Fluffy pumpkin pancakes

I bought a can of puree pumpkin, because I sometimes like to put it in my oatmeal or make pumpkin-blueberry smoothies.  But I wound up with nearly half of a can left over, and I was sick of eating oatmeal/smoothies after a while.  I couldn't just let that tasty canned veggie go to waste, so what's a girl to do??

Fluffy pumpkin pancakes!

I experimented with a few recipes, but this one produced the fluffiest, most filling breakfast ever.  It's originally from the Dietitians of Canada website, though I adapted it a bit because I didn't have all of the ingredients that it asked for.

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
Yields about 12 pancakes

2 cups flour (I only had all-purpose available, but you could use 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
(^^ note, if you have pumpkin pie spice, you can use that in place of these three spices)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp white vinegar

1. In a bowl, combine your flour(s), brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. 
2. In a second bowl, combine the egg, milk, pumpkin, oil and vinegar. 
3. Get ready to work quickly -- start by getting a frying pan or griddle heated over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray or use a small amount of canola oil to prevent sticking.
4. Combine your pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Mix it all together well.
5. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the mixture for each pancake, plop it onto the frying pan and spread it out a little bit (my pancakes ended up being about 5 or 6cm in diameter).  Cook for about 2 minutes each side, till it starts getting bubbly around the edge and turns golden brown.  Flip over and cook for about 2 minutes on the other side.
6. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a plate and keep cooking the remaining batter.

Ohhhhhhh boy! I topped my pancakes with blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup for a filling, fluffy, fabulous breakfast.  The remaining pancakes can be kept in a covered container in the fridge to eat for breakfast tomorrow and the next day (I imagine that they could also be frozen as well) - just pop it in your toaster oven or microwave when you're ready to eat.

I entered this information into MyFitnessPal's recipe builder and popped out this nutrition info for two pancakes (and note that this was using only all-purpose flour - fibre content would be much improved with whole wheat mixed in):

• 215 calories
• 6g fat
• 7g protein
• 1g fibre
• 35g carbohydrate
• 139mg sodium

PS, that picture is from my Instagram - what?  Didn't know that I post on Instagram?  Follow me at evans_miche for more gastronomic adventures  

Vegetable of the Month

It's that time again!

This month's veggie is....

Sweet Potatoes!

We already talked once about potatoes, but sweet potatoes are a whole other breed unto themselves.  These popular potatoes have a much sweeter flavour (duh) than regular potatoes, and are a bright, colourful addition to your plate.

Here's the scoop!

According to the Canadian Nutrient File, one medium sweet potato (about 130g, including skin) contains:

• Only 112 calories!  FOR A WHOLE SWEET POTATO!
• 26g of carbohydrate
• 2g of protein
• about 4g of fibre
• practically zero fat!
• More than 100% of your daily Vitamin A needs!!
• 3% of your daily folate needs
• 4% of a woman's daily iron needs (9% for men)
• 9% of your daily potassium needs (more than 1 medium banana!)

Sweet potatoes are available year round and - yes!  They're available in Ontario right now!

Are sweet potatoes and yams the same thing?
No.  Though they look very similar from the outside, they taste quite different on the inside.  Yams are starchier and drier than sweet potatoes, and tend to be grown primarily in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  Sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than yams (meaning that they won't cause large spikes in blood glucose), and are higher in beta-carotene than yams.  In North America, chances are good that you're eating sweet potatoes, even though they might be mislabeled as yams.
This doesn't mean that yams are bad for you or not full of great nutritive value though - they're still super sources of fibre and potassium, still have no fat, and just a tad more calories than a sweet potato.  If you're looking for actual yams, you might have to look farther than your neighbourhood grocery store - they're sold in international stores and Caribbean grocery stores, but not often in your local No Frills.

