Bringing Back The Shout Out Posts! This One Goes Out To Karen Page and Her New Book "The Vegetarian Flavor Bible"!

Remember my Shout Out posts, a special section of my blog where I give "props" to others who have done amazing work in the field of food, nutrition, writing etc...?  Well I haven't done one in awhile and the prefect opportunity came up this month, so here it goes.....

I was BEYOND excited to be contacted by Karen Page, Two-time James Beard Award-winning author of THE FLAVOR BIBLE, WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF, CHEF'S NIGHT OUT, DINING OUT, CULINARY ARTISTRY, BECOMING A CHEF, THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE and now THE VEGETARIAN FLAVOR BIBLE, along with her husband, author and photographer Andrew Dornenberg.  It was a great honor to be asked to review their latest book The Vegetarian Flavor Bible and post about it on my blog as part of a her Virtual Book Tour in celebration of National Nutrition Month this March. 

After I accepted, I could hardly wait for my book to arrive and once it did, I dove right into it!! Let me begin by saying there was A LOT of greatness to explore.  The book is a hefty 554 pages and all of it is useful and interesting information. The introduction begins with a heartfelt account of the author's decision to adopt a vegetarian, plant-based diet after losing both her father and step mother to cancer. She then goes on to describe her approach to this eating style calling upon both her nutrition and culinary expertise thus giving sound and really creative recommendations.

Then the first chapter, For the Love of Plants: Vegetarianism Through the Ages, discusses the history of vegetarianism with a very detailed and thorough timeline of key events relating to this diet from 3000 BC  all the way up to the present. It is filled with all kinds of exciting facts and tidbits that were very enlightening and inspiring.

Chapter 2, Maximizing Flavor: Creating a New, Compassionate Cuisine, reviews 5 key trends that Karen believes will mark the evolution of a "new compassionate cuisine" over the next decade, which are:  vegetarianism, health, globalization, gastronomy and flavor.  We should all be so lucky and grateful if these 5 concepts continue to take off and influence ways of eating throughout the world and I love her examination and explanation of them all.

The real heart and majority of the book, the literal piece de resistance, is Chapter 3- Vegetarian Flavor Matchmaking: The Lists.  Here the reader is presented with an overwhelmingly useful, detailed and thorough A-Z list of many, many ingredients and foods from A (starting with Acai) to Z (ending with Zucchini blossoms).  You will get so much information about each item listed, such as flavor descriptions, key facts, pairing and cooking suggestions and even substitutions.  These lists can be a springboard for creativity and encouragement to try and experiment with a new food/ingredient in the kitchen and they give fresh and fun twists on things that may be familiar to you already as well. 

I can't even begin to describe how much is in this section, you will just have to pick up a copy and be wowed for yourself!  I am confident that this book with be a learning tool for me to use, a sort of kitchen counter encyclopedia,  as I continue on my journey of recipe development and food blogging. Another thing I look forward to is sharing this book with my daughter as she grows, creates cooks and blogs with me in the kitchen, as I am sure she will enjoy using it as well.

So a big shout out to Karen and her husband to creating this amazing piece of work and a huge thank you to them for allowing me to read and share it. 

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Shout-Out Post Number Four: Tips From My Fellow RDs About Making The Most Of Your Farmer's Market Visit!

This week, August 5-11th,is National Farmer’s Market Week so I thought it would be fitting to write a post highlighting farmer’s markets including some great tips and information from a few fellow RDs in the Food and Culinary Professionals Dietetic Practice Group I belong to, a group Dietitian Shout-Out post per se :) Farmer’s Markets are on the rise, according to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Website “direct marketing of farm products through farmers markets continues to be an important sales outlet for agricultural producers nationwide. As of mid-2011, there were 7,175 farmers markets operating throughout the U.S. This is a 17 percent increase from 2010.” Luckily there is increased interest in obtaining foods locally, directly from the farm and I think the USDA website states the purpose of a farmer’s market best: “Farmers markets allow consumers to have access to locally grown, farm fresh produce, enables farmers the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with their customers, and cultivate consumer loyalty with the farmers who grows the produce.”

