Think about your dinner last night. Concentrate on all the details you can remember. What was most important to you? For some people, it’s the color, number of food items, or protein/carbohydrate/vegetable ratio. For me, it’s about texture. I’m more satisfied if something crunchy is on my plate. Maybe it’s because it takes longer to eat. Cheese and crackers, raw vegetables and dip, chips and salsa, and yogurt topped with granola are a few examples where something crunchy improves my satisfaction. Even sushi rolls can include crunchy items like cucumbers or tempura flakes.
This week’s recipes show how crunch can be added to meals. Toasted nuts are a great addition to salads, oatmeal, tuna salad, or even green beans, but they can also be served alone as an appetizer served with cheese or olives.
Take the Buffalo shrimp recipe. Shrimp served with rice and broccoli would be a perfectly acceptable meal. Change the broccoli to celery and Blue cheese dip, and my satisfaction goes up.
Not everyone will agree with me on this, but it’s something to consider when you plan menus. See if adding something crunchy increases your satisfaction. If crunchy isn’t what sates you, discover what does. This can be a fun topic to discuss at the dinner table.
Reader comments from last week:
A reader from Kentucky suggested rinsing canned vegetables before using in order to remove some of the sodium. This is a great suggestion. Personally I find the texture of canned vegetables to be too soft, but they are perfectly fine used in soups.
Another reader from Wisconsin suggested using buttermilk instead of milk or cream in mashed potatoes. Great tip!
As always, happy cooking and eating! Keep the suggestions coming!
Other recipes for the week
Most people have heard of Buffalo wings, which are typically fried chicken wings coated in a sauce of melted butter, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper. None of the recipes contain buffalo meat. The name buffalo is used because this dish originated in Buffalo, New York. For those who like spicy food, they are great but not everyone likes fried foods. This recipe is my "healthier" version. Serve with celery and Blue cheese dip along with rice.
There are so many recipes for blue cheese dip on the web. The funny thing is they all use basically the same ingredients. With this recipe, use it only as a guide - use more mayonnaise or blue cheese. Look closely at the Variations and make a dip to suit your taste. This is great served with Buffalo shrimp or as an appetizer.