Written by Lakin Steedly The craze of avocados is simply not over. Avocados are used for so many different additions to food, bases of dishes, or even as a topping. My personal favorite way to eat avocado is on toast with a hint of salt and pepper. Others eat them stuffed, cooked, in scrambled eggs, pasta, or even as a substitute for mayo! So many new ways are coming out each day and new creations are being made on how to add avocado. Less traditionally; avocado pudding, avocado hummus, avocado smoothies, or avocado fries.
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Written By Jessica Brown People ask me what my favorite food is nearly every time that I mention I am a nutrition major. Usually they expect something fancy, like a mango kale smoothie, but nonetheless the only thing that truly comes to mind is pasta. Not the boxed kind or the type you find in the Walmart freezer, but the kind my grandmother made completely from scratch with love, care, and nostalgia. I come from a pure Italian family where from-scratch cooking with wholesome ingredients is essentially cherished in the kitchen. The food we make together, including our homemade spaghetti and ravioli, bring us closer and help us value or appreciate our ancestor’s history. When I think of this pasta dish, I reminisce about sitting at the dinner table with my brothers. There would be flour everywhere, helping our sticky hands knead the dough, the smell of scrumptious red tomato sauce cooking on the stove and listening to my grandma hum some of her favorite Italian songs that brought her back to her childhood. While some may think, “it's just pasta, it’s not that deep” to my family, it really is that deep. Connecting culture to food is incredible. It gives the food you eat a new importance and makes you feel at home even when you are miles away. If you’re Italian, you may know how unimportant measurement techniques are in cooking. In fact, my grandma literally would ban the use of measuring cups and tablespoons while dinner was being cooked. Our family pasta recipe is made by feel while we mix and knead the dough. If it is too soft, we add more flour. Too hard? Just add more water. The beauty about Italian cooking is that you do not need to be perfect; if you go by taste and feel you will succeed in the end. Now, ready for the recipe?
And that is about it. To start, grab a large bowl and pour in approximately 3 cups of flour to start. Mix in approximately 1 tbsp of salt. Then add the egg along with some water; you do not want to pour in too much at first so start with ½ cup. Mix together. Gradually stir in more as it thickens up and the gluten forms. You are looking for a tough consistency similar to that of a pie crust, but not as wet. Once the right consistency of the dough has been reached you are ready to form your pasta shape. If you have a kitchen aid mixer you can use the pasta attachment. But if you're a college student like me, you may want to just use the rolling pin and a knife. Roll the dough until it is about the thickness of a dime then cut to your desired width. For fettuccini, cut about ½ a centimeter and linguini would be about 1 whole centimeter. Written by Lakin Steedly Being on-the-go college students, it may be hard to wake up early and brew yourself your own cup of coffee. Starbucks is the move for any college student. With so many options, multiple secret menus, and endless alterations to the existing drinks (i.e. another shot of espresso, more caramel sauce, whipped cream, etc), it can be hard to choose the healthiest choice. From my research, I now know that there are many drinks at Starbucks under 200 calories! Top 6 drinks under 200 calories 1) Caffè Americano (essentially no calories) 2) Skinny Cappuccino (60 calories, 0 grams fat, 9 grams carbohydrate, 6 grams protein) 3) Skinny Peppermint Mocha (110 calories, 1 gram fat, 14 carbohydrates, 11 grams protein) 4) Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte (120 calories, 0 grams fat, 24 grams carbs, 6 grams protein) 5) Caramel Macchiato. (150 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 27 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams protein) 6) Soy Chai Tea Latte (180 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 35 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams protein) If none of those sound appealing to you, I have some tips to help lower the calories on your favorite drinks! 1) Make sure that you use nonfat/skim milk (or your favorite non-dairy alternative) and not whole milk. This can help lower the calories. 2) Add ice/extra ice! This will make your drink more water-based/not milk based and more refreshing. 3) Ask for sugar-free syrups! A great and easy way to cut the calories. 4) Skip the whipped cream! I know, I know, this is very hard to do. As a whipped cream lover, I sometimes can’t imagine my drink without it but this adds around 60-90 calories depending on the drink and omitting it is a simple way to lower the calories in your drink. I hope that you enjoyed these tips and tricks to cut the calories at Starbucks! These drinks should give you the boost you need in the morning while still having the low calories that you’re looking for! Written by Kate Heath
