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Posts Tagged ‘antioxidants’

  1. Spinach Lasagna Rolls

    March 3, 2011 by erinRD

    When I was growing up my mom would serve frozen, plain spinach as a side dish and I always hated it. It was green, the texture was disgusting and it tasted really bad. At least that’s how I remember it.

    I tried to picture Popeye and all of the muscles he had from eating his spinach but it didn’t help much.

    (Source)

    Who wants ginormous forearm muscles anyway?

    Now, I can’t imagine not having spinach at least a couple of times a week. I always use the fresh baby spinach. I think I am ruined forever and I have to stay away from frozen spinach but the frozen would work just as good for this recipe.

    So, how do you make lasagna fun?

    Roll it!

    Spinach Lasagna Rolls
    Adapted from Gina’s Skinny Recipes

    10 lasagna noodles, whole wheat, cooked
    4 cups fresh baby spinach
    15 oz low fat ricotta cheese
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1 egg
    2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
    salt and fresh pepper
    1 jar (24 ounces) Barilla marinara sauce
    1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
    non-stick spray

    Directions:
    1. Preheat oven to 350°.
    2. Spray saucepan with non-stick spray and add spinach. Cook until wilted.


    3. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
    4. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
    5. Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts.
    6. To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll. Makes 10 rolls – 2 per serving.

    Nutrition Notes: Spinach is arguably one of the worlds most healthy vegetables. It protects against inflammatory problems, oxidative stress-related problems, cardiovascular problems, bone problems, and cancer. Researchers have identified more than a dozen different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents. Given the fact that spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin E, K, beta-carotene, and manganese as well as a very good source of the antioxidant zinc and selenium. Spinach can also lower blood pressure due to the presence of peptides. These are small pieces of protein that inhibit an enzyme related to increased blood pressure.

    I could go on and on about the benefits of spinach. Just do yourself and favor and eat it.

    Lots of it.

    Taste Test: I love lasagna and this recipe was perfect for a weeknight! It was also delicious as leftovers at work the following day. Yum!

    Do you try to incorporate spinach into your diet?

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  2. Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

    February 26, 2011 by erinRD

    Here is our organic produce delivery from Door to Door Organics for the week:

    Including more beautiful blood oranges.

    Almost too pretty to eat.

    Almost.

    Enough with the healthy stuff. Let’s talk about chocolate. ;)

    Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Adapted from Good to the Grain

    2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
    1 cup dark brown sugar
    1 cup sugar
    2 eggs
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    8 oz bittersweet dark chocolate, roughly chopped

    Directions:
    1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
    3. In a bowl mix the butter and both sugars on low just until blended, about 2 minutes.
    4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined.  Mix in the vanilla.
    5. Add the flour to the bowl and, with the mixer on low, beat until the flour is just incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
    6. Finally, add the chocolate to the dough and mix on low just to evenly distribute it.
    7. Use a small cookie scoop to portion about 3 tablespoons of dough into a ball for each cookie, spacing them approximately 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops have cracked and browned.
    8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a minute or two before transferring them to wire racks. Yields about 40 small cookies.

    Nutrition Notes: True dark chocolate is anything containing 65% or more cocoa. Dark chocolate contains a ton of heart healthy antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries) that have been shown to fight free radicals, which are linked to more than 100 conditions ranging from heart disease and arthritis to dementia and diabetes. Dark chocolate has also been shown to decrease blood pressure, and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. It also contains serotonin, a natural mood-boosting anti-depressant.

    Taste Test: I love any type of cookie. I don’t discriminate. :) These are no exception. The dark chocolate is delicious and this brand of Endangered Species dark chocolate is one of my favs! It’s organic, fair trade and made of 74% cocoa – more cocoa = less sugar and other added ingredients.

    Enjoy your Saturday!

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  3. Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

    February 24, 2011 by erinRD

    How colorful is your plate?

    Let’s make some pretty colors on your dinner plate tonight.

    Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
    Adapted from Peas and Thank You

    4 bell peppers, your choice of colors
    1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
    1 small onion, minced
    1 1/4 cup water
    1 1/4 cup tomato sauce
    2 teaspoon minced garlic
    2 teaspoon chili powder
    salt and pepper to taste
    1 cup 2% sharp cheddar cheese, divided
    Garnish: cilantro, avocado

    Directions:
    1. Wash and deseed peppers, trimming off the top. Set aside.


    2. In a medium saucepan, toast quinoa and minced onion until both are toasty and fragrant, about 5-6 minutes.


    3. Add water, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
    4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Add in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
    5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    6. Fill each pepper with 1/4 of quinoa mixture.
    7. Top each pepper with the remainder (1/2 cup) of the cheese.
    8. Cover with foil and bake for an hour.
    9. Remove foil from peppers and preheat broiler.
    10. Broil peppers until cheese and peppers are starting to brown. Garnish with cilantro and guacamole (not added into the nutritional info). Serves 4.

    Nutrition Notes: They always say, the more colorful your plate is the healthier it is. Interestingly, when it comes to bell peppers, color can actually make a difference to your health. Red bell peppers have been shown to offer better protection against heart disease and even cancer. Red bell peppers have higher concentrations of nutrients than the others. While any color bell pepper will provide healthful properties, the red variety packs the most healthful punch and are packed with nutrients and antioxidants including vitamin C and vitamin A. The combination of these two antioxidants is especially crucial in killing free radicals. Free radicals basically cause harm to healthy cells and they also build up cholesterol, cause nerve and blood vessel damage and cataracts. Bell peppers also contain good amounts of vitamin B6, beta-carotene, folic acid and lycopene ,like we discussed, is present in tomatoes too!

    Taste Test: These were absolutely delicious. I am falling in love more and more with quinoa as I incorporate it into my recipes. I want to try this recipe with poblano peppers next! Yum!

    Do you think about color when you are planning your meals?

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