll be talking about my trip, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share a few tidbits and a fabulous recipe that I sampled.

One highlight of the workshop was a visit to the new studio kitchen of Cheryl Forberg, RD (dietitian for The Biggest Loser TV show) where I sampled this High-Pro Guaco from her latest book, Cooking with Quinoa for Dummies.

I had seen Cheryl’s kitchen a couple of years ago when construction began, and it was amazing to see the finished product. Having just completed a six-month renovation of my own kitchen, it was great fun to compare notes! Just when I thought I had a big kitchen suitable for videos and cooking demos, Cheryl’s kitchen knocks it out of the park; it seats an impressive 50 people. What an amazing place to cook.

High-Pro Guaco

Makes 3 Cups

You can serve this as an appetizer with tortilla chips or as a side dish or lunch. I sampled this gluten free, quinoa-filled guacamole at Cheryl’s house, and I was delighted when she packed up a container for me to take on the airplane ride back to Boston.

  • 1 cup cooked black quinoa
  • 3 ripe Haas avocados
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup drained, diced canned fire-roasted tomatoes or diced fresh tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Chipotle Puree*
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked salt

1. If you don’t have cooked quinoa on hand, cook the quinoa according to package directions and set it aside to cool.

2. Halve, seed, and peel the avocados; then dice them into 1/2-inch cubes. Place the diced avocado and the lime juice in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss gently to coat. Set aside.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combing the fire-roasted (or fresh) tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, Chipotle Puree, and salt. Mix well.

4. Add the tomato mixture and the cooked quinoa to the avocado cubes. Toss gently and serve immediately with corn chips.

*To make the Chipotle Puree, puree one 7-ounce can chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce with 1/4 cup water in a blender or food processor until smooth. Store leftover puree in the refrigerator for up to a month and use a teaspoon or two to spice up your recipes.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 tablespoons): 46 calories, 3g fat (1g saturated), 55mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 1g protein

Print Recipe

Here I am taking a picture of Cheryl’s flock of chickens, known as the ”girls.” I’m a little jealous of Cheryl’s relaxed life in the beautiful countryside of Napa Valley. On my final night of the trip, I stayed with Cheryl and savored a fresh, hard-cooked egg for breakfast, courtesy of one of these lovely ladies.

Here is what you might eat if you spent the night at the home of the dietitian for The Biggest Loser TV show: quinoa breakfast cereal with nuts, a locally-grown kiwi, a fresh hard-cooked egg, and a steaming cup of cappuccino. I can’t wait for my next trip!

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Food Tank — The Food Think Tank — Offers Resolutions for Improving the Food System (Podcast #211)

Now that 2013 is well on its way, we took a moment to reflect back on the resolutions we made earlier this month. If you had a chance to listen to podcast episode 209, you may recall Liz’s resolution to take better care of her skin (the biggest organ in the human body!) and Janice promised to get more organized (something she just may be able to pull off now that her kitchen remodel is history). As resolutions go, we felt there was room for a few more, so on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we invited Danielle Nierenberg from Food Tank on the show to discuss 13 resolutions to change the food system — for the better — in 2013.

Here’s how they describe their new organization: The global food movement grows from the kitchens, gardens, and farms of the countless citizens who have committed to making healthy, sustainable choices about cultivating and consuming food. Food Tank exists to amplify these voices. Our food system is broken. Some people don’t have enough of food, while others are eating too much. There’s only one way to fix this problem and it starts with you and me.

With Food Tank co-founder, Ellen Gustafson, this dynamic duo of food sustainability, cooked up 13 resolutions to address the nearly one billion world citizens faced with hunger and the more than one billion who suffer from the fallout from overweight and obesity. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the resolutions we chatted about during the show:  (On a personal note, Liz plans to focus more on the issue of food waste in her own home kitchen and Janice is determined to get back to the daily habit of composting.)

1. Growing the Cities: Food production doesn’t only happen in fields or factories, it can also take place in cities.

2. Creating Better Access to affordable, nutritious food.

3. Cooking More at home and teaching youth how to cook healthy, nutritious food. Can we please bring back home economics!

4. Focus on Vegetables to help farmers in Africa and Asia grow high-value, nutrient rich vegetables.

5. Preventing Waste: About one third of all food worldwide is wasted in fields, during transport, in storage, and in the home.

