Avocado Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

This recipe was inspired by a dressing that I tried at a farmer's market out in Vail, Colorado during the summertime a few years ago. I'm not a big fan of creamy dressings and thought this was such a great way to make a dressing without using mayo.

Avocado Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
*Makes 1 1/4 cup*

Ingredients:
1 cup      packed fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1/2 cup   extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup   lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/8 cup   orange juice (about 1/2 orange)
1 clove   garlic
1/2        avocado
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Puree cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, avocado in a a blender or food processor until smooth.

This dressing would also be really good with a little bit of heat by adding 1 jalapeno to it.

Yum!

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Helpful Tips: The Basics on Herbs and Spices

Do you ever find yourself sitting in your kitchen wondering how to do something or how long you can store a particular food or what is the best equipment to use or what is the proper cooking technique you should use? If you have had these types of thoughts before hopefully I can help! I've learned most of what I know from classes I took as a nutrition major in college, my mom, the Food Channel, and from experience. I'm not going to act like I know everything because I certainly DO NOT but I will do the best I can! Starting today and hopefully on every Friday, I will provide a list of helpful tips on a particular topic. Please let me know if there is anything that you are interested in learning more about and I will do my best to help you out!
                                           

The Basics on Herbs and Spices!

Herbs:
1) How to keep fresh Herbs FRESH
-To keep herbs fresh for up to 1 week, trim 1/4 inch from the stem and rinse in cold water.  Then loosely wrap herbs in a damp paper towel, then seal in a zip lock bag filled with air. Put in the refrigerator. Check them daily as some can loose their flavor daily.
-You can be like Giada on the Food Channel and have fresh herbs in glass of water on your kitchen counter, this also makes the kitchen smell nice and clean! If you do this, cover the end of the stem in about 1/4 inch of water and change the water every other day. Most herbs will keep for up to a week (cilantro not so much).
-Buying an herb plant keeps the herbs fresh the longest, snip off what you want to use and water your plant accordingly to keep it lasting for weeks or even months.
-Revive limp herbs by trimming the stems about 1/2 inch and place in ice water for a couple of hours and Whaalaa!
-Wash herbs just before using then pat dry with a paper towel.
2) Fresh herbs are always best but not always practical. Rosemary, dill, and thyme dry well and maintain a good flavor.
3) Fresh herbs are not as strong or as concentrated as their dried counterparts. Substituting dried for fresh is 1 to 3 (1 dried:3 fresh).
1 teaspoon dried=1 tablespoon fresh.
Exception: Rosemary, use equal amounts fof dried and fresh.

Cancer Fighting Foods: Featuring the Apple!

There is not a single food or individual food component that by itself can protect you against cancer. However there is strong evidence that does show that consuming a variety of plant foods in your diet daily such as beans, fruits, vegetables and whole grains helps lower your risk for many cancers.

The minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals (a chemical compound that occurs naturally in plants) in laboratory studies do demonstrate anti-cancer effects but evidence does suggest that these compounds offer the strongest cancer protection when working together in the overall diet. In other words, taking supplements containing the individual vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals does not offer the same benefits as consuming whole foods containing these nutrients.

Not only do these whole foods contain nutrients they are also important for maintaining a healthy weight as being overweight with excess body fat increases the risk for seven cancers. Consuming fruits and vegetables can help you get to a healthy weight and maintain it as they are low in calories and provide a great source of fiber to keep you feeling full. Beans and whole grains can also help with weight management. They provide the majority of your fiber and are moderate in calories.

Your goal should be to have at least 2/3 of your plate containing fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains in order to meet the current recommended intake of these foods.

The Cancer Fighting Food of the Week is the Apple! 

The old saying that "an apple a day keeps the doctors away" was not that far off. Apples are a low calorie food with a good source of fiber and Vitamin C. It also contains phytochemicals such as Quercetin (a flavonoid that shows anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties),  epicatechin, anthocyanins (in red apples), and Triterpenoids (mostly in the apple peel). 

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving of Apple (1 small apple or a 1/2 cup)

75 calories

4 grams of fiber

Mardi Gras Red Beans n' Rice

Hey y'all it's Mardi Gras!! 


I figured that Red Beans and Rice would be just the thing for tonight since I wasn't able to partake in the festivities down in the deep south this year. Today is officially the last day of Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins and the end of a celebration lasting over 2 1/2 weeks. And for those of you who don't know, Mardi Gras originated in my home town and that place is not New Orleans but in Mobile, Alabama! In 1703, the tiny French colony of Mobile observed the first-known Mardi Gras in North America.   


Red Beans and Rice holds a very special place in my heart, not only does it remind me of Mardi Gras but it is also one of my favorite dishes that my mother makes. It's delicious, it's cheap, it's simple, and it makes me feel good. It's definitely one of my top comfort foods. I know my mom changes the recipe around each time she makes it and you'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it too, and arrive at the exact, instinctual combinations of seasonings that you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far. You can make this dish completely vegetarian (a great meal for Fridays during lent), and it's still really good! 

 

Oncology Nutrition

I worked as clinical dietitian at The George Washington University Hospital (GW) in Washington, DC for almost 4 years before moving to Nashville. At GW, I started on the oncology unit by chance and little did I know that my experience there would grow into the huge passion that I have today for oncology nutrition. I eventually became a board- certified specialist in oncology nutrition (CSO), a member of the Cancer Survivorship Task Force and the Palliative Care team at the hospital. In my practice today in Nashville, I still see oncology patients and my passion continues to grow. Every Thursday in my blog, I will have different topics regarding oncology nutrition from anything like evidence on current "Cancer diets" to foods to fight cancer to nutrition during, before, and after treatment to cancer survivorship to cancer prevention to the latest evidence on cancer research to popular supplements and much much more! If any of you have anything in particular that interest you in this area and would like for me to address it please feel free to comment or send me an email at any time at annab@thedeliciousdietitian.com.

February is also National Cancer Prevention Month! The American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) estimates that 1/3 of cancers of the 1.5 million cancers that occur every year in the US could be prevented by lifestyle change alone. Research shows that what we eat makes a difference, physical activity affects cancer risk and also benefits survivors, and our weight also affects cancer risk. For the current recommendations for cancer prevention visit the AICR website: AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations

This month in my Oncology segment I will be focusing on Cancer prevention so stay tuned!

Would you make any changes to your lifestyle based on the cancer prevention research?

What would you want to know more about based on cancer prevention and oncology nutrition?

A Honeymoon Dinner on V-Day!!

PENNE WITH SHRIMP, GARLIC, LEMON, AND BASIL (or THYME)

Instead of going out to eat for Valentine's Day, my husband and I decided we are going to stay in and cook dinner together. I was having a hard time thinking of something special for us to have then I ran across a cookbook that my sweet mother-in-law gave us for Christmas from one of the restaurants we went to on our honeymoon in Anguilla, it is called Blanchard's and it was amazing! We went a little early and walked out on the beautiful beach in front of the restaurant to watch the sunset then sat down for an incredible meal. Blanchard's was opened by a couple that were actually from Norwich, Vermont (oddly enough that's where my older brother went to college for a couple of years) and came to the beautiful Caribbean island of Anguilla to open this restaurant. They wrote the cookbook where this recipe came from, A Trip to the Beach-At Blanchard's Table, to extend the "celebrated warmth and hospitality of their acclaimed restaurant, and its delicious menu, to our homes." And now that it's actually getting cold here in Nashville, I thought this meal might make us feel like we're at the beach again (probably not but it was worth a try)!