Drink Your Veggies

Click on the pic for Spinach Fruit Smoothie recipeSure you could have had a V-8, but now there are endless fruit and vegetable drinks to help you get your recommended 5-9 servings of produce a day. Maybe it's the popularity of "cleanses" and juice fasts that these drinks have secured so much shelf space in supermarkets. I don't buy these drinks because of the cost and high calories, but I can see the appeal of drinking produce because it's less intimidating to gulp down than to chew through 5-9 servings! A downside is that you lose out on the fiber you'd get from the whole food, but you'll still benefit from their phytochemicals and antioxidants. Over the summer I'd started blending up my own shakes with whole fruits and greens like kale or spinach. 

But now that the weather is cold, I don't crave those frosty frappes. So I searched for pureed vegetable soup recipes that allow me to enjoy a nice warm drink of veggies. I make a large pot to keep in the fridge and drink a reheated cup a day. To be honest, you could probably use any vegetable soup recipe and blend it up. Adding at least one starchy vegetable like sweet potato, butternut squash or pumpkin squash will help to thicken it. 

This week I chose a carrot peanut soup inspired by a recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook (Clarkson Potter Pub, 1999). The original recipe includes chili paste, which I omitted, but still produces a flavorful satisfying soup with richness from the peanut butter. It makes a great evening snack and will give you that last boost of antioxidants before bed!

Carrot Peanut Soup

Ingredients

1 T canola oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6 cups)

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1 t salt

6 cups water

2 T peanut butter

3 T lite soy sauce

2 T lime juice

Directions

1. In a soup pot on medium heat, warm the oil and add the onions, carrots, celery and salt. Saute on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the carrots are soft, about 25 minutes.
3. Stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce, and lime juice. In a blender, puree the soup in batches (or use an immersion blender).  

There are some great online resources to get you excited about fruits and veggies, such as Fruits and Veggies More Matters and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention. I like CDC's handy calculator that estimates how many servings of fruits and veggies you need daily based on your age and activity level. 

Man Food: High Protein Pan Pizza

I've discovered the 5-minute cooking video thanks to YouTube. Starting a blog used to be the latest and greatest; now it's having your own YouTube channel. I like YouTube cooking videos because they're brief, easy and highlight one recipe, rather than having to sit through a half-hour TV cooking show. I came across the Lean Body Lifestyle YouTube channel, which was created by a body builder who features high protein, nutrient dense, low fat recipes. I appreciate that this guy makes simple everyday food. Nothing super creative or innovative; just recipes that supply important basic nutrition and are really quick to prepare. I trialed his low carb, high protein pizza that uses egg whites as the crust. He adds full strength tomato paste instead of pizza sauce and reduced fat cheese. It cooks in about 5 minutes! Rather than writing out the recipe, just check out his video since it's so simple:

I decided to make this for my hubby on Father's Day morning and, as suspected, it tasted pretty much like a pizza-flavored omelet (what's pizza without a doughy crust?). But it was still yummy especially after adding spinach, shiitake mushrooms and extra spices to make it more interesting. Overall I love the nutritional value of this pizza-omelet: the egg whites and cheese add lean protein and the cooked tomato is rich in the antioxidants lycopene and vitamin C, which boosts the absorption of iron in the spinach. The mushrooms and spices (oregano, basil, garlic and onion powder) all have disease-fighting properties as well. I don't promote a low carb diet but sometimes I'm in the mood for a lower carb, low fat meal when I want to pack in the nutrition but have it be quick-digesting. Half a pan of this recipe even with my additions has only about 200-250 calories, 5 grams fat and 20-25 grams protein, and it's very satisfying!

New Nasoya Shirataki Noodle Videos

I have a newfound respect for people who present on television or do videos. I think after years and years, I'm finally comfortable with public speaking (it just took some Xanax and surviving several awkward experiences!). But it's quite another venture to speak in front of big cameras (with many people staring at you other than the cameraman as you try to remember what to say), to say it with tons of expression, and to say it compactly since time is measured in seconds not minutes.

I recently worked with a top notch crew from Rival Marketing in Cambridge, who has produced numerous cooking videos with A-list Boston chefs and restaurants, and Nasoya to help educate viewers about their new shirataki low carb noodles. This low calorie and carbohydrate pasta is a must-try if you have diabetes or celiac disease, are trying to lose weight, or just enjoy Asian noodles! Check out my past review and recipe here. Shirataki noodles are flavorless and lighter tasting than traditional pasta and have a chewy texture, so definitely use sauces and some fat like a good olive oil to add richness. Being an Asian noodle, it's no surprise that (I think) they taste best in Asian dishes like stir-frys and noodle soups. But feel free to get creative. Also keep in mind that a calorie is a calorie and because these are so low in calories, you may be feeling hungry again soon after eating. If you notice this, be sure to add that little bit of oil or chopped nuts and a lean protein like chicken or beans to boost your lasting satisfaction.

Below are the end results of the two Nasoya videos. Rival did an amazing job keeping my energy level up through the 3-hour process and editing the final versions. Be sure to check out their award-winning how2heroes site for thousands of cooking videos and Nasoya's site for product information, easy recipes and videos!

Special thanks to Lindsay at 360 PR

How to Cook with Pasta Zero Shirataki Noodles

How to Make Pasta Zero Shirataki Spaghetti