I am almost by the end of my last quarter and I am about to graduate in June….Hooray. But before I can leave school I do have to attend few nutrition seminars on which students share the topics they feel passionate about. Today’s presentation was about GMO’s (Genetically Modified Foods) and I wanted to share few things with you. I do not want to get into detail about GMO’s because there’s tons of information out there on the web but I mainly wanted to share few links (found at the end of the post) to a non-GMO shopping guides that can be printed out and used as a help while doing grocery shopping.

First of all it is for you to decide whether you want to consume GMO’s or don’t. Or perhaps you really don’t care but if you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t be reading that post. Just in short, GMO’s are primarily blamed for the raising food sensitivity (eg. gluten sensitivity), sudden increase in food allergies (eg. soy allergy) and growing antibiotic resistance. Moreover it is speculated that they may have damaging effects on our health, especially if consumed in large quantities however there is no clear scientific data yet since GMO is a fairly new product. We probably will have to wait years to discover how GMO’s really affect us, just like our parents/grandparents decades ago had no to wait to find out what smoking cigarrettes does to our lungs.

Unfortunately US still haven’t adopted law that forces manufacturers that use GMO ingredients to say so on the label as opposed to European Union where it is mandatory to place appropriate information on the label. So how to avoid GMO’s if we cannot find any such information on the label? Or what if a food doesn’t have label at all like produce? Here’s a few tips that might be helpful. Also I am giving links to few non-GMO shopping guides that you can print out and take with you when you’ll be doing your grocery shopping.

Rule # 1

Buy organic if you can afford. Organic food is non GMO. If you can’t afford everything organic buy organic only the products that are most often genetically modified. Here’s a list of foods that are most often genetically modified:

• Corn and all corn products such as cornstarch, maize, taco shells, tortilla chips etc.
• Soy and soy products such as tofu, soy milk etc. Read labels because soy is hidden in many foods.
• Canola oil (I know, you always heard canola is good for you……well bad news, it is not)
• Dairy products
• Potatoes

Rule # 2

Do you see the picture on the top saying “Non-GMO Project”??? Some brands that produce non-GMO foods place that seal on their products so you can be sure that those products are safe. Other brands simply state on the label that the product has been made without genetically modified ingredients.

Rule # 3

Buy products from the shopping guides listed below:

Center for Food Safety Shopper’s Guide.

Non-GMO Shopping Guide.

Non-GMO shopping guide for the Iphone and Ipad.

Non-GMO shopping guide app for Android. 

What could possibly be more comforting on a rainy, gloomy day than a pan of hot, bubbly, cheesy lasagna. It was one of those days when you wake up and just know that you have to eat ‘that’ because nothing else just seems appetizing.

Lasagna usually isn’t regarded as a healthy food but I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t try to make it healthy so I used lean ground turkey instead of beef, low fat ricotta cheese which has half of the calories of regular ricotta and plenty of vegetables such as eggplant and mushrooms. I didn’t skimp on cheese though, at the end I’m a cheesy girl and eat cheese with everything. Other than cheese you won’t find fat in my lasagna, which doesn’t mean it has no flavor. Oh no, it’s as flavorful as typical bolognese lasagna. And in one portion you get your serving of vegetables. Isn’t that just fabulous?

Ingredients:

(makes 8 regular portions or 6 for very hungry and greedy like me)

1 standard size lasagna pan
1 box of lasagna sheets
1 pound of lean ground turkey
1 medium sized eggplant
8 oz mushrooms (I used baby bella)
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
15 oz box of low fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
24 oz jar of marinara sauce
1 cup + 1/4 cup of parmesan to sprinkle on a top
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup if you want to make it extremely low fat)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Start with peeling the eggplant and slicing it into rounds. Place on a kitchen towels, sprinkle with salt and let ir rest for 30 min to get rid of the bitter flavor.

Meanwhile chop the onion, garlic and slice the mushrooms.

Mix ricotta cheese with 1 egg, 1 cup parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper.

After 30 min wash the eggplant of the excess salt, dry it with kitchen towels and chop into small cubes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Boil lasagna noodles for roughly 2-3 min. I used boil free noodles but I don’t believe in boil-free so I boiled it a little bit. Just make sure that they wont stick especially after you’ll drain them under cold running water in the colander. Don’t let them just sit in the colander, separate them right away or they will stick together and you won’t be able to separate them (yes that happened to me). Also even though it might seem like a lot, it’s better to use whole box just in case.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, add onion, garlic, mushrooms and eggplant. Season with salt and Italian seasoning and let it cook on a medium heat for 10 min stirring occasionally.

