People always ask me how I get meals on the table quickly and I tell them it’s because I always have some basic ingredients on hand so that I don’t have to give cooking all that much thought.  And, if I need to run to the store it’s usually for chicken or fish.  Since I love helping people prepare healthy meals I thought I’d share my list of pantry items with you.

Olive oil – There are an astonishing number of different olive oisl that fall into a huge range of prices, but a simple understanding of the terms on the label can help.  There are two categories of olive oil defined by how they are processed, virgin oil and refined oil.  Virgin oil is pressed and filtered without heat or chemical processing with extra virgin being the highest grade with the best flavor and lowest acidity level.  Virgin oil has a more mild flavor and a higher acidity level.  Refined oils have gone through a chemical process to neutralize strong flavors or defects in the oil.

Olive oils are comparable to grapes and wine in that many factors determine their quality and taste, such as the variety of olive used, the climate and soil in which the olive was grown, its ripeness at harvest time and its age. All these factors add to the flavor of the oil, whether it is hot and spicy or grassy and herbaceous or soft and buttery.

Extra virgin olive oil has the most intense flavor of all the oils.  I use extra virgin olive oil for both cooking and finishing.  I use a cheaper, lesser quality organic olive oil for heating and then I have a good, fruity olive oil that I use for finishing and for dressings.  I never heat my finishing oil.

Just because an oil is expensive, doesn’t mean it’s good.  There are some extremely expensive oils in fancy bottles from boutique producers that don’t live up to their cost.  When purchasing a good, more costly finishing oil, shop in a boutique or high end store that will allow you to taste the oils.  If you can’t taste them, try to purchase small quantities.  If you’re in a restaurant that serves a really good oil, you can always ask the waiter what oil they use.

Nut and seed oils, such as walnut, hazelnut and sesame, are intensely nutty and great for use in salad dressings and as finishing oils.  They are quite perishable and should never be heated.  After opening they should be stored in the refrigerator and used within one to two months.

There are a couple of occasions that I use oils other then olive.  If I’m breading something, such as a piece of chicken, and want a crispy crust, I will use canola oil and get the oil very hot before adding the chicken.  For a stir fry, which also needs higher temperatures, I will use peanut oil.

Vinegars – I keep a few different vinegars on hand, red and white wine vinegars, sherry vinegar, balsamic and white balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar and rice vinegar.  As with olive oil quality varies and inexpensive wine vinegars are often made from bad wine and taste like it.  Again, as with olive oil, try to taste vinegar before purchasing or buy in small quantities.

Salt – In culinary school I was taught to cook only with kosher salt.  Then when I studied nutrition I learned about the health benefits of sea salt and added this to my cooking repertoire.  Sea salt contains more than 100 minerals that the body needs to stay healthy.

Sea salt is milder and more flavorful than table salt.  It can be gray or pink or even black due to the minerals at the source.  If you’re going to use sea salt, which comes in fine and coarse and I suggest you use the fine ground and always use your fingers when seasoning with salt, this gives you a more accurate sense of how much you are using than shaking from a container.

Black pepper – There are so many different varieties of black pepper grown all over the world.  Their names are taken from the areas where they are grown and they differ in color, shape, chemical characteristic and flavor.  Some of the more well known varieties of black pepper are:

• Tellicherry – A high quality gourmet pepper with large and tasty berries. It’s very big in size and does not take much time to mature. It is known for its strong aroma and pungent smell.
• Malabar - Grown on the coast of Malabar in Kerala, its flavor is the same as Tellicherry black pepper. Its aroma is sweet and fruity.
• Lampong: Originating from Indonesia, it is thought to be one of the best black peppers in the world. Its taste is extremely spicy and is has a very strong aroma.
• Sarawak - Produced in the north east part of Bornea in Indonesia, it is considered to be one of the best black peppers in the world. It is extremely fresh, with sharp, pungent taste to it

Herbs and spices – I always have herbs and spices on hand.  They can easily change a dish from boring to exciting.  Herbs and spices don’t last very long so buy in small quantities.

Fresh herbs – Add fresh herbs at the end of cooking time, never heat them.

Spices – The best thing to do is buy small quantities of whole spices and grind them yourself.  I have a coffee grinder that I use only for spices.

Dried herbs – Dried herbs will last about three to six months.  Store them in a cool place to get the most out of them.  Don’t keep your dried herbs over the stove or in direct sunlight.

