This week we held our second Demos for Dietitian workshop at the Kitchener Market. We would like to thank all 40 participants for joining us for such a fun day, I know everyone learned so much. What an inspiring bunch of woman (yes all 40!) out in the world making a difference teaching nutrition through REAL food. We hope you keep in touch - send us your success stories, resources you love and recipes you teach in your classes. This Demos for Dietitians community will continue to grow and support each other with your help. We can't wait to visit Ottawa in less than 2 weeks for our final workshop this year... see you at DiVino Wine Studio November 6!

In today's post we want to feature a really cool project by the Perth District Health Unit in Stratford. They started a blog with how to videos, recipes and information about healthy eating called: Diaries of a Dietitian. They are also on Pinterest and have 20 pins with lovely pictures, great work! Using social media is a fantastic way to share your message and connect with potential clients whether you are working for a non-profit or for-profit organization. We are so proud of your efforts and think you are inspiring to other RD's in demonstrating how to use Social Media in nutrition education and highlight real food solutions.

The Diaries of a Dietitian most recent post is how to cook a spaghetti squash and roast a butternut squash. Visit the post here: How to Cook & Roast Squash and check out their cool video below! 

Thanks so much for sharing Shannon! Keep up the good work.

Much love & good eating,

Stephanie

Last night, I was invited to do an in-home cooking class with one of my clients. In a 90-minute class we cooked the smokey quinoa and peppers first(everyone loves this recipe), then a beautiful butternut squash risotto and pan-fried cod. In an  in-home class, you need to make time for client involvement and several teaching moments. In this class those were:
1. How to brown meat & deglaze a pan
2. How to make a perfect risotto from scratch
3. How to balance out the right portion of vegetable, starch and protein in a meal

It's important to be well-organized, have an outline of how you will teach multiple recipes and prepare a few food items to save time.In this class I peeled and diced the squash, chopped the onions and had the rice measured out. With a few steps done ahead of time, I could fit these three hands-on recipes in 90 minutes! Here is this delicious, sweet and smoot risotto recipe - this is the same one we taught in our very first Demos for Dietitians workshop.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 small (4 to 5 cups) butternut squash
Olive oil & butter (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 small onion, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
8 to 10 cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth
1 tsp dried sage or 1 tbsp fresh
Dash cayenne pepper
Handful of Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Quarter squash and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Rub flesh with olive oil and sprinkle cinnamon. Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes, until tender. Option two: peel and dice squash. Toss in olive oil and cinnamon. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender.

2. Place stock in a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

3. Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter (or just use olive oil) in a large, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Add rice to pot, toss to coat with olive oil (1 minute). Turn up heat to medium-high and add wine. Allow to cook until no liquid remains in bottom of the pot (1 minute). Add stock one ladle full at a time. Allow the rice to absorb and then add another ladle full. After 4 ladles of stock - reduce heat to medium.

5. After 15 minutes, add cooked squash, a dash of cayenne and dried sage if using. Continue to add stock for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until desired tenderness is reached.

6. Finish with parmesan cheese and fresh sage (if using instead of dried sage). Season as desired.

Much love & good eating,

Stephanie


  

This is one simple and delicious recipe! I did this recipe at a live corporate wellness presentation for the City of Kitchener, with 20 audience members along with 3 other recipes for healthy eating at work that included spiced nuts as a snack, tempeh bacon, avocado & tomato sandwiches and mini berry cheesecakes for dessert. In this recipe, I prepared the vegetables before the demo, made the dressing first in front of everyone and set aside, while I worked on other components of the demo. Near the end I added the noodles to a big pot of boiling water and served with other lunch items. I served the bowl with roasted chicken, which baked in the oven as it was less active than making the tofu and I had other things I wanted to show during the 90-minute demo. It's pretty yummy, try it at home tonight!

RECIPE: Peanut noodle bowl with fresh vegetables and crispy tofu, can also serve with shrimp or chicken
STYLE: Live demonstration, along with 2 or 3 other recipes
COOK TIME: 15 to 20 minutes (one inactive component, one active component)
THEMES: Balanced eating, Diabetes, Heart Health, Gluten-free (use GF soba noodles or rice noodles), low FODMAPS



Ingredients: 

Peanut sauce 
1 Tbsp EACH sesame oil, olive oil, miso, and honey or maple syrup 
2 Tbsp peanut butter (no salt, no sugar) 
3 Tbsp rice vinegar 
1 tsp grated ginger 

Noodle Bowl 
1 package soba noodles 
4 to 6 cups fresh vegetables (bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes) 
Protein of choice—3 oz shrimp or chicken OR crispy tofu  
Sesame seeds *optional 

Instructions: 

1. Prepare protein food, chicken, shrimp or tofu. 
2. Add all sauce ingredients to a blender or “magic bullet” and whiz together until well-combined. Set aside. 
3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil Add noodles and cook according to package directions. 
4. Prepare vegetables by cutting into thin slices. Once noodles are done cooking, mix with peanut sauce and place into 4 bowls. Top with vegetables, protein choice and sprinkle sesame seeds on top as desired. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Much love & good eating,

Stephanie