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.

East Village Gem: Hearth

Sorry I've been gone for so long...midterms took over my life for the past couple of weeks, but everything is now back to normal.  And to celebrate midterms being over, I snuck out with a dear friend of mine Sunday night and had a cozy dinner at Hearth.

We had randomly stopped by Hearth the night before, for a glass of wine at the bar, while waiting for our table at Luzzo's across the street.  As food kept coming out of the kitchen, we found ourselves drooling and wishing we were eating here instead, so like the proactive ladies we are, we immediately made reservations for the very next night.

The menu is concise, clean, and offers a great variety.  I especially love that the chef lists the farms where all of the produce is from on the backside of the menu.  That's a great touch for picky eaters like myself who wants to know where her meats were raised.  The service was very attentive; I never saw the bottom of my water glass.  As far as price is concerned: you pay for what you get, which is all-around quality, and the bill definitely added up, but was not too outrageous.

I was feeling like a Sunday Supper sort of night, so I ordered the veal + ricotta meatballs with spaghetti ($28).  My friend ordered another pasta dish with wild boar ($30).  I'm such a sucker for homemade pasta.  A Piedmont Barbera ($10) sealed the deal and I thoroughly enjoyed everything about my meal at Hearth.  We were there early on a Sunday night, so it was quieter and more relaxing compared to our Saturday night drink at the bar when the restaurant was bustling.  We passed on dessert (somehow), but I ended the evening with a mint hot tea ($4.50).  Hearth is all about finishing touches, and this "coaster" for my mug stole the show.

30 Healthiest Ingredients

I found this list from a Real Simple magazine which states "Stock your pantry and refrigerator with these nutritious, expert-recommended foods."  I don't know who these experts are, but this list sounds pretty good to me and I already buy most of this stuff on a weekly basis.

Try adding 1-2 of these ingredients to your shopping cart each week.  While you're at it, as you add one of these items in, try to take out something not as healthy; perhaps a heavily processed item or something high in sugar or fat?  Give it a try and see how it goes.  Soon you'll be eliminating the unhealthy and enjoying the healthy.

1. almonds
2. avocados
3. barley
4. black beans
5. blueberries
6. broccoli
7. bulgur
8. chard
9. chicken breasts (skinless)
10. edamame
11. eggs
12. extra-virgin olive oil (may I recommend finding one that contains olives grown and bottled in Italy...be weary of ones that just say "bottled in Italy" as those could be olives from anywhere).
13. kale
14. kidney beans
15. kiwi  
16. lentils
17. mushrooms
18. oatmeal (steel-cut or old-fashioned)
19. oranges
20. peanut and almond butter (all-natural)
21. pumpkin
22. quinoa
23. sardines
24. skim milk
25. spinach
26. sweet potatoes
27. walnuts
28. wholegrain pasta
29. wild salmon (aim to get sockeye or Alaskan salmon, try to avoid Atlantic salmon, which is basically synonymous with farm-raised.
30. yogurt (nonfat Greek)

Quinoa + Salad

Basil: The Versatile Herb

I bought this basil plant about a month ago and have found myself pinching off it's leaves to add some flavor to most all of my dishes.  Just having it around has made all the difference.  I cut up the leaves and add them to salads, soups, scrambled eggs, sandwiches, entrees, and my personal favorite: cocktails [kettle, polar lime seltzer, muddled strawberry and a few basil leaves].  Plus, it's nice to have some more green in an apartment where no trees are visible.

I tried grilling some peaches to go along with a new pork tenderloin dish I was trying out and I found that adding some shreds of basil really enhanced the overall taste.  Get creative and experiment.  If you love the taste of basil, like I do, you can do no harm.

Basil plants are annuals, so they are only supposed to last one growing season.  Don't be sad when your basil plant doesn't last forever; they are inexpensive and you can go get a new one.  This plant was only $5 at the Union Square farmers market.  They like sunny windows, water every other day or so, and be sure to pinch off the big leaves so the little ones can grow.  Once the basil plant flowers it will probably stop producing new leaves, (this is the end of it's growing period) but if you trim off the flowers, you may be able to trick it into producing leaves a little bit longer.  Go get one and start cooking!

Brekkie: Cereal + Fruit

A week of cereal for brekkie:

 Monday
Cheerios, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries

Tuesday

Barbara's Shredded Oats, banana, raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate seeds

Wednesday

Barbara's Shredded Oats, peaches, pomegranate seeds

 Thursday

Cherrios, peaches, strawberries

Friday

Cherrios, banana, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries

Try to find a cereal with at least 3-4g of fiber, whole grains, and limited sugar and sodium.

Cherrios is an easy to please cereal with many of the vitamins and minerals we need daily...I think Cherrios offers more vitamins and minerals than most other cereals and you can be sure it's whole grains too.  Add a bunch of fruit, especially berries, to your morning cereal and you'll get quite a nutritive boost!

 Nutrtion Facts:

1 cup Cheerios:

100 Calories

2g fat (.5 in in each of the healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats)

0g Cholesterol

160mg Sodium

20g Carbs

3g Fiber

1g Sugar

3g Protein

Sidenote:

I only use skim milk with my cereal or nonfat yogurt, 0g of fat vs. 8g of fat.  However, little kiddos should be drinking whole milk to get the right amount of fats need for growth and development; usually from age 1 - 3 years old.  Then, they should gradually change to low-fat and then skim milk once they're older.