Irish oats, or steel cut oats are among the least processed (and therefore better for you) grains you can eat. Generally the issue with grains is they are too processed. Essentially, what this processing is doing is ‘pre digesting’ the food you eat, robbing your body of the nutrients included in the food. Rolled oats are literally rolled flat, and partially cooked decreasing their level of fiber, nutrients and flavor. And then on the other end of the spectrum is instant oats, which are low quality and to be avoided.  

Irish oats are usually for sale in the bulk section of the supermarket, and they are very cheap. You might notice they are not labeled ‘heart healthy,’ but like most items in the supermarket, the most healthy products are marginalized, while the least are well marketed and labeled ‘heart healthy.’ I’ll give you an example: Honey Nut Cheerios vs. steel cut oats. 

Steel Cut Oats(1/4 cup):
No Fanfare labeling.
2g of good fats. 4g protein (though it is a low amino acid count). 26g Carbohydrates with 4g fiber 2g soluble and another 2g unsoluble. GI index 42.

Honey Nut Cheerios:   
Is usually labeled “heart healthy”
2g fat (no information given as to quality) 22g Carbohydrates (9g as simple sugar, and 2g as fiber). Also, 190mg sodium. GI index 74.

Apples to apples, these two foods might appear pretty even, until you consider their effect on your blood sugar. According to GI index.com, Honey Nut Cheerios is listed as a ‘high” GI food. This means your body will digest the calories very quickly, thus causing a blood sugar spike and possibly an insulin response. If you ever had this happen, you know what I am talking about.

As far as the sugars and digestion, Honey Nut Cheerios burns like gasoline while Steel cut oats burn like heating oil–much slower and therefore easier on your body’s systems. For a more thorough explanation, google ‘soda and type II diabetes,’ and you will get a thorough explanation of how soda is related to type II diabetes. You will also find studies supporting the relationship of type II diabetes and sugar free soda!

Enough rambling, here are Irish Oats, a healthy breakfast and good decision making. 

One cup steel cut oats
Three cups water
Pinch of salt

Simple Huh?

Boil and then simmer covered for at least 45 min. You can serve them extremely tender or chewy, depending on your cooking time. Garnish with dried fruit, a teeny bit of sugar and some heavy cream or half and half. Congratulate self of seeing through the hype.

I have always been a fan of cornmeal, the Italians call it Polenta. Like many foods that Italy is famous for, corn actually comes from North America, and they stole it from us and re named it something fancy! This is an easy and quick dish ready in almost no time if you use store bought polenta.

Or if you have a little more time, you can make your own polenta. What is polenta? Think of it as a ‘textured’ mashed potatoes, extremely rich and satisfying:

Basic Polenta:
Combine one cup corn meal in two cups water, bring to boil, as it thickens, add ½ cup heavy cream and a cube of butter, one cup chicken stock if you have some or some more water. The total ratio of liquid to corn meal should be about 1:4. As you add to the mixture, it will thicken. Spread out on to a casserole dish and allow to cool. You don’t have to be too precise with corn meal, in my experiences, it is extremely forgiving.          

Polenta Sausage Lasagna:
One tube of Italian sausage
One can of tomato sauce
About two cups of mozzarella cheese (fresh or the store bought package)
Fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Polenta

Brown a tube of crumbled hot Italian sausage in a pan, if little bits start to stick, don’t panic (it’s called ‘fond’ and it tastes great) add some water and one can of tomato sauce. Let the sauce reduce and thicken.

Cut your polenta nice and thin (about ½”) and layer the bottom of an 8×8” casserole dish. Cover with ½ the sausage sauce and top with ½ of both cheeses. Once all the ingredients are used up (please use everything, that is the mark of a great chef) place in the oven and bake at 350 until it smells like heaven.

Here is a Food Network recipe for hommus, (hummos?hommos?)  which we have done in the past on this blog, but this is another variation that includes sesame oil and is a little different overall. 

