SOMETHING DIFFERENT...
For Publication: week of October 4, 2004 Contact: Maggie Sheen (202) 328-7744
POWER UP YOUR SANDWICHES
By Dana Jacobi for the
American Institute for Cancer Research
“Grabbing a bite” is the phrase I hear most when people talk about eating at midday, and I’m certainly part of that mainstream. At lunchtime, I usually go for something I can hold in my hand, most often a sandwich, wrap, or a stuffed pita pocket.
A lunch I can hold and eat with my hands indulges my inner child, which is usually clamoring to get out after a morning of dealing with grown-up business. Whenever the weather permits, my lunch becomes an outdoor picnic amidst trees, sunshine and fresh air, which seems so much healthier than eating indoors.
Health reports regularly tell us how eating a variety of foods – especially plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans – can help keep us in good health. The sandwich is one of the easiest ways to do that, simply by including a wide variety of foods in one efficient, good-tasting meal.
For the outside, just think whole grain. You will not find an easier way to have two of the recommended daily servings than in a sandwich. Read the bread or sandwich label to make sure you are getting whole grain, which includes the bran and the germ. Two slices of most whole-grain breads also contain at least 4 grams of protein, as do many wraps made with whole grains. There are enough varieties now, including rye, spelt and oatmeal, to eat them a few times a week without getting bored.
For the inside, think variety. As health experts like the American Institute for Cancer Research point out, the interaction between plant-based foods produces health benefits beyond those of each individual food. Start with a calcium-rich but low-fat dairy spread, or a bean spread like hummus, to line the whole-grain bread. Then think about what goes between the bread and the filling.
Sandwiches, page 2
Instead of the usual iceberg lettuce, which is nutrient-poor, use a generous handful of baby spinach leaves or another dark leafy green. (The dark green color indicates greater nutrition and other health benefits.) A layer of fruit will add extra flavor and texture. Try something tangy – like a tomato – crisp – like an apple or pear – or succulent, like nectarine or mango. These add-ons will add extra nutritional punch to your sandwich along with extra flavor and texture, plus the health protection of the phytochemicals found mainly in plant-based foods.
This sandwich should inspire other ideas to power-boost your favorite stand-bys.
Turkey, Spinach and Apple Wrap
1 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tsp. honey mustard
2 whole-wheat lavash wraps or flour tortillas
2 cups (washed and dried) baby spinach
leaves, loosely packed, or two large leaves
4 thin slices turkey breast (4 ounces)
1/4 Granny Smith apple, sliced paper-thin
of a soft leafy green lettuce
Combine mayonnaise and mustard. Lay out both wraps. Spread the edges of each with the mayonnaise mixture. Leaving a margin free on the side closest to you, arrange a layer of greens on top of wraps. Top each layer with half the turkey. Evenly divide apple slices and lay lengthwise across turkey. Fold over the end of the wrap closest to you, then the two sides. Roll the wrap as tightly as possible toward the opposite side. Cover each wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate, seam side down, up to 4 hours before serving. When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap and cut each wrap in half, at an angle.
Makes two wraps, or 2 servings.
Per serving: 234 calories, 7 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 27 g. carbohydrate, 20 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 294 mg. sodium.
“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.
# # #
AICR offers a free Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday, that allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided more than $68 million for
research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR’s Web address is AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT...
For Publication: week of October 11, 2004 Contact: Maggie Sheen (202) 328-7744
SALMON + SWEET POTATOES = SUPER FISHCAKES
By Dana Jacobi for the
American Institute for Cancer Research
Fishcakes in America often vary by geographical region. New England has a long tradition of fishcakes made from cod. In the Mid-Atlantic states, crabcakes are usually found on any seafood menu. And Southern states with a French heritage often honor that tie with either brandade de morue, salt cod whipped with milk and olive oil, or creamy pillows of fish and whipped potatoes. Surely, they also see fishcakes as a winner.
To broaden fishcakes’ appeal and maximize their nutritious health protection, I have created an unusual combination with Salmon and Sweet Potato Fishcakes. What could be more stylish, and delicious, than plump patties of cooked fresh salmon and mashed yams, dredged in cornmeal.
