Coconut Fad...

There’s a new fat in town. Who knows how long it will stick around, but right now it’s all the rage. Coconut oil has made a recent impact on health food stores as a safer, more healthful alternative to butter.

I mention butter specifically because we all know EVOO is the preferred healthy oil to use for your sautéing and roasting needs. Butter, while untouched by posing imitations for the desired outcomes in perfect pastries and flaky pie crusts, packs a punch of unhealthy saturated fat.

Over the past few years, studies were conducted to retrace the accusations placed on coconut oil and discoveries were made regarding the type of saturated fat in coconuts. Both butter and coconut oil contain saturated fats, but different types. The coconut’s medium-chained saturated fat behaves differently than the long-chained fatty acids of butter. So while coconut oil does elevate both HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in human blood, it is still thought to be a better choice over butter. More importantly, it has the ability to deliver the goods when it comes to baking when it comes to producing proper consistency and texture.

Enough with the science.

Once this information began to hit the masses, health stores and especially vegans took notice. Obviously, vegans don’t use butter, and the hard-core vegan bakers miss it. Alternatives exist in vegetable oil spreads and shortening sticks, but they don’t quite make the cut for some things. Coconut oil is vegan and it performs well in many variations.

The oil of this sweet vegetable is solid at room temperature and melts beautifully for sautéing greens and roasting root veggies in addition to adding a hint of vanilla sweetness. I first tried it when roasting sweet potatoes and fell in love with the results. Note that the vanilla/coconut aroma and flavor is much more prominent in the unrefined version of the oil.

Additionally, I’ve used coconut oil for sautéing kale, roasting butternut, and making GF banana bread. For recipes that call for butter or oil in baking (like the banana bread), I typically use yogurt or applesauce instead. That’s the best sub by far for baking when it comes to health. But the occasional indulgence of coconut oil over butter is still a better option, and life is more exciting when those indulgences can be enjoyed!

Not enough work has been done to determine if coconut oil is as beneficial as EVOO, but moderation is the name of the game anyways when it comes to any kind of oil. See what the local market has to offer in the coconut department and give it a whirl next time the craving for a homemade pie and/or cake rears its ugly (or welcomed) head.

Chia Seed Frenzy...

Sure the first thing that comes to mind is “Ch-ch-ch chia!” but this little seed is so much more than the source of those grassy, pet plants from back in the day. The chia seed is a powerhouse of antioxidants, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids.

I first heard about this wonder-seed a while back when I was researching good sources of omega-3s. Art and I had been using flax for quite some time to mix in oatmeal and throw in other random meals when possible, but I began to discover the vast superiority of chia over flax. Omega-3s can cause things to go rancid, that’s why ground flax should be refrigerated. Well, not only does chia not have to be ground in order for the human body to access the nutrients, but it also is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds will keep just fine if left in the cupboard. Additionally, chia packs in a healthy dose of fiber and many other nutrients.

Who knew!? It was quite the revelation for me.

Since working chia into my diet and enjoying the convenience it offers, I have employed it in other ways in the kitchen. Mix some chia seeds with water and let it sit for a few minutes to form a gel. This characteristic is thought to slow digestion and tame those pesky blood sugar spikes when eating a large meal. Furthermore, this gel can be used as an egg substitute in baking. I have done this several times when compulsively baking, getting halfway into a recipe, and realizing I don’t have eggs. Life saver.

Throw them on yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, salad, and almost anything to get an extra crunch of nutrition.

Enough ingredient education, here’s a super easy recipe for chia seed pudding. Keep in mind the “congeal” factor of these super seeds!

2/3 C  chia seeds

   2 C  vanilla soy/rice/almond milk

½ t     cinnamon

Dried currants for topping

Place ingredients in a bowl, stir, and cover. Refrigerate over night. Mix well before serving. Add currants after plating and before serving.

I have tried a few variations of this with dried cherries, agave, honey, coconut, and some other things. Because the base recipe is so simple, this can be customized in any way! It’s a great sweet treat that packs in some killer nutrition and will keep you feeling full.

Yogurt Goes Bananas...

It’s a banana? It’s frozen yogurt? It’s both??

For a few months now, I’ve been faithfully practicing my frozen yogurt making abilities. I think I’m pretty good at it too.

Thankfully, I am in no way making actual frozen yogurt, but rather using a wonderful appliance called “Yonanas.” Get it? Yogurt and bananas, but it’s much more than a portmanteau.