Basically, the more ground chick peas/ garbanzo beans, you eat with olive oil, the better, so if the first recipe was too garlic-y or didn’t touch your happy spot, then try this one: 

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 12 to 15 grinds black pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• Paprika, for garnish

Directions

In a blender combine all the ingredients except the parsley and paprika to be used for garnish. Blend on low speed until smooth. You’ll have to stop the blender often to push down the ingredients. If the mixture is too dry and you’re having trouble blending it, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil to help things along.

Scrape the hummus onto a plate. Sprinkle the paprika over the top, drizzle lightly with olive oil, scatter some parsley on top, and serve. You can make the hummus up to a couple of hours before you serve it. Cover the top with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

Per Tablespoon: Calories: 57; Total Fat: 4 grams; Saturated Fat: 0.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 5 grams; Sugar: 0 grams; Fiber: 1 gram; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 96 milligrams

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/hummus-dip-recipe/index.html

As a kid, my dad would make Minestrone, and being a kid I would mispronounce it to my dad’s tender ‘pro-Italian’ ears. It was fun to make him squirm, and in fact, it still is.  This is a classic recipe that I don’t think I could improve upon…

Total Time: 2 hr 0 min
Prep 20 min
Inactive 1 hr 0 min
Cook 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Level:Intermediate

Ingredients

• 8 cups Parmigiano and Herb-Fortified Stock, recipe follows
• 4 Roasted Tomatoes, chopped, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 1 1/8-inch-thick slice prosciutto di Parma, about 1/4 pound, optional
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves roasted garlic (from roasted tomato recipe), recipe follows
• 1 red chile pepper, finely chopped or thinly sliced (recommended: Fresno or Holland)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound small potatoes, chopped or 1 cup small pasta
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 (15 to 15.5-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 5 ounces fresh, thin green beans, cut into thirds
• 1 small head escarole or small bundle chard, shredded
• Lemon zest
• Parmesan cheese, shredded, for topping
• Hot, crusty bread for mopping

Directions

Set aside or prepare the stock and roasted tomatoes.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat, add extra-virgin olive oil, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the prosciutto and stir a couple of minutes. Add the chopped onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and chile pepper, season with salt, and pepper. If you are using potatoes, add them here. If you are using pasta, heat a second medium pot of water to a boil for the pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente. Cool the pasta and drizzle with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil. Cover and store separately from the soup. Cover the pan and sweat the vegetables 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, prepared stock and prepared tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil and add the green beans. Bring the soup back to a bubble, then turn off the heat and cool the soup. Store the soup in the refrigerator for a make-ahead meal.

To reheat the soup: Place the soup over medium-high heat. Crisp up the bread in a warm oven. When the soup comes to a boil, stir in the cooked pasta, escarole, and a little lemon zest. Turn off the heat when pasta is warmed through. Serve the soup in shallow bowls and top with cheese, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and crusty bread alongside for mopping.

SERVINGS: 4 (as main)
Calories: 531
Total Fat: 12 grams
Saturated Fat: 2 grams
Protein: 23 grams
Total carbohydrates: 87 grams
Sugar: 12 grams
Fiber: 18 grams
Cholesterol: 5 milligrams
Sodium: 1,092 milligrams

• Parmigiano and Herb Fortified Stock
• 1 large rind trimmed from a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or a few small pieces rind perhaps saved-up
• Herb bundle of several sprigs each fresh thyme, parsley and rosemary, tied
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 ribs celery, sliced on angle
• 2 carrots, sliced on angle
• Peeled rind of 1 lemon
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 12 cups (3 quarts) water

For the stock:
Place the cheese rind, herb bundle, onion, celery, carrots, lemon rind, bay leaves, chicken stock, and water into a pot and bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer at least 1 hour, and then remove the rind, herb bundle, and vegetables with a slotted spoon or strainer.

