You Are What You... Read?

I've been editing a cookbook for my family. Just the two of us - some of our favorite recipes, with tips and tricks noted. There were rules for getting in this cookbook. 1. The recipe has to feed at least 2 people. 2. The calorie, sodium and essential nutrient totals for the recipe have to be within healthful limits. 3. Ingredients must be as fresh as possible. This was a big one - I am not usually pleased with recipes that start out, "Well, I had this (produce item) sitting around for 4 days, so I suggest you let (produce item) age for 4 days, too." And yes, I've seen those kinds of notes on recipes. As I've been going through the list of recipes I want to include, I've noticed something:

Since I took the time to seriously evaluate the calories, ingredients and methods of the recipes I have, most of the ones I'd flagged on Pinterest are not in my cookbook. More from Tastespotting have made the cut. The majority of the recipes that meet the requirements I've set out have been taken from cookbooks written by chefs, family members, and research into the ingredients I want to use.

What does this mean?

For me, it means that the things that seem interesting on sharing pages aren't necessarily the wisest choices for every day meals. It isn't just about making your own good choices - it's about making good choices with where you start, as well.

As a kind of challenge, I asked a friend of mine to pick out 10 recipes on Pinterest that she wanted to try for her family. We compared the Pinterest versions with ones selected from appropriate cookbooks. Without exception, the dishes we put together with books were lower in sodium, higher in fiber and required less of the following ingredients: butter, salt, cream, sugar.

While I was pleased to see we could give my friend's choices a healthful make-over, I don't want to demonize Pinterest. Just like most of the other opportunities out there, it's about knowing how to look for the Right for My Health ones, not the Right for My Eyes and What My Tongue Says Will Be Perfect recipes.

You can satisfy desires for a beautiful meal as well as one that makes your tastebuds pass out in sheer delight, and you can do it without ruining the hard work you just put in at the gym/ taking that walk/ lifting that extra bag of potting soil while gardening. Get ideas wherever you can - inspiration is *always*  a good thing. Take that idea you saw on Pinterest, TasteSpotting, or whichever place you prefer, and research it! Find a way to make it that fits your dietary needs, your budget and the plan you've made for yourself. There's more than one way to make that hunger-inducing pin you found, I promise!

Dessert Of The Day
Had this with my lunch yesterday - the sweet and cool was refreshing, and the high protein helped me stay full all afternoon! Love this little dish of wonderful!

1/2 cup  Greek Yogurt (plain)
5            red raspberries (washed)
5            blackberries (washed)
2   tbsp  slivered almonds
1   pkg   Truvia sweetener

1. Mix.
2. Eat.

bon appetit And Slapping People, and A Snack

I like bon appetit, usually. A tidy, concise, well-written article is often a cure for all my ills, and when it comes to food, I can find it in the pages of BA.

I am, currently, annoyed and disappointed. "Always use non-boil noodles" for lasagna? Seriously? First of all, gross. Secondly, and probably more to the point, why are the revolting things non-boil in the first place? Doesn't that bother you? That is some seriously repugnant advice. Third, and finally on this point before I move on to something of actual value, I really see no value in this advice because I'm smart enough to figure out the following progression:

1. Lasagna was conceived and eventually made, for many many many years, using boiled lasagna noodles.

2. These boiled noodles added to the flavor and water-content of the dish, thereby directly contributing to flavor and texture.

3. Recipes were adjusted, better noodles were developed, and boiling continued.

4. (this is the key step) Someone thought it was tasty.

5. Survival of a recipe a majority of Americans (to say nothing of our Italian audience - Ciao) associate with family.

Nowhere in that progression does a non-boil revolution necessitate itself. I find absolutely no value in the idea that "noodles that aren't boiled will absorb more" of anything. If you can't make a delicious, boiled noodle lasagna, perhaps you have no business cooking it, and should leave your lasagna nights to the talents of Marie Calendar, or the fine people in Stouffer's kitchen. I have to say, after writing all that out, the idea makes its way across my cortex: "Do the writers/ editors at bon appetit think we don't read anymore?"

***

I need a snack. Don't you?


Puppy Chow

9 cups      Chex cereal (doesn't matter what kind)
1 cup        chocolate chips (mini ones work too)
1 tsp         vanilla
1/4 cup     butter
1/2 cup     peanut butter
1 1/2 cup  confectioner's sugar

Non-Food Items You'll Probably Need For This
1 Large Bowl
1 Gallon ziplock Bag
1 Large Spoon


1. Measure Chex cereal. Set aside in large bowl.

2. Into a microwave-safe bowl: chocolate chips, butter, peanut butter. Microwave on high 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for 30 seconds. Mixture should blend together smoothly when removed from microwave.

3. Add vanilla.

4. Mix with Chex cereal. Stir until all cereal is coated.

5. Place confectioner's sugar in gallon-size ziplock bag.

6. Add coated cereal.

7. Shake, shimmy and just generally agitate bag until all the yummy pieces of cereal are finely coated in sugar.

8. Eat.




Yes, it takes less than 10 minutes to make. Yes, it's delicious, and named a million other things depending on region and intent. Now, I'm going to take my yummy snack and enjoy this beautiful fall day. Try not to get addicted; this particular snack made many appearances during my college days. Now my husband can't stop eating it. I'm just saying - sometimes the best possible thing is the simple, delightful, full-of-memory taste that speaks to soul as well as stomach.