Imagine Your Way to a Healthy Eating Lifestyle

The next step in the Imagination series . . .

You may have heard of Nutrition Action.  It’s a great newsletter that has really opened my eyes to what is actually inthe processed foods we so merrily munch.  A recent article was particularly interesting.  It  pitted the Top 10 Super Foods against the 10 Worst Processed Foods, providing the nutritional lowdown on each entry.  Here’s an abbreviated version:

*From Nutrition Action Health Letter: http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html

As usual, I lapped up the dirt on all the fat, salt, calories and chemicals in foods like Marie Callender’s pot pies, Campbell’s Soups and the Olive Garden trio plate.   But I could only do that because I had imagination, i.e., I can look at the list of 10 Super Foods and imagine a dozen alternatives to the Top 10 Worst that are not only scrumptious but health-giving as well.  I don’t have to depend on Marie, Campbell or Olive for food, flavor and comfort at end of the day.

For a lot of people, however, those foods are a main source of food, flavor and comfort, so it isn’t so fun to read the dirt on processed foods.  Lacking the imagination to free ourselves from that trap, we look at the Super Food list and think, “Oh great, a dinner of salmon with spinach and brown rice plus fat-free milk to drink.  Oh great, crispbreads with oranges for snack.  Oh great, frozen butternut squash steamed with kale for lunch.”  Faced with that kind of lineup, it’s hard to imagine healthful eating as anything but dismal!

But what if the Super Food list were enhanced by a little imagination.  Take a look my Super Food meal list from the past couple weeks:

What you will gather from this list is that we face a  translation problem.  Each of the plain old super foods on the list actually translates into a delightfully delicious dish!  But we often don’t know this–and very often can’t even envision it.

Hence the need for need for revving up the imagination.  If 2012 is your year to begin a healthy eating lifestyle, here’s a good starting point:  Envision the Super Foods as the basis for hundreds of incredible meals that beat the heck out of Marie’s pot pies.  You may not be able to picture those meals, and you may not fully believe that statement, but can you at least:

• Imagine a world where healthful meals are as good, satisfying and comforting as a bowl of Haagan Daz or Cold Stone.
• Imagine eating foods and feeling really good–not guilty–about what you’ve eaten.
• Imagine that you could experience incredible health by eating deliciously delightful meals.

What you need to know is that these imagined scenarios are all true.  I can say this with complete confidence because I’ve been in this wonderful world for many years and it only gets better and better.  I hope you’ll join me this year–starting with just a leap of imagination.

Ready for the next steps:

• See the first post in the Imagination series
• Make this recipe for Winter Squash Patties and experience fast, healthy comfort
• Join us for a Whole Kitchen class where we translate super foods into super meals all the time.  Our next series begins in mid-February.

Kitchen Tip: Making Produce Safe to Eat

By willg photos (c) all rights reserved

Water Wins Again

Just about the time salmonella and E. coli fade from the headlines, it seems like some new contamination case surfaces, putting us right back on edge about the safety of our food.  Remember the outbreak of listeria in last summer’s cantaloup crop?

Fortunately, in one of our Whole Kitchen series, CSU Extension Agent Ann Zander shared a surprisingly effective weapon in the food safety wars:  running water.  No need for fancy washing solutions or time-consuming procedures, she explained, just wash produce in running water.  Surprising as it might be, Extensions Service research showed that plain old water worked as well as commercial washing solutions–and for a lot less money!

• The key, however, lies in washing the produce under running water.  So it’s great if you’re saving water by scrubbing produce in a bucket of water.  Just be sure to give it a final rinse with a healthy dose of running water after scrubbing.
• The same goes for lettuce, spinach or any of the leafy greens that get washed in a salad spinner. Remove the spinner from the washing bowl and rinse the greens thoroughly under running water before spinning dry.

Steeping back to a bigger picture view on this topic, isn’t it amazing that plain old water is our best friend when it comes to safe produce?  Really elevates the stature of this seemingly common resource that we so take for granted.  What you should know, however, is that this seemingly plentiful resource is actually becoming scarcer by the day.

Although it is fundamental not only to our healthy existence but also our very survival, water is increasingly being siphoned off for things like:  washing spinach multiple times so we can have a conveniently packaged product; serving as a disposal stream for antibiotics, hormones and other pharmaceutical waste from our bodies; and most recently as a primary ingredient in oil and gas “fracking.”