6. Engaging Youth: Making farming both intellectually and economically stimulating to help make the food system an attractive career option for youth.

7.  Acknowledging the Importance of Farmers and recognizing their importance to preserve biodiversity and culture.

Be sure to tune in for so much more and for actions you can take to improve our global food system.

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Kitchen Makeover Update: A Kitchen Island That Looks More Like a “Continent” and Hot Running Water

Those of you who follow our blog, listen to our Cooking with the Moms podcast, or know me personally are no doubt aware that I’ve been knee deep in a major kitchen renovation since last August. It’s been an exciting journey, but like most home improvement projects, a big-time challenge. Indeed, washing dishes in the bathtub got old after a week, never mind after five months. Don and I are now so close to kitchen completion, we can practically smell the cookies baking in our new Kenmore double oven!

You have to start somewhere. This is what our kitchen looked like last summer when the construction crew dug out our kitchen foundation. Last week was a thrill, when the countertops, sinks, and faucets were finally installed.

Check out our new island, countertop courtesy of Cosentino. The Silestone surface is made from natural quartz, a hard surface that is scratch resistant and non porous, so it’s naturally stain resistant and doesn’t need to be sealed. In other words, it’s maintenance free. We chose a color called, Lyra, and a leathered finish.

When my architect friend, David, saw the kitchen island he said, “That’s not an island … it’s a continent!”

Cosentino also makes an award-winning line called ECO, made with 75% recycled materials — things like glass bottles, mirrors, ash, and ceramics. We used ECO for our main countertops in a color called, Iron Ore. Don’t I look happy?

Here is a short video of the guys from Gerrity Stone installing the ECO counters. By the way, it took seven strong men to carry the thousand-pound slab of Silestone from the truck to the kitchen for our island.

Will from Gerrity Stone was responsible for the installation of my countertops.

The folks at Kohler were kind enough to provide the faucets and sinks for the kitchen renovation (this made my plumber happy since he told me Kohler was the best quality). These materials have been in our crowded basement for weeks, and it was so cool to finally see them installed. It will now be a huge pleasure to wash dishes :)

Has anyone undergone a big renovation in their house? Any stories to share? If you want to see more photos of the kitchen renovation visit The Meal Makeover Moms’ Flickr page.

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Orange Foods for Fall … And a Recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with Lentils and Walnuts (Podcast #203)

Every autumn, farmers’ markets and local farm stands display their finest seasonal vegetables: winter squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Over the weekend, dietitians from across the web had a chance to show off their best “orange” recipes as part of the monthly Recipe Redux blogger cooking challenge, and over 60 dietitians did just that. We joined the fun with a recipe for Orange Cauliflower Tex Mex Casserole. One dish that caught our eye (and our stomachs) came from Food Confidence, a blog written by fellow dietitian, Danielle Omar. So on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we serve up Danielle’s hearty autumn recipe and offer umpteen reasons why it’s a good idea to add nutrient-rich, orange foods to your family’s diet. We hope you’ll tune in … and we hope you’ll eat more orange!

Butternut squash and other orange-colored foods are packed with beta-carotene, a phytonutrient that gets converted in the body to vitamin A. As for its health benefits, this awesome antioxidant helps to boosts the immune system and protects against conditions like cancer and heart disease.

Danielle’s recipe calls for one to two cups of cooked lentils. Lentils are easy to prepare, but if you don’t have time, you can always let someone else do the work for you. Trader Joe’s has a steamed lentil product that’s pretty darn good!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Lentils and Walnuts

Makes 6 Side Dish Servings

We made one small change to this recipe. Instead of buying the whole butternut squash, we took a shortcut and used the peeled, pre-cut squash instead. That affected our cooking time, and we ended up using a bit less evoo. The flavors of this recipe can best be described as sweet and tart with a tiny hint of salty.

  • One 20-ounce package peeled, cubed butternut squash
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper
  • 3/4 cup apple cider
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallots (about 1 small shallot)
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup cooked lentils
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

2. Cut the butternut squash pieces into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the maple syrup, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Place the squash evenly on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and tender, about 25 minutes. Toss once or twice during cooking to ensure even baking.

4. While the squash is roasting, Combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat a bit, and maintain at a low boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and the mustard.

5. Place the cooked lentils in a serving bowl. Add the roasted squash and the walnuts. Spoon the vinaigrette over the salad and stir gently until well coated. (*When Liz made this, she added half the vinaigrette and reserved the rest for a last-minute drizzle at the table.)