• To use dried herbs properly place in the palm of your hand first and rub your hands together to break up the herbs and release the oils, then add them to your skillet.

Grains – I always have an assortment of grains on hand because I throw them into everything.  If you’re not familiar with cooking grains, please see the grain cooking chart in the grain section.

Wine – I always have a bottle of red and white wine on hand to add to sauces.

Stock – You will always find a container of vegetable and chicken stocks in my cabinet.  I will sometimes have beef stock, but since I rarely eat red meat, beef stock isn’t something I will always have on hand.

Nuts & seeds – I sprinkle nuts and seeds on just about everything from grains to veggies.

Beans – Although I will sometimes cook beans from scratch, it’s not a weekly occurrence so I will always have cans of a few different types of beans in my cabinet. You can usually fine chickpeas, cannellini beans and black beans.

Here is a list of the perishables I always have on hand:

Garlic – I love garlic and will add it to just about anything.

Onion – There will always be an onion in my refrigerator.

Shallot – This mild member of the onion family is great for sauces or pilafs.

Carrot and celery – Along with onion complete the “mirepoix”, the aromatics that can be found as the start of most soups, stews and some pilafs and sauces.

Nut butters – I love nut butters, especially peanut and cashew but I’ve been known to use sunflower seed butter too.

Eggs – To scramble, poach, hard boil or hold together salmon or tuna burgers, I love eggs.

With this list of less than 20 items and a quick trip to the grocery store for protein and fresh vegetables I can create a meal in just minutes.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

By combining lean ground beef with lean ground lamb we are able to cut back on saturated fat and by serving this over zucchini “pasta” instead of regular pasta we are upgrading from a simple carbohydrate to a complex.

GREEK MEATBALLS WITH ZUCCHINI PASTA

Serves   6

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound lean ground lamb

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 roasted red pepper, chopped

1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

3 large zucchini

2 cups marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare a baking sheet by covering with foil and brushing with a small amount of olive oil.

Combine the ground beef and lamb, oregano, mint, parsley, garlic, red peppers and feta cheese together in a large bowl, blending in cheese until no large crumbles remain.

Roll into 1 tablespoon size balls.

Place on the baking sheet.

Cook for about 25 minutes, or until the outside of the meatballs brown and the center is cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking cut the zucchini into “pasta” using a potato peeler and slicing into “pappardelle” strips.

Place the marinara in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Add the zucchini and cook a few minutes to heat through.

Place the zucchini in a bowl and top with the meatballs.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Women who exercise during pregnancy usually have a more comfortable pregnancy and faster postpartum recovery.  If you’re not a gym fan pre-pregnancy is a good time to find a low-impact form of exercise you enjoy doing so that your body has time to get used to it.  Starting an exercise program now is much better then starting a program when you are already pregnant and feeling the ups and downs of your first trimester.   Pre-pregnancy is a great time to really work on your stomach muscles, especially your lower abs, they do a lot of work doing pregnancy.

We need to exercise.  Our bodies thrive on movement, and quickly degenerate without it.  It is also essential for fertility, weight loss and handling stress.  Inactivity deprives muscles of the constant push and pull they need to stay healthy.  It also saps their ability to respond to insulin and to efficiently absorb blood sugar.  When that leads to too much blood sugar and insulin in the bloodstream, it endangers ovulation, conception, and pregnancy.

You don’t need to be fit to be fertile, but it helps.  If you are in reasonably good shape this increases your chances of conceiving quickly and having an easier birth.  Exercise also helps reduce stress, promotes good sleep patterns, improves your circulation and improves your feeling of both physical and mental wellbeing. And when you’re feeling good your confidence and sex drive increase.

Unless you are extremely lean and don’t need to lose weight exercise is a must for fertility.  Research shows that for every hour of vigorous activity per week there was a 7 percent reduction in infertility.  Vigorous intensity exercise causes a substantial increase in breathing or heart rate making having a conversation difficult, having a “perceived exertion” of 15 or greater and can burn more than seven calories per minute.

Perceived exertion is based on a scale that was developed by Dr. Gunnar Borg.  It is based on how hard you perceive you are working.  The scale runs from “no feeling of exertion” which rates a 6, to “very, very hard”, which rates a 19 or 20, this means you are exercising so hard you couldn’t possibly push yourself any harder.  It runs from 6 to 20 to roughly correspond to your heart rate by multiplying your perceived score by 10 should give you your approximate heart rate.

