Happy New Year, The Mayo Clinic Diet Book Giveaway , and Ten in Ten

Happy New Year friends and readers. Hard to believe its back to the grind tomorrow at work. I have really enjoyed this last week just chilling with Certain Someone doing nothing really. Even my tweeting has decreased, although he would argue with that. Certain Someone gave me some great tools for the New Year. Kitchen Aid pasta rollers, and IPhone 3GS. I'm going crazy with the IPhone as I'm a Blackberry addict. I love all these apps, esp the recipe and fitness related ones. I have a lot of seeds and plans for this year. Certain Someone has surprised me the past few days with agreeing to some tiny changes in ways we eat. He didn't balk when I suggested whole wheat pizza dough for our New Years pizzas. I even got him to eat some greens and beans. Last night he made me dinner, a pizza with the whole wheat dough I made. It was good, but couldn't convince him to go totally meatless. Baby steps. If it wasn't 7 degrees right now we would be going for a walk. But There is the treadmill.
I was the lucky recipient of an advance copy of the Mayo Clinic Diet. I'm not really a dieter as I love food and life to much to deprive myself. However I need to put things in check. Many have claimed they had world renown Mayo Clinic certified diets before, but, this is the only official one ever released by them. In reading through the book and journal. its not a diet per say, but a way of life. Using the classic pyramid, the book educates you on proper serving within the food groups. Fitness and breaking of bad habits is emphasized as well. All nothing new and gimmicky, just clearly illustrated good practical sense. A few recipes and menus are given , but you really do the work in figuring it all out with the tools they give you. I like this as you can work with what you have and not have really expensive shopping lists of items you have and never will eat again like some diets.Although here is a whole link to Mayo Clinic Weight Loss Recipes.You can jump start your way with the Quick Start Plan designed to help you loose 6-10 lbs in 2 weeks. I love the tool they give, a journal to record your progress. If only they had that as a IPhone application.

About Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H., is chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine and a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is also an associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. A specialist in nutrition and weight management, Dr. Hensrud advises individuals on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. He conducts research in weight management, and he writes and lectures widely on nutrition-related topics. He helped publish two award-winning Mayo Clinic cookbooks.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that the needs of the patient come first. Over 3,600 physicians and scientists and 50,000 allied staff work at Mayo, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, Mayo Clinic treats more than 500,000 patients a year.For more than 100 years, millions of people from all walks of life have found answers at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic works with many insurance companies, does not require a physician referral in most cases and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
For more information, please visit www.goodbooks.com/mayoclinicdiet.

I confess this will be hard with food blogging, recipe development for future projects, etc. But I can only try. I am giving away a copy of this book and journal to randomly picked commenter. Just leave a comment telling me what your Food or health related goals are this year .

Adapting recipes
If the recipe calls for
Butter Margarine Shortening Oil

Try Substituting
✚✚ For sandwiches, substitute tomato slices, catsup or mustard.

✚✚ For stove-top cooking, sauté food in broth or small amounts of healthy
oil like olive, canola or peanut or use non-stick spray.
✚✚ In marinades, substitute diluted fruit juice, wine or balsamic vinegar.
✚✚ In cakes or bars, replace half the fat or oil with the same amount of
applesauce, prune puree or commercial fat substitute.
✚✚ To avoid dense, soggy or flat baked goods, don’t substitute oil for butter
or shortening, or substitute diet, whipped or tub-style margarine for
regular margarine.

Meat Try Substituting

Keep it lean. In soup, chili or stir-fry, replace most of the meat with beans
or vegetables. As an entrée, keep it to no more than the size of a deck of
cards — load up on vegetables.

Whole milk (regular or

evaporated)

Try Substituting

Fat-free or 1% milk, or evaporated skim milk
Whole egg
(yolk and white)

Try Substituting

¼ cup egg substitute or 2 egg whites for breakfast or in baked goods
Sour cream

Try Substituting

Cream cheese
Fat-free, low-fat or light varieties in dips, spreads, salad dressings and toppings.
Fat-free, low-fat and light varieties do not work well for baking.
Sugar

Try Substituting

In most baked goods, you can reduce the amount of sugar by one-half
without affecting texture or taste, but use no less than ¼ cup of sugar for
every cup of flour to keep items moist.
White flour
Replace half or more of white flour with whole grain pastry or regular flour.
Salt

Try Substituting

✚✚ Use herbs (1 tbsp. fresh = 1 tsp. dried = ¼ tsp. powder). Add towards the end of cooking and use sparingly — you can always add more.
✚✚ Salt is required when baking yeast-leavened items. Otherwise you may reduce salt by half in cookies and bars. Not needed when boiling pasta.