How to use sweet potatoes

Just like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are very versatile and can be enjoyed in many ways - roasted, mashed, fried, baked, in chunks in soups and stews.  It can even be made into pie :)

Conveniently, I happened to be making sweet potato fries this week anyway.  Behold!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
Don't like things spicy?  Just take out the cayenne and crushed red pepper.  You can add other flavours like cinnamon and nutmeg, or garlic powder, or keep it simple with just salt and pepper.

• 2 sweet potatoes
• about 1-2 Tbsp canola oil, just enough to lightly coat the fries (I use canola because it has a more neutral taste and a lower smoke point to prevent accidental smoke detector incidents. You can totes use olive oil if you have that instead)
• about 1tsp each cayenne and crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste)
• salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 to 1tsp of each)

1. Preheat your oven to 450 C.

2. Cut your sweet potatoes into fry shapes, trying to get each piece around the same size so that they all cook evenly.  You can make big chunky wedge fries or thinner McDonalds-sized fries, whatever your taste.

3. Meanwhile, put your fries into a bowl, along with your spices, salt and pepper, and oil.  Mix mix mix...

4. Arrange your fries in a single layer on the sheet.  This is important -- they need to be in a single layer and, ideally, have a bit of space around them in order to get good and crispy :)!  Some people report that using parchment paper can help make crispiness happen.  Plain old baking sheets also work well, but look out for sticking.  

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip them over to cook on the other side, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

6. Eat.  Om nom nom nom...

Voila - crispy fries!  And with only about 2 Tbsp of oil in that ENTIRE recipe, they're a much healthier version than the deep-fried version sold at your local burger joint.

*tap tap* This thing still on?

Wow.  So remember back when I was all "I'm going to post at least once a month, if nothing else to give you a veggie of the month!".  And then remember how that didn't happen?

Hi.

The last 4 months have been cray.  Like, really cray.  I've been in school (full course load), working 5 jobs, sat on two student organizations doing events and communications, and was dealing with the EPIC STRESS of dietetic internship applications.  More on that later.

Long story short is that school is now DONE.  DOOOOOOOOONNNNEEE!!!!  No more classes, no more books, no more assignments or exams or deadlines DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I managed to cram a four year undergraduate degree into three years by working my BUTT off, taking full course loads every semester (including the summers - I've had exactly two weeks of summer vacation the last two years). I volunteered everywhere.  I've also managed to do it all without getting into debt, thanks to managing between 3-5 jobs each year and definitely thanks to the support of my awesome family and boyfriend.  I couldn't have done it without them, and I owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

So.  Now what?

In January/February I applied to dietetic internships and graduate schools to finish what I started and become a Registered Dietitian.  Let me tell you - this process was brutal.  It was very stressful to manage the applications (really, the application process is a whole course in itself.  It was super hard to manage all that while already taking a full course load and writing midterms during the interview period).  Across the country, an estimated 30% of applicants will actually get an internship spot, so I really wasn't expecting much.  I wanted it bad, but I didn't want to have any expectation of succeeding at all.  After all, most of the people I knew last year who applied for the first time didn't get in.  After three straight years of hard ass work, of sacrifice and struggling, it was all over.  On internship selection day, my boyfriend was out of town for business.  I whined: "The ONE DAY that I need you the most, and you're GONE OUT OF TOWN!?!??!  Whether its good news or bad, I'm going to be crying hysterically!"   

I got an email on internship selection day:

WHAT??????

It was probably a good thing that boyfriend wasn't home that day.  It was a tremendous ugly cry, giggle fit, hysterical screeching kind of a day.  On the way to class later that morning, I cried four times on the 30 minute subway ride to campus.

This fall, I will be a dietetic intern at the University Health Network, a network of four hospitals in Toronto (Toronto Western, Toronto General, Princess Margaret, and Toronto Rehab) which are among the best of the best in the country.  AND THEY WANTED ME!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm officially an RD-to-be!


Now that all of that drama has passed, all of the school is DONE FOREVER (for real this time - second undergrad degree complete!), I have much more time on my hands over the summer to pay attention to blogging.  What can you expect coming up?