What happens to our public water is a good issue to watch.  It would be ironic indeed to have plenty of oil for cars and lots of natural gas to heat our homes, only to run short of pure, clean water for drinking, growing food, cooking–and safely washing produce!

Want to learn more about the crucial role of water and how to protect this treasure?  Check out the upcoming conference:   The Downstream Neighbor, January 27-29, 2012 in Denver.

Recipe: Winter Squash Patties

About this time of year, most of us have some winter squashes kicking around, waiting to be used up before spring.  Here’s a great way to put them to good use.  Simply roast up a double batch for dinner one night and then, a couple nights later, you’ll be set to make patties.

Two Recipe Formats for Your Convenience  While this recipe is written in the usual detailed form, it is first written in an abbreviated format that shows how simple cooking can be with a few healthy cooking basics under your belt.  No need to struggle through a lot of details if you already know how to roast squash, saute aromatics, fry in a healthful amount of oil and so on.  With the “details struggle” eliminated, presto!  Healthy cooking becomes easeful and enjoyable.  Interested in  this kind of cooking?  Join one of our Whole Kitchen meal making classes where we learn helpful “cooking Legos” that can be mixed and matched to make hundreds of easy, delicious, wholesome dishes.

Basic Recipe Offers Lots of Room for Innovation  This recipe is also what we call a “recipe basic.”  The advantage of a good recipe basic is that it can easily be varied to make 10 or 20 recipes.  E.g., this recipe can easily be varied into an Indian style dish by substituting Indian for the savory spices called for.  The patties can also be topped differently for variety.  See below for a couple suggestions.  Learning to customize and vary recipes is another skill we learn in our Whole Kitchen meal making classes.

What Kind of Squash to Use  While any of the winter squash will work, the sweet flavor of kabocha and butternut make a very nice dish.  Acorn and carnival can be fairly dry and bland, so if you must use some up, try to mix in some of the more flavorful varieties, like the kabocha, butternut, delicata or dumpling.  Also, be sure to adjust the seasonings depending on the flavor (or lack thereof) in your squash.  Stronger flavors and more salt can help perk up a unexciting squash.

Squash Patties (Abbreviated Version)

Saute aromatics until onion is lightly browned and celery is tender but still a little crunchy.  Then saute garlic, herbs and spices for another minute or two.

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 med onion, diced to 1/4”
• 2 large stalks celery, diced to 1/4”

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. rubbed sage
• 1 tsp. dried leaf thyme
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 2 shakes cayenne pepper

Mix sauteed aromatics with the following in a large mixing bowl:

• 2 cups lightly packed, roasted squash pieces, roughly 1” square
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup dry, whole grain breadcrumbs (plus 1-2 Tbsp. additional if needed)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Form mixture into 3″ patties, adding an extra tablespoon or two of breadcrumbs if mixture is too runny.

Fry patties in olive oil, then serve with one of the optional toppings, as desired.

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, as needed for frying
• Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce (optional topping)
• Salsa (optional topping)

Makes 12 to 15 patties to serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish

The “Unwritten Code:”  These are the kind of healthy cooking basics we learn in Whole Kitchen meal making classes that make healthy cooking not only easy but delicious:

• How to heat a pan and saute in minimal amounts of fat for magnificent flavor
• What kind of pan is good for sauteing:  size, shape, kind
• The order in which to add ingredients
• How to bring out the best flavor of garlic, herbs and spices
• How to avoid burning them
• How to roast squash for best flavor
• How to easily cut and seed hard winter squashes.
• How to quickly remove the flesh of a roasted squash
• How to adjust spices to make a dish perfectly suited to your tastes
• How to modify a dish for variety

Without this unwritten code, recipes must be more detailed (and still don’t cover all the tricks and tips for the most flavorful cooking!)

Squash Patties (Detailed Version)

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus an extra teaspoon for garlic and spices
• 1 med onion, diced to 1/4”
• 2 large stalks celery, diced to 1/4”

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. rubbed sage
• 1 tsp. dried leaf thyme
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 2 shakes cayenne pepper

Saute Aromatics and Herbs  Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until fairly hot but not smoking.  Add onion and saute about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just becoming translucent.  Add celery and continue cooking and stirring about 8 to 10 more minutes, until onion is lightly browned and celery is tender but still a little crunchy.

