Happy New Year!!!

New Plant-Based Show: How To Live To 100!!!

I'm super excited to check out the Cooking Channel's new Plant-Based show,
"How To Live To 100", premiering January 6, 2013 at 8pm ET/5pm PT)!!!

"Detroit-born chef, Jason Wrobel, dishes up a sublime fusion of food and humor as host of the new Cooking Channel special, How To Live To 100. Known as the "King of Superfoods," which are powerful ingredients proven to increase your longevity, Jason turns up the heat and whips them up into culinary masterpieces."

It's about time these food networks put something together for us veggie lovers!

My DVR is already set!

Check it out!
The Hoff

Honey Mustard Dressing

Honey Mustard Dressing
Yields: 1/2 cup
dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free, soy-free


Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp plain Almond Milk
• 2 tbsp Grey Poupon Mustard
• 2 tbsp Yellow Mustard
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Cashews
• Juice from 1 Lemon
• 1 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Blend ingredients together

My2Cents: Use it as a salad dressing or to spruce up veggies like cauliflower!

Hoff Hit: Fluffy Rice

To achieve fluffy rice, always stir rice with a fork instead of a spoon.

The fork will infuse the rice with air, while the spoon will leave you flat.

Merry Christmas!

Hoff Hit: Stop the Splatter!

My walls know all too well when I am attempting to pour things like spaghetti sauce.

But, here's a trick to avoid that dreaded splattering!

Pour the sauce over a  mixing spoon and that shall cut down on your clean-up!

Seasonal Eating: Winter

Despite the lack of snow, today marks the first day of Winter in Ohio.

With the change in season comes a change in seasonal eating habits.

To eat seasonally, means to consume foods that are grown in your region for the current time of year.  It does not mean consuming strawberries in the dead of Winter flown in from another hemisphere.  Eating seasonally enables you to consume food when it's at it's peak in flavor & nutrient value.  Listen to your body, you're probably not craving a cold, crisp salad right now, but I bet a bowl of steaming, hearty soup can get you salivating.

Yes, you can get anything you want year round, but that's not the way we were designed to eat.  And doing so tends to throw us out of balance.  "The body naturally needs different foods during specific times of the year—foods that protect us from the effects of seasonal changes—say experts such as Elson M. Haas, MD, author of Staying Healthy with the Seasons (Celestial Arts, 2004)."


Winter Eating

Winter is the time to reserve energy & rest and there are Winter specific foods designed to help us achieve this.  You want to consume hardier, warming foods at this time of year - think root vegetables, beans & seaweed.  These types of foods take longer to digest and therefore better support our core temperature.
Here's what to look for until Spring blossoms...


Winter Foods

• Apples
• Beets
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli Rabe
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chestnuts
• Clementine
• Collard Greens
• Dates
• Garlic
• Grapefruits
• Kumquats 
• Leeks
• Meyer Lemons
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Oranges
• Parsnips 
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Radicchio
• Rhubarb
• Rutabagas
• Snap Peas
• Sprouts (homegrown)
• Sunchokes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Turnips 
• Winter Greens (Arugula, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard)
• Winter Squash (Acorn, Butternut, Calabaza, Delicata, Hubbard, Pumpkin, Spaghetti)

If this list is too long to remember, just hit your local farmers market - they won't have anything that's out of season for your area.


Cooking

Winter is the time to switch to longer cooking methods at lower temperatures.  Think soups, stews & chili simmering on the stove top or dust off that slow cooker.  Try roasting a variety of root vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with flavored vinegar & your favorite seasonings.


Learn More

Check out the NRDC Smarter Living website to see what's in season for your state!

or

Download the free NRDC Eat Local App from iTunes to help you figure out which foods are in season  when you're out & about!

So, while the dietician in your head is screaming, "Order the damn salad!" your body is saying, "Hey man, I just want some soup."  Listen to your body, not your head.

Keep it Seasonal!
The Hoff


Seasonal Eating: Spring, Summer, Fall

Sources: http://newhope360.com/lifestyle/beginner-s-guide-seasonal-eating?page=1
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/local/seasonal/table/vegetables/