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Jessie, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

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Say the Magic Words!

04/20/10 | Recipes, School

Say them after me: calcium and exercise give you strong bones! Remember those words, because there will be a quiz later.

Let’s have some dramatic lighting to shake up the usual breakfast pics:

Can’t … look away … must … ogle pictures …

That would be oatmeal with strawberries, Chillin’ Chocolate, AND Adirondack Jack (live large, I say).

Today, I taught three nutrition lessons with two of the other girls in my dietetics program. The 3rd, 4th, and 6th graders learned about calcium and dairy and why they’re so important, especially when they’re growing. Did you know that 90 percent of peak bone mass is acquired by age 18 for girls and 20 for boys? So, get your calcium before then to prevent weak bones! (You can still build bone mass after those ages, but mostly in your arms.)

Teaching the 6th graders:

Not sure what I’m doing in this picture, but I seem really into it.

So, do you remember what the magic words are? (I ask the 6th graders) That’s right! Calcium and exercise give you strong bones! 😀

(Is it just me, or do 6th graders seem larger nowadays? I swear most of the girls were taller than I am. And I ain’t tiny.)

Last night’s dinner consisted of an adaptation of Joanne‘s Nigerian Baked Beans with Spiced Carrot and Zucchini Barley.  (If you’re not reading Joanne’s blog, you should. This girl is in a prestigious MD/PhD program and she STILL has time to not only eat, but cook gourmet meals with a flourish.)

Since I made so many adaptations to the recipe due to *ahem* missing ingredients, I’ll write it here.

Nigerian Baked Beans
Serves 4, adapted from Eats Well With Others, adapted from 660 Curries by way of Lisa’s Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 can of beans of choice, drained and rinsed REALLY well (use dried beans if you’re not as lazy short of time as I am. Navy beans would work well. I used black beans.)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (told ja I was a spice-chicken)
1 Tbsp curry power (I used a combo of sweet curry and Maharajah)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
3 6 tbsp peanut butter (I had to, I just had to 🙂 )
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop yer veggies. If you’re using dried beans, cook them according to package directions.

Saute shallots in a skillet over medium heat until soft. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook for 30 seconds. Add curry and ground spices.

Add tomatoes and beans, stir well. Stir in peanut butter and pepper until combined.

Foreshortened spoon!

Just kidding. Here’s what it actually looks like.

Spoon into casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes (you’ll have to bake longer if you started with dried beans).

Spiced Carrot and Zucchini Red Pepper Barley Quinoa (my kitchen was not well stocked)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa
1 red bell pepper
2 Tbsp raisins dried cherries (Who has dried cherries in their pantry, but not raisins? I mean, WHO??)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Rinse quinoa well and simmer in 1 cup of water with the cherries.

Saute bell pepper in olive oil until soft.

Add spices and stir. When quinoa is cooked, toss with bell pepper.

Together:

Delicious, Joanne, delicious! 🙂

Q: Have you ever eaten quinoa? How do you like to prepare/eat it?

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Comments | 43 comments

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Comments

  1. Christina (Dinner at Christina's) says

    April 20, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    We eat quinoa all the time! I like to prepare it w/ veggie stock and vegetables steamed in while it cooks, or sometimes I replace half the water w/ salsa while it cooks and top w/ sour cream and avacado. I also love stuffing things w/ it – squash, zucchini, etc. and baking. I’ve also made a quinoa casserole that was pretty cool – sort of like a quiche cousin.

    haha The caption for the pic of you cracked me up. You DO seem really into it!

    Reply
  2. Tina says

    April 20, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    Calcium and exercise make strong bones! 😀 That is probably so rewarding to help young kids learn more about nutrition. I never realized that you can increase bone mass mostly in your arms. Interesting. And YES! Kids are so much bigger now!!!!

    Reply
  3. John says

    April 20, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    I have quinoa in my cupboard but haven’t made it yet. Someday I will, someday.

    Reply
  4. Mama Pea says

    April 20, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    That dinner looks amazing! Please come make it for me. Tonight would be fine.

    Reply
  5. homecookedem says

    April 20, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Hehe, calcium and exercise make strong bones!! Love it!! I wonder if it’s possible to undo damage from childhood. Because as a kid I never drank milk. Still don’t drink milk now, but I do eat yogurt and cottage cheese. Anyyyyywayssssss… 😉

    You should see the 5th graders at our school. They’re huge! And it’s so sad that some of the girls are wearing bigger clothes than me. Breaks my heart.

    Your quinoa dish looks great!! I love making Kath’s quinoa greek salad. Omg, it is so good and the perfect summer dish.

    Reply
    • Jessie says

      April 22, 2010 at 8:26 am

      Yogurt and cottage cheese are GREAT sources of Ca! Nice one, Em!

