Seriously Eating II: 94 Recipes from Serious Eats' Healthy and Delicious Column

Since September 2008, I’ve been writing the Monday morning Healthy and Delicious column for Serious Eats (except in September 2010, when Leigh took over 'cos I got hitched). As we don’t include those recipes on Cheap Healthy Good, I figured I’d take today’s regular article slot to list them all. Why? They’re all healthy and good, and the vast majority are eminently affordable, as well. As far as photos … they’re not bad! They make food look like food! So that’s fun. Enjoy, and I hope you get some mileage out of 'em.

BREAKFAST
Baked Oatmeal

Banana Nut Oatmeal (Note: The ingredients go from the 1 tablespoon walnuts through the last few shakes of Kosher salt. Steps are #4 through #7.)
Buttermilk Corn Muffins
Cardamom and Dried Cherry Scones
Cheddar Chipotle Scones
French Toast Oatmeal (Note: The ingredients go from 1/2 cup oatmeal to about halfway down, a few shakes of Kosher salt. Steps are #1 and #2 only.)
Lemon Popovers
Lighter Home Fries
Orange Cranberry Muffins
Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping
Raspberry-Filled Cinnamon Muffins

APPETIZERS, DIPS and SAUCES
Avocado and Corn Salsa
Black Bean Dip
Clam-Stuffed Mushrooms
Curried Kumquat Chutney
Greek Salad Skewers
Provencal Deviled Eggs
Roasted Pepper Halves with Bread Crumb Topping
Raw Tomatillo Salsa
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip
Tomatillo Guacamole
White Bean Bruschetta
Zucchini Crostini

SOUPS, STEWS, STOCKS, & CHILIS
All-American Chili
Black Bean Soup
Curried Cauliflower Soup with Honey

Curried Sweet Potato and Brown Rice Soup
Italian Egg-Drop Soup
Mexican Potato Soup
Moroccan-Style Chickpea Soup (Missing Step #2: While that’s happening, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until onion is a little soft and translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and cumin. Cook for another 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant.)
Parsnip Soup with Vanilla
Pasta e Ceci
Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Herbs
West African Vegetable Stew
White Chicken Chili
Winter Vegetable Chili
Yellow Tomato Soup, Three Ways

SIDES
Baked Wheat Bulgur with Sweet Potatoes and Almonds
Black-Eyed Pea "Caviar"
Bulgur Wheat Salad with Avocado, Raisins, and Almonds
Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake
Carrot and Sweet Potato Mash
Classic Baked Acorn Squash
Confetti Quinoa Salad
Couscous with Chickpeas and Edamame
Fresh Corn Salad
Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts
Gomen (Sauteed Cabbage)
Greek Orzo Salad
Greek-Style Chickpea Salad
Herb-Scalloped Potatoes
Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Irio
Jicama and Watermelon Salad
Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
Marinated Mushroom Salad
Nicoise Pasta Salad (Missing Step #1: Boil pasta in salted water. When it’s about 1 or 2 minutes away from being done, add green beans. Cook until pasta is al dente. Drain, reserving some cooking liquid. Run cold water immediately over pasta and beans to stop cooking process.)
Pioneer Woman’s Cranberry Sauce
Potato Salad with Green and White Beans
Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini
Red Cabbage with Apples and Honey
Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing
Shredded Beet, Apple, and Currant Salad
Southern-Style Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon
Stir-Fried Iceberg Lettuce
Tabbouleh Salad
Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Whole-Wheat Irish Soda Bread
Yellow Tomato Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, and Mint
Zucchini Carpaccio with Feta and Pine Nuts

ENTREES (Vegetarian)
Barley Risotto
Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa
Blue Cheese Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Calabacitas Burritos
DIY Hot Pockets (Please note finished directions in comment section.)
Eggplant in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Eggplant with Miso Sauce
Grilled Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing
Lighter Spinach Lasagna
Mushroom "Bolognese"
Mushroom Risotto
Pumpkin Orzo with Sage
Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts
Sweet and Spicy Tofu
Tofu and Mushroom Marsala
White Bean and Mushroom Ragout
White Bean Puree with Poached Egg

ENTREES (Carnivore)
30-Minute Chicken Tagine
Avocado Chicken Salad
Baked Apples with Barley-Sausage Pilaf
Baked Rotelle Puttanesca (has anchovies)
Basil Chicken Pasta
Broccoli Rabe, Turkey Sausage, and Grapes
Chicken Paprikash
Chicken with Artichokes and Capers
Curried Pork with Apples
Chicken with Citrus Sauce
Dijon Tuna Burgers
Marcella Hazan’s Lemon Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Pork Chops with Tomatillo and Green Apple Sauce
Pork Roast En Cocotte with Apples and Shallots
Squid in Red Wine Sauce
Swiss Chard and Turkey Sausage Over Polenta
Turkey Sausage and Arugula with Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Wheat Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Chickpeas, and Garlicky Greens

DESSERTS & SNACKS
Blueberry Salsa
Cider-Poached Pears with Yogurt and Toasted Almonds
Granola Bars
Greek Yogurt Lemon Mousse
Homemade Peppermint Patties
Mexican Chocolate Cake
No-Cook Berry Crisp
Quick and Easy Apple Tart
Sugar-Roasted Plums with Balsamic and Rosemary Syrup
Three-Ingredient Banana, Honey, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Top-Crust Peach and Cardamom Pie

