Pears and Walnuts: The Perfect Pair
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-owner, Registered Dietitian
This dish is embedded in my family history. The origin of my love of pears is no surprise. My grandfather on my mother’s side was the manager of the Scotts Valley Fruit Exchange, a pear packing shed in Lakeport, CA. Both of my parents worked summer jobs “in the pears,” where they fell in love as 16 year olds. Even my brother was drawn back to the pear sheds as a summer job during college. Late summer in my childhood home was defined by boxes of Bartletts at various stages of ripeness. I remember rummaging through the boxes to find the perfectly soft, yellow, fragrant pear. Pears are one of my favorite fruits, and my obsession extends to the aesthetic, as well.
Walnuts also have meaning in my family. My grandfather on my father’s side had a black walnut orchard. Every October, my family would gather the green-husked nuts from the ground, staining hands and knees black with the juice. After two weeks of drying, the walnuts are ready to be cracked open with a hammer and used for the year(s) to come. The walnuts pictured in the recipe below are from my parents’ small crop in Northern California.
This dessert is perfectly light and elegant. After a long weekend of feasting on leftover pie and cookies, this feels healthy and refreshing, yet warm, comforting and seasonal. This dish warms my dietitian’s heart: it lets the whole foods speak for themselves while being low in added sugar and high in fiber and healthy fats.
It is best to choose pears that are firm when ripe, such as Bosc pears. Peel the pears so they are easily infused with the essence of vanilla bean and orange. The red wine tints the pears a vibrant magenta.
After about 30 minutes in the oven, the pears are soft and the walnuts are poached. The walnut and mascarpone cheese topping elevates this dessert from impressive to downright fancy. The topping is decadent and rich without being heavy.
BAKED PEARS WITH WINE AND WALNUT CREAM
(Adapted from Jamie Oliver)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 vanilla pod
4 firm pears, peeled, such as D’Anjou or Bosc
1/4 cup sucanat or other dark sugar
2 large glasses wine
2 oranges
6 oz (~1 1/2 cups) peeled walnuts
8 oz mascarpone
1-2 Tbs evaporated cane juice or other sweetener, to taste
PREPARATION
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. S
- Score down the length of the vanilla pod and remove the seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of each half. Put the pears into a tight-fitting ovenproof pot or pan, add the ¼ cup of sugar, wine, vanilla pod and seeds, and the peel and juice of 1 orange and bring to the boil. Sprinkle over half the walnuts and then put in the oven to bake. Every so often, baste the pears with the syrup they are cooking in, as this will give them a nice glaze.
- Cook for around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness, until the pears are tender but still holding their shape. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you roast the remaining walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes – make sure you keep an eye on them as they can quickly go from golden to black and you don’t want burnt walnuts.
- Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup. When the walnuts are done, either whirl them in a food processor or bash them up with a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Whip up the mascarpone with the walnut paste, the zest and juice of the other orange and enough sugar to sweeten, and serve this cream with the baked pears, the nuts, some orange peel and some of the cooking syrup.
Hosting Thanksgiving? Read these tips.
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-Owner of Nourish Northwest, Registered Dietitian
I learned an important kitchen lesson last week: I took on too much while entertaining and failed to thoroughly read a recipe and its reviews. We had an Autumn harvest potluck for our staff and clients and I wanted to test two vegetarian shepherd’s pie recipes. One was a very involved recipe that had many (unnecessary) steps. It left me defeated, blistered and bitter. It started me thinking about this week’s holiday of kitchen chaos: Thanksgiving. Everyone who has hosted the feast tells stories of lumpy gravy, charred sweet potatoes, or forgotten essential steps like thawing the turkey–all usually ending in tears.
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, there are some precautions you can take to stay ahead of the kitchen madness. It’s more work upfront, but you will be most thankful to yourself when you can enjoy the day with friends and family instead of slaving and stressing at the stove.
Read on for some tips on how to manage the chaos for the big day and keep you sane:
- Write down a plan for the day, noting how long each dish takes, what can be made ahead, and what has to be made simultaneously. Map out a plan for things that have to be in the oven at different temperatures. We do this for our cooking classes and it is a tremendously helpful way to stay organized.
