Fall's Nutritional Superfood: Pumpkin + Recipe for Pumpkin Pesto Pasta

We all know that come October comes pumpkin everything -- from lattes to scones, to pies and bread. While it's tempting to indulge in these sweet treats, there are plenty of things you can do yourself with canned pumpkin at home without all those added sugars. Believe it or not,  pumpkin is extremely healthy, and versatile! It can be used for both sweet and savory dishes, and I personally love to use pumpkin in my dinners. I love this time of year not just because it indicates fall, because it gives me a fun autumn squash to spice up my cooking for a few months!

Why you should be eating pumpkin (besides from the fact that it tastes delicious)

• It's filled with vitamins, including A, C, E, beta carotene, potassium, and B vitamins including folates, niacin, and B6
• It's high in fiber (which means its going to keep you full, maintain a healthy weight, and help your digestive system)
• It's a great source of antioxidants

So what does this all mean? It's a low calorie, mood-boosting, good-for-your-skin-and-body vegetable that should be utilized while it's in season! 

As I said before, I love making pumpkin savory. It can be a good cheese substitute for macaroni and cheese, used in a risotto, even made into a savory bread. But, it can also be made sweet. I like to add it to my oatmeal in the morning with cinnamon or blended into a pumpkin pie smoothie. This time I chose to make it into a pasta, as I had a lot of extra basil and wanted to make a pesto. I totally came up with this recipe out of my head, and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but it tasted so much better than I could have imagined (and shout-out to my girls Vivian and Greer for cooking it with me!). You can always just make the pumpkin sauce or pesto on its own, but I think together they complemented each other just perfectly.

Pumpkin Pesto Pasta

(serves about 3)

Pasta: 3/4 lb brown rice pasta

For the Pesto:

2 cups basil
1 cup arugula
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 lemon (to juice)
2 large cloves of garlic
1/4 cup walnuts

For the Pumpkin Sauce:

3/4 can of pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
A splash or two of white wine vinegar
1-2 large cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of onions, chopped


(Remember, all these measurements are estimates, feel free to play around to taste!)

1. Boil your water for the pasta. In the meantime, begin chopping your ingredients, but don't forget to add the pasta once the water is boiling and check on it when it's done, about 8 minutes.

2. Start chopping ingredients for the pesto. If you have a high quality blender like the Vitamix, then you can just throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth. If you don't have that amazing blender, then chop your ingredients so that it's easier to finely blend. If it's hard to get the ingredients smooth, try adding a little bit of olive oil as well as lemon.

3. Chop garlic and onions for the pumpkin sauce. Heat some olive oil over a pan, and add garlic and onions. Cook until onions are translucent, making sure to stir often so the garlic doesn't burn. Then add in the pumpkin puree and Greek yogurt, stirring until ingredients are mixed together and sauce is warm and thickened. Add a splash of white wine vinegar here and there both for flavor and consistency.

4. To serve, pour sauce over pasta and mix in. Add a spoonful of pesto on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and chopped walnuts to taste.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes? The options are endless, and I'll be sure to be making more pumpkin goodness as fall continues on!

Food Substitutes + Truffle Farro Salad & Spinach and Artichoke Turkey Burgers

Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to give up the foods you love. You just have to make small changes to individual ingredients to keep the taste and make the dish healthier. Here are some common and easy substitutes you can make in your foods:

Cream/Sour Cream/Mayo: Greek Yogurt is a great substitute for all things creamy. I put it in pasta dishes to replace cream sauces, and it works perfectly as sour cream in Mexican dishes etc. By using Greek Yogurt, you reduce fat as well as promote healthy digestion.

Butter: Coconut Oil can be used alone as a spread, or as a replacement in baking for oil and butter. Coconut oil can help with weight loss, and it also, contrary to popular belief, lowers bad cholesterol because it contains lauric acid.

Flour: Almond Meal, which is just ground almonds, is a great way to avoid wheat in baking. You get the benefit of the nuts and avoid the downsides of using processed, white flour.

Chocolate: 70% Dark Chocolate or higher is always the way to go with chocolate. You don't have to give it up, just go darker for more of the health benefits, which include a good source of antioxidants and vitamins, decreased risk of stroke, and more stabilized blood sugar.

Mixed Farro Salad with Truffle Dressing

Ingredients: 

Farro, cooked
Edamame 
Dried cranberries
Non-fat feta crumbles
Pistachio nutmeats
Baby broccoli, chopped

For dressing:

White truffle oil
Garlic Aoli Mustard
Olive Oil

1. Cook the farro first, let cool. 

2. Chop the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Combine the rest of ingredients.

3. To make the dressing, combine the mustard and two types of oil. I had to experiment to get exactly the right consistency and flavor. You don't need a lot of truffle oil because it's very potent, but you might need to add more olive oil to get the dressing to be smooth enough to pour over and toss in the salad. 

4. Toss dressing in salad and serve.

Spinach and Artichoke Burgers with Dip

Ingredients:

For burger: 

Lean ground turkey meat
Frozen spinach
Dehydrated onions (or chopped fresh)
Garlic powder
Wheat germ (or something equivalent, with the texture of breadcrumbs)
Chopped artichoke hearts OR artichoke bruschetta 
Parmesan Cheese

For Dip/Topping:

Greek yogurt

Garlic powder

Frozen spinach, defrosted

Artichoke

Parmesan Cheese

1. To make the patties, combine all the ingredients until evenly distributed.

2. Heat up a pan with olive oil. Form patties and make sure they aren't too thick so they can cook through. Place in pan.

