last week i got together with my sister to make a dinner that hopefully you all will enjoy as much as we did.

ingredients:

for the burgers:

1 can no added salt black beans

1/4 cup grated zucchini 

1/4 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons newman’s own roasted garlic and peppers tomato sauce

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup rolled oats

for the italian dressed peppers, onion, and mushrooms:

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 medium onion, sliced

1/2 of a green pepper, sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons newman’s own family recipe italian dressing

1 tsp minced garlic

directions:

preheat oven to 375. line a baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

in a medium bowl, mash the black beans with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon.  add the zucchini, onion, tomato sauce, olive oil, and oats and mix until combined. form mixture into four patties and place on prepared baking sheet. bake for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until firm and browned on top.

while baking the burgers, prepare your vegetable topping.

add 1 tsp of olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. once warm, add the onion and stir for about 4 minutes until it begins to soften and becomes translucent. add green pepper and stir for another 2 minutes. add the salad dressing mushrooms and garlic. continue to sauté for 3 minutes, then remove from heat.

top a whole wheat bun with your black bean burger, veggies, and condiments of your choice. serve with a side salad dressed with your favorite dressing (i’m loving newman’s own lighten up caesar!). 

we served ours with leftover sweet potato my sister had baked the night before.

enjoyed every bite! 

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many thanks to all who served or are currently serving.

we have off of work for the holiday, so i slept in until 8 this morning. it was glorious! 

even though the high is only 53* today, i just cannot get enough of how gorgeous it is outside! i love the crisp blue sky and vibrant leaves. 

couscous loves autumn too

 after meeting up with a friend to check out the jcc, i stopped by the whole foods salad bar for a treat.

i seriously love that salad bar! i think it’s all the variety. 

i’m seriously considering buying a ton of tupperware today and turning my fridge into a salad bar similar to whole foods. each tupperware can be individually filled with either chopped veggies, beans, marinated tofu, pasta salads, grilled eggplant, hummus, dried fruit, etc.  during the week, i can just pick and choose what i want from each container to make my own delicious whole foods-type salad in a cinch.

what is your favorite salad combination? do you have today off of work? what are your plans for this weekend?

this dinner was quick to assemble, from fridge to table in about 30 minutes. both the tempeh and the sprouts were delish, but i should have rethought pairing two sweet dishes together. next time i’ll pair each with a savory item. it was a good dinner, just too much sweet for one meal!

tonight’s dinner is also easy, but requires more wait time: split pea soup! 1 package of dried split peas, 3 cups water, 4 cups vegetable broth, 2 chopped celery stalks, and 2 chopped carrots into a large pot for an hour and a half. perfect for a cold fall night!

a popular chain restaurant is offering this free “appetizer” with a coke to all active military and veterans. 

i am being completely serious when i say that we use this exact appetizer as an example when we tell our patients what not to eat.

1966 kcal. 160 g fat. 136 mg cholesterol.  4,077 mg sodium. this is all pre-coke, of course.

sure, it’s supposed to serve 6. but how often does it really? according to my patients, never. it serves one. maybe two. 

did you know that the veteran population has a higher rate over overweight and obesity than the civilian population?

did you know that the vast majority of the patients i see are admitted for comorbidities of overweight and obesity?

after a long week of seeing patients having amputations to deal with uncontrolled diabetes, on dialysis, unable to walk, dealing with daily pain, who are status post heart surgery . . . yet who are still begging for salt and “real” sugar and more food . . . this offer feels like a halloween scare! luckily, at least as taxpayers we are able to give back to our vets by  providing free medical care to them, including nutrition counseling! everything in moderation, right? and part of that means being aware of trigger foods and how to manage them.

interested in making a healthy version of the bloomin’ onion at home? check out prevention rd’s recipe! hers is definitely a nutritional dream rather than a nightmare. 

when i received a coupon for a free sample of marzetti simply dressed salad dressing as part of the foodbuzz tastemaker program, i had no trouble deciding which flavor i wanted.

ginger sesame

the ingredient list is simple and does not look like a science experiment. the simply dressed line does not contain any preservatives, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, msg, or artificial flavors or colors. i had mine atop a simple spinach salad with chik’n for some added protein, but the marzetti site boasts tons of creative recipes such as ginger sesame noodles and sesame crusted tuna with ginger sesame sauce (you can easily substitute tofu for tuna!).