Nutrition Information per Serving (a generous 1/2 cup):   260 calories, 16g fat (2g saturated, 1g omega-3), 85mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 5g protein, 200% vitamin A, 35% vitamin C, 10% iron

Print Recipe

 

In case you haven’t had a chance to check out our Orange Cauliflower Tex Mex Casserole recipe yet, here it is!

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Dear Mo, How Does Your Garden Grow … And a Recipe for Carrot Kohlrabi Slaw

Some of you may recall the Cooking with the Moms podcast we recorded last summer featuring the home canning craze and an interview with New Hampshire gardener extraordinaire, Mo Gouin. Mo lives near my parents’ Lake Winnisquam summer house, and while I was up there last weekend, I stopped by to see what he had growing in his garden.

When Mo heard I was stopping by for a visit, he picked this giant kohlrabi from his garden, and he couldn’t wait to give it to me!

Last summer, I made Bread and Butter Pickles with the help of our intern, Annette, and we added one of Mo’s small kohlrabi bulbs. This week, I took his latest gift and turned it into a Carrot Kohlrabi Slaw. Read on for the recipe and for highlights from my impromptu visit to Mo’s glorious vegetable garden.

Carrot Kohlrabi Slaw
Makes 8 Servings

I found this recipe on About.com and added my own little spin by adding a splash of honey to the dressing, and for the “vegetable oil,” I chose canola.

  • 2 small bulbs kohlrabi (about 1 pound)
  • 4 medium carrots (about 3/4 pound)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons whole grain or Dijon-style mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Peel the kohlrabi and carrots. Be sure to cut off all of the tough outer peel of the kohlrabi. Set them aside.

2. In a salad bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt until well blended. Add pepper, if you like.

3. Using the large holes on a standing grater or a mandoline set up for fine julienne, grate the kohlrabis and the carrots into the salad bowl. Toss everything together until the kohlrabi and carrot are evenly coated with the dressing. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if you’d like.

 When my dad and I stopped by, Mo was up on a ladder picking purple beans. He built these 12-foot-tall bean poles and told us that if the bean poles were taller, the plants would have grown even higher!

These are parsnip plants that Mo plans to leave in the ground until next spring. He says they will get sweeter over the winter. Who knew?

 I may have to return to New Hampshire in a few weeks to sample these beautiful Brussels sprouts.

Let us know if you’ve ever tried kohlrabi, and tell us what’s still growing in your gardens.

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The Recipe Redux: Ten-Minute Chickpea Salad with Feta and Basil from Michael Natkin’s New Cookbook, Herbivoracious

For this month’s Recipe Redux blogger cooking challenge, we were charged with creating a no-cook, beat-the-heat recipe for summer. We decided to take the lazy route (hey, after all it’s summer!), and plucked a recipe for Ten-Minute Chickpea Salad with Feta and Basil from the stunning new cookbook, Herbivoracious (Harvard Common Press, 2012). Written by blogger, Michael Natkin, the book features 150 vibrant and original vegetarian recipes … everything from Caramel-Cooked Tofu and Swiss Chard and Tomatillo Enchiladas to Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding.

We had the pleasure of meeting Michael in person back in May at a book launch event in Boston. Michael is a talented cook and food photographer, and he uses big, bold flavors from the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia for his meat-free recipes.

We were drooling over Michael’s book when we got word about the Recipe Redux July assignment, so it made sense to see if Herbivoracious had a recipe that fit the bill.  … And it did.

We adapted this recipe a bit based the ingredients in our gardens, from our CSAs, and our kids’ palates. Instead of roasted red or yellow peppers, we used a diced bell pepper. We added some fresh shucked peas and used the zest of the lemon as well as the juice.

Ten-Minute Chickpea Salad with Feta and Basil

Makes 8 Side Dish Servings

Michael, blogger extraordinaire at Herbivoracious, suggests a variation of this recipe with the addition of a few cups of prepared Israeli (AKA pearled) couscous. We love that idea but didn’t do it this time around since our challenge was a no-cook recipe!

  • Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • Half a red onion, finely diced
  • Half an English cucumber, finely diced
  • 1 jar roasted red or yellow peppers, coarsely chopped (we used a small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice)
  • 1 handful fresh peas (about 1/3 cup)
  • 8 ounces feta, crumbled
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (we also added the zest)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the chickpeas, onion, cucumber, roasted peppers or fresh bell pepper, fresh peas, feta, garlic, basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil in a salad bowl. Toss well.

2. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Depending on how salty your feta is, you might not need any salt.

3. Serve right way, or refrigerate for up to a few hours.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 220 calories, 13g fat (4g saturated), 330mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 8g protein, 80% vitamin C, 15% calcium, 10% iron

Print Recipe

We’d love to have Michael join us as a guest on our Cooking with the Moms radio podcast. Now that his book tour schedule is winding down, maybe we can pin him down. Stay tuned :)

Let’s see what our fellow Reduxers “cooked up” this month!

get the InLinkz code


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A Recipe for Whole Grain Raspberry Breakfast Bars and Janice’s Recent Adventures at Driscoll’s University (Podcast Episode #192)

Growing the perfect berry is harder than you think, and picking them takes more TLC than you can imagine! Janice recently traveled to Watsonville, CA for a two-day crash course at Driscoll’s University. Driscoll’s is the number-one U.S. producer of both organic and conventional berries — strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, and on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast Janice shares her adventures touring their farms, nurseries, and distribution facilities. She also serves up a recipe for Whole Grain Raspberry Breakfast Bars, and we hear about the amazing nutritional benefits of berries from Tina Ruggiero, MS, RD, a consultant for Driscoll’s and author of The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.

We got this recipe courtesy of Driscoll’s. We love the earthy flavor combo of the oat and walnut crust, and the raspberry filling is the perfect sweet compliment. These breakfast bars would also make a nutritious snack or dessert.

Janice competed against her fellow Driscoll’s University participants in a strawberry picking and packing contest. Let’s just say she didn’t win, and she has no plans any time soon to give up her regular day job.

Whole Grain Raspberry Breakfast Bars

Makes 12 Servings

We can’t thank Tina and Driscoll’s enough for this recipe. It’s a keeper! If you’re up for a cooking challenge, try blueberries or strawberries instead of the raspberries (or better yet, a combo of all three).

Raspberry Filling

  • 1 package (6 ounces or 1 1/3 cups) Driscoll’s Raspberries
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Breakfast Bars

  • 1½ cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup walnut pieces
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, 2 minutes until sauce is thick and translucent. Remove from heat

3. Combine oats, flour, sugar, walnuts, wheat germ and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until the oats and walnuts are finely ground. Add the oil and egg; pulse to evenly combine, scraping sides of work bowl.

4. Press half of the crumb mixture evenly on the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over crumbs. Top with the remaining crumbs and pat down gently.

5. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 bar): 230 calories, 10g fat (1g saturated), 10mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 4g protein

Print Recipe

 

At the Corralitos greenhouse, pint-size berry plans get nurtured before they’re planted out in the fields.

And speaking of fields, the rows of berries at Curtis Ranch seem to go on and on. Talk about strawberry fields forever.

We posted this recipe for Blueberry Banana Oat Bread to our blog a few weeks ago, so check it out. If you want more recipes, visit Driscoll’s new Cooking with Kids web page for playful, edible art ideas.

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10 Comments | Filed Under Breakfast, CulinaryAdventures, Desserts, Fruits, Grains, Podcast, Snacks, Sustainability 

A Recipe for Roasted Beet Salad, Lunch with a Fan, Food Truck Adventures (and Misadventures), and a Giveaway for a Beautiful Bamboo Salad Bowl Set (Podcast #190)

Food trucks are all the rage (we suspect Tyler Florence’s Food Network show, The Great Food Truck Race, has fueled interest), and this month our friends with CanolaInfo are celebrating their favorite food trucks across the USA with a special Street Eats Recipe Collection. CanolaInfo is one of our blog sponsors, so Liz and I thought it would be fun to do a post on the food truck scene here in Boston. Of course, that meant we had to visit a few Bean Town food trucks, which turned out to be easier said than done!

On this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we take you along on my food truck adventure (Liz was out of town, so she missed all the fun), introduce you to Jen, a fan from Singapore who stopped by for a visit, serve up a recipe for Roasted Beet Salad with a canola/citrus vinaigrette, and tell you about our latest giveaway for a bamboo salad bowl set.