3. Cover and lower the heat in order to let the patties cook thoroughly. Flip when they turn golden.

4. Make the spinach and artichoke dip topping. Combine ingredients and heat in microwave for about two minutes (be careful not to heat it too long or yogurt will curdle).

5. Top burger with dip, and enjoy!

The Wonderful World of Savory Oatmeal

I'm sure you've all eaten oatmeal before, whether it be covered in strawberries or sprinkled with chocolate chips. But there's more to oatmeal that you probably don't know...it tastes amazing prepared savory.

I know it sounds odd, but it's only because we are so used to preparing oatmeal sweet. Oats don't have a naturally sweet flavor, just like rice or any other grain, and they can be prepared the same way you would a rice dish, using predominantly salty flavors. Now that I've discovered this trick, I've been making savory oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's a quick healthy meal!

Why using oats is a healthy choice:

• Contains no arsenic like rice does
• Lowers your cholesterol/helps prevent heart disease
• High in fiber
• Keeps you full, stabilizes your blood sugar levels, and controls your appetite hormones
• Great for weight loss

Savory Oatmeal Recipes:

Mexican: Just substitute the oatmeal for rice. Use beans, cheese, tomatoes or salsa, avocado and hot sauce, and top with Greek Yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.

Gooey "Pasta": Sometimes I use oatmeal when I'm craving a big bowl of pasta. I'll put in the vegetables and greens I usually put into my pasta (spinach, arugula or kale) along with zucchini, mushrooms, and onions with some tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. I'll add some Greek Yogurt to this too, just as I do with my pasta, to add some protein filled creaminess.

"Canadian" Breakfast: Instead of Canadian bacon, I use chicken apple sausage, and I top the dish with cheddar cheese, and a (small) splash of maple syrup. If you are feeling adventurous, you can chop up some green onion and throw it in for a more savory flavor. This dish is a great mix of sweet and savory, inspired by a cool oatmeal bar in Greenwich Village called Oatmeals.

I've made these three in the past few weeks, but you can play around! Think of the flavors you like together, and mix them with oatmeal. Make a Caprese with tomatoes, homemade pesto and some mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar. Or substitute oatmeal for rice and make a garlic mushroom "risotto." The options are endless!

Garlic Lemon Italian Style Oatmeal "Risotto"

Ingredients:

Chopped onions

Chopped garlic, 2 cloves (or to taste)

Chopped tomato

Chopped mushroom

Arugula

Grated parmesan cheese

1/2 small lemon, to squeeze

Oatmeal 

(I used Old Fashioned oats, which was actually really good, but if you want more of a fine risotto texture, use steel cut, which take a bit longer to cook)

 1. Heat up your oatmeal first, whether it be in the microwave (quickest and easiest for old-fashioned) or in the pot (best for steel-cut. I bought the quick cook kind, which saves lots of time).

2. While your oatmeal is cooking, chop up your vegetables. Then sauté in a pan with some olive oil.

3. Once your vegetables are cooked, either pour them into your oatmeal and mix, or pour the oatmeal into the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Sometimes it's nice to add the oatmeal to the pan so that the vegetables mix more thoroughly and so that any flavor that is sitting in the pan gets absorbed by the oatmeal.

4. Grate your parmesan cheese. Squeeze the lemon into your oatmeal, and top/mix with parmesan cheese.

Hope you become a savory oatmeal convert, and let me know if you think of any creative combos!

The Dangers of Arsenic in Rice + Sweet Potato Pasta with Crispy Kale

Brown Rice and Arsenic:
Before I begin this wonderful recipe, I have to rant about rice. If you haven't heard, A recent study has shown that the rice produced in the United States has high levels of arsenic, a carcinogen. Great. And to make matters worse, brown rice has higher levels than white, since the grain is less refined.

It infuriates me to think that even when you eat the right foods, you could still be ingesting harmful carcinogens because of the way our food is grown. Our country needs to work on food policies ASAP.

Anyway, from here on out I'm going to limit my intake of brown rice and brown rice products (yes, that means brown rice pasta, which was shown to have pretty high levels of arsenic compared to some other rice products). I'm going to try to include more varied grains into my diet, like quinoa and barley. If you do continue to eat brown rice, rinse it thoroughly!

If you are ever wondering what to make with sweet potatoes, try putting it with pasta or in a salad. There are a ton of recipes out there with kale and pasta, so why not make it healthier by adding in some vitamin-rich sweet potatoes.I used brown rice pasta in the recipe below, but I think it would be wise to use whole wheat pasta instead.

This recipe requires some multitasking, just a warning!

Sweet Potato Pasta with Crispy Kale

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Fusilli
One Sweet Potato
A handful of kale

Chopped garlic

Chopped onions

Chopped tomatoes

Parmesan cheese, grated

Milk (optional, I didn't use it)

 Step 1: Boil the sweet potatoes until they are soft. This should take about 20 minutes.

Step 2: While potatoes are boiling, put kale in the oven to bake. I baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes, and I put a little bit of oil on the baking pan first.

Step 3: Start boiling your water for the pasta, and add when ready.

Step 4: Start chopping your ingredients, then saute. Grate the cheese as well.Your potatoes should be ready to be drained at this point. You can mash them in a separate bowl with a fork, or just add them straight to your pan with the other sauteed ingredients and mash it with a spatula.

Step 5: At this point your kale should be done. Take it out, then mix your drained pasta with the sweet potato sauce. If you want the sauce a little creamier, add a splash of milk and heat for a minute or two.

Step 6: Sprinkle the kale on top of the pasta along with the cheese, and eat up!