I have committed myself to Ten in Ten(10 weeks to Healthy 2010). I know its cliche to begin a new regime at New Years, but better now than never. I have found since I began food blogging,turning 40,change of job to more sedentary one, and co habitation, I have gained a significant amount of weight. I rarely work out like I used to. The Mayo Clinic Plan appeals to me because its its not a fad diet, but is just streamlining and actually practicing what basically I know and is not about deprivation, but just good common sense. I realistically plan to lose 2 lbs per week. I need that extra motivation to exercise and move.

My goals are realistic.

• Try to stay within 1200 calories for at least 1 month
• Exercise at least 2-3 times a week. I may join gym near office with pal and work out at lunch( undecided about the lunch time part).
• Try to lower blood pressure
  
• Lose 20-40 lbs this year.
• Pay more attention to portion size.
  

So enter a comment on your food and health goals for the New Year. Be sure to spread the word via Twitter and Facebook too. Cutoff is January 10, 2010.

The Un-Constipated Gourmet....Elote

Even the Queen of England has to go.... No one is above this bodily function. For all we shove in we should more concerned about it coming out, and on a regular basis. Constipation is a growing problem that can lead to many medical complications and disease.Only now are people even daring to talk aloud about this.Danielle Svetcov has addresses this in what,many people don't want to talk about out loud, The Un-Constipated Gourmet. Can one watch their health and enjoy good food without having to resort to nasty , drastic remedies? Yes, by incorporating certain foods in your meal plans.
I love this book for the great original concept and the writers style of addressing this non delicate subject. I wish however that this book of 125 recipes had photos, because she has some really great recipes that need to be shown in a visual sense.Asking family and friends what 'makes them go', Danielle develops a list of key foods and rates them with a numerical 'Go-Meter'.The Un-Constipated Gourmet also tells you what foods to avoid .Breakfast,Snacks, Dips and Spreads,Soups,Salads, Sides, Entrees, Desserts, Special Elixirs,Emergency Recipes, and a chapter on 'Corkage' if you need to stop the flow, are all there. Some recipes are interesting and original, and some are familiar. But one looks at them in new light and as something good that will keep you regular.
With my schedule there were many recipes I wanted to try, but managed to only make one for this post. Elote is something you find on the streets of Chicago sold in the Mexican community. Summer is abundant with corn, and this combo, which I never dared buy form a cart, called my name.

Elote
from the Un-Constipated Gourmet by Danielle Svetcov
4 Ears of corn
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Boil corn in salted water for 5 minutes. on a plate combine mayonnaise and lime juice to roll the corn on and through.Mix cheese and seasonings on another plate.Roll cooked corn on mayonnaise, and then roll on the cheese plate.Grilled corn works great as well.
For prinatable version click here:

I am giving away a copy of the Un-Constipated Gourmet. Leave a comment with your own remedy or just why you want the book. Don't be uptight and keep it all in.It's bad for you.Drawing ends July 20.


Congrats to Judy of No Fear Entertaining for winning the Real Housewives Cocktail contest!Send me your address.

I.O Organic Sicilian Blood Orange Juice, A Chicken Dish,and a Cocktail

I stuck up a Twitter correspondence with the owner of I.O Organics ,Organic Blood Orange Juice. He kindly sent me two bottles for review. I love Blood oranges and to see a product like this naturally intrigued me. Produced on his families farm in Mineo, Sicily, the juice provides 40% more than the FDA recommended amounts of vitamin C. That's more than the average orange. Potassium, fiber, iron,calcium, and Vitamin A round out the health benefits.

I was worried this would be a sugary drink. Absolutely not! The flavor was crisp and tart, while naturally sweet. One can drink this alone, or make a wonderful cocktail.

Of course my unoriginal self immediately used some of the juice for a healthy orange chicken.This chicken is not fried and cooks slow to produce a slow reduction of Blood Orange Juice , molasses, and brown sugar, Toss in some fresh Broccoli to roast and you have a healthy version of Orange Chicken.

