Currently viewing the tag: "vegetables"

The Supermarket Gourmet

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by Buck Reed

For me, the best meals are the ones made simple. Yes, I like steak and lobster as much as the next person, and I can appreciate a wonderful sauce on a painstakingly made dish. But, for me, I really enjoy simple, well-made meals. Simple means uncomplicated, and it also means nowhere to hide. If you overcook it, there is no sauce to save it…which brings us to the glorious chicken.

A whole roasted chicken, when prepared and cooked correctly, is a masterpiece to behold. Taking the time to learn how to do it correctly is time well spent.

To start, address your chicken. Look for a whole chicken with no broken bones or holes in the skin. Remove any large deposits of fat from the cavity, as well as the neck and the gizzards.

If you can, brine your whole chicken in about three-quarters cup of salt per gallon of water, for three to eight hours in the refrigerator. If you do not brine the chicken, then there are two schools of thought: wash your bird or not. Both are acceptable; just make sure you have a good reason whichever you decide.

Next, you will need a proper roasting pan. A heavy-duty, high-sided roasting pan is essential for conducting heat evenly. In a pinch, you can use a large saute pan that is oven-safe.

While the chicken is brining, take some time to chop up some vegetables and put them in the bottom of the pan. I like red-skinned potatoes, baby carrots, and sliced turnips or parsnips, seasoned with garlic and just about any herb you want to flavor them with, as well as a bit of salt and pepper.

Season your dried chicken with salt, pepper, and any other spice you would like. Don’t forget to season the cavity as well. I like thyme, Old Bay, and sometimes,  Cajun spice. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, breast side up, and tuck in the wings.

Roast the chicken at 375° until the juices run clear when a sharp knife is inserted into the joint between the body and the thigh or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165° at the same joint (about 60 minutes).

After you remove the chicken from the oven, give it a rest. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Roasted meat’s internal temperature will rise about 10 degrees while resting. The natural juices will also reincorporate into the meat’s fibers and the skin will dry out slightly.

While the bird is resting, check your vegetables to see if they are done. If they are not, strain out the drippings, reserving for a pan gravy if you want, and cook the vegetables longer. Once the vegetables are cooked, serve as a side dish with your chicken.

This is a nice one-pan dinner that is easy to prepare, inexpensive, and everyone should enjoy. You might not be the King or Queen of England, but I am sure you will be considered a monarch at your dinner table.

Ask Dr. Lo

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Make Vegetables, Fruits,  and Herbs Your Partner in Health

by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center

I just love how delicious and nutritious fresh vegetables from the garden are. Some of my favorites are vine-ripened tomatoes, just-harvested peaches and corn, also fresh herbs and spices.

Growing your own edible plants—whether in a backyard garden or a few pots on your windowsill—can be fun, rewarding, and healthful. You can even share your garden’s bounty with friends and neighbors.

“Gardening has many health benefits. It allows you to get outside, get active, and sit less, which might help to reduce stress,” says Dr. Philip Smith, a life-long gardener who oversees obesity research at NIH. “Gardening can also help to improve your diet if you eat more fruits and vegetables. They have a more intense flavor when ripe and freshly picked.”

The benefits of fruits and vegetables are that they are full of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Research has shown that eating fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet can reduce your risk for long-term diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. The fiber in fruits and vegetables can help relieve constipation and normalize your bowel movements.

Fruits and vegetables may also help reduce your calorie intake—especially if they are replacing high-calorie, processed foods—to help you control your weight. Adding herbs and spices to your food gives it rich and interesting flavors without adding calories.

Gardening and growing herbs and spices can enhance your mental health as well. Studies have found that being physically active in natural environments—or even simple exposure to nature—can improve mood, reduce anxiety, and enhance self-esteem.

“Growing your own vegetables and digging into the dirt can increase physical activity and give one a feeling of well-being and a sense of connection to the Earth,” Smith says.

Children can also benefit from growing and caring for edible plants. Studies have found that kids involved with gardening programs tend to make healthier food choices, eat more fruits and vegetables, and have improved social skills.

“Gardening can help little children learn about growing and caring for things. They may find that they enjoy eating the fruits and vegetables they have grown themselves. And they may like eating the foods they know are good for them,” Smith says. “Adults, too, find they appreciate the many delicious tastes of fruits and vegetables that come fresh from the garden.”

Cancer survivors who took up gardening in a small NIH-funded study tended to have increased physical activity and vegetable intake, along with improved strength and endurance.

Another recently launched NIH study is looking at whether American Indian families who engage in community gardening will boost their fruit and vegetable intake and reduce their body weight.

“The researchers are also looking at whether gardening can lower blood pressure, increase hand strength, and lead to better mental and physical health,” says NIH’s Dr. Charlotte Pratt, who oversees research on nutrition, physical activity, and heart health.

“Americans generally don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables; it’s one of the major drawbacks of our diets today,” Pratt said.

The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults who eat about 2,000 calories daily should eat about two-and-a-half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit a day. However, only a small percentage of adults and children meet both fruit and vegetable recommendations.