This fall I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (F.N.C.E) in Washington, DC. At the conference there were over 11,000 registered dietitians, dietetic interns, students and other attendees. It was absolutely amazing to be surrounded by so many people with the same interests, hobbies, goals, and aspirations as I, as well as members of SAND, share. A big part of the FNCE itinerary were hour-and-a-half sessions detailing a wide variety of areas in the food and nutrition field. There were so many that I found interesting, but my favorite one discussed how to perform culinary demonstrations in-person, online, and on television. The speakers who presented were Elizabeth Weiss, R.D.N, Rebecca Lewis, R.D.N, and Abbie Gellman, R.D.N. During this session, I really enjoyed Rebecca Lewis’ topic on performing live culinary demonstrations via social media. Some key points she covered were directing your messages and posts to the audience who interacts most with your social media page. On top of this, she talked about the different methods and components to make sure the live demo was a success. This included things like ensuring you have the ingredients ready to go, talking about the nutritional information of the recipe for your viewers, sensory details about what you’re cooking (because they can’t smell or hear what’s going on!) and much more. This session was so impactful on me because it is something I am interested in and actively try to do now on my food instagram page. There were so many take-aways from her message and ways to reach audiences outside of your followers, like inviting a guest on the demonstration. Overall, this was an amazing experience and only a small portion of the experiences you can take away from FNCE. If this is something that interests you too, check out her facebook or instagram account by searching “Rebbecca Lewis, RDN”! Written By Caroline Heitmeyer
If you’ve been spending any time around Philips lobby, at SAND meetings, or even just in classes with your food loving friends you’ve probably heard the term FNCE (fence·y) being thrown around. So what is this mysterious FNCE? FNCE stands for the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. It is a national, four-day event that occurs annually in October. Thousands of registered dietitians and foodies gather to learn, eat, and network. This year the conference was held in Washington, D.C. If you’re anything like I was you may be thinking wow that sounds cool, but what actually goes on? Is it worth my time and money to go? Absolutely. I had the time of my life and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in nutrition and health. However the event can be fairly pricey with the cost of registration and travel. I am going to tell you a little bit more about my personal experience, so hopefully you can gain a better understanding of the event, and decide if this is something you want to invest in! The first recommendation I would have for you, is to join the Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SAND)! It is only $10 a semester, not a large time commitment, and a great place to make friends who have a similar interest in health. If you want to go to FNCE, joining SAND will be very beneficial as the organization will organize a group and send everyone together. It makes the trip much less intimidating to have friends to travel and stay with, as well as going with people who have already experienced FNCE. FNCE starts on Saturday afternoon with an opening speaker and a few other small talks. However, the real fun starts on Sunday. On Sunday, there are several amazing speakers, who are experts in the field of nutrition and dietetics. There are four hour and a half long sessions, and about eight different speakers during each time slot but you can choose to go to the talk that interests you! The topics range from probiotic health to eating disorders to exercise with nutrition to nutrition for fertility all the way to food security and more. If you have no interest in sports nutrition, for example, you don’t have to sit through a long lecture that you aren't interested in. Instead you can learn more about something you love. The talks that I attended, I loved. I have never been so excited to learn more about the areas of nutrition that I’m passionate about. The next cool part about FNCE is the expo fair. I personally love going to places like Costco and getting all of the free samples. I love being able to try something before I buy it. The FNCE expo is similar to going to a grocery store and trying every item on the shelf! There are hundreds-yes hundreds-of companies there promoting their power bars, protein shakes, yogurts, healthy pastas, vegetarian options, guilt free ice creams, and everything in between. Not only do you get to try all of these delicious foods, you also go home with more samples and coupons. I left FNCE with protein pancakes, a food thermometer, a wooden spoon, power bars, and vitamins, just to name a few. My pantry was stocked for a week! Finally one of the most important things, at least for dietetic students, is the dietetic internship fair. The dietetic internship fair is where programs from around the country send representatives, to talk to potential interns for their programs. It can be a little intimidating since these programs are often highly competitive, but I ended up feeling so thankful that I went. I researched the programs I was interested in ahead of time then introduced myself and talked to them more about their program. The representatives weren’t as scary as I expected and they didn’t tell me why I wasn’t good enough for their program, which was my biggest fear. They were friendly, answered all of my questions, and invited me to their open houses. This really helps them put a face with your name when you apply for their program. Sunday was a long and exhausting day, but