Category Archives: Dairy

Make Your Own Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt Sauce)

Posted on by
Reply

TzatzikiI was first introduced to Greek food as a child growing up on Long Island, New York: I, like other kids, loved the sandwiches served at the local eatery then called “Shish Kebab.” A Port Washington landmark, it grew from a small, two room dining room into a much larger space, part of a veritable enterprise now including several restaurants as well as a Mediterranean food shop. Though we already ate a lot of seafood on the east coast, Ayhan’s made Mediterranean cuisine accessible and approachable to Long Islanders more than three decades ago. I used to always make sure I went there for a fix when visiting my parents before I started whipping up my favorite meals in my own kitchen.

Greek food is just one example of Mediterranean cuisine, which otherwise incorporates flavors and ingredients from a number of different countries on the seaboard. It features all kinds of wonderful dishes with its focus on olive oil, vegetables, beans and legumes, seafood, and wine, among other things. And let’s not forget about spanakopita, Greek spinach pie, which I haven’t made in ages. Who can resist that with its garlicky spinach, creamy feta, and flaky, buttery phyllo … so delicious …

But not at all the point of today’s post.

Let’s just take it one step at a time, shall we?

Rather, today’s piece begins with a basic Greek condiment, tzatziki, otherwise known and recognized as that very tasty yogurt sauce that often comes alongside sandwiches or souvlaki. Simple to make, just start with yogurt, stir in a few more ingredients, and you’re on your way to enjoying a number of fabulous Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

Ingredients. Nonfat yogurt (preferably Greek but regular really is fine), freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, fresh dill, black pepper. (Note: some people add diced cucumbers; I don’t. Feel free.)

Instructions. Yogurt is the main ingredient, clearly, and the recipe can take on the body and flavor that suits your palate. You know how I feel about specific quantities on my blog, as it varies by how much you’re making and your own preferences; just don’t add too much liquid, which will result in runny sauce. Here’s a rough description: Spoon 16-24 oz of nonfat, plain yogurt into a bowl. Add the juice from 1/2-1 lemon (how juicy is it?), a good drizzle of olive oil a (~1-3 tsp), 1-3 cloves of crushed garlic (how much do you like garlic?), and a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper. Next, toss in 2-4 tablespoons of chopped dill (it really does need to be fresh, not dried). A tablespoon of finely minced white onion or scallions is optional.

Notes. Mix and let sit for 20-60 minutes (in other words, at least 20) to allow the flavors to come together. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired: it’s not uncommon for me to add more lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, or dill, depending on how the flavors came together, how good my initial estimations were (I don’t measure anything), and how I’m feeling. Retaste, and you’re ready to go. (Note: Salt is generally not necessary, I find, but add a pinch if you find it bland.)

You’ve got your sauce now, which is key. Good job.

Of course, you need something to serve it with—assuming there’s still some left once you’ve used it as a dip for veggies or whole wheat pita chips.

Here’s one suggestion, which is a little preview of my go-to, open-faced Greek sandwich.

GreekSand_Half

More details on that and a few other Greek dishes I have up my sleeve coming soon.

Stay tuned!

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She is currently training for the Boston Marathon, her third (more here, and here). She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!

Autumn Indulgence: Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Posted on by
3

A drizzle of pure maple syrup and a few toasted nuts for garnish take this maple walnut ice cream over the top.

Last time I wrote about ice cream it was strawberry basil to celebrate summer strawberries. Today I’m featuring one of autumn’s favorite flavors, maple. (It’s not just for maple dijon vinaigrette, you know, drizzled upon a roasted butternut squash salad or seared scallops.) It’s a good time for this post, too, given my recent trip to the country with a maple leaf prominently featured on its national flag. Born in Montréal, I’m a dual citizen of the US and Canada and grew up eating all kinds of maple-flavored things. I also have fond memories of watching maple trees being tapped and seeing massive vats of syrup being boiled in a local farm on the Canadian countryside.

Beyond all that, it’s one of my husband’s favorite flavors, so I made up a quart last week as a special treat for him while I was out of town. I’m excited to share this recipe with you, as we both agreed this is one of the best ice creams I’ve ever made.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated maple sugar
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 2-3 tsp maple extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Process

Whisk all ingredients except toasted walnuts together in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn 25-30 minutes, adding the walnuts during the last 5 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container to ripen in the freezer for at least two hours. (And take a taste of the soft ice cream, too—it’s fabulous, but you’ll also get a chance to see how the flavors do indeed develop over time.)

