Kohlrabi, Apple and Shrimp Spring Rolls

Kohlrabi, Apple and Shrimp Spring Rolls

Developed by Lara Felton

Servings: 2
Serving size: 3 rolls and 2½ tablespoons sauce (300 grams)
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• [20 grams]                2 tablespoons cashews, chopped
• [35 grams]                3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil
• [2 grams]                  1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• [10 grams]                4 garlic cloves, minced
• [200 grams]              24 fresh medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• [<1 gram]                  1/16 teaspoon salt
• [<1 gram]                  1/16 teaspoon ground pepper
• [40 grams]                Juice of ½ lemon (40 milliliters)
• [280 grams]              2 medium kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks (about one cup)
• [190 grams]              1 medium apple, cut into matchsticks (about ¾ cup)
• [75 grams]                6 collard green leaves
• [65 grams]                6 spring roll rice paper wrappers
• [70 grams]                1 medium carrot, grated (about ½ cup)
• [40 grams]                Juice of 1 lime (40 milliliters)
• [4 grams]                  1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) agave nectar
• [4 grams]                  1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) soy sauce
• [<1 gram]                  ½ teaspoon (3 milliliters) Sriracha sauce

Directions

1. Toast cashews in a skillet over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant. Remove from pan and place in a small bowl. In the same skillet over low heat, add olive oil and red pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds or until pepper flakes are fragrant. Add garlic and sauté for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp and stir to combine with the olive oil mixture. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp are no longer translucent but pink and white throughout when cut. When shrimp are cooked, add salt and pepper, toss to coat and remove pan from heat. Allow shrimp to cool for 1 minute before transferring to a plate. Transfer remaining oil, garlic and red pepper flakes from the pan into the bowl with the toasted cashew pieces.
2. In a small bowl, pour lemon juice over kohlrabi and apple and toss to coat to prevent browning. Wash collard green leaves under cool water and pat dry. Remove the woody stems. Slice leaves width-wise into thin ribbons, about ¼ inch wide. Fill a large bowl with about 2 inches of water. Place a spring roll wrapper in the water and make sure it is fully submerged. Leave the wrapper in the water bath until it is soft and pliable, about 1 minute. Remove the wrapper and gently squeeze it to remove excess water. Gently lay the wrapper flat on a large cutting board or countertop. Place collard ribbons from 1 collard leaf in a thin line down the length of the wrapper about 1½ inches from a side edge of the wrapper. Next add a layer of grated carrot on top of the collards. Then add a layer of kohlrabi, followed by a layer of apple slices. Place 4 cooked shrimp in a row on top. To wrap the spring roll, fold the top and bottom edges of the wrapper over the filling. Then wrap one side edge of the wrapper over the top and bottom edges and continue to roll the wrapper closed, carefully keeping the filling tucked inside. Repeat these steps for all six spring rolls.
3. To make dipping sauce, add lime juice, agave nectar, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce to the bowl of cashew-garlic oil mixture. Whisk to combine. Serve spring rolls with a small bowl of dipping sauce.

Nutrition Per Serving

CALORIES 495; TOTAL FAT 22g; SAT. FAT 3g; CHOL. 163mg; SODIUM 402mg; CARB. 50g; FIBER 6g; SUGARS 15g; PROTEIN 29g; POTASSIUM N/A; PHOSPHORUS N/A

Note: Nutrition information for potassium and phosphorus in rice paper wrappers not available.

Is That App OK for My Kids?

With today's children getting their first smartphone at an average of 10, parents need to be more vigilant than ever. As an RDN, you might be asked for recommendations for a child looking to learn about nutrition through an app, game or website. Before that happens, do a little research.

In her eatright.org article "6 Great Apps to Teach Kids about Nutrition," Marisa Moore, MBA, RDN, LD, writes: "With a plethora of apps on the market, finding the best ones can be daunting. Here are a few to start." If you're looking for even more options for nutrition apps and games, the USDA's SNAP-ed Connection offers recommendations of apps and web games for kids. Or, read tips about online safety from the Federal Trade Commission and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, a nonprofit that provides new media safety education.

4 Questions to Ask Before Recommending Any App for Kids

Before downloading any app or game, however — even those recommended in the resources above — think for yourself. Consider these four questions before making any technology decisions when it comes to kids. Tweet this

Are there online reviews you can read? Reviews can help you get a sense of the pros and cons from different perspectives. I like to read children's technology reviews at Common Sense Media, because they use specific criteria — educational value, positive messages, violence and more — in their reviews, and users also provide feedback.

Does the app ask for the child's personal information? If the app asks for the location of the child, you might want to ask why this is necessary and consider turning off the device’s location services.

Does the app include a chat option (if yes, is it monitored)?

Does the app include advertising or banner ads? Clicking on ads can sometimes infect a device with a virus or malware. It is best to recommend commercial-free apps or games, though those may be difficult to find. Also consider the child's age when advertising is involved — a younger child might not know the difference between ads and content.

What Happens When Automation Isn't an Option?