The Borg Scale for Perceived Exertion

Working your muscles is good for ovulation and conception as well as being an integral part of losing or controlling weight and keeping blood sugar and insulin in check.  A single exercise session speeds the entry of blood sugar into muscle cells and improves their sensitivity to insulin, which, as we now know, is important for fertility.

Some women need more exercise then others for their weight or moods and others are active just because they enjoy it.  Some who need to be active aren’t, while a small number of others are too active. Most women should be getting at least thirty minutes of exercise every day, unless your BMI is over 25, then you may need to exercise for longer.  If your BMI is below 20 then you may need to cut back for a little while, we will discuss BMI and the “fertility zone” later.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based health coaching, personal chef and personal training service that  specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Vitamins are essential to life.  They regulate metabolism and assist in the biochemical processes that release energy from digested food.  Enzymes are essential chemicals that are the foundation of human bodily functions.  They are activators in the chemical reactions that are continually taking place within the body.  As coenzymes, vitamins work with enzymes allowing all the activities that occur within the body to be carried out as they should.

Vitamins are found in the macronutrients; carbohydrates, fats and proteins in our foods.  They perform specific jobs that enable the body to operate efficiently.

Our fat soluble vitamins; A, D, E and K are stored in the body’s fat and liver.  Because they are stored in our tissues they can build up and become toxic.

Water soluble vitamins; all the B vitamins, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin C are not stored in the body.  The body uses what it needs and the rest is released in our urine.

Vitamins are essential to life, without them there would be no chemical reactions in our bodies, which means we wouldn’t function because all our body processes start with a chemical reaction.

Folic acid and folate are a B vitamin used in our bodies to make new cells.  Folate is the type that occurs naturally, in food, circulates in the bloodstream, and is found inside red blood cells.  Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate used in vitamin supplements, in fortifying food and is much easier for the body to assimilate than naturally occurring folate.

Women in their childbearing years should take at least 400 mcg of folic acid a day in addition to what they get from food, even if they aren’t trying to get pregnant.  That’s because up to half pregnancies aren’t planned.  Pregnant women need 600 mcg.

Foods rich in folic acid:

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based health coaching, personal chef and personal training service that specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

My client Heidi loves this for breakfast.

EGG STUFFED TOMATO

Serves 1

1 large tomato, all seeds and flesh scooped out

1egg

Black pepper

1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 325.

Break egg into the tomato and place in a ramekin or baking dish that will hold the tomato upright.

Sprinkle the egg with a pinch of black pepper.

Bake about 10-12 minutes for the yolk to thicken but not completely set.

For a more solid yolk cook about 15 minutes.

2 minutes before the end of cooking time top with the parmesan cheese and basil.

Continue cooking to melt cheese.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

This is a list of 96 alternative names for sugar that are used in packaged food products.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based health coaching, personal chef and personal training service that specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

I recently read an article that explained how 53% of people don’t understand the difference between good fats and bad fats. So, if you’re one of the 53%, I thought I’d take the time to explain because this is important stuff to know.

“Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet” has been the mantra for healthful eating for decades.  Touted as a way to lose weight and prevent or control heart disease and other chronic conditions, millions of people have followed or, more likely, have tried to follow, this advice.  Seeing a tremendous marketing opportunity, food companies re-engineered thousands of foods to be lower in fat or fat free.  The low-fat approach to eating may have made a difference for the occasional individual, but as a nation it hasn’t helped us control weight or become healthier.

Detailed research, much of it done at Harvard, shows that the total amount of fat in the diet isn’t really linked with weight or disease.  What really matters is the type of fat in the diet.  Bad fats increase the risk for certain diseases.  Good fats do just the opposite.

Fat is a nutrient, and one that we absolutely need.  We have about 100 trillion cells in our bodies and every single one of them has a cell membrane that is made of fat.  Depending on the type of fat you eat is how healthy your cell membranes will be.  Fat is crucial for normal body function and without it we could not live.  It plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature and  the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, a, d, e and k.

Fat also serves as a buffer between the body and a host of diseases.  Whenever chemical or biotic substances reach unsafe levels in the bloodstream, the body stores it in our fat tissue until the offending substances can be metabolized or removed from the body.  This helps protect our vital organs from being damaged.

