On My Plate: Taste the Rainbow

It's not important to just eat your veggies for healthy body benefits, you have to eat your colors too. For me, that's always meant eating with the Rainbow Method, or adding a rainbow of colors to my salads and sides. I perk up leafy greens with tomatoes and yellow peppers, for example, or add cauliflower to a broccoli plate. 

Now, the Rainbow Method has grown to be much more than my healthy habit. Researchers and nutritionists agree that a veg plate in a variety of colors can give a boost to everything from our bones to our brains, improve heart health and give us glowing skin.

"Every hue - green, yellow, orange, red, purple and even white - signifies a different class of nutrients, each of which offers a unique benefit," explains USDA research chemist Ronald Prior, PhD, who was among the first researchers to measure antioxidants in food.

The colorful chemicals that carry a vegetable's good stuff are called phytochemicals. These natural compounds act as a neon sign of sorts for vegetables. Those with the most phytochemicals glow in the brightest hues, and are the richest in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. 

Eating the bright along with the lighter shades of vegetables ensures your body gets a well-rounded shot of nutrients. One of my favorite dishes to do this with is my Warm Rainbow Quinoa Salad with chicken and veg. It serves a crowd, and also works for weekly lunchboxes. I made it this week for my sister and baby niece, and it was a hit. Try it yourself!

Laura's Warm Rainbow Quinoa Salad

2 chicken breasts (optional)

1 green pepper

1 yellow or orange pepper

1/2 spicy red pepper

1 small red onion

grape tomatoes

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic

1 cup quinoa

2 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare chicken. (I like pulled meats in my dishes, but some people like chunks. To each their own!)

Set aside cooked chicken.

Finely chop all peppers, the garlic and onion.

Warm a good lug of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. 

Add onions and garlic and let simmer for a few minutes.

Add cooked chicken and mix well. 

Add peppers and let simmer over medium heat for about 10 mins stirring occasionally.

Add sliced grape tomatoes and the juice from 1/2 lemon.

Add salt and pepper as you please.

Let simmer for 5 mins more.

Prepare quinoa. (I used the box directions: Add 2 cups chicken stock to 1 cup quinoa and bring to the boil. Then, bring down heat and let simmer for 10-15 mins. This method always comes out a bit on the moist side, but I like how it works in this dish).

Pour quinoa into large serving bowl.

Fold in cooked chicken and veg

Serve in bowls, topped with finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Finish bowl, return for seconds! 

My Plate: Pumpkin Seed Superfood

You'd have to be living in a box to escape the storm of pumpkin-flavored everything that hails the arrival of autumn. But along with the marketing onslaught that brings in Halloween is the age-old tradition of pumpkin carving, and making your own homemade toasted pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are called a secret superfood in some circles. Not only are these bite-sized crunchies packed with high quality proteins, they are also valued for their diversity of antioxidants. The unique variety of which, "may provide them with antioxidant-related properties that are not widely found in food," according to the website World's Healthiest Foods.

Pumpkin seeds are also rich in minerals like zinc and magnesium, creating a combined effect that preliminary research suggests helps fight prostate and breast cancer.

Getting into the seasonal spirit, my family gathered for a carve-a-thon last night. As we pumped out some pretty spectacular designs, we weeded through the gooey, hair-like pumpkin flesh to pull out the seeds. And with an average 500 seeds per pumpkin, we had a lot to work with. Which is a good thing, because the scariest result of the evening wasn't our pumpkin designs - it was how addictive these toasted treat turned out!

Here's my step-by-step separating and toasting recipe that is guaranteed to make pumpkin seeds your new favorite snack:

Separation:
Scoop out pumpkin flesh into large bowl (we used a huge soup pot)
Pick out the bigger pieces and hairy webs of flesh
Fill bowl with water
Wait for seeds to float to the top, and the pumpkin flesh to sink
Scoop out floating seeds
*Repeat rinsing two or three times depending on how dirty your seeds are. Ours took two rinses.

Toasting:
In a separate bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil with dried chili flakes
Add pumpkin seeds and toss
Sprinkle pepper and a very generous amount of coarse sea salt
Toss mixture and lay out on baking pan
Toast at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 15-20 minutes
*Roasting longer than 20 mins may negate nutritional benefits, so keep an eye on your oven!

Let cool, and enjoy with your favorite pumpkin beer! 

My Plate: Beer Marinated Pork Chops

When it comes to evening boozing, "eating is cheating," is what I always say. Unless, that is, you can incorporate your beverage of choice into your meal. And, with the surprising health benefits of beer being touted lately, I decided to do just that with the exceptionally drinkable Brooklyn Brewery's Oktoberfest for dinner.

A slew of recent research finds beer can be good for everything from boosting heart, bone and brain strength, to reducing your risk of stroke and cancer. Beer can even help you live a longer, happier life, according to one study that concludes, "If European beer drinkers stopped imbibing, there would be a decrease in life expectancy of two years - and much unhappiness."

No need to sell me! I'm ecstatic about the news, and ready to baste my local butcher's pork chops in brew.

My marinade is simple, and luckily not measurement specific (which is handy once you've had a few). I just threw a few of the following ingredients in a large bowl:

Good glug of Olive Oil
Splash Soy Sauce
Splash Worcestershire Sauce
1 Clove Garlic
Juice of half Lemon
Tsp Brown Sugar
Good glug Oktoberfest
Sprinkle Salt and Pepper

Voila! Taste to make sure it's sweet or savory enough (I had to add a few more splashes of Soy and Worcestershire for my liking), then lay the chops to wait for about an hour - or until you're sufficiently boozed to cook.

I broiled mine, and saved some of the marinade to add to my leafy veg side. Absolutely delicious result. Enjoy!