Afternoon snack

There is nothing wrong with a little afternoon snack -- as long as it is not Doritos.  (sorry!)

May I recommend a granny smith apple sliced up with a few shakes of cinnamon? Nutritious, tasty, and curbs the hunger pangs until dinner.  Still feeling unsatisfied, fine, add all natural/unsalted peanut butter or almond butter too.

Added nutritional bonus: lots of antioxidants

5-Minute Brussels Sprouts

After I finished up volunteering at the Caring Community Senior Center yesterday afternoon, I went to the Union Square Greenmarket.  I started volunteering on Wednesdays at lunchtime and help serve food in the kitchen.  The people there are wonderful and I'm really enjoying getting to know the seniors of Greenwich Village.

Anyway, my Wednesday ritual has become volunteering and then going to the Greenmarket to pick up food for the remainder of the work week.  Brussels sprouts are in season and the market was full of them, so I decided to pick up a pound.  They were on the small-medium size and were beautifully bright green.

When picking out Brussels, it's best when they are firm, bright green, compact, and somewhat heavy-feeling for their size.

I normally saute or roast them with balsamic vinegar, but I wanted to try and steam them this time around and luckily I stumbled upon the perfect recipe on the WholeFoods website.

I made some slight amendments to the measurements, as I normally always do with any recipe.  I washed and trimmed the Brussels sprouts and steamed them for 5 minutes.  As they were cooking, I combined and stirred up the juice from half a lemon, around 2 Tbsp olive oil, a few grinds of fresh black pepper, and one pressed garlic clove.  I didn't add any salt or the optional mustard and parsley.  When the Brussels sprouts were done, I threw them in the bowl with the dressing, tossed 'em around, and that was that.

My leftovers for tomorrow

Nutrition: Plenty of vitamins C, A, and K, as well as fiber, folate and potassium.

Butter+Sugar

Go pick up some corn on the cob at your local farm stand or farmers market today!  The season for corn on the cob usually ends around mid-September, so there aren't many days left to enjoy a summer favorite.

It's a great nutritious and delicious addition to your dinner.  The most common variety of corn I have found around the New York markets is the bi-color variety or "butter + sugar" which has always been my first choice.

Butter + Sugar

When I was growing up in Western Massachusetts, my family would pick up corn on the cob every day from our favorite farm stand, Golonka's, (http://www.golonkafarm.com/).  I think that place is still a local favorite, and I must say, I have never found a better ear of corn.

The Union Square Farmers Market has plenty of stalls offering corn on the cob, and I have actually been pleasantly surprised.  Though they're no Golonka, they are the next best thing.

I like to cook all the ears at once in a large covered pot about 1/4 filled with water to a boil for steam.  Bring the water to a boil before adding the shucked corn ears.  The ears that go in first usually get covered with water and the ones on top are out of the water- it's okay, they will all come out great.  I find it's best to cook them for about 6 to 7 minutes- I like a little crunch.  And the best part is, there is no need to use any butter; just let the ears cool down a bit and chow down.

Nutritional benefits:

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

Folate

Dietary Fiber

Vitamin C

Phosphorus

Manganese

Vitamin B5

1 cup of corn is about 177 calories