National Spinach Day

Tuesday, March 26th is National Spinach Day and while some food days are lame (Salisbury Steak Day for example) this one is pretty exciting. Spinach just might be one of the most famous vegetables for those of us old enough to remember the Popeye cartoon (or movie with Robin Williams which I still think about a lot for no good reason, except that Mr. Noodle from Elmo’s world was in it which seems impossible given the constraints of time and space but I digress.)

Anyways, what make spinach worthy of it’s own day? Here’s a list of the good stuff:

Vitamins: Spinach is rich in vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K1, and various B vitamins including folate (vitamin B9).

Minerals: It contains minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and traces of zinc and copper.

Antioxidants: Spinach is a great source of antioxidants like lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene, which have been associated with eye health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.

Dietary Fiber: Spinach is high in dietary fiber, which is beneficial for digestive health and can help regulate blood sugar levels and promote satiety.

Oh yeah, did I mention that 1 cup of raw spinach has 7 calories?

Ways to use it in every day meals:

My personal favorite, just sauteed

Salads: Spinach can be used as a base for salads, either on its own or mixed with other greens. It pairs well with a variety of toppings such as nuts, fruits, cheese, and protein sources like grilled chicken or tofu.

Smoothies: Adding a handful of spinach to your smoothies is an easy way to sneak in some extra nutrients without altering the flavor too much. Spinach blends well with fruits like bananas, berries, and mangoes.

Omelets and Scrambles: Spinach can be sautéed and added to omelets or scrambled eggs for a nutritious breakfast or brunch option. It pairs well with ingredients like cheese, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.

Pasta Dishes: Add fresh or cooked spinach to pasta dishes such as spaghetti, fettuccine, or lasagna. Spinach can be mixed into the sauce or layered between pasta sheets for added flavor and nutrients.

Soups and Stews: As mentioned earlier, spinach can be added to soups and stews for extra nutrition. It wilts down when cooked, making it easy to incorporate into hearty dishes like minestrone, lentil soup, or chicken and vegetable stew.

Sandwiches and Wraps: Layer fresh spinach leaves onto sandwiches and wraps for added crunch and nutrition. It pairs well with deli meats, cheese, hummus, avocado, and other sandwich fillings.

Pizza: Top your pizza with fresh spinach leaves before baking for a nutritious twist on a classic favorite. Spinach pairs well with other pizza toppings such as tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and feta cheese.

Those are just a few of the many ways to use spinach. It is super versatile and cooks almost immediately.

What are your favorite ways to use spinach?

References:

Garone S. Spinach Health Benefits to Bring Out the Popeye in You. Greatist. Published August 9, 2011. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://greatist.com/health/superfood-spinach#how-to-eat-it

What’s In The Foods You Eat: Select food quantity. Usda.gov. Published 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://codesearch.arsnet.usda.gov/(S(sic1nh5elfz10emlpqljr3jb))/measures.aspx?id=72125100

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Nice to Meat You

Wholeheartedly vegetarian power bowl from local fave “Hatch”

Definitely been feeling like a “Gen X”er when it comes to the myriad of options of what we called “vegetarian.” The nomenclature has expanded into the zeitgeist and now we’ve got lots of other ways to identify ourselves by our “diets;” vegan, omnivore, flexitarian and pescatarian to name a few. Admittedly I think vegan sounds the coolest as it’s basically just a shortened form of vegetarian, and that’s actually what it is so…

I started my own vegetarian journey back in Binghamton. NY. I’d guess it was a combination of my new found freshman 15 freedom, becoming active in clubs like PETA (nobody was throwing paint at anyone back in the day, at least not at my chapter), Greenpeace and Amnesty International and most importantly a crappy ass food service vendor (Who could it have been? I don’t honestly know though I could make some good guesses.)

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely had my share of cheese fries at 1am at CIW. I didn’t know at the time, but it was my first major experience with institutional food service (and it was really gross.) So gross I chose to change my diet. I’m sure these vendors offer more varied options these days, but let’s face it, if they can’t do the basics well are they really going to kill it on the vegan stuff? Survey says “Nah!”

