Tag Archives: White

Pork & Roasted Vegetables

The preparation time for this dish is 5 minutes. The easiest dish to prepare and then into the oven for 1-1 1/2 hours. Read a book, watch a great movie, get office or house work done while your oven does the work!

Choosing a Pork or Beef Roast.  Allow for water loss when working with meat, measure 5 ounces per person.

Serving 6, 30 ounces or buy a 2 lb pork roast (900 g, round up to 1 Kilo of meat).

INGREDIENTS

3 onions peeled and quartered (Red or Yellow)
Do Not peel following vegetables to optimize flavor of dish.

  • 4-6 Red Potatoes washed and quartered
  • 4 Carrots quartered
  • 3 Zucchini’s quartered and lightly salted (removes bitterness)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 2  Garlic Cloves (peeled and minced)
  • 1/4 c. Olive Oil

Pork or Beef Roast (washed and patted dry with paper towels)

  • 1 tsp each Salt
  • 1 tsp dried Sage( or 1 Tbsp freshly chopped) .
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 3-4 Rosemary Sprigs
  • 1 1/2 c. Water
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce for Pork Roast
  • 1 cup red wine for Beef Roast
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 F (232 C).

In an oven safe dish place washed and quartered vegetables. With a large spoon turn 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp turmeric, rosemary springs, garlic, olive oil into vegetables until they are well coated. Place into oven set at 450 F.

Place skillet on medium high heat for 1 minute and then add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil.  Add meat to skillet and sear each side for about 2 minutes. The meat is ready to turn when is easily releases itself from pan. (Don’t fight to detach! The meat will detach itself once completely seared on one side.)

Rub seasonings onto Pork poast

In a bowl, mix 3/4 tsp, salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, 3/4 tsp sage. Rub seasonings onto all sides of roast. (Use all theseasoning!) In a roasting pan, rest 4 rosemary sprigs about 3-5 inches in length on bottom of pan, place pork, or beef roast on top.  Add water, soy sauce (or wine). Cover pan with aluminum foil and seal edges.

Leaving vegetables in the oven to continue baking. Reduce oven temperature to 325F (150C) when placing roast in the oven and bake roast  for 20 minutes per pound (450 grams). Internal temp. will reach 160 F or 72 C. Using oven gloves, carefully remove pan from oven and place onto a pot pad. Keep covered and allow roast to rest for 10 minutes. With a large meat fork and butcher knife thinly slice meat. Remove vegetables from oven and with large spoon, gently place vegetables around meat for presentation. Buon Appetito!

Southern Italian Lasagna

Delicious Italian Lasagna commonly served in Southern Italy. Buon Appetito!

Lasagna in an hour!

1 Carrot’s diced
1 Celery stalks diced
1/2 Onion diced
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/2 pound ground meat
2 28 ounces tomato sauce (unseasoned)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups Mozzarella Cheese (shredded) 250 g freshly cut Mozzarella
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 box Barilla Lasagna

*Optional: Consider enhancing your Lasagna providing a slight creamy taste and reducing the tomato flavor.
Additional foods that will make your dining experience more tasty:
1 hard boiled egg. Peeled sliced and added into a layer of the lasagna.
6 slices. ham Place ham slices into lasagna and reduce salt granule’s by 1/2 tsp.
6-10 Basil Leaves or (1/2 tsp dried basil) Steps up the meaning of Party!

If adding in the egg slices for additional protein: On high heat, place a sauce pan with 2 cups of water and uncooked egg. Allow to boil for 15 minutes.

In a separate large pan combine vegetables, meat and oil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break to pieces the ground beef and to combine with vegetables. Add wine and cover for 5 minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat.  Add sauce, milk, water and salt.  Placing a wooden spoon on top of pan, place lid so that is slightly tilted which will allow for water vapor to escape. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add basil leaves. Turn off stove and remove from heat.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

In a 9×11 cake size pan add to bottom of pan 3-4 large ladles of sauce. Add 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Add 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan (OPTIONAL: place egg slices all over sauce covered pasta.)
Add second layer of 4 pasta sheets distribute so they are side by side. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of 6 mozzarella slices. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan (OPTIONAL: evenly distribute ham slices)
Add third layer of 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan.
Add fourth layer of 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 2-3 tablespoons of parmesan.

SECRET TRICK to ensure perfect lasagna! Look at the constructed lasagna in the baking pan. The sauce on the side of the lasagna should stop and not elevate past the side of the third pasta layer. There is sauce on the fourth layer with cheese; you are looking for about 1/4 inch of space between the fluid which stops at the third layer and does not rise to the last layer. It will be “soupy” if the sauce on the side of the lasagna completely evens out with the fourth layer.

Place in oven and allow to bake covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and allow lasagna to cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to sit and cool down for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.


5 Tips to Ensure Holiday Maintenance

Chocolates, biscotti, pies and cakes….Holiday’s are for enjoying food, family and fun! Yet our biggest weight gain can occur during the 5 weeks of festivites, for a total of 7 pounds!  We are then reminded, that the party is over,January 2, when the moment of truth hits and one decisively chooses to go on a “diet”.   While new diets that apply calorie shifting are given multiple glances and serioulsy put into consideration, it’s important to remember that the word “diet” is about lifestyle and how one eats on a daily basis.