Notes

While I’ve made maple walnut ice cream before, this recipe was certainly the best. I’m quite sure it’s because I employed three different ingredients—granulated maple sugar, maple extract, and maple syrup—that really brought out the desired flavor. If you can’t find granulated maple sugar, you might consider consulting a recipe that uses reduced maple syrup or use regular sugar plus more maple extract. But if you can find these specific ingredients, I assure you it makes a superior dessert. (In other words, when I’ve made it in the past my husband and I both agreed the maple flavor was too subtle.) And, unlike other instructions, there is no need to reduce maple syrup or make a custard, which adds time and expense. Finally, this recipe is richer than that for my strawberry basil flavor, which used skim milk. Given I only make ice cream two or three times per year, though, I went for a creamier variety this time around and employed 2% milk, which was plenty rich, believe me. Skim milk would be great as well (I’ve done it before), just remember that it freezes up much, much harder so you need to give it time to sit before serving. With this recipe, the combination of higher fat dairy and pure, unreduced maple syrup retained the perfect texture for serving almost directly out of the freezer.

I know this because I occasionally pop into the kitchen, grab a spoon, and take a lick*.

Wow.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading.

* I don’t encourage this behavior.

Eggnog, the P.K. Way

Posted on by
3

Surely I can’t be the only person making eggnog this Christmas Eve? Alongside all of the other final preparations for the holiday, such as last minute shopping, gift wrapping and, of course, cookie baking, that is.  All of this is in progress and will continue for awhile, with requisite carols and symphonies filling the room with holiday music. Will it inspire you if I tell you my husband and I are also headed out for a ten mile run in a few minutes or will you just roll your eyes? Well, do with it what you will; there you have it.  This is my idea of a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Now, I really must be getting back to all of the above, but I wanted to share my recipe for eggnog with you, as promised.  It’s much lower in calories and saturated fat than most other recipes, and absolutely divine!  Here’s the ingredient list and directions, along with a picture of what it looks like on the stove top:

  • 2 dozen eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 gallon skim milk (or 1/2 skim, 1/2 soy)
  • 1-2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tbsp whole cloves
  • Peel from 2 oranges

In a large saucepan or pot, whisk up the eggs, then add the sugar. (If you use an electric beater, don’t overbeat.) Add the milk and cook slowly over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. More or less constantly, I’d say. I tend to multitask while waiting for this to cook but do be careful. There is a very fine line between eggnog and custard, as I’ve learned. The latter is delicious, but not to imbibe.  Add the spices and peel from both oranges to flavor the nog, along with the vanilla and honey, stirring to combine. (Here’s a little holiday challenge for you: Can you remove the orange peel in one long piece?)

It usually takes around 20-30 minutes or so for the nog to reach a temperature of about 160-170 degrees F (70 C or so), which you want to do in order to cook the eggs.  When it reaches the correct temperature, remove from the heat and let it sit for 2-3 hours. It will thicken substantially, and may even look like custard at this point, especially if you used soy milk. Soy milk has more protein so it will lead to a more viscous product.  Do not fret, my friends! This is normal. Next, obtain a large container and set a colander or sieve (like for sifting flour) on top.  Pour the eggnog through, using a wooden spoon to move it through the sieve. This will remove the cooked eggs from the nog, which is the objective. This is much like straining my vegetable juice from way-back-when, actually; here’s the video if you’d like to check it out. This part does take patience, but it’s worth it for homemade eggnog, I assure you. If egg solids remain, the the holes in your colander are too large and you’ll need to switch to a finer sieve.

Once the eggnog is through the colander, it will be smooth. Take a taste. You can certainly adjust the seasoning, viscosity, or creaminess as you desire by adding a bit more of the above ingredients. I often find myself adding a bit more milk to thin it out and/or a bit more vanilla or honey to fine-tune the flavor. As with most things culinary, making eggnog is an art and science, as you will find when you make it. Just remember: moving it through the sieve solves any unintended custard-like qualities that have transpired. Usually. Unless it’s really, really thick, in which case you might want to consider making a trifle for dessert and running out to the store to buy some high-quality store made nog.

