Black Super Foods & Memorial Day Black Bean Burger!

Happy Memorial Day! I just dusted off my black bean and lentil burger recipe to get ready for this weekend with my family and my daughter and I have been so enjoying blackberries over the past few weeks and I was reminded of my great Black Super food recipes that I presented on Great Day Houston last year. There are some amazing benefits to eating black or darker foods, the darker the better nutritionally! So try black rice instead of brown, black lentils instead of green, black soybeans (if you can find them!) instead of green and enjoy this great burger recipe as you fire up the grill this weekend!

Enjoy!

Healthy Regards,
Lisa

PS: Enjoy the informative and funny video. My test subject wasn't quite sure what to make of my black bean burger as she usually eats McDonald's! :-)

Great Day Houston Show 9/16/11

Black Bean and Lentil Burger

Yield: 4 Burgers

½ (16 oz) can Black beans, drained and rinsed (8 oz)
8 oz cooked Black lentils or French green lentils
½ Green bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces
½ Onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves Garlic, peeled
1 Egg
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Thai chili sauce or hot sauce (we used Sambal)
½ cup bread crumbs (we use brown rice crispies to make gluten free)

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375F (190C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans and lentils with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
7. Add 1 oz. of cucumber dill dressing with arugula, roasted red peppers and serve on toasted whole wheat or whole grain bun.

Cucumber Dill Dressing

Yield: 1 cup dressing

1 cup Greek Nonfat yogurt
2 tsp fresh Dill, chopped
2 tsp Honey
2 oz fresh-squeezed Lemon juice
2 oz minced English cucumber
½ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp White ground pepper

Stir to combine.

Black Tea Infused with Blackberry Puree and Mint

1 gallon Brewed tea
½ cup fresh Mint
2 cups fresh Blackberries
½ cup Agave nectar

Blend well in mixer and pour over ice, garnish with lemon and mint and enjoy!

Black Rice Salad

2 cups cooked Black rice (rinse rice well before cooking)
2 oz small Diced red and green bell peppers
2 oz small Diced sweet yellow pepper
3 oz small Diced English cucumber
½ cup dried Cranberries

Toss to combine with Red Wine Vinaigrette.

Healthy Summer Eating Tips & Recipes

Summer is almost here! Be prepared with a few healthy pointers and reminders for you and your family. I recently spoke at the Mommie Summer Series on this topic last Wednesday, May 2, 2012, so I wanted to share my tips and recipes with everyone!

See more pics from our great event on Green Plate Kids Facebook page.

Follow me on Pinterest now! Lisa Pounds Foodie Board

• Keep kids on a schedule for meals and snacks. This helps them feel the signs of hunger and stops the mindless snacking between meals.
• Make the kitchen off limits during the day unless it’s time for a meal or a planned snack
• Even though the days are longer and the kids might stay up longer, consider setting a time when the kitchen is closed for the night.
• Focused efforts on Eating Healthy as a Family and explaining what that means. Leading by Example.
• You are the Role Model!
• Eliminate Fast Food and processed foods
• Eliminate White grains- Choose only WHOLE grains (label, fiber, less processed, more nutrients)
• Eliminate SODAS, high sugar drinks
• Watch your Sodium intake (Adult no more than 2300 mg/day)
• Exercise as a family- bike ride to the farmers' market!

Hydration and Drinks

• Keep the refrigerator stocked with COLD Water in pitchers and have designated reusable water bottle for every family member.
• Send children to summer camp with a filled water bottle.
• If your child is doing outdoor sports during summer time, teach them to drink a few sips of water every 15-20 minutes.
• Teach children to drink water before they are thirsty!
• Juices, fruit punch and sodas can have a lot of added sugar and empty calories
• READ YOUR LABELS! Each teaspoon of sugar is 4.2 grams (A can of regular soda 30 grams or 8 tsps!) Make sure each item is 10 grams or less
• You can try adding some juice to plain soda water or to water to give water a little fruit flavor. A typical serving of fruit juice is ¾ cup. Make sure the label states 100% fruit juice.

Summer Food on the Go

Camp, Pool, Beach, Road Trip, Plane Trip, etc. Be prepared don’t get stuck going through fast food drive through or horrible & expensive airport options.

• Throw some of the juice boxes or mini waters in freezer to help keep cooler cold and perfect temp hours into the trip.
• Make your own trail mix (Granola, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips)
• Pack lots of fresh fruit, minimize salty snacks, bring an apple and peanut butter packets
• Plane: Be mindful of the 3 oz. rule for liquids (including yogurt, peanut butter)
• Alternatives to regular sandwiches: Nut Butter (sushi) rolls, WHOLE Grain breads
• Pasta/Quinoa Salads pack well (no Mayo) dressing on side (Whole Grain pasta)
• Only WHOLE grains have fiber, read labels- experiment with new varieties for your family!
• Pool/Beach: Make ahead fruit or yogurt pops!
• Fruit kabobs for pool/beach- easy to pass around and hold w/out utensils.
• Always pack lots of wipes, hand sanitizer, bug spray and suntan lotion! Bring a blanket and have an instant picnic.
• Packaging Lunch for camp/school- Double up on ICE packs!