- Graduation!
- Prepping for internship, and the life of a dietetic intern (coming in the fall)
- Fun with fitness!
- Recipes and nutrition information
- More vegetables and/or fruits of the month
- More??? (you tell me!  What would you like to see?)

After a waaaay too long hiatus, I'm happy to be back!  You can expect your next veggie of the month to pop up sometime in the next day or two.

And, anyone reading this who is interested in the dietetic internship process, what to expect, etc., please don't hesitate to comment and I will gladly get back to you.  I might make another post about it when internship application time comes up again next year, but given how my promises to post things have gone lately, I wouldn't hold your breath over it :P

Vegetable of the Month

You've waited so long!  What will it be, what will it be?????

Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!

Yes, all that time that your grandma tried to convince you to eat Brussels sprouts was actually for your own good after all.  These little gems are the buds of a type of cabbage, which is why they look like itsy bitsy cabbages too!  They are a member of the Brassica family of plants, which are known for having very highly healthful qualities (including high antioxidant content, fibre content, and folate).  Other Brassica cousins include broccoli, bok choy, kale, other cabbages, and collard greens.  Many Brassica plants contain compounds believed to have anti-cancer properties, such as sulforaphane.  In addition to these chemical compounds though, the other characteristics of these veggies (fibre, antioxidant compounds, etc) also contribute to their disease-preventing nature!

Healthy or not, I hate Brussels sprouts, and you can't convince me otherwise!

Oh yeah?  Get this -- per 76g, or 4 Brussels sprouts (only 4!!!), the Canadian Nutrient File found:

• 33 calories!
• 3 grams of fibre
• 2.5 grams of protein
• About 6% of a female's daily iron needs (13% for men)
• 11% of your daily folate needs
• A whopping 70 (male) to 80% (female) of your Vitamin C needs!!!
• A humongous 112 (male) to 149% (female) of your Vitamin K needs O_O!!

Woweeee!

Grandma always served boiled mushy nasty sprouts, and they were disgusting!

Luckily for you, there are lots of ways that you can use Brussels sprouts that will taste much better than the boiled mush that you might have been subjected to as a kid. When they are overcooked, Brussels sprouts turn a kind of grey colour and develop a very strong, unpleasant taste.  Avoid this with these tips!

To prep your sprouts, trim off the ends and remove the outer leaves (they'll probably fall off when you trim anyway).  Give them a wash and pick off any other leaves that look unpleasant.  Then, you have options:

• Boiling - sure, but why?  In addition to tasting mushy if you overcook them, boiling may also reduce the nutritive quality of your Brussels sprouts.  In particular, sulforaphane (that anti-cancer compount mentioned above) tends to be lost with boiling.
• Steaming - Again be wary of overcooking to prevent mushiness, but luckily, the nutritive quality of sprouts remains when they are steamed instead of boiled!  I like to cut them in half and steam until just fork tender.  Top with a little salt and pepper, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Roasting - Best way, in my opinion, to cook a Brussels sprout.  Cut your sprouts in half, and toss in a bowl with oil (olive, canola, whatev), a touch of salt and pepper, and maybe another spice if you want to mix it up a bit (e.g. curry powder, nutmeg, or cumin).  Toss in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, then shakes them up to flip around.  Depending on how well-cooked you like them and the size of your sprouts, leave them in for another 5-10 minutes. They should come out with golden brown bits, but not to the point of being burnt (because they get dry, though nice and crunchy).  Excellent as a side dish, or as part of a recipe (like the one below!)
• Stir-frying/sauteeing - Once again, nutritional quality is not lost in this method.  You can sautee your sprouts the same way you would with any other veggie (cut in half or quarters), or make it extra delicious by adding some garlic and/or onions. 

 Very well, I'll try them.  But they'd better be delicious.

Excellent!  Here's one of my faves, a Brussels sprouts salad that I made up after adapting from a Weight Watchers cookbook recipe.

