A Chunky as Heck Chicken Soup Recipe

I don't share too many recipes on this blog, but tonight I made a chicken soup (originally billed as a stew) for the second time and it was so good I just had to share it! This is a great chicken soup that can be modified in any way that you want. You can change the flavors, the ingredients, the vegetables, the spices - whatever you like! My favorite part about this is that you cook the chicken in the broth which gives it a delicious, rich flavor and then you shred it. I've had some failed chicken soup attempts where you add little chunks of chicken that are hard to get just right. With this recipe you don't worry about the size, just shred it!

Ingredients:
olive oil
around 2 cups of chopped vegetables such as:
   onion
   celery
   carrot
   zucchini
   mushrooms
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (try fire roasted for extra flavor)
14.5 ounce can low sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon of each spice such as:
   thyme
   basil
2 chicken breasts with bones and skin (at both my local grocery store and at Trader Joes I've found this in the Kosher meat section)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot and saute vegetables for approximately 5 minutes. Add entire can of tomatoes, broth, and spices. Submerge chicken and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes (longer if the chicken breasts are thick), turning chicken and stirring occasionally. Remove the chicken from the pot, allow to cool, and discard skin. Shred or chop chicken and discard bones, then return shredded chicken to the pot. Simmer for 10 more minutes, let cool, and enjoy! Serve atop quinoa, couscous, whole wheat noodles, or with a hunk of whole grain bread.

Talking Nutrition with Triathletes

Healthy food for hungry triathletes!

Last night I gave my first of (hopefully) many talks about nutrition to athletes. It helped that the athletes in question were members of my triathlon team and helped even more that I had the support of Nicole Cormier, RD of Delicious Living Nutrition in case there were any questions that I couldn't answer! Back in my former life as an editor, I hired Nicole to work on several nutrition books, which she's still doing. It's great to be working with her in a different capacity now.

The talk was at the bike shop that sponsors my team, Wheelworks in Belmont and about 17 teammates came out for the "Everyday Nutrition for Triathletes" talk. I brought lots of fresh fruit and veggies along with hummus, greek yogurt mixed with dill, and two healthy dishes, recipes below. We talked through daily calorie needs based on the Harris Benedict Equation, daily protein and carbohydrate needs, and talked a bit about pre- and post-race nutrition and hydration. I think it went really well and people were really receptive. It's always great to get little reminders of why you've made life changes like this - I love talking to people (especially athletes) about healthy eating, and look forward to continuing to do it for a long time!

Southwestern Protein Fiesta

1 bag Trader Joe’s frozen Fire-Roasted Corn, defrosted

1 bag frozen edamame, defrosted

1 can black beans (no-salt added), rinsed

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped

1 container fresh salsa

 

Mix all ingredients together and bring cold to a potluck or BBQ, serve warm over rice or quinoa for dinner, roll it in a whole-wheat tortilla for lunch, throw it over salad, or put in your morning eggs!

Whole-Grain Mediterranean Toss

½ cucumber, diced

½ container cherry tomatoes, halved

1 can garbanzo beans (no-salt added), rinsed

1 package low-fat feta cheese

3-4 cups cooked whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat orzo, or barley)

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Balsamic vinegar, pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve hot inside steamed halved peppers, cold at a picnic, or as a side with grilled chicken!

Full Up on Plant-Based Foods

None of us are sure exactly how it started - we were running stairs at Harvard stadium so I could track how many calories I was burning for my metabolic armband post. Someone mentioned that several people he knew were doing cleanses recently, I shared my opinion about the danger of cutting macronutrients out of your diet, and the next thing you know, the three of us were on a two-week long vegan cleanse*.

This was a lot easier for me than it was for either of them. I had already cut red meat and pork out of my diet and was a huge fan of tofu, legumes, and other vegan-friendly food products. Dan has a meat-share (like a CSA but with locally-raised meat) and Chris's breakfast routine every day includes two eggs. We sat at brunch that day after running the stairs eating eggs (me) and plenty of breakfast meat (them) going over what could and could not be eaten during these two weeks. Chris asked about bread (normally OK but check the package just in case) and we went over easy options for cooking at home (make sure to plan ahead) and eating out (Mexican and almost any type of Asian cuisine are the most likely to have options).