i loved this dressing, but if you’re not a fan of ginger, there are a number of other flavors you can try such as greek feta, strawberry poppyseed, or champagne. 

thanks to marzetti and foodbuzz for giving me the opportunity to share this new yummy dressing with you all! 

this blog has seen me through so much . . .

grad school

institutional foods class

presidency for the association of graduate students in dietetics and nutrition

AGSDN farmers market table

presenting my thesis at the florida dietetic association conference

dietetic internship applications, the match, and 42 weeks of rotations at bay pines va

moving to nc to practice as an rd and passing the exam

getting a cat

couscous

and traveling to israel

kesher birthright bus 423!

who says 27 is too late for a bat mitzvah?

thanks for being there through it all!

i fully intended to attend the durham chapel hill dietetic association meeting tonight, but the crazy day combined with rainy weather made me just want to curl up with a book instead. next time!

of course, as much as i wanted to relax the night away, i still had a few things left on my to do list so i did what i normally do: multitask. now, i know what the studies say about how multitasking makes you actually less productive, but i combine my multitasking with cooking time. tonight’s dinner (sweet potato and lentil packets) needed 25 minutes in the oven, so i used that time to accomplish as much as i could on my list. now, i am free to spend the rest of my evening as i like! multitasking while cooking also works well for getting quick workouts in sometimes it’s just the motivation i need!

saturday was yom kippur, a day of atonement and fasting. that night i went to a “break the fast” potluck and decided to bring fannetastic food’s pumpkin bean dip with 12 grain crackers to share. it was a big hit, though i must say that my lemon was so juicy you couldn’t taste the pumpkin! next time i’m just going to add a little juice at a time. like i said though, it was still delicious and the pumpkin gave it a beautiful fall orange color.

yesterday i recycled the leftover dip into pasta sauce.

i highly recommend this. with whole grain farfalle and steamed spinach, this made for a wonderful, flavorful lunch.

today’s list

• repot my plant 
• renew apartment lease
• work out
• clean
• open a roth ira
• blog

all through grad school my friend dina would rave over her mother’s rosh hashanah honey cake recipe. this year, since i was hosting my own little rosh hashanah dinner, i emailed dina and begged her to share the recipe with me. i’m not going to lie, this is the best honey cake i have ever had!

honey cake

ingredients

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup brown sugar (or brown sugar splenda mix)

1 cup applesauce or canola oil

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup honey

3 flax eggs (or regular eggs)

directions:

preheat oven to 375. prepare an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.

sift flour, powder, and spices in a large bowl. add remaining ingredients in order, mixing well.

bake for 1 hour. toothpick should come out clean.

enjoy! and if you’re really nice, share

nutrition in the news:

have you seen that the salt industry is trying to have the sodium guidelines repealed?  sodium does play an important role in the body, but too much can pose numerous health problems. 2,300 mg is generally recommended, with 1,500 mg recommended for those who are especially salt sensitive: african americans, people over the age of 50, and those with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.

5 tips to reduce dietary sodium:

• choose fresh foods whenever possible over packaged. sodium is used as a preservative.
• when buying canned beans or vegetables, choose “low sodium” or rinse them in a colander under the sink before using.
• flavor foods with lemon juice an herbs instead of salt.
• ask for dressings and sauces on the side for portion control. these often have added salt.
• compare food labels of similar products, and choose the one with the lower sodium content.

broccoli potato kugel

this makes for a really nice side dish. instead of just doing plain mashed potatoes one night, try  this simple to make kugel.

ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1-2 TBSP olive oil

3 tsp minced garlic

1.5 cups silken tofu

1/3  cup + 3 TBSP  matzo meal

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 TBSP salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 pounds frozen broccoli florets

directions:

preheat oven to 350 and prepare a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 4 minutes. set aside. 

mash the potatoes and tofu in a large bowl. add the nutritional yeast, matzo meal, salt, and pepper, mixing well. finally add in the onion and frozen broccoli. you may want to mix with your hands at this point, but they are going to get cold with the frozen broccoli!

spread the mixture into the pan you prepared earlier and sprinkle with the 3 TBSP matzo meal (or bread crumbs if you prefer). bake for 45-50 minutes.