Fats are also called oils, and when they are in the body we refer to them as lipids, cholesterol or triglycerides, as in a lipid or cholesterol panel that your doctor will do to measure the levels of your good cholesterol (HDL), bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. 

We get fat in our diet from animal sources, which are usually solid, such as butter, lard, cream and meat.  We also get fat from fish oil that is liquid; and vegetable sources, which are usually liquid, as in olive, peanut, flax and corn oils.

There is a fear of fat in our society.  We always hear that fats lead to heart disease.  This is too general a statement, not all fats cause heart disease.  There are actually fats that are good for us and when these good fats replace the bad fats in our diets they can actually help reduce our risk of heart disease.  What makes fats different from each other is the number of hydrogen molecules they have.  And within each category there are many different fats, the difference between these fats is the number of carbon atoms they contain.

CATEGORIES OF FAT

Saturated fats are totally saturated with hydrogen atoms.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in meat and meat products, the skin of poultry, dairy products, many processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, pastries and crackers, as well as coconut and palm oils.  A diet high in saturated fat tends to lead to heart disease as well as decreased fertility

Monounsaturated fats are not saturated with hydrogen atoms, each fat molecule has only the space for one hydrogen atom and has only single bonds.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in olives and olive oil, ground nut oils and avocados.  Foods containing monounsaturated fats lower LDL cholesterol, while raising HDL cholesterol.  It has been shown in studies that replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fats may help lower total cholesterol, raise HDL and lower triglycerides which leads to increased fertility.  Good sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

There is another monounsaturated fat worth mentioning called Omega-9.  We always hear about Omega 3, but there are two other Omega fats, 6 and 9.  Omega 9 is created in the body from unsaturated fat.  It is thought to improve immune function, reduce insulin resistance, reduce hardening of the arteries and lower cholesterol levels.  It is found in olives, olive oil, avocado, almonds, sesame oil, pecans and macadamia nuts. Omega 3 and Omega 6 will be discussed shortly.

Polyunsaturated fats are not saturated with hydrogen atoms, each molecule has only the space for one hydrogen atom.  What makes it different from monounsaturated fat is that it as double bonds.  It is a naturally occurring fat found in safflower oil, grapeseed oil, and sunflower oil.

Omega 3 is a marketing buzzword these days.  It is a polyunsaturated fat that the human body can’t make from scratch so it must be supplied by the food we consume.  In addition to improving your chances of getting pregnant and reducing the risk of miscarriage, omega 3 is important for the development of a baby’s brain before and after birth.  It is found in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, chunk light tuna and mackerel as well as flax seed and flax seed oil, canola oil, walnuts and soybean oil.  It protects us from heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels, and acts as an anti-inflammatory, has been shown to be beneficial to the brain.

Omega 6 is also a polyunsaturated fat and it is extremely abundant in our food supply.  We get it from poultry, avocado, eggs, mayonnaise, salad dressing, shortening, pork, bacon, trail mix, chocolate chips, egg substitute, cereal, whole grain breads, nuts and vegetable oils.  Omega 6, unto itself is not an unhealthy fat, but our Standard American Diet (SAD) typically has a ratio of 10:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 and some as high as 30:1, while the optimal ratio for health is thought to be 4:1.  It is this unbalanced ratio that is believed to increase the posiility of a number of diseases as well as depression.  Excessive amounts of Omega 6 interfere with the health benefits of Omega 3 because they compete for the same enzymes.  A high proportion of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is associated with heart attacks, stroke, arrhythmia, arthritis, osteoporosis, inflammation, mood disorders, cancer and reduced fertility.

Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils are extremely unhealthy. The only natural source of trans fats are the bacteria living in the stomachs of cows, sheep, deer, and other ruminants.  As a result beef, lamb, buffalo, venison, and dairy products have small amounts of naturally occurring trans fat and until recently they were the only source.

Today trans fats are created by the process of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid which gives the oil a longer shelf life.  Mono and polyunsaturated fats have a very short shelf life, they don’t last very long when baked into food items that are expected to sit on store shelves, such as, cakes, cookies and muffins, they go rancid.  By adding hydrogen to these fats they last much longer, can give food a nice taste and texture and turn it into something so unhealthy that it has been proven to increase LDL cholesterol levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels, which in turn raises the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke.  It has been found that, gram for gram trans fat has twice the adverse effects on these cholesterol levels then saturated fats.  Trans fats have become popular because food companies find them easy to use and cheap to produce.  Research shows that people with diets high in trans fats have a higher rate of endometriosis, infertility and miscarriage.

