Memorial Day Weekend

I am really excited for Memorial Day weekend! The weather is (finally) supposed to be sunny and warm, and I’ll be hanging with my family. And cooking of course.

Last year, I made them an Indian feast of Chicken Saagwala, Chana Masala, and Indian Spiced Vegetables. This year, I am trying a vegetarian Pad Thai, with marinated grilled shrimp on the side.

Speaking of grills, if you’re looking for some good recipes for this holiday weekend, I’d like to suggest grilled chopped salad, pizzas on the grill, and anything with homemade BBQ sauce. Or if you’re looking for a classic, try my Mom’s potato salad.

It just might be an extra long weekend, but I’ll be back by Wednesday at the latest. Enjoy!

Spinach Tomato Sauce

This is another quick dinner from my pantry and freezer. You can never go wrong with (whole wheat) pasta, but I was looking for a sauce that was just a little bit different. So I got out my food processor, and combined tomatoes and spinach. The sauce was a great combination of red and green, like Christmas in May! The consistency was quite thick so I used several spoonfuls on my bowl of pasta, but it was a really easy way to get in a serving of vegetables. If I had fresh basil on hand, I would have thrown in a handful for a more authentic Italian flavor. I was lucky that I had shredded Parmesan, which was perfect sprinkled on top. It was a quick, nutritious, and filling meal.

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 c. thawed chopped spinach, drained
Garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Coach’s Oats

For regular readers, it would be easy to predict that my very first product review from Fitbloggin would be oats! When I was first handed a sample of Coach’s Oats, I assumed it was a package of flavored instant oatmeal, but I was totally wrong. Coach’s Oats have the texture of steel cut oats, but only require about 5 minutes of cooking time. The grain is toasted first, and then cut up into small pieces before it is packaged. There are no artificial ingredients, the only difference is the processing and these oats are still a whole grain. I made up a batch of the sample using water as directed, and as promised they were ready in 5 minutes.

Of course, I would never actually eat plain oats for breakfast, so then I topped my bowl with cinnamon, banana slices, and peanut butter. Much better!

These oats have the firm texture of steel cut, and a flavor that is slightly more nutty than sweet. This is a great product if you prefer steel cut oats but don’t have the time to cook them. While I really enjoyed my bowl, I have to admit that I like the creamier texture and sweeter flavor of rolled oats. Thanks to Coach’s Oats for letting my try these, and I appreciate any company that works to make whole grains more convenient.

Pantry Salmon Burgers

I came home from Fitbloggin to a pretty much empty refrigerator. I made a super quick shopping trip so I would at least have some milk in the house, but I turned to my pantry and freezer for dinner. These salmon burgers were made on a whim without a recipe. The flavor came mostly from the salmon and thyme, with just a hint of garlic. I served the burger with a dab of cayenne mayonnaise and ate it with a fork, which added a certain elegance to a quick pantry meal.

The spinach adds both color and nutrition, but it’s really important to press the water out. Otherwise the mixture will be too wet and the burger won’t hold together in the pan. You might be wondering what you’re going to do with the rest of the spinach that you’ve defrosted, so I suggest you save it for a spinach omelet in the morning!

1 (6 oz.) can salmon
1/2 c. thawed chopped spinach with water pressed out
2 T cornmeal
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t thyme
Dash of salt & pepper
1 egg white

Mix salmon, spinach, cornmeal, and spices in a small bowl with a fork. Add egg white and mix well. Form mixture into 2 large patties. Gently place patties in a frying pan coated with cooking spray. Cook on medium heat until lightly browned, and gently flip the burgers. Continue cooking until the other side is browned, about 15 minutes total.

Fitbloggin: Education, Networking, Friendship, and Fun

The tag line for Fitbloggin is two days of education, networking, friendship, and fun. Those words are a great way to summarize the event.

Education
I learned how to take better pictures, or actually, how to ‘see’ things differently in order to take better pictures. I learned about blog design, hosting solutions, and social media. All of this will help me to bring you a better blog.

Networking
I met other Registered Dietitians and RD-to-be, and they were all happy to share their experiences. I met a lot of other bloggers who write about diverse topics and learned something from each of them. And I met several representatives for fitness products and food.

Friendship
One of my initial observations was that everyone seemed to know each other already. That wasn’t entirely true of course, but all of the participants were so warm and welcoming that you felt like you became friends very quickly.

Fun
I decorated my name tag with stickers and jumped on a trampoline, and that was all in the first hour. There was an incredible comedy show on Friday night, and plenty of laughs throughout the conference.

Those four words cover a lot, but there’s one really important word missing, food!

Between the meals served, the product samples in our registration bags, and the never ending supply of PopChips, there was plenty of great food at this conference. I’ll be doing individual product reviews over the next several weeks for everything I received, but you already know how I feel about Uncle Sam’s Cereal and Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burgers, both of whom were sponsors.

Special thanks to Roni for organizing the whole event. I am such a fan of her work that I was a bit starstruck when I met her in person! Thanks also to my mom and sister who traveled with me to Baltimore. They were great company, and helped me get all those great samples back home. And thanks to anyone who is reading for stopping by.

Now I need to get back in the kitchen and start working on some new recipes, because that’s what it’s all about.