We all came out of it with mixed results, Dan making it the full two weeks despite his co-workers tempting him with copious amounts of Valentine's Day chocolate. Chris stopped early in order to get back to eating meat prior to joining Cross Fit (huge proponents of the Paleo Diet) and I did fine except for accidentally eating a handful of Cheetos halfway through the second week.

People often assume that you'll lose weight if you stop eating animal products, and I'm sure that a lot of people do (in fact, Dan did lose weight during the two weeks). For me though, I still ate just as many calories as I normally do, maybe even more because I constantly had a bag full of snacks with me in case I couldn't find any while out. It seems that many think of a vegan diet as being sparse, and in fact I've had people tell me that you "can't get full" on vegan food. True, there were times during the two weeks that I would've felt more full if I had been able to melt cheese on top of whatever I was eating, and I did get tired of the taste of soy milk, but besides that I ate some of the most delicious food I've had in a while. So for those who think of vegan food as nothing but bland tofu, mushy brown rice, and rubbery meat-replacement products, here were some of my favorite meals from the past two weeks....

Breakfast
Frozen hashbrowns sauteed in olive oil with wilted spinach, chipotle salsa, and lentils.
Whole-wheat tortilla with peanut butter and banana.
Steel-cut oats with maple syrup and walnuts.

Lunch
Whole-wheat tortilla filled with: brown rice, fire-roasted corn (comes frozen from Trader Joe's), avocado, cilantro, lentils, chipotle salsa.
Spinach salad with garbanzo beans, roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes, tomato, cucumber, and tabouli.
Whole-wheat tortilla filled with: white-bean hummus, chopped tomatoes, baby spinach, and falafel (frozen, again from Trader Joe's).

Snacks
I love Meatless Primal Strips and also ate plenty of my usual snacks (almonds, Luna bars, bananas, veggies and hummus).

Dinner
We had some great meals out including Grasshopper, an all-vegan Asian restaurant nearby, and True Bistro, an upscale vegan restaurant in Somerville.

As I mentioned earlier, Valentine's Day happened to fall during this two-week period and lucky for me I have a very understanding boyfriend who didn't mind helping me cook this delicious recipe for Polenta Lasagna with Portabellas and Kale that night. I was also helping out with data-collection in a school cafeteria on one of the days and after smelling lasagna all day had an intense craving. Fortunately, I was able to find this recipe which substitutes tofu for ricotta in a traditional lasagna and it really hit the spot!

Vegan lasagna: healthy, filling, and delicious!

All-in-all it was really interesting to go vegan for two weeks in order to see all of the challenges that people can face. It made me value clearly-stated food labels and I did end up planning ahead more often in order to cook at home. Dan has said that the two weeks made him appreciate vegetables in a way that he never has before and while he's not about to give up his meat share, he's going to make an effort to eat a more plant-based diet, perhaps going vegan every other day. The vegan diet made Chris appreciate what vegans go through, especially when eating out and he was excited to find some new recipes (like a vegan chili) to work into his normal routine. As for me, this morning I was back at my old habits eating cheese on my english muffin. What can I say, despite loving the concept of better health through a plant-based diet, I'm a Wisconsin girl through and through.

*I completely understand that people stop eating animal products for many different reasons and don't mean to imply that eating a vegan diet for two weeks is a trendy "cleanse" like an all-juice diet; we just called it a vegan cleanse because we were cutting out a normal part of our diet. I also don't mean to imply that animal products are toxins. This was just for fun.

Healthy Cooking for Twelve

My family has a great tradition of getting together every year in North Carolina between Christmas and New Year’s. We catch up on the year’s activities, go for walks, read books that we were given for Christmas, and swim in my grandparents’ pool. But mostly, we eat.

