vegetables

Makes 12 servings; serving size: about 1 cup

Root vegetables are a winter favorite around our house. When the price of out-of-season veggies go up, root vegetables like rutabagas, parsnips and leeks remain inexpensive.

But the real value of root vegetables is in their nutritional content. Rutabagas are a good source of vitamin C and potassium. Parsnips are a good source of folate, which helps produce and maintain new cells. Leeks are an good source of vitamin A, beta carotene and lutein, a nutrient that is good for eye health.

Plus, they make an filling replacement for meat in the center of a plate.

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 pound fingerling potatoes
1 rutabaga
1 pound carrots
1 pound parsnips
2 onions
2 leeks
1 fennel bulb
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions:
1. Spray two baking pans with cooking spray. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Move racks to top two positions.

2. Peel and cut rutabaga, carrots and parsnips into 1-inch pieces. Coarsely chop onions. Slice white and light green parts of leeks and slice fennel bulb (not stems). Toss root vegetables and potatoes with oil and pepper in a large bowl then split evenly between two baking pans.

3. Separate pans on different shelves and bake for 30 minutes. Add 5 garlic cloves to each pan, swap pan positions and bake another 30 minutes.

4. Sprinkle sea salt over veggies and serve.

Nutrition:
156 calories, 5g total fat (1g sat, 3g mono, 1g poly) 0mg cholesterol, 26g carbohydrate, 88mg calcium, 246mg sodium, 3g protein, 6g fiber, 2mg iron

Related links:

Sweet Potato Wontons

Cannellini Bean Soup

Makes 3 dozen small wontons; serving size: 3 wontons

Looking for a new twist on a traditional Thanksgiving treat? Turn your sweet potatoes into bite-sized treats. Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A, an antioxidant, in the body. Vitamin A is good for the immune system, cell development and eye health.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp canola oil
2 to 3 sweet potatoes baked and skinned (enough for 3 cups)
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp molasses
Wonton wraps
Pecan halves
Egg white
Low sodium soy sauce or stone ground mustard

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Sauté garlic and onion in canola oil until onion is translucent. Combine with potatoes, yogurt, cinnamon, vanilla and molasses. Stir or whip until smooth.

3. Put one tbsp of sweet potato mix in the center of a wrap. Top with a pecan, then fold corners of wonton wrap to center. Seal wonton with egg white. Place on baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

5. Serve with soy sauce or stone ground mustard.

Nutrition:
157 calories, 3g total fat, 2mg cholesterol, 28g carbohydrate, 45mg calcium, 163mg sodium, 4g protein, 2g fiber, 1mg iron

Related links:

Cranberry chutney on corn griddle cakes

Roasted Root Vegetables

Cannellini Bean Soup

The sweet-tart goodness of cranberries combine perfectly with the savory flavor in these corn griddle cakes. Throw in a gravy boatload of nutrients like vitamin C and fiber and you have a healthy side for any seasonal feast.

Cranberry Chutney
Makes about three cups; serving size: 2 tbsp

Ingredients
1 large shallot, coarsely chopped
1 serrano chili, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tbsp canola oil
1 (12-oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mint leaves finely chopped

Instructions:
Over medium heat, sauté shallot, chili and garlic in oil until soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir occasionally for 10 minutes, or until cranberries burst.

Corn Griddle Cakes
Makes about 10 cakes; serving size 1 cake

Ingredients
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
4 tbsp. canola oil, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup skim milk

Instructions:
1. Combine corn, green onions, eggs and 2 tbsp. oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix.

2. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into skillet. Cook until edges set. Flip and cook until cakes are browned and cooked through.

Nutrition (combined):
161 calories, 8g total fat, 1g sat fat, 4g mono fat, 3g poly fat, 37mg cholesterol, 21g carbohydrate, 49mg calcium, 278mg sodium, 3g protein, 2g fiber, 1mg iron

Related links:

Roasted Root Vegetables

Cannellini Bean Soup

Servings: 10; serving size: about 1 cup

This warm, but light soup features the cannellini bean, which is loaded fiber, iron and magnesium. Magnesium helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function. The spinach adds an extra boost of folate and lutein, which is good for nervous system and can keep your eyes healthy.

