Health Food Beginner

[Deborah]

Its alkaline. Mmmm I love pineapple I have just bought one. I bought an avacado too because it was reduced and I have never eaten one! But now I don't know what to do with it. Ideas?
What did the company say about the cottage cheese?

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

Avocado could be used in salads, sandwiches, used to make guacamole and I'm sure it could be used in more ways which I can't currently think of.

Edit: I also have used it mixed up with brown rice and whatever I have the brown rice with eaten as one dish.

 

[Deborah]

Yeah I was thinking of a sandwich but what else goes with it? How should I prepare it?

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

To be honest, at least I think it could mixed with anything someone happens to like, in this case whatever someone might want to put in their sandwich. I don't know how anyone else likes it. I always mix it with anything savory I like and don't even necessarily need a recipe to find a way I want to use it. It also has a light enough flavor that I think makes it something that could be eaten with pretty much anything.

 

[Deborah]

Thanks I will have a bit of an experiment tomorrow.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Its alkaline. Mmmm I love pineapple I have just bought one. I bought an avacado too because it was reduced and I have never eaten one! But now I don't know what to do with it. Ideas?
What did the company say about the cottage cheese?

You can eat it plain with mayo, stuff it with tuna or chicken salad, or mash with garlic, onion, tomato for guacamole. You can slice it on a sandwich or hamburger ... it's great in salads.

They said it tastes good--too bad, basically.

 

[dumbfairy]

Avocado goes well with prawns (although I'm not sure if they are healthy or not as I hate prawns), in sandwiches,salads etc.

 

[Melisande]

Easy and delicious ways to eat avocado:

*It's amazing sliced on top of silken tofu and drizzled with soy sauce. And nori if you have it. It takes on a whole new depth, and tastes like otoro sushi.

*Plain but with a good spritz of lemon and some sea salt. This is great on crusty wholegrain bread.

*Avocado-soy milk smoothies are great. You can sweeten it with honey, or add some spinach and a teaspoon of matcha green tea powder; surprisingly delicious either way.

*I've yet to try it, but I've heard grilled avocado is good too.

 

[Deborah]

Well I had a bit of trouble getting the flesh out. Can you eat the skin? That would be easier! But i mixed it with tuna, rocket, lime juice and black pepper and put the mix in wholemeal pitta beads. Yum yum.

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

Don't eat the skin. I don't know if it's actually edible, but I've gotten pieces in my mouth sometimes and it doesn't taste like it would be good to eat. It would be a lot easier to show how to get the skin off if I was there, but what I do with start cutting it from the outside into pieces that go from the top of the avocado to the bottom, and slice off the edible part from the bottom to get rid of the skin.

 

[columbine]

Does anyone have any recommendations for healthy food blogs (with recipes)? There seem to be a ton of dessert & tea blogs but I can't find any with actual full meal recipes. Thanks in advance

I thought I had lots of foodblogs of different varieties bookmarked but when I went through them they indeed are mostly dessert orientated.
But here's an excellent one:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/

I have tried many of her recipes and they are great.

 

[dumbfairy]

Well I had a bit of trouble getting the flesh out. Can you eat the skin? That would be easier! But i mixed it with tuna, rocket, lime juice and black pepper and put the mix in wholemeal pitta beads. Yum yum.

Cut it in half length-ways, and peel the skin off using a small sharp knife. Then it's easy to slice,and you can clingfilm the spare slices and keep in the fridge (but they'll need to be eaten vey quickly if memory serves me correct)

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

Yes, I forgot to mention that. When there's leftover, it's better to wrap it in something to keep it from going bad which would start happening very quickly after sticking it in the fridge if it isn't.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Well I had a bit of trouble getting the flesh out. Can you eat the skin? That would be easier! But i mixed it with tuna, rocket, lime juice and black pepper and put the mix in wholemeal pitta beads. Yum yum.

Cut in half with a knife and separate. With a quick motion, imbed the sharp knife in the seed and twist, which should dislodge it.

Work a serving spoon between the skin and the flesh, and scoop out the flesh in one piece.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Yes, I forgot to mention that. When there's leftover, it's better to wrap it in something to keep it from going bad which would start happening very quickly after sticking it in the fridge if it isn't.

If I'm only going to eat half, I leave the other half in the skin, put it face down in a closed container, and refrigerate. If you eat it a couple days later, the exposed part may have oxidized, but you can just slice a thin layer off, and the rest is good as new. If you eat it quickly, then it will be much as it was when you stored it.

Also, if you're preparing with lemon or lime, you could put the leftover juice on the exposed flesh & that should prevent oxidation.

 

[littleblacksheep]

I thought I had lots of foodblogs of different varieties bookmarked but when I went through them they indeed are mostly dessert orientated.
But here's an excellent one:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/

I have tried many of her recipes and they are great.

I second this recommendation - that is a great blog with wonderful recipes. If you like trying some recipes with a french flavour, some deserts but some great healthy recipes, try out www.chocolateandzucchini.com . I have tried some of her recipes and they have turned out great.

 

[Melisande]

You can freeze avocado. Just scoop out the flesh and freeze in ziplocs.

Orangette is one of my favorite food blogs.
It's not a health-food blog per se, but she has a great variety of delicious veggie dishes:
http://recipesorangette.blogspot.com/

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

Is there a good way besides using a coffee grinder to ground up flax seeds?

 

[xbryony]

Ahh it's a shame this thread died down!
I'm trying hard to get into the habit of healthy eating, though it's something I have progressively done, eg. switching to wholemeal bread and pasta as opposed to white
My big problem has been chocolate and nutella I literally used to eat at least one bar of chocolate every day, and could easily go through 4 slices of toast lathered in nutella very quickly!
I haven't completely banned myself from it but I'm trying to stick to milk chocolate just once a week and maybe sometimes dark chocolate instead (which I used to hate, I'm forcing myself into it)
Another big problem for me is eating fresh, natural and organic. Being a student means I'm on a very tight budget so I can't always eat the meals I would want to ideally.
This thread has been very motivational anyway and given me some great ideas for meals/snacks. Thanks for sharing everyone

 

[Hebden]

Chocolate and nutella are twin demons in my world too. I have finally been convinced that a Starbucks mocha is not "breakfast" and is, in fact, "liquid chocolate in a paper cup". Today's coffee was less exciting but also less sugar-y.