Cooking for Different Shapes and Sizes

It’s fun to find a dad’s eyes and a mom’s smile on a toddler’s face, and when I can figure out the sisters in a group just by their mannerisms, I feel proud, like I just solved a puzzle. The sensitive me always notices a dad carrying a baby and wishes I could reverse time and hold my kids at that young age one more day. The professional me is quick to note when one kid appears thin and athletic and the other looks round and soft. Same gene pool. Same food in the fridge. Same access to exercise and likely similar lifestyles.

I parent this one myself: Rex has been called “string bean” and Maizy “juicy” by well-meaning friends. I cringe at these descriptions but, of course, love the beautiful little packages called bodies that they come in. I just want them to be healthy, fit and free from body-image issues. They’re kids, after all, and I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me if their body types will take after me, their dad, or a grandparent or great-grandparent from generations back. It doesn’t matter what look like on the outside; I’m glad they are just as they are.

Just like there may be something to birth order or gender differences, eating to your body type may be something worth exploring. In Ayurvedic practices it is referred to as eating for your dosha. I notice that Maizy prefers the quinoa and sweet potatoes, and she wants a second helping of dessert. Rex can be less enthusiastic about his meals, but he reliably wants steak, sea bass, and late-night snacks of seaweed and peppers. It feels impossible to parent them the same way when it comes to food (oh, and everything else too, I guess!).

We all worry about our kid who seems like he eats more than he needs getting an imbalance or overabundance of nutrition. We worry that our other kid isn’t eating enough to support his growing body and immune system. Anyone with me on this one? I’ve done the research (and practice what I preach to the best of my ability, of course), and I’ll tell you this is one tough issue to parent. Here’s what I’d have us do:

Be consistent with your Food Culture. Just as there should not be short-order cooking for each kid, each kid should not be put on his or her own “diet.” Your family needs a manifesto, philosophy or, as I like to call it, Food Culture that you follow. This Food Culture is a set of rules that work for your household. Make simple rules. Everyone sits together for dinner. We all taste everything offered. Dessert is offered every night. As you come up with your Food Culture, establish rules that promote healthy behaviors, good food choices and an opportunity for your kids to have some control and independence over their eating. An example of promoting independence is having your kiddos put their own veggies on their plates or choose what starch is served at dinner.

Focus on health and wellness, not body shape or size. I’ll admit it freaks me out that Maizy could eat through the better part of a pint of ice cream while Rex may request more kale chips. I never let ‘em see me sweat. “Kids, here’s your ice cream. Enjoy.” “Mom, can I have some more?” “Sorry, kiddo, ice cream is a treat and that’s all you get. It’s not going to give you the power you need for gymnastics tomorrow. If you’re still hungry in 20 minutes, I’ll slice up some cucumbers.” As your kids grow, they’ll bring questions about their bodies to you. One of their friends calls herself “skinny” and another “fat,” and your daughter will want to know what you think of her body. Tell her that you love her the most in the world, and it doesn’t matter what she looks like, but it really matters that she’s as healthy as she can possibly be (which is why you keep trying to get her to eat the turnips). Don’t just say it. Believe it.

Expect changes. Listen, there is a method to this growing-up thing. Babies and kids get plump. Then they get taller. Then they get plump. Then they get taller. Do not mess with this process by putting your babe on a diet, unless there is a medical reason to do so. Restricting calories and not meeting your child’s needs is extremely dangerous. Overfueling your kid can have backlash too. Let puberty reveal what is to become of your child’s body by offering a healthful diet, making sure physical activity is as important every day as brushing teeth and making sure your kids get enough rest to recharge their bodies. The gangly kid who is “all arms and legs” will fill out. The pudgy and round little one will lengthen and redistribute. Hormones do amazing things.

Walk the walk. Don’t be afraid to talk about your own experiences and observe others with your kids. You can compare two puppies’ shapes and sizes to start a healthy dialogue with your kids. You can talk about your own sister who got tons of attention as a ballerina and your success in field hockey. You can share your fears that if your children aren’t eating healthfully, they may have problems that come from poor food choices. Remind them (and yourself) that we each get only one body, and it may not look like anyone else’s in the family, but it’s up to you to take great care of it.

This recipe served with a side of brown rice has a funny way of appealing to your meat eaters, sweet treaters and carb lovers alike.

Raspberry Salmon

Total Time: 45 min

Yield: 4 servings

24 fresh raspberries

8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon orange peel

2 teaspoons honey

Splash of red wine

Olive oil cooking spray

Four skinless salmon fillets (approximately 4 ounces in size), preferably wild

Mash the raspberries and vinegar with a fork in a small bowl. Stir in the orange juice, orange peel, honey and wine until combined. Set aside.

Coat a nonstick skillet with oil cooking spray and place over medium heat. Cook the salmon for about 4 minutes per side, or until the fish is cooked through. Set aside. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully wipe away any liquid with a paper towel.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add the reserved raspberry mixture. Stirring constantly, cook 2 minutes, or until just thickened.

Pour the sauce over the salmon and serve with asparagus on the side.

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Nutrition News: Addictive Foods, the Taste of Fat and a Peanut Allergy Switcheroo

In this week’s news: Pizza and fries may really be addictive (it’s not just you); fat may be a basic taste; and the medical community does a 180 on its approach to peanut allergies.

Jonesing for Junk Food

We joke about being addicted to foods like pizza, fries, cookies and chocolate, but the joke may be on us. A new study published in the journal Plos One finds that highly processed foods, which contain added refined carbohydrates or fat, may be more addictive than those that are less processed, leading us to overeat and potentially setting us on a slippery slope toward obesity. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, also found a link between a food’s glycemic load (how much it is estimated to raise the blood glucose level of the person who eats it) and how likely it is to spark an addictive response. Those with symptoms of food addiction or higher body mass indexes reported a stronger response to highly processed foods, the authors say, which suggests some people may be more sensitive to the addictive qualities of processed foods than others.

Fat’s Where It’s At

Mmmm … there’s nothing like the delicious taste of fat. Wait. What? Science recognizes only a handful of basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. But a new research review, published in the journal Flavour, suggests that a sixth taste may be worthy of inclusion: fat. Researchers in the Sensory Science Group at Deakin University in Australia suggest that fat may qualify as a distinct taste of its own, and not as just something we perceive as a creamy texture in our mouths. To qualify as a “primary” taste, fat must meet a series of criteria, and while there’s still room for debate as to whether it does, the authors conclude that “a growing body of evidence from humans and other animal species provides support” that fat has its own distinct taste. That’s significant because “differences in taste sensitivity for fat appear to predict certain dietary behaviors, i.e., decreased sensitivity to fat taste is associated with an increased consumption of fat,” which may have implications for obesity.

Nutty News About Peanut Allergies

Uh-oh, have we been going about peanut allergy prevention the wrong way for years? A new study suggests that, instead of recommending that children, especially those considered at risk for developing food allergies, avoid eating peanuts for the first years of their life, doctors should recommend early introduction. “At least with respect to peanuts, avoidance may actually worsen the problem,” Gideon Lack, a pediatric allergy professor at King’s College London and the study’s senior author, told The Wall Street Journal. That’s not to say that parents should immediately rush out and start feeding their babies peanut products, health experts warn, but rather that current pediatric guidelines should be revised to reflect the new findings. The study may also have best-practice implications for the introduction of other common food allergens — like eggs, fish and dairy products — but further research is needed.