This lovely machine turns a frozen banana into ice cream consistency. That’s right, it needs ONLY a banana. I had heard that whipping up this frozen fruit in a food processor would yield similar results but had never tried it. However, once I saw this machine, I knew it was for me.

Frozen bananas = ice cream!

I am an avid ice cream fan. While I am quite the healthy eater most of the time, I partake in the frozen treat at least twice a week. I don’t think that’s anything crazy, but I’ll gladly take any help I can get with my ice cream habit. Yonanas offers an incredible alternative to ice cream. Obviously, it only uses a banana, which starts me off in a much better direction than all the cream, sugar, and fat. The Yonanas machine whips up the frigid fruit into a wonderfully smooth and rich consistency and is the perfect base to add a few things to dress it up a bit.

The idea is to keep this as a more healthy option than ice cream, so I try to keep the mix-ins limited. I have settled into a routine of 1-1 ½ banana(s), a swirl of Santa Cruz Organic Chocolate Syrup, a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon, and a few dark chocolate chips. The chocolate syrup will quickly add all the sugar back in as if you still had a bowl of the decadent stuff, so be particularly careful with that one. Otherwise, this treat is an awesome answer to any ice cream fix.

I do have to say (and this may be obvious but I’ll say it anyway), you need to be a banana fan to get into this. While the marketing folks at Yonana claim that the treat will have a pretty neutral taste and only a hint of banana, there’s a lot of banana flavor going on in actuality. Otherwise, the only negative I’ve encountered with this appliance is having to “harvest” the “yogurt” from the various parts of the machine after it is done mixing. It only takes a few seconds to push the banana all the way down into the chute, but I remember thinking, “is anything going to come out?” I have to disassemble the parts (which has to be done for cleaning after every use anyway) and scrape out the yogurt - a bit of a pain, but not too terrible in the grand scheme.

An indulgence of Zwahlen's hot fudge!

While it has its inconveniences, I am very pleased overall with what this appliance has to offer. If you’re a fellow ice cream obsessor and fan of bananas, this thing is for you!

Redhound Grille...

I was recently enlightened about a new nearby restaurant when a friend mentioned how great her dinner was the other night at Redhound Grille. She said it would be up my alley considering its attention to detail and quality ingredients. I knew I would have to give it a try when she talked about the head chef’s efforts to cater to a member of my friend’s dining party who lives with Celiac disease. The chef came out and spoke to this person one-on-one about expectations and preparation of the meal. That is what I call some superior customer service and evidence of the chef’s from-scratch approach to cooking. Additionally, the house selects and grinds all of its own meat for burgers (a menu staple) so if I were to pig out on some beef, this would be the place. I didn’t during this visit, but it’s still a highlight for me.

Art had a turkey sandwich of some sort which was ok, nothing to brag about. We both had a healthy portion of sweet potato fries, and they were outstanding. My entrée was the house-made veggie burger, and the kicker that made me order it was goat cheese and mango salsa for toppings. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it was the best veggie burger I have had, and I've had quite a few!

The grille posts its specials DAILY for dinner on its web site so make sure to check it out. It uses local, organic ingredients whenever possible and has an “off-the-beaten-path” location in residential Paoli. I hope to get back there sometime soon.

Food Tastes Better When…

Living Social got some of my business a while back when I bought a coupon for a box of produce from Suburban Organics. Not only is all of this company’s produce certified organic, but it also delivers right to your doorstep!

I was already excited about getting a $25 box at half the price through this deal, but I would soon discover a cooking method that would make this deal even sweeter.

When trying a new restaurant or obtaining a deal such as this, I try to branch out and take on a new culinary adventure. Whether it be a different way of preparation, unique presentation, or new ingredient, I do my best to stretch myself when life allows. In this case along with some staple produce in my order, I selected beets as my new experience. I know beets aren’t anything new, but I think I’ve only ever eaten them once or twice and I certainly had never prepared them.

Beets and Blood Orange

Much to my delight after placing my order, I started researching my options for preparing beets and I realized I could eat the entire plant! Now that’s value! So I decided to keep the roots fairly simple and roasted them with olive oil, salt and pepper. However, I also received a few blood oranges in my box and decided to juice one, make a vinaigrette, cut up another for segments and harvest some zest. It was like McDonald’s, because I was lovin’ it.

Food tastes even better when it's a great value!