Trans fats can be heated over and over again so they are used in commercial fryers by restaurants and fast food chains to prepare French fries, fried mozzarella sticks and fried shrimp.  Several cities around the world have banned the use of trans fats.  But they are still used in mass produced foods such as doughnuts, pies, pastries, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, stick margarines, shortenings, and many other baked foods. The FDA has estimated that until recently, 95 percent of prepared cookies, 100 percent of crackers and 80 percent of frozen breakfast products contained partially hydrogenated fats.  Most of the time we don’t choose to eat trans fats, they are fed to us unknowingly.  Trans fats are so detrimental to our health that many states have banned the use of them

I mentioned cell membranes earlier and I want to expand on that now that I’ve explained the different categories of fats.  Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega 3 fatty acids are essential to healthy cell membranes.  Why is this important?  When we spoke of carbohydrates, we spoke of insulin opening the cell door for glucose to move out of the blood stream into our cells and glucagon to help it move out again and in order for this to happen the glucose has to go through the cell membrane.  Consuming mono, poly and omega 3 fats keeps our cell membranes soft so glucose can move in and out easily.  If we consume high amounts of saturated and trans fats then our cell membranes aren’t as soft as they could be and we start to have a problem moving glucose in and out of our cells which leads to too much glucose in the blood.

Cholesterol is a type of fat found in nature and in the body. We do need cholesterol although our livers usually make all we need and any additional is building up in our arteries causing plaque.  Although it is still important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, dietary cholesterol isn’t nearly the villain it’s been portrayed to be.  Cholesterol in the bloodstream is what’s most important.  Dietary sources of cholesterol include cheese, egg yolks, beef, pork, poultry, and shrimp.  It is not present in plant based food sources unless it has been added during preparation.

There are two types of cholesterol:

• HDL is your good cholesterol; it cleans up the arteries of LDL and triglyceride deposits, so it helps prevent heart disease.  This is why you want your HDL level to be as high as possible.
• LDL is your bad cholesterol; it sticks to your arteries and causes heart disease.  This is why you want this number as low as possible.

Triglycerides are another type of fat found in nature and in the body.  This is a very bad type of fat.  Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption and/or a diet very high in carbohydrates.  High triglycerides are a lifestyle-related risk factor for heart disease; however, underlying diseases or genetic disorders can be the cause.  Usually, when people have high triglycerides they also have high LDL and low HDL as well as diabetes

When your doctor does a lipid panel what is being measured is the amount of cholesterol floating around in your blood.  You usually get four numbers total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides.

These are the healthy numbers:

• Total Cholesterol – under 200
• HDL –
  • Men the ideal range is 40 to 50 mg/dL.
  • Women, ideal range from 50 to 60 mg/dL.
  • An HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL or higher gives some protection against heart disease.
  • LDL – Less than 100
  • Triglycerides – Less than 150

Research shows that by replacing trans fat and saturated fats with healthy monounsaturated fats from oils and nuts and polyunsaturated fats from fish and plants the chances of fertility, a healthy pregnancy and healthy heart are increased exponentially.

DONNA’S TIPS FOR UPGRADING YOUR FATS

• Limit red meat consumption to once or twice per week.
• Upgrade your protein from red meat to poultry, from poultry to fish and fish to a vegetarian meal.
• Increase consumption of omega 3 fats from farmed salmon and walnuts.
• Read food labels and avoid anything with trans fats.  The labels will read “partially hydrogenated oil” or “vegetable shortening”
• When eating out, steer clear of fried foods.
• Use olive oil in place of butter with dinner breads and rolls
• Experiment with oils from nuts and seeds; such as almond, walnut and sesame.
• Drizzle nut oils over vegetables.
• Replace unhealthy snacks of chips with a small handful of nuts.
• In stir fries replace meat with nuts
• Cook you own meals!  Take control of your health and that of your yet-to-be-conceived child’s by preparing your own meals so you know exactly what is in them.
• Use olive oil in your skillet instead of butter, Crisco or lard
• Bake sweet potato wedges to replace French fries
• When using oil in a skillet brush the skillet with the oil instead of pouring it in.  You will need to reduce the heat for such a small amount of oil.

Fats pack a punch in the calorie department.  All oils have 120 calories per tablespoon so use them sparingly.