Amy Reiter also contributes to FN Dish.

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Time for Turmeric: Heat Things Up With This Antioxidant-Rich Spice

It offers amazing flavor, naturally bright color and a slew of health benefits! We could all use a little more turmeric.

Turmeric Basics

Related to ginger, this tangerine-colored root is the fresh form of turmeric. It’s often dried and ground into a yellow-orange powder, best known for its role as the main ingredient in curry powder. It’s also a common ingredient in mustard and other foods with a bright yellow hue. Use of this ancient spice for cooking and medicinal purposes dates back to 600 B.C. Nowadays folks take it to treat arthritis and digestive conditions. The amounts used in foods are considered safe, but some high-dose supplements can be dangerous for pregnant women or for those taking blood-thinning medications.

Nutrition Info

Ground turmeric can be found in just about any grocery store or online spice retailer. One tablespoon has 24 calories, and 1 gram each of fat, fiber and protein, plus an impressive 15 percent of the daily requirement for iron. Turmeric also contains a compound called curcumin, which is believed to have potent antioxidant properties that protect cells and fight inflammation.

What to Do with Turmeric

The bitter and distinct flavor is more versatile than you might think. Add fresh turmeric to smoothies and juices, soups or marinades, or to infuse flavor into rice. You can do even more with the dried spice: Make your own custom curry powder blend, sprinkle over veggies before roasting or whisk into marinades and salad dressings.

Storage Tips

Store fresh turmeric like ginger: in the refrigerator unpeeled for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer (peeled and sliced or grated) for up to 6 months. Dried turmeric powder should be kept in a cool, dry and dark place for no more than 6 months, or the flavor will suffer.

Recipes to Try

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric and Ginger

Turmeric-Roasted Chickpea and Lentil Salad

Golden Mango with Turmeric Smoothie

Curry Powder Blend

Summer Squash with Turmeric Butter

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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The Chef’s Take: Mushrooms a la Plancha from Joel Hough at il Buco

At il Buco, the beloved Italian restaurant in New York City’s East Village, Chef Joel Hough spans the Mediterranean for inspiration. “I like to play around with Spanish and Moorish influences and the flavors of Southern Italy,” he says. This means dishes like quail with pickled dried fruit and pomegranate; spaghetti with olive oil-poached swordfish, Calabrian chiles, capers and parsley; and Bella Bella Farms baby chicken with roasted baby beets, blood orange and mustard greens.

Aside from serving did-your-Nonna-make-this pasta, il Buco is known for its high-quality olive oil, fragrant and green as spring grass, and its homemade breads crafted from organic flour and an extra-long fermentation process. It’s bread you must try to believe: soft but firm with an almost nutty taste and a crackling farmhouse crust. (You can thank head baker Kamel Saci the next time you’re in.) Drag it through a shallow puddle of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and you’ll have your new favorite meal. But you might want to add a plate of Hough’s mushrooms — a riff on the Spanish classic ceptas a la plancha. Hough adds his own fermented garlic sauce to give it a little kick. “Fermented foods are super good for you,” he says. “And the flavor is pretty awesome too.”

Mushrooms a la Plancha, adopted from il Buco

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

2 pounds mixed cultivated (maitake, oyster, shittake) and wild mushrooms (black trumpet, yellowfoot, hedgehog)

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Lemon

Good extra virgin olive oil (Umbrian oil is nice with mushrooms)

Fermented black garlic sauce (recipe follows)

Wild arugula, for garnish

Aged gouda or parmigiano, for garnish

Season the mushrooms with the grapeseed oil, sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large cast iron skillet to high heat and gently wipe out the skillet with a lightly oiled rag. add the mushrooms in a single layer and allow to sear on one side. Stir gently and add to a mixing bowl. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice to the mushrooms and lighlty mix. To plate, take a spoon of the black garlic sauce and erratically make little streaks on the plate. Scatter the mushrooms across the plate, arrange a few leaves of arugula and shave the cheese to finish.

For the black garlic sauce

1/4 cup fermented black garlic paste

1/4 cup milk poached garlic(smashed to a paste)

1 teaspoon aged balsamic

Sea salt to taste

To prepare the garlic sauce, poach approximately 8 large cloves of garlic in 2 cups of milk until soft. Smash to a paste and work in the black garlic paste and season with the balsamic and sea salt.

Andrea Strong is a freelance writer whose work has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to Edible Brooklyn. She’s probably best known as the creator of The Strong Buzz, her food blog about New York City restaurants. She lives in Queens with her two kids, her husband and her big appetite.

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Breakfast of the Month: Quinoa Berry Bowl

I should be honest and tell you that before making this breakfast I was not that fond of black or red quinoa. I know it’s surprising coming from a true whole-grain enthusiast, but the fact is that pearl quinoa (sometimes labeled as white) has a much more pleasant and versatile texture — which is why I cook it weekly. Although extremely pretty, black and red quinoa are best used in meals that benefit from a seedlike crunch and a texture that is not what I look for in a hot breakfast. But, after a few months of smooth and creamy breakfast porridges, I was ready to shake things up a little.

This berry-studded breakfast bowl is a refreshing approach to hot cereal and contains a powerhouse of nutrition, thanks to anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are plant-based pigments found in black, deep red, purple and blue foods, and are the reason these dark-colored foods contain high levels of antioxidants. Made up of all the aforementioned colors, this breakfast bowl also contains abundant protein, calcium and amino acids, thanks to the quinoa — it’s enough to get me to place the quinoa in all colors front and center in my pantry.

Black Quinoa Berry Breakfast Bowl

As with all whole grains, I suggest soaking the quinoa overnight. Not only does an overnight soak increase the availability of nutrients in the quinoa, but it also shortens the cooking time.

1/4 cup black quinoa

1/4 cup red quinoa

1 cup water

Pinch salt

Pinch cinnamon

1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1/2 cup frozen or fresh blackberries

To serve:

Almond milk

Fresh berries

Chopped pistachios

Maple syrup or honey, optional

Soak black and red quinoa overnight in 1 cup of water.

In the morning, drain and rinse quinoa and place in a small pot. Add 1 cup fresh water, salt and cinnamon, and bring to a boil. Cover pot, lower heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until quinoa has softened (it will still be firm but shouldn’t be hard). Stir in berries and cook for another 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat, divide between bowls and top with almond milk, berries and pistachios. Serve warm, with a drizzle of sweetener if you like.

Photo: Stephen Johnson

Amy Chaplin is a chef and recipe developer in New York City. Her cookbook At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen came out this fall. She blogs at amychaplin.com.

