Avocados....good for you or not so good for you?

Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/
Persea_americana_fruit_2.JPG/
479px-Persea_americana_fruit_2.JPG

So I am going to go ahead and say that while avocados are delicious they are not good for you. I know I'm sad about it too. While there are some good nutrients in avocados that are beneficial, I think the high fat content makes them not the best food to get these nutrients from. From the USDA food database, one whole avocado can have 322 calories and 29.47 grams of fat! The fat breakdown is about 4.3 grams of saturated fat, 19.6 grams monounsaturated fat, and 3.6 grams of polyunsaturated fat. The polyunsaturated fat is known to help protect against cardiovascular disease. So only 3.6 grams of good fat in one avocado! You have probably heard though that monounsaturated fat is good for you. Well yes it is one of the "good fats" but your body can synthesize it or make it if it needs it. What your body cannot make is two polyunsaturated fatty acids-omega 3 and omega 6. So these are important to supplement by diet or supplements; such as fish oil. Avocados do contain a small amount of these two fatty acids but I feel that there is not a enough to justify eating all the other fat that is found in an avocado. 

Source: http://www.dailyperricone.com/
wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Avocado-505x336.jpg

We still like to use it as a decorating and flavor adding add on to salads for instance. It is the amount of avocado after all! Think about the above when indulging huge amounts of guacamole!!
Jennifer

Potato egg omelet (pancake)

After a hard run workout this morning I needed to get a bigger breakfast than normal. There were some already thinly sliced potatoes in the fridge and I was feeling like eggs. Sounds like a pretty good combination! Knowing that eggs and potatoes in combination have one of the highest biological values (proportion of absorbed protein).

Ingredients: (for one omelet/pancake)
1-2 thinly sliced potatoes (just enough to cover a mid-size skillet)
2 eggs (quality eggs make a big difference)
olive oil
sea-salt
black pepper


Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a mid-size skillet and gently fry the potatoes from both sides. I carefully placed the on the pan so they are not overlapping and can cook properly. Turning the slices is not the easiest thing to to but you will manage :). One the potatoes are done, add the two eggs over them, add sea-salt and again cook from both sides. Depending on you liking you can season the omelet/pancake with black pepper etc.


Here is your quick and nutritious breakfast, would work great as a quick dinner as well. You could add a salad to the dinner portion.

Healthy Asparagus and Potato Quiche

So, it is asparagus or Spargel season here in Germany. Steffen and I felt like we needed to be part of that so today we bought some asparagus. It is nothing that we have cooked with before so we weren't quite sure what we would do with it. Here most of the asparagus is white, which is more mild in flavor. After brainstorming for a bit we came up with the idea of making a quiche. To make it healthy I made a potato crust and added some quark to make it creamy and add more flavor without adding any fat. Traditional quiche is baked in a pie/pastry crust and then the filling is made with whole eggs, cream, and cheese.

On to the recipe:


Preheat the oven to 200 celsius.


2 small/medium sized white or red potatoes
1/2 medium onion
5 stalks of white or green asparagus
250 ml quark or greek yogurt
4 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper


First I used my food processor with the fine slicing blade to cut the potatoes. Once they are cut, go ahead arrange them in pie pan to make a "crust".


For the asparagus, peel it and cut it into bite sized pieces. Then blanch it in salted boiling water for two minutes, drain it, and place it in cold water.


Cut the onion into small pieces. You can cook it before if you want, but it is fine if you don't.


Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until fluffy, then add the quark or greek yogurt. Once well combined add the yolks and salt and pepper, stir until well combined.

Place the asparagus and onion in the pie pan and then pour the egg mixture over top of them. Place the pan in the oven and let cook for 30-40 minutes or until it is set in the middle.

Healthy Breakfast: Does watching my weight make me a weight watcher??

Weight watching, well in simple terms that means for me that I get on the scale every morning. The numbers usually fluctuate around the same value. Most recently it has been going down some, since spring and a huge effort for more steady training and a better diet are taking their effects. Not only for controlling your weight, but also making sure you are well hydrated can be a benefit of measuring your weight. Today is a big training day for me, but since the weather in Europe went through a huge drop in the temps, I am doing my long brick later in the day. Hence a healthy breakfast was in order.