BEVERAGES
Basil Lemonade
Cherry Lemonade
White Peach Bellini

~~~

If you like recipe lists like this, get a load of these:

• 60 Cheap and Healthy Marinade Recipes
• Cheap, Healthy Asparagus: 81 Recipes for the Springiest of Spring Vegetables
• Save Money on Seasonings: MYOM (Make Your Own Mix)

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality,Health

Veggie Might: One for My Teetotalers - How to Substitute Alcohol in Baking and Cooking

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Gentle Readers, it’s St. Patrick’s day. In honor of the drinkingest holiday of the year, let's talk about booze. Sort of.

Here at CHG, we have a healthy appreciation for hootch, being responsible citizens and lovers of life. A glass of wine, a bottle of cold beer, or the occasional Jager shot a well-crafted cocktail make an evening with friends or a holiday party that much more enjoyable/tolerable.

The flavors of our favorite beverages are unmistakable, and we drink them for their good taste more than their soothing aftereffects. Or so we tell Aunt Helen. Ingredients like wine and sherry and Grand Marnier are included in recipes for the same reason. Their flavors are unmatched and give our recipes that je ne se quois we seek.

Red and white wine, vermouth, sherry, beer, bourbon, brandy, and a flavored liqueurs like coffee (Kahula, Tia Maria), orange (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec), and anise/licorice (Ouzo, Pernoud) are commonly used in cooking and baking recipes. These are the staples to have on hand if you’re keeping a well-stocked culinary bar.

But while the we of CHG appreciates a nip with dinner and splash in the cream sauce, the me of CHG is a reluctant teetotaler. I’ve got this brain thing that doesn’t like it when I drink, and while a little bourbon in my pecan pie is probably okay, I just don’t keep the stuff around; it’s not worth the expense for the occasional recipe—or the risk of a trip to the emergency room.

“But Leigh,” you exclaim, “it’s not about the alcohol, it’s about the flavor! And all the alcohol evaporates during cooking!”

Yes: true and mostly true. Most people make tequila chicken for the enhanced flavor the liquor imparts, not to get one up on their friends at margarita night. And most, but not all alcohol is cooked away when booze is applied to recipes, though claims vary as to how much evaporates during cooking. According to Kevin Weeks at NPR.com, “depending on cooking method and time, you can reduce the alcohol by 60 percent by simmering for 15 minutes, or by as much as 90 percent after two hours of simmering.” But when cooking for children or people with health or addiction issues, even a little bit can be too much.

So what then? Weeks suggests choosing another recipe, and I agree if the liquor is the distinguishing feature of the dish, like Julia Child’s famous Boeuf Bourguignon—it’s meat soaked in red wine. Something tells me it would be an altogether different experience if you decided to let your boeuf braise in grape juice overnight.

But if I passed up every fondue or stew that called for a splash of kirsch or a glug of beer, my repertoire would be quite limited—and I could toss away half of the recipes from France. So I improvise with what I have.

For example, broth or stock is an easy substitution for wine or beer in many savory dishes, like soups, sautés, and risottos. Fruit juices, like apple and grape, can replace wine in desserts. If you want a note of acid, add little vinegar. It won’t be the same, as I’m sure some would argue, but it will still be delicious.

In some cases you can just leave out the booze. Fondue will be just as good without kirsch, but keep an eye on it; the alcohol in the liqueur is there to lower the boiling point of the cheese.

In the last year I’ve made two outstanding dishes that were no worse for lack of wine. Both were from the fabulous Viva Vegan, which is still getting heavy play in my kitchen. Red Posole and Beans called for Mexican beer which I replaced in equal measure with vegetable stock, and the resulting stew was to die for.

For Quinoa-Millet Mushroom Risotto, I swapped the 1/2 cup of white wine, traditionally used in risottos, for 1/2 cup of apple juice + 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. It remains one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.

When baking, replace liqueurs with similarly flavored extracts and juices. Vanilla is the most commonly recommended stand in for bourbon; almond extract works great in place of amaretto; and brandy has its very own cooking extract. Orange, apple and grape, and pineapple juices fill the void left by orange liqueur, dry and sweet vermouth, and rum.

Now, it must be said that extracts contain alcohol, which works as a solvent to break down the fruit or herb so that the maximum amount of flavor is obtained. Vanilla extract is 35% alcohol by volume, or 70 proof, not far off from vodka. But the minute amount used in baked goods, partnered with dilution and evaporation, will unlikely cause anyone to feel its effects.

According to Cook’s Thesaurus, 1 tablespoon of brandy extract replaces 5 tablespoons of the real deal, yet measure for measure, they have a similar alcohol content. Extract is a safe alternative unless you’re abstaining for religious reasons or are hypersensitive. Flavored oils, powders, and straight-up ingredients like vanilla beans, may be your best solution if you want to avoid alcohol altogether.

We all love charts, right? Well, here are some handy charts, fresh from the Internet machine, to guide your alcohol-free baking and cooking adventures:

• All Recipes: Common Ingredient Substitutions
  
• Uncle Phaedrus: Wine Substitute
  
• What’s Cooking America: Alcohol Substitutions
  
• Gourmet Sleuth: Alcohol Substitutes
  
• Recipe Tips: Alcohol Substitutions
  

If you have any nonalcoholic baking or cooking tips you’d like to share, the comments are open. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Slàinte!

~~~~

If these bubbles tickled your nose, you’ll lose your head over:

• Baking and Cooking for the Sensitive and Cleansing  
• Converting Those Pesky Weights and Measures  
• 10 Modern Food Myths, Busted

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Posted in: Cooking,Veggie Might

The Three Rules of Leftovers

It has been said that if everyone in the U.S. packed a lunch to bring to the office, we would obliterate the U.S. deficit inside of three days.