• Roasted Tomatoes
• 24 ripe organic vine tomatoes or large plum tomatoes
• Several cloves garlic, crushed
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling

For the tomatoes:
Heat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet or baking sheets in a single layer. Scatter the garlic among the tomatoes, dress with extra-virgin olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes until they burst and skins split and begin to char, about 30 minutes. Cool the tomatoes until cool enough to handle and peel. Place the tomatoes in a bowl.

Source:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/hearty-and-healthy-3-bean-minestrone-recipe/index.html

Buckwheat comes to theUSfrom Asia, where is it eaten as noodles like soba inJapan(the noodles are 80-100% buckwheat) or kasha inRussia. It is often thought of as a healthy high protein grain with relatively low calories. This recipe is from my grandmother who grew up in a family of 16 kids on a farm inIndiana. She would make these almost everyday for her kids (she had 13 herself) and my grandfather claimed he could work all day on them. Which makes sense because the rough processed grain is very high in lean and slow burning starches when compared to bleached white flour. 

She fried them on high in bacon grease and they were closer to a fitter than a pancake, but -boy were they good. We have these at least once a week, because they are gluten free, health high in fiber and remind me of my long past rustic family. Serve with cold milk and butter and syrup.   

1/2 Cup Buckwheat flour
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp backing soda dissolved in 1/4 C water
1/4 C oil (I prefer unrefined coconut oil)
2 C warm water
1 tsp yeast

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour (or refrigerate overnight in a container that allows for the batter to rise). These pancakes are alive with yeast akin to sourdough, and have a slight loud yeasty flavor if you let them rise overnight.

This is a modern and convenient spin on the old TexMex classic.  –By the way, If you have not ever ordered Eggs with Red Pork Chili at the Capital View Café, then do yourself a favor, it is the best breakfast in town!

My dish is a little quicker to prepare, and not so heavy on the meat. At the Capital View Café, it is clear the pork was slow cooked, and laced with bright red arbol chilies. Also, if you have a nice slow morning to get up and get centered, eggs and beans is a great way to come out of the blocks. The beans are cooked until tender, and lightly fried eggs get covered with bean gravy and placed on a light tortilla. 

If you are feeling frisky, you can fry the tortillas in oil for a nice crispy plate, but raw tortillas covered in fried eggs, beans and cheese is pretty nice too. 

List of ingredients:
Olive oil
One onion
Bell pepper of any color
Garlic
Two cans beans Pinto, Kidney, Black, whatever
Rotel (or comparable canned diced tomato product)
Chicken stock
Grated cheese
Some leftover meat, strip of bacon or go vegetarian. This recipe is very adaptable.   

Heat some olive oil in a medium frying pan until hot, if you are using some meat or bacon, add it now. (If using bacon, let it fry until it’s done before adding your veggies, wet vegetables put a speed limit on the cooking process.) Once meat or bacon is done, add your onion and bell pepper, let them cook until they are nice and dried out, a little brown or even black around the edges.  Dice up a dried pepper (mulatto, a few arbols, guajillo) and add at the end of the sauté process.

Once everything is getting dry and sticky, and the lesser cooks among you have begun to fret, add your can of tomato sauce and garlic.  I like the flavor of garlic, so I add it with the tomato, if you want it to be diminished, sauté it a little. I also add some water and let the whole pot stew until it dries out, but if you are in a hurry, you do not have to.   

Once the mixture has reduced to about half the volume, add two cans of beans. To thicken the mixture, crush some of the beans with a large fork and they will blend into a nice thick saucy gravy.

If you are really feeling fancy, you can fry some eggs, place on tortillas, and cover the eggs with beans, then add some cheese and flash broil for a heartbeat. Don’t forget to warn those you are serving: “hot plate!” for the authentic restaurant experience. 

And if you make it to the Capital View, tell Glenn and Mia that Dr. Eric sent you! They will have absolutely no idea who I am!

(I was going to call this ‘Tami’s Magic Massaged Kale Salad,” but I didn’t think it would fly.) 