In the meantime, a good place to start might be what is your eating or diet style? The following are a more or less current list of how we are defining our eating styles in terms of meat these days:

There are various types of diets with specific nomenclature that describe different dietary preferences or restrictions. Here are some common examples:

1. Vegetarian: A vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, and seafood. However, it may include dairy products and eggs. Vegetarians basically rely on plant-based foods, i.e. fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.
2. Vegan: A vegan diet excludes all animal-derived products, including meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, honey, and any other ingredients of animal origin. Vegans rely solely on plant-based foods and often adopt this diet for ethical, environmental, or health reasons.
3. Pescatarian: A pescatarian diet is primarily vegetarian but includes fish and seafood. Pescatarians do not consume meat or poultry but may incorporate fish, shrimp, crab, or other aquatic animals into their diet for added protein and nutrients.
4. Flexitarian/Semi-vegetarian: A flexitarian or semi-vegetarian diet is primarily plant-based but allows for occasional consumption of meat, poultry, or seafood. Flexitarians often choose to reduce their meat intake for health or environmental reasons but still include it in their diet on a limited basis.
5. Lacto-vegetarian: A lacto-vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs but includes dairy products. Lacto-vegetarians consume milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy items as part of their diet.
6. Ovo-vegetarian: An ovo-vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products but includes eggs. Ovo-vegetarians consume eggs as a source of protein and other nutrients.
7. Ovo-lacto-vegetarian: An ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, and seafood but includes both eggs and dairy products. Ovo-lacto vegetarians have a wider range of food options, including dairy, eggs, fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.
8. Raw Vegan: A raw vegan diet consists of uncooked and unprocessed plant-based foods. Raw vegans avoid heating food above a certain temperature (usually around 104–118°F or 40–48°C) to preserve the natural enzymes and nutrients present in the raw ingredients.
9. Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB): The WFPB diet emphasizes whole, minimally processed plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It excludes or limits refined grains, added sugars, oils, and processed foods.

Once you have sussed out what your diet choices are, it might make sense to look for a university (or hospital or nursing home as the case may be) that caters to your specific style of eating. And does it well.

Some resources on vegetarianism and all of its incarnations:

The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG): VRG is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about vegetarianism and veganism. They offer a wealth of information on their website, including articles, recipes, nutrition guides, and answers to frequently asked questions.
Website: https://www.vrg.org/

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND): AND is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Their website provides evidence-based resources and position papers on vegetarian and vegan diets, including information on nutrient requirements, meal planning, and tips for healthful eating.
Website: https://www.eatright.org/

Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group (VNDPG): VNDPG is a specialty group of AND focused on vegetarian and vegan nutrition. They offer resources, fact sheets, and educational materials for professionals and individuals interested in vegetarian diets.
Website: https://www.vndpg.org/home

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM): PCRM is a non-profit organization that promotes plant-based nutrition and preventive medicine. They provide educational materials, research articles, recipes, and resources on vegetarian and vegan diets.
Website: https://www.pcrm.org/

The American Dietetic Association’s Vegetarian Nutrition Manual: This comprehensive resource, written by registered dietitians, provides evidence-based information on vegetarian nutrition, meal planning, nutrient requirements, and special considerations for different life stages

References:

Bernardo, C. (n.d.). You Know You Went to SUNY Binghamton When… – Blog – Binghamton University. Binghamton University Blog – Binghamton University. https://www.binghamton.edu/blog/index.php/blog/story/19088/you-know-you-went-to-suny-binghamton-when/.

Companies. Plant Based Foods Association. (2020, February 20). https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/members/companies/.

