10 Easy Foodtrainers-Approved Dinners

*Since this was late to post Friday (Blogger down) leaving it up to be sure you have chance to read.


Many of us start the day out strong but then our eating suffers by sundown. I asked our Market Melissa to share some of the information from her “Taming Takeout” Market Foodtraining tours to help us solve the dinner dilemma. Thanks M.

I know how it goes. It’s 7pm and you walk in the door. You are tired, hungry and cranky. What’s for dinner?  That’ll be takeout (again). My clients have been there; I ‘ve been there. It’s a pattern we can all fall into and it isn’t a good one.  While I don’t expect anyone to start dicing, slicing and following a 20-ingredient recipe, making dinner can be quick AND healthy. My 3 “supper secrets” are:

• Make a menu plan-menu sounds complicated but know what you’ll eat each night of the week and shop for missing ingredients.
• Be your own sous chef- chop vegetables on Sunday, do as much advance prep as possible.
• Make extra, I always try and make extra servings when I am cooking so I have leftovers nights during the week when I know I will be working late.

So put away your takeout menu collection and try some of our favorite easy dinners:

1.  Fajita Omelet – we love breakfast for dinner. Sauté peppers and onions in 1 tsp. olive oil. Add in 1-2 omega 3 eggs and top with salsa and/or avocado.
2.  Multipurpose Marinade-  this is a great marinade from Clean Eating magazine. I let chicken breasts, cut into strips, marinate over night for more flavor and it’s ready for a  grill pan as soon as I walk in the door. 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, salt and pepper for (4) 4 oz. chicken breasts. Trader Joe’s pre-cooked brown rice is always in my pantry- heat and top with chicken.
3.  Roasted Shrimp Cocktail – I love this simple and quick Ina Garten recipe for roasted shrimp. Serve over dinosaur kale or pre-washed salad greens.
4. Easy Oven Roasted Cod from Rosaberry. Preheat the oven to 400º. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Season 1.5 pounds cod fillets with salt and pepper and sprinkle with lemon zest (1 tsp). Place the fillets on the parchment paper. In a bowl mix a pint grape tomatoes, ¼ cup pitted calamata olives, 2 tsp oregano, and  1 Tbs olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the tomato mixture over the cod. Roast 12-15 minutes. Squeeze lemon wedge over cooked fish.
5.  Trader Joe’s Organic Baked Tofu (teriyaki or savory flavor). This is always in my refrigerator to throw over a salad or quinoa for an instant dinner. Quinoa is a staple on my weekly menu. It is one of the quickest cooking whole grains out there, done in 10 minutes.
6. Poached chicken – Simmer organic chicken in low sodium broth for 20 minutes or until cooked through. I like to make several servings to have as leftovers. Enjoy with roasted vegetables or wrap it up in a whole wheat or corn tortilla.
7.  Burger Night -  I love anything Applegate Farms especially their organic turkey burgers . For a Vegetarian option, my go to veggie burger is Sunshine Burgers (I like the falafel flavor) Both can be kept in the freezer and pulled out right before cooking. They are great on their own, topped with avocado, hummus or salsa or with a side of Alexia sweet potato fries. 
8. Organic Bistro meals – I am not a huge proponent of frozen meals, but they are good to have in a pinch. This line is the best one out there in terms of sodium content and the lack of preservatives. All ingredients are “real food.” My kind of ingredient list. The Wild Alaskan Salmon is a favorite.  
9. Pasta – I like using brown rice or quinoa pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions. Sauté your veggie of choice in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes (optional). Zucchini, asparagus & tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli or kale are some of my favorites. Top pasta with veggies and fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley or basil work for any dish). Think more veggies and less pasta. Total time is less than 20 minutes. 
10. Portobello Pizza – Lauren told me about this one from the Swanky Dietitian and it has been in my rotation ever since. Super easy and helps satisfy my ever-present pizza cravings.                                                                                                                                      Are you a victim of the take out monster on weekdays? What are your go-to easy dinners? And what are your time-saving tips? To learn more about Melissa’s Market Foodtraining tours click here.

Go Forth and Eat Burgers

When it comes to healthy eating I feel beef is a bad word. Wild salmon, kale and berries go along gathering dietary accolades while beef sits in the corner. While I’m not here pushing a beef-based diet I would caution you not to lump all beef in one category. Grass-fed beef is better to eat and possibly the only beef we should eat. According to a great website Eat Wild  “compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and goats has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid.”

About a month ago I was placing a food order on a NYC service known as Fresh Direct. My boys had requested burgers for dinner over the weekend. I searched on “grass fed beef” and meat from a company called Hardwick popped up. I was weary at first as the meat was sold frozen. I deliberated and decided frozen grass fed was preferred to non-frozen hormone burgers. I ordered the meat and placed it and other items in our cooler to take to Vermont for the weekend. Saturday night, after skiing, I made dinner. I always use grass fed beef but hadn’t tried Hardwick before. My family didn’t know anything was different but raved about their burgers. “Best burger ever” said my then 6 year old (who is now 7) and they were.

