One More Thing for Your Thanksgiving Table...

A quick little post to share with you before Thanksgiving dinner is done being planned, but first I want to say a Big THANK YOU to all of my readers for following this blog and supporting Grow In Wellness!

Are you looking to upgrade parts of your Thanksgiving meal?  One way you can do so is to try one of these two delicious (and easy) recipes. Both center around a vegetable that is most often an afterthought, but please keep reading, because this vegetable has a lot to offer.  I’m talking about cauliflower.  A cruciferous vegetable that gives us a myriad of vitamins like B’s, C and K, it also contributes to cancer prevention, reduces inflammation, gives us fiber and adds cardiovascular support from it’s omega 3’s. 

While it typically shows up on a plate steamed and hiding between carrots and broccoli as a restaurant’s vegetable side dish, there are better ways to prepare this gem of a vegetable.  My favorite is to roast it until it is golden and delicious.  Below are links to two of my favorite (healthy!) recipes - one with garlic and lemon by Emeril Lagasse and the other by Giada Di Laurentiis.  If those don’t sound good to you, I’ve added a link to Bon Appetit’s grouping of cauliflower recipes, too.  (I can’t say BA's are all healthy, but they do look tasty and it’s still a better choice than mashed potatoes and gravy). 

Mix things up a bit at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner and bring a new “guest” to the table with one of these recipes.  Stop back by and let me know if any of these made it to your table this year.

Wishing you a Happy (and healthy) Thanksgiving!

Fall Favorites for Your Plate

I love Michael Pollan’s quote, “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't. ”  Eating seasonally and organically are two great ways to do that!  And seasonal, organic, plant-based eating will also improve your health and help our environment. Each season brings its own bounty of delicious veggies to eat and this time of year, the fields are full of hearty, warming choices. 

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what’s really in season when you go to the grocery store.  You can find apples in summer and strawberries in winter, but they will have been grown far away, picked before their peak and then take days to get to your market. Foods that have been picked too early and travel long distances won’t look as pretty as the seasonal ones that grew to their peak. To make them look more appealing, they’re often treated with chemical ripening agents, wax coatings, and other preservatives. Their flavor and nutrient value has been diminished under those circumstances.  Buying what’s in season and what’s grown locally will give you the healthiest, tastiest produce and will reduce your carbon footprint.

The freshest choices for produce, and probably at the best prices, are at your local farmer’s market. If you don’t have time to go to the farmer’s market each week or if there isn’t one close to you, look into CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs that deliver fresh produce to you.  I get a customizable box twice a month for a great price and with the peace of mind that my produce is organic and grown locally.. Plus I sometimes get something new to try, like delicata squash.   If you are in the Southern California area, check out the Farm Fresh to You service. What “something new” will you try this fall?

Here are five of my favorites for this fall (with a few recipe links):

Brussels Sprouts –  a great source of vitamin C, antioxidants and potassium. They aren’t too tasty steamed, but roast a pan full of these, tossed with olive oil and diced pancetta, until they are a deep, golden brown and your taste buds will be happy (meat free option – substitute pancetta with chopped shallots).

Delicata Squash – new to you? It was to me until a year ago.  This green striped squash is full of beta-carotene, delicate in flavor and easy to prepare.  And the skin is so thin, you don’t need to peel it.  Halve it and clean out the seeds. Then slice ¼ inch thick and roast with red onion, rosemary and a little sea salt.

Butternut Squash – A fall staple, this squash makes a wonderful soup for cold days.  One of my favorite versions is by Ina Garten.  You can find it here: Butternut Squash Soup

Cauliflower – This vegetable might not have a lot of color, but it does have a lot of nutrients: Vitamins B-6, C, K, folate, anti-oxidants and sulforaphane, a compound that has anticancer properties. Another veggie that tastes great roasted.  Try this recipe by Emeril Lagasse: Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic and Lemon Juice.

Pears – This fruit comes in several varieties and while it’s delicious all on its own, it is just as good on a salad of mixed greens, Gorgonzola cheese, pecans and champagne vinaigrette as it is baked in a roasted pear crumble. (I substitute the brown and white sugar with coconut sugar).

Enjoy!

 PS  In case you were wondering, it's the cauliflower that I can eat like it's candy ;)

What's in the Box?

Two days a month I get a special delivery… my CSA box.  What’s a CSA box? Community Supported Agriculture boxes are technically boxes of organic produce sent direct from the farm to your house, but I prefer to think of it as a healthy surprise delivered right to my doorstep. Fresh, in season, just picked, organic fruits and vegetables ripe and ready to eat.  The fun part is that I never know what I’m going to get and this week’s box did not disappoint!

Here are all the goodies that I unpacked:

 

Don’t you just love all those vibrant colors?!  Radishes, carrots, oranges, sweet smelling strawberries, kale and butter lettuce, apples…even shallots and a Eureka lemon. I am excited to start cooking and eating everything… with one exception. Did you see the unusual lime-green, twirly, spikey vegetable thing in the back, tucked in between the radish tops and lettuce? 

 Looks like this:

 

It’s called a Romanesco Cauliflower.  (Luckily my  box comes with a packing list and a newsletter explaining unusual additions). I have never been served nor cooked nor eaten this vegetable before and my curiosity is peaked. What would this odd looking vegetable offer in the nutrition department? And more importantly, how would it taste?

Here’s what the Farm’s newsletter shared about Romanesco Cauliflower, “It has a high level of carotenoids, iron, vitamin C and folate.  The spiraled florets, when broken off, contain a replica of itself, which contains a replica of itself, and so on, like a hall of mirrors.  It has the same texture as white cauliflower, but the flavor has a slightly nutty flavor, a bit closer to the taste of broccoli.”  Hmmm, sounds pretty good to me, and I’m always up for trying something new (just like the delicata squash a few months ago). 

Two recipes were also included as to how to prepare it  (1) simply roasted with extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (optional) or (2) sautéed with shallots, evoo and white wine then tossed with hot pasta, shredded mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil, a little salt and pepper, too. Both sound delicious! 

I guess I know what I’ll be making for dinner tonight! How about you? If you have cooked with this vegetable before, I’d love to hear your favorite way to prepare it. Here’s to trying something new (and strange looking)!

*If you live in the southern California area and are interested in getting a “Farm Fresh to You” box, you can get $10 off your first box.  Simply go online to www.farmfreshtoyou.com and enter promo code 6164.  Share my first and last name, Carla Matthews, too, and I will get a one-time discount as well.  You can have a box delivered at different intervals and in several sizes… check it out and see all the options.  It’s a great way to have “eat clean and live green” brought right to you.