The other part of this plant is of course its leaves. When I prepared the roots, I cleaned and stored the leaves for later use. After a few days of insecurity, I picked up some locally made sweet potato gnocchi to pair with the beet greens. I must say it was a great combo. I liked this dish even more than the beets themselves! (Of course, I think my brain made both taste even better because of my living social deal and the ability to consume the entire plant.)

I only used Suburban Organics that one time, but it was a great experience. If I didn’t have the local farmer’s market options that I do have, I would take advantage of it more frequently. I am at least able to say I found a new root to try a few more times when they’re at the market this summer.

Nashville - Bite Deux...

The neighborhood of East Nashville is an up and coming part of the suburbs that is making its mark as a more trendy and modern part of town for locals to enjoy. I researched two places located within the same complex and both establishments were right on point with my dietary convictions and palate’s desires.

Up first, The Wild Cow – a delightful vegan restaurant with tons of options and a killer GF dessert menu. While I’m not a fan of meat substitutes (esp conventional) and I steered clear of that night’s special of a Buffalo Philly "Cheesesteak," what did come to the table was wonderful. I had a house-made veggie burger with sautéed garlicky kale and a big glass of hazelnut milk.Yum. Art went with something she knew, a veggie quinoa bowl, and it was also excellent. I mentioned a dessert menu because it did not disappoint. I had to try that night’s “raw” cake offering because I had never heard of a raw cake. Apparently, its a pureed mixture of soaked nuts and takes quite the process to create. Mine was lemon-blueberry and it was so good! It is similar to cheesecake in texture, but packed with nutrients, protein, and great flavor!

Second, The Silly Goose – a more farm-to-fork driven menu with locally produced everything! Art said the turkey sandwich was wonderful with cranberries, brie and a basil aioli and I went with a sandwich of eggplant, red pepper and avocado. We had the pleasure of ending our dining experience at the Goose with house-made ice cream. The chef had some incredible flavor combos, and we had the Vanilla Nutmeg and Rosemary Fennel Seed. Unbelievable. I was going to post a pic of this too, but it just looks like vanilla ice cream! It tasted so much better than it looked.

Nashville was extremely tasty. Don’t be afraid to research local food options when traveling because there are too many incredible, neighborhood restaurants in every town. Break loose from the chains and eat locally even when you’re out of town.

Eating locally away from home!

Nashville - Bite One...

Some friends are heading to Nashville this weekend for a wedding and it got me thinking that I never had a chance to share about my most recent escapade to that wonderful town. I had the privilege to visit Nashville again back in February for some vacation time. I may just now finally be writing about it, but the experiences, sites, and tastes I enjoyed are still as vivid as yesterday.

While Art and I of course had a wonderful time taking part in the backstage tour of the newly refinished Grand Ol’ Opryhouse, visiting other historical sites and hanging out in that wonderful town, we experienced some fantastic meals.

I had done my research before the trip and had an idea of which spots I wanted to hit when. I like structure but I also leave a few options open for discoveries we may stumble upon and things of that nature. I’m happy to say every place we picked was stellar and I want to share the highlights, and I imagine I’ll be breaking up the trip into two posts to give each dining experience its due!

Our first night in town, we visited Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Not to my surprise after reading a few reviews, it was truly an entire experience. The employees did not rush us as we tasted multiple flavors and they explained each one with great detail. I am a sucker for clever presentation and excellent service, and Jeni includes both in her parlors. I sampled Bangkok Peanut, Ugandan Vanilla, Darkest Chocolate, Brambleberry Crisp, Cherry Lambic Sorbet (yes, made with beer!), Ooey Gooey Buttercake, Lime Cardamom, and Goat Cheese with Cognac-soaked Figs. Phew, I think remembered them all.

 





Simply put, they were all so good and unique, but I ended up with scoops of Dark Chocolate and Buttercake. Art got a healthy does of the Buttercake - it was a great flavor for sure.

A month or so before the trip, I changed my Groupon settings to receive deal in the Nashville area just to see if anything fun would come up. Well, I purchased a Groupon for The Phunky Griddle after checking out its site and menu. I was fond of the organic and GF batters available along with the chance to sit at a table with a built in griddle and cook my own food! I know some people shudder and think it’s silly to PAY to cook your own food but I love to cook. The prep and clean up are the parts I don’t like and of course they are taken care of here.

I had organic five-grain cakes with breakfast potatoes and Art went with the GF batter. We had some fun mix ins and toppings and we had a blast!

I think I’ll leave it there for now. I need to sort through some more pics and decide what to share for a second post about Nashville!

Cheers!