[SMN HEALTHY HOLIDAY Recipes] Italian Sausage and Squash Bolognese

Author: Chef Florvil King Valdez   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: [SMN] Recipes • Healthier Eating • Holidays   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Take this easy recipe to any Holiday party and I promise, you’ll be a hit! It’s amazing flavors of seasonal squash and amazing spices like fennel seed and oregano. If you like a traditional Italian bolognese then you’ll be sure to love this as well. The holidays couldn’t taste any better.

My favorite part about this is that your kids would never know the difference. All the squash in this dish is packed with Vitamin A, C, & E, potassium, and fiber. YUM with all the healthy benefits!

So first, pick you favorite winter squash. I recommend using either a butternut squash or an acorn squash, they have the best flavors for this recipe.

How to cook the squash (so that you never used canned squash again!): Preheat your oven to 375°F. Rinse your squash. Cut in half and remove seeds and the rest of the innards. Rinse again and pat dry with a towel. Season lightly with just salt and pepper. You’ll get a chance to season the dish once you cook the bolognese. On a baking sheet/tray, lay the squash cut side up and lightly drizzle with some olive oil. Depending on the size or your squash and type of oven you have, roast your squash for about 25-35 minutes or until fully cooked or tender. Set aside to cool. Once cooled off, scoop out flesh and set aside in a bowl. Place cooked flesh in a blender or food processor and pulse until squash is a thick puree. Set aside until ready to use! (This can be done up to 4 days in advance. Just keep it refridgerated in an airtight container. Or your can freeze it and keep it up to a month or so.)

So now that you know how to roast your own squash at home, go ahead and never ever use canned pumpkin or squash again!

Italian Sausage & Winter Squash Bolognese Ingredients (good for 8 servings): 1 lb of cooked squash (puree) or 1 large butternut squash or 2 medium acorn squash; 1 1/2 lbs of mild or hot Italian sausage (remove from casing); 1 1/2 lbs of penne pasta or your favorite short cut pasta (would be great with Tagliatelle as well); 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion; 3 cloves of garlic; 2 tsp fresh sage; 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes; 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 1 cup parmesan cheese; parsley (for garnish); salt and pepper TT.

If this sounds like something you want to serve up this holiday season and would like the recipe, just leave a COMMENT here on this blog, EMAIL me at servemenowcatering@yahoo.com, TWEET me at @servemenow, or LIKE me and on facebook.com/servemenow!

Stay tuned for more Healthy Holiday Sides! Happy Cooking!

[SMN HEALTHY HOLIDAY Recipes] BEER BRAISED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Author: Chef Florvil King Valdez   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: [SMN] Recipes • Healthier Eating • Holidays   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • •

If there’s one vegetable I’d want to increase in popularity, brussels sprouts would be it. I grew up thinking, “Brussels sprouts? Eeew!” But come to think about it, have I ever tasted them? I haven’t tasted one sprout but because of all the bad connotations I just didn’t want to even try one, ever!

It was only three years ago that I had my first brussels sprout and was I surprised. It tasted good! It was sweet, slightly bitter, but in a healthy kind of way. Then I learned that, not only did it taste good, but it’s good for you, too. Brussels sprouts contain sulforaphane which is a compound that exhibits anticancer, anti-diabetic, and antimicrobial properties. So needless to say,brussels sprouts are great for you!

ImageImage

So without further ado, here’s my own recipe for the best, healthiest, tastiest, and easiest brussels sprouts!

[Serve M.E. Now]’s Beer Braised Brussels Sprouts

1 pound of brussels sprouts (trimmed and sliced in half), 1 fennel bulb (sliced), 1/2 a yellow onion (sliced), 1 cup of Deschutes Brewery’s Jubelale (http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brew/jubelale), 1/2 cup of unfiltered apple juice, 1/2 cup of unsalted chicken broth, 2 tbsp of whole grain mustard, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of granulated garlic, 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp of dried oregano. (For directions for this recipe, subscribe to this blog or leave me a comment.)

The second star in this dish is the festive winter ale that the Deschutes Brewery in Portland, Oregon, produces in the Jubelale every single winter. It’s a malty, hoppy, peppery, chocolaty and perfectly spiced ale that helps braise these brussel sprouts and fennel into perfection. Jubelale is available from October to December annually. When it becomes available, I enjoy, not only drinking it, but cooking with it as well. This gives a new meaning to a beer pairing. Try this beer out and trust that you’ll fall in love as much as I did. It’s available at Whole Foods Market nationwide as you read this blog. Let me know what you think.

Image

If you have any questions about this recipe, just leave a COMMENT here on this blog, EMAIL me at servemenowcatering@yahoo.com, TWEET me at @servemenow, or LIKE me and on facebook.com/servemenow!

Stay tuned for the next recipe! Happy Holidays!

[SMN HEALTHY HOLIDAY Recipes] Green Bean Almondine alternative

Author: Chef Florvil King Valdez   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: [SMN] Recipes • Healthier Eating • Holidays   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • •

Who doesn’t like a great snap of a crisp, fresh green bean with the creamy almond flavored butter and crunchy almond slivers?

It’s definitely a staple during the holidays. But its, unfortunately, not the best vegetable side to have on the Thanksgiving table. Going through the classic recipe, the average calorie count for Green Bean Almondine is about 190 calories and 128 calories is directly from fat. Now, wouldn’t you love to find a green bean dish without the worry of so much fat? I mean, you have to leave room for dessert, right?