Gone Fitbloggin’

Today I am in Baltimore at the Fitbloggin conference. Right now, I might be watching a kettlebell demo, jumping on a trampoline, or learning about branding and self-hosting. I need to learn everything I can so I can do a blog overhaul this summer! This blog will always be focused primarily on food and nutrition, but there are a lot of great bloggers who talk about food and fitness and I hope to learn from their experiences.

I’ll be back next week with a full report. In the meantime, you can keep up with me on Twitter @KerryCooks, or by using this link.

See you next week!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

I finally got back in the kitchen this week, and made these awesome spicy sweet potato fries. I have blogged about sweet potato fries before, but these are the kind that you keep reaching for, even when your mouth is burning!

I tossed the sliced potato with olive oil, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Then I baked them for about 30 minutes at 425F. They tasted amazing, but weren’t as crispy as I’d like. I think they may have been too crowded in the pan, but they were still good. Just make sure to have your favorite cold beverage handy….

Starbucks Petites

It’s no secret that I like Starbucks. It’s one of my favorite places to study, and I enjoy the atmosphere as much as the coffee beverages. I also love getting coupons from the Starbucks Reward program. Remember when I got the coupon for oatmeal? This time, I was offered the chance to try the new Starbucks Petites, a line of small sized sweet treats.

I headed in to Starbucks with my Mom and we ended up choosing three for a family sampling. One treat was complimentary with my coupon, and we purchased the other 2 for $2.50. It was tough to decide, but we settled on the Carrot Cake cupcake, the Rocky Road Cake Pop, and the Salted Caramel Square. The barista took the time to carefully package them in little boxes so that we could take them home.

The treats are quite visually appealing and decorated perfectly. But they also taste great and received good reviews from the whole family. The carrot cake was moist, with a nicely sweet frosting. The cake pop was moist as well, with a rich and chocolatey coating. The salted caramel square was our favorite though, with a mix of sweet and salty flavors and plenty of crunch from the pretzels and pecans.

Having a small portion of a “real” dessert can be far more satisfying than any diet dessert food. These petite treats from Starbucks provide a few bites of something that’s truly delicious.

Waffles

When I think about waffles, I picture a relaxing weekend brunch. But waffles can be a simple weekday option if you make them ahead of time and store them in the freezer. After just a few minutes in the toaster oven, they’re crispy and hot. My mom is actually the one who has been making a lot of waffles lately, since my nephew loves them. (His limited vocabulary does include the word “Yum!”) She gave me a few for my freezer, and they came in handy during my recent busy weeks. I topped them with a little peanut butter, sliced banana, and syrup for a great breakfast.

The recipe my mom uses for waffles is adapted from the recipe that comes with the waffle iron, and the same recipe that my grandmother used. Over the years, the recipe has changed to include whole grains and a little less oil. But I assure you that these waffles are much better than any you could purchase in the frozen foods section of the grocery store!

1 3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 t baking powder
1 T sugar
3 eggs
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 T applesauce
1 1/2 c. milk

Preheat the waffle iron. Sift the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Separate the eggs, putting the egg whites in smaller bowl. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.
Add the egg yolks, oil, applesauce and milk all at one time to the dry ingredients. Beat until there are no lumps in the batter. Fold the egg whites into the batter using a spatula or other flat utensil.
Put a full 1/2 cup of batter in your waffle iron to make a 9-inch round waffle. This recipe makes about eight 9 inch waffles.

Uno’s Pizza

Sorry to leave you all hanging last week, but I just couldn’t keep up with everything. I even ran out of milk to make oatmeal. 😦 There were salads from Whole Foods, sandwiches from Subway, and a lot of Starbucks coffee. But finals are over, and I figured it was appropriate to start the week with a new take-out option that I recently discovered.

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I admit, I snubbed my nose at Uno’s for years. All I could remember was greasy deep dish pizza that left me feeling uncomfortably full for hours. Even the salads on the menu didn’t offer a balanced meal. Plus, it’s a chain, and I’d much rather frequent smaller local establishments. But one night, fate brought me back. It was fairly late, I hadn’t eaten dinner, and I was on my way home but knew that the cupboards were just about bare. I thought about my options for takeout, but there aren’t many places that serve food late at night near my house. I spied Uno’s, and decided to give it a shot.

I was immediately greeted by a friendly hostess. I asked if they were still open, and she assured me they were. Then I realized just how many people were there enjoying a meal! She told me they could prepare anything for takeout, and that I should relax and take a look at the menu. This menu was a lot different than the one I remember! Yes, they still serve deep dish pizza, but they also have thin crust pizza, with a multi-grain version available. There were a lot of other options as well, but I decided to try a half pizza – the Roasted Eggplant, Spinach, and Feta on a multi-grain crust. It was less than $5, and the staff even served me a complimentary beverage while I waited.

When I got home, I dove right in. The crust was nicely crisp, and the toppings consisted of more vegetables than cheese, just the way it should be. The eggplant, spinach, and tomatoes were really the highlight. There was nothing greasy about this pizza. I know I was hungry, but the pizza was good! Just to make sure I was right, I went back another night and ordered it again, and took proper pictures.
Of course, I would prefer to make my own whole wheat pizza at home. But Uno’s turned out to be a decent option when I was in a pinch, and I appreciate their newer selections. The staff at the Newton Corner restaurant was friendly and attentive both times I visited, and I am hoping to get back there again this summer.