- Many items can be made a day or more ahead.
- Prepare the turkey for the oven by seasoning it. (Hold the stuffing for the day of).
- Stuffing: Bread can be cut up and stored in a paper bag. Aromatics (onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic) can be cooked the day before and then tossed with the bread and baked on the day of.
- Cranberry sauce can be made two or three days ahead.
- Soup actually tastes better after a day in the refrigerator.
- Chop vegetables, measure out spices, and grate cheese.
Also, remember, just because you’re hosting, doesn’t mean you have to make everything. Delegate!
Nourish Northwest wishes you a very happy, healthy and stress-free Thanksgiving.
Relaxation
Guest Post by Natalie Clements, TRX, Tabata and Pilates Instructor at Nourish Northwest
There are a lot of things I miss about childhood, things that give me nostalgia this time of year.
- I miss thinking the rain was cozy.
- I miss having the time to curl up on the couch with warm cider and a food magazine, drooling over the comfort-food recipes inside.
- I miss when being tired meant you got to take a nap.
- And finally, I miss the days when what I’m about to say was still “cute.”
Hi, my name is Natalie.
It is November 1st, and I’ve already started listening to Christmas music.
There, I said it.
I’m obsessed.
Yes it might be early, but for me Christmas music isn’t about preparing for a man in a big, red suit or the presents I’ll get December 25th– It’s about what the holiday season was for me growing up, and the season of hope and magic I still think it can be.
Carols take me back to afternoons falling asleep wrapped up next to the Christmas tree, the smell of pine filling the room, its twinkling lights literally brightening the rainy day. They remind me of nights my mom and I danced in dustings of snow, praying it would will the Gods for a snow day; of Christmas Eve sleepovers with my sister, staying up late giggling; and family dinners around the table.
I know there are people reading this, rolling their eyes even thinking about the holidays. I can’t say I blame them. At this time of year the materialism of “Christmas” explodes around you and stores start putting up decorations before you’ve even eaten your first piece of Halloween candy. As if our lives aren’t hectic enough, we’re expected to cram shopping, decorating, hosting and other social events into already shorter days.
But continuing to get excited about music and lights, Christmas oranges, even red Starbucks cups, is my little way of brightening this gloomy Portland weather. It’s my way of going back to the days when I had time to just relax…
After all, whether you’re excited or not, the holidays are rapidly approaching. Those of us working to reach fitness goals or trying to lose weight might feel extra frustration, as the lack of free time to workout is complicated by the plethora of baked goodies and rich foods this season brings. Yes, regular workouts are incredibly important for many reasons, but in all honesty, it can be incredibly hard to find a few hours, even 30 minutes to yourself this time of year! So how do you fit it all in?
The answer is that maybe you don’t have to.
Building rest days into your workout plan not only help balance the million things on your to-do list, but studies show it actually helps you reach your fitness goals.
I recently came across an article on two different studies that addressed the relationship between stress and exercise. (1) One study literally put the “rat race” to the test, locking two rats inside a running wheel. The first rat was able to exercise whenever it wanted, while the other was forced to run whenever its counterpart did. Exercise usually decreases stress and improves brain function, however the second rat actually lost brain cells. “It was doing something that should have been good for its brain, but it lacked one crucial factor: control. It could not determine its own ‘workout’ schedule, so it didn’t perceive it as exercise.” Instead, it experienced the workout as additional, negative stress.
When our bodies remain in this constant state of stress, hormone production is affected and our natural defense mechanisms weaken. The overloaded brain shuts down critical areas of the brain that affect learning, memory, and rational thought. It’s why we end up eating junk food when we’re not hungry, or sit and eat during our free time instead of doing something more enjoyable- we engage in futile, counter-productive behavior because our coping mechanisms are no longer working.
We eventually get thrown into a rut and then dig ourselves deeper and deeper into that rut; like not working out because we’re too stressed or overwhelmed, only to stress about having not worked out. Sound familiar?
It’s a large part of why people so often start strong with a new workout or eating routine, but quickly lose motivation. Rather than becoming something we enjoy, giving us a natural high and decreasing stress, working out becomes just one more chore we have to do.