When we got back to New York, I placed another grocery order this time purchasing 2 packages of Hardwick for the freezer. The next week my mother was over making dinner for the boys while I was still at work. Now my mother, though a fantastic cook, rolls her eyes at the mention of organic or overtly healthy. Nonetheless, when I walked in the door she said, “that’s the best meat I’ve ever cooked.” My mother has since contacted Hardwick on her own to find out about having their steaks shipped to her.

Healthy and tasty do not always go hand in hand. I get a thrill when farms or companies producing food in the right manner make a product that is so superior to conventional offerings. When it comes to meat, grass fed cows do not require the antibiotics feedlot cows do because they are eating what they were meant to eat in appropriate conditions. I know beef is not for everyone but alongside fruit and vegetables and nuts we all should be able to have a burger every so often if we want it.

Do you or your family eat read meat? How often? Do you purchase grass fed beef? What’s your favorite recent healthy food find?

**Hardwick is offering a  “Special Bundle” of various cuts of steaks to a lucky reader in the Northeast. Please let us know, in the comments section, if you qualify and would like to be included in the giveaway.

BBQ Greatest Hits Vol 1

Outside my apartment cars are double parked, 6am yoga was more crowded than usual and manicure places are bustling with pre-weekend primping. Who doesn’t love a long weekend? Well, actually I don’t love parts of them. There's pressure to beat the traffic, when we end up sitting in traffic anyway, there are expectations…it’s sort of like a mini New Years Eve but at least it’s an extra day off, right? So many of you will be barbecuing on this inaugural summer weekend, I thought I’d share 2 of my BBQ greatest hits. Undoubtedly there will be more as the summer wears on….but here’s a little taste.

Pesto turkey burgers
Combine 1 1b organic ground turkey, 2 tbsp pesto, 1/8 shredded parmesan, 1 clove finely minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Grill 10-13 min turning once. Serve over arugula or on an Ezekiel English Muffin.

Tip Top Tuna Burgers
These burgers are a Sally Schneider (The New Way to Cook is a worthwhile purchase) recipe and worth the extra chopping and effort.

3-inch piece of ginger peeled cut in 3 pieces, 1 ½ pounds tuna steak, 3 Tbs minced scallions, 1Tbs finely chopped cilantro, ¼ tsp minced garlic, 1 ½ tsp minced jalapeno, Pinch sugar, ¼ tsp kosher salt, Fresh pepper, 1 ½ tsp low sodium soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 Tbs sesame seeds (can omit)

Finely chop the tuna. Press ginger in a garlic press or finely grate. Add 1 tsp ginger, scallions, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, soy sauce and 1 tsp of sesame oil to tuna. With wet hands shape into 4 equal patties, place on cookie sheet and freeze 10 min to firm up. Brush patties with remaining 1 tsp sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds on both sides. Can pan fry in very hot pan 2 min each side (brown outside, pink inside) or grill 1 ½ to 2 min per side.

Enjoy the weekend and if you make either of these burgers, report back!
Are you a fan of 3-day weekends? Will you be barbecuing this weekend? What’s on your menu?

Burger Bogey

I have to realize, as I write this, that the whole world doesn’t live in a house where the Golf Channel is on the preset list. Even so, chances are you’ve heard of Phil Mickelson. At the Masters tournament last month everyone had their eyes on Tiger (sing if you’d like) and his comeback (yuck, gross pun) after his rehab or hiding stint. Tiger played well but Mickelson won the tournament and waiting at the 18th hole was his beautiful wife Amy, who made her first appearance on tour after over a year of treatment for breast cancer. They were emotional and I, for one, was crying in my living room.

When my husband asked me what I wanted to do yesterday afternoon, for Mothers Day, my answer was simple. I wanted to be in the apartment alone. And so he took the boys skating and I lounged around, cleaned out the pantry and read the newspaper cover to cover. Heaven. Yet one article, in the Sports section, left me wondering. It was a silly piece about how Mickelson had a streak of golf holes without a bogey (one shot over par) and a similar streak where he went to Five Guys for burgers after each round. The column went on to talk about Mickelson’s burger history, growing up on In-N-Out Burger and even looking into purchasing an In-N-Out Burger franchise at one point.

Hmn. When clients come to me with breast cancer or current clients are diagnosed one of the first dietary changes I suggest is decreasing or eliminating animal protein. This isn’t far-fetched advice. Go-to doctors in the field of health and wellness from T Colin Campbell to Andrew Weil concur. Surely Amy Mickelson is aware of the connection of animal protein (burgers included) to cancer. Assuming that someone with access to the best of the best in terms of treatment is altering her diet in order to rid her body of cancer, is her husband’s burger habit questionable? Insensitive? Or maybe you think it is innocent.

