From Our Kitchen to Yours: Whole Wheat Couscous with Sun-Dried Cranberries & Walnuts

Happy National Nutrition Month^®! This month is completely dedicated to nutrition and, thanks to our Registered Dietitians, we’ll be sharing healthy life-style tips through our 31 Days of Healthy Living Challenge.

One tip is to include whole grains in your diet. Grains, especially whole grains, are an essential part of a healthy diet. Grains are also naturally low in fat and have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and other health concerns.

Challenge yourself to include more whole grains in your diet by trying this recipe for Whole Wheat Couscous with Sun-Dried Cranberries & Walnuts. This light salad makes a healthy snack or it can be paired with roasted chicken or salmon for a nourishing entrée.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil
1 cup finely diced red onion
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
¾ cup sun-dried cranberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable stock if desired)
2 cups whole wheat couscous
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
4 tablespoons fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a medium-size stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until very tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add garbanzo beans and cranberries and stir for 1 minute. Add lemon juice and broth and bring to a boil. Mix in couscous and stir gently for 30 seconds. Cover pot, remove from heat entirely, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Using a fork, fluff up couscous. Mix in walnuts and parsley and season to taste with salt and black pepper. This salad can be served warm or cold.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

31 Days of Healthy Living: Week 1

Welcome to our 31 Days of Healthy Living Challenge!

In honor of National Nutrition Month^® we are sharing 31 easy and important tips to ensure you're living a healthy and nutritious life-style.

Continue to check back each Monday for the coming week's tips. Share your experiences, tips and efforts to complete the 31 Days of Healthy Living Challenge on our blog, Facebook and Twitter. See the full calendar.

FRIDAY, MARCH 1ST

Start March off by Journaling

Write down everything you eat and drink to put your intake into perspective and hold yourself accountable! Food journaling has been shown to double a person’s weight loss success!

SATURDAY, MARCH 2ND

Get Your Plate in Shape
Add variety and color to your meals by making half your plate fruits and vegetables, choosing lean proteins, eating half your grains as whole grains, and switching to fat-free or low-fat dairy products.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3RD
Choose Whole Grains

Whole grains are a better choice than white or refined grains because they provide more fiber and help reduce the risks of many chronic diseases. Read food labels to ensure that the first ingredient says whole wheat, brown rice, or whole grain flour.


Don’t forget to submit a recipe for our 25th Anniversary Recipe Contest. Submit a recipe for a soup, salad or entrée and your recipe may be featured on our menu for clients facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life challenging illnesses.

March is National Nutrition Month®

Eating right is essential to keeping your body running at its best. During National Nutrition Month® the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and our Food & Friends dietitians want to remind you to build an eating plan with your unique lifestyle and nutritional needs in mind. So whether you’re a vegetarian, student, athlete, busy parent or a jet-setting executive, you can find ways to “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.”

This year’s theme emphasizes the advantages of making a healthful eating plan that incorporates individual food choices and preferences. You can eat right and still enjoy the foods you love with a plan tailored for your lifestyle, traditions, health needs and of course, taste.

We want you to join our dietitians in celebrating National Nutrition Month^®. There are four easy ways you can follow along and take part in the festivities.

HERE’S HOW:

• Try Our 31 Days of Healthy Living Challenge Each Monday, we’ll post a week of tips. Can you try them all? Let us know by sharing recipes, tips of your own and stories about the healthy choices you’re making this month.

• Compete in Our 25th Anniversary Recipe Contest Help us celebrate our 25th Anniversary by submitting a recipe for a soup, salad or entrée. The healthiest and most delicious recipe in each category will be featured on our spring menu for clients facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. Check out the guidelines to get started.

• Like Us on Facebook Throughout the month, our Facebook friends will have access to quizzes, videos, games, tips, prizes, recipes and more! Don’t miss out on anything, follow us!

• Follow Us on Twitter We can’t type a full recipe with 140 characters but we can definitely show you were to find some. Follow us on Twitter (@foodandfriends) and get access to healthy recipes and health tips.

From Our Kitchen to Yours: Tuna Boats

Congratulations to our first Cooking Matters graduating class of 2013! This winter, five participants completed four interactive cooking classes and one grocery store tour in order to receive their official Cooking Matters graduation certificate.

Cooking Matters Winter 2013 Graduates

To wrap up the class, we played Nutrition BINGO. This fun game reinforces knowledge about the different food groups, proper serving sizes and making healthy food choices. To top it off, we served everyone’s favorite snack – Tuna Boats.

Graduates have significantly improved their knife skills and nutrition knowledge over the last 6 weeks! I was excited to hear how they’ve been eating more whole grains, drinking more water and cooking with less fat and more vegetables.

Join our graduates in trying this healthy snack that’s rich in iron, high in protein, and an excellent source of dietary fiber. 