I often see this need, even desperation in some clients, to negate calories for the day, keep intensity high, or not miss days in the gym. However, studies show that 2-3 rest days a week actually help improve physical results and allow the muscles to repair, rebuild, and strengthen. In fact, continuous training can actually weaken the results of even the strongest athletes, and exercisers who take days off are often more successful in their weight loss efforts.
Begin giving yourself the permission one to three days each week to rest. Acknowledge and be proud the work you do and take these days, without a workout, as time to heal and regenerate.
I can’t tell you how to spend that free time any more than I can force you into the holiday spirit, but I encourage you over the next few weeks to try slowing down, even if just for a bit. A favorite relaxation technique I often use is known as “grounding:”
Find a few minutes to lie down or sit back in a chair, even right before going to sleep. Focus on slowing down your breath, taking deep inhales as you let your arms and legs fall to the side naturally. When you are ready, begin tensing and releasing one muscle group at a time, working your way up the whole body. Beginning with the toes and feet for example, take a big inhale in through the nose and squeeze all of the muscles in your feet. Hold this for a moment, noticing how that tension feels, and as you exhale out through the mouth, let all of that tension get pushed away. Continue to do this with each part of your body, feeling yourself relax more and more with each breath, and letting yourself sink towards the bed or ground. Try to clear your mind of anything else around you and focus on how your body feels, parts of the body that might be holding onto extra tension, how your stomach rises and falls… continuing to do this until you feel the last bit of tension go.
Maybe you don’t fit a workout in one day, or maybe you eat too much of your mom’s homemade pumpkin bread- maybe you accidently turn on some Amy Grant Christmas. Whatever you decide to do, allow yourself the opportunity to breathe, smile, and soak up the simple joys that surround you.
“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.”
(1) http://naturalrunningcenter.com/2011/11/01/controlling-your-stress-level-welcome-to-the-rat-race/
Artificial Sweetener’s Bag of Tricks
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-Owner of Nourish Northwest, Registered Dietitian
It’s November—the month that starts the steady flow of sweet treats until the New Year. Whether it’s your kid’s leftover Halloween candy, the plastic cornucopia stuffed with snack size chocolate bars at work, or the many holiday celebrations, you are likely to consume more sugar in a two month period than you do the rest of the year. In fact, the average American gains about 1.4 pounds per year, the majority of that (about 0.8 pounds) in the two months around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. It’s a safe bet that most of those extra calories are not coming from eating too many Brussels sprouts. While less than 1 pound of weight gain doesn’t seem alarming, research shows that it is a “sticky” pound that hangs on all year. This kind of gradual weight gain can cause a normal weight person to become overweight or obese in just 10 holiday seasons.
So, what is the solution? You may be tempted to supplant some of those sugar calories by substituting treats made with artificial sweeteners. There is always the person who brings cookies made with Splenda to a holiday gathering and acts as if she brought a pile of broccoli (and you proceed to eat them as if they were). Or, with all those sweets around, you may attempt to satisfy your sweet tooth with a zero calorie diet soda.
As a dietitian, one of the most common questions I get is whether artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes are a healthy. There is good reason for this; decades of research and conflicting media messages have yet to give the public a conclusive answer. Take the most recent gaffe, for example. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard teaching hospital, sent out a press release a few weeks ago entitled, “The truth isn’t sweet when it comes to artificial sweeteners,” citing aspartame’s link to cancer. Less than a week later, the hospital issued an apology that the “data is weak” and that they were “premature in the promotion of this work.”
While the jury is still out on whether artificial sweeteners cause cancer or other illnesses, they certainly aren’t doing us any favors by helping with weight control. In the San Antonio Heart Study, participants who drank more than 21 diet drinks per week were twice as likely to become overweight or obese as people who didn’t drink diet soda. There are a few possible explanations for this phenomenon. First is that we may justify eating that extra cookie or handful of candy because we “saved” the calories by drinking a diet drink. The second theory is that artificial sweeteners actually play a trick on our taste buds by fooling them, at least momentarily, into thinking that we obtained calories from that sweet treat. The appetite may catch on to this trick later in the day and seek out those calories that were promised but not delivered, causing cravings for sugar. Obesity expert, Dr. Ludwig, explains that it is also possible that artificial sweeteners provide an overstimulation of the sugar receptors on the tongue because they are so much more potent than sugar. This may cause us to crave more and more intensely sweet foods and shun naturally sweet foods such as fruit.