Glamah's Not Your Food Court Orange Chicken

1 cup I.O ORGANICS Blood Orange Juice

4 chicken thighs ( bone in)

1 head of fresh broccoli

1.3 cup molasses

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

sea salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

pinch of Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp ground Ginger

In a heavy duty enameled cast iron pan toss all ingredients and add chicken. It will be liquidy. Slowly roast uncovered at 350 degrees F until liquid starts to reduce and thicken. It will take approx 45 depending on your oven. At the 30 minute stage you can add Fresh Broccoli to the pan to roast in the liquids and with the chicken. When the chicken looks about done, you can turn up the oven temp to 475 to help the juices/liquid caramelize and glaze the chicken. Remove from oven and enjoy. Serve with rice.

I also made a cocktail. Its sub zero here in Chicago and the Blood Orange Juice evoked feelings of sunshine for me.

Banana Blood Orangetini

2 parts I.O Blood Orange Juice

1 part vodka

1 part Banana Rum

Combine all ingredients in a martin shaker with ice and serve in a frosted glass.

You can find more information of I.O Organics Blood Orange Juice here.

Rethinking Salmon...Crusted & Seared In Onion Seeds and Spicy Salmon Cannellini Cakes

I'm sure most posts you are reading this week are about healthy foods, and mine is no exception. I have a rare negative opportunity with Certain Someone away for a while, to turn it into a positive.While my love is away, I can indulge in some healthier foods that aren't necessarily to his liking and experiment more. Certain Someone is not a fish person, but I love it. However Salmon is one of those fishes I can tire of easily. I purchased a pound and salmon and cut three fillets for this week. Here are two dishes I came up this week: I loved this piece of salmon I dipped in Onion seeds, otherwise known as Nigella seeds or Black Cumin. You can can find these in an Indian market. Lightly heated or toasted a nice light flavor emanates. I was more interested in visual contrast.

Heat a pan than can go into into oven with a bit of vegetable oil on the stove top. Place your salmon (Skin on and side down) dipped with onion seeds on top, in the pan.Lightly season with sea salt.Broil in oven for a few minutes until desired doneness.Turn salmon over carefully once and broil for an additional moment to cook the top. The underside of the skin should be nice and crispy. Serve atop a bed of greens dressed with lemon and olive oil.

*****************************************************************************************************

I was craving something else a bit more substantial but light. I toyed with a can of Cannellini Beans which go excellent with salmon and came up with this spicy cakes.Not fried but still crispy, they are lighter , exotic version of salmon croquettes. You can omit the spice but that adds the punch:

Spicy Salmon Cannellini Cakes

makes 6 patties

15 oz can of Cannelini Beans rinsed and drained

6-7 ounce fillet of salmon poached (skin off)

1 egg beaten

1/4 cup Rice Flour

1 small ear fresh corn( kernels scrapped off) or 1/2 cup can. Fresh works best.

1-2 red chilies

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

vegetable oil for greasing the baking sheet

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl add the can of cannelini beans. and chopped red chili's. Take an immersion blender and mash. Add egg, rice flour, garlic, flaked salmon,corn,salt, and mix. Mixture will be goopy( for lack of better word). In a separate dish pour in your Panko Bread Crumbs. Grease baking sheet.

With well oiled hands take a scoop of mixture and drop in Panko. Turn over. Its not a firm mixture so you will need to shape it carefully. Drop well coated patties onto baking sheet. Bake for approx 10 minutes and then turn. Bake for another 10 minutes. Patties should be firm and slightly golden.

I served these atop wilted rainbow chard wilted in olive oil and lime wedges.

Nouvelle Soul....Oven Fried Catfish Nuggets and Spaghetti Squash

Currently in Chicago its that time of year for food festivals like Taste of Chicago, and family picnics/cookouts. In the Black(or to be politically correct African American) community one will find the usual standard fare of rib tips,burgers, hot dogs,potato salad,macaroni salad, some fried chicken or catfish served alongside with a spaghetti dish . It s good eating and tradition . The younger generations may try to infuse some healthier alternatives. I remember when I introduced my family to grilled salmon with a brown sugar teriakye sauce. Its a staple now at every Fourth of July.