I wholeheartedly admit that I NEED to visit my local farmer’s market more often, and this is one of my goals this year. I picked up a couple of nice suggestions and some key information about making the most of a farmers market visit from a few of my RD colleagues too! Karen K. Ehrens, RD, LRD of Ehrens Consulting makes an important point- “I think one of the greatest things folks can get from a market is meeting the producers and the folks at the market. Shopping a farmers market is so much more than just a transaction of dollars. It is an opportunity to know from where your food comes and the people who are growing it. You can learn so much about the seed, the care, the time and the challenges of growing food. If your growers are still at market, you are lucky. The drought affecting 65% of the United States is also taking a toll on small produce growers. If you go, thank your grower!” Carrie Peacock MS, RD, LD, a Culinary Dietitian suggests “ask the farmer when the food was picked or harvested and if they have any favorite recipes.” Toby Amidor, MS RD CDN, of Toby Amidor Nutrition, has some AWESOME tips for navigating the farmer’s market, click HERE to check out the post on her blog including how to pick the best produce and some great food safety info too! And for additional important information on food safety at the farmers' market, HERE is a wonderful recent post on the Food Network’s Healthy Eats Blog by Dana Angelo White, MS RD ATC, Nutrition Consultant Certified Athletic Trainer. Need some inspiration for what to do with all the great produce you pick up? Go the veggies section of my blog for some easy recipes! Many of my dessert recipes feature some great fruits as well!!
 

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Shout-Out Post Number Three, plus some great chicken cooking tips!

Ready for another Shout-Out post? Here goes... This time I am highlighting Lisa, someone who's blog I have been following for quite a while now. She is a fellow food blogger, mom, fitness and health professional and is just a few steps away from becoming an RD, yay Lisa! I invite you to check out her blog http://smartfoodandfit.com/ and check out this guest post she gave me on cooking chicken- yum! Thanks Lisa :)

How to bake perfect chicken tenderloins to perfection (chicken breasts too)

Chicken is an all around versatile dish that I like to cook for my family. I like to make a little extra chicken for leftovers for lunch or dinner for the next day or two. Making a little extra chicken makes it a bit easier for me to put a meal together in minutes.

During the warmer months I like to grill my chicken and during the cooler months I like to bake them in the oven or cook them on the stove top in a non stick pan. Today, I’ll be showing you a step by step process on how I like to bake chicken tenderloins to perfection you can use this same method to cook boneless skinless chicken breast too.




Step One - Prepare the chicken.

Rinse chicken breast in running cold water, dry off with a paper towel. Trim visible fat, tendons, etc. Discard or save the scrapes in a freezer safe zip-lock bag when you are ready to make homemade broth.

Step Two - Tenderize.

There a variety of ways to tenderize chicken (or any other muscle meats, lamb, steak, fish, etc.). You can tenderize chicken by marinating it in something acidic like lemon juice or mechanically tenderizing it by pounding it, click HERE for more ideas on tenderizing. Since I am using chicken tenderloin which are smaller and thinner than chicken breasts, I’m going to skip this step and keep my chicken simple.
If you are baking thicker cuts of chicken breasts, make diagonal slits into the breast about ¼ inch deep. This will help the marinade penetrate into the chicken to make it nice and juicy.




Step Three – Marinating the chicken.

a. Marinate the Chicken for a particular flavor. As mentioned above in step two, I like to use an acidic ingredient with oil, spices and herbs. I'll put the chicken in a large ceramic bowl, add the marinade, cover with plastic wrap or in my case cover with glass lid. Let it marinade for at least 3o minutes to 6 hours and then it's good to bake.

Some of my favorite marinades:
• Rosemary Balsamic Dijon Marinade
• Tomato Basil Dressing
• Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette

b. Olive Oil Marinade for Neutral flavor. I like to bake my chicken with a little olive oil, lemon juice, fresh minced garlic (garlic powder works too), black pepper, and salt. This neutral marinade works for me since I like to bake chicken to last me for the next few days to the end of the week to add to my salads or sandwiches.