it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Monday and Tuesday also consisted of talks, but I headed back to school on Monday morning. Even the two short days of FNCE I experienced were worth every single penny. If you are even considering going, then you should take this chance and go. You won’t regret it. Written By Rachel Tumbleson Some view oatmeal as a boring bowl of sludge. However, in my mind, oats are a blank canvas that are waiting to be transformed into a magical creation. If you have never been a fan of oatmeal or are bored of the same old, I challenge you to keep reading to spice up your morning bowl of oats. Sweeteners - There is a very delicate balance when sweetening oatmeal. At one end of the spectrum is plain oatmeal and at the far other end are the heavily sweetened instant packages. If you are anything like me, you prefer if the oatmeal which falls right in the middle. My number one hack for natural sweetener is a mashed banana. It is a double win because you will be incorporating fruit into your diet, while getting a finished product similar in taste to banana bread. My second favorite sweetener hack is cinnamon. Not only does cinnamon have multiple health benefits, it is a sugar free way to make the oatmeal taste sweeter. Texture - Remember that time when you opened up the dining hall oatmeal lid to reveal something that looked more like soup? I am 100% a fan of thick oatmeal so that is always a sad sight to me. The primary secret to making a thicker bowl of oatmeal is to reduce the amount of liquid and cook it for a longer period of time. Another thickening hack is to add egg whites. This makes your oatmeal fluffy while also adding some protein which will allow you to feel full for longer. At the least, I would like to encourage you to use milk or a milk substitute, in place of water, for a creamier creation. Bonus - If you are interested in incorporating more vegetables into your diet, try adding some shredded zucchini! It sounds super weird at first, but it barely has any taste and adds lots of volume. Peanut butter is another of my favorite bonus items. The trick to adding peanut butter is to leave it in a blob rather than stirring it in. If you allow the blob to melt and spread on its own the flavor does not get lost. As the weather gets colder outside and you are looking for something warm and nourishing to eat, I hope you will consider some of these hacks to make yourself a magical bowl of oatmeal. Written by Iris Puthoff A few weeks ago, the Oxford Museum Association put on its annual apple butter festival at Hueston Woods in Oxford Ohio. The festival features the colonial creation of apple butter in the pioneer fashion. Focusing on the production of apple butter might lead one to wonder what apple butter exactly is. Apple butter is basically a highly concentrated form of applesauce. It is cooked slowly for a long period of time to allow the sugar in the apples to completely caramelize. This is what gives the apple butter its dark brown color and rich texture. Apple butter can commonly be used as a spread for toast and muffins or in marinades and dips. However, if you happen to have some extra apple butter laying around, there are many other recipes it can be used for, both sweet and savory! One of the most innovative ways to use apple butter is in baking. Whether you're making muffins, cakes, or breads, apple butter can be added for an extra apple flavor. Because apple butter has similar properties to apple sauce, it can also be used as an egg replacement in baking. If you are looking to replace eggs with apple butter, substitute ¼ cup apple butter per each egg in your recipe. It might be helpful to add in ½ teaspoon of baking powder when making this substitution as well. Another method of substitution would be to replace some of the butter the recipe calls for with apple butter. It is a good idea to start with replacing half of your butter with apple butter, and then see if increasing the ratio will work for your baking product. A higher ratio of apple butter to regular butter, will lead to more dense baked goods and will have less calories and fat. Apple butter can also be used in savory recipes. Some ideas include an apple butter honey mustard sauce, chipotle apple butter tacos, apple butter onion chicken burgers, and baked apple butter ham and cheese sandwiches. Whether you are using the apple butter as a glaze or as a mix in with your meat or veggies, it can make for a sweet complement to a tangy dish. The sweet apple butter taste can go well with savory barbecue and maple meat dishes, but you can also experiment to come up with your own sweet and savory apple butter combination! Written by Emma Hendy With the cold weather finally here, there is nothing I want to do more than cook warm comfort food to combat the 30-degree weather. Over fall break, I visited a pumpkin patch with my family that had fresh picked apples. The crisp breeze and gala apples gave me the idea to make apple fritters! I was hesitant at first as baked goods can be daunting but I’m here to let you know its easier than you think! The recipe on Souffle Bombay has perfected apple fritters. This recipe is so fast, in fact peeling the apples was the longest part. You will start off by peeling and dicing the apples of choice. I chose to use gala apples as they're great when cooked. The batter itself will take 5 or more minutes to make. To start, you should combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in one bowl. Next, combine milk and egg in another bowl and