Boston (Red Sox) Baked Beans

In honor of the Red Sox World Series victory... I'll post a bonus recipe! Boston Baked Beans for the Red Sox Nation.

Boston Baked Beans

For the sauce:
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2c tomato paste 
3T smoke seasoning
1t chili pepper (or more, depending on potency and your taste)
1t garlic
1T apple cider vinegar
1/4c molasses
1/4c brown sugar

2c white beans
3 scallions, diced

In a food processor, combine the sauce ingredients. Food process until smooth. Add more spices as necessary. In a pan, sauté scallions. Add sauce and beans. Turn to low heat and let simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavor infuse into the beans. Serve warm and imagine you're at a baseball game on a warm summer evening!

The Truth About Iron

Today I'm talking about a big nutrient for athletes, especially for female athletes: IRON. Iron comes in two forms, heme-based iron and non-heme iron. Because heme-based iron the form used in the human body, our bodies absorb iron much more readily from heme-based sources, which come from animal products, in comparison to plant based non-heme sources. This is because once it's consumed the body has to convert the non-heme iron into heme-iron. Because of this fact it can often be difficult for some people to keep their iron levels up based on vegetarian food alone. As you may have noticed, I love vegan food, but found that I have to eat fish in addition to taking an iron supplement to keep my iron levels in the healthy range.

So, why is iron so important? Well, without iron, the body can't make hemoglobin, which is the compound that allows the red blood cells to transport oxygen to your muscles. Iron deficiency anemia is characterized by a constant state of oxygen deprivation, fatigue, and and inability to repair injured muscle tissues. Even a mild iron deficiency can really hurt your athletic performance and ability to recover between workouts. Last March, after two years of chronic injury and fatigue, I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia and since starting to take iron supplements and learning how best to maximize my intake and absorption of iron I have started to feel like my old self. I had my best racing season in years and finally made it through a whole season with one single overuse injury! You'll notice that iron deficiency is more common in women and this is because blood loss in any form depletes your iron stores so under normal circumstances, women need about twice as much iron as men. 

Many people believe red meat to be the best source of heme-based iron, but this is just not true. Oysters, mussels, and clams have 5x as much heme-based iron as red meat. If you are committed to truly vegetarian sources of iron (i.e. you even omit sea creatures that don't have eyes), there are still ways to maximize your absorption of non-heme iron. Spinach, lentils, black beans, soy beans, whole wheat, and oats all have more than 10% of your recommended daily value of iron and absorption can be increased if you consume these foods with a source of vitamin C. Here, vitamin C acts as a reductant to help reduce the non-heme iron to a more bioavailable oxidation state. Additionally, coffee, tea, and dairy products strongly limit your absorption of iron so should be avoided when you are eating iron rich foods. This site is a decent non-medical source on the iron content in various foods.

Muscle Pasta (Get it?? It's a pun!)

1 package pre-cooked mussel meats

1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced

olive oil

garlic and crushed red pepper

1/2 package whole wheat or brown rice pasta

Sautee your mussel meats and mushrooms in olive oil, adding garlic and crushed red pepper to taste. Meanwhile boil water to cook pasta according to the directions on the package. The mussels and mushrooms should be done around the same time as the pasta (9- 11 minutes plus 5 minutes to reach boiling). Serve the mussels and mushrooms over the pasta with additional olive oil and nutritional yeast (or parmesan cheese, but remember that cheese does limit iron absorption). Add a spinach salad topped with a lemony dressing on the side for an extra iron boost!

Chocolate Crock-Pot Oatmeal, Orchard Cross, and the Vegetarian Food Festival

Today’s a big post! Things have been crazy. Saturday I went for a ride, had a nice brunch (Belgian waffles with pie-style apples and pumpkin syrup), did some work in lab, and went to the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. Sunday, we woke up early and headed to Applecrest Farm in southern NH for my first cross race and some general fall fun! After racing, picking and flinging apples, and heckling some of our other friends who were racing, we headed back south, where I went back into lab to pack some things up so that we could head out to visit at collaborator at UConn medical, which just happens to be in my fiance’s home town. So Monday, he got to spend the day relaxing with his family while my collaborator and I collected some (interesting) data.  Right now, I’m on a train on my way back up to Boston, cells in tow.

