White Bean Winter Stew

The sun may be shining today, but Chicago is still lingering in the 30s again! Plan to warm up the house tonight with this incredibly delicious tomato-based stew--another recipe featured at Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives conference last month--invite the roommates to dinner and have them bring a loaf of crusty bread and butter! 

That's really all you need for a fantastic meal and good times on a cold winter day!

This is an easy, super cheap, but hunger-quenching recipe simple enough for even a dorm kitchenette and college cooking. Trying to live healthy while being frugal wont get any easier than this for low-income college living!!

(Adapted from The Bean Institute recipe vault)

White Bean Winter Stew

Equipment:

5-quart saucepan

Handheld Immersion Blender (optional)

Ingredients:

1/4 c bacon, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 small shallot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1/2-1 tsp smoked Chipotle Powder (optional and spicy)

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

2-3 cups of a white bean (prefer Cannelini Beans)

1 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Olive oil to drizzle

Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Cook the bacon in a large 5-quart sauce pan until slightly crispy and browned.

3. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent.
4. Sprinkle oregano and chipotle powder onto the onions and stir.

5. Add the can of diced tomatoes and broth. Simmer on low heat x 30 minutes.

(if you have an immersion blender use it to make soup smoother...or not!)

6. Add 2 cups of beans (if you like beans add 3 cups total).
7. Add the marjoram, salt, and pepper to taste.

8. Simmer on low x 2-3 minutes.
9. Serve with a little olive oil, parmesan and basil.
10. Don't forget the crusty bread!

Breakfast Frittata

Living on a 'very-tight' budget and trying to stay healthy and eat right is challenging indeed! But...possible with the right recipes and ingredients! 

I am just returning from an incredible conference on cooking for health (Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives) which also addressed practical solutions for many surviving on government dollars and food supplements--I would argue that many college students fall into this quadrant and thought I could share some ideas!! Recipes demonstrated during this conference were meant to be easy, affordable, nutritious, and most importantly, delicious--with the goal of encouraging everyone to cook more not only for savings, but also for nutrition, health and community! 

Over the next few weeks I plan to feature many of these tasty options as well as some of the organizations who developed these recipes purposefully to address a much bigger issue in America: hunger! 

• First up? Frittatas
• Why? Versatile. 
• Base recipe + ingredients to your liking. 
• Mix and match. 
• Make ahead. Freeze and reheat.
• Convenient
• Health? Protein + Veggies. Low-fat.
• Cost? < $ 5-7
• Skill? Easy
• Feeds? 4-6 servings

Anytime Frittata
(Adapted from Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives)

Equipment:
Iron Cast Skillet (or oven-proof skillet and handle up to 400F degrees)
Regular Skillet (for sautéing), or do everything in the cast-iron skillet

Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 egg white
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper 
2 Tbls parsley, fresh (or 1 tsp dried parsley)
2 Tbls water

4 Tbls Olive oil
1/2 cup onions, diced
2 Tbls Shallots, minced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
1 cup zucchini, 1/8" sliced and sautéed
1 cup Great Northern Beans (or cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (optional)

Parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. 
3. Beat the eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, and water until egg whites just incorporated. 

4. Heat olive oil in skillet to saute shallots and onions until translucent. 

5. Add zucchini rounds and saute until golden. 
(If using mushrooms I would saute mushrooms separately to remove the excessive water content first before adding to onion mixture.) 

6. Add drained beans and chopped artichoke hearts (if using these).

7. Add the egg mixture to skillet and stir in the cheese, then let cook over LOW-MED heat for one minute.

8. Bake entire skillet in pre-heated oven x 10-12 minutes until center sets.

9. Allow to cool in skillet and slide a knife around the edges.
10. Use a plate to flip the entire frittata out of the skillet. If it does not separate easily, simply remove individual slices from the skillet.

Add a salsa verde or tomato salsa or hot sauce or ketchup!
Set the rest aside for breakfast or after school snack.

Bulgur Salad 4 College Cooking

Resourcefulness--a skill you must have if you are limited on funds and income, ie college students or low-income families dependent on SNAP dollars or other government supplementation or just a small paycheck!

Finding foods that are nourishing and filling while easy to store (and/or easy to make) can be a HUGE challenge!! What do you do if all you have is a room...not even a hot plate or other basic cooking utensils? How do you even begin to think of eating well? Eating healthy? 

