Chickpea Peanut and Spinach Curry
We’ve reached Week 3 of our "Build and Bake Meals" series!
Today, we're spicing things up with a delicious baked curry. This dish is filling and packed with flavors that'll make your taste buds dance. 💃🏻
Today's Meal: Baked Chickpea, Peanut, and Spinach Curry
Enjoy the comforting blend of chickpeas and sweet potatoes in a creamy peanut butter and coconut milk sauce, all with a kick of curry spice. It’s a perfect meal for a chilly evening.
Check out this quick video that demonstrates how to prepare this recipe 👩🍳.
Serves: 4
🥣 Ingredients:
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup coconut milk, canned
2 Tbs peanut butter, smooth
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
15 oz diced tomatoes
15 oz chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup water
👩🍳 Let's Cook:
Prepare: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Get your veggies ready and whisk the coconut milk with peanut butter.
Cook Veggies: Mix oil and curry powder in a roasting pan. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and sweet potatoes. Stir to coat and bake for about 15 minutes until the sweet potatoes soften.
Build: Take the pan out, add tomatoes, chickpeas, water, and the coconut milk mixture. Mix well and bake for another 15 minutes.
Finish Off: Remove from the oven, stir in the spinach, and let it sit until the spinach wilts.
Serve: Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy this hearty curry.
👍 Why This Meal Is Great:
High in Protein and Fiber: Chickpeas are a great source of protein and fiber, which are excellent for digestion and keeping you full longer.
Rich in Nutrients: Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins A and C, which are great for your immune system.
Healthy Fats: Coconut milk and peanut butter add a creamy texture and provide healthy fats that are good for your heart.
Flavorful and Spicy: The mix of curry powder, ginger, and garlic gives this dish warmth and spice.
That wraps up our three week series of easy, baked dinners. We hope you’ve enjoyed these recipes and they’ve added some new favorites to your meal rotation!
Baked Cod with Fennel and Tomato Sauce
Dear [Recipient's Name],
It’s Day 2 of our "Build and Bake Meals" series! Tonight, we're making a simple and tasty baked cod dish. This meal is full of flavor and easy to put together, perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Today's Meal: Baked Cod with Fennel and Tomato Sauce
This dish pairs the mild taste of cod with sweet fennel and a rich tomato sauce. It's a healthy meal that looks and tastes great.
Check out this quick video that demonstrates how to prepare this recipe 👩🍳.
Serves: 4
🥣 Ingredients:
2 1/4 lbs cod filets
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
👩🍳 Let's Cook:
Prepare: Season the cod with salt and pepper. Slice the fennel and onion, chop the spinach.
Cook Veggies: Mix onion and fennel with olive oil and bake at 350°F until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
Build: Stir in tomato sauce, spinach, olives, and crushed red pepper if using. Place the cod in the sauce.
Bake Again: Put everything back in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cod flakes easily with a fork.
Enjoy: Serve your flavorful fish and veggies hot.
👍Why This Meal Is Great:
Good for Your Heart: Cod is low in fat but high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for heart health.
Helps Digestion: Fennel can help the digestive system and adds a light licorice flavor.
Nutrient-Rich: Spinach is loaded with iron and vitamins for your overall health.
Full of Flavor: Olives and tomato sauce add a delicious Mediterranean touch.
Check back tomorrow for another quick and delicious recipe. Enjoy your meal tonight!
P.S.: Show off your dinner! Post your photos on Social Media with #BuildAndBakeMeals.
Baked Chicken Cacciatore
Let’s kick off our "Build and Bake Meals" series, where simplicity meets savory. Tonight, we're creating an Italian classic that's as robust in flavor as it is easy to prepare.
Today's Feature: Baked Chicken Cacciatore
Enjoy the rich flavors of this straightforward recipe that promises to transport your dinner table to the Italian countryside. Using just a handful of ingredients, this dish perfectly balances hearty chicken with the rustic taste of tomato and olives, all baked to perfection.