We talk about what we’ll be eating next, we shop for the next meal, we plan for when the next meal will take place, we clean up from the last meal. In the past we would pile into cars and descend upon local restaurants but with mobility becoming more of an issue, these days we mostly take turns cooking. This is made especially challenging by a variety of food allergies, tastes, preferences, and dietary restrictions. There’s a shellfish allergy so severe that it rules out all seafood, several people who don’t eat beef, even more who don’t eat pork, a strong aversion to onions, a person with type 1 diabetes, a low-salt restriction, and a most-of-the-time vegan.

Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

This year I decided to make an exclusively vegetarian meal and used my roommate’s inspiration to go all red and green for the holiday. I started out with this Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens recipe from Epicurious (kale! whole grains!), which I doubled, then served stuffed peppers with a side of whole-wheat bread. I love making these peppers because they’re easy to make for a crowd, they’re healthy, and they make a good presentation.

Red and Green Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Whole Grains

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1/2 package whole-wheat orzo (they sell this at Whole Foods but I haven’t seen it anywhere else)

6 large bell peppers, a variety of red and green

2 cucumbers, chopped into tiny cubes

2 containers of grape tomatoes sliced in half

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

1 container feta cheese

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt and pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil water and cook the entire package of whole-wheat orzo according to package directions (you can use the rest for leftovers).

Cut peppers in half vertically and remove seeds and white parts. Fill a large dish with a thin layer of water and put peppers facedown in the water. Cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes. You may have to do this in batches depending on how big your microwave is. The peppers should still be firm but soft to the touch. Place steamed peppers face up in a large baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1/2 of the cooked orzo, all of the chopped tomatoes, the chopped cucumbers, garbanzo beans, and feta. Douse with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper (if your guests will tolerate it) and mix. Fill peppers with the stuffing mixture and bake for 15 minutes. There will be a bowl of the orzo mixture left; place either in the oven or microwave to heat, then place on table so that people can add more orzo mixture to their plate.

Red and Green Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Whole Grains

This recipe is easily customizable; you can add or remove vegetables depending on guests’ preferences, you can change the type of cheese or the grain. How about Southwestern Stuffed Peppers? Just replace the garbanzo beans with black beans, replace the orzo with brown rice, replace the feta with shredded cheddar, and mix some taco seasoning in with the stuffing. Or Greek Stuffed Peppers with feta, Kalamata olives, and couscous? The sky is the limit for this healthy main course.

Healthy, Cheap, Easy Last-Minute Gift Idea!

Tis the season for finding last minute presents that are fast, cheap, and leave a lasting impression. I’m sure that the Internet is rife with homemade gift ideas, and here’s another one that fits the above criteria – plus it’s healthy! I got this idea after I made muffins for a brunch on Sunday that called for cornmeal. I got to thinking that I don’t have much use for cornmeal and worried that it might sit unused, like my large bag of white whole-wheat flour has been for a few months. Growing up, we used to sell cookie mixes in my parent’s gift shop that had all of the dry ingredients – just add a few specific things and voila! Cookies. They were sort of like cake mix in really nice packaging.

Homemade Muffin Mix

So this year I decided to make my own muffin mixes to give out as last-minute presents. At a locally-owned hardware store I bought a package of 12 wide-mouth quart-sized Ball canning jars for $9.99. I used the cornmeal and other dry goods I had on hand, and bought some extra cranberries at the grocery store. Here is what to do if you want to make your own:

Mix 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk. Pour into a clean quart-sized canning jar. Put 1 1/2 cups of cranberries into a zip-lock bag and place on top of flour mixture in the jar. Close the lid and decorate as desired! Make sure to attach this label so that the recipient knows what to do when they get the gift:

Cranberry Lemon Muffins

Adapted from a recipe from Eating Well.

Ingredients not provided are in bold.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl.

3. Add yogurt mixture to the provided dry ingredients and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in chopped up cranberries.