From Flickr's Muffet

Okay, that’s a lie. But brown bagging it to work will save you, personally, a lot of money over the course of a year. Maybe not trillions, but definitely hundreds, and perhaps even thousands. Of course, buying the ingredients, finding Tupperware, taking 10-15 minutes, and actually assembling that lunch may seem a bit complicated for a $3 daily savings.

But that’s where leftovers come in. When applied carefully, they can:

• Reduce food costs, because you're not spending extra to eat out.
• Optimize the health quotient of your lunches (or any meal, really), by allowing you to control exactly what goes into your food.
• Eliminate packaging waste, since there's no need for restaurant meals.
• Decrease the time it takes you to prepare an office lunch – just pop 'em in your bag and go.

Of course, you have to get over the stereotypes. Day-old food has a bad rep, thanks in no small part to decades of suburban-set sitcoms in which an army of mop-topped, precocious children have perpetually whined, “Leftovers, AGAIN?!?” to their frazzled, beautiful mothers and suspiciously-out-of-her-league-so-it-must-be-his-show fathers. Frequently paired with words like “moldy” and “congealed,” the mere invocation of leftovers conjures images of rot and disease. I’ve heard tale of folks who flat-out out refuse to eat them, as if last night’s lasagna is today’s ebola factory.

And to that, I proclaim, “What a bunch of hooey. Seriously now.” Leftovers are decidedly un-lame. In fact, they’re the universe’s way of saying, “Nice work with dinner last night, chief. As a reward, here’s some more of the same. And – bonus – this time, you don’t have to do as many dishes.”

The secret to successful leftover-ing is creating them intentionally. You can't look at them as an occasional bonus, but an almost-every-night inevitability. To make this easier, remember MSR:

M: Make more than enough

S: Save the extra

R: Repurpose it later

Let's elaborate.

Make more than enough: Instead of cooking just what you need, make two or three times the amount. Never scale recipes down, even if you're cooking for one.

From Flickr's Apreche

Save the extra: Don't throw food out. Portion it into individual serving containers and store it in your fridge or freezer. You can even portion the meal before you settle down to dinner, to ensure you'll have enough for lunch tomorrow.

Repurpose it later: Most likely, you'll be using the leftovers as straight-up lunches, with little or no alteration. But in some cases, you can save part of a meal to make into something entirely different later. The perfect example is Fried Rice, which uses leftover grains as a base for all-new flavors. Another example: last week, HOTUS and I ordered Mexican takeout. There wasn't much left beyond onions, peppers, and about a cup of enchilada sauce. This week, we combined them, added some pinto beans, scooped it on rice, and shredded some cheddar into the mixture for an excellent, 10-minute chili.

And that's it: MSR.

Readers, do you make leftovers intentionally? Do you consider them a vital part of your diet? How do you optimize their use? Fire away in the comment section.

~~~

If you enjoyed this article, you might also delight in:

• 65 Cheap, Healthy, One-Dish Meals with Good Leftover Potential
• 156 Cheap, Healthy Recipes for Ten Common Leftover Herbs
• The Brown Bag Brigade: Your One-Stop Shop for Work Lunch Ideas

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality

15 Time-Saving Food Prep Tips

A few weeks ago, we posted Cheap Healthy Good and the Triangle of Compromise, in which I proposed that there was a reasonable cooking arrangement in which money, nutrition, and taste would receive equal attention. One thing I omitted, which would have made the triangle into a square, was time. Readers called out the oversight, and justifiably so. Without a doubt, when it comes to whipping up the edibles, time can be our greatest asset, or our worst handicap.

So, here are ten tips to speed up the process. Applied, they should cut a few minutes from every meal prep. Some were mentioned in 10 Cheap Shortcuts to Making Cooking Oh-So-Much-Easier, but many more were not. Readers, if you can add to this, I’d love to hear your tips. (Please note, these tricks don't consider slow cookers, which are very helpful in reducing time spent slaving at a stove.)

BEFORE THAT NIGHT

Make a meal plan.
Not only will it eliminate the "What are we gonna eat tonight?" question everyone asks at 6:32pm, but it ensures you have everything on hand, and there are no crazy-expensive, last-minute shopping trips. Here's how.

Organize your kitchen logically.
Keep your most-used ingredients and equipment in easy-to-reach places. This Lifehacker post and accompanying 60-second video is a good beginner's tutorial.

Concentrate on recipes with specific time limits.
Buy a 30-minute cookbook - or a 20-minute cookbook, even. Don't forget to read reviews, to ensure that the timings aren't exaggerated. These tips should help.

Figure out what pre-chopped/prepared items are worth the splurge.
Though I’m a fierce (in the Christian Siriano way) advocate of buying foods whole and then doing the chopping/mincing/whatever myself, sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. If having to small dice a carrot is going to keep you from making a certain recipe, go ahead and purchase it pre-diced. Ideally, as you become a better cook, you’ll increasingly prep foods yourself, anyway.

THAT NIGHT

Preheat and defrost when you get home from work.
If you know something is going into the oven for dinner, get that thing going a.s.a.p. It doesn’t matter if the temperature is right on, since an oven will reach 400°F from 350°F much faster than it does from 0°F. (Of course, don’t let it preheat for too long. You don’t want to create safety hazards.) Same goes for defrosting - if you know you’re having meat, but it’s still a block of ice, start it running under cool water OR stick it in the microwave right after you walk in the door.

Read through the recipe at least twice.
The reasons for this are twofold: 1) No "Dang! I didn't know this had to marinate for 30 minutes!" surprises, and 2) You can figure out how to best use your time. (See the ABDMTAO tip below).

Place the recipe where you can see it.
Having the visual ability of 140-year-old dead person stuck in a coal mine, this one is important for me. It keeps me from wasting time hunched over a cookbook and squinting at size-8 type font. I used to stick recipes to my oven hood with a magnet. On the fridge, in a cookbook holder, or taped to a cabinet are also good options.

Set out all needed ingredients and equipment.
This simple action takes about two minutes, but reduces the time spent scrambling down the line. Plus, you can make sure you have everything the dish requires, or can make appropriate substitutes.

Designate a garbage bowl.
Rachael Ray is right on about this one. Having a receptacle to place your peelings, shavings, and end bits will save you about 40,000 trips to the trash can.

Drain and rinse.
If you use a lot of canned or fresh ingredients, you know that the draining/rinsing/drying process can take a coupla minutes. It’s no biggie if you have the time, but can suck up precious prep minutes if you don’t. So, before you start cooking, empty beans, herbs, and other washables into a colander, hit the faucet, and shake the moisture out.

Decide what to cook first.
Roasted veggies take a lot longer to cook than a seared chicken tender. Long-grain brown rice could cook for 40 minutes, while its accompanying stir fry takes only ten. A braise will … wait, why are you braising on a Wednesday? Anyway, designating a logical order will get dishes to the table at the same time, which is nice. Granted, it's a little tough at first, but you’ll get better at the timing as you cook more.

Need to boil water? Cover the pot.
I know some of you are like, "A-duh," but I didn't know until about two years ago that a covered pot comes to boil much faster than an uncovered one.

With apologies to Alec Baldwin:
Always
Be
DMTAO (Doing Multiple Things At Once)
You don't need additional hands for this one, I promise. Just think of it as making the best use of your time, (instead of standing there, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for something to cook). For example, if you're preparing a simple pan-seared chicken: While the poultry is cooking, combine the deglazing liquids. While the deglazing liquids reduce, chop the herbs. While the herbs are cooking, take your side dishes out of the oven. It will become more intuitive as you practice.

Combine recipe steps. Carefully, though.
This one may be for advanced home cooks only. But if you see that, for example, the deglazing ingredients (wine, broth, juice, etc.) can be combined in advance while your meat is cooking, why not do so?

As dinner cooks, do the dishes, set the table, prep tomorrow’s lunch, etc.
Your soup take 20 minutes to simmer? Your potatoes won’t be ready for another half-hour? An easier way to say this might be “clean as you go." It chops off clean-up time at the end of dinner, which your dish-doin' family members will no doubt appreciate.

Readers, any more tips? Share 'em in the comments section.