Serving sizes for fats:

• 1 tablespoon is about 1 ½ times the size of your thumb from tip to the first joint.  Use this measure for oils and nut butters.
• 1 serving of nuts and seeds should fit in the palm of your cupped hand.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

This is a great vegetarian meal in a bowl.  Feel free to add sautéed chicken or even pork.

APRICOT-PEANUT COUSCOUS

Serves 3

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup couscous

1 cup broccoli floret, lightly blanched

1/4 cup dried apricot, chopped

2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup raisins, chopped

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Bring stock to a boil and add couscous

Remove from heat and cover until stock has evaporated and couscous is soft.

Spoon the couscous into bowl.

Add broccoli, apricots, peanuts and raisins and toss

Heat oil and saute onion to golden, about 7 minutes

Add cinnamon, turmeric and chickpeas, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and spoon over couscous.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

When I work with clients they always tell me they have trouble eating the 5 number of servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit that I tell them they should be eating so I compiled this list of tips and tricks to help them out.

BASIC

Join a CSA or shop at a Farmers Market so you have access to the freshest and healthiest fruits and vegetables.

Apples, pears, bananas, oranges and cherry tomatoes don’t need to be refrigerated do keep your them in plain view on your countertop or table so when snack time rolls around it will be easy to grab a piece of fruit or a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Veggies that need to be refrigerated cut so they’re easy to grab and go and place in the refrigerator at eye level

Add extra vegetables to your soup and stew recipes as well as cans or frozen entrees.

Grate vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, parsnips, turnips and squash and add them to sauces, meatloaf, stews and chili. No one will notice and you’ll get the all the nutritional benefits.

BREAKFAST

Add berries to pep up your morning breakfast oatmeal.

Throw some cut up fruit into your plain yogurt

When making your morning eggs add sautéed vegetables, even if just scrambling.

SNACK

Freshly cut vegetables are absolutely delicious with your favorite dip. Eat them at snack time instead of potato chips or tortilla chips

Make a delicious parfait by layering fresh or frozen berries with unsweetened yogurt and nuts or granola.

Keep seedless grapes and blueberries in the freezer for a great sweet snack you can just pop in your mouth.

Pack a small bag of dried apricots, apples, prunes, pineapples, and cranberries so you have something healthy when hunger pangs hit.  Or carry a Larabar that’s made only with fruit.

Make a fruit smoothie:   A good rule of thumb is to make your smoothie with 2 parts frozen fruit, 1 part liquid, but these measurements are not set in stone. The great thing about smoothies is you can experiment to get exactly what you want!

To add vegetables as well as fruit to your diet try a green smoothie.  The basic green smoothie recipe 1 or 2 bannanas, 1/2 cup of another fruit. 1 1/2 cup fresh greens such as 3 kale leaves, 2 chard leaves and a small handful spinach and add water to dilute to desired consistency.  If you need a bit of sweetness you can add 2 or more dates  or raw honey for sweetness.

LUNCH & DINNER

Eat a salad as a meal once or twice each week.

When you make a sandwich add extra veggies and less meat and then have sliced tomato or a small salad on the side.

When planning the weekend BBQ always add mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, squash, zucchini to the grill so you have them on hand to add to meals during the week to add to sandwiches, salads or as a side dish.

Enjoy meatless Mondays with a veggie stir fry, fajita or curry.  Substitute angel hair pasta with spaghetti squash and eggplant parmesan for veal or chicken parmesan.

At dinner, make your sides vegetables and skip the starchy sides like pasta and white rice.

If having a simple entrée basic grilled chicken or fish jazz it up with a fruit salsa.

If a meal is not a meal without dessert, make dessert a cup of mixed berries, a dollop of vanilla yogurt and a tablespoon of granola. You can change this up with anything from pineapple, baked apples to peaches.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

I developed this dish while sitting in my mother’s backyard staring at the sage that was over taking her garden.

SAGEY BEANS

Serves 2

1 – 14 1/2 oz. can white beans, undrained

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 medium garlic clove, grated

Sea salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh sage, diced

Put the beans into a saucepan, along with their liquid.

Add the stock, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and let it simmer another 5 minutes.

Check the liquid level during cooking, it should be slightly soupy.

During the last couple of minutes of cooking stir and mash the beans with a wooden spoon, but still retain some texture.

Season with a pinch each of the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the fresh sage.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.