Push vegetables to sides of pan.  Into the open center of pan pour the additional teaspoon of oil and warm.  Add garlic to warmed oil and cook another minute.  Add spices and cook just another minute or two, then stir everything together and remove pan from heat.

• 2 cups lightly packed, roasted squash pieces, roughly 1” square
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup dry, whole grain breadcrumbs (plus 1-2 Tbsp. additional if needed)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Make Squash Mixture  In a large mixing bowl, lightly mash squash pieces with a large fork, leaving a little texture.  Make a hole in center of squash, add eggs and beat well.  Add breadcrumbs and salt and pepper along with vegetable-spice mixture, then stir well to combine everything.  If possible, allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes for flavors to meld.

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, as needed for frying
• Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce (optional topping)
• Salsa (optional topping)

Form and Fry Patties  When ready to form patties, stir squash mixture thoroughly, adding an extra tablespoon or two of breadcrumbs if mixture is too runny.  Form mixture into 12-15 patties, about 3” in diameter, and lay on a couple dinner plates.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan or griddle over medium heat, then brush with oil and continue heating until a small amount of batter sizzles when poured onto pan.  Lay a single layer of patties in heated pan, being careful not to crowd them.  Cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, then remove to a plate.  If desired, keep in a warm oven.  Repeat, using more oil as necessary, until patties are all cooked.

Serve  Serve patties on a platter, with a topping or two on the side, if desired.

The Toppings:  While a ready made cranberry sauce or salsa can be served with good results, this dish can go gourmet by serving with our Cranberry Fig Relish or Orange Tomatilla Salsa.   Email for the recipes.

Make as an Appetizer  Make 2” patties for a healthful appetizer that doesn’t rely on the usual blend of bread and cheese for good taste.

How Good Imagination Leads to Healthy Eating

It’s tough to adopt a new lifestyle if you can’t at least hold it in your imagination.

Unless something very unusual happened this year, a good number of us reiterated resolutions having to do with “eating better.”  Would you like to end this year having actually taken significant steps toward a lifestyle of wholesome eating?  Then commit to use your imagination more.  Here’s the thinking behind this improbable connection:

1.  If something is fun, we have no trouble doing it, right?  Think about the things you have no problem doing on a regular basis.  Going to lunch with friends.  Watching TV.  Hiking.  Spending time with the kids.  Ordering pizza on Friday nights.  Notice something about all these activities?  They’re fun.  And because they’re fun, they make their way into our lives pretty easily.

2.  So if good eating were fun, we’d have no trouble doing it regularly, right?  Reaching that conclusion doesn’t take a very big leap of logic, but it may well test our version of reality.  How many people really believe that good eating can be fun?

For example, a recent Wall Street Journal article about online calorie trackers began this way:  “Eating healthy can often feel like a chore.”  The article writer cited no authority or study for that opening line.  Presumably the chore-like nature of healthy eating is such common knowledge that it no longer requires substantiation.  Hence the need for imagination.

We have been conditioned to believe that healthy eating is the opposite of fun–not to mention boring, tasteless and overwhelmingly difficult.  Under these circumstances, it’s hard to believe that healthful eating can be a natural, easeful and enjoyable part of the day.  But can you at least imagine it!

Can you imagine, right now, that the world of wholesome, healthful eating is a world ripe with luscious foods, creative engagement, fun and friends?

Imagining doesn’t require any radical or frightful belief changes.  Just a playful opening of your mind and heart to a new way that could open so many doors for you.

So resolve this year to imagine–and see if reality begins to follow!

“Your understanding will drop in as deeply as your mind is open to it.”

–Byron Katie  in Ode, December 2011

Food Day a Good Day for Food Thought

Alabama is having trouble getting its produce picked.  As reported in the Camera on Friday, Alabama’s tough immigration law has frightened most Hispanic workers out of the state.  But American workers are not picking up the slack.  “Americans simply don’t want the backbreaking, low-paying jobs immigrants are willing to take.”  Those few who give it a try “show up late, work slower than seasoned farm hands and are ready to call it a day after lunch.”  Many are not physically fit and end up quitting after just a day or two.