Why kale? Because it’s good for you! And during the holidays where Christmas cookies beat your door down constantly, you need as much high nutrient high fiber food as you can get. The rumor is, kale has been viewed since the ancient Romans and Greeks as a healthy food. Kale is loaded with anti-oxidants and fiber, which adds to its satiability. Think of it as the Anti Junk Food! A high micro-nutrient diet will make you less likely to crave foods. Also, kale is fibrous and fills up your belly, making you less likely to be impulsively hungry, and then eat numerous Christmas cookies, possibly at your desk at work, possibly while writing a healthy recipe.

If you have ever tried Sara’s chocolate cookies, then you would understand, that all you can do is place them well outside of arm’s reach, and hope for the best.

A common complaint about kale is that it is too starchy, but when rubbed with salt and lemon juice, it begins pre digesting, and reduces to a much lighter consistency, not unlike iceberg lettuce, which is not even close in nutrient content to kale. Then the biting acidity of lemon juice helps the starchy turn to light and crisp.

Dried fruit and nuts help brighten up the dish, and here’s to the best you can do resisting holiday snacks!

One head of kale, de stemmed and torn apart into small leaves. 

Then add to a salad bowl: Juice of ½ lemon, pinch lemon zest, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup vinegar and 1tsp kosher salt, one minced clove of garlic, black pepper, oregano. 

Massage the kale leaves with some pressure, rubbing the mixture into the leaves on both sides and then let sit at room temp for at least one half hour. 

To the treated leaves, add:
-¼ cup of almost any nut (small sizes)
-Feta cheese
-Chopped dried fruit (apricot, craisins, raisins, prunes)
-Chopped fresh fruit (apple, pear)
-Hint of cayenne for Zang!   

Toss together and serve as a snack, or a side.

Beef stew is just the thing for a nine degree night, and making your own is much better than heating up a can of Dinty Moore. Why? Well in short, the lack of preservatives, salt, the can itself, and inversely good fat and lots of slow cooked meat and vegetables. If unclear about the health benefits of homemade vs. canned, then consider a nutrition consultation with Dr. Schaffer.

People have asked me in the past, do I use cooking wine or ‘real’ wine for my cooking and there is a simple answer: real. This choice is a theme that comes up again and again in cooking.

Remember in the seventies, when the conventional wisdom was that instant coffee, orange juice, milk, eggs, were just as good for you as the real thing? Well guess what? Conventional wisdom was wrong! Don’t get me started on my mom’s twenty year battle with her mother in law about the health benefits of enriched Wonder Bread vs. whole wheat bread.  In short, let’s say Wonder Bread is not even within the realm of what anyone should consider “healthy.” That can come as a shock to some people. 

In a similar concept, don’t use spice packs! Use the real thing! Spice packs are an expensive way of at once oversalting your food, and underspicing your food.  For any food product, read the label, if you don’t know what something is, then don’t eat it.  If someone handed you a nice bowl of guar gum, you wouldn’t eat it. Makes sense. Rant over.    

Once you have tasted a nice red wine sauce, then the spice pack approximation just won’t do it anymore.  Red wine, when reduced will turn into a light peppery and tart meaty gravy. It is wonderful base for stew. If the gravy is too thin and you prefer richer, add a ½ cup of heavy cream at the last half hour of cooking. It might take a few tries to really nail this recipe, but once you get the idea, it is smooth sailing. 

Here’s to an old take on an old classic.

Two pounds stew meat
One large onion.
Olive oil
A bottle of red wine, some for drinking, some for cooking.
Five cloves of garlic.
Stew vegetables. Starchy: carrots, potato, celery, parsnip, turnip, kale, eggplant etc. the sky is the limit…Savory: mushroom, tomato, tomatillo, chili pepper, bell pepper, onion, dried chilis, etc. 

I don’t think the type of vegetable is the issue, but two things: the ratio of vegetable to meat and sauce should be about 1:1 per volume, and let the meat get a long head start before you add the vegetables, less the veggies will turn to mush. 

