“For in waging war on fat and sugar, what the administration is doing is taking on central aspects of the American lifestyle. Eating too much, indiscriminately, anywhere, at any time, in response to any and all stimuli, is as central to our freewheeling, mavericky way of being as car cupholders and drive-throughs. You can’t change specific eating behavior without addressing that way of life–without changing our culture of food. You need to present healthful eating as a new, desirable, freely chosen expression of the American way.“

Happy Friday!

Confession #1: This post is actually a couple weeks old, but I have been waiting for an opportune moment to share it. The fact that this healthful, unique turkey burger is spiked with fresh diced apples makes it perfect for this week’s roundup.

Confession #2: I did not actually make this dish. Alex did. It’s. Delicious.

Turkey Apple Burgers
From Men’s Health

[Apparently the folks at Men's Health see no need for measurements. I think the idea here is that you can play with the ratios according to your tastes.]

Combine ground turkey with finely chopped onion, diced tart apples, salt and pepper, and a few leaves of chopped fresh tarragon or sage; grill or pan-cook. Serve on a hamburger bun with arugula or other salad green and a smear of Dijon mustard to amp up the flavor even further.

Enjoy!

Here’s a pic of our expertly carved jack-o’lanterns…

And after filling a huge bowl with pumpkin seeds, we toasted up two batches using these recipes:

Savory Pumpkin Seeds

~2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons olive oil (just enough to coat the seeds)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Toss pumpkin seeds with olive oil, salt, garlic salt, and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Spread the seeds evenly on a sprayed baking sheet.
4. Bake at 300 for ~45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

How do you like them apples?

Apple Recipes from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks Maybe I’ll get brave and try the Brussels sprouts…

In Season: Apples from Serious Eats Seven tasty-looking apple recipes.

Apple Varieties “Directory” A great place to look if you want to know the best cooking/baking use for a particular apple. I am too lazy to even COUNT the number of apple varieties covered on this site.

And the lovely Martha Stewart has an abundance of savory apple recipes in her collection (and of course you can find a killer apple pie/cake/crisp recipe here, too, if that’s what you’re after).
Barbequed Pork & Apple Kebabs
Apple Butternut Squash Soup
Quinoa-and-Apple Salad with Curry Dressing

And nobody does the fall apple craze like the Northeast. Come October, apple picking becomes the popular weekend activity. Lucky for me, my roommates have a habit of coming home with giant bags of freshly-picked apples. And wow, do they taste better than the store-bought kind.

I was even so lucky as to have a baked apple crisp in place of a birthday cake this year (thanks, Zigs!).

I have yet to go on an apple-picking excursion here, but I did find the next best thing: a bag of locally-grown apples from Trader Joe’s. In addition to bringing them with my lunch this week, I’m hoping to try some less-conventional apple recipes. I was inspired by the turkey burgers with onion, apples, and tarragon that Alex made last night. Time to dust off the cookbooks and look for some non-pie apple recipes. I have my eye on a great-looking butternut squash and apple soup…

We all know apples are good for you, so I’ll keep the health benefit schtick short and sweet. Apples are loaded with soluble fiber, the same type found in oatmeal. What makes soluble fiber great is that it absorbs water, turning into a gel-like substance that slows digestion and helps you feel full. Apples also contain a flavonoid (a plant pigment that usually function as antioxidants in the body) called quercetin, which has been shown to stabilize blood sugar. The high water, fiber, and phytonutrient content in apples makes them an excellent way to control hunger (for less than 100 calories!).

Week 42 Goal: Look for some locally-grown apples at your grocery store, farmer’s market, or roadside stand. Better yet, get out in this gorgeous fall weather and pick some! Snack on apples with lunch. Try some unconventional apple recipes…

I had pretty much resigned myself to a lifetime of missing out on the health benefits of yogurt, because every time I tried to force it down, my gag reflex won out.

I think this is, in part, because the whole eating-bacteria-on-purpose idea makes me feel a little squeamish. In fact, according to Marion Nestle’s “What to Eat,” a six-ounce container of yogurt typically contains — brace yourself — 18 billion live bacteria. Sick.

But my yogurt-touting classmates, co-workers and roommates finally convinced me to try Greek yogurt as a last-ditch effort to hop on the bandwagon.