If your spouse has lung cancer, should their husband or wife smoke? Or if it’s diabetes, should their partner do candy commercials, maybe look into buying a candy company? I know that to some people there is nothing wrong with a man’s love of burgers. For me, this left a bad taste in my mouth.
Do you think I’m overreacting? Should one spouse conform to the dietary mandates of the other’s disease? Should a professional athlete have burgers and fries multiple days in a row? Shouldn’t we all consider reducing our animal protein prior to a diagnosis?

Fast Food Slaytons

Our family travels to Vermont (from NYC) almost every winter weekend. Interstates can present a huge challenge for healthy eating. Since the ride is only 3.5 hours, on a good day, I generally come armed in order to avoid stopping for food. This past Friday, we picked the kids up from school. I had apples and bananas, carrots and celery, almonds and some popcorn. It’s a little cruel but I’ve found that when trapped in a car and hunger sets in even crudite becomes a hot commodity. We arrived in Vermont for dinner and everything worked out as planned.

Yesterday was a little different. We skied in the morning, had a nice lunch afterward, packed the car and headed home. The problem is that it was snowing fairly heavily. As we entered Massachusetts the snow turned to sleet and a little further south torrential rain. After watching James and the Giant Peach and taking a long post-ski nap the kids were hungry. It was 7pm and we were over an hour from home. The arsenal of healthy snacks was exhausted, as was my husband aka the driver. “There’s a _____ in New Haven, we should try it” says tired husband (and no, he didn't actually say "blank") . “Do you know what I do for a living?” I ask. “This is pretty good actually, let’s try it. Without outing the restaurant, let's just say even President Obama is known to be a fan. Anyway, you know where this is going.

I was elected to go into _____ and pick up our dinner. I decided it was a challenge. I have had a McDonald’s salad, a Wendy’s baked potato and felt fairly confident I could navigate any menu. That is, until I saw this menu. The menu is a very simple: burgers, hot dogs and fries. There are no attempts at health, no salads, and no apple dippers. I decided it was one meal and choices were limited. I did a silent anti-e coli prayer and placed the order. I ordered the little burgers for the kids, I ordered “a burger all the way” for my husband, as he requested. I ordered fries, a weakness of mine, and the person taking the order said “just one order of fries with 3 burgers?” I said yes, that would be fine.

I was handed a receipt; we were number 38. I was directed to another counter to wait for our order. I generally love an open kitchen, love to see the behind the scenes details, that is until last night. As I took my place at the counter I saw an employee hoisting a bottle the size of Clorox bleach, a large handled plastic bottle. She removed the cap and proceeded to pour gallons of something into an opening. I looked closer and the jug was oil. I could’ve turned away but of course didn’t. One station over from the oil was the grill. I looked at the grill which had at least a half inch of…oil on it. The burgers were almost floating like mini sting rays on the surface. I couldn’t believe others were watching this undeterred. Didn’t Elie Wiesel say one of the worst things you can do is witness something terrible and do nothing? In my defense, I am doing something now (I am blogging about it).

After about five minutes (_____ prides itself on being made to order), number 38 was called. I was handed one brown bag with the burgers. I was passed another brown bag, about half the size of a grocery brown bag. The server said “these are your fries.” Polka dots started to make their way through the bag (with I kid you not 5+ cups of fries). These were oil polka dots of course.

I got in the car and started handing things out. The boys opened their little burgers and my husband his “all the way” burger with a diet coke as per his request. After all, why not have a little cancer with your heart disease? I took a handful of fries, some pathetic celery stalks still in the snack bag, my water bottle and decided this probably wouldn’t kill me. Because I am here typing, you know I did live but that doesn’t mean I didn’t suffer. My 7 year old started the chorus, after his burger he had the burps. Husband then remarked “I always get this sharp pain in my stomach after eating this food”. My little one then said “excuse me” which only follows one bodily function. And me? I felt like Morgan Spurlock in Supersize Me…only I hadn’t had anything supersized. I had a headache, my stomach was doing flips- it wasn’t pleasant.

But how did it taste? Was it good? Here’s the deal, despite doing what I do for a living I can admit, however bad for you, when something tastes good. I even have a list of bad-for-you foods I like and wish was healthy. The boys, they liked their burgers and also liked what they knew was a break from our routine. My husband admitted “it’s really not the burger I would have if I had to choose.” As for me, the fries were undercooked, very salty and, sad to say, not worth it. That’s the part I most regret. My advice to clients, my mothers’ advice to me has always been “don’t eat it if it’s not delicious”. Next time, I will bring snacks and a meal for all. And if _____, who has America’s attention, wants to make a nod in the healthy direction, I’d be happy to help.

What do you arm yourself or your family with when you travel? How do you feel after you eat fast food?