In the United States, yams and sweet potatoes are almost interchangeable. Depending on the store, most sweet potatoes sold in this country are actually yams. Sweet potatoes have a short season, in November and December. Yams are more widely available, even in the height of summer. (Check with the folks in the produce section of your local market about when each is available.)
For the fish, you can use canned salmon, of course. But baked salmon and steamed potatoes produce a much more succulent fishcake. And canned salmon take more preparation time, separating the meat from the skin and bones.
For the coating, look for yellow cornmeal that is labeled stone-ground. This whole-grain version retains the germ and bran, plus better flavor. Yellow corn gets its golden color from lutein, the phytochemical noted for protecting eyes from age-related macular degeneration. It also gives your fishcakes the warm glow of a sunny day.
Fishcakes, page 2
Salmon and Sweet Potato Fishcakes
3/4 lb. yams (or sweet potatoes), sliced
3/4 lb. salmon filet, cooked (baked, steamed,
or grilled) and flaked with a fork
3 large whole scallions, very thinly sliced
1 tsp. dry mustard
Grated zest of 1/2 lime, plus juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to
taste
1/4-1/2 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-
ground
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
Steam yams until very soft, about 20 minutes stovetop or 2 to 4 minutes in a microwave oven. (If using a microwave oven, drape a damp paper towel over the top of the yams.) Cool yams until easily handled by hand. Using your fingers, peel skin from the slices. In a medium bowl, coarsely mash yams with a fork.
Mix in salmon, scallions, mustard, the zest and juice of 1/2 lime, plus salt and pepper to taste. Blend until well combined. Shape mixture into 8 cakes, using about one-third cup for each. Arrange fishcakes on a plate, cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
Spread cornmeal over a small plate. Coat a large non-stick skillet generously with cooking spray and heat until hot on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, dredge fishcakes in cornmeal, coating them all over. Cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
Make the sauce by mixing together in a small bowl the mayonnaise, mustard, rosemary and lime juice. Serve the sauce with the salmon cakes. If desired, serve fishcakes in hamburger buns, preferably whole wheat, along with a lettuce leaf and a dollop of the sauce.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 287 calories, 10 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 29 g. carbohydrate, 20 g. protein, 4 g. dietary fiber, 374 mg. sodium.
“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.
# # #
AICR offers a Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. This free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided more than $68 million for research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR’s Web address is AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT...
For Publication: week of October 18, 2004 Contact: Maggie Sheen (202) 328-7744
RUSTIC FRENCH COOKING
By Dana Jacobi for the
American Institute for Cancer Research
During the heat of summer, the simple clarity of Italian food, the sweet-sour pungency of Southeast Asian dishes, and the spicy yet cooling effect of Indian food are especially refreshing. Now, as the weather cools down, the flavors and mood of another kind of cooking come to mind for me.
During a winter I spent in Paris, I cooked hefty soups and stews constantly to drive out the damp chill, and because they were easy to assemble in my so-called kitchen, truly a closet where the stove consisted of a double electric hot plate. Complete dinners made in one pot, they also let me take advantage of the seasonal vegetables available at a local market, which keep us connected to the seasons and the earth.
Recently, in San Francisco, I reconnected with the pleasures of this rustic kind of French cooking. The reminder came from dinner braised in a brick oven at Zuni Café, a California bistro dedicated to French and Italian country and regional cooking. It made me crave the earthy, one-dish dinners I had made in Paris. Seeing duck on the menu, and the flavorful roast chicken for which this restaurant is famous, sparked an idea.
Why not reinvent garbure, a duck with cabbage and bean soup from southwestern France that I made often in Paris. I later slimmed it down, making it more suited to ingredients readily on hand, by using roast chicken and canned chickpeas in place of the duck and white beans that, in the original version, are cooked in duck fat. Diced winter squash, particularly Kabocha, which as has a creamy quality reminiscent of egg yolk, helps replace the richness of the duck fat. Using the dark green outer leaves from sweet Savoy cabbage, as Judy Rogers does at Zuni, will enhance the flavor, too. So would making a supply large enough to serve it several times, which concentrates the flavors of this country soup every time you reheat it.