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Coconut, Almond, Soy or Hemp? Your Guide to Dairy Alternatives

On February 17, 2015, Starbucks stores began to offer Single Origin Sumatra Coconut Milk for use in their hot and iced bevvies. According to a spokesperson for the coffee giant, there’s been high demand for a dairy- and soy-free option. In fact, it’s the second most-requested customer idea of all time from the brand’s idea blog page. With more and more people opting for replacements for milk that are dairy- and soy-free, which one should you choose?

Nutrition Breakdown

The various options for dairy alternatives offer great variety but can make it hard for consumers to know exactly what nutrients they are and aren’t getting. The good news is that many of these beverages are fortified to contain the same amount of calcium and vitamin D as a glass of cow’s milk: 300 milligrams and 150 IU, respectively. Despite this consistency across many brands, it’s still a good idea to check labels, and when it comes to other nutrients, there are lot more differences in nutrient profiles. Here is a breakdown of what you’ll find in a one-cup serving.

To learn more about the taste profiles and recommended uses, check out this Taste Test: Dairy Alternative

1% Cow’s Milk; Calories: 105; Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 9 grams

Coconut Milk; Calories: 80; Fat: 5 grams; Protein: 0 grams

Rice Milk; Calories: 120; Fat: 2.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram

Soymilk; Calories: 100; Fat: 3.5 grams; Protein: 6 grams

Almond Milk; Calories: 60; Fat: 2.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram

Hemp Milk; Calories: 110; Fat: 7 grams; Protein: 5 grams

There really is no right or wrong when it comes to which dairy-free beverage to choose; ultimately you need to stick with what you like and what you will drink. The key is to pay attention to what’s in your drink of choice and plan the rest of your diet accordingly. Choose one with minimal added sugar, and if you prefer an option that is lower in protein, then be sure to get the protein you need from other healthy foods.

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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Pack a Smile! Healthy, Creative School Lunchbox Ideas

When my kids were little, I remember opening up the refrigerator and pantry doors and closing them. Then opening them, then closing them. I’d scratch my head and think, “I’m a nutritionist, for the love of God; why is making lunch for my 4-year-old so hard?!” My second thought was always, “If this is hard for me, it must be even more stressful for moms who didn’t study food!” In all fairness, there’s a lot of pressure surrounding what goes into what we put into those superhero boxes every day.

Mostly, we want our kids to eat something at lunch, because if they don’t, they’re grumpy, lack focus and move about their day with low energy. We also need to feed them food they’ll actually eat. This is the tricky part! The foods not only need to be delicious to the child, but they also have to meet your high standards, pack easily and withstand tough criticism from the surrounding 4-year-olds. They need to be resilient to the tossing about that comes from hanging off of your child’s swinging arm and from accidental dropping (and the occasional trample of shoes). Finally, the contents of that carefully selected lunchbox need to be so engagingly wonderful that your kids want to — no, look forward to — eating what you’ve lovingly made! Perhaps this is less pressure than Tom Brady and the Patriots faced in the Super Bowl, but to us moms and dads, it’s all relative!

I’m here to help.

Come up with a formula. I tell my clients to put five things in their child’s lunch box every day: “main” + vegetable + fruit + snack + water. Having a formula like this one helps to assure they’re getting good nutrition in and makes it easy for you to assemble.

Main: Have a rotation of seven or so things you know your child enjoys. They don’t have to be labor-intensive. Some examples are: hard-boiled eggs, sandwich, meatball leftovers from dinner, yogurt, soup, cheese and crackers, hummus and crackers.

Vegetable: Raw or cooked, these can be eaten at room temperature. Carrot sticks get b-o-r-i-n-g after a while. Think outside the box: green beans, edamame, peas, kale chips, and little rings of hearts of palm sometimes even make for an enviable treat.

Fruit: Yes, fresh, seasonal, local and organic, but in the name of simplicity there is nothing wrong with the occasional cup of applesauce or box of raisins or dried apricots (sans added sugar!).

Snack: “Snack” doesn’t have to mean “snack food,” and the definition is personal to each of us. Examples of my kids’ faves include: trail mix, fruit leather (not if that was the “fruit,” of course), roasted seasoned chickpeas, homemade mini muffins and coconut chips.



Be conventional. Be unconventional. There’s nothing wrong with the tried-and true-mains: a sandwich, wrap, mini bagel and thermos of soup are all great choices. When variety is challenging, think outside the sandwich bread and use homemade pancakes with your (nut-free?) PB&J. When yogurt feels boring, replace it with cottage cheese or ricotta to mix things up. Make a quinoa salad with beans, cucumbers and tomatoes, instead of the usual pasta salad. Try filling up a thermos with oatmeal or even scrambled eggs. If you can, offer a bento box with easy-to-open lids for an exciting “reveal” of what’s inside. Don’t you wish you were able to see your kids’ little faces when they open up their lunch and find something unexpected that they love?



Embrace your invisibility. So, the unknown is really unsettling for many of us. We want the uneaten food sent home so we can see if we scored big with our lunch choices. The truth of the matter is, you’re better off asking than seeing how much of your hard work was actually eaten. Your little one is navigating more than lunch independence in the cafeteria. Sometimes they don’t eat as much because there was a snack or celebration in the classroom. Maybe they got stuck in line washing their hands in the restroom. Sometimes they’re too busy socializing to eat. Just because you see untouched food doesn’t mean you didn’t hit it out of the park.

Collaborate. My Maizy looks forward to her lunch when she knows what she’s looking forward to. When you can, ask your kid what he WANTS to eat for lunch. Give him some choices and take some pressure off of yourself. Going through phases of wanting the same yogurt every day is normal, so mix up the fruit, veggies and snack until he’s ready to change it up.

If they loved it, repeat it. If your dinner was a total hit last night, give it to ’em again in their lunchbox. From crudites to dessert, take the whole meal and turn it into tomorrow’s lunch. This one’s a gift to you both, since you can pack tomorrow’s lunch as you’re cleaning up tonight’s dinner and your kiddo will be thrilled to get a favorite twice!

“Macro” Platter
Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 1

1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup kale, cut into 2-by-2-inch pieces

1/3 cup broccoli, chopped

1/3 cup sweet potato, sliced into ¼-inch pieces

1 hard-boiled egg

2 cups water

1/3 cup avocado, chopped

Place brown rice in large saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until almost all the water is absorbed, approximately 40 minutes. Steam kale, broccoli and sweet potato. Place each cooked ingredient into a different section of compartmentalized lunchbox.

Keri Glassman is the founder and president of Keri Glassman, Nutritious Life and The Nutrition School. She is a contributing editor and advisory board member for Women’s Health Magazine, the Health and Wellness partner for JW Marriott, was Lead Nutritionist for Turner’s health and wellness entertainment brand, upwave and the Nutritionist and Judge on the healthy cooking competition show, “Cook Your Ass Off”. She has authored four books and is regularly featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Access Hollywood Live.

Photo: iStock.com.

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Nutrition News: FODMAPs, Cholesterol and Healthy Restaurant Tips

In this week’s news: FODMAPs get impugned; cholesterol gets exonerated; and these clever strategies could get diners through a restaurant meal in good shape.