Step Four - Bake. Bake in a 375° oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, flipping over half way through or until the internal temperature reaches 165° F. Cooking time depends on a number of factors, such as the thickness of chicken breast, the cut of the chicken breast (the smaller the cut, the faster it cooks. Investing in a good meat thermometer is a must to avoid food-borne illnesses.
Creating a tent with tin foil is a good idea to prevent the chicken from drying out. You can place a sheet of foil over the top of baking dish, bake halfway through and then remove the foil and bake for the last 10 minutes or so to get that golden brown color.

TIP: I like to bake my chicken in a glass pyrex baking dish. Feel free to bake chicken on a baking dish lined with tin foil for easy clean up (spray the foil with vegetable spray). In this photo, I baked the chicken half way through and decided to add one packet of TRUE lemon to give it an extra lemony flavor. Then I put them back into the oven to bake for another 8 minutes.

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Another Shout-Out!

As my second post in my Shout-Out series, I'd like to highlight Joy Bauer. It’s likely you may have seen her on TV before, because she is the nutrition and health expert for the TODAY Show. She appears in a lot of fun and informative segments on the show. One of them is the“Joy Fit Club,” which highlights people who have lost and kept off 100 pounds or more through diet and exercise alone. Joy’s other ongoing series include Joy’s Diet S.O.S., Joy’s Kitchen Rescue and Joy’s Healthy Food Finds.

In addition to being an accomplished TV personality, Joy is also the author of multiple New York Time bestsellers, such as her latest cookbook titled Slim & Scrumptious and Joy Bauer's Food Cures which is an “ultimate guide to using food as medicine.” Recently I was contacted by a member of Joy’s team and was sent these two great books for review. I would definitely recommend them both. The cookbook focuses on whole, natural foods used to create a variety of unique and flavorful recipes. Her Food Cures book is easy to read, and provides tons of great information on healthy eating, not only as it relates to weight loss, but to many other health conditions/issues that are also prevalent today ranging from diabetes to osteoporosis. Also, because she is a qualified health professional, the information and tips in the book are based on sound research.

So a big Shout-Out to Joy and I invite you to check out her site http://www.joybauer.com/ for more info!

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A New Segment- Shout-Outs!

It’s amazing how much the blogosphere has blown up in the past few years, namely the internet world of food and nutrition blogging. I am so excited to be a part of it and so thankful for all my readers, taste testers and supporters! Another thing I am grateful for is all the wonderful and talented people I know and the wealth of information that I have access to being in the nutrition and healthcare profession as well as a blogger. So I thought I’d share some of it with you, bit by bit, here and there through a new segment…. Shout-Outs. Here I will give “props” to other dietitians, chefs, foodies who blog, have written cool books, developed delicious recipes, etc.

My first Shout-out is to an awesome woman who has done all of the above, Cheryl Forberg. She happens to be my long time friend, but anyone who just meets her would be impressed by her accomplishments (so I am not biased, haha!). I think the BIO on her website sums her up the best “Cheryl Forberg, RD, is a James Beard award-winning chef, a New York Times bestselling author and the nutritionist for NBC's "The Biggest Loser." One of the few professional chefs in the country who is also a registered dietitian, Cheryl has shared her expertise in nutrition and healthy recipe development in a dozen books, the latest of which is "Flavor First: Cut Calories and Boost Flavor" “.

We met at UC Berkeley when we were both studying to get our nutrition degrees and I have had the opportunity to learn with and from Cheryl and even work with her too! I have to admit, one of the greatest perks of being her friend has been being a taster for all her delicious self-created recipes! You can learn more about all the awesome books she has out on her website and check out her blog there too.

It has been exciting to watch her take off, as a dietitian, Chef, now writer and media spokesperson. So a big Shout- Out to Cheryl and I invite you to check her fabulous site !

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