Fancy Pants Foodie

DISCLAIMER: I received payment for today’s television appearance to share about bistroMD meal delivery service and some other products, listed below. As usual, I would not promote anything that I didn’t think was awesome. Also, in the spirit of full disclosure, I’m currently eating frosting out of a piping bag while writing about healthy foods. Carry on. 

So, I’m guessing you saw me today on Good Morning Arkansas! Maybe I’m still on right now, and you’re laughing at the fact that I dropped the salmon, or I over-sauced the carrots. (Not really, I hope…I’m writing this the night before.) I do want to tell you a bit more about the dish I made and share the recipe with you.

The Citrus Glazed Salmon recipe is from bistroMD, a healthy alternative to take-out and frozen meals that comes right to your door. They can customize your menu based on your particular health needs, from diabetes to gluten-free. You can choose from tons of breakfast, lunch and dinner options, and you can do just about any combination of those you want for your weekly program. A full week program, including 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 6 dinners (they figure you’ll want to go out once) is $159.95, delivered frozen to your door each week. Not too bad!

I will say this: The recipe I presented was a little tricky. Salmon can be hard for beginners to get just right without overcooking (luckily, mine turned out mostly fine). But the real stinker was those carrots! I love, love, LOVE miso paste, but it contains a lot of sugar and protein that likes to BURN in the oven, the method used in the original recipe. I finally tweaked the recipe to make them a little less, um, smoky. I see from bistroMD’s photos that the carrots are really (properly) caramelized when they do them, but it’s hard to do that at home just right without summoning cute firefighters, so I’ll give you some options.  See the recipe below.

Or, hey, just hire bistroMD to do it for you! Win.

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The snacks! I hope you were able to hear about all the snacks. (If I ran out of time, just keep reading and you’ll hear all about it!) There are some really cool things available now that you can easily carry in your purse or stick in your desk drawer. Here’s what I (hopefully) talked about today:

Carrington Farms Flax Packs: Flax seeds are extremely good for you, with Omega 3s and fiber and all kinds of good stuff. But they usually have to be refrigerated, and they have to be cut for you to absorb the nutrients. These packs are organic, portion sized and don’t need a fridge. Just put it right on your salad, yogurt or whatever. They’re available locally at Whole Foods.

I loves me some little glass iced coffees that you might see at the grocery store, but they don’t love me back…full of sugar and unnatural nasties. The new RealBeanz iced coffee is a healthy spin on these popular “ccino” drinks. There are several varieties, and they’re all 100% natural. I personally love that the “diet” one uses stevia rather than fake sweeteners! You’ll have to order this one online, either from the RealBeanz site or on Amazon.

Finally, my favorite…Perky Jerky. It’s not just a funny name, it’s actually really delicious. The “perky” part comes from the use of guarana, a plant that is energizing much like a coffee bean, in the jerky marinade. The marinade also includes pineapple juice, which tenderizes and sweetens through its natural enzymes and God-given yumminess. A jerky that isn’t tough and gross, and can actually pick me up on a long work day? Sign me up. I saw these tonight at Kroger (yay), and I hear they’re also at Target and Home Depot.

I hope you enjoyed my visit on the teevee today! Hopefully it was more educational and less laugh-at-me inducing. Either way, click the links here (I don’t benefit if you do, it’s just cool stuff) and read more about it!

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Citrus Glazed Salmon (serves 4)
Courtesy of bistroMD (slightly modified in places!)

 

Salmon:

• 1 pound of center-cut salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 4 portions
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

 

Preheat oven to 450F.

Season the salmon fillets lightly with salt and pepper and place on a non-stick baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.

 

Citrus Glaze:

• 1/2 cup Mandarin Oranges, drained
• 1 ½ tablespoons Lime Juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoons Orange Juice
• 1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Scallions, chopped
• Corn Starch, as needed

 

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add the  lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice and rice wine vinegar. Heat until it begins to boil then turn down the heat to a low simmer and allow to slightly reduce. If a thicker sauce is preferred, add corn starch to thicken to desired consistency. Just before serving, add the oranges and toss to warm through. Spoon over salmon and garnish with scallions. (Note: Original recipe cooks the oranges and scallions in the sauce the whole time, which makes more of a chunky sauce. I wanted a glaze and separate oranges, and I like the scallions to be fresh and green, hence my changes. Make it how you want!)

 

Miso Carrots:

• 16oz bag, Petite-Cut Carrots
• 4 tablespoons Miso Paste
• 2 teaspoons Sesame Oil

 

Oven method:

Preheat oven to 450F.

Toss carrots, miso paste and sesame oil together in a bowl. Spread onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Blogger’s note: I wasn’t as happy with this method, although it looks fine. See options below.)

Stovetop method:

Steam carrots by microwaving in a covered bowl with a tablespoon of water for 3-4 minutes, or in a steamer basket over boiling water on the stovetop. Alternately, you can roast the carrots, tossed in a tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil (less likely to burn than the sesame oil) in the 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, turning frequently.

Place miso paste, sesame oil and a tablespoon of water in a nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom constantly, until the mixture becomes a thickened sauce. (This may not take much time with traditional miso paste; Kroger only has a very liquidy version that took longer to cook down.) When thickened, add your steamed or roasted carrots and toss to coat.

 

Ginger Snow Peas:

• 12oz Snow Peas, fresh or frozen
• ½ teaspoon Ginger, fresh, grated
• ¼ teaspoon Sesame Oil

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat with the sesame oil. When oil is heated, add the ginger and sauce for 1 minute. Add the snow peas and toss to coat with the oil and ginger. Saute 2-3 minutes if using fresh. Saute 7-8 minutes if using frozen.

 

Note: If you caught me on Good Morning Arkansas today, find more info about the recipe I made here.

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You’ve seen features of the participating bloggers. You’ve heard our pleas for baked goods. You’ve salivated at the photos posted by bloggers getting ready.

It’s time.

This Saturday, May 3 is the Arkansas Blogger Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry, at the Argenta Farmers’ Market, 6th and Main in North Little Rock, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

If you’ve been under a rock or something, here’s the scoop. No Kid Hungry is a national nonprofit that fights childhood hunger in a number of ways, from summer feeding programs to cooking and nutrition education. (The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance administers all the NKH programs in Arkansas, in case you want to get involved or need services.) Five years ago, bloggers across the country started holding bake sales to raise funds for NKH, all on the same day. The past four years, Arkansas has participated and raised a ton of cash, holding our own against bigger cities’ sales. (Not that we’re competitive. Much.)

This year, we aim to raise $3,000 for No Kid Hungry at our Arkansas sale. That means we need you to come out and buy stuff! We’ll have cookies, cakes, brownies and breads from home cooks and bloggers, as well as items from professional bakers like Dempsey Bakery, Solfood Catering, Sweet Love and kBird.

Can’t make it, or don’t eat delicious baked goods? No problem. Click here to securely donate cash, which will be credited to our Arkansas group’s fundraiser. You can also check out the online auction we have going on, ending Friday at 5 p.m., for larger baked goods, as well as many goods and services.

This is a big deal, y’all! I hope you’ll join me this Saturday to fight childhood hunger in Arkansas and beyond.