We love meeting our podcast listeners and blog readers in person. Jen was in town for her sister’s graduation from Harvard, so we met up in Cambridge for a healthy lunch at Clover. Jen is a personal trainer who runs Fit Moms, a wellness coaching website and service.

For my food truck adventure, I was joined by Jen, her sister, my daughter, Carolyn, and our intern, Josi. We convened in Harvard Square at Clover but soon discovered that the Cambridge location was a restaurant, not a food truck. Not to worry. We rallied and ate there before heading off in search of some actual food trucks.

 For lunch, I ordered this chickpea fritter served on whole wheat pita with tahini sauce.

Near MIT, Carolyn and I finally tracked down one of the Clover food trucks. The menu is identical to the restaurant menu.

There were two other food trucks on the street; one was pulling away when we arrived, so I ran down the street to snap this photo!

 On their website, CanolaInfo is featuring four chef/food truck owners and their recipes … everything from a Kale Salad with Hazelnut-Balsamic Vinaigrette from Skillet Street Food in Seattle to Szechuan Veggie Tacos from The Peached Tortilla in Austin, TX to this Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette from The Wagyu Wagon in Chicago.

Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Makes 10 Servings

This recipe is adapted from CanolaInfo. The flavors are deep and earthy, and we love the addition of goat cheese and pistachios. The dressing is made with canola oil and a mix of three citrus fruits: grapefruit, orange, and lemon. It’s heart healthy because canola oil contains omega-3 fats! If your kids have never tried roasted beets before, now’s your chance.

Citrus Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup orange juice 60 mL
  • 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice 30 mL
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice 15 mL
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest 10 mL
  • 2 teaspoon lemon zest 10 mL
  • 2 teaspoons honey 10 mL
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 10 mL
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 2 mL
  • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar 15 mL
  • 1/2 cup canola oil 250 mL

Roasted Beet Salad:

  • 15 ounces arugula, rinsed and patted dry 450 g (I used mixed mesclun greens)
  • 6 beets, oven-roasted, peeled, sliced into strips (I used 3 large beets and sliced them in half before roasting) *
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pistachios, chopped 125 mL
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled 125 mL

1. In small saucepan, combine orange, grapefruit and lemon juices over medium heat. Simmer until it mixture is reduced by half. Add zest and let steep until room temperature.

2. Once cooled, add honey, Dijon mustard, salt and champagne vinegar. Using a whisk, combine ingredients and then slowly add canola oil until mixture is emulsified.

3. In large bowl, toss arugula, beets and nuts with enough vinaigrette to coat. Leftover vinaigrette can be stored in refrigerator and used within 2-3 days. Top with goat cheese and serve.

* Tip for roasting beets: Wash and dry the beets. Place on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with canola oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Wrap tightly in the foil and place packet on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about one hour. The beets are done when you can easily pierce with a paring knife.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 cups salad with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette): 220 calories, 19g fat (3.5g saturated), 230mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 5g protein

Print Recipe

Giveaway News:  Thanks to our friends at CanolaInfo, we are giving away a Sur la Table two-tone bamboo salad bowl, a set of bamboo salad servers, and a salad dressing shaker ($90.00 value).

To Enter: Leave a comment here or on Facebook and tell us about your favorite summer salad ingredients and/or your favorite salad dressing recipe. We will enter you into the giveaway additional times if you …

> Subscribe to our RSS feed.
> Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post.
> Share the giveaway news with your Facebook fans and friends with a link back to the post.
> Follow us on Pinterest.
> Follow The Meal Makeover Moms on Twitter (@MealMakeovrMoms)

Please be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do something extra, and GOOD LUCK. The giveaway ends on June 15th at noon, and as always we’ll use random.org to pick our winner.

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132 Comments | Filed Under Beans, CulinaryAdventures, Grains, Lunch, Podcast, Sustainability, Vegetables, Vegetarian 

A Saint Patrick’s Day Salute to Green Vegetables and a Recipe for T-Rex Kale Chips

The first thing that comes to mind when we think of Saint Patrick’s Day is the color green. So to celebrate, we grabbed a bunch of beautiful dinosaur kale and turned the bright green leaves into T-Rex Kale Chips. With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time to add green to your family’s table, and kale chips are an easy way to do that. It’s impossible to eat just one.

Kale is the queen of greens, bursting with vitamins A, C, and K (good for bone health), the mineral calcium, and antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, important for healthy eyes. This gorgeous green is available in three varieties: curly, ornamental, and dinosaur (also known as Tuscan). It belongs to the same family of vegetables as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, so-called cruciferous vegetables.