Monday, October 24, was the first annual Food Day in America.  It was started to provoke thought about just the sort of issues raised by Alabama’s plight.  Acouple examples:

• How sustainable is a food production system that doesn’t allocate adequate sales revenue to keep harvesters on the job more than a couple days?  Certainly every other company–from computers to house ware gadgets–pays factory workers enough to keep product churning off its lines.
• As consumers, how do we feel about our demand for ever lower-priced foods that can only be bankrolled by immigrant labor desperate enough to do “the harshest work you can imagine doing?”  Our lunchtime “value meals” rest on tomatoes and lettuce picked by immigrants willing to thrash around hot fields doing backbreaking labor that Americans wouldn’t touch.

These are tough questions, especially in a recession and especially with food prices already rising faster than inflation.  I was out harvesting from my gardens this weekend and can readily commiserate with those unseasoned hands in Alabama.  This is indeed hard work!  I’m glad that Food Day is here so we can together begin taking stock of  how food gets to our tables.

1. Is too much money leaking out of the system to clever packaging, excessive marketing and over processing, leaving inadequate revenue to pay producers and pickers?
2. How do we account for the proportion of food that is no longer health-giving but health-destroying?
3. Are there other ways to structure the production and delivery of food that would yield a healthier population and justly paid harvesters?

While we have an amazing food production and distribution system, imbalances threaten it.  The exciting news is that Boulder County has long been experiementing with new forms of food growing and distribution.  Throughout the county and beyond, there are growers, markets, CSAs, farm stands, packing houses, ranchers, food producers, grocers, restaurant, caterers and others, all dedicated to offering us alternatives.

Even though Food Day is over for this year, how about getting ready for next year.  Patronize these local resources whenever possible, ensure their continued experimentation, and demand fairness all the way up and down the food chain.  But be ready to put your dollars behind your words

In the News: Talkin’ Skinny but Eatin’ Fat

Article Chronicles America’s Trouble Putting Healthy Words into Everyday Actions

Virtue has always been hard to embody, and healthful eating is no exception.  As a recent article summed it up:  Even though restaurant menus now broadcast the nutritional damage inflicted by our favorite foods and offer more weight-conscious options, it matters very little.  “When Americans eat out, we still order burgers and fries.” **

The association between eating out and getting a treat is deep--and hard to ignore or break. So don't try. Cook in instead!

I can relate.  As a kid, we got to feast on pancakes at IHOP on Sunday morning if we successfully suffered through church services.  What quickly formed was a deep association between eating out and total treat-dom.  When I could finally afford to go out as a young adult, that association was always front and center.  Eating out had to involve a dish with lots of cheese and/or cream.

But what if you’re ready to change the “eating out means major comfort food” dynamic–either voluntarily or because the health wounds inflicted by restaurant meals have begun taking their toll in a serious way?  Here’s an unlikely, but probably the best, solution:  Cook!  Don’t keep exposing yourself to unbearable temptation.  You’ll just succumb to it and then feel disappointed and depressed.  Conversely, cooking in:

• doesn’t put you in the highly uncomfortable position of munching on salad while the rest of the table gorges on a double cheese pizza
• is a lot less expensive
• is way more healthful
• let’s you control the agenda, exposing yourself to only the temptation you can handle
• doesn’t take any more time or cause any more stress than deciding on a restaurant, battling traffic to get there, finding a parking spot, getting a table, waiting for a table, waiting for a waitperson, waiting for a meal, wondering if you’ll like what you ordered, maybe not liking what you ordered, paying more than you’d like, then reversing the whole process to get home again
• and surprise, cooking is a lot of fun, especially when everyone joins in the kitchen and no one tries to be a perfect hostess hero.

When I was a kid, it was fine to feast on pancakes when we were good enough at church to earn that treat, because that didn’t happen very often!  But face it, in today’s world, we eat out a lot more than this, in fact, way too often to justify treating ourselves to comfort foods every time.  Maybe there will come a day when you can eat out and stick with one of the healthful options at a restaurant.  That will be great.  But for now, go easy on yourself and cook your own good, wholesome food that tastes just the way you like it.

