Fiber, What About It? #GardenCuizine #NNM TY @serenagwolf Apple Pie Oatmeal is the best!

Fiber, What About It?

I'm testing out recipes for a National Nutrition Month cooking class. Thanks to Serena Wolf's recipe inspiration, my family woke up to slow cooker Apple Pie Oatmeal made with steel cut oats, apples and ground flax, topped with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, walnuts and pure maple syrup. Harry said it was the best oatmeal he ever ate! We sat around the breakfast table savoring the flavors of our oatmeal and the topic of fiber came up.

Dietary fiber passes through our GI tract and supports digestion; but, fiber itself isn’t digested. Why do we need it then? For many reasons. 1) Fiber helps us feel full, keeping hunger in check. 2) Fiber helps regulate sugar in our body. 3) Fiber keeps our BMs regular. 4) Fiber helps lower bad cholesterol. 5) Fiber helps prevent some diseases. 

Scientific research shows that high total dietary fiber intake is linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease. Fiber benefits are also linked to helping breast cancer, IBS and diverticulosis.

How much Fiber do I need?  
Adults and kids need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber every day. According to the National Institute of Health, most Americans are not meeting the recommendations and average 10-15 grams of fiber per day.

Aren’t there 2 kinds of Fiber?
Yes. Soluble and Insoluble

What’s the difference? 
“What is an example of each?”

Soluble fiber attracts water like an absorbent paper towel. The more water it soaks, the moister it becomes – like a gel. Soluble fiber helps lower blood glucose and cholesterol. 

Examples of foods containing soluble fiber include: oatmeal, barley, beans, nuts, seeds and fruit and veggies such as blueberries, prunes, citrus fruits, onions, avocado, Brussels sprouts, beets, broccoli and Jerusalem artichokes. Since soluble fiber absorbs water, adequate water intake is recommended as fiber intake increases.

Insoluble fiber keeps your BMs moving, helping to prevent constipation. You’ll find it in vegetables and whole grain foods like popcorn, wheat bran, wheat germ, Fiber One, whole wheat bread and brown rice.

Fiber comes from plants - many of which provide both types of fiber. Whole, natural foods are your best sources for dietary fiber.

• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Fruits
• Legumes
• Nuts and Seeds

Related Links
Easy Ways to Boost Fiber in Your Daily Diet
Fiber in Whole Grains 
What is a Whole Grain   
¿Que es un Grano Entero?   
Top 5 Foods that can Lower LDL Cholesterol 
Photo and Blog post Copyright(C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Whole wheat Pizza Calzones anytime healthy #recipe not just for the Super Bowl

Whole Wheat 

Game Pizza Calzones

Homemade Pizza Calzones were a big hit for dinner during the game Super Bowl Sunday. Even Mom ate all of hers; she doesn't usually eat much bread. Her fingers could grip the soft whole grain meat pies filled with nutritious veggies and cheese. I had fun in the kitchen while our game watchers could keep their eyes on the game and eat - dipping their calzones into warm tomato basil pasta sauce.

I'd say making homemade pizza dough may be a little advanced for a beginner, but you should still give it a try. Making and working with dough is so much fun! Allow yourself preparation time. Dough is best when not rushed and allowed to rest and rise before baking. 

For years I avoided recipes that required making yeast risen dough until I learned how easy it was to make.

I spotted the recipe online and made just a few changes. We cooked lean, organically raised ground beef, but you could substitute other fillings. Also, our local Shoprite didn't have the Hodgson Mills brand called for in the recipe, so I substituted King Arthur.

I sauteed the beef and veggies separately and then combined.

We have a freezer full of sweet red garden peppers, so I chopped up and used one of them in with the mushrooms and onions. I used baby portobello mushrooms and added 1 teaspoon dried thyme.

Unlike the recipe I folded the dough over the filling, lined up the edges and pressed and crimped together firmly using two fingers.

Rather than baking the calzones right away, I allowed them to rest and rise under a linen towel. They were ready to bake when the dough no longer sprang back when pressed with a finger.

