Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Looking for an alternative to the traditional calorie-laden potato salad that's so popular during the summer months? Try this Sweet Potato Salad -- it has fewer calories, less fat, and more nutrients -- not to mention it's flavor-packed and delicious!


Ingredients
3 lbs sweet potatoes
2 poblano peppers
4 scallions (aka green onions)
Big handful of Italian parsley
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, or white wine vinegar
squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks (size is up to you, just make sure the pieces are about equal sized so they cook evenly). Cover a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place potatoes on baking sheet and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Bake for about 30 min, or until potatoes are fork tender and edges have browned (toss potatoes 1/2 way through baking).

Meanwhile, whisk vinegar, remaining oil, lemon, mustard, & honey in a large bowl. Season with salt & pepper. Finely chop the scallions & Italian parsley and add to bowl. Then chop poblano peppers into 1/4 inch pieces and add.

When the sweet potatoes are ready, let them cool for about 5 minutes, then add them to the bowl with the veggies & vinaigrette and gently toss together. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

*adapted from a recipe by Bon Appetit magazine, July 2009

More on Alcohol

If you read my latest newsletter and are hungry for more info on the pros & cons of drinking alcohol as part of your healthy diet, check out this New York Times article:

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Published: June 15, 2009

By now, it is a familiar litany. Study after study suggests that alcohol in moderation may promote heart health and even ward off diabetes and dementia. The evidence is so plentiful that some experts consider moderate drinking — about one drink a day for women, about two for men — a central component of a healthy lifestyle.

But what if it’s all a big mistake? .............

For the full article, click here.

If you didn't get my newsletter about alcohol yet, email me at healthymeels@gmail.com

Fresh Figs

Figs are the BEST summertime treat. Never prepared them before? Here are a few ideas (you'll wow your friends...and your tastebuds):

1. Slice figs in half and roast on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven, crumble some fresh goat cheese over them, then top with thinly sliced ribbons of prosciutto and drizzle with thick balsamic vinegar. You won't know whether this is dinner or dessert!
2. Prepare a platter with some halved fresh figs (the inside is too pretty not to display), a big wedge of good blue cheese (I like Point Reyes Blue), and some crusty bread. YUM.
3. Toss some baby greens -- any sort -- with a light balsamic vinaigrette. Top the dressed greens with sliced figs & chopped walnuts.

Enjoy! And remember, figs aren't available for very long, so take advantage while you can!

Summertime snack

When it's hot out and you need a hearty breakfast or an afternoon snack to last you until dinner, try my new favorite smoothie, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe I saw on TV. So delicious!

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

1/2 cup soymilk, plain or vanilla
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 frozen banana, broken into a few chunks
1/4 cup rolled oats, or uncooked oat bran
A squirt of honey
A few drops of vanilla extract
ice cubes

In a blender, combine milk, yogurt, oats, honey, and vanilla. Then add banana and some ice cubes and blend until smooth. Add more or less ice cubes, depending on the consistency you desire. Enjoy! (Serves 1).

Be an Eco-Friendly Cook

As you know I am a big proponent of eco-friendly cooking & eating! Here are a few tips to help make your food prep routines more sustainable.

1) Make at least a few vegetarian meals per week. Meat production requires 8X the fossil fuel energy of plant production, so you be use fewer resources when you eat meat-free meals.

2) Enjoy foods in season. I can't say this enough. In-season foods taste light years better in addition to being better for the earth.

3) Buy organic dairy products and sustainably-raised meats. Sure it's tempting to buy the $3.50 gallon of milk instead of the $6 gallon, but the difference in product quality -- as well as toll taken on the earth's resources -- is astounding. Same goes for meat. You might find chicken breasts on sale for $2.50/lb, but the way these chickens were raised would make you cringe (at best) and the farming practice is totally unsustainable. Plus this meat is lower in nutrients and higher in things you don't want in your body. So spring for that more expensive meat -- be it organic, grass-fed, or sustainably-raised -- it's healthier for both you and the earth. [And if you follow Tip #1, you won't even be spending more money in the end.]

4) Be efficient with your appliances & cooking routines. For example, don't bake and grill foods in the same meal -- choose either the grill, oven, or stove for your meal prep and stick with that cooking method. And plan ahead -- if you can grill 6 chicken breasts instead of 2 and use the remaining chicken later in the week for salads, sandwiches, wraps, or other cold entrees, you'll save on both energy and time.

5) Don't dismiss the toaster oven. If you're cooking for one or two, the toaster oven is a great tool, because it's small size means it heats quickly and uses less energy than the traditional oven. You can use it for baking pretty much anything, and your dinner will be ready faster too.

6) Utilize your microwave. A microwave effectively uses 57.5% of its energy to heat food, compared with a gas cooktop, which uses only 7.1%. So next time you go to make tea, pop that water in the microwave instead of boiling a whole kettle full of water.

7) Keep the refrigerator (and oven) door closed. Every time you open the fridge, warm air rushes in and the fridge starts to work overtime to reduce it's temperature. Get as much food out at once as you can. Same is true for the oven -- use the oven light instead of opening the oven every few minutes to check on your food -- you'll not only save energy, but you'll get a better baking result. [Note: it's also important not to put piping hot food in the fridge -- it will warm up the other food in the fridge which is not only a waste of energy, it can also cause harmful bacteria to grow making foodborne illness more of a risk.]

Email me with questions or for more tips!

* Some of these tips adapted from Cooking Light magazine, April 2009