Five tips are easy to follow in order to shift caloric intake and to make sure that access weight gain is headed off at the pass.

Tip 1.      Begin the day with a breakfast.
Protein such as an egg,
Slice of wheat bread
Fruit
Green or White Tea’s (proven to promote anti-aging due to high phenolic content)
Glass of milk
This is an old trick that helps to fill up the stomach so that less food is consumed throughout the morning. You may even feel the need to have a lighter lunch as well.

Tip 2.      Consume calcium for your snacks. Your body needs to be supplied with calcium for both muscles and bones. Weightgain has been linked to low intake of calcium intake. Example: Three glasses of milk can replace any choice of fluid. Many do not realize how many other foods have calcium. Flaxseed actually contains the highest amount at 40% of dietary intake. Almonds and milk contain the same amount of calcium for dietary intake at 25%. 3 ounces of Almonds = 8 ounces of milk (1 glass). Broccoli and oranges also can be added to the daily dietary count of calcium.

Tip 3.      Eat! Dietetics is about how “All Foods Fit”. Don’t resist the temptation. Eyeball the cake size that you want and then cut in 1/2 the amount that you would have otherwise have chosen. (If really courageous cut portion by 3/4’s. This way you can have your cake and you get to eat it too.

Tip 4.      Wine is not a fruit! Just because it comes from a grape doesn’t mean that it gets to be counted on your daily intake of 4 fruits per day. There are 100 calories in a half of glass of wine, which is considered one serving! Women and Men are instructed to consume no more than one to two alcholic beverages per day. 1 serving for a women and 2 servings for men.

Tip 5.      Salty foods are commonly placed in serving bowls throughout gathering areas. Be careful to choose only half of what you really would like to consume. Fruits and vegetables, especially those high in potassium, will flush out the excess salt from your body that will otherwise contribute to weightgain. (mangoes, cantalope, banana’s, oranges, kiwi, cucumber, tomatoes, plantains, lime beans)

Follow all these tips or just a few and you should notice only your weight maintenance. Happy Holidays from Eat Know How!

More on Potassium:  “Potassium is naturally found in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products. Meat, Poultry and Fish foods are high in potassium too, but an entirely carnivorous diet will be detrimental to your health, causing a rise in acid levels and depleting potassium levels.” http://www.buzzle.com/articles/potassium-rich-foods-list-of-foods-high-in-potassium.html

Anti- aging Benefits of White Tea
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19653897?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=3

Tea’s: Body Healing and Weight Loss

Tea’s

 Tea’s are earning a place in our diet as the secret’s of health and longetivy are revealed to us from the Continent of Asia. A brief description on the following 6 popular tea’s will help you identify one that you can sip and enjoy. Learn more about how  Asia shares White Tea and it’s Benefits  and how Tea’s Combat: Weightloss, Anxiety, Cholesterol, High bp

  1. White Tea
  2. Kava Kava Tea
  3. Black Tea
  4. Oolong Tea
  5. Grean Tea
  6. Itadori Tea

WHITE TEA is light and mild in taste and considered to be good for your health. According to the researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, white tea may be used to fight cancer as well as acting as a deterrent.  The tea is nowadays mostly grown in the Fujian Province and there are generally two major producing counties, Zheng He and Fuding.

 “Kava Kava Tea….has been used to treat anxiety/nervous disorders, migraines, hyperactivity in children, insomnia, menstrual cramps, UTI and bladder problems.  Kava was used by the Germans in the 1890s for pharmaceuticals relating to blood pressure; before then, it was utilized by the Polynesians”, based on collected research at A 2 Z Health, Beauty and Fitness.

Black Tea improves circulation,  by opening the capillaries and normalizing blood pressure (bp).  Benefits are noticed by simply drinking 2 cups of black tea 2x’s a day for 3 weeks.  Additional benefits are contributed to the theophylline in black tea that helps improve cholesterol levels. It also has been known to expand the airways, improving on easier breathing for asthmatics.  Black tea also helps with preventing tooth decay due to the Fluoride, a trace element found in black tea, which strengthens tooth enamel.

Oolong Tea burns over 157% more fat than Green Tea and has become the most popular tea designed to accelerate weigh loss!!!  Drinking two cups of Oolong tea every day helps shed stubborn pounds by boosting your metabolism and blocking the fattening effects of carbohydrates. It has also been linked to improving the function of the pancreas with those who suffer from diabetes.

GREEN TEA 

 A few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

Acne  ·     cancer ·     rheumatoid arthritis  ·     high cholesterol levels  ·     cariovascular  disease  ·     infection ·     impaired immune function

From About.com…”The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, without harming healthy tissue, promotes cellular DNA and membrane structure, ( Great for Acne). It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots.  The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the “French Paradox.” For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet.  In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don’t other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed.  Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases. Read More

“Itadori Tea and red wine both supply relatively high concentrations of resveratrol,” states the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry.  Furthemore their studies have shown that, ”For people who do not consume alcohol, Itadori tea may be a suitable substitute for red wine.” More studies are being done on Itadori Tea to better understand the effects and benefits of it on the body, as well as, how the non-flavonoid resveratrol contibutes to ones overall health.

By Kim Crocker

 J Agric Food Chem. 2002 May 22;50(11):3337-40