I know what you’re thinking:  “But I don’t know how to cook, can’t cook, hate to cook, never know what to make, never have the right ingredients, never feel like cooking, and I’m so bored with what I make. . . . ”   So come to one of our two upcoming classes and get over that kind of thinking.  We make cooking fun, engaging, creative, healthful, natural and easeful.  Give it a try: 

Longmont Live Well Classes

• When:  5 Wednesdays, Oct. 12 to Nov. 9    6:00 to 8:00 pm.
• Where:  CSU Extension Conference Room/Kitchen, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Natural Resource Bldg., 9595 Nelson Rd. Longmont, CO
• Cost:
• $15 per class (scholarships available)
• Cost Saver:  Register for all 5 classes, only $10 per class
• Bonus: Host a pay it forward get-together, get a $25 grocery gift card
• Register: EverydayGoodEating.com
• Questions:  303.443.0353

Erie Community Center Classes

• When:  5 Thursdays, October 13 – November 10     5:30 to 7:30 pm
• Where:  Erie Community Center, 450 Powers Street, Erie CO
• Cost:  All 5 sessions:  R $115 / NR $145 (Includes free copy of  Take Control of Your Kitchen, the guide to organizing your kitchen for fast, healthy meal making)
• Register:  eriecommunitycenter.com  Class # 7523.310
• More Information:  EverydayGoodEating.com
• Questions:  303.443.0353

** From “Americans Talk Healthy but Then Eat Their Words,” Christina Rexrode for the Associated Press, The Denver Post, October 3, 2011, p. 1A.

Mary’s Every Year Autumn Musings

Ever feel like the ball at the end of a cue stick, getting blasted from one end of the pool table to the other?  The entire meaning of things seems to be getting through one event so you can make it on time to the next.

Disconnection . . .

This is what “disconnected” feels like to me.  Rolling around at the mercy of outside forces, with nothing to hang on to.  Interestingly, by just tuning into the seasons it’s possible to gain a toehold and a sense of reconnection.

I always write about the seasons at this time of year, likely because it’s such a poignant, meaning-laden time.  With a final blaze of awesome gold glory, summer’s green vibrancy collapses into winter’s cold and darkness.  Take even an hour to feel and absorb the changes underfoot and you can’t help but sense the bigger order of things–the fabric underneath all those smashing pool balls.

The food connection?  Easy.  We are leaving summer’s eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches and cherries; shifting on to winter’s comforting root vegetables and cold weather greens, brassicas, pears and apples.

. . . reconnection

Note this shift.  Bring some of the local autumn bounty to your table each day.  Acknowledge and savor the change of seasons:  something very real to hold you on the pool table of life!

Here’s a great way to acknowledge the seasonal shift.  Join the Food Day celebrations coming up Oct. 24!  Just commit to have a local foods meal, for just you and your family or invite friends over.  You can make it a potluck.  Watch a food-related movie together.  You get to decide what your “event” looks like.  Just be sure to map it on the Food Day site and you’ve taken a powerful stand in support of the local, healthful, safe foods that not only give us connection, but also taste great!  Read all about Food Day (it’s like Earth Day but with a Food Focus) and the Boulder County Eat Local Challenge which has been organized to help Boulder County folks participate in this important day. 

Recipe: Breaded Eggplant with Herbed Tomato Topping

Breaded Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Topping

Breading is a good way to begin getting to know eggplant, since the breadcrumb coating adds familiar flavor and a nice texture.  Those who are experienced eggplant eaters will also like the possibilities presented by a nice breaded eggplant fillet.  Layer, roll or top with different sauces, cheeses and nuts for some fast but interesting meals.  In this recipe, the eggplant is topped with a fresh tomato mixture that is just barely cooked, so it remains very fresh tasting.  In terms of timing, it can be helpful to prepare the topping ingredients first, but wait to cook them until the eggplant is baking so they don’t get overcooked.

Breaded Eggplant with Herbed Tomato Topping

Preheat oven to 400 (F). 

Slathering the eggplant into the herb mayonnaise wash

Step 1:  Prepare the “Wash”  In a wide cereal bowl, whisk together with a fork:

• 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. milk (cow, goat or soy)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To this mixture, stir in:

• 1/2 to 1 cup freshly chopped basil (or a combination of basil, parsley, thyme and oregano, with basil being the predominant herb)

Step 2:  Prepare the Breadcrumbs  On a dinner plate, spread

• 1/2 cup finely ground, whole grain breadcrumbs

Slicing the eggplant 1/2" thick

Step 3:  Prepare the Eggplant  Slice:

• 2 small eggplant or 1 medium eggplant into 1/2″ rounds

Step 4:  Bread the Eggplant   Lightly oil a cookie sheet with olive oil.  Using your hands, slather each eggplant slice with the mayonnaise wash, then lay each side in crumbs, lightly patting crumbs so they stick into the wash.  Lay on oiled cookie sheet.