Now this is not because I work for the company but I think Whole Foods Market has come up with the best healthy eating program that promotes low in fat recipes and fresh ingredients. “Health Starts Here” is their newest healthy eating initiative that is available online with many recipes and tips as well as in every single one of their stores. It has four main concepts that is essential to a healthy diet and for proper weight control. Those “four pillars” of healthy eating: 1. using healthy, unprocessed fats that come from avocados, nuts, and seeds, 2. keeping your diet full of vegetables and fruits, 3. using ingredients that are whole, fresh, and unprocessed, and 4. get more bang of your buck as far as calories and nutrients are concerned. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere/

So taking those four essential concepts of healthy eating will definitely keep you a few steps ahead of the curve when trying to get a handle on your diet and weight loss. Now needless to say, read up on it on Whole Foods Market’s website. I promise its the best thing for you and its convenient since they provide many of the recipes fully cooked and ready-to-eat at their locations in the prepared foods department.

So back to the healthy version of Green Bean Almondine. WFM calls this their Green Beans with Pecans and Clementine Dressing. It’s pretty awesome if I say so myself. With only 80 calories and 50 from fat, you give yourself extra room for a slice of that pumpkin pie! Enjoy!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2805

If you have any questions about this recipe just leave a comment or email me at servemenowcatering@yahoo.com or tweet me at @servemenow or LIKE me and leave a message for me on facebook.com/servemenow!

Stay tuned for the next recipe! Happy Holidays!

GIVE THANKS FOR EVERYTHING BUT CALORIES

Author: Chef Florvil King Valdez   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: General Posts • Healthier Eating   |   Tags: • • • • • • •

It’s Thanksgiving once again, my favorite holiday! The start of the season is always welcoming to cheer, friends and family, shopping, giving thanks, and CALORIES? 

Every year we all know that when the holidays come, never too far behind is the gathering of friends and family. Whenever there are friends and family during these cold wintry days, what better than warm, comforting, and hearty foods to bring us all together. We always talk about either getting ready for those few pounds we knowingly and willingly gain for the holidays or create a plan to avoid them altogether. 

Well this holiday season, you don’t need to shy away from those nostalgic recipes and comforting dishes that we all love. I’ll be providing a countdown to Thanksgiving along with healthy recipes for side dishes, appetizers, turkey tips, and desserts for the next ten days.

I’m going to take those classic and traditional Thanksgiving dishes and provide a healthy alternative for you to serve next Thursday. I promise to WOW your friends and family with how similar your dishes will be to its classic cousin and how tasty HEALTHY really can be. The recipes that I’ll be posting will be ones that I have adapted into my own holiday repertoire. They will be from various celebrity chefs, food magazines, Whole Foods Market (of course ;-p) and from my own recipe collection. 

Let’s enjoy this Thanksgiving by being surrounded by our loved ones and not by worrying how many pounds we are going to gain. The day after Thanksgiving is not BLACK FRIDAY because the color is slimming! Let’s get through this holiday the healthy way. 

If you have any requests for a healthy alternative recipe or for a dish you want me to highlight that you were too afraid to tackle, just ask! Leave a comment for me here on my blog or email me at servemenowcatering@yahoo.com. You can also LIKE me on Facebook under Facebook.com/servemenow. Follow me on twitter at @servemenow! Happy holidays! 

Eat And Lose Weight! I Promise!

Author: Chef Florvil King Valdez   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: Healthier Eating   |   Tags: • • • • • • •

A friend is in a weight-loss challenge at work similar to the “Biggest Loser.” He asked me what is the best way to suppress those unwanted mini cravings between meals.

In reality, having cravings are our body’s way of notifying us that our body needs more energy[calories] to keep going. This is where hunger and appetite differ. Hunger is the NEED to eat and an appetite is the WANT to eat. We are the only one in control of our cravings and we need to figure out whether we are hungry or have an appetite. So realistically, we need to take our mini-in-between-meal-cravings as a sign of hunger and that our body needs a little more energy to move on.

We need food[calories] in order to properly function every single day. When I say function, I mean walking, thinking, tweeting, facebook-ing, exercising, digesting, metabolizing, shopping, sleeping, texting…basically everything that our body does while we are awake or asleep!

An apple, bananas with fresh peanut butter, ‘power’ bar, green veg & fruit smoothie, or yogurt and granola, whatever small snack you want to have, make it as fat-free as possible. Remember, it’s just to get you by until your next full meal! But, I HAVE A BETTER SOLUTION! If you up your fiber with green-leafy vegetables with all your three meals in the day, I promise you no mid-meal cravings.

It’s as simple as this: take your (preferably circular) plate, draw 3 imaginary slices of pizza. Make one slice about 60% of the circle, and divide the other half into 2 slices. (20%/20%.) Now take your 2-20% slices and fill it with a protein and a grain.Then, take your 60% slice and fill with a mixture of leafy-greens and other vegetables. Make a delicious, colorful salad with kale, chard, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, and broccoli. The more raw it is, the better for your body[digestion]!

When you transform your meal to have at least 60%, raw andleafy vegetables, you will increase your body’s intake of fiber and nutrients, as well as decrease your mid-meal cravings.  Likewise, increasing your fiber and nutrients will aid in your healthy metabolizing, digesting, and eventually, weight-loss!