~~~

If you dug this, you will most definitely dig:

Meal Planning - An Experiment and Conversion
Relax, Frugal Eater: A Measured Approach to Lifestyle Changes
Weekly Menu Planning for Singles, Couples, and Working People

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Posted in: Cooking,Organization

Green Kitchen: Five Delicious Ways To Eat Broccoli Stalks

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

Okay, so, for how long am I allowed to open my column with some reference to my continuing, undiminished excitement to have a working oven? Because I'm still grateful and a little surprised every time I hear that tick-tick-tick-whoosh of the flame igniting, and I may never lose my renewed appreciation for oven cooking. Mainly the part where I put something in the oven and, as I never could with a pan on a hot plate, walk away. 45 minutes later I have food, and that is glorious.

From El_Matador

More times than not, what I'm pulling out of the oven is a sheet of roasted broccoli. I might be addicted. Broccoli's not the cheapest vegetable around – I can eat three or four dollars worth in one sitting – but the recipe is super easy and delicious, and since when is eating a pound of dark green vegetables a bad thing?

The only problem is all the stalks left behind. They're good enough sliced into discs and roasted along with the florets, but they're not amazing that way, and I'd rather devote baking sheet space to more delectable florets. And so all too often the broccoli stems end up with my eggshells and banana peels, going to compost.

Compost is a very silly – and wasteful, and lazy – fate for perfectly good, edible, healthy vegetable parts. Of course, “edible” isn't exactly high praise, or high incentive for the expenditure of kitchen effort, especially when the couch is so comfy. So here – for you and for me – are five recipes and ideas to keep our broccoli stalks out of the trash, and in our happy mouths and bellies. (They're happy because of the broccoli stalks.

1) Fridge pickles. You can make your own pickling brine, or go even more frugal and reuse the brine from a jar of tasty store-bought pickles. Once in a while I splurge on a jar of Rick's Picks, a delicious NYC brand. (Pickling is very chic among Brooklyn hipsters.) When the pickles are gone there is still plenty of goodness left behind in the brine. Peel your broccoli stalks and slice into spears. Pour the brine into a saucepan and bring to a boil, and wash out the pickle jar. Put the broccoli stalks in the jar, then pour in the brine. (Add some white vinegar and water if there's not enough liquid.) Screw on the lid, and pop that jar in the fridge. After two or three days: pickles!

From Cookthink

2) Crudite. Peel and slice into spears and use along with carrots, peppers, and any other raw veggies you like to dip into hummus, dressing, or your spread of choice. You get all the broccoli flavor without the awkward mouthful (and teeth full) of floret.

3) Slaw. Use a mandoline, grater, food processor with a grater wheel, or careful hands and a sharp knife to shred broccoli stems. Add some shredded carrot and mix with your favorite cole slaw dressing.