Add turkey and separate with the fork to prevent large clumps of meat. We don’t want turkey meatballs.

Cook turkey just until no longer pink and add whole jar of marinara sauce. You can also add half cup water to thin the sauce as I did. Let it cook 2 min more.

Spread about 1/2 cup of  the sauce on the bottom of the lasagna pan. Place the noodles. Evenly spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture on the top and follow with 1/3 of the sauce.

Cover with lasagna noodles and again spread the remaining half of the ricotta mixture. Follow with another 1/3 of the sauce and top with lasagna noodles.

On the top part just spread the remaining 1/3 of the sauce, sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly and top with remaining 1/4 cup of the parmesan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 min. After 30 min remove the aluminum foil and bake additional 15 min.

Take out of the oven and let it rest about 15 min before cutting and serving.

And that's how it looked when it came out of the oven.

Here’s something I’ve been wanting to try for many, many months. Miso glazed fish. I have no idea why I never made it before but I’m glad I finally did. I must say it was delicious, healthy and very filling. Plus very easy to make and impossible to ruin even if cooking is not your strength. It works great with any firm whitefish or salmon. Yes, next time I definitely will make it with salmon. Such a fantastic way to add more flavor to fish without adding fat.

Ingredients (2 servings):

2 x 6 oz cod fillets
2 teaspoons miso paste
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin (or honey)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds to sprinkle on a top
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl mix together miso paste, soy sauce and mirin.

Evenly spread the mixture on top of the fillets and bake 30 min in a baking dish greased with olive oil.

Sprinkle fish with sesame seeds and serve with Japanese noodles or steamed veggies for a low-carb and low calorie dish.

Bloody Mary is one of my favorite drinks ever. Whenever I don’t feel like drinking sweet cocktails I go for Bloody Mary. Plus it’s probably a drink most commonly ordered during Halloween. Bloody Mary’s spicy and savory flavor could also be great in any other savory dish . My inspiration for the recipe were barbeque wings which are as messy as my chicken. Of course the flavor is different but in both cases you have to lick your fingers and wipe your chin with a napkin from a red sauce. Very messy. I am using chicken drumsticks but chicken breast, whole thighs or wings could work as well in the recipe. I also added a shot of vodka but it’s not really necessary, it doesn’t add as much flavor to the sauce.

Ingredients (4 portions):

12 chicken drumsticks (3 per person)
15 oz can tomato sauce (such as Hunts)
Juice of half lemon
3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp celery seed
Few drops of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp sugar
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Paprika powder
Salt, pepper
1 shot of vodka (optional)
4 oz water

Season chicken drumsticks with paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Grill on a grilling pan on both sides until chicken turns brown.

In a pot mix tomato sauce, lemon juice, tabasco, worcestershire sauce, sugar, celery seed and a bit more garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper and optionally add a shot of vodka. Add 4 oz (half cup) of water.

When chicken is brown on both sides transfer it to a pot with Bloody Mary sauce. Try to submerge all drumsticks in the sauce. Slightly cover and simmer on a medium heat for 15 min.

Popcorn is not usually regarded as a healthy food but in my opinion it should. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that huge bucket of popcorn from a movie theater is a healthy stuff, because it’s not. It’s soaked in butter and sprinkled with enormous amount of salt. According to WebMD movie theater popcorn ranges anywhere from 400 to 1,200 kcal depending on size from small to big. That definitely is not a low calorie snack but trust me if I say that popcorn can be a good and a healthy snack. It all depends  on what kind of popcorn and a portion you’re going to eat. I always buy 100 kcal mini bags of popcorn. Such popcorn is much lower in sodium and fat. Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop has only 1.5 g of fat per 100 kcal bag, 4% of sodium and 3 g of fiber. Considering quite large volume of a bag it is a healthy and filling snack. The only problem people might find with low fat, low sodium popcorn is a lack of taste and that iss where Kernel Season’s comes in. It adds flavor to your popcorn without adding unnecessary calories or sodium. What could be better than a lot of flavor and not a lot of calories

Kernel Season’s offers a wide variety of popcorn flavorings from sweet like caramel to cheesy ones. I had a chance to taste their newest invention, Pumpkin Spice flavor and it is delicious. The best thing is that all of the seasonings can be used not only on popcorn but in any recipe you can only think of. I add Pumpkin Spice to my coffee (yumm) and I am planning to add it to my Thanksgiving sweet potato mash. I also can’t wait to use butter flavor on a whitefish, buttery flavor without the addition of butter…..win.