Don’t blame the gluten (it may be the FODMAPs)

Has gluten unfairly gotten a bad rap? People without celiac disease who believe they are gluten-sensitive may instead be sensitive to fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, or FODMAPs, the Washington Post reports. FODMAPs? They are, the paper notes, “a group of carbohydrates that don’t get broken down and absorbed in the small intestine” but rather ferment in the large intestine, potentially causing digestive distress like diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating and pain. As much as 10 percent of the population may suffer from FODMAPs sensitivity, one researcher suggests, but if you aren’t among them, you shouldn’t attempt a low-FODMAP diet, since a lot of the foods that are high in FODMAPs (wheat, rye, onions, garlic, apples, stone fruit, milk and a host of other foods) are quite good for the other 90 percent of us.

And speaking of mistaken malefactors …

The U.S. government may be backing away from its stance against dietary fat and cholesterol. An advisory panel has indicated that cholesterol is no longer “considered a nutrient of concern for over-consumption,” CBCNews reports, noting that that conclusion will likely be reflected in a new set of dietary guidelines to be released this year. The previous guidelines, issued in 2010, suggested a daily cholesterol consumption limit of 300 milligrams; two large eggs, at about 186 milligrams apiece, would exceed the limit. The new guidelines are expected to not include recommendations for maximum cholesterol or fat intake. However, experts continue to warn that high levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood have been linked to heart disease and those with health problems like diabetes should continue to curb their cholesterol intake. What’s more, trans fats and saturated fats are still to be avoided.

How to eat out without eating too much

Eating out can be lovely – but sometimes, for health-aware eaters, it can feel fraught with danger. Portion and calorie control can be especially daunting. Time has offered seven healthy-eating strategies to employ while dining in a restaurant. Among them: Bring along another health-conscious eater; choose a restaurant with romantic lighting and music; sit near a window, away from the bar and at a high-top table; and ask for a tall glass instead of a short one. All these tips (and the others here) translate into lower calorie consumption and the ordering of healthier menu options. Who knew?

Amy Reiter also contributes to FN Dish..

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Exercise When It’s Freezing Outside? Here’s How!

Are snow and ice disrupting your workout routine? Skiing and snowshoeing are great outside activities, but if winter outdoor exercise isn’t for you, try some of these indoor exercise ideas on for size.

Be Prepared

Just because you aren’t venturing out doesn’t mean you won’t be getting a workout. Whatever exercise regimen you choose, wear the proper attire, stay hydrated, and check with your doctor if you have existing injuries or medical conditions that may be a concern.



Exercise Recommendations

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity per week. It’s ideal to spread this time out into multiple sessions as opposed to a one-day haul.

Suspension Straps

These straps allow exercise enthusiasts to use their body weight to provide resistance that can be adjusted based on hand and body positioning. They are easy to use and only require a small area of sturdy support for mounting. They can be used in countless ways for a total body workout. Brands such as TRX, CrossCore and Lifeline Jungle Gym XT can be found online or in some fitness outlets.

Home Exercise Equipment

There are a few do’s and don’ts when buying exercise equipment for your home. It’s usually a good idea to avoid the stuff you see on those late-night infomercials (as tempting as they may be) — they’re almost always low-quality and a waste of money. Visit a bargain warehouse (such a Costco or BJ’s) or a local retailer that specializes in home exercise equipment. Most home versions of stationary bikes, treadmills and elliptical machines can cost between $500 and $1,500. Be serious about the investment; plan out a reasonable place to put it and take measurements ahead of time to make sure that bike or treadmill doesn’t become a really expensive clothing rack.

No Equipment Needed

Guess what? You can be your own set of weights! Don’t confuse classic exercises like pushups and sit-ups for pointless moves. As long as your body position is appropriate, you can get a killer workout on the busiest (and coldest) of days.

Bring the Outside In

If you’re a runner, look in your area for an indoor track; many offer open-house hours. Check your local gymnastic program or indoor rock-climbing park — they’re not just for the kiddos! You’d be surprised how many offer adults-only classes. If a little chill doesn’t scare you, hit up a local ice rink and get on skates — you can burn about 400 calories per hour.

Tell Us: How do you like to be active when the temperature plummets?

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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The Chef’s Take: Jeremy Lieb’s Miso Salmon with Quinoa Cabbage Slaw at Boca

Chef Jeremy Lieb is one of those guys who manage to do it all. He’s the corporate chef of the Cincinnati-based Boca restaurant group, which also includes Boca, Sotto, and two Nada locations (one in Cincinnati and one in Columbus). He not only cooks, but also develops the menus and trains the staff. He’s obsessed with CrossFit and works out regularly with his wife and two young kids to keep the whole family in shape. Lieb also encourages his staff to stay healthy, promoting good eating, exercise and lots of sleep. “You have to do one thing every day that’s just for you that makes you happy,” he says. Now, that’s the kind of boss we’d all love to have.

At Boca, his flagship Cincinnati restaurant, Lieb’s menu has an Italian simplicity with a focus on great seasonal ingredients. Given his passion for staying fit, he’s also one for incorporating dishes that appeal to his healthful side. “We are by no means a healthy restaurant,” he says,”but we do try to offer something for gluten-free diners, or those on a paleo diet, or lighter fare for someone who might want to come more often and not have to splurge.”

He’ll make a whole branzino with roasted carrots and baby kale with an avocado mousse, or an old-fashioned chicken noodle soup with dumplings made from gluten-free cavatelli, or a pesto sauce from kale. “I try to create dishes that are fun and simple and that people will enjoy,” he says.

His Miso Poached Salmon with a cabbage slaw tossed with quinoa and almonds in a champagne vinaigrette is the perfect example: “Nobu did his miso black cod all those years ago, and I loved it,” he says. “I wanted to do something that was a riff on that. It’s a little out of the ordinary and it’s a beautiful dish. My kids love it too. They call it candy salmon.”

Miso Salmon with Quinoa Cabbage Slaw

Serves 4

Miso Marinade:

4 ounces White Miso

4 ounces yellow miso

1 ounces mirin

1 ounces soy

2 ounces sugar

Four 4-to-6-ounce salmon fillets

Mix all ingredients together. Place salmon in a sous vide bag with enough marinade to cover and sous vide at 128 degrees F for 8 minutes. If you don’t have a sous vide machine, bring a pot of water to a simmer and then turn off the heat. Combine salmon and marinade in a plastic baggie and place in water for 8 minutes, being sure to clip the bag to the top of the pot so that only the salmon is submerged. Carefully remove salmon from baggie and place on a roasting pan. Spoon fresh marinade on top of salmon fillets and put under a broiler until the fish browns.

Quinoa Slaw:

3 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fennel, thinly sliced

1/4 cup carrot, thinly sliced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/8 cup sliced and toasted almonds

6 ounces oil

3 ounces vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

Combine quinoa and vegetables in a large bowl. Mix oil, vinegar and honey together, pour over quinoa mixture and toss to combine. Place a cup of the mixture on each plate, top with a piece of salmon and enjoy.

Andrea Strong is a freelance writer whose work has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to Edible Brooklyn. She’s probably best known as the creator of The Strong Buzz, her food blog about New York City restaurants. She lives in Queens with her two kids, her husband and her big appetite.