A fantastic ingredient that can fulfill many of these functions is...BULGUR WHEAT! It is cheap, made in 15-20 minutes, provides volume and nutrition; and finally, has endless variations limited only by the creativity of your mind! 

This recipe functions as a meal or an awesome side dish. Make it sweet or savory! Whatever you do, make this a regular during the week, and experiment! If you lack some of the ingredients for the salad (dried fruits and nuts can be expensive) or dressing...that is optional as well, and the salad can be eaten with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice...but if possible, try this with the apple vinaigrette!

(Adapted from Healthy Lives Healthy Kitchens Conference by combining a couple of recipes into a merger of my own)

Bulgur Salad 4 College Cooking

Equipment:
Large Mixing Bowl
Chopping Board
Knife

Ingredients:

2 cups bulgur wheat, light colored
1 tsp of kosher salt
Boiling water to cover bulgur wheat approximately 1/4"

Dressing / Vinaigrette:
1 medium apple (honey crisp, red delicious), finely diced
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbls orange juice
1 Tbls red wine vinegar
1 Tbls olive oil
3 Tbls vegetable / canola oil
3 Tbls honey
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp mint, finely chopped (optional)

Add-Ons / Flavor Bombs:
1/2 cup dried cherries and/or cranberries and/or currants (or fresh seasonal fruits)
1/2 cup dried apricots and/or dates and/or golden raisins
1/2 cup green onions, sliced to greens
1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
(make sure you seed them yourself by cutting in half and pounding the peel with a knife to loosen seeds into a bowl)
1 cup feta, diced
1 cup toasted nuts (cashews, pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios)

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Combine bulgur wheat, salt, and boiling water into a large bowl.
3. Set aside x 20 minutes until tender and almost all of water is absorbed. Drain.

4. Combine apples, juices, vinegar, oils, salt, honey, and mint in a shaker or whisk in a medium bowl.
5. Add in flavor bombs, i.e. chopped dried fruits, green onions, feta.

6. Toss with dressing before serving.

7. Finish off with toasted nuts and another sprinkle of mint.

Salad For Supper: Roasted Carrot and Farro

Coming back from a medical conference on healthy living, cooking and eating in Napa Valley is no doubt inspiring!

The focus was finding ways to inspire our patients (as well as ourselves) to healthier habits since this remains the most effective and cost-efficient measure in preventing as well as treating disease, and solving our healthcare problems! 

It starts with each of us being mindful and aware of how our lives and living affect not only our microcosm, but also those around us! 

Learn to cook. 

Eat more plants, grains and greens.

Avoid sedentary living. 

Eat less red meat.

Don't smoke.

Be mindful in all matters! 

Start early...yes, even as college students! 

Prior to leaving for this conference I hesitated to post this incredible salad from The Smitten Kitchen cookbook because it didnt seem "college like", but now...be part of the solution!

You will benefit in so many ways--finances (conscious spending), health (worth millions in the US), friendships (from eating and cooking together and sharing stories), adventure (as you expose yourself to new ideas, tastes and flavors), and energy to do it all!

Benefits reach far beyond just food!

Salad For Supper: Roasted Carrot & Farro with Harissa Dressing

Equipment:

Baking sheet lined with Parchment paper

Mixing Bowls

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked Farro

4 cups Water or Vegetable broth

4 Carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

2 Parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise

1 tsp Harissa

1 tap honey

Pinch of Cumin

2 Tbls Lemon juice & zest

Salt & pepper

4-5 Tbls Olive oil

1/4 mint, chopped

3/4 feta, crumbled

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

3. Bring farro and broth/water to a boil in your saucepan.

3. Reduce to a simmer and cook 15-20 min until farro is tender,slightly chewy. Drain and set aside.

4. While farro cooking, peel and prep your veggies.

5. Place veggies on parchment-lined baking sheet in single layer and drizzle with olive oil and salt.

6. Roast veggies x 20 min., toss and roast another 10 min.

7. Prepare your dressing by whisking harissa, honey, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice together.

8. Crumble your feta and chop the mint.

9. In a large mixing bowl, toss drained farro, roasted veggies, feta, mint and harissa dressing.

9. Great Meatless Monday recipe or add a simple protein. 

Be healthy!