Back to the beginning... the Vegetarian Food Festival. I loved the idea of this food festival and was very excited for it. Well, the number of vendors and free samples did not disappoint, but I really like talking to people and exchanging ideas and felt that the festival had outgrown its venue. The gym was too crowded to really allow stimulating discussion, which was very disappointing. Perhaps if we paid the $5 to come early, I would have been able to talk to the vendors more, which would have been nice. Our favorite booth was one that was selling these delicious flavored pumpkin seeds: they even had pickle-flavored pumpkin seeds! Unfortunately, they weren’t giving anything away to help us remember their brand, so I have no idea where I can find the delicious pickle flavored seeds.

Orchard Cross at Applecrest Farm.... my first cross race. It was wild! I made my roommate and fiancé wake up early to come with me for moral support. My borrowed steel cross bike may weigh twice as much as the feather-light carbon bike I use on the road and since my arms are not nearly as strong as when I was rowing, I decided that I would only carry it over barriers if I had to. Through the other barriers, I pushed the bike while I ran which apparently seemed to help my speed. I was passing people while running for the first time in my life (I am a very slow runner).  Apparently, I should use a walker for speed the next time I run a half marathon! Among all of this rolling in the dirt, braking when I should be accelerating, and using my bike as a walker, I did something right... I was shocked to learn that I had finished 12^th out of a large field! After the race, we picked apples (I’m going to try to think of something amazing besides crisp to make.) Applecrest still had a huge variety, which was great for this time of the year! Perhaps the best part of the day was cheering for the Men’s 3/4 race, in which one of our friends who made the US rowing national team this year, was racing. We chose to only cheer in rowing terms, making a very confusing experience for all of his competitors, I’m sure.

The final fun of the weekend came in a trip out to Farmington. We had been busy all day at the apple orchard (followed by lab and cell transporting, which was boring), so had not had time for a real meal. I always look forward to my fiance’s mom’s cooking. She is a truly fantastic cook! Upon arrival at my future parents-in-law’s house, we were not disappointed. For dinner we had a wonderful hearty white bean soup. Perhaps my favorite thing that she makes though are chocolate steel cut oats in the crock pot. I tried these on my first visit and I hate to say that I think she keeps making them (perhaps only) when I come because she knows I like them so much! The best thing about this oatmeal is that it is so hearty, it can be reheated in the microwave. So without further adieu, here’s the recipe. No picture today, you’ll just have to trust me that they are amazing.

Chocolate Crock-Pot Oatmeal

(This one’s not my recipe! It’s borrowed from my fiance’s mother)

1c steel cut oats

3c water

1.5c vanilla almond milk

1/4c cocoa powder

3T maple syrup

Grease the sides of your crock pot. Add all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let cook on low overnight. Wake up to an amazing warm breakfast and serve with dried cherries, dried cranberries and walnut. Any leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated for another day.

Sweet and Spicy Three Bean Chili

With the cold front upon us... it's now chili season! Today I'm sharing a basic three bean chili recipe and highlighting red kidney beans as a Laudable Legume. In 1/4c dry, you can find 9g of protein, 9g of fiber, and 17% of your daily value of iron. The protein in kidney beans is even a complete source of all 9 essential amino acids! It's also a good source of folate and thiamin (two B vitamins), as well a plethora of other essential minerals. Legumes have also been shown to be effective for the long term stabilization of blood glucose levels. One thing to be careful about with kidney beans, is that there is a compound called phytohaemagglutinin that is in a higher concentration, which can be toxic. If you cook your own kidney beans, please be sure to boil them first to denature that toxin! Kidney beans are the one bean that I will use cans rather than dried.