Kubala J. Whole-Foods, Plant-Based Diet: A Detailed Beginner’s Guide. Healthline. Published June 12, 2018. Accessed June 28, 2023. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/plant-based-diet-guide

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A peach a day…

Photo by John Lambeth on Pexels.com

…would probably be GREAT at keeping the doctor away, except for that pesky salmonella outbreak happening now. I’ve been so caught up keeping track of where my onions are coming from, I didn’t even know about this recall except that while I was trying to purchase peaches at a local Walmart self checkout (don’t judge, they looked beautiful) my daughter and I thought I was being carded for said peaches. While weird, we were both intrigued…

After some waiting, the manager notified us that the product had been recalled. This was around 1pm today. Thankfully, because we were buying it at a store known for it’s massive amount of technology, we didn’t go home with the recalled product which possibly was harboring a pathogen causing an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis. According to the FDA and the CDC (in the articles I have hyperlinked) the outbreak is linked to a company called Prima Wawona (Wawona Packing Company LLC) which is apparently the biggest supplier/producer of stone fruits in the United States (out of California.)

The CDC tracking of the peaches outbreak is as follows (as of August 19th:

• Case Count: 68
• States: 9
• Hospitalizations: 14
• Deaths: 0
• Recall: Yes

I suppose the bright side is that the outbreak/recall only started (at least being reported) August 19th and so while the cases will likely go up, stores are able to pull the stock off the shelf.

You can check out a map of reported cases here, according to the map Minnesota has the most reported cases at 23. The peaches were sold in the following grocery stores, though may have been sold in additional ones: Retailers Aldi, Kroger, City Market, Fry’s, Food 4 Less, Food Lion, Foods Co., Hannaford, Jay-C, King Soopers, Ralphs, and Smiths, Target, Walmart and Wegman’s. The recall has also extended to Canada as well.

Recalled bagged peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona from June 1, 2020 to August 19, 2020 should not be eaten and should be thrown away. Recalled loose/bulk peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona from June 1, 2020 to August 3, 2020 should not be eaten and should be throw them away. (FDA)

Unfortunately, I doubt I was the first person at Walmart to attempt a purchase of those peaches today and there was still a fully stocked bin of them just begging to be picked up and bagged. Could customers be spreading the Salmonella to other food items after choosing the peaches? Um yeah, pretty sure that’s a given. But also consider we also have a Salmonella recall going on regarding onions…

Info on how to handle potentially contaminated foods can be found here (it’s not pretty, you’ve been warned) but just understand you can’t actually wash it off if it’s a contaminated piece of fruit or food, especially one that’s not customarily cooked. Check your peaches against the PLU codes in the CDC/FDA websites

Consumers who cannot identify the brand or remember the date of purchase, should throw the product away. Consumers who may have frozen peaches supplied by Prima Wawona should throw them away.

FDA recommends that anyone who received recalled peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with the produce to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. This includes cutting boards, slicers, countertops, refrigerators, and storage bins.

https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-enteritidis-peaches-august-2020

If you experience any of the following symptoms:  diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, it’s worth going to your healthcare provider. More to come as the story develops.

References:

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, F. (2020). Salmonella Enteritidis Outbreak: Peaches (Aug 2020). Retrieved August 24, 2020, from https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-enteritidis-peaches-august-2020

NCEZID, DFWED, CDC. (2020, August 21). Outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis Infections Linked to Peaches. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/enteritidis-08-20/index.html

Zhang, J. (2020, August 24). Peaches, One of Summer’s Last Remaining Joys, Join the Salmonella Recall List. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from https://www.eater.com/2020/8/24/21399024/peaches-from-target-aldi-wegmans-kroger-walmart-recalled-due-to-salmonella

Illinois Department Of Health. Salmonella. Retrieved August 24, 2020, from http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbsam.htm

 

 

Fiber One Bar Redux – Ingredient #2 Whole Grain Oats

Yesterday I posted about the first ingredient in the Fiber One bar, chicory root extract. While I can go on and on about that one, and I will, I’ll save it for the finale.

So moving on, the second ingredient in the bar is “whole grain oats” formerly referred to as “rolled oats,” and ten years or so later takes the second spot on the ingredients list away from chocolate chips with confectioners shellac, which I’d say is kind of a good thing.

As far as ingredients go, I honestly did not think the whole grain oats topic was going to be very exciting, but lo and behold there’s always a little controversy if you are obsessed with food labeling and nutrition.