Step 5:  Bake  Place cookie sheet in oven and bake eggplant about 5-10 minutes, until slices are lightly browned and tender when stuck with a fork.  Remove slices to a serving platter.  While eggplant bakes, prepare Tomato Topping. 

Step 6 Prepare Quick-Cook Tomato Topping

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lrg. onion (preferably sweet) diced to ¼”
• 4-6 med. cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less, to taste)

Bake eggplant until lightly browned and tender when stuck with a fork

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until lightly browned.  Add garlic and pepper flakes and saute another couple minutes, then stir in the following:

• 2 cups vine-ripe, farmers market tomatoes cut into ½ -1” dice (or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring to a simmer and cook just 5 minutes until tomatoes just begin to soften.  Remove from heat promptly and stir in:

• ½ cup fresh, chopped basil (or the same mixture of herbs used in mayonnaise wash)

Step 7:  Assemble and Serve  Top each baked eggplant slice with a spoonful of tomato topping and serve immediately with:

• Freshly grated Parmesan or crumbled feta cheese (optional garnish)

How to Make Healthy, Whole Grain Breadcrumbs

Transform throw away crusts into kitchen gold

The previous post talked about “breading,” an easy building block cooking technique used to create dozens of different, interesting dishes.  Get ready to start experimenting with this technique by making your own breadcrumbs.  Save money by using up old crusts and stale bread that would otherwise go to waste.  Help the environment by keeping food out of  landfills, where it produces methane, a far worse contributor to global warming than carbon emissions.

Good News for Gluten Free Eaters: Enjoy breaded dishes by making crumbs from your favorite GF bread, like Out of the Breadbox, at Vitamin Cottage.

Start with Whole Not Half  Healthy breadcrumbs can only come from healthy bread, and that means bread made from 100% whole grains, like whole wheat, oats, brown rice and millet.  In the ingredient listing for a bread, the single word “wheat” is code for “white flour.”  Skip that brand and look for one made entirely from whole grains.  Whole grains are so delicious and nutrition rich; why waste money on breads made with half grains, especially when it’s the halves with all the calories and few of the nutrients that go with them!

Gluten Free  Good news for gluten free eaters:  You can use gluten free bread for crumbs.  Be sure it’s whole grain, like Food for Life’s Millet Bread which makes really flavorful crumbs.

Act Ahead: Whenver you end up with a couple crusts or stale slices, toss them in the food processor and give them a whir.

Act Ahead  Don’t wait until preparing a breaded dish to make the breadcrumbs.  Then you’ll be saddled with the extra step of a  toasting them in the oven to dry.  Instead, weave the process into your normal kitchen routine.  Here’s an example:

1. Whenever you end up with a crust or two, simply toss them in the food processor.
2. Process the crumbs when, e.g., you’re next unloading the dishwasher.  Push the button and unload the glasses.  Once the bread has been transformed into crumbs, dump them on a plate.  Put the plate on top of, e.g, the microwave.
3. Give the crumbs a stir or two over the next couple days to make sure the bottom ones get exposed to air.
4. Then, while heating something in the microwave, pour the dried crumbs (make sure they are completely dry)  into a storage container; put the plate in the dishwasher.

Large crumbs are great for gratin toppings, meatballs and so on. . .

Now you’ve got large crumbs to use for gratin toppings, in meatloaf and meatballs, etc.  To use crumbs for breading, I recommend one additional step:

The Fine Grind  Breading works best when the crumbs are very fine.  They do a better job of sticking to the food and creating an even, solid coating.  That’s why flour and cornmeal are such good breading ingredients.  Breadcrumbs can be made into a perfect breading ingredient by simply running them through the food processor again, after they are dried the first time.  I wait and do this when I’m making a dish, and only fine grind as much as I need, leaving larger crumbs for other uses.