As the weather turns colder, I love to make up a pot of chili to share with my friends. It's also a great recipe to double or triple and freeze up lunch-sized portions to take with you for lunch for the week or the future when you don't have time to cook. I'm never upset when I find that I have chili that I've forgotten about. My favorite part about chili though, is that it's a great crock pot recipe. You can throw all of the ingredients in the pot in the morning and when you get home from work, you have a warm, tasty dinner waiting for you. Plus your kitchen will smell amazing! There are many food to eat with chili, but my favorite accompaniment is cornbread. Yum!

Sweet and Spicy Three Bean Chili

5 cans diced tomatoes

1/2c dried black beans, cooked (or 1 can)

1 can kidney beans

1/2c dried beans of choice, cooked (I used leftover giant lima beans)

1c sweet yellow corn

1t maple syrup

sriracha sauce, chili powder, garlic, turmeric and cinnamon

Combine ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for up to 8 hours. Enjoy the luxury of coming home to a warm dinner!

Cornbread

1c whole wheat flour

1c cornmeal

2T brown sugar

1T baking powder

1t cornstarch

1T ground flax seed (pre-soaked in 3T warm water)

1/4c olive oil

1c water

Mix dry ingredients, and then add wet. Bake at 425F for 25 minutes.

Mind-Blowing Black Bean Brownies

Happy Friday! As usual, I'm celebrating the end of the work week with a dessert recipe. This one is a real winner, brought to you from a few years of slaving over a hot stove trying to perfect it. This dense, fudgy brownie has subtle peanut butter and cinnamon flavors. It's so decadent that you wouldn't guess that it's gluten free, vegan, and has more protein and less fat than a Cliff bar!

By now most of us have heard of the elusive black bean brownie. Many of us have tried it, and have been sorely disappointed when it was found that they had created a baked lump of black beans with a hint of cocoa and a bunch of oil (or worse. the pungent flavor of apple sauce). There are a lot of bad black bean brownie recipes out there, and my first attempt was no different than most. However, having a best friend who's gluten sensitive and being rather obsessed with baked goods that have added protein, we suffered through a ton of sub-par recipes to finally bring you this fudgy perfection!

The big keys to getting it right were 1) adding massive quantities of cocoa powder. It should be added in cups, not spoonfuls and 2) adding peanut butter. Peanut butter has an amazing ability to overpower the flavor of beans and even a tiny bit can make a hummus taste like peanut butter. (What's that? A peanut butter hummus recipe may be coming soon?) If I had to add a #3, a good food processor and patience is also key. You really need to make sure that you process long enough that you've thoroughly blended everything and there are no bits of black bean left.

Black Bean Brownies

1 can black beans
1/4c brown sugar (or agave or maple)
heaping 1/4c cocoa powder
heaping 2T peanut butter
1/4t baking soda
1/4t vanilla
1T cornstarch (For those who know me in real life and tried my black bean brownies last year... this was the missing link! They are no longer crumbly, just fudgy)
splash almond milk
cinnamon and sea salt to taste (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in food processor and food process until very smooth, adding almond milk sparingly to create the right texture. (Taste the batter to make sure everything is to your liking and if not, feel free to add more sugar/ cocoa powder/ peanut butter/ cinnamon. I'm a dark chocolate girl, so it's possible that you'd like more sugar than I do.) Food process to combine any flavor tweaks. Grease a 9x9 square pan and add the batter. Cook for 17 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into squares, and enjoy warm.

*You know I'm not one to count calories, but this recipe is just so nutritionally impressive I had to do it... If you cut your 9x9 square into 9 brownies, each brownie has 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, and a whopping 5 grams of protein! Pack these for your next ride instead of a Cliff bar!
**If you were wondering, if you use dried black beans, this is a <$1 recipe too!

BBQ Tempeh with Smoky Kale and Sweet Potatoes

Even though on Monday, I had high hopes for a relaxed week, this week has been anything but. Cycling has started up again in full swing, with my first ever cyclocross race coming up on Sunday! And on the MIT front, Monday I got an email from my boss stating that my major source of funding needs a full progress report... by Friday. So naturally I am writing this post when I should be writing about stem cells and cartilage. To allow me to get everything done, I've been on the look-out for fast, easy, nutritious meals that won't keep me waiting when I get home from work (at 10pm.)

