Jennifer Silverberg

Easy Roast Veggie Polenta

February 18, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

I like this dish super-simple, to let the natural flavors of the polenta and winter vegetables shine. If you want to fancy it up a bit, feel free to add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end, or add just about any fresh spices you have on hand to the veggies, midway through cooking.

Serves 2

Polenta
1 cup organic (non-GMO) polenta
5 cups water or homemade vegetable broth
1 tbsp coconut oil
2″ x 2″ square of fresh parmesan cheese (optional – omit for vegan version)
1 tsp sea salt

Vegetables
About 8 fresh small turnips (about the size of a large radish), trimmed and quartered
About 16 small carrots (the kind sold in a bunch) – Washed, and if they are any bigger than your finger, slice them lengthwise
10 – 15 brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher/sea salt to taste
Microgreens/sprouts as garnish, to add texture, flavor, and nutrition!

Note: I give these instructions in two steps because I have only one oven, and can’t cook the polenta and veggies at the same time. If you have two ovens, feel free to do both steps below at once!

First, start the polenta. Then, while it’s cooking, prep the veggies, and later add them to the oven.

Preheat oven to 375. This is the easy way to cook polenta – very little stirring! Measure the polenta, salt, coconut oil and water/broth into an oven-ready saucepan and stir. Place the saucepan in the preheated oven, and stir about every 10-15 minutes until the polenta is done (about 40 minutes). After the polenta has been removed from the oven, stir in the parmesan cheese, and keep the polenta warm over very low heat.

Meanwhile, prep the vegetables, then toss them in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Put on a bake sheet in a single layer (really important – if they are overcrowded or overlap at all, they will steam and be mushy, rather than deliciously brown and crispy!). When the polenta is ready, pop the veggies in the oven and turn up the heat to 400 (425 if your oven runs a little cool). Roast, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are browned like in the picture above.

Plate the dish by placing the roast veggies over the polenta, adding the greens next to or over both. Add fresh ground pepper over all and serve.

6 Reasons to Love Almonds

February 11, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

I don’t really need reasons to love almonds – I love them anyway – but here are some ways in which my love is requited :-). Be sure to stick with raw, unsalted organic almonds whenever you can. When people tell me about eating nuts “by the handful,” they are almost always referring to roasted or salted nuts, where the oils and salts are driving the cravings. Raw nuts are more nourishing and filling, and for most people, quell cravings rather than increase them.

Weekday Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad

February 9, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

This is one of my very favorite recipes, because it’s endlessly variable. Add coriander with the cumin. Top with that leftover salsa. Slip in some spinach … and on and on. But I digress … here is the basic recipe!

Makes Two Meals

1 cup raw quinoa – any type
1 large or 2 medium (about 1 pound) sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 tbsp cumin
splash of olive oil (doesn’t have to be extra virgin – you’re cooking with it)
—————-
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
About 2 cups (or more) of arugula
1 green onion, sliced
—————-
1/4 cup tablespoons balsamic, sherry, or red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Optional: Avocado, pepitas, lime juice, walnuts, diced bell peppers, or anything else you have on hand!

Preheat oven to 425.

Slice the sweet potato into small squares (no need to peel first). Toss in just a small bit of olive oil, the cumin, and salt, put in single layer on cookie sheet (or similar) and put in oven for about 25 minutes or until brown. Stir once or twice so that they brown evenly.

In the meantime, rinse quinoa, place in saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

While they are cooking, put the raisins/cranberries, arugula and green onion into a bowl, and sprinkle with the vinegar, mustard, and salt, then toss to coat (yes, you can just toss it all in there and stir it around). Let sit for a few minutes, then add pepper and olive oil and stir it around again. Add any optional items you would like.

When it’s all ready, plate the salad, spoon some quinoa over it, and toss on the crispy, delicious, hot sweet potato.

And have fun with this … have some fresh herbs on hand? Toss ’em in. Like garlic in your dressing? Toss it in. Don’t have raisins but have apples? Go with that. Enjoy!

Friendly Foods: Eat what your body knows

February 2, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

You know that feeling you get when you see fresh, local, in-season food at the farmer’s market? How it almost has an aura of life around it? That’s your body’s way of signaling that it knows that food, knows how to process it and get nutrients from it … and welcomes those “friendly foods.”

In contrast, most of the packaged foods of today contain piles of ingredients that your body can’t recognize and is unable to process. Scientists once considered these chemicals “inert” because they tended to leave the body intact, and didn’t bind with your cells and cause immediate damage. What they missed, however, is the impact of the consistent assault of unrecognizable substances would have on the body.

This would be similar to your boss piling 20 boxes of paper on your desk, but just two of them contained real work that you knew how to do. How much more “sluggish” would you be in completing your tasks, just because you had to process all the “non-work?” That’s what is happening in your body when it has to process all the non-food … and the physical result is our ugly friend, inflammation.

Instead, take a cue from your body’s natural response to the real, friendly food it sees, and give it a week, a month, or a lifetime to show you how spectacularly it can work for you when it doesn’t have to deal with the chemical assault of packaged non-foods!

Keep it Simple Sunday!

January 25, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

The simplest foods are usually the tastiest, healthiest, and most beautiful – as Anthony Bourdain says so well. Links to a few of my favorites for “Keep it Simple Sundays”:
– Bold Winter Greens Salad
– Easy Eggplant Dip
– Quinoa Chickpea Bowl

Build Your Hydration Habit

January 23, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

Everything works better when you drink enough water: your brain, your heart, your skin, your immune system, your liver, etc. It’s easier to make hydration a habit if you make it beautiful and delicious, too. Try a few of these flavor combos, and let me know what you think!