To review, ingredients are listed in in the order of their predominance in a product, this means there’s more chicory root extract by weight than anything else in the product. And presumably, the next largest amount of ingredient would be coming from the oats. Actual amounts of each ingredient are not available, but you can make an educated guess based on the serving size how much of a certain ingredient and/or nutrient you will be consuming. So, you can see below there are 9 grams of fiber per serving according to the nutrition facts label on the General Mills website.

In my research, I came across a document on a different part of the General Mills site: Healthcare Product Nutrition Guide. Most likely this document is for institutional food service departments that may (or may not) use federal funding of some sort (i.e. school lunch programs, adult day care, etc). On that lovely table, this product was looking even better, with a whopping 8 grams of whole grains per serving.

Last time I checked, chicory root extract was not a whole grain. Granted, it’s hard to keep up with all of the food labeling changes, but, seriously, it is not a whole grain. You can make me call it a dietary fiber, but not a whole grain!

It could just be an oversight, or it could be purposeful misrepresentation of the amount of whole grains to whatever audience uses that chart for calculating nutrition information in programs that are federally funded. I definitely don’t think it promotes this on the actual box to consumers. And if I have completely lost you, my point is that if it had 8 grams of whole grains, whole grain oats would be the first ingredient listed, not second…

But, I digress. Whole grain oats are just that, whole grains. A grain in a form that includes the bran, germ and endosperm, You can check out a list of cool grains at the Whole Grains Council site. Additionally, while not directly related to this ingredient, General Mills has been making efforts to help farmers convert to regenerative farming. That’s got to be a good thing.

So, if you would like some whole grain oats you are probably better off having some oatmeal because given the size of this bar (40 grams), it’s actually not a great source of anything except possibly…SUGAR (coming up next)

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Whole oats photo by Mike on Pexels.com

 

What’s really in the Fiber One bar? Redux…Ingredient by Ingredient

Ingredients NOT found in an Oats & Chocolate Fiber One bar

Fiber is my number one favorite geeky dietitian topic, and having recently been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, perhaps now more than ever it is important to me.

Looking back at the blog, it seems like my post on the Fiber One bars has been one of the most popular posts on my blog since I started it. I can’t believe that was 2009, but I thought it was worth a revisit and see if anything had changed.

For the record, I still have never tried the bar, but I can say it seems like patients and clients are definitely bringing it up less than they did 10 years ago, so perhaps popularity is waning? I’m sure the Kind bar has taken some of it’s market share and perhaps with good reason…

So anyway, here goes again. This time I plan to break it down into a few posts based on ingredient since there’s really a lot to say about each and every one, why not take our time?

1 serving of a Fiber One “Oats and Chocolate” bar is 40 g

140 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 90 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 9 g total sugar (a little more than 2 teaspoons), 2 g protein

(Only changes here are an increase in saturated fat by .5 gram, an increase in sodium by 10mg, and a decrease of sugar by 1 grams)

So, it still does seem to have  a good bit of fiber. But, where is the fiber coming from? The first ingredient is chicory root extract. Since, ingredients are required to be listed in the order of their predominance in a product, this means that there is more chicory root extract by weight, than anything else in the product.

So what is chicory root extract? Chicory root extract is also known as inulin. Inulin is known as a prebiotic, meaning it’s good for your digestive system.

There is still some question though as to whether inulin offers the same benefits as dietary fiber.

Dietary fiber is the kind we get naturally from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes etc. The health benefits of dietary fiber are promoting satiety, reducing cholesterol, improving bowel regularity and even promoting stable blood sugar levels.

The Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) has requested that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans be updated to advise consumers to differentiate between the different types of fibers when choosing foods. This would mean on the food label you might see “X grams of processed fiber per serving.” You can access CSPI’s most recent commentary here: Can fiber help keep you regular?.

Additionally, the FDA recently released  The Declaration of Certain Isolated or Synthetic Non-Digestible Carbohydrates as Dietary Fiber on Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels: Guidance for Industry.