Serves 4

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts (about 4 cups), roasted (as described above)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp olive or canola oil
• 1/2 - 1tsp dried thyme, or 1Tbsp fresh chopped thyme
• 1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt
• sprinkle of lemon zest (1-2 tsp)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallot, garlic and thyme, cook while stirring constantly till the shallot is softened (about 2 minutes).  Add the grapes and keep cooking till softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the brussels sprouts, chickpeas, balsamic vinegar and salt.  Cook and stir till chickpeas are warmed through, about 3-4 minutes.  Sprinkle with lemon zest.  

You're done!

Other options: this recipe originally called for steamed Brussels sprouts (but at the time that I made it, I didn't have a steamer basket, so I improvised), and 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (again, didn't have it, improvised).  This dish also tastes awesome as cold leftovers for lunch.

Do you have an idea for a future veggie of the month?  Leave a comment!

Disappear much?

Wow, so the rest of 2012 kind of whipped by, didn't it?  Whoops.  That'll happen when one is in school, volunteers, has 5 jobs (yep, count 'em.  FIVE.) and has a life outside of the internet :)

But hey!  I'm back!

With much encouraging and nudging from my sister (whose adventures you can read about here), I came back to dust off the blog and post something every once in a while.  I figured that, pfft, no one reads my blog, my veggie of the month posts, my recipes, etc etc etc.  But when I logged in today and saw that despite two months of inactivity, I'd still had a fair number of hits in the last couple of weeks, including many international visitors (so not just family and friends), I figured that I ought to put up something worthwhile.  Perhaps those people wandered in here by accident, or just needed to know what to do with beets, but I might as well give you something fun to do while you're visiting anyway!

To keep my sister off my back my blog running, I'm going to try to post at least once a month.  Even if its just a veggie of the month, I will try to get something up here.


I'm also opening it up to suggestions.  If you have a nutrition topic in mind that you've always wanted to know, post a comment, and I'll do what I can!  After all, that's what all my years of school were for :)  Need ideas?  How about...

• What's up with fruit?  Is it bad for me because it has sugar?
• What the deal with diabetes?  Type 1, 2, insulin, no insulin, huh?
• How do I lose weight, and actually keep it off?
• I'm exercising like crazy, but still gaining weight! Wtf!
• My kids hate vegetables, even in your delicious veggie of the month recipes.  What do I do?
• Do I need to drink protein shakes/eat protein bars/take supplements/etc?
• I hate grocery shopping, help!
• Do you have a recipe for ___________? 

Stay tuned for your January veggie of the month!

Thoughts on Lance Armstrong, from a man who knows cycling and cancer

As you may have seen in my About Me page, my dad has fought through a battle with cancer.  He was beaten down to a level that most people didn't think he'd be able to crawl back from (including being comatose in the ICU for two weeks), and has managed to push through and kick cancer in the ass.  He has been in remission for nearly 5 years, from a type of cancer that most people experience recurrence within 2-3 years, and so far all signs point to cancer-free *knock wood*.  Since his diagnosis, he has become very involved with various cancer charities by combining it with one of the things he likes best - cycling.  He rode in the Ride to Conquer Cancer the year after his diagnosis and treatment (200km ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls), and has continued volunteering with other rides, such as the Coast to Coast ride for kids with cancer, and currently, the Wellspring Peloton riding to Texas.  Of course, being so heavily involved in both cancer stuff and cycling stuff, he's also very interested in what's been going on lately with Lance Armstrong.

Today he is in Texas after the Wellspring ride, and is riding in the Livestrong Challenge.  He sent this email to us and some of his friends with his thoughts, and I wanted to share his thoughts with you.  Regardless of your opinion of Lance Armstrong, whether you think that he did cheat or not, I hope that this email will help to shed some light on the other side of the "scandal", and what it means to the people who have been affected by Armstrong in the years before now.