Check out this quick video that demonstrates how to prepare this recipe 👩🍳.
Serves: 6
🥣 Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, bone-in with skin
1 Tbs oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce, prepared
1/2 cup green olives
👩🍳 Preparation & Cooking:
Prep: Season chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano. Lay out the sliced onion and pepper in a roasting pan coated with olive oil.
Bake: Place the chicken thighs over the vegetables and roast at 375°F for 20 minutes.
Build: Add tomato sauce around the chicken pieces, sprinkle with olives, and return to the oven. Bake until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 10 more minutes.
Serve: Enjoy the chicken with some sautéed greens and a fresh salad.
👍Why This Meal Is Great:
Rich in Nutrients: Chicken thighs are a fantastic source of protein, essential for muscle repair and growth. They also offer more iron and zinc compared to chicken breasts.
Antioxidant Boost: Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that can reduce inflammation and protect against various diseases.
Heart-Healthy Fats: Olives and olive oil provide monounsaturated fats, known for their benefits in reducing heart disease risk.
Fiber and Vitamins: Onions and bell peppers are high in dietary fiber and vitamin C, supporting immune health and digestion.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's [next week’s] recipe, where we continue to simplify gourmet cooking. Happy baking!
P.S. Please let me know how this goes!
Scarcity Mindset
This is when you feel like you are not enough (you are) in terms of appearance, strength, talent, intelligence, or that you are lacking in something like money, friends, a nice house, great car, and on and on and on. We often have this kind of mindset when we compare ourselves to others.
We live in a culture of never enough where we constantly see we are not enough and then we are sold products that will making us enough. We are inundated with images and media that tell us we NEED these products to make us whole. This makes us feel like we are never enough. Like we can’t accomplish our health goals.
If you have a scarcity mindset, you might be:
setting goals based on what you believe you are supposed to be doing to get your health back
unhappy when you achieve a goal but it only brings temporary happiness
saying you will never have your health or enough time or enough sleep or….
looking at other women and thinking you won’t have what they have
showing anxiety or worry about the thought of sharing your thoughts about diet changes
expressing behaviors or words that align with the fear of missing out- overeating or eating foods that harm your body due to fear of not being able to eat like that again
What you can do to kick scarcity to the curb
Be grateful for something- focus on all the amazing things you have. It will show you that you are and you have enough. Name 3 things you are grateful for each day. Whatever you can feel good to you in the moment, notice it and be grateful.
Curate your social media if you are on it or have not deleted it. Audit your social media to see if it is focusing on showing you lack. Don’t wallow in others highlight reels, accomplishments, and perfectly crafted posts- it can lead to feelings of inferiority and lack.
Don’t should yourself. Women feel like there are a lot of shoulds resting on their shoulders. Combine that with. negative feelings about your health (and your body) and it is a recipe for guilt and shame. Societal norms lead us to a set of standards, behaviors, and appearances that we come to believe we should meet. How should we look? How should we feel (healthwise)? We have to stop doing that.
Avoid negative self talk - what are you saying to yourself? Do you say things to yourself that you would never say to anyone to their face?
Top 5 nutrient deficiencies (B6, B12, C, D, and Fe)
It’s proven: 31 percent of people in the United States are at risk for a deficiency in at least one vitamin or mineral essential for good health. It may be hard to imagine that we don’t get enough nutrition when we see an abundance of food available 24/7, but it’s true. A recent study showed the top five nutrients many of us need more of.
Should you be concerned about being low in one or two vitamins or minerals? In a word, yes. That’s because vitamins and minerals are essential for optimal health. Being low may not cause immediate symptoms, but it puts you at risk for many serious diseases that can affect your brain, heart, blood, immune system, metabolism, bones, mental health, etc. Nutrients are key pieces your body needs to maintain all of your systems in good working order. Missing just one or two pieces can throw off the delicate balance you need to be healthy and feel great. That’s because most nutrients don’t have just one vital role to play within the body, they play many, many vital roles.
