Super Fast Vegetable "casserole"

If you can not tell by now, I hate wasting time. Can't stand it. So "ease" is right behind nutrition when it comes to my meals. Here is one that is super fast, super easy, good for you, and good tasting!

SUPER FAST VEGGIE CASSEROLE

Ingredients
Water
About 3/4 of a cup of mixed vegetables (either mixed in bag, or just an assortment of your own)
Instant Potatoes
Quick Oatmeal
Wheat Germ
Ground Flax Seed

Into a small casserole dish (large bowl) pour in water.

Add

• mixed vegetables (thawed, mildly warm)
• equal amounts of instant potatoes and oatmeal (about 3 tablespoons each)
• about 2 tablespoons of wheat germ
• about 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed (I sometimes add a bit more of this) I really like the taste!

Microwave if not warm enough for about 30-40 seconds.

It should be pretty dry. Besides the taste and nutrition, another good thing about this is that you really can not mess it up. If it is too runny, you can always add more instant potatoes or oatmeal. And it keeps fine for tomorrow!

While I like it just "as it is", you can also add gravy or butter (SmartBalance Omega Plus).

Total time to prepare: about 3 minutes--2 if you are good :)


Yes I know that there is evidence that microwaving destroys antioxidant content. To which I can only say to try and minimize the time it is in the microwave--thaw the vegetables first, boil the water first, and do not cook for too long. The benefits of having it done fast are to tempting for me to totally eschew.

What are plant sterols?

I recently had a customer ask me what plant sterols, so I will try to answer that question today:

What are plant sterols?

The short answer is that plant sterols are naturally occurring substances that lower cholesterol. These have been around for thousands and thousands of yers. What is new however is that scientists have identified a way to separate the plant sterols from the rest of the plant and then add them to other foods. In theory this should allow people to lower the levels of bad cholesterol.

from the FDA:

"The FDA has authorized use of labeling health claims about the role of plant sterol or plant stanol esters in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) for foods containing these substances. This interim final rule is based on FDA's conclusion that plant sterol esters and plant stanol esters may reduce the risk of CHD by lowering blood cholesterol levels.

This new health claim is based on evidence that plant sterol or plant stanol esters may help to reduce the risk of CHD. Plant sterols are present in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals, legumes, and other plant sources. Plant stanols occur naturally in even smaller quantities from some of the same sources. For example, both plant sterols and stanols are found in vegetable oils."

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS01033.html

Plant sterols seemingly have no downside. From the Institute of Food Science and Technology:

"Plant sterols and plant stanols appear to be without hazard to health, having been shown without adverse effects in a large number of human studies. They show no evidence of toxicity even at high dose levels and gastro-intestinal absorption is low. In the United States a panel of independent experts has concluded that vegetable oil plant sterol esters and plant stanol esters are safe for use as an ingredient in vegetable oil spreads. Furthermore in the European Union a recently published opinion from the Scientific Committee on Food concluded that the use of phytosterol-esters in yellow fat spreads (maximum level of 8% free phytosterols) is safe for human use (European Commission Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General, April 2000)".http://www.ifst.org/hottop29.htm

Another food that has added plant sterols is Smart Balance's Omega Plus Spread. Smart Balance however claims their sterols are superior (at least to other spreads). I do not know enough on this to comment, but will give you their version:

Omega PLUS is unique in several ways. First, it contains the patented blend of balanced oils developed by nutrition scientists at Brandeis University. It contains no hydrogenated oils and no trans fatty acids to help enhance HDL/LDL. Secondly, it contains a phytosterol we call Natucol to help reduce LDL cholesterol. Unlike the other brands which use sterol or stanol esters, Natucol tm is a free sterol (not chemically modified by hydrogenation nor esterification). In addition, Omega PLUS contains organic Menhaden Oil, rich in long chain omega-3's to help promote a healthy level of blood triglycerides.That is why we call Omega PLUS, The Ultimate Spread™. It is like no other brand, not even like regular Smart Balance.

http://www.smartbalance.com/faq.html

I would add that nothing is ever totally certain, so all we can say is that the best scientific evidence we now have supports this view. I can say however that I do use both of these products quite regularly and really do enjoy their tastes.

(Just for complete disclosure: I drink the MinuteMaid Heartwise OJ about 20% of the time (so about a half gallon a week) and use the Omega Plus maybe once a day--interestingly one of our cats (Tiger) just loves the Smart Balance! If I open the top, she comes running every time!).

Pears

Well given that it is almost Christmas and many of you will be singing about pears (or at least pear trees), it is a good time to look at pears.

While I had a pear the other day that was just about perfect, Ido not think most people have the same experience. Pears are VASTLY under appreciated by most in today's society. Why? people do not know how to eat pears. Or maybe a better way to say it is that they do not know WHEN to eat pears!

Let me quote Barry Ballister's Fruit and Vegetable Stand Book.
Page 342

Pears are elegantly seductive. They are sweet, juicy, wonderfully textured, and highly nutritious. They have the most subtle taste of all orchard fruit and will leave your palate delightfully fresh and clean.

Continuing Ballister writes:

All pears must be picked unripe. If pears are allowed to ripen on the tree, they develop little grit cell, or stones in the flesh.

I think that much of the reason is that pears are underappreciated stems from the fact that 99% of all pears are sold unripe. Thus when a person buys a pear and tries it, the pear is still hard and almost tasteless. (try the same with a banana--take home a green banana and eat it. I bet you won't like that either. The difference is that judging pears' ripeness is more difficult than that of bananas.)

So, how do you tell if a pear is ripe?

Softness is the best measure, but we really do not want you squeezing the fruit! California pears has a great tool to show you by color when their Barlett pears are ready. Try it out!

For pears that do not change color, USA Pears has a useful page that also gives tips on ripening (place in paper bag etc).

(Jimmy's note: this last link was added after the original post.)

A warning
Ripe pears, while delicious, bruise VERY easily and often look bad. For that reason we generally do not leave them on the shelf. But for the record, these are the ones I buy! They are ready to eat immediately.)

Varieties

There are many varieties of pears. The most common that we sell are the Anjou pear (greenish), the Bartlett Pear (Yellow usually), and Bosc pear (darker, often almost brown). USApears.com has a series of pictures that will help you distinguish one from another.

I was surprised at how nutritious pears can be. I generally considered them more of a dessert treat that anything else, but they are surprisingly high in nutrition.

My biggest recommendation for you if you are buying pears is to plan ahead. Even if the pears are left out of refrigeration, they will take several days to ripen. Remember a ripe pear is just a tad soft.

If you really want a treat, try sliced pears sprinkled with brown sugar and then warmed slightly. Or really treat yourself and serve with vanilla ice cream on top.

Useful pear sites
http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1869002.html
http://www.usapears.com/
http://www.calpear.com/