Where does this leave us this holiday season? My advice has always been to limit all added sweeteners (sugar, corn syrup, juice concentrate, etc) and avoid artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame, and neotame). The bottom line is that artificial sweeteners are not nutritious, do not promote health and we don’t know the health effects of regular consumption of these chemicals over a long period of time. Savor and enjoy your favorite sweet treats in moderation. Pause for a little talk with yourself before reaching into the candy bowl to ask yourself if you truly love what you’re about to eat. For example, I ate three mini candy bars on Halloween. If I slowed down and talked myself through the experience of eating one of them, I would have said, “This is too sweet, doesn’t have much flavor, and has a waxy texture. I don’t want another one.” If you allow yourself to indulge in your favorite holiday desserts, made with real sugar and real butter, you are likely to feel more satisfied, less deprived and less stressed about food during the holidays. And we all know–one less thing to stress about during the holidays is a sweet thing!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Sausage with Brown Butter and Sage Sauce…. Is this really recommended by a dietitian????
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
As a dietitian, I often find people watching what I am eating with leery eyes. I am quite familiar with a friend’s shocked expression when I order something fried off of a menu at a restaurant. I have even heard stories of someone being appalled that I ate a handful of chips at a party, “Isn’t she a dietitian?????” she asked, after I left.
Many people (including other dietitians) expect that I follow a low fat, low calorie diet. To be honest, calories have never been the first thing on my mind when choosing the food I put in my mouth. My lunch will probably never be baby carrots with fat free ranch dressing, a sugar-free cookie and a diet coke (although I do enjoy an occasional diet soda as a treat). More likely you will see me eating a huge bowl of roasted vegetables (cooked with oil and salt) and topped with a dollop of full fat yogurt. Yes, occasionally, I will eat a handful of chips, or will order fried fish. But this is very occassionally and I balance those choices out with a plant-based, whole foods diet and plenty of exercise. And I don’t feel guilty about it or that I should have to justify those choices.
Yes, calories can be an important thing to focus on if weight loss is the goal. I have seen calorie counting work as an effective tool for some and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you could effectively lose weight by following a diet that consists mainly of Twinkies, as long as you stay within a certain calorie range. This Kansas State Nutrition Professor did. He lost weight, he did, but he probably didn’t feel good and he probably would go on to develop a number of chronic health problems and nutrient deficiencies if he followed this diet for a lifetime.
I like to focus of quality and enjoyment of food, as well as the overall big picture. I feel that we often get so wrapped up in restricting certain foods and viewing them in terms of “good” and “bad” or “too high in calories” that eating loses all pleasure. At Nourish Northwest our cooking classes reflect this philosophy. We use a whole foods approach when choosing our recipes and ingredients. This means, that as often as possible, we use foods that we can imagine growing from the ground or in some cases, coming from an animal and there has been nothing added to or taken away from it. Typically a whole food has just one ingredient. We like to know where our food is coming from and shop at the farmer’s markets whenever possible. We follow this philosophy most of the time. If the occasional white flour sneaks into a dish, as it does in this recipe, we don’t stress out over it. It’s ok. While a whole grain flour is often a good replacement, it would not have produced the same texture for these delicate gnocchi.
These gnocchis are so much more than the calories and ingredients that make them up. To me, they were about spending my Saturday morning at the Farmer’s market, picking out sweet potatoes. They were about celebrating the first of the fall produce and our first weekend of real rain in Portland. They were about me having a really tough week and taking the time to gather with my two best friends to prepare and enjoy this meal. So I invite you to make these, eat them and smile. That’s an order from a dietitian.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Sausage with Brown Butter and Sage Sauce
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2005
Ingredients:
1/2 pound chicken sausage, sliced
1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish
Preparation:
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.
Brown chicken sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Set aside.
Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.
Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Add sausage to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.
Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.
