"Fuel your body...Delight your senses"
Stephanie Brina-Herres, MS, RD, CDN
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Mar
30
2014
In Part 2 of 2 of this latest two-part series referencing Pakistani cuisine, we focus in on a glimpse of a typical Pakistani cultural dietary pattern. Once again, for National Nutrition Month (NNM), we feature our Guest Author, Pakistani Registered Dietitian, Teba Abdul Lateef.
Teba shares details of her observations of some of the traditional food ingredients utilized in preparing Pakistani cuisine. She compiled the listing based on her experience living in Karachi, thus it is not meant to be all-inclusive. In Part 1, Teba shares details about the wonderful nuances of some of the better known cultural dishes and spices that help to bring out the distinctive flavors of Pakistani cuisine which can dazzle your senses.
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Mar
1
2014
Tasty and nutritious food can contribute to better health no matter where you live, so let’s go global in promoting eating right as we celebrate National Nutrition Month® (NNM)!
This March 2014 marks the 41st anniversary of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ month long promotion of National Nutrition Month®.
We’re featuring a Guest Author on the blog this month. Read on for all the details and some new Pakistani cuisine recipes.
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Jun
17
2013
Plans were underway for the year 2013 (2nd annual) Kids’ State Dinner aka celebration of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge promoted by Let’s Move.
(2017 UPDATE NOTICE: Unfortunately, the Let’s Move website is no longer active since Michelle Obama is no longer the current First Lady.
You may find that previous availability of recipes and information from the Let’s Move program may have been scrubbed from other government related websites as well.)
Winners of the recipe contest were announced around late June 2013, although winners in some cases received some local celebrity in their home town locations in advance of the announcement.
(2012 Kids’ State Dinner Official White House photo by Sonya N. Hebert)
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Mar
22
2013
COOL identification for covered food items is something all consumers should be familiar with, yet many still are not.
Regulations regarding COOL identification went into effect back on March 16, 2009.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) maintains responsibility for the implementation, administration and enforcement of COOL regulations.
Just how familiar are you with COOL food regulations?
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Mar
9
2013
It’s March once again and National Nutrition Month (NNM) is here!
National Nutrition Month helps remind us of the unmistakable link between food, nutrition and health. You can find out more by visiting this year’s NNM site.
In honor of the 40th anniversary of National Nutrition Month, we’d like to share 10 categories of tips with you.
Won’t you join us in making this the best celebration ever of NNM?!
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Nov
17
2012
Many people are considering the merits of a Whole Food focus basis for planning their upcoming Thanksgiving meal.
Of course, the most important aspect of Thanksgiving is truly the opportunity give thanks for the blessings in our lives and to share that sentiment while being able to spend time with family and friends, so any food choices should enhance that overall experience.
Memories of Thanksgivings past are connected to our emotional perceptions of those times, so there are sounds, sights, smells/aromas, tastes, textures that all contributed to the sensory perceptions we have locked in our memory banks of those special times. When we again hear similar sounds, perceive similar smells, etc., it brings back a rush of emotion that makes us feel connected to that past and to hopefully many cherished memories that we can enjoy re-experiencing in the present.
Adults often want to recreate and evoke those sensory memories for themselves, while at the same time helping younger members to create similar sorts of hopefully happy memories for children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins, etc.
For many families, Thanksgiving conjures up memories of home and home is a safe haven most of us yearn for at holiday time.
To help insure those memories are as happy as they can be this year, it is important to take into account any particular dietary needs of family and/or other guests.
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Sep
25
2012
As apple harvesting season continues in “Upstate” NY, the fragrant and enticing smell of apples seems to be everywhere, including at area Farmers Markets.
Years ago, having found a recipe for an “apple chutney” in the then local print newspaper, we modified it ever so slightly and it turned out to be an easy to prepare and delightful accompaniment to many a dinner meal on cooler evenings.
The original of the Harvest Apple Chutney recipe turns out to be found on the Kikkoman website and makes closer to 4 & 1/2 cups of cooked product.
(Apple orchard image courtesy of gabriel77 at rgbstock.com)
This apple chutney recipe can be prepared either via the “hot pack method” as mentioned on the original Kikkoman recipe website; or because it is a higher acidity mixture in terms of having a lower pH, via the traditional boiling water bath “full canning method,” depending upon how long and where you plan to store the resulting product.
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Aug
20
2012
(2017 UPDATE NOTICE: Unfortunately, the Let’s Move website is no longer active since Michelle Obama is no longer the current First Lady.
You may find that previous availability of recipes and information from the Let’s Move program may have been scrubbed from other government related websites as well.)
As part of Michelle Obama’s signature “Let’s Move” campaign to end childhood obesity in America, on Monday, August 20, 2012 the first ever Kids’ “State Dinner” as a formal luncheon is scheduled to celebrate the winners of the 2012 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. Selected healthy focus recipes were featured at the luncheon. (Image of invitation to the 2012 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge shown for identification purposes only).
A total of 54 winning budding chefs and one of their guardians / parents were invited to this special formal luncheon dining event. According to a video on the letsmove.gov website and various newspaper stories run on the winners, over ~ 1200 recipes were submitted from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 US territories: Northern Mariana Islands; Puerto Rico; and the Virgin Islands (but there could only be one winner from each of those locations).
Winners (a US legal resident child between the ages of 8-12) and one US legal resident guardian/parent became eligible for round trip flights to Washington DC and hotel accommodations so that they could attend the August 20th formal luncheon being broadcast live starting at 10 AM from the White House in Washington, DC. In a number of cases, it is reported that a second parent may choose to pay their own way to the special occasion since it is so meaningful to the families of the winning junior chefs.
It has also been reported that the children will receive a special “tour of the White House vegetable garden” with one of the Obama’s chefs as well as participate in a “behind-the-scenes tour of the Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian” before it becomes available to the general public.
Read on for some additional details about the contest and the recipes chosen.
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Aug
8
2012
Have you ever wished you could easily build a customized grocery shopping list that would make it easier when it comes time to head to the farmers market and stores for supplies?
There are MANY “kitchen” and “pantry” focused food item shopping lists that have been posted over the years, with some being much more comprehensive than others.
In this technical age there are both low tech and high approaches to dealing with coming up with those grocery shopping lists and we’ll cover some details of each type of approach.
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Aug
7
2012
In the Northeast, August is the month where truly more localized produce variety increases and all sorts of marketplaces will start to feature a wider range of locally sourced product.
We’d like to share some tips below to help make shopping for August Abundance that much more enjoyable for you. We’ll include ideas for before you head out shopping, once you arrive at the market place destination and while you are there, and then after you get back home again.
In PA the weather has often been more temperate in the growing regions and they’ve had enough rain fall to enable farmers to send their harvest to stores that buy directly from them, including ones in NY.
(Photo of corn stalks growing in a farmer’s field courtesy of our webmaster in PA).
As the month progresses, here in the Northeast, we expect to see sweet corn (including the classic “butter and sugar” variety), along with some early apples showing up at farm stands, farmers markets, and in grocery stores that buy “locally” as well. (Usually some produce will come in from both NJ and PA as well as NY).
Do you remember what other fruits and vegetables are typically seasonally available in the Northeast right now?
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