In a giveaway I want to give to one person four flavors seen below (Kettle Corn, Nacho Cheddar, Milk Chocolate Caramel and Ranch). To have a chance to receive those 4 flavors all you have to do is leave a comment with  a dish idea (other than plain popcorn) featuring chosen flavor from the ones I’m showing here. So for example you can write “I would use nacho cheddar to flavor omlette because I love flavor of melted cheese with eggs” etc.

I will be collecting responses till October, 31 (Halloween night) till midnight and I will choose a winner on Tuesday afternoon. I will choose a winner based on the creativity of the dish idea. Oh and I am really excited since it is my first giveaway ever. Hope I’ll see some awesome responses Good Luck.

Those are the flavors I will be sending to a winner.

Update

I loved all the answers and it wasn’t easy to chose but I had  to. The winner of a giveaway is Sabrina. Her answer was carefully thought out, she gave 5 different ideas and all them sounded scrumptious, well balanced and creative. I especially liked the idea of sprinkling white cheddar on the vegetables that are about to go into the oven. It sounds like a great way to add more flavor to some boring veggies. Who knows, even kids might like it that way

Thanks everyone for participating.

There’s a lot of pumpkin soup recipes out there and it’s really hard to chose which one to make. I guess that depends on your taste bud preferences. I never was big on sweet taste that’s why my soup is rather savory with garlic and sage and just slight undertones of sweetness coming from pumpkin itself.

I’m using whole bulb of garlic but remember that first of all roasted garlic loses its sharpness and becomes much more mellow and gentle, second you don’t have to use whole bulb. You add garlic to the blender as you go according to your likeness.

Ingredients (4 cups):

3-4 pounds of pumpkin (or butternut squash)
1 whole bulb of garlic
Bunch of sage
2 cups of milk (low fat or whole)
Few tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

 Peel pumpkin and cut into large cubes. Mix in a bowl with olive oil and sage.

Spread on the baking pan evenly.

Rub some olive oil on garlic and place whole, unpeeled bulb in the middle of the baking pan.

Bake 35-40 min in the oven preheated to 400°F.

Place all of the roasted pumpkin into a blender. Squeeze out garlic cloves from the bulb and throw into a blender. You can use all of the garlic or just half, depending on your preferences. You can always add more later as you’ll taste the soup.

Also add some sage to the blender and keep adding more later according to your taste references.

Add 2 cups of milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt and blend until smooth.

Taste and if necessary add more milk, sage or garlic.

Heat again and serve decorated with fresh sage.

For those of you who are totally bored with plain boiled or steamed spinach I recommend this spinach sauted with a shallot, garlic and white button mushrooms. You’re still getting your super healthy greens but in a slightly new form. Mushrooms add different flavor and texture and it’s so good that I could eat it all without sharing.

The ingredients here are for 2 servings. When I was preparing it I was sure it would be enough for 4 people but spinach shrinks so much that a standard 9-10 oz bag can feed only 2 max 3 people as  side dish. So obviously if you want to make it as a family side  for 4 double the recipe.

Ingredients (2-3 side dish servings):

1 x 10 oz bag of spinach
8 white mushrooms
2 shallots, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt, pepper
1 Tbsp parmesan

Slice mushrooms into thin slices.

In a skillet heat the olive oil and add shallots, mushrooms and garlic.

Saute on a medium heat for 5 min stirring often.

Add spinach ( you might want to do it in portions), sprinkle with salt, cover and saute on a fairly low heat for 10 min until spinach is completely wilted.

Season with pepper and mix mushrooms with spinach evenly.

Serve with a bit of parmesan sprinkled on a top.

This pasta is probably my favorite pasta dish at the moment. Well maybe except angel hair with tomato sauce, which always is unbeatable. First of all salmon is not very frequent addition to pasta and I have no clue why because those two things together are a perfect match. Also Sambuca used instead of white wine adds fantastic, new and intriguing flavor. Sambuca, if you’re not aware, is an anisette flavored Italian liquor. It’s sweet and has a strong anisette taste but when cooked with butter, salmon and tomatoes becomes very mellow yet distinctive. I love it, it’s so much different than white wine based sauce. If you’ve ever been to Bonefish Grill and ordered Mussels Josephine, than you definitely know the flavor because it’s also made with Sambuca. It’s pretty hard to describe it, you have to taste it to know what I’m talking about. Oh and by the way, if you think 1/4 cup of Sambuca might be too overpowering, add 3 Tbsp and eventually add 1 Tbsp more later while cooking if the taste is ok.