There was a very recent journal article “Effect of chicory inulin-type fructan–containing snack bars on the human gut microbiota in low dietary fiber consumers in a randomized crossover trial” that concluded in healthy adults, adding 3 or 7 g inulin-type fructans (ITF) to snack bars increased Bifidobacterium, a beneficial member of the gut microbial community. While that seems promising, you have to look at the source of the info, two of the authors actually work for General Mills, which is a bit of a red flag.

Stay tuned for the next ingredient, which is NOW called whole grain oats (formerly referred to as “rolled oats,” and ten years later takes the second spot on the ingredients list away from chocolate chips with confectioners shellac.)

How do you feel about inulin? Does it help or hurt your digestive system or have you not noticed an effect either way? Let me know in the comments section.

 

Sauteed Kale with Cashews and Pyramid Salt

The less is more approach to kale…

The influx of kale chips, quinoa chips and chia chips is kind of getting me depressed. All I can think to myself while I take them down off the shelf to look at the label is, “Just eat the flipping food! It’s not that bad actually.” Why does it have to be a chip?

Don’t get me wrong, I really like chips of all shapes, vegetables, legumes and sizes. But, it seems like food manufacturers get a little crazy with taking a hot “new” health food and pretty much turning it into a healthy junk food before anyone gets a chance to actually see if they liked the whole food in the first place.

I continue to buy kale despite it’s becoming a bit of a diva around town. I honestly really enjoy it in the easiest way possible, sauteed.

Ingredients:

1 10 ounce bag of pre-cut Kale

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp peanut oil

1/4 cup chopped cashews (optional)

1 tsp rice vinegar

Pinch of pyramid salt

Preparation:

1. Heat a large pot until water beads up when thrown in the pot (sizzle)
2. Add peanut oil and coat bottom of pan
3. Add garlic and sautee for a minute or so until fragrant
4. Add kale to pot in bunches, 1/3 at a time. Use tongs to keep turning the kale over making sure each bunch gets some coating with oil. Throw in a pinch of the pyramid salt and distribute evenly.
5. Once all the kale is in the pot and evenly coated, turn the heat down to low and cover for about 5-7 minutes
6. Taste the kale, make sure the texture is not too crunchy
7. Add the rice vinegar and evenly coat
8. Once kale is plated, add cashews for garnish

This preparation can make anywhere from 2-4 servings, I like a lot of kale so I split it in 2. One serving in this preparation packs:

Over 100% daily RDA for both Vitamins A & C

Not to mention tons of fiber, iron, copper. The list goes on and on. Guarantee you can’t get those kinds of statistics from a kale chip…

 

 

Refrigerator Salad

Salad Nom Noms

I do have a garden growing in the backyard, but, the yield has been spotty at best. We are talking like one green bean per day, a few snap peas here and there, shabby chard and broccoli that flowers before I get a chance to eat it. The tomatoes are coming along, but, they are still green. Oh yeah, and peppers that are at a stand still. Honestly, I have had better luck accidentally growing peppers in the refrigerator by leaving them in the vegetable bin too long. (that phenomenon is called “internal proliferation” and for you fellow food geeks, there is an explanation of it here.

So, even though I planned on making myself some killer homegrown salads this summer, so far, not happening. Thus I settle for a “refrigerator salad.” My herbs are doing well though, so I try to treat the basil like a “green.” I do always have on hand a few salad staples and they make for a hearty, healthy side dish or as a base for some fabulous protein topping (i.e. salmon or tofu.). If you have leftover of the salad, it can be used as a stir-fry base as well.

Ingredients

1-2 handfuls Snap Peas (Blanched) (1 cup has 44 calories and 4 grams of fiber)

1-2 heads broccoli (blanched)

2 carrots (peeled/blanched)

1/2 red pepper

1/2 red onion

Basil and any other herbs hanging around

Sesame oil (only used it because I was out of olive oil)

Red wine vinegar

Himalayan sea salt to taste

Method

1. Bring a medium size pot of water to a boil.

2. Prepare an ice bath to submerge the vegetables in after boiling.

3. While waiting for the water to boil prep all vegetables.

4. Once the water is boiling, throw in the snap peas for roughly 1-1 1/2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon or strainer and submerge into the ice bath.