-------------------------------

I have been in Austin Texas since Friday after following 32 riders from Toronto on the Wellspring Peloton Challenge for the previous 7 days and nights. The Livestong Challenge weekend is under way with the big ride tomorrow. Of course the  buzz under everyones breath is the Lance Armstong news of cheating, sponsors bailing, his resignation as head  of the Livestong Foundation, and his fall from public grace. He had always stood firm that he was the most tested athlete on record, had never had a failed a test ( aka never been caught), and most importantly never doped. He created one of the most credable foundations around, built from his legacy, fame, and dedication to fighting the desease that almost killed him. Ultimately his fame gave him access to decision makers to influence their positions and funding for the benefit of those with Cancer beyond.
Its not so shocking to hear that any athlete has used whatever edge they can get including doping. Armstrong is the face guy for a sport riddled with complicated methods to achive super performance and he will be the poster boy for what is wrong with the sport. The old saying of folks that live in glass houses, should not throw stones, may be appropriate. His list of sporting achievements on and off the bike is long, and hopefully this chapter of his history will be a subnote to what he has given the world OFF the bike.

So, what if there was no Lance Armstrong as we know him?
What if the Livestrong Foundation never existed?
Where would we be?
What I do know is what the foundation he created does, and that we are all better off  because of it. Let's not forget that this is a guy that beat the odds to survive. To win against Cancer takes everything you have. You can't cheat. It is greater than any advisary that faces you on a bike. To come from a place of near death, and even come close to riding in the tour is nothing short of miraculous. With or without doping. I can imagine anything or anyone in the way of a goal looking like the black cloud of Cancer. A beast that must be conquered by whatever means possible. That's the only way to survive what Cancer inflicts. Let me offer a concept: a competetive athlete, survives near death, sees every obstacle in front of him in the same way.  Cancer didn't beat me , and neither will anything else.    I will use anything and everything  to win.  To some this may be arogant, or a stretch to  justifiaction.  I'm not offering an excuse, but I understand it.

I recall reading an article recently of a woman who told Cancer that it had picked the wrong bitch to F%ˆ$# with. Being a weekend warrior type althlete, she drew on her inner "force" to win. Runners have a term, "cross the wall", for moving past a place where you are completely beat but force yourself thru. That's the way it is, that's how we attack our advisary, that's how  Cancer patients focus. Translate this to Armstrong, and I can see him looking at any obsticle, as one that has to be slain, by whatever means available.

In 2009, 12 months after my stem cell transplant, I did the Ride to Conquer Cancer. From being unable and unwilling to walk accross a room, I had to draw on my inner force to move forward by inches every day, and "cross the wall" that Cancer had put in front of me.
I have been witness to incredable spirits of determination, on the Wellspring Challenge, Coast to Coast Ride, Ride to Conquer Cancer and the Livestrong Challenge, all driven by an individual and collective need to face Cancer head on and beat it by whatever means available, including simply riding a bike. It is our inner force that drives us on a bike, on a run, or in a hospital bed. Armstrong's athletic accomplishment will likely be removed from the record books, he may be another public figure that has fallen from grace, he may not even be a guy you would like to sit and have a beer with, but he is also the guy that beat Cancer head on, and has inspired millions to continue the fight. For that he deserves credit. I will continue to wear my yellow wrist band and Livestrong wear for the same reasons I always have .. what it stands for.


Ride on.

Vegetable of the Month

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend (for Canadians, anyway), what better way to celebrate than by featuring this particular veggie of the month:




POTATOES!


Yes, the humble potato will likely make an appearance front and centre on your Thanksgiving table this year, whether mashed, roasted, or scallopped.  This veggie is often shunned as being "too starchy" because it has carbs.  Remember that time when I posted about how carbs aren't the devil in disguise?  Indeed, potatoes do contain carbohydrate, but if you aren't eating a billion of them, I promise, you will live!