After yesterday's post on soy... I couldn't get my mind off of it! While I was in Washington DC a few weekends ago, I tried an amazing tempeh sandwich which made me wonder about this interesting version of the soybean. Tempeh is actually fermented soybean cake. Supposedly, the fermentation process can make it easier to digest for some people, which was why I wanted to give it a shot. Fermentation supposedly breaks down enzyme inhibitors, but I can not find an academic source to back this claim. Never the less, it was enough to convince me to give tempeh a try, and boy was it good!

BBQ Tempeh with Smoky Kale and Sweet Potatoes

BBQ Sauce (you could definitely use store bought... but I've been making my own lately!)

1 can diced tomatoes
3T smoke seasoning
1t chili pepper (or more, depending on potency and your taste)
1t garlic
1T apple cider vinegar
1/4c molasses
1/4c brown sugar

Add all ingredients to a food processor and food process until smooth. Taste and add more sweet/ spice/ smoke to taste.

Tempeh, Kale, and Sweet Potatoes

1 package tempeh (be careful if you are allergic to gluten! The tempeh sold at TJ's isn't gluten free)
1 giant sweet potato
1 package fresh kale
1 leek, diced
splash olive oil

1. Cut tempeh into strips and marinate in BBQ sauce in a plastic bag. Remove all access air to help BBQ sauce be absorbed by the vacuum effect. This step should be done in the morning or the night before for maximum infusion of flavor.
2. Peel sweet potato. Cube and place in a pot of boiling water. Boil for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
3. In a large pot, add olive oil and sautee the leek. Add BBQ sauce and the kale. It should fill the whole pot top to bottom at first, but it will cook down.
4. Meanwhile, remove tempeh from marinade. Cook tempeh like bacon on a skillet!
5. Once both the kale and tempeh are done, remove from heat and serve warm. Enjoy!

(Healthy) Pumpkin Scones

Happy Mole Day! Today is October 23, which is mole day, since a mole is 6.022 x 10^23. (If you aren't a scientist, a mole is a unit of measurement.) It's also been exactly one month since I started this blog. In just one month, I've gotten over 2000 views! Thanks so much for reading!

To celebrate, today I'm sharing a new pumpkin scone recipe. My traditional scones were made with shortening, which is primarily made of soybean oil. Soy can sometimes be a controversial ingredient since there is some controversy over whether soy effects hormone levels. Personally, I avoid soy because it hurts my stomach. I'm not allergic and actually love it, but I think I may have eaten enough soy to use up the enzyme I need to digest it. In soy's favor, soy protein is a complete protein, and I think that like everything, soy is great in moderation. Soybean oil is actually a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, so for that reason, I thought I was going to make these scones with shortening anyways. Then I learned that the next two ingredients were fully hydrogenated palm and soybean oil and partially hydrogenated palm and soybean oil. Well, fully hydrogenated oils are saturated fat and partially hydrogenated oils can isomerize into trans fats in the body so I decided that it was time to modify the recipe. I replace the shortening with mostly pumpkin puree and a small amount of soybean oil and it worked like a charm!

(Healthy) Pumpkin Scones

2 1/2c whole wheat flour
2 1/2t baking powder
2T brown sugar
3T soybean or canola oil
5T pumpkin puree

1t vanilla

1/2c almond milk

1T ground flax seeds (soaked in 3T water)

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the pumpkin puree and oil using a knife. Flour mixture should be very dry and it should resemble course crumbs. Mix in vanilla, flax seed, and almond milk. Kneed dough 5 or 6 times, then break into 3 large lumps. Cut the lumps into quarters. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges just start to brown. Enjoy!

Bonus Maple Glaze
I like a dry, lightly sweetened scone. If you'd like something sweeter, give this maple glaze a try!

2c powdered sugar
1/4t vanilla
1T (vegan) butter

2T vanilla almond milk
3T maple syrup

Mix ingredients and pour over fresh from the oven scones. Wait 20 minutes to let harden or enjoy immediately.