Ingredients (2 servings):

2 portions of cooked farfalle pasta (about 3 cups)
12 oz salmon fillet
2 Roma tomatoes deeseded in roughly chopped
2 shallots, diced
1/3 cup green peas
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 cup Sambuca
1/4 cup water or fish or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp cream (optional)

Cook pasta according to a package instructions.

Cut salmon into roughly 1 in cubes.

In a skillet heat olive oil and butter.

Add shallot and saute on a medium heat for 1 min.

Add thyme, tomatoes and saute 2 min more.

Add peas and salmon and saute on a medium heat for 2 min stirring quite often.

Season with salt and add Sambuca followed by water or stock. Cover and cook on a medium heat 3 more min.

At the end eventually stir in some cream and mix with farfalle.

So that’s it, summer is officially over. New school year has started  and those of you parents who prepare lunchbox for kids again have to come up with healthy and creative ways to make school lunch enjoyable. There is nothing worse that when you prepare some kind of food and it either ends up in a trash can or is completely untouched. Here I have few tips how to make school lunch tasty, creative and still keep it in the healthy zone.

Instead of making everyday ham and cheese sandwich try any of these tasty ideas. How about sandwich with:

• Cream cheese and any of the following:

cucumber;  tomato; chives; crushed pineapple; banana; honey and nuts.

• Tuna, chicken or egg salad with any of the following:

green onions; chives; corn; avocado; diced celery; grated carrots; raisins; curry seasoning; lemon juice; sprouts

• Almond butter with:

jelly, sliced banana, apple slices, raisins

• Hummus with grated carrots.

• Healthier version of BLT with turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato.

• Hard boiled egg  or leftover chicken or  turkey  with tomato, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, cheese and/or avocado.

• Most of these combinations can be rolled into a tortilla and cut into bite size mini wraps.

• Once or twice a week instead of making sandwich prepare pasta salad with corn, tomatoes, chicken breast or cheese and herbs or your child’s favorite veggies.

Snack ideas:

• Cheese and grape kebobs
• Mozzarella and grape tomato kebobs
• Ham and pineapple kebobs
• Cheese rolls with cream cheese and cucumber.
• Cottage cheese with crushed pineapple.
• Multigrain crackers with hummus or cream cheese.

Tips to remember when preparing lunchbox:

• Invest in a thermal lunch box or bag that will keep lunch cool.
• If making hot lunch such as pasta or soup, pack it in a thermos so it will keep warm for a few hours.
• To save time in the morning pack cutlery and napkins as well as food that doesn’t get soggy or doesn’t need to stay warm the night before.
• Whenever you pack foods such as salads or pasta keep them in separate containers so they don’t get mixed with other food. Also keep dressings and sauces in separate small containers.
• When shopping take child with you and let him choose healthy foods for himself, for example show him few plain milk boxes and let him choose one he wants.
• Make food look colorful by using tri-color pasta in place of regular pasta.
• You can also get spinach or tomato tortillas to make interesting, green and red wraps.
• Buy cookie cutter and cut out different shapes of sandwiches or decorate a sandwich with pieces of vegetables.
• Children like small pieces of food so always cut large pieces into smaller ones.
• Don’t forget that children like desserts but substitute unhealthy desserts such as candy or chocolate bars for healthy granola ones, oatmeal cookies or mini muffins.
• Swap a side of chips for cut veggies and dips
• Change high sugar juice for plain milk and water

Some of the ideas come from very creative Annabel Karmel book Lunch Boxes and Snacks: Over 120 healthy recipes from delicious sandwiches and salads to hot soups and sweet treats. Atria Books 2007

How I love salads, I cannot even explain. Perhaps I’ll try by telling you that even after eating out in many fancy restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes with its giant salad bar is still one of my favorites. Definitely in my top 5 favorite restaurants of all times. Salad bar is all I need to make me happy. Nothing more is required and nothing compares to a healthy and clean taste of fresh vegetables mixed with a tasty dressing.

This recipe is my take on a Greek salad but instead of preparing it with lettuce I used orzo pasta and chickpeas. That trick makes it more filling so you can have it as a main dish for lunch or you can take it with you to school or work for lunch break.

Servings (5-6 as a main dish, 10 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup uncooked orzo
1 x 15 oz can of chickpeas
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 medium red onion
4 oz crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 Tbsp dry marjoram
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp wine or apple vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt, pepper

Cook orzo pasta according to a package instructions.

Meanwhile drain chickpeas.

Remove and discard seed nest from tomatoes and chop tomatoes into small cubes.

Cut cucumbers into small cubes.

Cut red onion in half and slice finely.

Drain pasta and cool under cold running water. Let it sit a bit for the water to drain.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Serve salad cold as a main dish for lunch or a side dish for dinner.