Day 29: Variety is the Spice of Life

I enjoy food (as most dietitians do) and I enjoy cooking. This means we're often trying new ideas, tools/methods, ingredients or recipes in our kitchen. We've also been introducing food to our daughter over the past 5 months, so that has kept us thinking about different things to have her try. We do also enjoy eating out and trying different restaurants. If we go out (which is less these days, now that we're parents), it would be for food that we don't make or don't make often, thus it's often ethnic cuisine.

I don't love every food, my husband has a few that he enjoys that I'm not as fond of (oysters, blue cheese, olives). I also don't always make great things in the kitchen, sometimes new ideas flop. We try to find recipes with comments and suggestions so that we can learn from others, but we don't all like the same things either.

I think it's great to have access to many foods. There are varieties in Saskatoon that I don't remember seeing as a child and some foods are now available all year round. We're able to buy fresh, frozen, or canned items and often the store has what we're looking for. I know not everyone has that luxury. I travel to some small communities with my work and see the lack of choices, or even the lack of a store, or high prices that can be limiting.

I am walking distance from groceries, which I love. I can go for a walk to grab a few items I need. I also don't have to eat the same things as my husband or daughter, if I don't want to. We don't have allergies or other dietary restrictions, so for us it's just a matter of preference. As she gets older and starts talking, our daughter may let us know more about her likes and dislikes, but so far we're pretty lucky, like us, she likes food and hasn't had a bad reaction to any of it.

I am grateful for: access to a wide variety of foods

As a Canadian I enjoy being able to eat Italian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, East Indian, and locally sourced foods. I love to travel and part of that is definitely to try other/new foods.

Try something new or pull out an old favourite that you've forgotten about, explore the world of flavours available to you!
Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Two for Tea {Recipe ReDux}

November 21st - which means Recipe ReDux reveal...I struggled a lot with this month's theme - it wasn't that I couldn't think of any ideas, but I couldn't decide on just one! So, far I've challenged myself to create new recipes rather than go with my tried and true, so I wanted to do the same this month.  I thought about popcorn kernels and spices, granola, trail mix, chickpeas and spices, and even biscotti (which I've never made), but I landed on mulling spices.

Why was it such a tough decision? I love food and I love giving gifts, so with the theme Adding Merriment to Mixes I was very excited.  The guidance we received was to "share the recipe for how you package up a little shelf-stable love from your kitchen!" With cold temperatures here in Saskatchewan (silly wind chill!) and my love of mindfulness and creating healthy habits, I figured a nice hot cup of holiday cheer was the way to go.  There are so many high calorie, high sugar, and high fat beverages to tempt you this time of year, so here is a way to enjoy festive flavours at home while saving calories for that special appetizer or dessert.  Plus it's a great way to warm up after being active outside.

Merry Mulling Spices

Makes 4 pouches for individual servings

Ingredients:
6 cardamom pods
6 peppercorns
1 anise star
4 whole cloves
2-3" cinnamon stick
1 dehydrated orange slice (optional)
4 loose leaf tea bags (I used David's Tea ones)

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a mortar and smash with the pestel to release the aromas and flavours.  Divide into 4 loose tea leaf bags or use cheese cloth and tie to secure.

Use:
Place the mulling spice bag and your favourite black tea in a mug, add boiled water, and steep for 3-5 minutes (or longer for more flavour).  Serve with a splash of milk and/or dash of sugar as desired. 

*You can use a variety of spices to give this a personal touch.  I started to dehydrate the oranges at room temperature and then put them on a baking sheet on parchment paper and into the oven for about 1 hour at 200F to finish the drying process.  You could also use dried orange zest instead.
 
Depending on how much festive flavour you want to add, you can double up and make tea for two (instead of 4).  This makes a great gift with a box of black tea bags, a holiday mug, and some may even want to gift it with a bottle of wine.  I have not tried these exact spices with wine for a mulled wine, but you would at least double the recipe for 1 bottle and simmer 15-20 minutes to infuse the spices into the beverage.  The mulling spice bag can also be placed in water on the stove to simmer and provide a great fragrance to your home or combined with hot apple cider.

Cheers,
Enjoy hosting or spoiling your host(s)!
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

A World of Flavours

One reason I love traveling is because you get to experience different cultures and their foods.  There may be similar ingredients, but perhaps they are used in different ways.  When I talk about mindful eating, that involves enjoying the many flavours of your food.  Whether you're cooking the food yourself or lucky enough to just get to eat it (I love cooking, don't get me wrong!), it's important to stop and savour the tastes - the sweetness of cinnamon, the 'meatiness' of cumin, the memories I have that I associate with mint.  We will all have preferences and familiar flavours, but I do enjoy cooking with different ingredients and spices and seeing/experiencing how other people flavour their food.

The smells are also very important when we think of taste and flavour.  My mom used to say to start sauteing onions and garlic to at least give the impression that the meal is on the way (even if you still have lots of prepping, you'll also have drooling guests).  I think I still need to work on my detection of different spices, but that just means I can continue to slow down and discuss my food with others and pick out the different flavours.  At my wedding shower, we played a 'guess the spice' game, which was a perfect game for a foodie bride, but the blends got me and I definitely wasn't the winner!

Many cities celebrate culture with a type of folk festival.  We just had ours in Saskatoon and I sampled great food and spent time with family and friends.  As we were leaving, my husband and I noticed some informational signs in the Caribbean pavilion, so I made sure to capture them to share with you.

They give some background on flavours used in Caribbean food and connections to Indian food (curry).  This reminded me of our cooking class in Thailand and how we noticed just a slight change in the ingredients meant a huge difference in the curry paste.

If you're like many people, you might have a cupboard full of spices, but you have your favourites (or the ones that you're comfortable using) and then you have ones that were in a rare recipe or that you don't know what to do with.  Spices can be a great ingredient to share with others since they may come in much larger portions than you need.  You can also start looking for new ways to spice up or flavour your meals.  Herbs and spices can be a great way to reduce salt, fat, and sugar in our diets, but still leave us feeling satisfied.

Dietitians of Canada has created a chart with suggested flavour enhancers to inspire your cooking efforts.  And if you're not sure what to do with that marjoram or cardamom, EatRight Ontario has brief descriptions and recipes for a variety of herbs and spices.  This may give you ideas for fresh herbs from your garden or local farmer's market as well.  There are also lots of infographics out there to help you create spice blends or determine which spices go best with which ingredients.

Here's to delicious food!
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

Flavours of Fall

I'm the type of person that loves cinnamon, apples, pears, nutmeg, and other similar flavours that I tend to associate with Autumn. I love to see the leaves turn colours and cuddle up with a good book and a warm drink. Treats like chai tea lattes and ginger snaps are right up my alley.

I went out for dinner last night and chose the salmon entree. I was very impressed with the flavour combination and unique sides that the restaurant used. Like my previous post, the meal was low in veggies, but the sides were sundried tomato quinoa, and squash - two sides you don't often see. The flavours of fall were all over my plate and there was a sweetness that was perfect for my sweet tooth. I just loved that it was something different and it felt like a perfect meal for the cool Autumn evening.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com