I got to thinking about health today, OK ,I always think of it. But when my doctor was concerned with the weight increase in just a year I started reviewing. All in all its work, inactivity, and the food blogging doesn't help. But I love it. I like to think I eat healthier or at least a more diversified diet than my parents. They were successful professionals who had genetic time bombs ticking away.African Americans have higher rates of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes . My mother passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 54 and my father was a diabetic who in the last decade went downhill with strokes, heart attacks, and eventually ended up on dialysis.He developed adult onset diabetes when he moved from Nigeria to the West. Natural diet and sugars to refined processed foods. I was the sole care giver of both parents . Did I mention my step father had Parkinson's? Lets just say illness has hovered around like a bad penny all my life. Then I read Giz's story and got to thinking some more.If you haven't thought about Organ Donation, start.Its a personal subject, but one we can't ignore.This will impact you one way or another in your lifetime. So here is my entry for Tried ,Tested and True Two.Its my healthier lower fat version of a fried catfish and spaghetti dish. Call it Nouvelle Soul. There is a lot going here with flavors and influences. Certain Someone said it was OK for healthy. He would have preferred the real spaghetti, but he liked it.That's just him . I thought it was great and full of spice.Of course I added hot sauce to my fish.Enjoy.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 3
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 292.6
Total Fat: 10.8 g
Cholesterol: 67.5 mg
Sodium: 299.0 mg
Total Carbs: 23.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Protein: 24.3 g

Oven Fried Catfish

1-2 lbs catfish nuggets

1 cup reduced fat milk

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Panko

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper ground

1 teaspoon chili flakes

Maldon Salt

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

1 teaspoon Lemon Pepper

Cooking Spray

Soak catfish for 1/2 -1 hour. In a zip lock bag mix all dry ingredients and spices. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.Take fish and drop in bag. Shake until evenly coated. Place on a baking sheet which has been pre sprayed with the the non stick cooking spray. Bake for approx 30 -45 minutes.

Spaghetti Squash

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 96.0
Total Fat: 2.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 312.6 mg
Total Carbs: 15.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.5 g
Protein: 2.3 g

1 Spaghetti Squash

1 can plum tomatoes

1 bell pepper chopped

1 half cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt

pepper

Italian Seasonings

Pierce the rind of Spaghetti Squash and Microwave 5-6 minutes per pound.Let stand for 5 minutes when complete. Spilt ope length wise and scoop out seeds. Take a fork and scoop out pulp which resembles spaghetti.

In a sauce Pan heat the olive oil. Brown onions and bell pepper, Italian seasonings, and salt/pepper Add crushed plum tomatoes and their juices and lower heat. Cook for approx 20 min.

Toss in spaghetti squash.

If your looking for a nice salad to add your cookout inspired dinner try this.

Basically I took my leftover lean pork loin and tossed with spinach leaves and and cubed sweet potato. The dressing is Rice vinegar, honey, and olive oil.

Black Irish Cake...St Paddy's Day Pub Crawl Event

This cake is a tasty, yummy, mess of a cake .

Emiline over at Sugar Plum has come up with a great event in honor of St. Patrick's Day! She has challenged us to come up with either sweet or savory dishes incorporating booze.Immediately I conceptualized a Black Irish Cake. A Black Irish Cake is a chocolate cake with mashed potatoes( hey it works!) soaked in 3 boozes( Baileys Irish Creme,Chocolate Liqueur, and Whiskey) in a riff of a Tres Leches Cake. Are you feeling me?

I remember reading about cakes made with mashed potatoes so it would be perfect for a Irish themed cake. I basically followed this recipe. However she used no dairy, and I added left over evaporated milk to the mashed potatoes( no more than 1/4 of a cup) and it turned out fine .You can use your own chocolate cake recipe and experiment.

I really wanted to use my authentic Feckin Irish Whiskey that was signed by the maker, but we agreed not to open the bottle.So I purchased some Jack Daniels instead along with some Baileys Irish Creme.

Black Irish Cake

1 Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake

1 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of evaporated milk

1 cup of Baileys Irish Cream

1/2 cup of whiskey

1/4- 1/2 cup of Chocolate Liqueur

Whipped Cream Topping (make your own with heavy cream , confectioners sugar,vanilla, etc. or cheat and buy a Non Dairy Whipped Topping. I used a Wilton Whipped Topping Mix).

Make your cake in a dish that you will serve the cake in. I used a 81/2 by 81/2 Plexiglas dish. I had leftover batter so I made 12 cupcakes as well to serve in individual ramekins. Take cake out of oven.Pierce all over. While still warm drizzle cake with Whiskey and Chocolate Liqueur.In a blender mix heavy cream,evaporated milk, and Baileys. Pour this cream mixture over warm cake. It may take several attempts for the liquids to sink into the cake.I still had leftover cream, but I soaked three times. Let cake cool, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours until chilled.If you have leftover cream and you feel the cake can take on more liquid, add it. Top off with Whipped Topping and serve.

