Organic=Low Calorie?

Do you think organic food means that the food is lower calorie than the standard version? An article in the journal Judgement and Decision Making concluded that many people believe that it is. Unfortunately, just because a food is labeled as organic does not mean that it has less sugar, fat or calories than any other food. The study concluded that people may be more likely to overeat foods labeled as organic, and perceived the organic foods as being healthier. This is a reminder of why reading nutrition information labels and ingredient lists is so important. While a food may be free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, this does not change the nutritional value of the food.

Cooking Class for Seniors!

Perfect Portions:  Cooking Class for Seniors

Wednesday July 14, 1-3 p.m.

Living alone doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your love of good food and homemade meals! Cooking your own food at home is healthier, tastier, more economical and can be just as easy as heating up frozen or prepared food. In this class, you will learn how to make favorite foods in smaller sizes while maximizing flavor and minimizing time spent in the kitchen.

$45 per person includes all materials (and food to take home!), recipes and tips.

All classes are developed and taught by Diana Sugiuchi, who is a Registered Dietitian and family nutritionist at Nourish Family Nutrition. Classes are held at  the Senior Network of North Baltimore/Govans Presbyterian Church, 5828 York Road 21212
Call 410-370-0415 to register or email classes@nourishfamily.com.

Bread!

Back before I had kids, I used to bake all my own bread. No, I was not like Ma Ingalls, kneading and shaping and rising dough for hours on end – I had a bread machine. They were popular back in the 90’s, but you really don’t hear of too many people using them anymore. When I was sorting through some things in my basement I found my bread machine stored forlornly in a dark corner. I brought it up to the kitchen, cleaned it off and decided to put it back into use.

A bread machine is a really cool piece of kitchen equipment. If you’re not familiar with how it works, you just put all the ingredients for your bread into the machine, push a button or two and voila! – 4 or so hours later you have a fresh, homemade loaf of bread. And your house smells wonderful while it is baking. The bread machine mixes, kneads, rises and bakes the loaf of bread. After the initial measuring of ingredients and dumping them into the machine, there is nothing more to do. Unless you want to – the machine can stop after the kneading and rising phases so you can shape your dough into rolls or fancy breakfast pastries.

I realized that making bread in the machine would be a great thing to do with my daughters, particularly the little one, who is 7. We gathered together our ingredients and with just a little help from me, my daughter was able to measure everything out and start the machine. Not only did she feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment from making the bread herself, it was also a great lesson in math (fractions with the measuring cups and spoons, counting), science (how does yeast work? what does gluten do in bread?) and reading (following the recipe).

The advantage to making your own bread (or own anything, for that matter) is that you get to control exactly what goes into it. You can make your bread 100% whole grain and you know that you are not adding any dough conditioners or other chemicals. And fresh, homemade bread is such a treat, you may find it hard to go back to store bought.  The bread machine is great for people who don’t have hours of time to devote to bread baking, but who like to eat homemade, minimally processed food. I am surprised that with as people become more aware of the benefits of eating whole, minimally-processed foods the bread machine has not made more of a resurgence. Or maybe it has and I just haven’t heard about it. Do you use a bread machine? Or do you bake bread by hand? Or do you buy yours at the store?

• Try this recipe book to get started. Each of the recipes are excellent and a majority use whole wheat flour.

Register Now for June Farmers Market Cooking Class!

Farmers Market: Cooking With What’s In Season (2nd in Summer Series)
Parent & Child Class
June 27, 2-4 p.m.

The wide variety of fresh, local produce available at area farmers markets can be overwhelming. Make the most of these healthy foods by learning about what’s in season and available now and how to prepare some familiar and not-so familiar produce. This is part of a regular series throughout the summer and fall and will change depending upon what’s in season.
Cost: $45 per adult/child duo, each additional family member only $10 each. Includes all materials, including food and take-home recipes and tips.

To register: email classes@nourishfamily.com or call 410-370-0415

Having fun in the kitchen at the May Farmers Market class!

Herb Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups

Today was one of those days when I just didn’t have a plan for dinner. However, I always have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer and thanks to the beautiful warm weather, my herbs on the back porch are going gangbusters. I decided to combine the herbs with some low-fat cream cheese and Parmesan, pound the chicken breasts thin and make stuffed chicken rolls. They looked fancy and the whole family enjoyed them. I served them with steamed broccoli and some bread. Yum!

• Here’s the recipe for Herb Stuffed Chicken Roll-Ups