I’m now driving the bandwagon.

Greek yogurt has a thicker texture than regular yogurt, because it is strained more times. Not only does this add to the texture, it also increases the protein content from about 5 grams to 14 grams (28% of your daily requirement). Additionally, Greek yogurt tends to have less sugar than regular yogurt (much of which is more dessert than health food). 6 ounces of regular strawberry yogurt has 27 grams of sugar, while 6 ounces of Greek strawberry yogurt has 19 grams of sugar.

Greek yogurt has the same intestinal health benefits of regular yogurt. Strains of the aforementioned bacteria are added to milk, where they feast on lactose, the sugar in milk. This breakdown of lactose by bacteria gives yogurt its tangy flavor and makes yogurt agreeable to people with lactose intolerance. These bacteria then go on to set up house in your intestines, populating your gut with healthy bacteria that keep the bad guys in check.

Even if you don’t enjoy yogurt on its own, plain Greek yogurt makes a great substitute for sour cream. Use it on tacos, in soups, in guacamole, in casseroles and dips. You can jazz up plain yogurt by stirring in honey, cinnamon, granola or cereal, fruit, nuts, canned pumpkin… there is lots of room to be creative!

Greek yogurt also makes a great mid-day snack because the high protein content can stave off hunger. At only 140 calories for 6 ounces, it’s a great way to make it to your next meal (and sneak in 20% of your daily calcium). Look for varieties with the “live and active cultures” symbol to ensure that you’ll reap the intestinal benefits.

Week 41 Goal: Try Greek yogurt for your mid-day snack. Use plain Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in your favorite recipes.

I leave you with a yogurt video from the brilliant and hilarious Sarah Haskins, who points out how ridiculous woman-geared advertising really is.  YouTube “Target: Women” some time if you want to laugh until you cry. I especially love the “Doofy Husbands” edition.

A few people were asking how my race went this weekend, so I thought I’d take a minute to share and to say thank you to everyone who donated!

On 10-10-10 I finished my first half marathon… 13.1 miles through Boston’s Emerald Necklace and ending in the Franklin Park Zoo. I was very lucky to have three live-in coaches who helped me get from huffing and puffing it through my first weeks of training, to crossing that finish line (with a time of 2:01:50). I was also very thankful to have Alex running alongside (cough — in front of) me. It was an uplifting experience to run in a crowd of over 4,000 and see so many people honoring loved ones affected by cancer.

I want to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who sent pledges… your donations totaled over $1,400, all going to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As of race day, the team of 520 Dana-Farber runners had raised over $380,000.  Truly inspiring!

I’m heading to ND for a football game this weekend, but I’ll be back with a new post by Monday. Have a great weekend!

In my opinion, the best way to explore a new place than to strap on the running shoes. Some the best runs I’ve had over the past few months have been while visiting DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks and the Cape. However, running in a new place has its challenges. Here are my tips for getting the most of it:

• When packing your running clothes, lay everything out as if you’re actually about to put it on. This will stop you from forgetting a pair of socks or a sports bra.
• Always pack your running shoes and clothes. This will guilt you into going for a run, so they take up a lot of room in your bag.
• Look on mapmyrun.com to scope out running routes ahead of time. This will help you find the nicest places to run and help you figure out which streets have sidewalks and are safe for runners. You can also stop by a local running store to ask where they recommend running.
• Consider site-seeing while running. Sometimes you don’t want to waste an entire day seeing the touristy sites, but quick run by them can be a great way to feel like you’re not missing out. Monica and I kicked off 2010 with an awesome run through DC and were able to see the Capital building, White House, War Memorials and more.
• Bring a map or your phone with you. This is, admittedly, something I need to work on. Nothing says “hello, new city” like getting lost and spending an extra 5 or 6 miles trying to find your way home.
• Consider signing up for a race in a city you’ve never been to. There’s no better way to feel like you’ve seen a city than to run 26.2 miles (or 13.1… or 6.2… or 3.1) through it!
• Don’t forget about altitude if you’re traveling from sea level to higher ground.

That’s all for this week!! Happy running!!

And Lindsay is probably too modest to talk about the half marathon that she is going to ROCK next weekend, so I’ll do it instead. Send lots of good vibes to her on Sunday, 10/10/10!