At HOME: Everything is more fun on a stick! (Marketing can do wonders!)

• Breakfast - Rainbow Fruit Skewers, with yogurt dipping sauce
• Salad kabobs - kids can eat their salad on a stick; make your own Ranch dressing dip!
• Grill Dinner on Kabobs! - Lean meats or shrimp, veggies and Grilled Fruit kabobs for dessert! (brush w/oil add cinnamon)
• Set out veggies and hummus during dinner prep
• What is seasonal? Tomatoes, peaches, berries, melons experiment with different leafy greens, multicolored potatoes and turnips, quinoa or barley salads (See recipe)
• Family Nights - Take turns planning menu or themes
• Turn off Technology and spend quality time with you family

Fun & Healthy Summer Recipes

PBJ & Banana and Granola Breakfast Wraps

1 Flatout Light Flatbread or other Whole grain wrap
1 Tbs peanut or almond butter
1 Tbs jam
2 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 banana, cut in half lengthwise
2 Tbs granola

Spread peanut butter evenly over entire Flatbread. On one rounded end, spread jam. Layer strawberry, banana and granola. Roll, cut and enjoy!

Parfait

Any combo of fresh seasonal fruit: blueberries, blackberries, grapes, strawberries, chopped cantaloupe, sliced kiwi, etc.
Yogurt or almond yogurt
Tall glass or trifle dish
Add granola, hemp or flax seeds, nuts or shredded coconut in layers and as a topping (optional)

Layer 3 of the fruits, followed by some yogurt. Layer the next 3 fruits and top with more yogurt.

Grilled Veggie Quinoa Salad

(Serves 4)

1 Cup uncooked Quinoa (try different colors, darker = better)
1 zucchini sliced and grilled
1 summer squash sliced and grilled
1 small eggplant sliced and grilled
1 red onion- sliced and grilled
1 red pepper sliced and grilled
Sprinkle Parmesan (optional)
3 cups spinach or any green leafy lettuce
Chopped fresh herbs (Italian parsley, basil)
Classic French Vinaigrette (Try making your own)
Chop Grilled Veggies toss all ingredients and sprinkle with cheese and enjoy

Patriotic Frozen Pops

Make 4 pops, prep: 15min. Freeze 10 min to overnights (Need frozen pop-makers)

1 cup plain Keifer
2 teaspoons Sugar
2 packets Truvia
¼ teaspoon Vanilla
½ cup blueberries (divided equally)
¼ cup raspberries, or quartered strawberries (divided)

Stir vanilla, sugars into the kefir. For each pop, place 8 blueberries in mold, insert sticks fill mold halfway w/kefir, add red berries then fill in remaining kefir. Freeze and enjoy!

Have a great and healthy summer everyone!

Green Plate "Green" Tips in Honor of Earth Day!

1. Buy Local! Buying seasonal, local food is great for the environment for a lot of reasons. Since most food travels many miles to reach your table (1,500 miles, on average), locally sourced food cuts back on the climate-change impacts of transportation. Local food also generally uses less packaging, is fresher and tastier, and comes in more varieties. Please visit the local Urban Harvest and Rice University Farmers Markets in Houston to support our local farmers and vendors.
2. Buy Organic - Organic vegetables, fruits, grains, juice, eggs, dairy and meat, are grown and processed in ways that support healthy people and a healthy planet. (While you may not be able to find or afford organic options for everything you should pay close attention to the Dirty Dozen.)
3. Feast on Fair Trade fare Fair trade certified food ensures a proper wage and working conditions for those who harvest and handle it. But fair trade is green for the environment as well. TransFair, the only fair trade certifier in the U.S., has strong environmental standards built into its certification process that protect watersheds and virgin forests, help prevent erosion, promote natural soil fertility and water conservation, and prohibit GMOs.
4. Watch out for packaging Instead of buying foods that come in extensive packaging (most of which is petroleum-based plastics) look for unpackaged/minimally packaged foods, experiment with bringing your own containers (and grocery bags) and buying in bulk, or pick brands that use bio-based plastic packing. And recycle/reuse any packaging you end up with. 
5. Grow your own veggies In the garden, in the greenhouse, in the window box, or something fancier. Even urbanites can get quite a bit of good eats from not much space. 
6. Eat less meat! Meat is the most resource-intensive food on the table and eating less of it can be the single greenest move a person makes. Producing meat requires huge amounts of water, grain, land, and other inputs including hormones and antibiotics. A pound of beef requires 12,000 gallons of water to produce. If you're a meat eater, for starters, try cutting out a serving of meat each week. 
7. Eat it raw! Eat more veggies and you will not only cut back on the energy it takes to cook food, but you will get a bigger nutritional punch in your meal! Good for you and the environment! Join a local Co-op and ensure your getting local and organic veggies for your whole family to enjoy new fruits and veggies every week. Great lessons for the kiddos on learning about how to prepare a variety of nature's bounty. My two favorite local co-ops: Central City Coop and Rawfully Organic. 
8. Green your space! You spend up to 1/3 of your life sleeping on your mattress and breathing off putting gases in your our home from paint, furniture, cabinets and materials in your home. Our Friends at New Living have you covered, they have amazing resources to help you with your family's health and Eco-conscious projects in your house or business. Plus absolutely gorgeous materials! Learn more about the most toxic health risks on your own home: Top Six Health “Intruders" in Your Home!