Ingredients:
16 oz. cannellini beans or navy beans
1 tbsp canola oil
1 clove garlic minced
4 cups uncooked spinach chopped
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 leek, cleaned chopped chopped (white parts)
2 celery ribs chopped
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp oregano
Lime

Instructions:
1. Soak beans in a large pot overnight. Discard water and rinse beans. Put beans in a clean pot and cover with water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil and simmer beans for one hour.

2. In a large stock pot, sauté garlic, onion and spinach until onion is soft and spinach is wilted. Add beans, leek and celery and mix well. Add vegetable broth plus two cups of water. Add oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

3. Serve with a wedge of lime.

Nutrition:
216 calories, 2.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 39g carbohydrate, 123mg calcium, 297mg sodium, 11g protein, 14.8g fiber, 3.85mg iron

Related links:

Cranberry chutney on corn griddle cakes

Sweet Potato Wontons

Roasted Root Vegetables

Kids Know Best
Quick riddle: A father and his son are involved in a bad traffic accident. The man dies, but the son is rushed to surgery. His surgeon looks down at him and says, "I can't operate on this child. He's my son." Who's the surgeon?

It's an old riddle that frequently stumps adults. Kids? Not so much--at least that's what ABC News found out when it wanted to see if children might have fewer biases than adults when presented with the riddle. See if you know the answer.

A Physician's Myth Debunking Quest
Dr. Donald A. Redelmeier isn't your average researcher or physician. He's part myth buster, part statistician and complete unconventional thinker. And you're probably even familiar with his work. His studies are like a best-sellers list of practical health advice. Equating cell phone use and driving to drunk driving? He was the first to do that. The New York Times has a great profile of this healthy skeptic.

High Fructose Corn Syrup's New Name
These days it's hard not to feel sorry for the corn industry, especially considering all the bad press it gets for high fructose corn syrup. Even some food safety advocates think the sugary substance has gotten a bad rap for probably being no worse than sugar (see what our Healthy Skeptic had to say about HFCS). That's why the corn industry's effort to rename HFCS "corn sugar" may get traction.

For the last few years, my family has had an on-and-off again affair with vegetarian diets. Cognizant of the high cost of meat on our budget, our health (diabetes and heart disease run rampant in our families) and on the environment, we've looked at ways to reduce our consumption.

Mostly, the affair has been off. A few days of lentils, 12-bean soup and iffy salads turns into a ribeye binge. We eat less meat than the 220-plus pounds that the USDA says most Americans eat each year, but we eat more than we think we should: In one recent weekly grocery trip, I purchased a 5-pound chicken, two pounds of beef, two pounds of farm raised salmon and a one-pound ham. That's at least 10 pounds of meat for a family of four--with two kids under age 6.

Why so much meat? For us, it's just easy to prepare. If you've spent as many years as I have learning to braise beef ribs and roast herb chicken, you really don't want to learn how to perfect tofu texture.

But it's our last meat purchase for a while--at least for a month. Let Mostly Meatless May begin. In an effort to rewire our diets, we're dropping most meat for the month and focusing on new sources of protein. Here are some simple rules that we think will encourage less meat consumption long term:

1. Each member of the family can eat 8 ounces of meat a week or about 2 pounds for the entire month.

2. Half of that meat must come from sustainably raised seafood like albacore tuna, farmed rainbow trout and wild-caught salmon from Alaska. Not sure what's sustainable? Here's a list from the Monterey Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

3. Pork and beef can can only be used as a seasoning agent. (This allows for soups from stock, for example, or vegetables flavored with a small piece of salted ham or bacon.)

4. You must try at least one new source of protein a week. On our list: Sardines (one of the best sources of heart healthy omega-3s), tempeh and seitan.

That's it. I'll update this blog each Friday in May with links recipe we tried and notes on our successes and failures. You can find daily updates on our Twitter account, @Everwell.

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