A crazy week of work and last-minute half marathon training means I probably won’t get around to posting a substantial weekly dish until the weekend. That said, I am quite serious about getting my pumpkin fix, and luckily, I found some ideas for doing that in a pinch.

Here are a few ways to PUMP. IT. UP.

Pumpkin smoothie
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup low-fat milk, soy milk or vanilla yogurt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. brown sugar or honey
4 ice cubes

Toss everything in the blender and enjoy!

Pumpkin-infused oatmeal
Stir some canned pumpkin into your morning oats, along with a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Sprinkle on a few toasted walnuts or pecans for a breakfast that tastes like the holidays in a bowl.

Quick pumpkin pasta with chicken sausage
As I mentioned before, Rachael Ray’s Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage & Wild Mushrooms is one of my favorite fall recipes. But it is fairly time-intensive and the ingredients get expensive. So… I whipped up a quick version using things I had around the house. Not as wonderful as the real thing, but delicious in a pinch. This pumpkin/whole grain pasta combo is loaded with beta carotene, potassium, and fiber.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 pre-cooked sweet Italian chicken sausages, sliced in 1/4 inch coins
Salt
White wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
2 T. light cream
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp nutmeg
Cinnamon
Cooked whole wheat pasta

1. Add a swirl of olive oil to a large skillet and heat. Saute onions, and after a minute, add the garlic and sliced sausage. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
2. When the onions are translucent and the sausage is browned, add a healthy splash of white wine and deglaze the pan (a shmancy way of saying “scrape all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan”).
3. Add the chicken broth and simmer.
4. Stir in the pumpkin, sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir in ~2 tablespoons of light cream (I use just enough to give it a creamy texture — a splash or two).
5. Serve sauce over whole wheat pasta, and sprinkle with grated romano cheese.

It’s not as delicious as the all-out Rachael Ray version, but it’s really good for a fast weeknight meal. And the spices smell a-mazing!

I’d love to hear other ideas for using canned pumpkin… perhaps baked goods will be next on the list.

Only once a year, for a couple sweet months, can you savor pumpkin soup at Au Bon Pain, a pumpkin coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, or a pumpkin ale at any of Boston’s finest watering holes. It’s glorious.

Yet as you may guess, not all of these pumpkin treats are of glowing nutritional quality. The pumpkin muffin at Dunkin’ has an eye-popping (belt-busting!) 600 calories, and 26 grams of fat. And at four-plus dollars a pop, a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte habit is the last thing I need…

So my mission this fall is simple: to experiment with as many homemade pumpkin recipes as possible. Just last night, Monica, Alex and I feasted on Rachael Ray’s Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushrooms. After which, I announced my intention to eat as much pumpkin as humanly possible this fall. The bonus? When you fix it yourself, pumpkin season  can continue long after Beantown Pub cuts off their supply of Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale. Also, you have the freedom to tweak here and there to let the nutritional merits of pumpkin shine through the frosting and/or heavy cream.

So why eat pumpkin (beyond the obvious reason of celebrating fall)?

Pumpkin’s bright orange color is a telltale sign that it’s loaded with beta carotene, the antioxidant that’s converted to vitamin A in the body.  Beta carotene protects against damage from free radicals, boosts immune function, and contributes to female reproductive health. People who eat diets rich in beta carotene have lower rates of cancer (it should be noted, however, that beta carotene supplements do not lend the same protective effect).

Don’t think you need to gut an entire pumpkin to integrate this food into your diet. 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin has only 40 calories and 1/2 gram of fat, and is loaded with 20 percent of your daily fiber and over 300 percent of your daily vitamin A. It is also extremely low in sodium (rare for a canned food), with only 5 mg per serving.

Pumpkin seeds are also little nutritional gems, containing high levels of the minerals phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese; as well as smaller amounts of zinc, iron, and copper.  Because I am most definitely bringing back the jack-o-lantern carving tradition this year, look for upcoming posts on pumpkin seed prep and serving ideas.

In the meantime, here are a couple pumpkin links for your enjoyment:

Chow’s Review of 10 Pumpkin Ales
Martha Stewart’s Pumpkin Recipe Gallery
Couldn’t help it…

Week 39 Goal: Prep healthier versions of, and alternatives to, delicious store-bought pumpkin treats.