By Carol Blair, BD, DiHom, CNC

After heavy holiday meals, you may be craving something light! Here’s a delicious option!

This may be used for any meal.  I often eat it for lunch but it is also great for a brunch.  Because it is basically raw, it is easy to digest.  Fennel is good for digestion and it has good nutrition value containing B vitamins, calcium, vitamin C, antioxidants, and carotenoids. It also has anti-inflammatory compounds. Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals and are especially rich in one form of vitamin E called gamma-tocopherols. One study showed that after eating pecans, gamma-tocopherol levels in the body doubled and unhealthy oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood decreased by as much as 33 percent.

Orange-Fennel Salad

Spring lettuce or romaine

1 small fennel bulb, slivered

Fennel green tops, chopped, as desired

2-3 oranges, peeled and sectioned

½ cup raw pecans

Handful of dried cranberries

Balsamic vinegar

 Save out a few sections of the oranges and squeeze the juice out of them.  Toss the slivered fennel with the remaining oranges, fennel tops, and the juice (a little olive oil may also be used, if desired).   Place on a bed of lettuce. Top with the raw pecans and the cranberries.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Delicious!

By Laurel Sterling Prisco, MA, RD

Are you reminiscing over the pumpkin pie you had over Thanksgiving? Guess what? You can make a rendition that is healthy and delicious! This is a recipe you have to try and perhaps serve at a holiday gathering!

The recipe is from The Peaceful Palate by Jennifer Raymond.

Pumpkin Pie

1-1/2 cups soymilk
3 Tablespoons agar
1-1/2 cups cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup raw sugar -- or other sweetener
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

9” pie shell

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine agar and soymilk in a saucepan. Allow them to stand for 5 minutes. Bring them to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into an unbaked 9" pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool before cutting.

By Carol Blair, BS, DiHom, CNC 

Brussel Sprouts, along with other cabbage-family foods, are high in detoxifying compounds such as sulforaphane.  These foods help reduce the risk of cancer and assist in the upregulation of phase II detoxification pathways.  This process helps to rid the body of toxic substances including harmful estrogens.

Here is a delicious way to add some of these compounds to a holiday meal. Slicing them and adding a little onion and garlic makes them less strong so the kids will eat them too. 

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts, sliced

Onion and garlic, chopped

Small amount of olive or coconut oil

Himalaya or sea salt and pepper as desired

Slice the Brussel sprouts and sauté them with garlic and onion in a small amount of olive or coconut oil.  Season with Himalaya or sea salt and pepper as desired. Cook until tender.  Serve hot.

By Laurel Sterling Prisco, MA, RD

Thanksgiving will be here in less than a week! Looking for a healthy stuffing recipe? Will you have vegetarian guests? Here are two recipes for you!

This recipe is an adaptation of a vegetarian stuffing recipe that appears in The Vegan Handbook in an article by Susan Stafursky.

Recipe # 1: Vegetarian "Stuffing"
(Serves 8-10)

For variety, you can add raisins, substitute nuts for chestnuts, or use different vegetables.

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 10-ounce bags of Arrowhead Mills Stuffing
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup roasted chestnuts, chopped

Sauté onion, celery, and mushrooms in broth until tender. Add water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the Stuffing, cooked brown rice, and roasted chestnuts.

Combine both mixtures. Spread into a large, shallow, lightly oiled baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until top and bottom are browned. Serve hot.

Recipe # 2: Winter Squash with Apricot Stuffing

This recipe is from Vegan Passover Recipes by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD. The house will smell wonderful while you are baking this dish. Use a selection of winter squashes to create variations.

Vegetable oil spray
2 cups uncooked matzah farfel or 4 whole matzah, crumbled
1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery (complete with leaves, if possible)
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped cashews (optional)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 acorn, butternut, or small winter squash, cut in half and deseeded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large pot, such as a Dutch oven, spray oil and allow to heat. Add farfel, onion, celery, and garlic and allow to sauté for 6 minutes, or until very soft. Add stock, apricots, and cashews (optional) and allow to simmer for 12 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Stir in parsley and pepper.