Just before baking, I brushed the tops with egg wash rather than oil. 

Click here for the recipe

note: these freeze great and make an easy, quick lunch or dinner on a busy day! 

Buon Appetito!

Photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Crab Imperial cooked with #realbutter #GardenCuizine #recipe

Crab Imperial

 made with real Butter

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper (we used 2 thin sweet garden peppers from the freezer)

5 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 teaspoon (tsp) salt

1 egg yolk, whisked

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1 Tablespoon capers, drained

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dried garden Parsley

3/4 cup lite mayonnaise

Paprika (we used Hungarian Hot Paprika, don't worry, a sprinkle won't make it hot!)

1 lb. premium lump crab meat, drained

Preheat oven to 375 deg F

Putting it all together

1. In a saucepan, melt butter and sauté peppers. 
2. Whisk in the flour. Add milk and salt. Stir until blended and beginning to thicken, about 10-minutes. Turn off heat. Allow to cool a little before adding egg.
3. Stir in egg yolk, and remaining ingredients.
4. Add crab meat last: gently stirring so not to break up lumps of crab meat.
5. Spoon into ramekins (shallow individual baking dishes).
6. Sprinkle with paprika and bake 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

For a balanced meal; serve with a starch and vegetable. We served ours with sweet potato oven baked fries and a side of sautéed Zucchini and Onions.

Buon Appetito!

Recipe and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. Recipe inspired by The Williamsburg Cookbook, "Hampton Crab Imperial".

Crab Imperial #GardenCuizine Cooking with #realbutter Can we trust advice about Saturated Fats?

Crab Imperial
 made with real Butter

Watch for my spin of a traditional recipe adapted from the Colonial Williamsburg Cookbook. The recipe calls for butter. Butter adds great flavor to seafood; no substitutions were used.

A few words about Saturated Fats and cooking with real Butter

Over the years, starting in 1977, US public health dietary advice to the public was to reduce overall fat consumption to 30% of total energy intake and reduce saturated fat consumption to 10% of total energy intake. During that time Americans feasted on foods low in fat with little mindfulness about carbohydrate content. Obesity increased to the epidemic levels we have today.

Health buzz over butter got sizzling after the March 2014 release of a controversial meta-analysis study by Chowhury, Kunutsor, Crowe, et.al. who concluded that current evidence did not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.  

Writers were quick to comment on this hot topic; I remember the June 2014 Time Magazine's cover featuring a big fat swirl of real butter. I actually saved that issue and have a copy as a souvenir.

Just last year a meta-analysis study by Harcombe, Baker, Cooper et.al. informed the public that the US National Dietary Guidelines to consume low fat foods to prevent cardiovascular disease did not have enough RCT evidence to support that claim. Say what? ...not enough randomized controlled trials?!? And, the studies didn't include any women! As a dietitian, I find that shocking.

So while healthcare leaders decide what future recommendations will be with regard to saturated fats, here's the deal on butter: One tablespoon (14g) of butter contains 11g total fat (17% DV) with 7g of saturated fat (36% DV - very high) and 100 calories. Saturated fats have been shown to increase bad LDL cholesterol. The saturated fat in butter also increases the good HDL cholesterol. What do you think? Eat it or not? Vegans of course won't because it's from an animal. What if you're not vegan? 

Best advice is to Savor the Flavor (this year's NNM theme) and focus on the quality of your overall food choices and be mindful of excess calories and saturated fat consumption. For disease prevention, or if you have heart disease or high cholesterol, it makes sense to limit foods like butter.  

Enjoy butter in moderation; especially in recipes that require making a roux for thickening. Butter is a good source of butyrate, hence the origin of the name.

Crab Imperial recipe coming next - just have to type it up!
Related Links
Is Butter Really Back?
Butter is Back 
Meta-analysis study by Chowhury, Kunutsor, Crowe et.al. 
Saturated Fat: Not so Bad or just Bad Science? Today's Dietitian