By the way: Mine is clearly a recipe for a big gathering of people, and it remains in the fridge all week for sipping and adding to coffee. (I usually drink coffee black but coffee with eggnog is a special Christmas treat in which I indulge yearly. It’s like having coffee with scrambled eggs, right? Yeah, not really.)  Alter the proportions accordingly if you have a smaller group.

There are so many different ways that people like to drink and serve eggnog. Straight up or on the rocks? With or without alcohol? Rum, brandy, Grand Marnier, whiskey, or bourbon? Garnished with freshly grated nutmeg? Topped with whipped cream? It’s up to you! I personally enjoy eggnog on the rocks spiked with bourbon, brandy, and/or Grand Marnier, along with a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg.

Finally, when serving in a punch bowl at a party, I like to leave the orange and spices in it because it looks pretty. Or, you can omit them during the original straining process. If you select the former option, do have a little strainer on hand for your guests to make sure you remove the cloves, orange peel, and cinnamon sticks when serving. No need to hinder your holiday by having to perform the Heimlich, after all.

Happy Holidays!

The Devil’s in the Dietary Details

Posted on by
2

Longer than many of my blog posts, this piece reflects the current state-of-the-science and contrasts the dietary guidelines put forth by the USDA to Harvard’s Healthy Plate. The principles of a sound diet, from vegetables to grains to protein, are all discussed.

Love food? Who doesn’t! Wondering what to eat? Who isn’t!

From farm to fork, what we eat matters. This is the subject of a number of courses I’ve taught over the years, including one I’m currently co-teaching at Harvard Extension School. In these classes, it’s my goal to help students understand the personal, local, and global consequences of their day-to-day food choices.  But student or not, all of us are left with the same inevitable question each evening: What should I make for dinner? One place to start tackling this ostensibly straightforward question is to consider how food impacts our individual health—that is, nutrition.

A Tale of Two Plates: USDA’s MyPlate and Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate

Let’s first consult the current Dietary Guidelines forAmericans, published by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture every five years. In fact, the USDA has been producing food guides since 1916, which have taken on a variety of shapes and messages over the decades. Many people are familiar with the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid, which quantified serving recommendations and highlighted variety, moderation, and proportion. Steps were added to the side of the pyramid to reflect the importance of physical activity in 2005, and the name was changed to MyPyramid. Serving recommendations were removed but could be personalized online across 12 different calorie intake levels (hence the “My”).

To reduce the complexity of translating the guidelines into everyday diets, the pyramid became a plate in June 2011 and now includes five food groups: four on the plate itself (fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein) and a glass labeled “dairy” (ChooseMyPlate, left). The graphic and messages of MyPlate are undoubtedly easier to comprehend than those in MyPyramid. As well, the familiar serving vessels make it simple to apply them to meals by depicting the relative proportions of key food groups.

From a nutrition science perspective, however, there are a lot of critical details missing from the USDA’s plate. These omissions beg the question: With so much not on the plate, does this new icon accurately represent the latest science of healthy eating? In other words, when does “simple” become “simplistic”?

Enter the Healthy Eating Plate, published by the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition in in September 2011.

Both Plates Star Plant Foods

As you can see, Harvard’s rendition is similar to the USDA’s MyPlate in many respects. Fruits and vegetables comprise half of both plates, reflecting the importance of a plant-based diet in reducing risks of a number of chronic diseases. Unquestionably, one of the single best things you can do for your health is consume more vegetables and fruit, which are nutrient-dense sources of vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber. However, the Harvard plate also points out that variety and color matter: plants have different bioactive components that have diverse health effects. Thus, the richer the palate of your plate, the greater the nutritional benefits.

Fruits are also much sweeter than most vegetables and are a source of sugar. They should therefore be consumed in smaller quantities than vegetables. This is an important point, and the placement and proportions of the vegetable and fruit wedges on Harvard’s plate better represent this distinction compared to MyPlate.

But do I need to eat my vegetables steamed? (Yawn.) And can I use salad dressing? (Please?) Harvard’s version addresses these questions with its cruet of vegetable oil in the top corner. The picture and text also make clear that all fats are not created equal. So don’t feel guilty for adding healthy fats to your diet. They add flavor, enhance absorption of nutrients, and have been shown to decrease your risk of cardiovascular and other diseases when substituted for saturated fats, trans-fats, and carbohydrates.