. . . but for breading, process again after they are dried for a small, fine crumb

No Food Processor?  An immersion blender with a chopper attachment is a good, and much less expensive, alternative.  If that option isn’t available, there’s always a rolling pin.  In the days before all our specialized electric appliances, we broke crusts into large pieces, dried them and then crushed with a rolling pin.  Putting them inside paper or plastic bags minimized the mess.

Ready to do experiment with breading?  Check out the next post on Breaded Eggplant with Herbed Tomato Topping,  which makes use of plentiful late summer and early autumn produce.

How to Bread Fish, Meat and Vegetables

One building block cooking technique, dozens of dishes

Here at EveryDay Good Eating, we like to take the mystery out of cooking.  We believe everyone can make–and deserves to enjoy–deliciously healthful food, everyday.  That’s why we teach basic, building block cooking techniques that can be mixed and matched to create a wide range of dishes.  Breading is a perfect example.  It’s an easy and inexpensive technique that can be applied to lots of different foods to create dozens of different dishes.

Breading eggplant adds fast elegance to this somewhat bland vegetable, creating a perfect palette for a fresh tomato topping

Why We Love Breading  Who doesn’t end up with bread crusts that no one wants?  Turn them into breadcrumbs and they won’t end up creating environmental havoc in a landfill.*  Meanwhile, you’ll save grocery dollars and end up with a form of kitchen gold.  Coat an ordinary food with breadcrumbs and suddenly it gets a welcome flavor boost and becomes something special, especially beneficial for blander foods like eggplant and zucchini.  Breading also helps retain moisture for delicate foods like fish and chicken breasts that dry out  easily when cooked.

Basic Breading Technique 

1. 

   Step 1: Dip the food in a "wash," here a mixture of olive oil, milk, mayonnaise and fresh herbs

   Dip a food in some kind of “wash,” like egg or milk

2. Coat it with breadcrumbs
3. Fry or bake until the breading browns and crisp.

Those are the basic elements of breading, although you’ll see dozens of variations in recipes.  Sometimes, sturdier and moister foods (like chicken breasts) aren’t dipped in a wash at all, or foods are dipped in flour before the wash.  The liquids used for a wash can vary from recipe to recipe.  Finally, delightful variety can be achieved by including herbs, spices and other flavors with the breadcrumbs or by swapping the crumbs for different flours, cornmeal, crushed corn flakes or cracker crumbs.

Step 2: Coat the slices in finely ground breadcrumbs. Here we used whole grain, gluten free crrumbs.

Making It Healthy  Breaded foods are often equated to unhealthy foods.  Think chicken nuggets, fish n’ chips and eggplant parmigiana style.  These  foods are coated thickly with white breadcrumbs then thrown in a deep frier where they absorb ungodly amounts of bad fats.   Don’t let these examples dissuade you from experimenting with this easy and delicious technique.

• Simply use a 100% whole grain breading, whether that’s breadcrumbs, flour, cracker crumbs, etc.  While whole grain breadcrumbs can be difficult to find at grocery stores, they are easy (and free) to make.  Check out this blog on making breadcrumbs, paying particular attention to the note on giving them a second “Fine Grind” after they are dried.
• Fry in healthful oils, like olive and safflower.
• Use moderate amounts of oil.  Surprisingly, browning can be achieved nicely with just a tablespoon of oil.  Be sure the oil is very warm to hot (but not smoking) before adding the food so it isn’t just absorbed by the breading.  Although the second side will brown well enough in the skim of oil remaining after the first side is browned, additional oil can be added to brown the second side more thoroughly.  In this case, remove the food after browning the first side, scrape out any remaining bits so they don’t burn, add another tablespoon of oil and heat before adding the food on its second side.
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  Step 3: Fry or bake. Here the eggplant is baked, but because of the oil in the wash, there was no need to spray slices with additional oil to get a nicely browned crust.

  Bake as an alternative to frying.  The hot air circulating in an oven does a great job of browning and crisping breaded food, if the weather isn’t too hot for turning on this appliance.  Best results are achieved by spraying the food with a little oil before baking.

Ready to try a breaded dish? First, find out how to make your own free, healthful, whole grains crumbs.  Next, check out the post on Breaded Eggplant with Herbed Tomato Topping,  which makes use of plentiful late summer and early autumn produce.

* Food waste produces methane gas which contributes far more to global warming than even carbon emissions.