So what's so cool about potatoes?  This info is from the Canadian Nutrient File for a medium Russet potato (the kind that's usually used for baked potatoes, fries, etc).  Other potato varieties might have a bit different info, but quite similar in health benefits :)

• 4.5g of protein
• 168 calories (FOR A WHOLE POTATO, skin on!)
• 38g of carbohydrate
• about 3g of fibre (skin on)
• about 2mg of iron, which is about 11% of a woman's daily need (25% for you men!)
• about 15% of a woman's daily magnesium needs, 12% for men
• 17% of your daily phosphorus needs
• 16% of a women's vitamin C needs, 13% for men
• 20% of your daily niacin needs!
• 7% of your daily folate needs
• a mere 11mg of sodium (not including any extras you top it up with :P)

Potatoes are available year round, and in endless varieties.  Depending on what you are using them for, different kinds of potatoes will be best.  For example, russet potatoes are all-purpose, great for baking, roasting, making fries/wedges, putting chunks into stews, etc.  Yukon gold potatoes have a buttery texture and flavour, and are great for making mashed potatoes and soups (so that you can limit the amount of cream and butter that you need - it's already built in!).  New potatoes (the little red ones) are great for mashing, roasting, and in quarters for soups and stews.

But what about all those CARBS!?

Potatoes have a bad reputation for some reason, because everyone is concerned about carbohydrates.  Yes, potatoes have carbs.  The carbohydrate content in potatoes comes mostly from starch (only about 1g of sugar in a potato, 3g of fibre, and the rest from starch).  In humans, extra carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, and acts as a reserve energy store for when we do vigorous activity, are in periods of starvation or fasting, etc.  In plants, starch plays the same role.  Both of these compounds are made up of long chains of glucose.  So, when we eat starch, it gets broken up into little glucose molecules to be absorbed by the body.  We turn that glucose into energy (if you remember high school biology, glucose is used in ATP production), or stored as glycogen if our stores are depleted.  If we eat excess carbohydrate (or any other macronutrient, e.g. protein), it will be stored as fat instead.  It's not starch's fault -- it doesn't automatically go to your hips just to make you suffer.  It, and all the other excess macronutrients that you will probably consume over the Thanksgiving weekend, will band together and create adipose tissue - better known as body fat.

Ideally, we should aim to eat no more than one serving of starch at a meal in order to avoid consuming excess carbohydrate.  Notice that I didn't say that you should ideally eat no starches, or no more than one in a day, or something like that.  You can eat starch!  In fact, I encourage you to eat it!  Though starchy foods can increase blood sugar quicker than other foods (so diabetics, this is something you'll need to track carefully), sometimes that's not a bad thing.  If you're starving before your Thanksgiving dinner because you worked out extra hard that morning to make room, that extra surge of blood glucose will help to replenish your glycogen stores that were depleted in your workout.  When we use our muscles, and when we don't eat for extended periods of time (the pre-Thanksgiving fast to save up extra space for turkey.  What?  That's just me who does that?  Oh.), our muscles and/or liver release their glycogen stores in order to create energy.  We need to replenish that in order to keep us running strong :)!

You've convinced me!  Give me a recipe! 

As we are entering fall, one of my favourite things ever at this time of year is SOUP!!!!!  I make potato and leek soup every year, and this is one of my fave recipes:

Potato Leek Soup
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into evenly-sized chunks
4 leeks, washed* and chopped into rounds
5 cups reduced sodium chicken or veggie broth
pepper to taste

* leeks tend to hold a lot of sand in between their layers around the bottom.  Great washing tip: slice lenthwise into the bottom of a leek so that the layers can fan out.  Dip them in a bowl of water, and swish around so that the layers open up like a broom.  Alternatively, chop them as usual, and place into a deep bowl of water.  Again, swish them around to get the dirt out.

In a big pot, combine potatoes, leeks and stock, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and simmer till veggies are very soft, about 25 minutes.
Blenderize!  Using either a hand blender (immersion blender) or using a regular blender and splitting the soup into batches, puree until the soup is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Options: try adding diced ham or bacon for a bit of salty yummyness :)