Grains and Protein: A Few Caveats

The two plates also share the grains and protein categories, but Harvard’s plate adds the qualifiers “whole” and “healthy.” Are these additional terms necessary? The short answer is yes. Whole grains preserve the nutritional richness of the entire kernel, which includes fiber and a host of vitamins and minerals. (For more on whole grains, search my blog for recipes like this one and start with this piece.) Refined grains, in contrast, are mainly composed of starch, which acts much like table sugar when digested and has been associated with increased risk of insulin-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. “Healthy” protein sources tend to be lower in saturated fat and sodium and higher in polyunsaturated fats and fiber.

All that said, MyPlate was designed to present the basics of healthy eating in an accessible way but was not intended to provide specific dietary advice. In fact, if you visit the USDA’s website, you’ll find many more details and great tips on which grains and proteins are healthier choices that are largely consistent with the messages on Harvard’s plate. Thus, the differences between MyPlate and the Healthy Eating Plate are less about the coherence of the science and more about the level of complexity that is needed to best inform individual food choices.

Dairy Matters: It’s Not a Moo(t) Point

One area where MyPlate and the Healthy Eating Plate differ on the science is in the quantity of dairy in a healthful diet. Notice the different beverage cut point between the two plates? Dairy is a rich source of nutrients such as calcium, which is critical for bone health. Calcium can be obtained from other foods, however, and scientists disagree about how much dairy is needed in human diets, if at all, and whether dairy intake is associated with health risks. There are also multifarious matters associated with milk production, including farming conditions for both cattle and workers, and the putative influence of the dairy industry and lobbies on the dietary guidelines. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that many people have ethical and moral issues concerning the consumption of animal products.

Harvard’s plate, on the other hand, recommends limiting dairy intake and instead emphasizes the benefits of water. Water is essential for life and, while much of what we need for hydration is obtained in the water-containing beverages and foods we consume, it’s a great go-to beverage that quenches your thirst and helps you feel satiated without adding calories. Many studies have also found that coffee and tea are quite healthful and help meet water needs. And most scientists agree that consuming sweetened beverages like soda and fruit drinks adds significant sugar and calories to a diet and should be minimized or omitted, especially given the current obesity epidemic.

So for all of the aforementioned reasons, dairy is probably one of the more difficult topics in nutrition. The politics and polemics surrounding food production and dietary guidelines certainly don’t help matters. It’s also a wonderful example of how what we eat matters far beyond our individual health, an issue neither plate addresses.

USDA’s MyPlate: A Step Forward

I believe that MyPlate is in many ways a step forward, despite the omission of healthy fats and arguable over-emphasis on dairy. It shows individuals what their plate should actually look like in an accessible, familiar way. Plant-foods are appropriately emphasized. And, although not explicitly stated, the guidelines behind the graphic are based on sound science. If a majority of Americans followed just the vegetable and fruit guidelines, for example, it would be a major advance in health and nutrition.

However, the “go-to” graphic that represents what we should be eating should not leave out key qualifying terms (such as “whole” grains) that rely upon the consumer to fill in the gaps in an environment dominated by media sound bites and misinformation. MyPlate thus crosses the line from simple to simplistic, in my view, and even has the potential to mislead. As with most things, the devil is in the details.

Yes, Harvard’s Healthy Plate is more complex than MyPlate, but it is actually a remarkably succinct summary of the current state of nutrition knowledge and provides necessary information to guide healthy food and beverage choices that will improve your health and decrease your risk of many chronic diseases.

Translating Science to Your Dinner Plate: Help is Here!

All that said, if your plate brims with vegetables and fruit, whole grains, and healthy fats and proteins, you’re heading in the right direction. To be sure, there are many more reasons why what we eat matters–such as the local and global impacts of our food choices. These are topics that are worthy of your consideration when choosing what to eat, and I discuss these broader concepts in nutritional ecology here on my blog as well. For help in applying sound nutrition science to your own plate in delicious and sustainable ways, from farm to fork, I hope you continue reading my blog so I can help you in your journey. This is, in fact, my mission. You’ll undoubtedly improve your own health. And, acting together, we just might even change the world, one delectable bite at a time.

Originally published on Harvard University Extension School’s blog on September 30, 2011.

P.K. NewbyDr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!