      Reply
  6. Jessica @ Healthy Exposures says

    April 20, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Thanks for the calcium reminder! Definitely a good motto to remember, too 😛
    The dinner looks great! I’ve been loving curries AND quinoa lately. In fact, I’m enjoying some for dinner at this very moment.
    …and I am always jealous of those beautiful strawberries.

    Reply
  7. luvtoeat says

    April 20, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    What gives you strong bones? Just kidding girl. Calcium and exercise give you strong bones. It amazing how much more attention people seem to pay when you tell them there’s going to be a quiz later, haha.
    Kids are definitely getting bigger these days. I’m only 5 feet and some of the grade fours and fives I taught were already taller than me.

    I’ve never tried quinoa before. Would like to someday as I’ve heard such great things about it. Have a lovely rest of the week 😀

    Reply
  8. Ana (AnActive Adventure) says

    April 20, 2010 at 8:12 pm

    I love quinoa!! I always cook 1 cup in water, that way later on I can season eat whichever way I want. Since one cup ends up rendering 3 cups, I end up eating it for days, haha! I love making quinoa pudding too!

    Reply
    • Jessie says

      April 22, 2010 at 8:26 am

      I want to try quinoa pudding!

      Reply
  9. Faith says

    April 20, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    You look like you’re having so much fun teaching the kids! I’ve noticed it too, kids are getting bigger, lol!

    Oooh, these Nigerian Baked Beans look pretty fantastic, and I think I’ve got all the ingredients on hand…dinner tomorrow! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Lucy says

    April 20, 2010 at 9:13 pm

    Hooray for teaching, sounds like a great time was had by all! Your food looks so delicious! All my favourite components – contrasting colours, textures, lots of flavour, veggies, and liquidy-ness 🙂 Yum! I usually just cook quinoa in my little Cuisinart rice cooker – it comes out fluffy, moist, and quite tasty. I want to make a quinoa bake but lately I haven’t been cooking much at all. Cheerio!

    Reply
  11. Mae says

    April 20, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    I love quiona! I like it any way but I never have the motivation to rise and cook it. That sounds horrible! This take on it looks amazing and I’m loving the blog you linked to, too! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Lauren says

    April 20, 2010 at 11:23 pm

    I think you know my answer to that question, since I just used oodles of quinoa in my GREENola!
    I do love quinoa…I think its so great and so versatile because I have it both sweet and savoury. I want to try soaking it instead of cooking to retain more nutrients, but usually i just cook it on the stovetop and mix it with whatever flavours I want. In the morning, with bananas and cinnamon and sweet goodness. Later in the day, with veggies and spices.
    That quinoa recipe looks great and so do the baked beans. I love that you added extra PB! Must have made for the perfect peanutty flavour. I would have wanted to do the same thing.
    By the way, I know you said you’re not tiny, but you absolutely do look tiny (and lovely) in that picture! Just had to say it. Most 6th graders are taller than me but I’m very short so that doesn’t say much…
    I’m talking too much as usual…I hope you have a good night 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessie says

      April 22, 2010 at 8:27 am

      Haha, thanks Lauren! I guess I am pretty compact 😉

      Reply
  13. Joanne says

    April 20, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    I’m so glad you made this! And liked it! You were definitely right in adding more PB. there is no such thing as too much. Ever.

    Thanks so much for your sweet shout-out. You are adorable.

    I love quinoa. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Eating it and saying it. A lot of times I’ll just use it instead of rice but I’ve also made pilafs with it that were wonderful!

    Reply
  14. sophia says

    April 20, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    You are so cute! Haha! Always the teacher and nutritionist.

    I don’t really like quinoa..it tastes fishy to me! But perhaps I should try the fabulous Joanne’s recipe…

    Reply
  15. Nicole, RD says

    April 21, 2010 at 12:55 am

    Calcium and exercise make strong bones!

    I am trying to like quinoa but I haven’t found a way to eat it that I like it. Yet. I’m working on it! It is one of the like THREE foods I’m not crazy about, and I hate that! It’s so wonderful nutritionally-speaking!

    Reply
  16. aletheia says

    April 21, 2010 at 1:16 am

    The funny thing is – I have never tried quinoa!

    I see a lot of pictures of it though. And hear a lot of good things about it. I guess it’s a matter of getting over my aversion of cooking grains. Maybe I’ll use it in GREENOLA next time. 🙂

    And yes, like Sophia, I think you are way awesome : teacher and nutritionist. It’s completely complementary, ya know?