finally, put the dry ingredients into the wet. I chose to combine some cinnamon and sugar for the topping. After testing it out, I found that½ cup of sugar to 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon is a good ratio. I next tossed the cut apples with this cinnamon sugar mixture. Then I combined the apples in the wet mixture. This batter immediately began to give off an aroma that would remind anyone of fall. The spice of the cinnamon and the crunch of the apples is the best combination. With a fryer, I heated up the oil and used an ice cream scoop to place the batter into the fryer. Surprisingly, there was no splash and the ball quickly began to float as it turned a golden brown. At times, I had trouble telling when the batter was fully cooked since the bigger scoops needed longer to cook, which then made them turn a dark brown. I recommend using a smaller amount of batter to make sure the fritters stay golden brown and are fully cooked. As a finishing touch, I sprinkled leftover cinnamon sugar over the hot fritters which allowed it to melt into the fritter. This made for the perfect combination of sweet and crunchy. At the last minute, I decided to make a simple icing which consisted of three ingredients: vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk. The icing may have needed to be refrigerated because it instantly seeped through the fritter and made the fritter soggy. Next time, I would stick with only the cinnamon and sugar for a warm and sweet end result. Written By Mackenzie Currie Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves are the dynamic trio of spices this season. Cinnamon is one of the best known and widely used spices in this trio. Cinnamon can be used either whole or grounded. You could use it whole in hot cider or you can add ground cinnamon to apple pie or applesauce. Cinnamon also has some amazing health benefits! There have been research studies that show cinnamon can help with Type 2 Diabetes because it helps regulate blood sugar and lipid levels. The second spice in the trio is nutmeg which is grated into food items such as puddings, custards, and sauces. It can be added to other baked good like pumpkin pie and apple crisp pie to add a warm flavor. Like Cinnamon, Nutmeg also has health benefits. Research shows that it can stimulate the brain to cope with stress and fatigue which could be useful as exams and the holidays are approaching. The last (but not least) spice in the trio is Cloves. Cloves can be used in recipes like pumpkin pies and spice cookies. Cloves have anti-inflammatory properties, anti-clotting properties which is beneficial for arthritis and heart health. Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves are not the only spices that provide health benefits. There has also been research that shows that spices such as turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cayenne also can help solve health problems.
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Resources: The Yellow Table A Healthier Michigan Hopkins Medicine The Herbal Academy Originally featured on the Miami University Dining Blog
Written by Emily Gabel Living in a dorm creates many challenges, due to the minimal space and cooking resources available. In a dorm, you do not have the ability to cook a full meal. Although some dorms have kitchenettes in the common areas, is it extremely rare that students utilize them to cook meals more than once a week. With these challenges, it becomes necessary to get creative when wanting to make a meal from the dorm building late at night. There are many options for dorm breakfast recipes. My personal favorite dorm breakfast meal is overnight oats. Overnight oats are the solution to having a breakfast meal ready for you when you wake up, and a nutritional and tasteful one at that. Overnight oats require a jar or container with a lid, oats, milk and any sort of add ins you prefer, such as fruits, nut butters or seeds. All of these ingredients are sold at campus markets. To prepare overnight oats fill a glass jar or container with old fashioned oats, to the level of which you think you’ll eat the next morning. Next, fill the jar with milk so that the oats are covered. If you are needing a caffeine pick up, pour 1 cup of brewed coffee into the container with oats, instead of milk. Finally, add toppings to the oats and any sort of spices or flavorings you wish. Simply cover the container with a lid and place in the fridge overnight and you have yourself a nutritious breakfast ready when you wake up! A dish I love to make in my dorm for lunch or dinner is a Mexican corn salad. For those who would never choose to eat a salad for a meal at the dining hall, this may just be your kind of salad. This salad, unlike what you’re offered at the dining hall, is not lettuce based. A Mexican corn salad has a corn base, which is made from cooking canned corn in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes. After cooking the corn, add black beans, peppers, onions, cilantro and cheese to the corn to make a complete salad. A yogurt based dressing is paired well with this salad. You can make a simple yogurt based salad dressing with products purchased from campus markets. The dressing consists of plain yogurt, lime juice, paprika and cumin. Not only are these recipe suggestions easy to make in your dorm room, but they are great ideas to mix and match with items served in the dining halls! |
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November 2019
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