Tuna Boats
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers
1 lemon
2 green onions
1 (6 oz) can low-sodium tuna in water
1 (15 ½ oz) can white beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and cut cucumbers lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. 
2. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into a small bowl. Discard seeds and reserve juice. 
3. Rinse and chop green onions. 
4. Drain the tuna. Drain and rinse the beans in a colander. 
5. Place beans in a medium bowl and mash lightly with a fork. 
6. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved lemon juice, green onions, tuna, oil, salt and pepper to the mashed beans. 
7. Fill each cucumber half with ¼ of the tuna mixture and serve.

Brittany Lawrance, RD, CNSC, LDN, Community Dietitian

Brittany is a registered dietitian and has been with Food & Friends since October 2012. Her previous experience was working as a clinical dietitian on the pediatric hematology and oncology unit at Children’s National Medical Center. Brittany completed her dietetic internship in Baltimore, Maryland through Sodexo-Mid Atlantic and is a graduate of Bluffton University in Ohio. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis and softball, making crafts, and has a new found love for leading cooking classes. Learn more about Food & Friends' nutrition services.

From Our Kitchen to Yours: Mashed Cauliflower

Our Cooking Matters Cooking Class teaches clients how to select nutritious and low-cost ingredients and prepare them in ways that provide the best nourishment. In our most recent class, we prepared mashed cauliflower, a great substitute for mashed potatoes because it is lower in both carbohydrates and calories. In comparison to plain potatoes which have 15.5g carbs and 67 calories per cup, a half cup of cauliflower has only 2.5g carbs and 14 calories. Cauliflower also provides nutrients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin K which are important for immune health and healing. Although mashed cauliflower has its own unique flavor, it is very similar in texture and color. According to one student, “They taste like real potatoes. They’re really good!”

Mashed Cauliflower

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

3 tablespoons skim milk

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

freshly ground black pepper

chopped chives

Directions:

1. Separate the cauliflower into florets and chop the core finely.

2. Bring 1 cup of water to a simmer in a pot, then add the cauliflower. Cover and turn the heat to medium. Cook the cauliflower for 12-15 minutes or until very tender.

3. Drain and discard all of the water (the drier the cauliflower is, the better) and add the milk, butter, non-fat yogurt, salt and pepper . Mash with a masher until it looks like "mashed potatoes." Use a food processor or blender for smoother consistency. Add additional milk and yogurt if needed until desired consistency is achieved. Top with chives.

Brittany Lawrance, RD, CNSC, LDN, Community Dietitian

Brittany is a registered dietitian and has been with Food & Friends since October 2012. Her previous experience was working as a clinical dietitian on the pediatric hematology and oncology unit at Children’s National Medical Center. Brittany completed her dietetic internship in Baltimore, Maryland through Sodexo-Mid Atlantic and is a graduate of Bluffton University in Ohio. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis and softball, making crafts, and has a new found love for leading cooking classes. Learn more about Food & Friends' nutrition services.

10 Easy Steps to Cutting Up a Whole Chicken

Cooking Matters is a 6-week nutrition education and cooking program that empowers clients and their families with the skills, knowledge and confidence to prepare healthy and affordable meals. This week’s Cooking Matters Cooking Class focused on cooking lean and low-fat products while maximizing your food dollars.

A great way to save money is to buy an entire chicken and break it down. For only $5.54 we purchased a 5.59 lb chicken (we got an extra discount with our grocery store membership card). With just one whole chicken, we made 10 cups of chicken broth and a chicken dinner for 9 with leftovers to store in the freezer for next week. 

You can save some money next time you’re looking to serve up a delicious dinner by following these steps for cutting up a whole chicken.

1. Set the chicken breast side up on a cutting board and grab a sharp knife.
2. Pull the wing away from body and cut top down through the joint.
3. Cut the skin (not the meat) between the leg and body to see where the leg connects.
4. Break the hip by holding a leg in each hand and bend the legs backwards until the joint pops.
5. Lay chicken on its side and cut the leg away from the body.
6. Separate the leg and thigh by bending the leg and cutting through the joint. Repeat on the other side.
7. Make a shallow cut along the breastbone and loosen the meat from the bone using your fingers.
8. Cut the breast away from ribs by making small cuts with your knife tip and pulling the meat away from bone.
9. Repeat steps 7 & 8 for the other breast.
10. Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize…your cutting board, knife, and hands!

Brittany Lawrance, RD, CNSC, LDN, Community Dietitian

Brittany is a registered dietitian and has been with Food & Friends since October 2012. Her previous experience was working as a clinical dietitian on the pediatric hematology and oncology unit at Children’s National Medical Center. Brittany completed her dietetic internship in Baltimore, Maryland through Sodexo-Mid Atlantic and is a graduate of Bluffton University in Ohio. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis and softball, making crafts, and has a new found love for leading cooking classes. Learn more about Food & Friends' nutrition services.