“When fresh spinach sits during transportation over long distances or stays in your refrigerator for a week, its folate content drops so much that frozen spinach becomes the better source,” Mary Ellen Phipps, MPH, RDN, LD, wrote for CNBC in 2022.
This is because frozen spinach often goes through a flash-freezing process just hours after it has been harvested, which helps to lock more of its nutrients in. “One cup of frozen spinach has more than four times the amount of nutrients, including iron, vitamin C, and calcium, compared to a cup of fresh spinach,” adds Phipps.
I was super proud of myself this past week when I bought a clam-shell of organic spinach and ate the entire tub. Now I know I would have been better off nutritionally with one of the many packages of frozen spinach in my freezer.
Krista Navin has been a vegetarian since she was a teen, and says these imitation meats have been creeping onto more menus. It really hit home when Burger King replaced its veggie patty — made by vegetarian stalwart brand Morningstar Farms — with the Impossible Whopper. “I find those types of burgers uniquely off-putting,” Navin says. “I think they have actually done a really good job making them like the real thing and that is exactly the thing I don’t want.”
Results from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), which included participants aged 35 and older, showed that higher intake of UPF was significantly associated with a faster rate of decline in both executive and global cognitive function.”Based on these findings, doctors might counsel patients to prefer cooking at home [and] choosing fresher ingredients instead of buying ready-made meals and snacks,” co-investigator Natalia Goncalves, PhD, University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil, told Medscape Medical News.“Participants who reported consumption of more than 20% of daily calories from ultraprocessed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster decrease of the executive function compared to those who reported eating less than 20% of daily calories from ultraprocessed foods,
UPF consumption was associated with worse performance in Animal Fluency among older people without pre-existing diseases. Decreasing UPF consumption may be a way to improve impaired cognition among older adults.
“You used to eat those commercially prepared veggie burgers.”
“I don’t eat them anymore. It’s better to make your own.”
Faithful followers know what happened during the inferno summer of 2022 because of my earlier post on Spinach, Mushrooms and Onion. I’m still working feverishly to reduce the number of packages of frozen vegetables to make room for other items. The other day I used up a package of frozen spinach and about a cup and a half of cooked chickpeas to make Chickpea and Spinach Burgers.
Yup, that’s right. No recipe. The Boss said,
“Go ahead and toss all of the spinach in the mix.”
So I did. Instead of Chickpea and Spinach Burgers I ended up making Spinach Burgers with a Small Spattering of Chickpeas Somewhere in the Mix.
I promise to post if and when I’m totally happy with the results.
I just bought a dozen large eggs for $0.89. This is an inexpensive sandwich filling!
First boil some eggs. Add the eggs to a saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let the eggs bathe for 12 minutes. When time’s up carefully drain the eggs and add cold water to the pan. Drain again then add cold water and lots of ice to the pan with the eggs. This shock treatment will allow for easier to peel hard boiled eggs in about 15 minutes. ( I used to hate peeling hard boiled eggs until I learned this technique);
4 large eggs 2-3 T mayonnaise 1/4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 stalk celery diced 1 dill pickle spear diced couple of dashes of onion powder and garlic powder salt and black pepper to taste
Peel the eggs. Slice in half lengthwise and pop out the yolks. Place the yolks in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Dice the egg whites and add to the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Four eggs will make enough egg salad for 2-3 hefty sandwiches. If you need more egg salad double the recipe.
Odds and Ends
Use just enough mayonnaise to hold the egg salad together. You want to taste the ingredients and not just the mayo.
Some folks will use fresh onion and garlic. I feel using fresh adds harshness and a certain pungency to the salad and prefer to use garlic and onion powders or granules. Diced carrots work well instead of celery. I’ve never tried using both carrots and celery but if you are a daredevil, be my guest. A couple of slices of crumbled bacon adds another depth of flavor if you like bacon.
Dill, no. Mustard, also no.
Many thanks to Ol Red Hair for nudging me to write this recipe down. This recipe holds a dear place in my heart because during the first year of the pandemic I ate more egg salad than I have eaten in my entire life. I also lost 25 pounds during the first year of the pandemic and some of the credit has to go to this egg salad recipe. It fills you up and as a result I snacked a whole lot less. When I told this story to my doctor she just looked at me and said,
“I can’t wait to see your blood work.”
“I’m eating more eggs to train my liver to produce less cholesterol.”
She smiled at me as if she wasn’t quite sure whether I was joking or being serious.
Have you ever roasted frozen vegetables? Me neither. But a quick referral to Dr. Google offers up recipes and instructions for this time and money saving technique. Maybe this method actually works (because everything you read on the internet is TRUTH). So a few weeks ago during a Pandemic Pantry shopping trip I picked up a few one pound bags of frozen cauliflower ( a buck a bag). I also bought a small jar of minced garlic which I promised my younger self I would never use because fresh is better until I used some at my son’s house. Hmmm…..
One package frozen cauliflower (32 ounces) Extra virgin olive oil Minced garlic Dried thyme Parmesan Cheese Salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place the florets into a baking/roasting pan with sides.
Spread the pieces into the pan. Make sure they don’t touch each other.
Drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil. Toss with a spoon. You want a nice thin coating of oil on each piece.
Lightly salt and pepper, dust with Parmesan and sprinkle with a hint of thyme.
Add two tablespoons of minced garlic. Toss lightly again
Place in the oven and roast for approximately 35-40 minutes. Shake the pan or stir/toss every 10 minutes or so to ensure most of the surfaces of each floret get browned (this is why you want a pan with sides).