4) Stir fry. I think part of the reason I love roasting broccoli is that I can never get stir fried broccoli quite right – it's always either underdone or mushy, never as delicious as at a Chinese restaurant or my mom's house. (Mom! What is your secret!) But broccoli stalks – being flatter and more uniform than florets – are a cinch. They make a delicious stir-fry with Chinese flavors – soy sauce, garlic, and five-spice powder are a favorite combination of mine – and cook to a delicious combination of golden exteriors with creamy insides.

5. Soup. Once your favorite cream of broccoli soup (vegan or dairy) is pureed, no one will know if it started as tiny trees or trunks. Ditto chopped up in a quiche or casserole.

That's what I've got so far. (I've also heard that some cats love broccoli, and so also broccoli stalks, but unfortunately my creature isn't inclined to any such adorable predilections.) Do you use – and enjoy – your broccoli stalks? Are there any other often discarded parts of vegetables (or animals) you've got a great use for?

Read more »

Posted in: Cooking,Frugality,Green Kitchen

Veggie Might: Cooking for Survival Eaters

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Survival eaters are the opposite of foodies. They eat because, as humans, our bodies require calories to function. When they are not hungry, food doesn't enter a survival eater's mind.

I've known a few survival eaters in my time, folks who can subsist on bits of fruit and bread and don't get excited about steaming plate of enchiladas or a decadent apple pie a la mode. My friend C will eat five M&Ms, fold the packet-top down, and put the rest away for later. It could take her days to eat a single-serving size.

It's not that survival eaters don't like food; they just don't think about food before they need it. By then it's too late to go to the store and, perhaps obviously, nothing has been prepared in advance. The solution is eating out, convenience food, or repeat appearances of PB&J or cereal for dinner. There's nothing wrong with any of those things on occasion, but these can get expensive and unhealthy over time.

Perhaps its telling that most of the survival eaters I know work in the food service industry and get fed by their jobs. However, my charming boyfriend, CB, is a survival eater and not a waiter. He recently asked me to give him the basics of grocery shopping and cooking. He wants to be able to make healthy and delicious meals without too much advanced preparation, but he's willing to put in some effort.

I think the results of our first few lessons apply to survival eaters and anyone who is planning-challenged. It's easier to plan meals when you're constantly thinking about food, like I am. But what if you only think about food when your stomach tells your brain you're hungry?

The secret is keeping a well-stocked kitchen. Buy these items any time you see them on sale to save money as well as time.

1. Stockpile staple items.
Grains, pasta, and beans are a survival eater's friend. Canned beans are okay if you are time-crunched and really can't get a handle on dried beans. Dried beans will save you money, and if you have a crock pot, can cook while you sleep. Grains like rice, quinoa, and bulgar, cook up quickly and add fiber, protein, and heft to veggie-laden meals. Pasta, especially whole-grain varieties, fill the same void, in your diet and your belly.

Other pantry items that will make your life easier include vegetable oils like canola, safflower, and extra virgin olive oil; kosher salt or sea salt; black pepper; red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar; and low-sodium vegetable bullion cubes.

2. Fill up on frozen vegetables and fruits.
If you're concerned about rotting vegetables and fruit, go frozen! Frozen vegetables and fruit are often fresher than fresh, depending on where you buy your produce, and will keep for months. Keep your favorites on hand and you'll never miss your 5-a-day.

3. Keep a supply of canned tomatoes.
Canned tomatoes can become pasta sauce or salsa, flavor vegetable dishes and soups, and anchor chili and pizza. Canned tomatoes, whether they be crushed, diced, whole or sauce, will keep you cooking all week long.

4. Rock the root vegetables.
Potatoes, yams, turnips, carrots, and other root vegetables have a nearly eternal shelf life. Pick up a few tubers at the market, and chances are, they'll be there when you're ready.

5. Have a few fresh items.
Garlic, onions, and lemons will rarely go bad in a well-used kitchen. These items are inexpensive, long-lasting, and essential in nearly every type of cuisine. Keep a few of each on hand.

6. Update your spices every now and then.
Spices are the spice of cooking. If your spices predate moving into your current dwelling and you don't remember when that was, it's time for a change. Experts say spices have a one-year shelf life, but we both know that turmeric has been there for at least six, amirite?! A few staples to have on hand: thyme, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.

Once you have your ingredients, it's just a matter of putting them together. Think about foods you like to eat and seek out recipes for those foods. Ask your friends and family, look at the Interwebs, or check out cookbooks from the library to get started. Having a few go-to recipes in your arsenal will keep survival eaters, like CB, from eating cereal and PB&J for dinner every night—or their loved ones for bearing the meal-prep burden alone.

Before our first cooking lesson, I gave CB a shopping list for my Easy Tomato Sauce. (Since it's winter, we made it with canned tomatoes.) He did all the work while I coached and we had a delicious meal, complete with a fresh salad, and bread. The next time I came over, the sauce was simmering when I arrived. Within a few minutes, dinner was on the table* and we were eating well before 10 p.m. I cried a little tear of joy and pride. (*laps on the couch)

For the next lesson, I showed CB a few variations by adding white beans to the sauce, tossing in some frozen spinach, and using the sauce on bread to make bruschetta. Everyone was happy; hunger was quickly satiated.

CB requested rice and beans for lesson three. We've made them several ways over the last few weeks, since they're a favorite for both of us. Rice and beans are a vegetarian staple customizable to every taste: spicy, smoky, mild; mashed or whole; over grains, with vegetables, as a dip, in a wrap, or on toast. Whatever your tummy desires.

Below is the simplest of beans and rice recipes. Alone it is a clean and flavorful dish that can easily become a favorite. Add chilies and spices and it becomes a canvas for more creative culinary adventures. You can use any type of bean, and I recommend brown rice as a stick-to-your-ribs base. For a change of pace, try quinoa or millet in place of rice.

