Take A Food Safari

cooking

Jan 8

Alice Henneman, MS, RD, LMNT, Extension Educator for the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, has six adventures that you find right at the end of your fork. Use the MyPlate as your personal road map and set off on a series of fabulous food adventures. Resolve to have at least one new food a week. Consider these destinations for your food safari.#1 - Shoot For New Grains.Venture beyond bread for more of your recommended 6 to 11 daily grain servings. Try a new grain or different form of a familiar grain.How about amaranth or barley? Buckwheat and quinoa, though not true grains, also count and may offer new adventures. Check the back of food packages for access to new recipes.Test untried forms of favorite grains. Consider bulgur or couscous from the wheat family. If you’ve always used cornmeal for making cornbread, try cooking polenta instead.#2 - Widen Your Veggie Range.Instead of a baked potato, try a sweet potato; score an “A” for adventure as well as vitamin A. Pep up color and flavor by adding green, yellow and red peppers to your meals. Turn up the heat with hot peppers. (Go easy on your first adventure with the hotter peppers.) Try one of the many new frozen vegetable variety packs.#3 - Hunt For New Fruits.Take home a new fruit on your next supermarket trip. Try different varieties of old favorites, such as apples. There are any number of varieties out there. Which ones haven’t you tried yet?Make sure you know how to fix the fruit you fancy. Many grocery stores offer information or help from personnel in their produce sections. Explore cookbooks in your local library or google a healthy recipe.#4 - Jump On The Bean Wagon.Black beans, red beans, garbanzo beans, adzuki beans, navy beans. Have you tried beans yet? Serve them as a main dish or serve them on the side. Mix them into salads. Mash them and add a spice for a flavorful dip. Use them straight from the can, or cook up a bag of dried beans. High in fiber, they make a healthy addition to your snacks and meals.#5 - Spice Up Your Bounty.Cruise through the supermarket seasonings section. Buy a flavoring that intrigues you. Check label information for suggested uses and amounts. Spices and herbs are great ways to add flavor when you lower the salt, fat and/or sugar in a recipe.#6 - Encounter Another Culture.Set out on an adventurous cultural expedition without leaving the country. Visit a local ethnic restaurant or try one of a healthy ethnic cookbook for Latin, Mediterranean, Indian or Asian cuisine.

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

Take A Food Safari

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