Friday, November 19, 2010

Dietitian on a Mission...not always in the Kitchen


This is just an "FYI" post, but there was an article in my local newspaper by a dietitian in town who did a great job breaking down the job description of a dietitian as well as addressing a lot of the misconceptions. I can relate, that in a typical day's work, I am referred to as everything from "doctor" to "the food lady," and even as- wait for it- the "poop lady." (As one of my professors used to say- you can tell a lot about a person's eating habits by their poop; "what you eat is what you excrete."...That saying is a personal highlight from my college career, and I ask people about their poop all the time). Anyway, there are a lot of misconceptions about what we do and how we help people, and any registered dietitian will tell you it makes our skin crawl a little bit when we are called "nutritionists" (the article explains why).


Friday, November 12, 2010

Some fall favorites: Pumpkin Oatmeal

We are in the midst of autumn and although the blogging has been slow, the cooking has not! I've been trying to fully embrace all of the wonderful fall flavors and seasonal foods, and I keep finding myself wondering why I don't eat some of this stuff all year round. I now could package and sell my pumpkin oatmeal, which I humbly feel I have perfected; and I am also on a personal mission to convince my Resident Expert/roommate about the wonderful-ness of soups. She is not a soup lover and I'm committed to making one new soup recipe per week (so naturally I've renamed our kitchen The Soup Kitchen). I've done this for the past 3 weeks, and each recipe is better and better! Last week I made a creamy cauliflower soup which required me to pull my food processor out of the garage and get it in working order! I received the creamy cauliflower soup recipe as a part of an online recipe exchange, and am so glad I made it. I will share in a separate post, and below is my pumpkin oatmeal recipe.

As I am writing, I am making a simple carrot dill soup, courtesy of the Food Network which has a 50 Simple Soups section on their website. I'm overwhelmed with options! I am making #34 carrot dill soup because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and figured if I'm going to make some of these then I need to get started. (This particular one happens to be Gluten Free as long as GF broth is used!) Here's the link: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-easy-soups-1--10/index.html.

Pumpkin Oatmeal a-la-Heather
(Makes 4 servings)
  • 1 cup steel cut oats
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • dash of ground cloves
  • pumpkin pie spice (be generous!)
Bring water to a boil and add oats. Immediately reduce to a simmer, stir for a minute or two (I recommend a non-stick pot). Add vanilla extract and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 15-20 minutes. Add raisins and maple syrup cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. I stir in canned pumpkin during the last 5 minutes, but it can be added at any time. Let cool before serving or refrigerating.
This will stay good for several days! Just add a few tablespoons of water or milk before re-heating in microwave. I also top mine with 1 tbs of ground flaxseed and 1 tbs chopped walnuts.
*Side note: spice measurements are estimated- I probably use double by the time I'm done shakin' and playin'!
Can you see why breakfast is my favorite meal of the day?? It is my favorite meal of the day...until lunch :)