Reading Food Labels + Lemony Garlic Spaghetti Squash

It has been awhile since I have last posted, and I apologize greatly (again, I know). You all have been asking me to update my blog, and I promise I want to! I'm cooking everyday, it's just so easy to get caught up in the rush of my life, and sometimes I need to remind myself to take a moment to just sit down and write. I've been experimenting with a lot of new tools and flavors recently, so hopefully I will be having some interesting recipes coming your way in a more steady stream of posts.

To get the ball rolling, I decided to post a very simple recipe. Sometimes I forget that not everyone likes to spend all day chopping and preparing like I do, so I thought it might be nice to include a recipe for those who like to keep it easy.

Now before I begin with the recipe, I wanted to go ahead and talk a little bit about food labeling. I know I have touched on it before, but as I'm out shopping or getting food with people, I begin to realize more and more that people don't read labels. Or, rather, they don't know how to read food labels or know which labels to read. Half of the reason this blog exists is because I want to educate others on nutrition, so I've put together some tips o what you need to know about food labels:

• A label that says "NATURAL" means nothing. There are no official FDA guidelines for "natural," and plenty of junk foods slap a "natural" label on the front to attract customers. What people need to pay the most attention to are the ingredients on the back as well as the fat, sugar, and sodium content. Remember, not all calories are created equal, so that's not always the best way to solely judge your food. 

• Look out for hidden sugars: I mentioned this in my previous post, but I wanted to elaborate and emphasize that hidden sugars occur in many places other than just sweets. This can include anything from tomato sauce, meats, chips, etc. Especially look out in fruit juices and teas. I was out with a friend recently and he went to purchase a tea that said naturally sweetened with honey. Sounds great, but in addition to honey, it was also sweetened with cane sugar. Why is sugar so bad? Sugar is the root of many diseases, both physical and mental, and also contributes to weight gain and mood disorders.

• That being said, ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity. In the tea mentioned above, cane sugar was the second ingredient, and water was the first. That means that "tea" is actually mostly sugar water. Keep this in mind when you read ingredients. Maybe sugar is added, but if it is at the very end, it may just be very little. 

Now onto the fun stuff: Spaghetti Squash! If you've never had it before, now might by the time to fall in love. The spaghetti squash isn't butternut squash or acorn squash made into spaghetti. It's its own squash that when sliced and baked (or microwaved) can be scooped out to be made into a spaghetti-like dish that tastes pretty darn good if you ask me. 

While the consistency is a little different than spiralized vegetables, and I can't quite vouch that it tastes exactly the same as spaghetti, it's an amazing vegetable that can be used as a pasta substitute in a variety of ways. It's great for bakes, used with tomato sauce, or tossed with other vegetables. 

It's pretty simple to make, and it is full of great nutrients such as vitamin A and C. It's also a great source of fiber, and you don't get all the carbs you would from eating regular pasta (which means, of course, significantly less calories.

Simple Lemony Garlic Spaghetti Squash

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

4 large cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of basil, chopped

Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese

2 small lemons

1. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and seeds from the top. 

2. There are two ways to cook the spaghetti squash. The first is to place the squash face down atop tinfoil and place in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. The second is to put a tablespoon of water into the spaghetti squash when it's right side up, and cook in the microwave for about 10-15 minutes. Once the spaghetti squash is thoroughly cooked, you should be able to easily scoop out the entire squash it should be soft.

3. While the squash is cooking, finely chop your garlic and basil. 

4. When squash is ready, heat up a pan with olive oil. Depending on the size of your pan, you might have to do the two halves separately (in which case, you would use half of the garlic and basil for each). Toss the spaghetti squash with garlic, basil, and more olive oil to taste for just a minute or two. You want the garlic and basil to only cook for a short time to keep them mostly raw and retain the strong flavor. Remove from heat and squeeze lemon on squash and toss again. 

5. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese to taste.

Enjoy! And I will work on posting some more recipes soon! 

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!

Cooking Inspiration + Spring Risotto with Ramps and Pan-Seared Scallops

People always ask me how I learned how to cook, and I have found that I don't really have an easy answer. Sure, I watched my mom and my grandma cook, enjoyed programs on the Food Network, and followed some recipes here and there, but that's not really how I learned.

For me, the pairing of flavors, choices of textures, and addition of spices is innate. I'd like to say once you start cooking, you'll have it all figured out, but I can't say that for everyone. But what I can say is that you'll start to learn, and if you're like me, you'll start to take inspiration from recipes. While I am not too fond of following recipes ingredient by ingredient, or by exact amount, I do love to get inspiration from other people's creations, and this comes from reading, watching, and experimenting (and also eating).


While it's easier for me to make dishes on my own now, there was a time when I wasn't so confident and needed some guidance. So I thought it would be a nice idea for me to share my favorite food sites to give you all a taste of what inspires me and what hopefully will inspire you.

Food Sites:

• Food Gawker- Great for healthy and non-healthy food alike. I like to click the healthy tag, but I also like to type in an ingredient I have and browse all the recipes that include it. The site also redirects you to the blog the recipe originated from, so it's great for discovering new blogs. 
• Pinterest- Love scrolling through the food section here. Just repin or click like to save!
• Health Magazine- One of my favorite magazines, with great healthy tidbits and recipes.

Blogs

• Smitten Kitchen
• Cookie & Kate
• Sprouted Kitchen
• Brooklyn Supper

Feel free to comment some of your favorites! I'd love to hear.

Today I've also included a dish featuring some in-season, spring produce, featuring ramps! For those of you who don't know, ramps are part of the onion and leek family, and they have a flavor similar to garlic. Restaurants on the East Coast go crazy for them when ramp season rolls around, and the demand is high as they are only available in the spring. On my way home through the Union Square Greenmarket a few days ago,  I grabbed some while they were still available, and thank goodness I did because they don't disappoint!

 Spring Risotto with Ramps and Pan-Seared Scallops

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked barley

1 1/2 cup chicken broth or water

3-4 small stalks of asparagus

3-4 white button mushrooms

4-5 ramps

1/4-1/2 cup onions, chopped

1 clove of garlic

3 scallops

Splash of olive oil

1/2 lemon

Parmesan cheese

1. Start cooking the barley in a small pot. Follow instructions on the package, but in general use 3 cups of liquid to 1 cup of barley. Boil, and then simmer for around 40 minutes.

2. Chop your vegetables. Trim the end of the ramps, but leave the rest intact. Finely chop the garlic. 

3. In a pan, heat up some olive oil and sauté vegetables and garlic, but not the ramps. When finished, add to the barley, which should be almost cooked.

4. Sauté the ramps for 2 minutes.

5. At this point the risotto should be close to done. I set my ramps on the plate because they were done before, but when barley mix is cooked, top with the ramps. 

6. Heat up a tiny bit more of olive oil for the scallops. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side. 

7. Add scallops atop the barley and ramps.

8. Squeeze lemon and grate Parmesan cheese to taste.