Breakfast for one:
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
5 Almonds
half an apple
grapes
two slices of dark bread
homemade strawberry and rhubarb jam


Directions:
Prepare the eggs as per your liking. The reason for not eating 3 whole eggs and instead eating 2 was that the egg yolk contains more fat then the egg white and the additional egg whites add some extra protein. I chopped up the almonds and put them on my eggs, you can simply eat them on the side as well. Almonds are a ph-lowering food, which also contain monounsaturated fats, the good kind. My homemade strawberry rhubarb jam is simply amazing; it tastes fantastic and is so easy to make.

Black Bean and Quinoa Tex-Mex Burgers

So, Steffen and I have decided to eat less meat for various reasons. It has been really easy for us as we love some high-protein plant based foods. Some of our favorites are black beans, quinoa, couscous, and lentils. Besides just being high in protein these foods also provide various vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants.

Ingredients:
4 cups of black beans
2/3 cup quinoa
1 cup finely shredded carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
1/2 cup white or yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
1 1/2 cups corn
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 packet taco seasoning


First put quinoa in a medium sauce pan with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 mins until quinoa is done. When it is done the water should have been absorbed and you should be able to see little tails on the quinoa.

Next the beans. If you have a food processor, fantastic! You can use it to process the beans until roughly mashed. If you are like me and don't have one, you can use something similar to a potato masher and mash the beans just so that they are mashed up some. They don't need to be pureed.

Shred your carrots with a hand shredder or with a food processor. The chop you onion and bell pepper. For the corn you can use fresh, frozen, or canned. If you use frozen corn let it thaw first and drain excess liquid. If you are using canned corn then drain before using.

When quinoa is done cooking take the pan off the burner and allow it to cool some so that you don't burn your hands when shaping the burgers.

Once the quinoa has cooled some, then mix everything together well in a large bowl.

Now that everything is mixed together you need to decide how you would like to cook the burgers. They can be cooked in the oven or in a skillet. I think they come out better in the oven and it is less work! If you choose the oven method preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use non-stick spray. Shape burgers so that they are about a half inch thick and 4 inches wide. Place them in the oven for 20-25 mins.

If you want to cook them in a skillet, place a large skillet over medium heat. You can use olive oil or cooking spray for the pan. Shape the burgers the same as above. Allow each burger to cook for 5-7 before gently flipping it over using a spatula.

These burgers can be eaten on hamburger buns, crumbled over a salad, on their own as a quick snack, or crumbled into a taco shell or tortilla.

No Mayo Tuna Salad

   As most of you know mayonnaise is not good for you. In fact when added to most dished it ruins the nutritional content. Just one tablespoon of mayo contains 90 calories and 10 grams of fat. Considering that when mayo is added to dishes like chicken salad and tuna salad, people typically are consuming between 2-3 tablespoons of mayo per serving! Thats between 180-270 calories and 20-30 grams of fat just from the mayo.

   I came up with a non mayo tuna salad recipe because I love tuna and I think it is good for you when eaten in moderation. I also wanted a quick and easy dish that was high in protein and incorporated lots of veggies and some beans. This is a very flexible recipe so please add in what you like and skip the stuff you don't like.

No Mayo Tuna Salad
makes 4 servings

1 195g (5oz) can of tuna ( I like solid albacore packed in water. Stay away from those in oil or broth.)
1 420g (16oz) can of red kidney beans
250 ml (1 cup) chopped cucumber
1 medium bell pepper chopped
1 medium red onion chopped
75 ml (1/4 cup) chopped green olives
30 ml (2 Tbs) apple cider vinegar
salt/pepper to taste

I use a medium sized mixing bowl with a lid to prepare this in since you can just throw the lid on and shake all the ingredients up.
1. Empty the can of beans into a strainer and rinse under cold water until they don't foam anymore, then place in bowl.
2. Open the can of tuna and drain the liquid off, then add to bowl.
3. Chop onion, cucumber, bell pepper, and green olives. Add them to the bowl.
4. Add apple cider vinegar and salt/pepper to bowl. Cover with lid and shake or mix with a fork until well combined.

    Now you are ready to eat! This keeps well in the fridge for 3 days. I just eat it as is but it would be great in a wrap or on some lettuce.

    Like I said earlier please don't feel like you need to stick to the recipe! Other great additions would be celery, black beans, white beans, black olives, pickles, cabbage, carrots....whatever you have in the fridge and pantry :)