5. Repeat with the broccoli and carrots.

6. After all the vegetables are blanched, toss everything into a bowl, drizzle with some sesame oil and red wine vinegar.

7. Add the herbs and salt to taste.

 

It’s not February 14th but it is National Chocolate Day!

With Hurricane Sandy threatening much of the east coast, one must turn to comfort foods,  (and of course stockpile them) with regard to the impending “houseboundedness.” Chocolate is widely regarded as comfort food, and, as such, I thought since today is National Chocolate Day, I would share some of my favorite non-traditional chocolatel indulgences:

Food Should Taste Good’s Chocolate Tortilla Chips–

Cocoa and chocolate powder give these chips a wonderful overall savory chocolate experience  that satisfies a chocolate craving, in a more subtle way. They also have 3 grams of fiber per serving, which is pretty awesome for a chocolate treat.

Mole Poblano –

I first tasted this Mexican dish at Maz Mezcal on the Upper East Side. Their version consists of chicken, chiles and dark chocolate. The essence of chocolate comes through in this sauce, much more than its sweetness. You can find a recipe for Turkey in Mole Poblano here.

Zhena’s Goji Cacao Berry Green Tea –

The name pretty much says it all. This tea captures all of the essence of the cacao bean, especially aromatically. Without sweetener, you are looking at a zero calorie chocolate treat. With sweetener, still pretty impressive. Not to mention the serious antioxidants in the ingredients.

Sweet Riot Cacao Nibs –

A low calorie option for satisfying the sweet AND chocolate craving, 140 calories per serving, and if you go with the 70% cacao tins, you will get a whopping 4 grams fiber per serving. This company actually carries lots of good chocolate products, you can check them out here.

And my final non traditional chocolate fix is not actually a food at all, but, the aroma is heavenly and most people will feel obligated to ask what you are wearing and perhaps even have to go grab a doughnut after you waft into the room. It is a perfume called “Amor de Cacao” and it’s scent is incredible. I’ve known men and women who have both worn it, and the effect is intoxicating.

Related articles

• Happy National Chocolate Day! (holykaw.alltop.com)
• October 28 – National Chocolate Day (beatcancer2010.wordpress.com)

 

Smart Balance is Neither Smart, Nor Balanced, Discuss…

I posted awhile back about plant sterols, and the potential benefits of consuming them in order to lower your cholesterol. Basically, research has indicated that consuming about 2 grams of these plant sterols per day can help lower LDL cholesterol…It seems that Smart Balance has a product (spreadable butter) that they are touting as containing these sterols, but, it may be that they don’t contain an amount adequate to make the claims that they are using on their product label. For shame!

So, now GFA brands (makers of Smart Balance) is at the center of a class action lawsuit.

Read more about this most recent example of Big Food trying to get one over on the public here: Smart Balance is hit with lawsuit over plant sterol claims.

And if you want in-depth detail into the case, there is a link to the filing here.

 

 

 

Portobello Mushrooms with Black Lentils

Black lentils provide a crunchy, high fiber base for sauteed portobellos

I have been waiting with bated breath to cook up this package of black lentils from Whole Foods. They are smaller than the average red or green lentil and look almost like caviar when they are cooked. I also had some “Ginormous” Portobello mushrooms and a lonely jalapeno that needed to be used.

Basically, I cut up 1/2 a Vidalia onion, 1/2 a jalapeno (no seeds) and 2 cloves of garlic. I sauteed these with some fresh herbs from my garden (chives, savory, thyme, basil) and olive oil for 3-4 minutes. I then added the thinly sliced portobello mushroom and allowed them to cook together for a few more minutes. A little balsamic, sherry and red wine vinegar at the last minute. A dash of salt to finish it off.

The black lentils can be cooked in around 20 minutes, but, I used the slow cooker because I wasn’t sure when I started what I would ultimately do with the lentils, I just knew I wanted to use them.

This type of lentil really keeps its crunchiness and would make a great base for a salad. Since I made an entire bag, which yields at least 11 servings dry, I plan to try the salad option next.

Each serving offers a whopping 9 grams of fiber and almost a days worth of folate.