Technology has made us reliant on automation to run processes and care for patients.  In my work as a director of customer experience, I was recently involved in a transition from one software company to another for the food and nutrition department. As part of this transition, we are without an automation system for a few months. To prepare for this, we had to spend time planning how to proceed without the automatic processes we relied on, including menus and diet orders, allergy crosswalks, supplement orders and production tallies. We had to identify “old school” ways of keeping track of these key tasks and training staff on how to accomplish these tasks.

A lot of time was spent working with staff, including explaining diet orders, how to modify menu selections, how to communicate special orders and how to update menus for each meal period. Finding out who was NPO — a patient who cannot not eat food or drink fluids — and should not receive a tray! We put in a system that would send paper menus upstairs that patients would fill out with little pencils and return to us for review.

There is so much more thought that needs to be put into patients’ meals. Are we providing the right foods? Did we get the modifications correct? Did a diet order change? All the while, we’re still trying to maintain high customer service standards.

I miss the days of automation. The menu and recipes were coded into the database and inappropriate foods were flagged and not offered. The diet order was interfaced directly into the system and we did not have to worry about selecting the right menu – never mind combination diet orders! All items were added up to a tally, and we did not have to wait for extra items or worry about running out of food. Supplements were highlighted and shown directly on the meal ticket without having to look for it.

Automation will be back soon and will be so appreciated. It is when we lose these tools that we realize how much we rely on them — the amount of thought that goes into getting each meal right, knowing we feel safe that food and ingredients are being checked, not having to inventory paper menus and little pencils. These are things we take for granted now and we are looking forward to doing again.

4 Ways to Sneak in Extra Veggies

A 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on how well American adults meet the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables showed we’re not doing so well! Only 13.1 percent of respondents met the fruit intake recommendations, while only 8.9 percent met vegetable intake recommendations.

We need to find new ways to add fruits and veggies to our daily routines.  Here are my four favorite ways to increase produce intake.

Add Them to Smoothies

This might seem like a no-brainer to some, but a lot of people fear the weird green color that can result from adding greens to smoothies, or think it will make them taste bland. Not true! I like to start by blending 1 cup of spinach or kale with 1 cup of almond milk, then adding in mixed fruit, dates and even peanut butter. Sometimes I’ll throw in diced carrots for a beta-carotene boost. And adding beets is a great way to get a strong pink color if you’re not into green!

Mix Them Into Your Breakfast

Have a muffin, pancake or waffle recipe that calls for milk? Blend some spinach with the milk before adding it to the remainder of your ingredients. Just like with smoothies, you can’t even taste it! Adding sweet bell peppers, onions, garlic and mushrooms to your eggs every morning also is a great option if you’re wanting something more savory.

Hide Them in Your Sandwiches and Wraps

Do you typically pack a sandwich or wrap for lunch? Add in a few veggies or, better yet, make an all-veggie sandwich! My favorites are spinach, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, sprouts, cucumbers – the list goes on!

Pizza

Who doesn’t like pizza? Homemade pizza is one of my all-time favorite dinners, and it also is a perfect way to get in a couple servings of veggies. I like to start with my Sweet Potato Pizza Crust and top it with tomato sauce, mushrooms, spinach, onions, peppers and some vegan cheese!

Sweet Potato Pizza Crust

Makes 1 large pizza

Ingredients

2 medium cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, about 1 cup
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup cooked quinoa, or add an additional ¼ cup of almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon olive oil
Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and shape into a circle. Crust should be about ½ inch thick.
Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Add sauce, cheese and toppings and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. Enjoy!

How Prebiotics Can Affect Mood & Appetite

These days you'll see the word "probiotics" listed on packaging of products from yogurt to fermented foods to supplements. Probiotics are “good” bacteria that help keep our digestive tracts healthy. Various strains of probiotics may help improve glucose metabolism in people with Type 2 diabetes, digestive issues such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea and diverticulosis, as well as help keep our immune system strong.

So what's the secret to increasing the amount of good bacteria in your gut?  Well, you already know to eat yogurt, fermented foods or take probiotic supplements, so this answer might surprise you: Increase the amount of prebiotics you eat!

What Are Prebiotics?

Prebiotics are what probiotics eat. Prebiotics are food components, such as fiber, that cannot be broken down by our own digestive enzymes, but rather are fermented by our gut bacteria. Some examples of prebiotic foods include leeks, asparagus, artichokes, garlic, onions, wheat, bananas, soybeans, honey, almonds, oatmeal, red wine and legumes. Each type of prebiotic promotes the growth of different strains of healthy bacteria, so a diet that is rich in a variety of fiber sources supports microbiome diversity.

The prebiotic fermentation process stimulates the growth of good bacteria in our gut. Some studies even have shown that eating prebiotics can reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria in our gut, such as clostridia or salmonella. Fermentation of undigested carbohydrates creates short-chain fatty acids, which can cross the blood-brain barrier.  Short-chain fatty acids send signals to the brain to control appetite and secrete serotonin. Scientists have discovered interactions between the nervous system and microbiome, dubbing this the “gut-brain axis.” There is emerging evidence associating the regulation of mood, stress and anxiety with prebiotic intake.

The Takeaway

If you want to give your gut microbiota a boost and help reduce stress and anxiety, make sure you eat plenty of prebiotic foods. The saying “you are what you eat” applies to bacteria, too!