Power Pantry

Winter is a good time to take inventory of how many of these power foods you have on hand, restock and remind you to incorporate them into your daily diet. I also take this as a good opportunity to go through non perishables + canned goods to give to my local food pantry.

Almonds: good fiber, protein good for your heart. Go ahead and go nuts!

Apples: Vitamin C and soluble fiber and helps keep the doctor away.

Beets: rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters; save fresh stems for salads for a double bonus.

Blueberries: big plant compounds to prevent chronic diseases. Toss in cereal and yogurt to get your day started right.

Broccoli: missed your O.J. today? Have a glass of broccoli; it’s powerhouse of calcium, potassium, folate, fiber, Vitamins A & C. 

Red Beans: excellent source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, thiamin, and copper, low fat low cal source of protein and fiber. A complete meal with steamed brown rice.

Spinach: Vitamin A and C folate. Good source of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, calcium iron and magnesium. Boost your immune system and keep hair and skin healthy. Seemed to work for Popeye.

Salmon: Omega-3 fatty acids, aids in keeping blood from clotting, good source of protein. Need more reason, just try this tasty recipe for Cedar Planked Salmon.

Sweet Potatoes: high in antioxidant beta-carotene which can slow the aging process. Good fiber, fat free, and under 60 calories per tuber.

Swiss chard: a leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes. Sorry, the DMV still requires an eye test for drivers license even if you eat your Swiss chard.

Pumpkin seeds: the most nutritious part of the pumpkin. Full of magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death. Helpful in the dugout during a Game Day too.

Sardines: high in omega-3’s, loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins. Enough said.

Turmeric: more than just a yellow color to paella, it contains anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

Wheat Germ: great boost to your immune system and cardio health. Go ahead treat yourself to an ice cream topped with wheat germ, you are doing yourself good. 

Vegetable Juice: when choosing, select a low sodium version because it’s filled with lycopene, an antioxidant that reduces risk of heart attack and prostate cancer. 

Classic Champagne Cocktail

Well.. Happy New Year!

Champagne is recognized as the universal symbol of good news, and this cocktail's simple recipe shows that life doesn't have to be complicated to be enjoyed. A classic Champagne Cocktail may not be as trendy a drink these days, but as a classic, it’s as good as when Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr sipped it in An Affair To Remember. 

The Recipe: Six ounces of champagne and a sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters is all it takes to make a sophisticated cocktail for the New Year. Drop the sugar cube into a tall flute glass, and then slowly add champagne and a lemon twist. 

Tips: With the Champagne Cocktail, you can trust the bitters to take the edge off a lesser quality champagne or sparkling wine. For this drink, you can use a lesser expensive wine spending about $10 to $18 for a good domestic bottle. Or, as I personally prefer to use a good Prosecco.

It is often remarked that Auld Lang Syne is one of the most popular songs that nobody knows the lyrics to. "Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."

As we say goodbye to 2011 and say hello 2012, I bid you adieu and I look forward to seeing you here next year.

George

Comforting Braise

Winter's chill and early dark nights inspire me to cook-up a steamy and comforting dinner dish. But while the braise is slowly simmering (Short Ribs of Beef with Orange Ginger Sauce) on the stove, why not make it a romantic-n-cozy night with a bottle of red wine and some candlelight (from my Good Stuff Pick). 

Question: Do you know the amount of work a worker-bee must do to create 1 pound of wax? Answer: How about, eating 10 pounds of honey! 

George's Good Stuff Pick!

Traditional Holiday Foods Around The Globe

I'm so happy to share global traditional from around the globe with you. It's one of my favorite things to discover in my travels. I always say we are all connected by food, it's the common denominator that reminds us we all play an important part in this big melting pot around the world.

Turkey is often regarded as the common Christmas meal but it appeared on the menu only around 1650 after European colonization of North America. It was introduced to Europe by Sebastian Cabot on his return from the New World. The bird got its name after merchants from Turkey made it a popular dish. Prior to this, goose, peacock or boar were associated with the Christmas feast. Seasonal foods vary with geographic locals and traditional family customs.

USA:

The US is a melting pot of cultures, so we have adopted a mix of many foreign traditions at Christmas time. Feasting on goose, turkey, ham, crown roast, a variety of root vegetables, squash, wild rice, and end our meal with a apple pie or pumpkin pie.

Australia:

Christmas is in midsummer and lunch is often a barbecue of prawns, steak and chicken with ice cream or sorbet for desert, maybe cooked at the beach. 

Czech Republic: 

Traditionally the meal is eaten on Christmas Eve and consists of fish soup, salads, eggs and carp. The number of people at the table must be even or the one without a partner is supposed to be dead by next Christmas. (Incentive? How about rent a partner?) 

Finland:

Traditional Christmas dinner will be a casserole of macaroni, rutabaga, carrot and potato, with ham or turkey. A mixed platter of meat and fish is also popular. After the meal it is a tradition to have a sauna and then to visit the graves of relatives. (Odd combination, but OK)

Germany:

Roast Goose is the favored Christmas meal, accompanied by potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnip and pickles. The meal is usually eaten on Christmas Eve. Rural southern Germany feast on game like wild boar and venison. 

Greenland:

The Christmas feast may include Little Auks, (these are seabirds that are a bit like Penguins), wrapped in sealskin and buried for months until decomposed. 

Italy: 

Christmas lunch can run to seven courses including antipasto, a small portion of pasta, roast meat, two salads, two sweet puddings followed by cheese, fruit, brandy and chocolates.  

Jamaica: 

The traditional Christmas dinner is rice, gungo peas, chicken, ox tail and curried goat. 

Latvia:

Christmas Dinner is cooked brown peas with bacon sauce, small pies, cabbage and sausage. 

Norway: 

The Christmas meal is eaten on Christmas Eve and for coastal regions is traditionally cod, haddock and lutefisk. Inland they will dine on pork chops, Christmas meatloaf and special sausages are eaten. Farmers leave a bowl of nisse (gruel) in barns on Christmas Eve for the magic Gnome who protects their farms. 

Portugal:

A special Christmas meal is salted dry cod-fish with boiled potatoes eaten at midnight on Christmas Eve. 

Russia:

Christmas food includes cakes, pies and meat dumplings. The mythical Babouschka is enjoying a resurgence following the ban under Communism. She brings gifts to Russian children rather than Santa Claus. 

South Africa: 

Christmas is during the hot summer season but the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings is still eaten at Christmas. 

Sweden: 

A Smorgasbord Christmas meal eaten on Christmas Eve includes varieties of shellfish, pork, cooked and raw herring fish, caviar, cheeses and brown beans. 

Ukraine: 

Huge meat broths are eaten on Christmas Eve after which children await "Father Frost" to bring presents. 

United Kingdom:

Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies are top picks. The largest Christmas Pudding weighed 7,231 pounds (3.28 tons) and was made at Aughton, Lancashire on July 11, 1992. The largest Mince Pie weighed 2,260 pounds (1.02 tons) and measured 6.1m X 1.5m. It was baked in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire on October 15, 1932.

image: NTF