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Dessert of the Month: Oat Walnut Marmalade Squares

These delicate squares have a snappy shortbread crust that is not only irresistibly good, but also vegan and gluten-free. Creating whole-grain shortbread without butter is a challenge; however, to make it without flours containing gluten as well may be one of the greatest tests a vegan pastry chef can face. The secret to good vegan shortbread is in the combination of whole-grain and nut flours along with coconut oil; add a splash of vinegar to give the dough that unmistakable buttery tang.

These squares are perfect served with tea or as an after-dinner sweet, as they won’t weigh you down. In fact, they manage to be both refreshing and comforting, thanks to the thin layer of marmalade and a scattering of maple-infused oats and nuts on top. The other bonuses are that they come together fast with ingredients that are common in a well-stocked pantry, and they store well in the fridge — that’s if you don’t find them endlessly tempting!

Oat Walnut Marmalade Squares

Be sure to use gluten-free oats and oat flour if you have a gluten allergy.

Makes 24 (2-inch) squares

Crust

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup melted extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Filling

10-ounce jar orange marmalade

Topping

2 tablespoons maple sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Pinch sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup walnut pieces

Line a 13-by 9-inch baking pan (also known as a quarter sheet pan) with parchment paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the crust:

Add oats, coconut, almond meal and salt to a food processor and grind until fine. Transfer to a medium bowl and add oat flour and rice flour; stir to combine. Drizzle in oil and mix until evenly combined, then add maple syrup and vinegar, and mix until dough forms a ball. If mixture is sticky, set aside for 15 minutes to allow the oats to absorb the excess moisture. Press dough thinly and evenly into prepared pan and prick the surface with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before covering with marmalade.

Make the topping:

Combine maple sugar, maple syrup, salt and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add oats and walnuts, and stir again until evenly combined. Crumble mixture over marmalade and bake 20 minutes or until walnuts look toasted and edges are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Amy Chaplin is a chef and recipe developer in New York City. Her cookbook At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen came out this fall. She blogs at amychaplin.com.

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War of the Chocolates

Chocolate is the aphrodisiac of choice on Valentine’s Day. But not all varieties of this confection are created equal. Here’s a rundown of the most-lovable options for you and your waistline.

Dark Chocolate

This antioxidant-filled variety provides the most health benefits. Dark chocolate contains important nutrients like vitamins A, B and E, along with calcium, iron and potassium. The antioxidant theobromine has been shown to help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. The reason dark chocolate is healthiest is that it contains higher cocoa concentrations — that’s where all the good stuff is found. For the most health benefits, choose dark chocolate that is made from at least 60 percent cocoa. And with 150 calories and 9 grams of fat, it’s important to stick with 1-ounce portions.

Recommended:

Green & Black’s Organic 70% Dark Chocolate

Vivani Organic 71% Dark Chocolate

Milk Chocolate

Milk chocolate contains around the same amount of calories and fat as its dark counterpart. It contains less cocoa than dark, and therefore has less of the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants. Milk chocolate is made from milk solids, sugar and cream, which give it a smoother and creamier texture.

Recommended:

Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate

Hershey’s Bliss Milk Chocolate

White Chocolate

Not truly chocolate, this variety has a milder, subtler flavor. It’s made from cocoa butter, sugar and flavoring. One ounce of white chocolate has about 160 calories and 10 grams of fat – so moderation is important.

Recommended:

Ghirardelli Premium White Chocolate Baking Bar

Trader Joe’s White Chocolate Chips

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

In order to bring out the chocolatey flavor of baked goods without adding many calories, use a touch of unsweetened cocoa powder. Unsweetened cocoa powder also contains the antioxidants founds in dark chocolate. One tablespoon contains 12 calories and 1 gram of fat and is sugar-free. All you need is a small amount (a teaspoon or two), as it goes a long way.

Recommended:

Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Cocoa Nibs

These crunchy pieces add a subtle chocolate flavor to a variety of dishes. Cocoa nibs are made from roasted cocoa beans that have been separated from their husks and broken into teeny pieces. Use them in place of roasted nuts or chocolate chips in recipes, without the sugar. One ounce of cocoa nibs provides 130 calories and 12 grams of fat and is sugar-free.

Recommended:

Navitas Naturals Cacao Nibs

Scharffen Berger Cacao Nibs

Last Chocolate Standing: No matter which chocolate you crave, moderation is the real winner in this war. The calories and fat in any form of chocolate add up quickly, so sticking to small amounts is the only way to truly love chocolate.

Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and consultant who specializes in food safety and culinary nutrition. She is the author of The Greek Yogurt Kitchen: More Than 130 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Day.

Photo: iStock.com.

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The Chef’s Take — Jeremie Tomczak’s Farro Salad with Beets and Blood Oranges at King Bee

The New York City dining scene is chock-full of options. But until King Bee opened, Acadian cuisine was not one of them. Now it’s here. Acadian food, you ask? Well, it’s inspired by the culinary evolution from the Acadian emigration to Louisiana. Think New Orleans country cooking meets the Pacific Northwest. It comes to the East Village in the form of a cozy little nest, decorated like a vintage cottage tucked into the mountains. A fire might as well be blazing on a hearth.

The menu by Chef Jeremie Tomczak — of Aquavit, Red Rooster Harlem and the French Culinary Institute — is hyperseasonal and much of it is sourced from partner Eben Klemm’s upstate family farm, Red Fox, in Sharon Springs, N.Y. While the menu veers toward NOLA’s indulgent side in dishes like grilled oysters with cabbage and garlic butter, rabbit rillettes, Louisiana crawfish and brioche, and a Creekstone rib eye with beef vinaigrette and potato leek terrine, Tomczak is an unabashed fan of vegetables and grains.

His menu includes an impressive selection of inspired vegetarian plates: buckwheat risotto with maitake mushrooms and kale, the Upstate Raw Salad with turnips, cauliflower and sorghum, a smoky all-vegetable Gumbo, and this brightly flavored farro salad with kohlrabi, beets, blood oranges, almonds and buttermilk vinaigrette.

“A lot of the Acadian cuisine is heavy, and you can use a lot of vegetables and balance it out,” he says. “It’s just about respect for vegetables. It’s not music if you don’t have a drummer; the guitarist isn’t everything. Vegetables, they’re the drummer.”

Farro Salad with Blood Oranges, Beets, Almonds, Kohlrabi and Buttermilk Vinaigrette

Serves 8

Farro:

4 cups dry farro

5 shallots, finely chopped

2 cups white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

Vegetable Stock:

Sachet of thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and peppercorns

2 gallons of water

1 quart dried shiitakes

3 carrots

1 celery root

3 onions

2 parsley root

2 bunches leeks

**Note, this will make a lot of leftover stock, which you can freeze for later use

Beets:

4 medium sized beets (red, candy cane, white or yellow), stems on

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Buttermilk Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt to taste

Garnish:

¼ cup of chopped marcona almonds

1 blood orange, cut into segments

1 cup arugula

½ cup thinly sliced kohlrabi

For the vegetable shiitake stock:

Roughly chop all vegetables and sweat in a stock pot with a generous drizzle of olive oil for about 5 minutes

Add water, shiitakes, and sachet of herbs and peppercorns.

