February, 2012

Five Ways to Sneak Nutrition into Your Loved Ones: Tip #2

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Next on the sneaky mission for stealth vitamins… Miso!

Miso is one of the most nutrient packed things I can think of off the top of my head.  B-vitamins, enzymes, protein and goodness (vitamin G) are all contained within small amounts of this Japanese salty paste.  I've been told it's similar to Marmite which hails from Australia, but I haven't confirmed this for myself, just relying on hear-say.

How do you hide this quite distinctive taste you ask?  Think salty, think savory;  after all it is used traditionally as a soup stock.

TIPS:

  • Mash and mix well with whatever you are combining it with.
  • Use the paste not instant powder for maximum health benefits.
  • Don't boil, fry, or microwave to keep the nutritional content intact – treat it gently, like a delicate flower of the stock family.
  • keep in mind the different colours have different shades of flavour:  whites to light-yellows are sweeter and milder, yellows to dark-reds are saltier and stronger.

#2. Miso it Up

1. Sneak a bit into that cup-o-soup package when you mix in the boiling water (shhhhh…) not too much though, enough to make the fuss-pots think they are going slightly crazy, but not enough to suspect that you might be the culprit.

2. Mix equal parts Mayonaise and Miso into a smooth (ish) paste and use as a spread for sandwiches or burgers.  I've especially gotten away with it on breakfast egg-sandwich-with-cheese type things.

3. Mix equal parts Tahini and Miso and thin with warm water to use as a savoury sauce or gravy on things as diverse as asparagus (haha) to potatoes or meats.  –This tip I gleaned off a friend nutritionist (link soon).

4. Use in a cheesball!  Yes, cheeseball, the creamy, sharp, herby things you bring to dinner parties.  They are always asking for worcestershire sauce or other savoury condiments, just start off light and add Miso to taste, remembering that letting the cheeseball sit brings out more flavour.

Have fun!

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Five Ways to Sneak Nutrition into Your Loved Ones: Tip #1

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Do you, like me, have a pretty good working knowledge of nutrition, opinions to spare, a strong belief that you are, in fact, what you eat… 

…and someone(s) in your life who couldn't care less?

Well, after much lamenting, cajoling, mentoring, throwing up handing, and finally saying "fine, eat what you like i'm putting seaweed in my dinner dammit!" -ing, I have come up with a few tricks to appease my sense that time is running out to stuff adequate nutrition into another human being.  Because, lets face it, it ain't my body, so I really don't have the right to feel put out by it all.  

Educate, don't Berate!  (is that how the saying goes?)

IN THE MEANTIME:

#1. Spruce up the Salt

One good thing about fussy eaters, is that they are usually also too lazy to remedy a situation unless it is very uncomfortable.  So, get yourself a salt shaker that is also a grinder, some unrefined course sea salt (grey if you can get away with it) and some seaweed of your choice.  Mix it all together and pour into grinder.  Then, get rid of any other salt options in the house.  If they want to saltify, they must grind!  I haven't actually had any complaints, as it really does just taste salty.

TIPS:

grinder:  if you can afford ceramic parts, great, they don't rust.  If not, plastic or stainless steel will do the job.  If you can't find one easily, you can buy one of those specialty salts in any grocer to start with and then just keep refilling it with your own mix.
 

salt:  get the biggest course salt you can find, if it is damp (high quality) you might need to spread it out on something (pan, towel, board) and dry it out first.  The grey colour is because it hasn't been bleached or refined and it still contains all those tasty trace minerals that we actually need.  They also help minimize the damage excess salt causes in the body.  After all, we came from the sea originally right?

seaweed:  This is all preference… As I am lazy, I buy Dulse flakes, which are already cut up for you and mix well with salt.  I've also used Alaria, which come in black strands and breaks up nicely when dry.  Kelp gives you a littel extra calcium and Nori a little extra protein.  Use your imagination!

So, don't do the salty dance of guilt, just spruce* your salt up! 

*you know you Can eat spruce needles (or at least make vit. C rich tea outa them), but you might find the taste a little strong and distracting for salt…

Posted in beautiful consumables, eat me!, Nutrition, salt | No Comments »