With a well-stocked pantry, you need never eat cereal for dinner again. Unless you just want to.

~~~

If you dug this article, point your shovel toward:

• Vegetarian Meal Planning for Meat Eaters
• Converting Those Pesky Weights and Measures
• 20 Cheap, Healthy Dishes Made from 10 Pantry Staples

~~~

Simple Black Beans and Rice
Serves 4

1 cup dried black beans, washed and picked over
8 cups water
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

1) Wash and pick rocks from beans and place in a slow cooker with 6 cups of cold water. Set on low and cook for eight hours. Rinse well and place in a large sauce pan with 2 cups of water over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.

2) Add to the beans the two onion halves, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until beans are tender, but not mushy. (Cooking times depend on the type of bean you use.) Remove cover, remove from heat, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

3) In the meantime, bring to boil 2 cups of salted water. Stir in rice. Bring to a boil again, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

4) Whether beans are served over the rice, side-by-side, or mixed together is a matter of taste and cultural preference. Eat as your heart guides you, garnished with cilantro or a squeeze of lime juice.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
358.5 calories, 2g fat, 14.5g fiber, 12.75g protein, $.53

Calculations
1 cup dried black beans: 662 calories, 2g fat, 46g fiber, 39g protein, $0.73
1 medium onion: 40 calories, 0.2g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.44
3 cloves garlic: 12 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.04
1 cup brown rice: 720 calories, 6g fat, 12g fiber, 12g protein, $0.90
salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02

TOTALS: 1434 calories, 8.2g fat, 58g fiber, 51g protein, $2.15
PER SERVING (TOTALS/4): 358.5 calories, 2g fat, 14.5g fiber, 12.75g protein, $.53

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Posted in: Cooking,Mains,Sides,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

Cheap Healthy Good and the Triangle of Compromise

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with a friend who works with computers. After our fries were finished, we started talking about his job. “Here’s the thing,” he said, “and I think it happens with a lot of different occupations. When you work with clients, they want your work to be quick, cheap, and thorough. And you kind of have to tell them to pick two.”

“Why can’t they expect all three?” I wondered.

He phrased his response carefully. “Well, you have other clients who demand your time. And competition is always pretty fierce.” He sipped his Guinness. “And it’s kind of the natural order of things, you know?”

“Explain.”

“Um, well. Think of it like this: If they want it done fast and cheap, the standard of work isn’t going to be very high. If they want it done fast and right, they’re going to have to fork over money for the extra manpower. And if they want it done cheap and right, it’s gonna take awhile.”

"Like a triangle."

"Yep."

“So getting all three is impossible?”

He shook his head. “Nope. You can get a little of everything if you’re willing to compromise. It’s kind of that sweet spot in the middle.”

“But getting people to compromise is tough.”

“Always.”

I nodded. The triangle idea made sense in a work context. And, when I though about it, it started to make sense in other contexts, too. “You know, it’s kind of like finding a New York apartment, except the parameters change a little.”

“Okay." More Guinness. "Go on."

“If you want a place that’s cheap and in a great neighborhood, it’s going to be a rat-infested hellhole.”

“Like your old place.”

“Right,” I continued. “And let’s say you have kids, and you want a place that’s cheap and nice. It’s going to be a gabillion miles from any subway stop. That’s why all our friends end up in Jersey.”

He finished my thought: "And you have to be making Derek Jeter-caliber money to live in a nice place in a good neighborhood."

"Right. Jeez. That guy."

Later that night, I tried to apply the idea to Cheap Healthy Good. And it got harder. Because here's the thing:

• People say you can buy cheap and healthy food, but it won't taste any good.
• People say you can buy delicious, healthy food, but it will cost a bagillion dollars.
• People say you can buy cheap, delicious food, but it will give you ten successive heart attacks.

I disagree with all of those conclusions. Like my friend, I believe that compromise is key to maintaining balance between the cheap, the healthy, and the good. I believe this is possible:

Paying a little more will get you healthier, scrumptious-ier food. Adding a little butter won't cost you much, and will keep food from tasting like lawn scraps. And actually preparing it yourself – not a ten-course State dinner, but y'know, a casserole – will cost less and give you a good chance of making it into your 80s.

(Of course, adding "time" or "effort" into the equation would be a logical extrapolation of this theory, but it turns the 2D drawing into a much-harder-to-understand 3D pyramid, which would simultaneously blow my mind and tax my pitifully scanty knowledge of graphic design to its breaking point, so we'll ignore it for now and get back to ruminating.)

So there you have it. The CHG Triangle of Compromise. It's exists to remind us of three things:

• We need not engage in extreme, black-and-white thinking when it comes to eating inexpensively, healthfully, and well.
• Compromise is the key to eating inexpensively, healthfully, and well.
• I am bad at Photoshop.