4. Divide the batter among 24 mini muffin cups. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins.

5. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool then serve.

Per mini muffin: 93 calories, 3.5g fat, 2g protein, 1.5g fiber.

Happy Halloween!

While hosting my annual pumpkin carving party the other night, one of the guests inquired about the nutritional value of the delicious toasted pumpkin seeds that I was serving. I made an educated guess that they're high in fiber (when you eat them whole with the white part still on, not the green pepitas that you can buy at a grocery store) and protein, but wasn't exactly sure about the nutritional breakdown.

Delicious toasted pumpkin seeds!

Questions like that are a great reason to do some research! Turns out that I was definitely right about the protein; a quarter cup of seeds has almost 8.5 grams of protein, which is 17% of your daily value (approximately). However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend eating a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds on a daily basis (first of all, that would be a lot of pumpkins to carve, even for those of us who love to carve pumpkins) because they are pretty high in fat. That quarter cup contains 25% of your daily fat allotment (again, approximately) which is a mix of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, with most of the polyunsaturated comprised of omega-6 (rather than omega-3s which you may have heard are super duper good for you). BUT! It's not all bad news. In addition to being little protein power houses and a decent source of dietary fiber, pumpkin seeds contain healthy doses of magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and vitamin K. So as with all tasty treats this holiday season, enjoy them, just do it in moderation.

Kat's Protein Powerhouse Pumpkin Seeds
At least 3 pumpkins
Olive oil
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Carve several pumpkins. This works best if you have a party! Or a family.
2. Separate the "guts" from the seeds. Discard guts. Rinse seeds in a colander.
3. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for around 10 minutes to dry off a bit from the rinsing.
4. Remove from oven and douse in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt.
5. Return to oven. Cooking time will vary depending on how wet they are and how crowded the seeds are on the pan, so check them every 5 or 10 minutes and remove them when they're slightly brown and look dry (see photo above). Enjoy!

Source of nutritional info: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=117

The $5 Meal Challenge: Part II

As I mentioned in a previous post, this past Saturday I took part in the $5 Challenge presented by Slow Food USA. I love all of the conversations I've had with people about the goal, the message, the challenges, etc and thanks to everyone who came over for dinner! I had a total of 10 people, so my budget was $50. I did not take into consideration things like olive oil and flour which I already had on hand. However, there was so much food left over that in all likelihood people ate for more like $3 per person even if you figure in the olive oil!

In case you're curious, or you'd like to try this yourself, here is what was on the menu:

When people arrived: 

Bread with two different dipping choices, olive oil and vinegar or olive oil with Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper

 

Main course:

Vegan eggplant and tomato stew

Corn on the cob

Creamy spinach

Roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions (all from the farmer's market) seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme

2 whole roast chickens, flavored with garlic and fresh rosemary

Dessert:

Whole wheat biscuits with strawberries and whipped cream

Not too shabby for fifty bucks, right? Here's how I did it...
The veggies: All of the fresh veggies were from the farmer's market. I got what was cheap - for example, eggplants are in season and only cost $1. The tomatoes in the eggplant stew were canned and the spinach in the creamy spinach (as well as the strawberries in the dessert) was frozen.
The chickens: Were on sale for 99¢ per pound. If I wasn't on a budget I could've taken into consideration things like cage-free or free-range, but that's not a luxury that a lot of people have.
The most expensive items: Probably the capers for the eggplant stew and the fresh rosemary for the chickens.
The nutritiousness of it: The meal altogether was pretty healthy when you consider how many vegetables were served. However, the chickens were whole and therefore not altogether a lean protein. The spinach was made creamy by using non-fat plain yogurt and the biscuits were made with 100% whole wheat flour.
The recipes: I used this roasted chicken recipe, this whole wheat biscuit recipe and the rest were things I'd either made before or just experimented with.
The best part: That night (at one guest's suggestion) I made chicken stock with the remaining bones. The next day I made chicken noodle soup using the stock and some left over chicken; today I made chicken salad. And there is STILL more chicken in my refrigerator!