Place squash, cut side down on a baking sheet or shallow casserole. Add water to cover 1 inch of the squash. Spray squash skin lightly with vegetable oil. Bake for 20 minutes, until halfway cooked (still fairly tough). (This can be done in a microwave also, cooking on HIGH for 10-12 minutes.)

Remove squash from oven, turn upright and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Fill each squash half with stuffing. Bake for 50 minutes or until squash is soft (easily pierced with a knife). Serve an entire half for an entree portion or one quarter for an appetizer portion.

By Carol Blair, BS, DiHom, CNC

Nothing says Thanksgiving like winter squash.  This is a delicious way to incorporate other vegetables with it.  There is no set amount to each, and vegetables may be changed if desired.  Use the most of what your taste buds prefer or what is available.  Do add the parsnips though, a vegetable that is high in potassium, and gives a lighter color to the mixture. Adding too many beets can overpower the blend, but they do add a nice blush. 

Roasted Vegetables

Butternut squash cut into cubes (peel or not as desired)

Parsnips cut in medium-sized pieces on the diagonal

Sweet potatoes cut in large cubes

1 large Onion, cut in 1/8 pieces

Carrots cut in smaller-sized pieces on the diagonal

Brussel sprouts – whole or halved depending on size

1 or 2 Beets – cut into quarters or smaller depending upon size

Olive oil

Himalaya or Real Salt and freshly ground pepper blend

Toss the first six ingredients with olive oil.  Place on a cookie sheet or shallow pan and season.

Toss the beets separately so they don’t bleed. Season; then place on top for color.

Bake at 400 until tender – about 20-30 minutes typically. 

Be creative.  If you like roasted garlic, add several cloves; if you don’t like carrots, leave them out.  After all, it’s your recipe now! 

By Laurel Sterling-Prisco, MA, RD

I was recently asked to speak on Bridge Street about natural ways to increase energy versus utilizing unhealthy stimulants. Here are some of my suggestions.

For starters, there are the B-vitamins. B-complex vitamins act as coenzymes. They are heavily involved in energy production. B-vitamins are usually in multivitamins, but if someone is under a lot of stress, a good quality well-absorbed B-complex would be necessary to add in the afternoon.

Protein and the amino acids found within them assist in energy production as well. Taurine is an amino acid found in high concentrations in the heart muscle, skeletal muscle, and central nervous system. Carnitine is an amino-acid-like substance more closely related to the B vitamins. Its main function is to aid in the transport of long-chain fatty acids to be burned within the cells to provide energy for the muscles. If you cannot get an adequate amount from your diet, then a supplement or protein drink should suffice.

Greens such as spirulina, chlorella, barley grass, and wheat grass are packed full of nutrients. Chlorella is an algae with a high amount of chlorophyll. It contains B vitamins, amino acids, and trace minerals. Spirulina is a microalgae. It contains 60-70% protein, B12, iron, essential amino acids, and chlorophyll. All of these nutrients are the basis for energy production.

Ginseng works to stave off fatigue by sparing glycogen. Glycogen is stored glucose (energy) in the muscles and liver. This sparing of glycogen increases the use of fatty acids as an energy source. Those on MAO inhibitors, warfarin, and diabetes medications should know that there are drug interactions with ginseng. Diabetics may need to adjust their insulin dosages because ginseng may lower blood glucose levels.

Maca is considered a superfood by many. It contains vitamins, minerals, sterols, fatty acids, and amino acids. Maca is also considered an adaptogen. It contains a unique set of nutrients that assists in balancing the endocrine system, which helps in energy production.

Acai is also considered a superfood. It is rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, B vitamins, iron, and other nutrients. I have had customers comment on how Acai has assisted them in sustaining longer workouts.

Mushrooms have tremendous healing power. We are finding out about more and more of their health properties. I recently read that “over 1,500 years ago Tibetan herders watched their yaks eat Cordyceps and then frolic with great energy.” I also learned that in “1993, the Chinese National Track and Field Team attributed their success in breaking three world records in part to their use of Cordyceps.”

Green tea has antioxidant, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. In addition to many health-enhancing properties, it also assists in regulating blood sugar and insulin levels. The small amount of natural caffeine found in green tea can give you an energy boost as well!

Whether you get your natural energy boost from a supplement or energy drink, be sure to come in and ask one of our knowledgeable staff members what would work best for you!