Readers, what think you? If you have any geometrically-based theories, I'd love to hear 'em.

~~~

Like this? You'll love:

• Fear Itself
• Musings of a Healthy Cooking Teacher
• Trading Butter for All the Broccoli in China: Getting Healthy Takes Practice

Read more »

Posted in: Buying Food,Cooking,Health

Super Bowl Recipes XLV: 77 Cheap and Healthy Foods for the Big Game

Three years ago (!), we posted a piece called Cheap, Healthy Party Food, filled to the brim with inexpensive, Super Bowl-appropriate recipes. Most of them came from thoroughly vetted outside sources like All Recipes and Cooking Light. All appeared delicious.

Since then, between CHG and my weekly Healthy & Delicious column at Serious Eats, we’ve compiled hundreds of our own recipes, many of which are floofin’ perfect for the Packers/Steelers game. We made and ate every single one of these, and can recommend them without reservation. Even to your Dad (whom I’m sure totes loves healthy food, especially on Super Bowl Sunday).

If you have suggestions or excellent, apropos recipes from your own blog, leave ‘em in the comment section! Together, we can make this the most delicious Super Bowl since the last time Pittsburgh was in it.

(Special note: Frugal shoppers! Even if you hate football with the white-hot intensity of a thousand angry suns, this is a great week to stock up. Look for sales on cheese, sour cream, beans, frozen foods, crackers, dip, and more at your supermarket.)

APPETIZERS
Baked Loaded Potato Skins
Greek Antipasto Pitas
Greek Salad Skewers
Provencal Deviled Eggs
Roasted Pepper Halves with Bread Crumb Topping
White Bean Bruschetta
White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Wraps with Spinach
Zucchini Crostini

DIPS, SALSAS, and GUACAMOLE
Avocado Corn Salsa
Baba Ghanouj
Black Bean Dip
Easy White Bean Dip
Fresh Salsa
Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup
Lemony Hummus
Mango Salsa
Raw Tomatillo Salsa
Roasted Eggplant Spread
Seven-Layer Taco Dip
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Spinach and Cannellini Bean Dip
Tomatillo Guacamole
Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce)

CHILI
All-American Chili
Cactus Chili
Camp Stove Veggie Chili
Chili Corn Pone Pie
Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili
Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Turkey Chili
Turkey Chili with Beans
Vegetarian Chili on the Fly
White Chicken Chili
Winter Vegetable Chili

SALADS and SIDES
Avocado Chicken Salad
Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa
Chickpea Salad
Chili-Spiced Potatoes
Ellie Krieger’s Refried Beans
Gazpacho Pasta Salad
Golden Delight Egg Salad
Greek Orzo Salad
Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato
Malt Vinegar Oven Fries
Potato Salad with Green and White Beans
Potato Salad for Rainy Day People
Quick Red Posole with Beans
Semi-Southern-Style Cornbread
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

MAINS
Baked Ziti
Black Bean Burrito Bake
Blue Cheese Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Chicken Fried Rice
Chinese Chicken and Broccoli
Chipotle Pork Tenders
DIY Hot Pockets
Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Grilled Flank Steak with Tomato Relish
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Homemade Pizza
Italian Turkey Sliders
Macaroni and Cheese
Pork Tacos
Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Skillet Chicken Fajitas
Sloppy Jacks
Spiced Chicken Skewers
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers with Black Beans and Corn
Tofu Banh Mi
Vegetable Lo Mein

DESSERTS and SNACKS
Black Bean Brownies
Crunchy Pecan Cookies
DIY Microwave Popcorn
Roasted Chickpeas
Tamari Almonds

Readers? Your recipes?

~~~

If you like this article, you might also like:

• A Beginner’s Guide to Beans, Plus 42 Bean Recipes
• Cheap Healthy Beef, Part I: Recipes and Methodology
• Cheap Healthy Pork: Recipes, Methodology, and Tips

Read more »

Posted in: Cooking

Veggie Might: Baking and Cooking for the Sensitive and Cleansing

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

Cooking is an act of giving as much as survival. We eat to live, and those of us who love to cook, cook to love.

Many people in my life have so-called restrictive diets—I say “so-called” because once you get used to a change in your eating habits, it doesn’t feel challenging anymore. As a 20-year vegetarian (in a few short months!), my diet is varied and imaginative. I ate a mostly meat and potatoes diet in my youth, and I’m a much more adventurous eater now. But I digress...

Factoring in other food-related disorders, sensitivities, intolerances, and allergies, life can look pretty bleak at first glance. Change is scary, and adjusting to life with a new diet is challenging.

Among my loved ones I count many vegetarians and vegans, a mother with sugar and gluten sensitivities, friends with Celiac disease, severe lactose intolerance, hypoglycemia, and people in my circle are forever doing cleanses. Whether the restrictions are born of preference or necessity, I try be understanding and creative. Try, Helen Reddy, I love it.

Getting creative in the kitchen it is what I live for. It’s way more fun, and often way more delicious, than making the same old boring recipes all the time. And usually healthier too.

Let’s take a general look at food sensitivities to begin. According to WebMD, a food allergy is a response of the immune system and a food intolerance is a response of the digestive system. For example, Celiac disease is an autoimmune reaction to the proteins in wheat gluten. The small intestine refuses to absorb nutrients from food, causing intestinal discomfort, malnutrition, and all manner of bad stuff. Lactose intolerance is a digestive rejection to lactose, milk sugar, and casein, the protein in dairy products, causing nausea, gas, and diarrhea. Symptoms of food allergies and intolerances can both trigger nausea, gas, bloating, and diarrhea; but allergic responses can also evoke respiratory distress, such as shortness of breath and anaphylaxis.

Food-related disorders, like diabetes and hypoglycemia, are linked to sugar, and more specifically carbohydrates. In Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as Juvenile diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, a hormone that converts sugar to energy. In Type 2 diabetes, also known as Adult-onset diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to convert the sugar to energy. Too much sugar can enter the blood stream and havoc ensues: frequent urination, thirst, hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, fatigue, and irritability.

Hypoglycemia works in the opposite way. The pancreas releases to much insulin in reaction to the presence of sugar (glucose) in the blood, sending the blood sugar level down too far. Equal and opposite havoc: fatigue, insomnia, headaches, blurred vision, and heart palpitation.