Spices: whatever floats your boat…Chili powder, Black pepper, Paprika, Bay leaves, Tumeric, Salt, Mustard seeds, Crushed red peppers, Coriander seeds, Adobo, any fresh herb.

Brown the meat in a medium stock pot on medium high in a little olive oil.  If the pot gets too full, remove some of the browned meat, and add some raw. Don’t worry about the little browned and crusty bits on the bottom of the pan, they get cleaned up in the next step…

Once all the meat is browned, add your onion and stir for about two to four minutes, the smell at this point should be heavenly. Turn the heat up on high, don’t worry about anything burning, you are working with a safety net! Once everything is browned, and the bottom of the pan is a little brown and crispy (if it makes onlookers nervous, you are on the right track!!) add your wine. I use whatever is cheap, I have never noticed a difference between good drinking wine and cheap drinking wine, it all cooks very similarly. 

When I made this the last time, I used a whole bottle of red wine, and it was amazing. Let the meat simmer in the wine covered until it is tender. If you like it falling apart, let it go an hour and a half or so (all times are very approximate).

Once your meat is almost falling apart, (slightly rubbery, and still a little tough) add your vegetables and cook until tender.  The vegetables will produce a little water, so leave the cover off if the stew it too wet, and cook about 45 minutes.  Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta or some fresh bread. But not Wonder Bread.      

This is an old family recipe from Dr. Schaffer’s past. It is a staple at Thanksgiving dinner.  Cranberries, these little nutrition bombs are fantastic with a syrupy liqueur, like Grand Marnier. As far as the nutritional value of a cranberry once it is dried and then rehydrated with 40% alcohol, I’m going to lie and assume nothing changes.

Cranberries are also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) and Vitamin K, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Manganese. Their tart and powerful flavor is great to offset a rich meal with lots of gravy.  

This dish is good for Thanksgiving dinner or really any time where a sweet and tart dish would go nicely on your plate.

In a mixing bowl combine enough fresh, raw cranberries to fill an 8”x8” baking dish, about two cups. Fold in the mixing bowl cranberries and ¼ sugar then transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. They will look like little craisins, with a little charring.  Place cranberries in mixing bowl and fold in ¾ cups Grand Marnier. The little guys will drink all the booze, become “crocked,” thereby rendering them good to eat for so many reasons.

Let cool or serve warm. Be sure and ID any children at the table.     

How many times have you been in a rush in the morning bitterly hungry, sweating from too much coffee, and arrive at work in a putrid mood?

Apparently I am the only one. What’s the fix?

Protein! (–from the Greek ‘above all else’) in the morning can change your life! It helps stabilize your blood sugar, helps wake you up with the precursors for alertness, and goes down like butter. 

A perfectly cooked two eggs and cheese omelet will help, believe me. In one of my cooking magazines, there was a recipe for a basic omelet, they do a story about how to do a classic dish and explain everything perfectly. From this it still took me about eight tries to get my omelet perfect.  

The trick for any omelets is to match the pan to the amount of eggs; but if you don’t grasp this, its days in the darkness for you. This explains why almost all omelets wind up as scrambled eggs, but like I always say, cooking is about eating your mistakes.

Two or three eggs
Butter
Salt and pepper
Cheese

There’s nothing like a short ingredient list.

Crack the eggs and put in a small blender (magic bullet, small food processor, or hand whisk in a small bowl) I add some heavy cream, just a touch, and pulse slightly until it looks slightly whipped with air in the eggs.

You will need an omelet pan, or a small flat pan. Heat to medium and coat the pan with butter, add the egg mixture and coat the pan by shifting it in a circle, and let it cook. Scramble the mixture slightly and let the eggs sear on the pan. Let it go “until its done” it will take some practice. Before the eggs look done, lower the heat, add your cheese and fold over the edges so it looks like a little tube. Cover and let sit. With a little practice you will be making omelets one after the other for hours at family gatherings. Ask me how I know!

Omelets are magic… off to work in a better mood.