When you choose your vegetables, try to eat an assortment of colors and types every day. Broccoli, spinach, collard greens, kale, and other dark leafy greens are good choices. Also, choose red and orange vegetables, such as tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, or red/orange peppers. Other great choices are eggplant and summer/ winter squash. Many of these are easy to grow at home.

“These are all good sources of vitamins, in general, including vitamins A and C, and they tend to be good sources of fiber as well,” Pratt says. “Some vegetables can also provide minerals, like potassium, iron, and calcium.”

The many nutrients in fruits and vegetables are essential to good health. If you are taking medications, though, ask your doctor if there are certain fruits and vegetables you should avoid because some plant-based products can interfere with how certain medicines work. For instance, grapefruit can interact with certain drugs, including some cholesterol, blood pressure, and allergy prescription medications.

“For people who take medications to prevent blood clots, problems might arise from eating dark green vegetables, which are rich in vitamin K,” Pratt said. Vitamin K helps to promote blood clotting, but blood thinners have the opposite effect. Foods rich in vitamin K include kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and some types of lettuce.

“Herbs and spices have long been used to flavor foods. And they’ve been used since ancient times for medicinal purposes as well,” said Dr. Craig Hopp, an expert in herbal products research at NIH.

When you grow herbs in your garden or in windowsill containers, you can easily add them to your meals and create a great taste. Plus, you can freeze or dry your herbs to have them all year round. You can also grow them all year round inside in colder climates.

If you think that you do not have space for a backyard garden, think again.

“Some vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, kale, and peppers don’t require much space,” stated Smith. These vegetables can easily be grown in pots or small gardens. “You can also try growing hanger tomatoes, which can be suspended from your deck or porch.”

Wherever you get your fresh fruit and vegetables, whether from your own back yard, a farmer’s market, or a store, make sure you and your family eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day.

   Think it is too cold outside to get fruits and vegetables? If industrious, you can freeze or can a lot of them that you grow or purchase when in season. You can also purchase frozen vegetables and fruits from the frozen section at the store where you shop.

Take the colder months to plan a garden, whether it is a small plot in your backyard or in containers, and decide what you would like to start growing in the spring. Also, do not forget about the herbs and spices you can grow all year inside your home.  

If you are struggling with health issues, call the Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center at 240-651-1650 for a free consultation. Dr. Lo uses Nutritional Response Testing® to analyze the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health. The office is located at 7310 Grove Road #107 in Frederick. Check out the website at www.doctorlo.com.

Spring Fling

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Buck Reed

Ah…spring! There are many things to look forward to with the changing of the season, not the least of which is a farewell to all this cold weather and snow. Of course we will be experiencing more than a bit of rain in the coming days (we hope, anyway), but at least we will not have to shovel it. And the rain coupled with the warmer weather and sunshine will bring us that wonderful spring produce that makes its way into the markets this time of year only to disappear all too soon. The only lesson to be gleaned from this is to enjoy it while you can.

The first thing to look forward to is the green vegetables. Although spinach, broccoli rabe, and bok choy are, for the most part, available all year long, they are at their best this time of year. These vegetables are uplifting for the spirit—as well as the body—and can be a wonderful addition to your meal as a side dish, or can be easily incorporated into any dish. Salads and slaws are an obvious choice; think about adding them into a soup or stir-fry. Even better, sauté any of these vegetables and serve them with your eggs for a quick breakfast or brunch.

Rhubarb is another vegetable we see in abundance this time of year. I say vegetable, because botanically speaking, it is such, but like the tomato, it had its classification changed to a fruit by a New York court for taxation purposes. My grandmother told me when I was younger that you have to cook rhubarb before you eat it or it could kill you. Maybe the thought that it might kill me made it more desirable to me, and so it became one of the vegetables I looked forward to every year. An easy use is in a pie—strawberry is probably your first choice, but apple works extremely well, also. You can also use it to make a chutney or relish to serve on grilled pork or chicken.

If onions had a monarchy, then ramps would be their king. This wild onion looks like a leek and has a unique garlic flavor. Once cleaned, ramps have to be boiled before they are used in a recipe. They can then be used anywhere onions are called for, but I like to make a compound butter with them. Wrapped tightly and stored in the freezer, you can enjoy them long after they are gone from the store.

And, finally, my favorite spring vegetable has to be baby artichokes. You have to really look out for these; maybe even talk to your produce manager regarding when they expect to see them in. I would love to give you a bunch of ideas for this vegetable, but the only way I eat them is roasted. Just trim them up, cut them in half, and place them in a pan just large enough to hold them. Cover about a third of the way with water and a squeeze of lemon or a splash of wine and roast in a hot oven until tender. Serve warm with aioli.

I know you may find it difficult to find some of these items, but they are well worth the effort of not only looking for them, but also talking to your produce manager about them.

If you need any more ideas or a recipe, please feel free to contact me at RguyintheKitchen@aol.com.