Green Plate Kids goes to Expo West Food show in CA!

Green Plate Kitchen went to Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA March 8-11th. Wow! What a natural foodie paradise! We met lots of wonderful companies making really great REAL food. I wanted to share with you some of our great product finds! I am always on the quest to find nutritious food that actually tastes great. I met most of the owners and learned more about the complexities of getting products on our grocery store shelves. We certainly take this convenience for granted! I knew about some of these companies and excited to see the launch of many of their new products at the show and learned about many new companies who are also making really great products. I define “really great products” as using high quality, organic, non-“processed” or artificial, non-GMO, non-hormone ingredients in their products. When I went shopping at Whole Foods last week it was a whole new experience to find most of these products there! Eureka!

And I met Tyler Florence! How cool is that?

Lisa Pounds and Tyler Florence

Prepared Foods for Children

Amy’s Kitchen of course has so many wonderful vegetarian meals. They had a HUGE representation at the show. I love their pizza and Indian frozen meals, great to have stocked in the freezer. You can find a lot of their products at Costco now.

Mom Made Foods also have frozen items for children, classic mac n’ cheese, etc. Peas of Mind, was there and just launched their new pizza with veggies in the crust! It tasted great. The owner was wonderful and very passionate about their products. I loved their puffets for when Chloe was a baby/toddler phase, you can get all your food groups covered in one little quiche like product. She loved the black bean and quinoa version. You can find their products at Whole Foods and Target, all of these items are Frozen.

Happy Family had a HUGE really neat booth with many amazing super foods for babies and toddlers. As did PlumOrganics, love the convenient pouches with mixed veggies and fruits and if you’re going to offer your little ones a special treat then the little “shreds” of fruit strips are fun and made with organic fruit juices. Plum is in almost all grocery stores and Happy Baby I have seen at Target, Whole Foods and Central Market.

Good Food Made Simple showcased their yummy burritos, oatmeal and ready to eat eggs, giving your family and healthy, portable and easy breakfast in the morning you can feel good about. No extra yucky ingredients included! Find their products in HEB and Whole Foods.

Blake’s All Natural Foods also is making REAL food more geared towards adults or older kiddos, but some really great tasting frozen entrees. And I really loved Saffron Road’s new products, Indian meals, chicken tenders, all non-hormone meats and great spices and flavors.

Healthy Snacks for the Whole Family

There seemed to be overall theme at the show on sprouted and raw products! I tasted some really interesting and creative bars and crackers. (And some not so great) Especially loved the Two Moms in the Raw, Mary’s Gone Crackers (Gluten Free and Vegan Products) and Go Raw brands (specialize in organic raw “living” foods). Love their raw bars, and lemon cookies with sprouted sesame seeds, dates and lemon (and so did my 3 ½ year old). I just picked up all of the items at Whole Foods. Bars and crackers you can feel good about eating and giving your children.

I also met the owners of Funley’s, based in CA, they make the cutest little super veggie infused crackers packaged in little single serve containers ready for the lunch box. I also saw these at Whole Foods. I loved the Cheddar N’ Stuff made with broccoli!

Awesome Veggie Pasta

Other great find: MagNoodles! This awesome Mom has made her own whole grain and veggie pasta, wow! It tastes wonderful and made with Spelt, KAMUT® brand khorasan wheat Flour, spinach, tomatoes, beets and carrots! Chloe especially loves the “pink” ones. It is in a Penne form, she is working on a medium shell and rotini with flaxseeds. You can order online directly from her and I am getting a big shipment this week and we are using in our catering and will be incorporating with our turkey meatballs and marinara, a perfect combo! Let me know if you are interested and we can source for you.

Interested in any comments or feedback you have! We are working hard on commercializing some of Green Plate Kitchen products and hope to be in grocery stores later this year!

Pictures from the show can be found on Green Plate Kitchen Facebook Page.

Please follow us on Twitter @greenplatekitchen and like us on Facebook for up to date info & tips!

And please follow my new blog, I intend to highlight healthy ideas for children, great products, education and tips for busy families who are equally as passionate and interested in health for their families and good food!

Healthy Regards,
Lisa

lisa@greenplatekitchen.com