Be sure to let it set well. I cut mine after a few hours, but it could have chilled some more to hold some shape.For a more perfect presentation serve it up in the individual ramekins. Regardless the flavors merge well and it gives you a sweet light light headed feeling. Certain Someone declared it was rich!

* Warning: Don't eat this and operate heavy machinery or drive.

Avoiding The Dark Side

Today was one of those days where I craved a pack of cigarettes and a drink or two. Bad for me I know, but I’m under a tremendous amount of stress right now. The past few weeks I have been fighting to retain my job or land a new one in our restructured company. To say we are all on edge is an understatement. I got to thinking about stress and its consequences. I saw all to well what stress did to cut my parents life short. How does this relate to food you ask? Well I have always been a green tea fan. I love to buy the gunpowder green tea pellets in China Town for cheap prices. I have been seeing Matcha pop up in blogs all over. Primarily it’s been used for dessert in the food blog world. Another dessert is not what I need right now, no matter how tempting. I ordered a tiny can from ITO EN in New York City. This stuff is expensive and so precious. I am not familiar with the tea ceremonies and rituals and accoutrement that go with it, but judging by the price no wonder it’s revered! Before I plunge into ways to use it, a little voice said wrap up the crazy day with some stress reducing cup of Matcha.My mother always told me trust my instincts. I feel those stress busting anti oxidants plugging away.

Tropic Kale Smoothie..Iron Man Meets Iron Chef

Chou over at balance ,

along with Julius and Lauren have come up with a great event. Iron Man Meets Iron Chef. Its a month long tests of physical and culinary feats. I'll pass on the physical but will rise to the culinary part.

So when Chou announced on Sunday the super food my mind started racing (if only my legs and body would follow suite). Kale prepared for breakfast is this week’s theme. I love Kale, but for breakfast! I immediately thought of a Kale frittata, or poached egg whites with kale. All good but I wanted to push the envelope. Breakfast = quick in my house on weekdays. So whats better than juice or a smoothie! In fact Kale has so much protein, anti oxidants, health promoting benefits that don’t cook off as much as other veggies. But raw, its packs a lot of punch. People eat it in salads and juices. Kales not just for soup. In reading up I saw a lot people make smoothies with some kale leaves and fruit. I picked Vitamin C packing fat burning citrus fruits to balance of the bitter kale. I even came up with a cute name Tropic Kale. Get It! And you know what, it looks weird, but tastes pretty good! Not to fruity and a little bite. I'm buzzing right now as I type. So all you athletes or lazy bums like me drink up!

Tropic Kale Smoothie
3 tablespoons lite coconut milk 25 cal
½ cup diced Papaya 27 cal
½ cup diced Pineapple 38 cal
¼ cup fresh orange juice 112 cal
½ cup raw Kale 17 cal
¼ cup tofu 65 cal

Throw it all in the blender with some ice and let it rip.

284 calories (a meal in one)

* I approximated based on calorie guides and amounts used. This is not exact.

Clean Eating

I fell upon this magazine called Clean Eating this week. I'm not one for diets and I find the weight has crept up on me over the years. Nesting with Certain Someone hasn't helped. We love food, good food, and don't necessarily want to sacrifice that.My current physical activity is just walking at any opportunity I can.I used to belong to a great gym which my bank account couldn't sustain anymore.I admit half the time I went there was for its country club like atmosphere. But I did go to classes and while I felt it didn't make much of a difference, I see that now without it , it did.Certain Someone leads a fast paced work life with most of his time spent flying all over the world. Needless to say his diet needs careful attention as well. We both need to do something and I love this magazine because it focuses on good healthy food that doesn't necessarily mean tasteless sacrifice. So I plan to work some of these recipes into our diet. I already did a variation of one( just used some other ingredients(peppers,tarragon, shallots and brined the chicken) but followed the technique of baking in parchment. OK, I added a drizzle of olive oil, but much better than pan frying or adding a heavy sauce.Certain Someone ate it up with some brown rice.





Today I making these fabulous Chocolate Almond Meringues made with natural sugar,cocoa,and almond extract. 5 of these little bites comes in at just 77 calories. I had planned to bake some cookies, but will satisfy myself with these morsels. I'm not swearing off all good decadent food,just trying to be more aware and balance things out for us.