Grilled Shishito Peppers

I fell in love with these peppers when I dined at Beauty & Essex, on the Lower East Side in NYC. They were delicious and full of flavor.  These peppers are small, mostly mild tasting, but every once in a while you get one that has a bit of spice.  I went looking all over the place trying to find some to buy and had luck at an asian supermarket in Long Island.  Although I'm sure you can locate them closer in Chinatown. Anyway, the supermarket I found them in was calling them "sweet peppers."  They looked the same so I took a chance and got 3 packages!  I know that's a lot, but I literally eat one package per sitting.  It's like popcorn for me!  They are simple to prepare, here's the recipe!

Grilled Shishito Peppers
(serves 1-2)
1 pound shishito peppers
1 teaspoons olive oil (OR you can use non-stick cooking spray instead to save on calories!)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 lemon, juiced

Heat a grill pan (or a real BBQ) over medium-high heat.  Place peppers in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat evenly.  Place peppers on the grill pan and let cook for about 4 minutes. Use tongs to continuously flip and stir peppers to get charred evenly, about every 4 minutes.  Once the peppers are charred evenly place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice.  ENJOY!

Matzah Brei

Passover is here again. Wow time really does fly!  Most people who celebrate Passover aren't very fond of the holiday, I am the complete opposite. Here's a list of things I like to eat on Passover: matzah pizza, love chocolate chip macaroons, my grandma's charoset (which I hated when I was little, go figure), and finally these brownies aren't bad either!  On the flip side, I hate gefilte fish and am really am not fond of my grandma's matzah cake, but I remember loving it when I was little.

Today I am sharing with you the healthy version of another Passover favorite of mine...Matzoh Brei.  I eat it sweet with splenda and maple syrup, usually for breakfast.  No salt. No pepper.  However, I don't mind having prepared in a savory way either! This recipe has a points+ value of 7.  Add 1/4 cup sugar-free syrup and it's a points+ value of 8.

Matzah Brei
(serves 1)
2 boards of Matzah
2 egg whites (large or jumbo are good, otherwise add another egg white)
2-3 packets Splenda (optional)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Non-stick cooking spray

Wet the matzahs by placing under running water until soft, but not too soggy.  Break both pieces of matzah into small pieces using a fork in a small ball.  Add egg whites, splenda, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Mix to combine.  Spray a large non-stick pan with cooking spray and place on medium heat.  Pour matzah batter into the pan and cook about 7-10 minutes.  Enjoy with syrup or powdered sugar!

Notes: 
*If you want your brei like a pancake(see below), shape batter into a circle, or use pan as its shape, cook on one side for about 5 minutes and then flip over to cook on the other side for another 5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. I would slide the "pancake" onto a clean plate and do a plate flip so that you don't have matzah brei all over your stovetop!
*If you like your brei scrambled, pour batter into pan, and use spatula to stir batter around to make a scramble, about 7 minutes. 

Trim Down Tuesdays: Q&A + Passover Pancakes

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 the question and answer for this week!

Now that Spring is in the air, and people are starting to think about swimsuits and the beach, what are some tips on how to kick-start feeling great, both mind and body?

June 21^st is the first day of summer-that’s exactly 10 weeks to get your body into bikini shape!

Here are my top 3 tips to whip your body into shape!

1. Start with a cleanse, both for you and your cabinets.  Throw out any foods that may be tempting you-whether it’s that big bag of potato chips, those chocolate Milano cookies, or even those all natural licorice that seem to be healthy. Replace all the processed junk foods with healthy alternatives such as fresh fruits and vegetables, natural peanut butter, and some healthy fiber bars (I like GNU flavor and Fiber Bars).
2. Now that you have your kitchen cleaned up and ready to go, start by making smart choices when dining out and cooking at home. Try to eat Omega 3 rich Salmon at least 2x a week and opt for grilled chicken breast instead of red meat on most other nights of the week. Studies show that eating 1 serving of fatty fish a week such as salmon can decrease your cardiac risk by up to 50%. Also, switch from white rice to brown rice and try to make all the grains you eat 100% WHOLE WHEAT. Snack on baby carrots or cut up fruit during the day and fill up on veggies both during lunch and dinner (along with 3-4 oz of grilled chicken or fish and ½ cup of brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or baked sweet potato).
3. Exercise-now that you’re avoiding sweets and trying to be more conscious of what you’re putting into your body set an exercise goal for yourself. Since summer is coming try to set a goal of 3-4x a week of working out, and that can be consecutive or spread throughout the day. However, if that’s impossible, always remember that something is better than nothing. So if you can already run 30 minutes, aim for 40 minutes at your next workout. If you can’t run at all, then try alternating three minutes walking with one minute of a light jog, and when that gets easy, challenge yourself with a two minute jog in between. Also do pushups and planks. Those are great ways to tone your whole body in very few minutes. Check out this new great FREE website, www.gainfitness.com, which gives you access to hundreds of free full body workouts that will get you beach body ready by June 21^st!


Here's Karen's recipe for this week! Enjoy!

Passover Pancakes

Serves: 4-6 (Makes 10-15 pancakes)

Time: 20 minutes

Pancakes

3 eggs

4 tbsp matzoah meal

¼ cup orange juice

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Sugar Drizzle

1 cup water

1 cup sugar (or Splenda)

Whisk all the ingredients for the pancakes.  Spray non stick oil onto a pan, over low-medium 
heat and pour batter to make mini pancakes. 
Let them sit on pan for 2-3 minutes, then flip over for another 2-3 minutes until lightly 
browned 
and fully cooked.

To make the sugar drizzle: In a small pot, pour water and sugar. Mix it until it boils and 
is hot.

Take off of flame. Let cool. Serve pancakes with sugar drizzle or see healthier 
options mentioned above.

Nutrition Content:

Per 3 mini Pancakes: 105 calories, 6.4 g fat, 1.2 g sat fat, 7.14 g carbs, .6 g fiber, 
4.8 g protein

*If using sugar drizzle: Add on about 100 calories, per 1/4 cup

—Karen Moreno, RD, CDN