Food Watch: "Herbing up" with Ellie Krieger

Ellie is interviewed by Family First's Marijo Tinlin.

by Ken

Since we were just talking about food in my 3pm PT post, from the New Fulton Fish Market, I thought this might be a good opportunity to slip in this latest mailing from Ellie Krieger, a registered dietitian who's an interesting combination of a nutritionist who's serious about both nutrition and food (I've got two of her cookbooks). Ellie has had her own Food Network show, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger, which I enjoyed a lot, and she maintains an active website (not to mention the usual Facebook and Twitter stuff, which I won't mention) in addition to sending out periodic nutrition-themed food bulletins to her mailing list, which is definitely worth signing up for. (She's also scorching hot, but that's neither here nor there, right?)

In addition, as Ellie's Washington Post bio says, she's

a healthful eating columnist for The Washington Post's Local Living section, and writes a weekly Nourish recipe for The Washington Post’s Food section. She is a registered dietitian, nutritionist and author. Her most recent cookbook is Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less."

Ellie's subject this time out is "Ten Ways to Herb Up," which links to a WaPo column of hers, "The health benefits of herbs," with tips on buying and storing fresh herbs as well as these herbing-up tips.

10 ways to herb up

Using fresh herbs is a great way to add both flavor and health to your food. While there are plenty of inspiring herb-centric recipes from all over the world to explore, like pesto, Tabbouleh salad, or chimmichurri sauce, you don’t need any special instructions or culinary skills to get more herbs into your life. When you move beyond thinking of herbs as a mere garnish and start to see them as the major culinary player they can be, a whole world of healthy taste opens up to you. You can simply add them to foods you are already making. Here are ten ways to get you started:

* Add chopped fresh or dried parsley or dill to your scrambled eggs.
* Tuck a few leaves of mint and/or basil into your ham or turkey sandwich.
* Pile fresh cilantro leaves onto your turkey or veggie burger.
* Toss handfuls of fresh tender herbs—parsley, basil, cilantro, mint-- into your basic green salad,  treating them more like a lettuce than a seasoning.
* Add a generous pinch of dried oregano or thyme to your vinaigrette-type salad dressing.
* Mix a handful of fresh Italian parsley or dill into your boiled or mashed potatoes.
* Rub a mix of dried rosemary and thyme onto your chicken breast before grilling
* Muddle some fresh mint or basil leaves in a glass then fill with iced tea or sparkling water and a twist of citrus.
* Spruce up jarred pasta sauce with a handful of fresh chopped basil leaves.
* Stir fresh basil, parsley or mint leaves with grilled zucchini or sautéed green beans.

Click here to learn about the health benefits of herbs and buying and storing tips.

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