    Lots of love,
    Aletheia 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessie says

      April 22, 2010 at 8:28 am

      Aww, thanks Aletheia!! 😀

      Reply
  17. Anne @ Food Loving Polar Bear says

    April 21, 2010 at 7:34 am

    My mum always used to tell me that calcium and exercise makes strong bones 🙂

    I’ve eaten quinoa (but never prepared some myself) and I quite like it 🙂

    Reply
  18. Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday says

    April 21, 2010 at 8:33 am

    I’m in the process of making Peter Reinhart’s Multigrain Struan with Quinoa! I should be baking it tonight 🙂

    Reply
  19. Lauren (Health on the Run) says

    April 21, 2010 at 9:15 am

    These meals look delicious!!! I have actually never even thought about adding peanut butter to beans…which is saying a lot, because I add PB to most things. 😉 I will definitely have to try it!

    And I love quinoa, though I only started eating it relatively recently. My favorite way to cook it is in veggie broth (I think it has more flavor that way) and then load it up with tons of different sauteed veggies.

    Reply
  20. Danielle (Coffee Run) says

    April 21, 2010 at 10:23 am

    Do I spy…a conjoined twin strawberry?? Love the dramatic lighting 🙂

    I love quinoa! I pronounced it “quin-oh-uh” for the longest time lol.

    Reply
  21. Melinda says

    April 21, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Looks like this dish turned out well. I love quinoa and use it when I can.

    That is great that the 6th graders remembered your point. They do seem to be a little bigger these days, but I am short, so it could just be me.

    Reply
  22. kalli@fitandfortysomething says

    April 21, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    love that you were teaching today….i bet the kids loved it! your dinner looks great and i have not had quinoa lately!

    Reply
  23. runnerforever says

    April 21, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    I love quinoa in my salads. Great with a light dressing and chicken.

    Reply
  24. Kelsey says

    April 21, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    i LOVE your curry canisters! adorable. i adore the teaching photo. u must be an amazing teacher-seriously! especially sicne u have the passion for it obv. GREAT FOOD EATS!! xoxoxoxo have an AMAZING day love

    Reply
  25. Kelsey says

    April 21, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    oh and to reply to yesterdays post.. about the wrapes. .the tapioca in it is actually the white wrap ‘tapioca paper’ neat huh!

    Reply
  26. Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) says

    April 21, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    Yum, that looks like a wonderful dinner!
    I remember going to a middle school to teach some kids (our lesson was about sugar in drinks) – SO fun!

    Reply
  27. Midgetkeeper says

    April 21, 2010 at 4:15 pm

    Kids are HUGE these days!

    Your dinner looks amazing. I have yet to try Quinoa but I really want to.

    Reply
  28. Kristen (swanky dietitian) says

    April 21, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    That quinoa looks delish!! I am fairly new to quinoa but LOVE it! This recipe looks fab!
    How cute are you teaching the kids. I always think that about the kids I see. I am always surprised by how much older they look.
    Have a great day!

    Reply
  29. katie says

    April 21, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    hey suga!!!!
    WOW your oats look amazing for REALS!! oh my gahhhh! i LOVE the chocolate and strawberry combo!

    Reply
  30. Lele says

    April 22, 2010 at 11:20 am

    This post has caused me to guiltily take a calcium supplement. Kudos.

    Reply
  31. Melinda says

    April 22, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    As for my choc chip cookies, that is what happens when 2 people really want cookies and everyone thinks they know what they are doing. The stackable cooling racks came from Bed, Bath and Beyond and I do not think they were too expensive. They are great for tight kitchens.

    Reply
    • Jessie says

      April 22, 2010 at 7:43 pm

      Thanks, Melinda!

      Reply
  32. Beth @ DiningAndDishing says

    April 22, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Love quinoa! I like to mix it with some truffle oil (although I like to mix anything with some truffle oil 😉 ) and balsamic. Plus a bunch of veg. Yum!!

    Reply
  33. Simply Life says

    April 22, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    Wow, what a great looking bean dish!

    Reply
  34. Meghan@traveleatlove says

    April 22, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    I love quinoa, but I overdid it last year, so I am taking some time off 🙂 I tend to find one healthy thing I love and eat it until I want to fall over. This recipe looks delicious though and may inspire me to work it back into the rotation!

    Reply
  35. Light Delight with TouTou says

    April 22, 2010 at 6:31 pm

    It is Quite a dish!!!! very complicated, but definitely worth it:-D the little curry box is sooo cute!! I am a big fun of this kind of pungent flavor too. Thanks for such detailed recipe, very enticing one!

    Reply
  36. Amy says

    April 23, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    Wow, what a great looking bean dish!

    Reply
  37. Seema says

    June 22, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    I love quinoa and eat it with veggies or meat instead of rice. It replaces the total carbs of rice with something healthier. And tastes better also.

    Reply
  38. Nanette Murdick says

    November 1, 2012 at 8:00 am

    A great article. The first and most important thing is to get out of bed right away. I clap my hands and say “I’m having a great day,” then splash water on my face. I like the idea of the drink of water too. Everything else falls into place.

    Reply

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