Bring to boil, and then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

For the Beets

Cut the stems off the beets and thinly slice them, reserve

Place beets in a small roasting dish with salt and a little water. Roast until tender and cooked through.

Peel the beets and quarter them.

In a large bowl, toss the beets in the red wine vinegar to marinate, along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt to taste.

Meanwhile, saute the beet stems and set aside.

For the farro:

Cover a pot with a little olive oil and sweat the shallots over medium/high heat until soft (do not want any browning)

Add the farro to the olive oil and cooked shallots, toast for about 1 minute

Add the wine and cook until reduced.

Add enough hot vegetable stock to just cover the farro, with about 1 inch of liquid covering the grain.

When stock is reduced, continue adding more so farro is always fully covered with stock.

Repeat this step until farro is cooked through and tender.

Cool farro on a baking sheet.

For the buttermilk vinaigrette

Whisk the buttermilk, honey, vinegar, and olive oil, add salt to taste.

Plating:

In a bowl, toss the farro with the almonds, kohlrabi, beet stems, buttermilk vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste (reserve 1/4 cup of the buttermilk vinaigrette).

To plate, top the farro with blood orange slices and quartered beets.

Toss the arugula in the remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk vinaigrette, and place atop salad as final garnish.

Andrea Strong is a freelance writer whose work has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to Edible Brooklyn. She’s probably best known as the creator of The Strong Buzz, her food blog about New York City restaurants. She lives in Queens with her two kids, her husband and her big appetite.

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Salad of the Month: Valentine’s Day Roasted Radicchio with Pomegranate Seeds

Instead of making a sweet and chocolatey treat for Valentine’s Day, I decided to do the opposite and make something with a complex, bitter flavor. Why bitter, you may ask? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, each flavor (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty) nourishes a different organ. Bitter-tasting foods nourish the heart, so I thought it fitting to include a recipe that would benefit the heart on a day when we are encouraged to express our love.

In this salad the radicchio is roasted, and its bitter flavor is balanced by a reduced balsamic dressing and a generous sprinkle of nutty Parmesan cheese, plus some plump, juicy pomegranate seeds to finish it off. Besides being super-tasty and pretty to look at with its deep purple, pink and red colors, this salad is a snap to put together — although you wouldn’t know it from the impressive flavor combination.

Roasted Radicchio Valentine’s Salad

Here the balsamic vinegar is reduced to create the consistency of a good aged balsamic and to concentrate the flavor. If you have some aged balsamic that’s thick and syrupy, then you can use 2 tablespoons of it in place of the reduced vinegar.

Serves 4

For the roasted radicchio

2 medium radicchio

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

For the dressing

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

For the salad

1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Black pepper

Roast the radicchio:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Cut each radicchio in half from top to bottom. Cut each half into 3 wedges and lay on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and a large pinch of salt and pepper, and gently toss to coat in oil. Roast for 25 minutes or until browning. Remove from oven and set aside.

Make the dressing:

Add balsamic vinegar to a small skillet over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until vinegar has thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons. Pour into a small bowl and whisk in olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Assemble the salad:

Place 3 wedges of roasted radicchio on each of 4 plates. Divide Parmesan and pomegranate seeds over the radicchio and drizzle each salad with a tablespoon of dressing. Top with cracked pepper and serve.

Amy Chaplin is a chef and recipe developer in New York City. Her cookbook At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen came out this fall. She blogs at amychaplin.com.

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6 Foods to Try This Year

Is eating healthier on your list of New Year’s resolutions? These six foods are on this year’s must-try list because they pack a nutritional punch. Dig into these better-for-you foods and make your 2015 resolution a reality.

Whole Grains

Eating whole grains isn’t a new idea, but there are some whole grains you may have missed. The Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making half your grains whole. Food companies are producing innovative whole-grain foods, and some forgotten ancient grains are reappearing.

Dave’s Killer Bread: These whole-grain slices of heaven come thinly sliced for 60 calories apiece.

Bob’s Red Mill Organic Kasha: Buckwheat has been around for more than 1,000 years and is one of the earliest known grains. One-quarter cup dry provides 5 grams of protein and 16 percent of your daily recommended amount of fiber.

Gretchen’s Grains Organic Wheat Berries: These whole grains are soaring in popularity. Gretchen’s made a fully cooked and frozen variety, so you can enjoy their goodness without cooking!

Udi’s Gluten-Free Steel-Cut Oats: No more worries about cross-contaminated oats! Udi’s makes sure there’s no gluten found in the package.

Sprouted Grains: Another way to take in those whole grains is by eating them right after they germinate. There are many new and delicious sprouted-grain products on the market to try.

Spicy Condiments

A little bit of these tasty condiments goes a long way. Many fancy brands are making reappearances, while some favorites are getting spiced up.

Three Bridges Superfood Pesto Sauce: This spin on pesto is made from a combo of basil and kale. Use one tablespoon to flavor a mozzarella cheese and tomato or grilled chicken sandwich.

Kosciusko Spicy Brown Mustard: Fancy mustards are making a comeback, and this brand just knocks it out of the park! The spice factor helps keep portions under control, so you can stick to the one teaspoon serving recommendation.

Hope Spicy Avocado Hummus: This Boulder, Colo., hummus company has some of my favorite flavors. Use it as a condiment on a turkey sandwich or with grilled veggies.

Dairy Goods

The dairy aisle is filling up with some new finds; each can help you meet the recommended three daily servings of dairy.

Lifeway Low-Fat Kefir: This cultured milk has a tangy flavor, and it’s made with live and active cultures, many of which act as probiotics.

Siggi’s Icelandic-Style Cream Skyr: If you’re looking to try a new yogurt, this rich and creamy strained version is brimming with calcium and protein.

Dannon Creamery: Satisfy your sweet tooth with a good-for-you dessert! These seemingly indulgent flavors are made with Greek yogurt and topped with fruit sauces, yet they contain a boatload of essential nutrients and fewer than 200 calories each.

New Citrus

More varieties of citrus fruit have become available throughout the country. Now we can have more fun getting our daily dose of antioxidants and fiber.

Cara Cara Oranges: Originally discovered in Venezuela, these babies are now grown in California. They have a reddish-pink flesh and a sweet tangy flavor. They’re available December through April.

Blood Oranges: Originally from Spain and Italy, these dramatically colored oranges are now grown in California, Texas and Florida. The flesh is a scarlet color, and these oranges are less acidic than other varieties. They’re available a short time from January through March.

Exotic Vegetables

Open your palate to new and exciting vegetables. The wider variety of foods you choose to eat, the more opportunities you have to take in all those important nutrients.

Jicama: This edible root is similar to a turnip. The flesh is white with a mild flavor, while the skin is brown. Jicama can be eaten raw on a crudite platter (it doesn’t brown after being sliced), in salsa or in slaw. Or cook it in stir-fries and noodle dishes.

Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke): These silly looking tubers were originally cultivated by Native Americans and have a delicate flavor similar to an artichoke. One-half cup sliced contains 54 calories and provides 14 percent of your daily recommended amount of iron. It’s also a good source of thiamin.

Fermented Foods

The popularity of fermented foods is rising. Fermented foods contain live and active bacteria, many of which act as tummy-pleasing probiotics. Many fermented foods are high in salt, but you can still reap their benefits if you keep an eye on portions.

Farmhouse Culture Kimchi: Made from cabbage, radish, carrots, leeks, and a combo of delicious herbs and spices, kimchi is packed with nutrition and probiotics.

Hikari Miso Organic Miso: Used in Asian cuisines, red or white miso makes a delicious addition to soups, gravy and dips.

Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and consultant who specializes in food safety and culinary nutrition. She is the author of The Greek Yogurt Kitchen: More Than 130 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Day.. She sits on Dannon’s Expert Yogurt Board.

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Turn Over a New (Broccoli) Leaf

Looks like Tuscan kale, tastes sweet like sugar snap peas, and offers 100 percent of your daily value of vitamin C and calcium per serving. What is this miracle food? It’s broccoli leaves. No, not those little delicate fronds that you find on the crowns of broccoli (though those, too, are edible); these larger leaves grow around the stalk of the broccoli plant. Farmers previously used them just for cultivating the soil, but now they are being recognized for their nutritional power.

Like kale, broccoli leaves aren’t exactly a new thing. Italians have long grown a variety called spigariello, but unlike broccoli, spigariello’s leaves were always the prize, not the florets. If you can’t find broccoli leaves at your local farmers market, don’t worry; one brand is bringing the greens to the masses. Foxy, which is deeming the greens a “magical power food” even, has branded its product “BroccoLeaf.”

Broccoli leaves can be prepared the same ways as kale, Swiss chard or collard and mustard greens. Try them in soups, salads or sandwiches, or even blended into a smoothie. Here are a few other techniques to try on your first batch of broccoli leaves.

Braised:

Substitute broccoli leaves for the collard greens that brighten this hearty dish of Braised Collard Greens and Butternut Squash.

Sauteed:

Quick, simple and good-for-you mustard greens can be swapped out for broccoli leaves like in Anne Burrell’s Sauteed Mustard Greens.

Stir-fried:

Toss broccoli leaves into this Tofu Vegetable Stir-Fry.

Steamed:

Add broccoli leaves to Steamed Clams and Kale.

Baked:

A one-dish casserole of baked gnocchi gets a dose of vitamin C and calcium with the addition of broccoli leaves.

Kiri Tannenbaum is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Paris and holds an M.A. in food studies from New York University where she is currently an adjunct professor. When her schedule allows, she leads culinary walking tours in New York City and is currently at work on her first book.

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This Week’s Nutrition News Feed

In this week’s news: New findings about sugar and diabetes are not so sweet; vitamin drinks may do more harm than good; weight training could prevent your weight from yo-yoing.

No use sugarcoating it

The amount of added sugars, especially fructose, in the U.S. diet may be largely to blame for the nation’s rising rate of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, clinical experts behind research published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings have concluded. The researchers say current dietary guidelines allowing sugars to comprise as much as 25 percent of total daily caloric intake should be revised to reduce the amount of sugar allowed and to encourage people to replace processed foods, which often include lots of added sugar and fructose, with whole foods like fruits and vegetables. What’s more, the authors conclude, at “an individual level, limiting consumption of foods and beverages that contain added sugars, particularly added fructose, may be one of the single most effective strategies for ensuring one’s robust future health.”

Too much of a good thing

People who suck down vitamin drinks may feel like they’re doing something good for themselves, but those drinks may actually bring vitamin and mineral overkill and be harmful to their health, nutrition experts tell The New York Times. “You have vitamins and minerals that occur naturally in foods, and then you have people taking supplements, and then you have all these fortified foods,” Mridul Datta, a nutrition scientist at Purdue University, told the Times. “It adds up to quite an excess. There’s the potential for people to get a lot more of these vitamins than they need. This vitamin and mineral surplus may throw your system off balance, though the cumulative effects are unclear.” “With these products,” another nutrition scientist, Valerie Tarasuk, of the University of Toronto, says of vitamin-enhanced beverages, “we’ve embarked on a national experiment.”

Best way to battle rebound pounds?

Lost a few pounds and hope to keep them from sneaking back on? Try exercising. According to a new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, working out may be the key to keeping off weight after you lose it by dieting. Researchers found that premenopausal women who lost an average of 25 pounds by consuming an 800-calorie-per-day diet were able to keep it off more successfully after they hit their goal rate if they also began to exercise regularly — especially if their exercise regime included weight training. In fact, those who exercised moved around more in general throughout the day, burning more calories, than those who did not. “It seems clear that exercise is very important if you wish to keep the weight off,” the study’s lead author, University of Alabama at Birmingham professor Gary R. Hunter, said.

Amy Reiter also contributes to FN Dish.

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Delivery Services Make Wholesome Meals a Snap

Half of what it takes to eat healthfully is finding the time to do it all — hunting for recipes, shopping for ingredients, putting it all together — it can feel like a full-time job! Take a deep breath. We’re sharing our favorite wholesome delivery services to help you make it all happen without losing your mind. You can order local groceries, healthy snacks, full-on meals and even smoothies! Relax.

Green Blender (pictured at top of post)

What: Smoothie service

Areas Served: Covering the East Coast from Boston to Washington, D.C.

How It Works: It;s time to rethink that morning coffee ritual and consider the smoothie. All you need to become a master smoothie maker is a blender, water and ice — Green Blender does the rest. “Everything is pre-portioned,” explains founder Jenna Tanenbaum. “Just go down the recipe, throw it all in, hit liquefy and that’s it.” Subscribers receive a box shipped to their door that covers a full five days, with each smoothie yielding 24 ounces. (That’s enough for 2 to 4 servings, depending on your appetite). Inside, everything is packed neatly in plastic bags, labeled and portioned out, and includes a letter with storage suggestions, pro tips and all the week’s recipes, which are rarely repeated. You’ll not only get a nourishing breakfast, but also work with ingredients like kumquats, purple cauliflower, mesquite powder, tarragon, pumpkin seeds and butternut squash. Not your everyday smoothie!

Good Eggs

What: Local foods and artisan products to your door

Areas Served: Brooklyn, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Orleans

How It Works: If you can’t get to the small producers, Good Eggs brings the small producers to you. All you need to do is log on and you’ll be able to custom-order a laundry list of goods sourced directly from farmers and independent artisan producers. Pick your own items or select from the “bundled” options for farmers market shares and get all the items you need for a super Sunday brunch. It’s the go-to site for fresh local produce, pasture-raised meats and dairy, chef-made meals and hand-crafted breads. More incentive: There’s free delivery on orders over $30.