The photos:

Starting things off nice and classy with bread and oil for dipping.

The full spread.

Note to self: next time start making stock immediately after dinner, not at 11:00pm.

What went wrong: Yes, things do go wrong. For example, you could spend the better part of the morning roasting, peeling, and chopping beets. And then drop the bowl.

Sad beets.

Thanks again to everyone who made the evening (and the leftovers!) a huge success. I think we proved extremely well that a $5 meal can taste must better, and be much better for you, than a fast food burger or sandwich.

Summer in the City Gazpacho

One of the challenges of eating healthy in the summer is going to cookouts or BBQs; burgers and hot dogs, creamy potato salad and coleslaw... it's so delicious but can be hard to eat in moderation when everyone is piling their plates and going back for seconds. My solution to a situation like this is to bring a healthy dish. That way you know that there will be at least one thing that you can eat without the standard cookout calories. And what's even better? Bringing a healthy dish that will impress the other attendees! I was recently asked by Why Not Boston to share one of these very recipes, so here it is, my favorite gazpacho recipe (adapted from this epicurious recipe):

Kat's Summer in the City Gazpacho

• 3 1/2 cups (or more) tomato juice
• 8 plum tomatoes, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 English hothouse cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 lemon, squeezed for the fresh lemon juice
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño chili (more or less depending on how much spice you want - be careful when chopping, wash hands immediately after and do not touch your face or eyes)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• hot sauce, to taste

The great thing about a dish like gazpacho is you can alter it to meet your needs - use this as a template but feel free to add or subtract to your liking!

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, and red and green bell peppers in a bowl. Transfer half that mixture to another bowl, add one cup tomato juice, and blend (either with your immersion blender or in an actual blender). To the intact veggie mixture add the onion, cilantro, lemon juice, green onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Transfer about a cup or more of that mixture to the blender or bowl that you're using to immersion blend, add remaining tomato juice, and blend. Combine remaining bowl of veggies with blended veggies. If you prefer a more blended soup, continue blending until desired consistency is reached. If you're ok with it a little chunky (or when you've blended to your heart's desire) place in fridge for 2 or more hours. Serve with hot sauce and if you want to fancy it up a bit, top with some sliced avocado and grilled shrimp.

Proverbs On Your Plate

This is officially the first guest blog for Eat, Drink, and Be Active! This post comes from Tim Brooks over at Mulligan Stew. Tim and I both grew up in Madison and he's got a long history with food. From being a chef in a restaurant to being a fishmonger in Seattle, he's had his hands (and knives) in food just about as long as I've known him. Today, he posts about getting variety on your plate, something that any dietician would approve!

***
Proverbs On Your Plate

When sitting down to plan out what's going on your plate for dinner,
there's a lot to consider: Nutrition, flavor, how things look on your
plate. We've been inundated with information about the four food
groups, the food pyramid, and every fad diet craze out there, but the
greatest thing that works for me in selecting a healthy, interesting
dinner, comes from friends in Japan. Just as we're told to get five
servings of fruit and vegetables per day, Japanese mothers tell their
children that if they eat 21 different foods in one day, they will be
healthy and wise.

Examining that for a moment, it sounds like a good idea. Look at your
diet for a day. Discard things such as coffee, and the lettuce on your
burger, and you begin to realize just how monotonous our daily routine
of eating can be. Breakfast, for me, usually consists of a coffee and
a scone or pastry at work. What's that for lunch? A sandwich and a
soda? I have a long way to go before I make it to 21.

My cousin Peter has passed along a quote that says, "Eat breakfast
like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." I tried
it, and it doesn't necessarily work for me. I'm not a morning person.
When I get home from work, I need to play catch-up with my nutrition
in order to make this work. Fortunately, I have more time to relax in
the kitchen, and working at a grocery store affords me the opportunity
to come home with a cornucopia of fresh produce.

