Category — Tuesday Tidbits

You’ve seen them at the market, right?  Touted as being a great way to rid your produce of pesticide residue, dirt & bacteria ?  But they cost money.  Are they worth it?  [Read more →]

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I’m a total information hound at heart . . . it wasn’t an accident that I chose to become a litigator – it was my jobto take in as much info. from as many sources as possible and cull through them to present a cogent, persuasive argument.  And now, in my new role as schlepper-in-chief, I’ve set my sights on recipes, cooking apps and nutrition information. 

I do find that sometimes I’m on information overload.  Years ago when I was learning about meditation and the Relaxation Response, I remember my marvelous mentor telling us that sometimes you need to take a break from media.  That it can help calm the body and quiet the mind.  It works, you should try it.  For at least a few minutes.

But when you’re done with all that relaxing stuff, and you need more sources in inspiration and information, where can you turn?  To satisfy your cooking needs, here are some great lists of cooking apps for your iPhone:

• top 5 iPhone Thanksgiving recipes apps
• one blogger’s take on the top 5 cooking apps
• recipe apps for vegetarians and vegans!
• Chow.com’s top cooking apps to download
• recipe apps for dieters

You’ll see Jamie Oliver’s app coming up again and again on these lists – I bought it a while ago and it is that good.  Fun, beautiful, easy to use and with tasty recipes. 

Bon appétit!

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Mmmm. . . the weather’s getting colder.  If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking more about tucking into big bowls of carbohydrates.  Potatoes?  Pasta?  Preferably with some sort of artery-clogger as an ingredient or topping?  Sign. Me. Up.

But alas.  The pounds weight (get it?) for no one.  And your heart has no idea if it’s August or October, so let’s keep ourselves in check – at least most days of the week.  Here’re some easy swaps that can help you do just that.

Instead of cream, try cornstarch.  Get some of the richness, body and mouthfeel of cream without all the calories and fat.  And if you need more?  Add your cornstarch with with some fat-free evaporated milk – use this instead of heavy cream, for instance.  I’d recommend amping up your spice to compensate for the bit of flavor you’ll lose with this sub.

Instead of potatoes, try cauliflower.  Seriously!  Mash it up – and for 53 fewer calories per half-cup then taters, your thighs’ll thank you. 

Instead of butter, try fat-free Greek yogurt.  Also a great sour cream sub!  You can swap this one almost 1:1 in recipes.  And using the non-fat variety saves you 750 calories and 58 g. of sat. fat per half-cup!?  Zoinks.  With that kinda savings, you can budget in a chili-cheese dog on Saturday.

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Is it Thai Hut takeout? Domino’s?  Wish it could be different?  When you’re too pooped to think about dinner, why not have a failsafe fallback always at the ready – so you don’t even have to dial the digits and fork over the credit card?  Your choice should require minimal effort and be made with ingredients you keep on hand . . . think eggs and toast, or pasta with jarred sauce, or even a frozen Trader Joe’s or Kashi meal. 

What’s your survival dish?

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Halloween’s right around the corner.  You’re going to be tempted, very tempted, by all that candy . . . and for those of you who have kids, you KNOW you’re gonna sneak some treats out of their stash once they’ve gone to bed, right?  How to back away from the bowl?  Read on . . . .

1. Name 5 things you see in front of you.
2. Identify 4 colors you see.
3. Describe 3 things your body’s feeling (like temperature, or a texture)
4. Identify 2 sounds.
5. State 1 thing you can smell.

These 5 simple steps zero you in on your senses, thus quieting the craving chatter in your head.  Once you’re tuned into your body better, you can make the choice about whether you’re really hungry, or munchin’ just because.

Boo!

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This Tip’s for my Boston-area followers . . . others of you might find inspiration from Bon Appetit’s “The Hot 10″ list.

I don’t know ’bout you, but I’m a pie girl.  I love it.  More than cake, even.  I like my homemade the best (if I do say so myself . . . don’t knock lard ’til you’ve had my crust, I tell you!), but when I’m feeling lazy, I trust Petsi of Petsi Pies in Somerville to make it for me.  Truth be told, I find Petsi’s crust to be a little on the bland side, and not quite flaky enough . . . but I’m being really picky here.  Her pies are freshly made, seasonally inspired and delicious.  No one will hate you for bringing one of these sweeties to a gathering, trust me.  Just be sure to call ahead for special flavors or to ensure that popular pies are still available for purchase . . . you know what they say about that early bird!

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I’ve talked about it before – you need to be eating whole grains.  Not the refined ones, the ones with the nutrient-rich bran and germ intact – you’ll get vitamins, minerals and fiber from these.  If you’re a more average American than me, you eat sandwiches often, and bread can be a good place to get a dose of whole grains into your diet – but wait, what do all those labels mean?  “Stone ground?”  “Multi-grain?” Are those the real deal?

As you should with all foods – bypass the health claims and labels and head for the list of ingredients.  Look for the word “whole” in the first few ingredients – as in “whole wheat flour,” “whole oat flour,” etc.  And what if you’re not a bread or sandwich eater?  There are lots of delicious options for you, and here are some tasty ways to prepare them . . . .

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The thrifty side of you wants to reuse plastic food containers, but the little voice inside your head is wondering “is this safe?”  What about storage?  Reheating?

My blanket rule is to never heat food in a plastic container.  Heat can cause the chemicals in any type of plastic to migrate into your food.  And there is just too much controversy about whether or not that’s OK for you.  Invest in some glassware with plastic lids and put your leftovers in those – remove the lid, cover the container with a paper towel or better yet, a plate, and nuke away!  I love Frigoverre – I got some 8+ years ago and it’s held up wonderfully.  Check out places like the Container Store for ideas.  Also, places like Home Goods, TJMaxx and Marshall’s often have glass food storage containers for at good prices.

So how do you tell which plastic’s which?  Plastics are usually labeled on the bottom with the numbers 1 through 7.  Those labeled 1, 2, 4, and 5 are considered safer; 3, 6, and 7 are considered less safe.  The less safe ones can contain BPA or phthalates – nasties you don’t want in your body. 

Need more specifics?  Check out the Mighty Nest’s guide to plastics.

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