Rustic French Cooking, page 2
French Country Bean Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 carrot, cut in half-moons
1 rib celery, sliced
1 small onion, chopped in bite-size pieces
1 small leek, chopped in bite-size pieces
3 outer leaves Savoy cabbage, rolled and cut
in 1/2” strips
4 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken
broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 cups squash (e.g. butternut), peeled and
diced
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas or white beans,
rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked chicken cut in bite-size pieces
(optional)
Heat oil in medium Dutch oven or large, deep saucepan. Sauté carrot, celery, onion, leek, and cabbage until leaves are bright green and other vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add broth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add thyme, garlic, squash and beans. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in chicken, if using. Ladle soup into deep bowls and serve accompanied by toasted slices of whole-grain French bread or other rustic bread. (This soup reheats well. It keeps up to 5 days, covered, in refrigerator.)
Makes 8 servings (with chicken).
Per serving: 123 calories, 4 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 19 g. carbohydrate, 5 g. protein, 4 g. dietary fiber, 464 mg. sodium.
“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts.
# # #
AICR offers a Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. This free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided more than $68 million for research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR’s Web address is AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT...
For Publication: week of October 25, 2004 Contact: Maggie Sheen (202) 328-7744
A GHOSTLY MEATLOAF
By Dana Jacobi for the
American Institute for Cancer Research
Once upon a time, Halloween was a friendly holiday full of pagan fun. Back in Europe’s Dark Ages, on October 31, the Celts celebrated a holiday called Samhain. Marking the completion of the growing season and the beginning of a new one, it was both a time of revelry to celebrate the year’s harvest and a time of respect for the dead. A candle in the window welcomed back friendly ancestors while festivities honoring nature’s bounty included feasting.
Christianity brought a somber, fearful tone by casting the dead spirits afoot on All Hallows Eve, or Hallowe’en. Evil goblins and witches hovered, but playful games like bobbing for apples persisted. Feasting also remained part of the following day, which became All Saint’s Day, to honor worthy souls. Candle-lit Jack o’Lanterns were added to Halloween in the 19th century, well after pumpkins were discovered as part of the New World’s offerings.
Mixing spooks and high spirits with mischief on Halloween goes back a few centuries, too. Associating them with food is more recent. I cannot prove it but will bet that swapping candy for correct behavior in trick or treating began after World War II, while hands plunged into ghastly cold spaghetti simulating guts, and so on, goes back only a bit further.
These days, blue Jell-O, green ketchup, and movies like American Pie have raised the ante for creating gross or shocking Halloween food. One of the more benign recipes I have seen is a slimy brew combining lime sherbet, ginger ale and green gelatin. Among the least appetizing are dyed, electric blue spaghetti called Gruesome Guts, and indescribable Kitty Litter Cookies.
Fortunately, this Halloween meatloaf would be welcomed by adults and children alike. It is deliciously moist and flavorful, thanks to pumpkin purée, and chock-full of health-protective phytochemicals. As you shape the meatloaf into a ghost-like shape on the baking pan, aim for a form that resembles Casper the Ghost.
Ghostly Meatloaf, page 2
Ghostly Meatloaf for Halloween
Canola oil spray
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 large egg white
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
2 slices whole-wheat bread, crust removed,
cut in 1/2” cubes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, as
desired
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, reheated,
or instant mashed potatoes
2 small rounds of thinly-sliced carrot and 5
canned black beans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet with foil. Coat foil with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix beef, egg white, pumpkin, bread, onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well combined. Flatten 1 cup of the mixture into a 3” circle at one end of the prepared baking pan to form the ghost’s head. Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture. Pat the rest into a long triangular body, starting at the head, so the bottom is about 6” wide. Use the remaining 3/4 cup to form an arm on one side of the body.
Bake meatloaf uncovered for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes. Use two large metal spatulas to transfer the meatloaf to a serving platter. (If it cracks, piece it back together with fingers.) If desired, the meatloaf can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to one day.