Real Food Works

What: Healthy prepared meals designed by restaurant chefs

Areas Served: National

How It Works: Real Food Works picks up where diet delivery services of the ’80s left off, putting the pleasure, and taste, back into convenient, plant-based prepared meals. How? They’ve modernized the concept by having real restaurant chefs prepare each and every dish. Packages come with five meals, 10 meals or a complete meal pack for the week, which includes 26 meals and snacks and can be shipped nationally. Users get to customize their selections, and everything is supervised by an in-house nutritionist. Chefs design dishes based on shared specifications, but are mostly driven by what’s in season and local. Menus vary, and all feature a bounty of vegetables and layered flavors and textures, and never include any artificial ingredients, dairy or eggs.

Daily Harvest:

What: Smoothie packs

Areas Served: New York City; coming in 2015, the East Coast

How It Works: Rather than get up 30 minutes earlier to prepare a smoothie, you can get portion-sized ingredients delivered to your door from Daily Harvest. While Green Blender does all the creative brainstorming for you, Daily Harvest lets you be the designer by choosing from a variety of blends catering to every palate. Many customers use the blends for breakfast or a boost before or after a workout, but several have found them to be good meal replacements for doing a cleanse. The most popular of the blends is Berry Brightener, a concoction of acai berries, cherries and raspberries that’s packed with antioxidants and vitamin C.

Kiri Tannenbaum is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Paris and holds an M.A. in food studies from New York University where she is currently an adjunct professor. When her schedule allows, she leads culinary walking tours in New York City and is currently at work on her first book.

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The Chef’s Take: Jimmy Bradley’s Roasted Broccoli with Almonds, Parmesan and Red Onion at The Red Cat

If you’ve been around the food circles in New York City, the name Jimmy Bradley is a familiar one. He’s a rock star. Bradley opened his iconic restaurant The Red Cat in 1999, and since then has been serving New Yorkers a straightforward, market-driven menu that aims to please. No foams, no dusts, no deconstructed dishes or immersion circulators. Just good, local, seasonal American food with a nudge from the Mediterranean. It’s a formula that has been going strong for 15 years.

About five years ago, though, Bradley was itching to do more than his one-page menu allowed. So he added a second menu — one focused on vegetables. Since then, he has served a five-course vegetable menu nightly. His roster of dishes includes Bibb Lettuce Salad with goat cheese, sunchokes, pears and roasted lemon vinaigrette, Swiss Chard and Ricotta Ravioli with parsley, brown butter crumble and pine nut sauce, and Red Hot Rapini with browned garlic and chili flakes. One of his newest and most-popular dishes, created by Chef Michael Cooperman, is this rustic Roasted Broccoli with almonds, red onion, Parmesan and broccoli puree.

“The broccoli dish is a perfect example of the type cuisine we serve at The Red Cat,” said Bradley. “As is our Zucchini with Almonds and Pecorino. We feel that less is more — we like to use few ingredients in a dish, but prepare them perfectly, to showcase and highlight the flavor of the ingredients. In this case, that ingredient is broccoli. We prepare it a few different ways (including raw) in order to highlight its varied flavors and textures.”

“We treat vegetables as the main protein and we work around it,” said Bradley. “There’s not enough fish in the ocean; too much meat is bad for you, so eat more vegetables!”

Roasted Broccoli
Yield: 4 servings

1 head broccoli

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/2 bunch parsley, picked and washed

1/4 cup canola oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

1/4 of a small red onion, sliced paper thin

1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 lemon

Using a paring knife, separate broccoli into three piles: one with florets, one with leaves and one with stems.

Take the stems and peel them using a paring knife; remove all the fibrous peels and chop the peels so they will cook evenly.

Take the peeled stems and shave them using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, then soak them in ice-cold water with the broccoli leaves.

For the puree, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add broccoli peels and any scraps. Cook till very tender, then shock in ice water. Add garlic to boiling water and blanch for 1 minute, then add picked parsley. Cook for 30 seconds and shock in ice water.

Drain broccoli peels, garlic and parsley on a towel, then put in a blender and puree with 1/4 cup canola oil. When the puree is a smooth consistency, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the broccoli florets with extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper. Put them on a sheet tray flat so they cook evenly; cook for 8 to 12 minutes or till tender. Keep warm.

To finish the dish, gently heat up the puree in a small pot. Reserve warm. Spin the stems and leaves in a salad spinner till dry. Put in a mixing bowl with the red onion, almonds, Parmesan, juice of half a lemon and a splash of olive oil. Toss salad and season with salt and pepper.

To plate the dish, put puree on the bottom of a plate, arrange florets, then top with the salad of stems.

Andrea Strong is a freelance writer whose work has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to Edible Brooklyn. She’s probably best known as the creator of The Strong Buzz, her food blog about New York City restaurants. She lives in Queens with her two kids, her husband and her big appetite.

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Dessert of the Month: Warm Chai-Spiced Smoothie

In the depths of winter, when the temperatures plummet I’ll take a cup of chai tea over a cool smoothie any day. It was that impulse exactly that got me thinking of combining the two and having the best of both worlds: a warming and invigorating drink with a creamy, whipped consistency. To achieve this, I made a cup of chai and instead of drinking it, I simmered a chopped pear in the spicy brew, then blended it with cashews, a knob of coconut butter and a couple of plump dates. The result was the perfect snack and cup of tea in one.

Warm Chai-Spiced Smoothie

Here I used a rooibos chai for a caffeine-free version, but any kind of chai tea will work.

Serves 1

1 cup brewed chai tea

1 pear, peeled, cored and chopped

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 to 4 hours in cold water

1 tablespoon coconut butter or extra virgin coconut oil

2 Medjool dates, pitted

Add chai tea and pear to a small pot and bring up to a boil over high heat. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes or until pear is heated through. Remove from heat and transfer to an upright blender. Drain and rinse cashews and add to the blender along with coconut butter and dates; blend until completely smooth, and drink warm.

Amy Chaplin is a chef and recipe developer in New York City. Her cookbook At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen came out this fall. She blogs at amychaplin.com.

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Inside Food Network Kitchen: The One Healthy Food We Eat Every Day

Here in Food Network Kitchen, food is our job. We eat just about everything, and we all try to eat healthy whenever we can. Between recipe tastings full of savories and sweets, everyone here has their one go-to healthy food they rely on. We thought you’d like to know what a bunch of food-obsessed nerds eat, so we took an internal survey.

And the winner is … GREENS! We are huge fans of our dark and leafy friends, whether collards, kale, spinach or mache. Depending on the green of choice, we are adding vitamins K and C, iron, lutein (may be good for eye health) and omega 3s (thanks, mache).

Things can get pretty hectic here, and we don’t always have time to sit down for a salad. Here are a couple of our favorite ways we increase our green intake:

Inside-Out Wrap: Steam collard greens’ leaves and use them as a breadless option for burritos.

Smoothies: Throw kale into a smoothie for a quick green fix.

Pizza: Use arugula pesto as a pizza topping that will make tomato sauce green with envy.

And the runners-up:

Eggs: We’re all about yolks. New research suggests that the dietary cholesterol found in the yellow part of eggs actually doesn’t have the negative effect on total blood cholesterol that was once thought.

Greek Yogurt: It’s filling and a good source of calcium and protein. Everyone here tops it differently, from guava jelly to shredded cucumber and herbs.

Photo: Brent Hofacker, iStock.com.

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