How would you even know if you’re at risk for a nutrient deficiency? It’s not always obvious. Sometimes symptoms aren’t felt for a long time and sometimes they’re very vague and non-specific. For example, fatigue, irritability, aches and pains, decreased immune function, and heart palpitations can be signs of many things, including a nutrient deficiency. This article goes over the five most commonly deficient nutrients, some of the more obvious symptoms, and foods that are high in each so you can get enough.
1 - Vitamin B6
The number one most common nutrient deficiency in the US was Vitamin B6. This vitamin is important for your blood, brain, and metabolism. Vitamin B6 helps the formation of hemoglobin in the blood (the part that carries oxygen around). It also helps to maintain normal levels of homocysteine (high levels of homocysteine are linked with heart disease). In addition, this vitamin plays an important role in the production of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers allowing nerve cells to communicate with each other). Not to mention the fact that it’s also involved with over 100 enzyme reactions in the body, mostly for metabolism.
Some of the main symptoms of a serious deficiency in Vitamin B6 are depression, confusion, convulsions, and a type of anemia called “microcytic” anemia. Symptoms of a less serious deficiency are no less serious. They include increased risks for heart disease and Alzheimer’s. These wide-ranging health effects are why Vitamin B6 is so essential for health.
Vitamin B6 is found in all food groups. People who eat high-fiber cereals tend to have higher levels of the vitamin because cereals are often fortified with it. Vitamin B6 is also found in high quantities in potatoes, non-citrus fruits (e.g., bananas), and various animal-based foods such as poultry, fish, and organ meats.
2 - Vitamin B12
Like Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 is also very important for your blood and brain. It is needed for the creation of healthy red blood cells and the formation of the outer coating of nerve cells (myelin) which is very important for their optimal functioning.
Vitamin B12 can be a bit difficult to absorb from your food. To improve absorption, it’s important to have adequate acid and digestive enzymes in the stomach. This is because the vitamin is very strongly bound to the proteins in food, and stomach acid and enzymes help to break those bonds and free the vitamin so your body can take it in.
Having a Vitamin B12 deficiency can be caused by a type of anemia called “pernicious” anemia. Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune disease that affects the stomach and reduces its ability to absorb Vitamin B12. A deficiency in Vitamin B12 can then lead to a different type of anemia called “megaloblastic” anemia. Low levels of Vitamin B12 can also cause neurological damage (due to impaired myelination of nerve cells).
Vitamin B12 isn’t naturally present in most plant-based foods, except it is found in some nutritional yeast products. It is naturally found in dairy, eggs, fish, poultry and meat and is particularly high in clams, beef liver, trout, and salmon. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with Vitamin B12.
If you are consuming Vitamin B12 supplements or eating foods that are fortified with Vitamin B12, your levels of stomach acid and digestive enzymes aren’t as critical as they are for the absorption of the vitamin directly from foods. This is because when adding Vitamin B12 to foods and supplements, it’s not tightly bound to their proteins and this makes it much more easily absorbed.
3 - Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important for wound healing (via a protein called collagen), the production of neurotransmitters, metabolism, and the proper functioning of the immune system. Vitamin C also acts as an antioxidant to reduce the damage caused by free radicals that can worsen several diseases such as certain cancers and heart disease. Vitamin C also helps your body absorb the essential mineral iron, which is one of the top five nutrient deficiencies also included in this article.
Collagen is a vital component of connective tissue and this describes some of the symptoms of its deficiency disease, scurvy. Symptoms of scurvy include weak connective tissue such as bleeding, wounds that won’t heal, and even the loss of teeth.
You can get Vitamin C from many fruits and vegetables. Ones particularly high in Vitamin C include bell peppers, oranges, and orange juice. Other good sources of the vitamin include kiwifruit, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, tomato juice, cantaloupe, cabbage, and cauliflower. Vitamin C is not naturally present in grains, but some breakfast cereals are fortified with it.
