CSA Week #1....and I'm Back in the Kitchen!

Between the school year ending, working out a bunch, starting a new job, and enjoying the weather it's been pretty busy around here.  This week brings my first CSA delivery!  I have been so excited about it since I signed up months ago!! If you don't know what a CSA is, click here. It's a great way to get farm fresh vegetables and fruits and support local farmers.  It's also great if you are new a neighborhood because your CSA pick up location is usually somewhere near where you live, allowing you to meet new people in the area! Plus it forces you to eat fresh and healthy! All great things!

This week I got the following:
Rhubarb, Radishes, Red Sail Lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Mizuna, Suehlihung Mustard, Garlic Scapes, and Sage with Edible Flowers

Some of the items are familiar and some not.  The good thing about not knowing an ingredient is going online and researching ways to use it! There are many places to find recipes. My CSA, which comes from Stoneledge Farm has it's own blog, so does the 92Y (where I pick up my share), and Tastespotting are all great resources for finding new recipes. Another farm that I came across online that has a blog with more great recipes is Free Bird Farm. Check them out!

Today I share with you a recipe I found on Food Woolf.  I adapted it a bit, making it completely non-dairy.

Rhubarb Berry Crostata
For the Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1  1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1  1/2 sticks pareve unsalted margarine, cubed (can substitute butter)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, soy works too)
For the Filling
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
3 cups sliced rhubarb (about 1/2 inch thick)
1 small container of raspberries
1 cup slices strawberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
Raw Sugar or Turbinado, for sprinkling.

To make the crust: Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Pulse to combine.  Add cubed butter and pulse until it forms pea-sized pieces.  In a small bowl whisk egg and milk, then pour it to the flour mixture in the processor.  Pulse until moist clumps form.  Scoop dough out and make into a round flat circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours. (Dough can be made up to two days ahead.)

To make the filling: In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch and water, set aside. Combine the rhubarb, berries, and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat and stir often.  Sugar will dissolve and fruit juices are released, this takes about 4-5 minutes.  Stir in cornstarch liquid and bring to a boil. The rhubarb will not be tender at this point.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out dough onto floured surface (I used a silpat) until it reaches about 12 inch circle. Brush dough with beaten egg.  Mound the filling in the center and spread it out leaving about a border enough to fold the edges to form a crust.  Gently fold back the edges, about an inch or more, over filling, pleat as necessary.  Place silpat or parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes.  Let cool on a baking rack, slice in wedges, and enjoy!

Trim Down Tuesdays: Q&A + Berries and Plum Granola Cobbler

Welcome to Trim Down Tuesdays with Karen Moreno, RD, CDN!  Each Tuesday Karen will post answers to questions that you, the readers, ask about diet and/or nutrition AND of course, she'll post one of her own recipes.
If you have questions that you'd like Karen to answer on Feed Your Sister please do one of the following:
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Here's are the questions and answers for this week!

1. What is the most important meal of the day? Why? 

I know you’ve all heard this before, but BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. Even its name tells you that you are "Breaking the Fast." 

When you wake up in the morning after not eating for 7-8 hours, your body needs energy to fuel itself and start the day off right. After not eating all night, the first thing you want to do is rev up your metabolism. The wrong thing to do is actually skip breakfast because by doing this you are actually telling your body that you are starving it, therefore slowing down your metabolism. In this case your body feels like it needs to conserve energy so the next time you put something in your mouth, your body will STORE it instead of burning it off, exactly the opposite of what you want if you are trying to lose weight. Actually, when researchers looked at the eating patterns of people who maintained a weight loss in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) they discovered that eating breakfast is a characteristic common to successful weight loss maintainers and may even be a factor in their success.

So what should you eat? 

Aim for about 300 calories for breakfast.

·      try some nonfat Greek yogurt with berries

·      an egg white omelet with veggies and whole wheat bread

·      oatmeal with some fruits, slivered almonds, and cinnamon

·      a bowl of cereal (Puffins Original and Kashi Go Lean are my favorites)

2. How much protein should a person have on a given day??  What are the advantages of protein for your body and diet?

The amount of protein a person needs varies depending on their weight. A good way to calculate your average protein needs is to take your weight, in kg (divide your wt in lbs by 2.2 to find out your wt in kg) and multiply by a range of .8-1.0. This is the estimated amount of protein you should eat daily.

Ex. 150 lb women (wt in kg=150/2.2=68.2kg x .8=54.6 g 68.2 x 1=68.2 g)

Her estimated daily protein intake should be between 54.6-68.2 g per day.

Protein is great because it can help fill you up. I always like to combine foods high in fiber and protein when choosing a snack. For example, an apple with peanut butter, string cheese with a piece of fruit, or turkey on a high fiber cracker, such as Finn Crisps. 

Just don’t forget that not all protein is created equally. While a rib eye steak and chicken breast both have high amounts of protein, don’t forget that with protein usually comes fat. The rib eye steak is higher in artery clogging saturated fats while the chicken breast is much lower in total fat and has very minimal amounts of saturated fats. Opt for lean proteins such as white meat chicken or turkey without the skin, lean meats that are less marbleized, fish, and vegetarian protein options such as tofu, quinoa, and beans.

Here's Karen's recipe for this week, each serving has under 200 calories! Terrific!

This is one of my favorite year round desserts, which makes it perfect for both fall and spring. In the summertime, I make it with whatever fresh fruits I can get my hands on: usually berries, plums, and peaches. In the winter I make it with pears, apples, and a ton of cinnamon. Besides for the health benefits from the fiber filling fruit, this recipe calls for canola oil instead of butter, which has only 1 g of saturated fat vs. 7g in butter (per tbsp), and the oats help contribute to your intake of whole grains and have also been shown to lower cholesterol. Now that we’re officially in spring, feel free to stick with a summertime version, move on to fall, or mix the two with a berry and apple version. Whatever kind you make, serve with vanilla ice cream, and this is one treat no one will turn down!  

Berries and Plum Granola Cobbler

Serves: 10

Total time: About 1 hour

Base

5 cups mixed berries, frozen or fresh

3 medium plums (or peaches, apples, or your favorite fruit), sliced, with the skin

Topping

1 ½ cups rolled oats

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup chopped walnuts and/or almonds [¼ CUP EACH]

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup canola oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray the bottom of a 9” circular Pyrex with non-stick cooking spray. Pour all the fruit on the bottom of the Pyrex.  In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients for the topping, except the cinnamon, until well incorporated. Mix with hands to get a more crumbly topping.  Pour topping evenly over the fruit and sprinkle the cinnamon on top.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit bubbles.  Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream. Some of my friends even love to have leftovers the next day in their Greek yogurt!

Nutrition content:

Per serving (2” slice, without ice cream): 175 calories, 21 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 4 g protein, 10 g fat

—Karen Moreno, RD, CDN