More Food Alternatives

So I managed to get another post in within a month… Just barely.

In past posts I talked about a couple foods that are so common in the pantry, Quinoa and Barley. I have a few more here to talk about from that March issue of Runner’s World.

Almond Butter

According to the article, almond butter has about the same amount of fat as peanut butter but almost twice as much monounsaturated fat which is good for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Additionally, it has magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin E. Honestly, I was really skeptical about almond butter. I have to say I was plesantly surprised. The texture is off for sure; Much more runny and a little on the gritty side when compared to peanut butter but once the flavor hit, I was hooked. Almond butter tastes sweeter and is much lighter than peanut butter. From now on, it’s “Almond Butter Jelly Time”. Update: Sorry Almond Butter but celery only has room for one partner and that is Peanut Butter. We tried but it just didn’t work out.

Soba Noodles

Soba noodles, made from whole grain buckwheat, offer a good alternative to pasta. They are a little thicker and chewier than your typical pasta but based on my experience, you could use them in place of pasta and nobody would even question it.  Soba noodles will definitely stay stocking in my pantry. In addition to good taste, soba noodles contain rutin, a phytochemical that has been shown to lower blood-fat levels. And a 2003 Canadian study found buckwheat to regulate blood sugar levels in diabetic animals.

Bison

I discovered bison burgers several years ago when I ended up at Ted’s Montana Grill with some friends. The bison burger tasted much lighter and less greesy than a traditional beef burger. Burgers aren’t my favorite meal in the world but if I had to pick, I’d choose bison over beef. Bison has much less saturated fat than beef and typically have higher levels of omega-3′s due to the fact they bison are typically grass fed and ranchers are banned from using hormones in bison.

That’s it for now. Now get out to the grocery store and switch up the menu a bit; Keep your body guessing.

Meet Quinoa, the Super Grain

The March 2009 issue of Runner’s World has an article titled “In With the New” in which they list a number of food alternatives. Perfect considering I’ve been on the hunt. I’ll cover most of them at some point but today is all about Quinoa.

Quinoa, pronounce “keen-wa”, a food considered more valuable than gold to the Incas, has all but disappeared from most modern pantries; But that should change. Quinoa is a grain like no 0ther. While most grains are deficient in the amino acid, lysine. Quinoa has an adequate quantity of lysine as well as the other essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Additionally, quinoa has high amounts of fiber, magnesium, iron, tryptophan, copper, and phosphorus making it much more nutrient dense than other grains.

Once cooked, quinoa has a nice nutty flavor with a much softer texture than, say, brown rice. I I really enjoyed the change. And knowing how much more nutritious it is, it will definately be staying in our pantry and standing in for some of our lesser grains.

Cooking Quinoa:

Cooking quinoa is super easy.

1. Thoroughly rinse 1 cup of quinoa. (There is a bitter coating on it which needs to be rinsed off.)
2. Bring 2 cups of liquid to a boil. (I used chicken stock but you could just use water.)
3. Add a little salt to the water for flavor
4. Add quinoa to water
5. Cover, drop heat, and simmer for 15 – 20 min.
6. Fluff with a fork and serve

Quinoa with Chicken and Veggies:

• 1 small zuchinni, diced
• 1 small yellow squash, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• handful of mushrooms, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large chicken breast, cooked, diced
• olive oil

Instructions:

I used some chicken that I had already grilled. Dice the chicken and all of the veggies into little pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet on med-high. Add garlic and onion. Once onion is translucent, add the rest of the veggies and mix together. When everything is just about cooked to your liking, add the chicken to warm.

Serve over the quinoa you made from above.

Barley: It’s not just for beer

I’ve been keeping my eye out for various food alternatives in an attempt to spruce up the weekly menu and get a little more variety in our diet. I’ve seen in a number of places that barley can be a great alternative to rice and pasta and when I saw this recipe for chicken and barley risotto with asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes at gotrimax.com, I had to try it.

To be honest, until recently, if you asked me what you could make with barley, I think my only answer would have been beer; Despite the fact that I rarely drink. I just never knew you could cook with it (which is why I’m on the search I suppose).

Barley is a whole grain with a great nutty flavor. The texture is similar to that of brown rice; A little bite on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. Barley is a great source of fiber and selenium, as well as phosphorus, copper and manganese.

So on to the recipe…

Chicken and Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomatoes

I’ve copied and pasted the recipe as is from trimax and highlighted the modifications I made. The most important thing I’ve ever learned about cooking comes from my wife: “Cooking is an art, not a science.” so adjust the ingredients to your liking.

• Olive oil cooking spray (I used straight extra-virgin olive oil, no spray)
• 1 1/3 cups chopped onions
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced (This was (I assume) accidentally omitted since they call for garlic in the directions.)
• 1 tablespoon dry basil
• ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
• 4 cups no-fat chicken stock (I think I only used about 2 cups. Maybe a hair more.)
• 4 ounces white wine
• 2-3 pinches saffron, optional (I didn’t use b/c I didn’t have any)
• 1 ½ cups Perdue cooked chicken tenderloins, cut up
• 1 cup cooked barley
• 2 ½ cups, canned asparagus, drained and cut up (I used fresh asparagus that I steamed beforehand)
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Spray olive oil cooking spray in a non-stick skillet. Add onions, garlic, basil and salt and cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add sun-dried tomatoes, chicken stock, white wine and saffron and bring to a boil for about 3 minutes. Raise the head to medium, add chicken and cooked barley and cook 3-4 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for another two minutes or until heated through. Add Parmesan cheese and season with pepper and salt if needed. (I added a little more fresh basil on top as well)

gotrimax.com says this yields 2 Meals. We don’t eat huge meals so it was more like 3 or 4 meals for us.

This was a pretty easy meal to prepare and if you have all the ingredients portioned out ahead of time, it goes really quick. As for taste, I think the meal turned out great. The barley, as I said, has a nice nutty flavor and went well with all of the other flavors and textures. And as a bonus it tasted as good, or maybe even better, on the second day.

I’ll be trying some more “alternative” ingredients in the coming weeks so stay tuned.