When nicely browned add a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese over the cauliflower. Roast for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Transfer the cauliflower to a serving bowl and add more Parmesan.
Eat.
TIPS – The amount of garlic is personal preference and dependent upon how garlicky you like your food and the number of guests at the table. Same for the cheese but you can never have too much cheese or garlic. This dish is not vegan but if you must, leave out the cheese. Don’t forget the shake and/or stir part because when you use minced garlic it can and will burn.
Lessons learned – minced garlic DOES burn but despite appearances did not taste burned at all. Also, one pound of frozen cauliflower is not a lot of cauliflower.
Unfortunately this dish is also Not Tiny Taste Tester Approved. She was not present for my roasted frozen vegetable experiment.
Well I pulled one off the griddle and tried it. I froze the rest and heated one up for lunch today. It was good…but not great hence the RIP (recipe in progress) tag. I made a sandwich on whole wheat and swirled some Sriracha mayo on it and the burger tasted better than last night. The burger is missing something and we’ll just leave this as a RIP and keep experimenting. Definitely needs more heat. Maybe some corn kernels to balance the heat. I’m also thinking of fresh onion and garlic, not the powders which would make this burger less of a pantry mash up but oh well. Here’s where we stand today.
Update 10.08.20
I ate the last of probably five or six of these “burgers” which were in the freezer. The good news is they freeze well and taste OK. The bad news is they taste just OK so now this recipe is being retired. RIP now stands for Rest in Peace. I’ve decided they are not very “burger-like” and more like sweet potato and black bean cakes with herbs and spices. This is the final update as this recipe goes up on the shelf along with any recipes from The Stack Project – Lasagne Stack Update 04.15.15. The Stack Project contained just one experiment Lasagne Stacks which also were just OK.
I can’t remember the last time we finished a large jar of mayonnaise prior to its expiration date. We don’t use a lot of mayo and most of the time half of the jar gets tossed.
Then Covid-19 happened. We started eating more mayo. Tuna salad the way Grandpa Jack made tuna. Egg salad. Chicken salad. And coleslaw. But many recipes change over time. This coleslaw is updated for 2020. Here’s my original Rocky Top Coleslaw which also contains a link to the original inspiration recipe from Bobby Flay.
It’s coleslaw so keep it simple. Use a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw from the market. The quantities for the dressing in 2020 have been reduced. I find the slaw tastes just as good with less dressing (and less calories).
We’ll be grilling some Pandemic Burgers tonight with a little Rocky Top on the side.
Cole Slaw Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
garlic powder (to taste, about a tsp)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon celery salt
Pepper to taste.
Everybody in the pool (large mixing bowl) except for the cabbage.
Whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Add your slaw and mix well.
Chill for at least one hour before serving.
Can you visualize a huge scoop of this coleslaw on top of a cold turkey meatloaf sandwich? Me too but I don’t have any leftover meatloaf. Guess I’ll have to make Italian Meatloaf or Turkey Meatloaf this week.
Sometimes you have odds and ends in the fridge. This was the inspiration for Scraps Frittata which in the end turned out fine. The other night at a bring a dish dinner I was asked to bring some Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan for a side veggie. Our gracious host well known for his blunt honesty said,
“Maybe we shouldn’t have microwaved the cauliflower. The texture was different.”
I agreed. The veggie was kind of mushy. Maybe I shouldn’t have made the cauliflower earlier, covered the dish with aluminum foil, then microwaved it for serving. This veggie is obviously best served immediately from the oven.
Our host who does not like leftovers besides Good Pie didn’t want the rest of the veggie so I took it back home. What do you do with about 3 cups of leftover mushy roasted cauliflower?
The skeptical cardiologist pointed out in 2013 that there was no good evidence supporting limiting dietary cholesterol to 300 mg per day. I exulted, therefore, in 2016 , when this long-standing dietary recommendation came out of the US dietary guidelines. Recognizing that dietary cholesterol doesn’t need to be limited means that eggs and egg yolks […]
For the majority of my adult life I’ve limited my egg consumption. In case you’ve not followed the science you might have missed the most recent studies on the connection between dietary cholesterol and heart disease.
Sometimes you have odds and ends in the fridge. Half an onion, two halves of red and green peppers, maybe even some leftover fresh spinach sauteed with garlic in the freezer. No one else is home. So it doesn’t really matter if this thing turns out OK or not.
I hate wasting food. There’s just too many people on the planet who would gladly take your odds and ends, the scraps that might get thrown away. So tonight I made a frittata with what I had on hand. And if it turns out OK, then this recipe stays on the blog.
If not, well you’ll never know it was here.
2 Tbl EVOO
1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thinly
1/4 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/4 green pepper, sliced thinly
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, organic, small dice
1 cup sauteed fresh spinach with garlic, drained
5 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
Parmesan cheese
Dried basil, healthy pinch
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in an 8 inch non-stick pan.
Saute the onions and peppers for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and continue cooking until nearly cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add more olive oil if needed to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.
Add the basil, salt, and pepper. Add oil if needed.
Spread the spinach evenly over the potato/pepper mixture.
Sprinkle Parmesan over the spinach. Be as generous as you like.
Beat the eggs and half and half. Pour over the vegetable mixture.
Preheat your broiler.
Allow the frittata to sit over a very low flame until set.
Place the pan under the broiler to brown the top.
Remove from the broiler and place the frittata on a serving plate.
garyskitchen.net 