And I Thought I Hated Coleslaw!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. My weekend actually ended yesterday (oh, and it started yesterday too..). But I can't complain because I get three days off next week :)

If you're interested in some updates on my new job, and our new house, stay tuned for some posts coming up next week. I'll be providing some updates/recaps on both. Until then, I'm talking about FOOD!



When I was a kid I truly despised coleslaw. I never understood the interest in such a runny and "sour" food (that's what I thought back then). After college I worked at a restaurant that served fish and chips and of course we also served coleslaw with the fish. If you've ever worked in a restaurant you understand how certain foods may become completely unappetizing to you after handling them so often in a restaurant setting ( although I worked in an ice cream shop once, but I never got sick of ice cream....). I already hated coleslaw, but then after having to serve it (from a cardboard container, no less) over a thousand times to hungry customers, I truly detested the stuff. That is.....until I discovered broccoli slaw!



I also discovered the beauty of having control over how much slaw dressing I used. Most places drench their coleslaw in dressing to the point where it's ruined (similar to what some places do with salads). I probably add half the amount of slaw dressing to my coleslaw.



Why make a healthy food unhealthy? Slaw dressing is far from healthy, but the broccoli slaw itself, well, take a look!


Three great highlights of this product include; fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C. And of course there are certain nutrients missing from this nutrition panel, and those would include; folate, vitamin K, quercetin (a type of flavanoid with anti-inflammatory properties), and lutein/xeazanthin (types of carotenoids, which can benefit the aging eye).

A WILD WHOLE GRAIN

After researching a bit on Wikepedia, I learned that wild rice is grown in shallow lakes and slow-flowing streams. It's made from four species of grasses, meaning it's not even a variety of rice at all. WILD! A while ago I posted a video blog about the nutritional differences between quinoa and brown rice, but wild rice is pretty impressive too. Like quinoa and brown rice wild rice is wheat and gluten free and does count as a whole grain (even though it's a grass). It has a characteristic nutty and mild flavor.

A while ago I received some free samples of wild rice. The one below is a fusion of brown and wild rice.

Delicious!

Nutritional Highlights For 1/4 cup of the average dry wild rice (~1/2 cup cooked)

Fat: ~1.25- 1.5 grams

Protein: 5-10 grams (similar to quinoa), and this includes the amino acid lysine, which is the limiting amino acid in most whole grains. This can be used as a great complementary source of protein for vegetarians.

Fiber: 4-5 grams (more than brown rice and quinoa)

Good source of: B vitamins, phosphorus, and potassium (quinoa is the better source of iron)



Question: Is there a food that you hated as a kid, but now you really love?!

Source: iStockPhoto

Other than coleslaw, I hated tofu (oh wait, I still hate tofu) and artichoke hearts (love them now). Something else I hated was chunky peanut butter. Now that's all I eat!