When choosing foods for Vitamin C, choose the freshest options because levels of the vitamin naturally reduce over time the longer the food is stored. Try, as much as possible, to eat Vitamin C-rich foods raw. If you do cook them, then choose steaming and microwaving instead of prolonged boiling because the vitamin is destroyed by heat and is water-soluble.
4 - Vitamin D
Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” is very important for your bones. It promotes the absorption of the mineral calcium. When your body has enough calcium, it can maintain normal bone mineralization and prevent problems in the muscles that lead to cramps and spasms. Getting enough Vitamin D and calcium can also help protect against osteoporosis. In addition to all of these bone and muscle impacts, Vitamin D helps to reduce inflammation and modulate both immune function and sugar metabolism.
Without enough Vitamin D bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D prevents these issues known as rickets (in children) and osteomalacia (in adults).
Your skin makes Vitamin D when it’s exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun and very few foods naturally contain it. The few Vitamin D-rich foods include fatty fish and fish liver oils (e.g., salmon, trout, cod liver oil). Other foods that naturally contain small amounts of Vitamin D include egg yolks, beef liver, and cheddar cheese. Some mushrooms can contain Vitamin D—particularly those exposed to UV light.
Most of the dietary Vitamin D that people in the US get is from fortified foods and beverages. These include some dairy products (mainly milk), certain plant milks (e.g., soy, almond, or oat milks), various breakfast cereals, and a few types of orange juice. Be sure to look at the nutrition labels to see if and how much Vitamin D is in each serving of the food or beverage.
5 - Iron
Iron is a mineral essential for healthy blood so that it can transport vital oxygen throughout your body every second of every day. This happens via a compound in your red blood cells called “hemoglobin.” Iron also supports your muscles (like Vitamin D) and your connective tissue (like Vitamin C). Having adequate iron is necessary for physical growth, neurological development, hormone production, and the function of your cells.
A deficiency in iron is commonly known as “anemia.” Menstruating women tend to be lower in iron simply because of their regular loss of blood.
Most iron in the body is in the blood, but there is some stored in the liver, spleen, bone marrow, and muscles. This is why iron deficiency progresses slowly from depleting your stores (mild iron deficiency), to reducing the number of red blood cells (marginal iron deficiency), before you get to full-out iron deficiency anemia.
Iron is naturally found in many foods in one of two forms: heme and nonheme. Animal-based foods contain the more absorbable heme form. Plant-based foods naturally contain nonheme iron. This is where Vitamin C comes in. Vitamin C helps your body absorb the nonheme iron from plants, which is why, if plants are a main source of iron in your diet, it’s important to combine iron-rich plants with Vitamin C-rich plants in the same meal.
Some of the best sources of iron include fortified cereals, oysters, white beans, dark chocolate, beef liver, lentils, spinach, and tofu.
Up to one-third of people in the US are at risk for at least one nutrient deficiency. Most commonly, that deficient nutrient is Vitamin B6, but there are also many people deficient in vitamins B12, C, and D, as well as the mineral iron. Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients because everybody needs them on a regular basis for good health. Lacking in any one nutrient can have far-reaching consequences.
Eating a nutrient-rich diet with a variety of foods can help everyone achieve their health and nutrition goals.
To know if you’re at risk for a nutrient deficiency, schedule a call with. me to see if we are a good fit and I can review your foods and supplements.
Feeling “off” or having symptoms that concern you?
Want inspiration on how to meet your health goals through a nutritious diet?
Need a personalized list of recipes and a plan to help you enjoy eating well?
Book an appointment with me to see how I can help you.
References
Bird, J. K., Murphy, R. A., Ciappio, E. D., & McBurney, M. I. (2017). Risk of Deficiency in Multiple Concurrent Micronutrients in Children and Adults in the United States. Nutrients, 9(7), 655. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9070655
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537775/
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020, February 28). Iron fact sheet for health professionals.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020, February 4). Vitamin B6 fact sheet for health professionals.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020, March 30). Vitamin B12 fact sheet for health professionals.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020, February 27). Vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. (2020, October 9). Vitamin D fact sheet for health professionals.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/