T-Rex Kale Chips

Makes 4 Servings

Google the words “kale,” “chips,” and “recipe” and you’ll get over two million results. No kidding! Kale chips are easy to make; all you need is one bunch of kale, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. But there are endless variations — you can use all sorts of interesting seasonings including chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, or vinegar — which you’ll quickly discover when you search for the recipe.

  • 1 bunch dinosaur kale (about 12 leaves)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.

2. Wash and dry the kale leaves. Cut lengthwise in half to remove the center ribs and stems. Place the leaves in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil. (Feel free to use your hands and get messy.) Arrange in a single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Bake (one sheet at a time) until crispy, about 30 minutes. Devour!

Nutrition Information per Serving (6 chips):  50 calories, 3.5g fat (0.5g saturated), 30mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 1g protein, 110% vitamin A, 70% vitamin C

Print Recipe

We reached out to our fabulous Facebook friends and asked them to share their favorite green veggies. Here’s a delicious sampling of their answers:

> Jess: My 4-year old’s fave is broccoli, served raw with ranch dip. My fave is leafy greens, blended with fruit in a green smoothie.
> Foodtritionist: Loving roasted kale lately. Even my picky husband loves it….!
> Jennifer: Steamed broccoli with a squirt of fresh lemon, roasted asparagus, and raw spinach. We made green orange Julius yesterday and it was a hit!
> Elizabeth: My son’s current favorite is broccoli … he can’t get enough! And we have been roasting it in the oven with just a little olive oil, salt & pepper (often with cauliflower).
> Jill: Artichokes and Hollandaise!
> Dana: Asparagus, roasted with EVOO, a little garlic powder, some chili flakes, and s&p. I like to cook them until the tips are just crisp. Roasted broccoli is really good, too. And I love grilled artichoke with a lemon-garlic aioli.
> Jennifer K: Broccoli — raw or roasted. Mine is asparagus and my husband’s is Brussels sprouts, but those are harder sells to my kids.
> Jennifer O: Oh! And I forgot to mention! I have an 8-month old and I’ve been making most of her food. I got the book you featured on the podcast. Anyhoo…on a whim one day, I steamed up a batch of kale and puréed it. That is the food my baby cannot get enough of! She seems to prefer green veggies over any fruits. I think I’ve got a future foodie on my hands here :)
> Elizabeth V.: Asparagus on the grill drizzled with EVOO and kosher salt.
> Cynthia: Love spinach! We usually eat it as a sub for lettuce in a salad, and we like to add frozen spinach in fettuccini too.
> Sara: This may sound like a weird combination, but my mom makes this awesome dish of sauteed okra and potatoes. My family never leaves any leftovers anytime she makes it.
> Megan: Fresh spinach. We add it to pasta and even pizza!
> Jennifer: Collard, turnip and mustard greens steamed with a few large cloves of garlic sliced thrown in. Squeeze a lemon on it and a dash of sea salt, and it goes so quickly!
> Doris: Swiss Chard, bok choy, beet greens, and other combos of leafy green veggies sauteed in EVOO with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is yummy. I avoid using salt, so I sprinkle black pepper and fresh or dried herbs. Favorite herbs: basil, chives, dill, parsley, rosemary, thyme, chervil, cilantro, oregano, marjoram, lavender. Experiment. Be creative. Enjoy!!!
> Heidi: We also love broccoli, Brussels sprouts or asparagus sauteed in olive oil, garlic and sprinkled with sea salt (sometimes we add a dash of lemon juice). I actually let the veggies sit on the bottom of the pan (without stirring) just long enough for them to get a few nice dark spots…they taste almost grilled that way. Can’t wait to read the green veggie post!
> Kimberly: Asparagus….lightly steamed, a bit of smart balance and then a light sprinkle with Murray River pink salt (I have become a salt snob…just on my lightly steamed veggies…had to fuss at my husband cooking with my pink salt). We also like it grilled but the kids only go for the steamed.

For some of our favorite green veggie recipes, check out the following recipes:

>Crazy Good Cream-less Creamed Spinach
>Collard Greens with Raisins and Pine Nuts
>Kale and Vegetable Soup with Farro

More ideas are welcome! Make it a green and healthy day ….

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