The produce is the key. In general, I try to have something green on
my plate. A well balanced meal, from what I've been taught in the
restaurant industry, has a Protein, a Starch, and a Green. Meat and
potatoes just doesn't cut it for health. This doesn't mean that you
have to cut it out of your diet altogether. It just means that we need
a little bit of sunshine on the plate.

In my pantry, I try to have the staples of onion, garlic, and
tomatoes, as well as enough fruit and vegetables to make a quick
salad. Everything branches out from there. If I'm only making a dinner
for two, I bring home a green leafy or green flowery vegetable. Along
with a good protein, and with a little planning, here's meal can be
made in one pan.

Step 1: Assemble the vegetables. In this case, I have pea pods,
broccoli, bok choy, carrots, onions, mushrooms, pepper,  garlic, and
ginger.  Mince the garlic and ginger, finely chop the harder
vegetables, and slice the softer ones.

Step 2: Assemble the protein. In this picture, I'm using shrimp. It
doesn't have to be jumbo, and it doesn't have to have the shell, but
for best results, get the raw stuff. Most places have peeled and
deveined shrimp, but for flavor, it's better to shell them yourself.
Don't worry. This'll give you a better appreciation of your food. Peel
it, and slice it down the back. Pull out the vein if it has one. Rinse
if you must.

Step 3: Everything in the pan. Start with your aromatics. Little bit
of oil in the pan, some garlic and ginger over medium heat, and let it
sweat until your kitchen starts to smell good, about five minutes.
Next, add the other vegetables in order of hardest to softest at
intervals of two minutes. Carrots and Broccoli take longer to cook
than the others, so put them in first. Onions and peppers come next,
followed by mushrooms, pea pods and bok choy. Add the shrimp last, and
let it cook for about three to four more minutes. When it's ready, the
shrimp should curl into a J-Shape. Curled into a C-shape, they're
still going to be tender, but turn off the heat before they curl into
an armadillo ball. They'll get really tough on you.

Season it up with a little pepper or red chile flakes, and add a
couple splashes of soy sauce or low sodium tamari. If you have a rice
cooker or even a spare pot, make a big batch of brown rice and keep a
couple meals' worth in the fridge for quick access to hearty
nutrition. Spoon it over rice, and you have a colorful, nutritious
meal with at least eight different foods to get you closer to your
goal of a complete, healthy day.

As in the game of blackjack, 21 is a winner. Make it there with your
food every day, and your body will thank you.

***

For more exciting recipes and humorous anecdotes, swing by my blog at:
http://mulligansoup.wordpress.com. Just like this post, it's got a
little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

Strawberries. Forever.

I had to great fortune to be in sunny California for a quick visit this past weekend just as the strawberry stands were opening. According to my Grandma, strawberry season there is from April to October. I don't generally use sports references, but imagine having a pint of fresh-picked strawberries to eat at every single baseball game of the season! Craziness. The rest of my family who came out from the Midwest was equally as excited as I was about having delicious fresh fruit so we bought somewhere around 20 cartons from this stand just outside of Sonoma:

We even had to stop and buy more on the way home because we had indulged in a few too many strawberries while stopping in at a couple of wineries! That night we made a delicious take on strawberry shortcake. With apologies to everyone living in a place where the strawberries are still being flown in (myself included now that I'm back on the East Coast) here is a modified recipe for healthy strawberry shortcake:

1. First, buy a lot of delicious strawberries. 
2. Then, go to your favorite locally owned kitchen shop or on Amazon to buy a Strawberry Slicer which is similar to an egg slicer and works like a charm. 
3. Next, cook your favorite (and healthiest) biscuit recipe. This weekend I cheated a bit and used a mix, but I just found this recipe for Whole-grain buttermilk biscuits on the Mayo Clinic website that looks worth a try! 
4. When the biscuits are fresh out of the oven, split open and heap sliced strawberries on top (no sugar is needed, the berries are naturally sweet). Top with your favorite low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt and savor!

Nina and I enjoying our first(ish) strawberries of the season!