But cutting back on added sugar and simple carbs, like white potatoes and white rice, help keep people with diabetes and hypoglycemia out of the fog. A common misconception about both sugar-related disorders is that sufferers can never have sugar. They can, in moderation, as part of a well regimented, low-carb, high-protein diet. It’s all about making choices that work for the person and his or her body.

Suggested Diets/Food Lists
Here are links to the “official” food recommendations for people with specific allergies, intolerances, or disorders, or folks who just want to take a break from the ordinary. When in doubt, speak to a health professional.

Celiac Disease Quick Start Guide from Celiac Foundation *If you think you have, but not been diagnosed with, Celiac disease, consult a physician before going on a gluten-free diet. Gluten must be present in your system to test properly for Celiac.

What Can I Eat? from American Diabetes Association

The Hypo Diet from the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation

Milk Allergy Facts from Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network

Egg Allergy Facts from Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network

Cooking and Baking for the Sensitive and Cleansing
So now that you know what your friends can and can’t eat, you’re dying to get down to recipe renovation, right? But where to start? The web is crawling with amazing food blogs, recipes, and tips for modifying and creating amazing meals and desserts.

For all your vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free baking needs, I can’t recommend enough the Post Punk Kitchen’s Guide to Vegan Baking. It’s my go-to every time I need to remember how much tofu equals an egg or if flax seeds are a good idea in a particular recipe.

Nondairy plant milk, like soy, almond, and rice, can be substituted 1:1 for cow’s milk in any recipe. If your recipe calls for buttermilk, add 1/4 tsp of vinegar for every 1/2 cup of nondairy milk and you’re good to go. For yogurt, sour cream, and cream cheese, you can find all manner of nondairy substitutes in the refrigerated section of your local natural foods market. Vegan cheese is still something I personally avoid, but apparently the folks at Daiya are doing weird and wonderful things with soy cheese these days. Butter is easily replaced with nonhydrogenated margarines, like Earth Balance, or coconut oil in moderation.

Dairy- and Egg-free Resources from Around the Web
Fat-free Vegan
Vegan Yum Yum
The Messy Cook
Post Punk Kitchen

Dairy- and Egg-free Recipes
Rice Pudding
Ginger Cookies
Pumpkin Pie
Tofu Scramble

My friend and former co-worker Erin was diagnosed with Celiac disease as a child, and has been a lifelong advocate for Celiac awareness and a shining example of how the right attitude (and fun sunglasses) can make up for a life without Eli’s Health Bread. Before her, I’d never heard of Celiac; but her stories started filling in some gaps for me. I thought of my mom, who stopped eating wheat several years before I met Erin.

Mom has a severe sensitivity to wheat, which exacerbates her rheumatoid arthritis, increasing the inflammation and discomfort. Whenever she has even a little bit of wheat, her arthritis flares up and she feels fatigued and achy for days. She has never been diagnosed with Celiac, though I suspect its because the tests are unreliable when you are on a low-gluten or gluten-free diet at the time of the test.

Diagnosis or no, she feels much better when she avoids gluten. So she eats other whole grains, like quinoa, millet, and lots and lots of rice. Just last week she called to tell me how much she loved the Mushroom Quinotto recipe I posted back in the summer. Even indirectly, I can feed my loved ones!

Gluten-free Resources Around the Web
Erin’s Gluten-Free Fun
Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
Delectably Free
Julia and Julieta
Gluten-Free Goddess

Gluten-freen Recipes (also dairy- and egg-free)
Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca
Mushroom Quinotto
Carrot Cake
Snickerdoodles

Here’s where I have the least personal experience, at least as far as baking goes. You know I love to whip up a whole grain dish, heavy on the veg. But sweets without sugar... I don’t know where to begin. Here’s what the American Diabetes Association has to say about the matter: “For many people, having about 45 to 60 grams [of carbohydrates] at meals is about right. Serving sizes make a difference. To include sweets in your meal, you can cut back on the other carb-containing foods at the same meal.”

CB’s mom has hypoglycemia, and she can have about 100 grams of carbs per day, when the average woman takes in over 300. Otherwise, she gets terrible headaches and fatigue. So even though people with diabetes and hypoglycemia can have sugar on occasion, they have to be selective about it. Eating a diet that’s high in protein, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates keeps folks with sugar issues on track.

One obstacle to sugar-free baking is texture and bulk replacement. I tried to make a batch of stevia cookies for CB’s mom when we visited last weekend. While they tasted good, the texture was more like a biscuit than a cookie. Granulated sugar is what gives cookies their chewy texture, and it didn’t help that I replaced the bulk (1 1/2 tsp of stevia = 1 cup of sugar) with tofu.

I’ll be going back to Angel Food Laboratories for more sugar-free baking experiments, and when I’ve perfected the stevia cookie, you’ll be the first to hear about it.

Sugar-free Resources
The Sweet Stuff: A New Color in the Packet Rainbow
Diabetes.org Recipes
Gita’s Kitchen
Savvy Vegetarian: Sugar Free Desserts with Stevia

Sugar-free/Low-carb Recipes
Oatmeal Apple Muffins(also dairy- and egg-free)
Crustless Spinach Quiche
Lentil, Spinach, and Bulgur Stew

Gentle Readers, what are your favorite food-issue resources? Got any great tips for specialty cooking or baking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. You are so wise and I have much to learn.

~~~~

If you dig this article, you may also dig:
Vegetarian Meal Planning for Meat Eaters
Serving Sizes and Portion Control: A Primer
Ewww...That’s Not Vegetarian 101

Read more »

Posted in: Cooking,Health,Veggie Might