Eggs-actly!

If you like your eggs sunny side up with the yolk a little runny you’re a gambler. Raw and undercooked eggs have been on the watch list of foods potentially contaminated with salmonella bacteria and other bad bugs that cause food poisoning for years. But, this month’s nationwide recall of shell eggs suspected to be the source of a recent four-fold spike in the number of Salmonella Enteritidis infections has raised the red flag even higher. While no cases of Salmonella Enteritidis have yet been reported in Georgia, the state is included in the recall.
“No sunny side up eggs anymore,” says noted food safety expert Missy Cody, PhD RD, professor emeritus Georgia State University, “Or undercooked scrambled eggs, unless they’re made with a pasteurized egg product.” When eggs are pasteurized, they are heated to a temperature high enough to kill bacteria. So, pasteurized products such as frozen and liquid eggs are safe to consume even when undercooked or used raw in making ice cream or hollandaise sauce, for instance.
Since, eggs are among the most nutritious and economical foods on the menu; here’s a half dozen tips to help you safely enjoy those delicious dozens.
1. Keep eggs refrigerated at all times. Cody cautions, “And beware of breakfast places that keep raw eggs near the hot griddle. The heat will make salmonella which may be in the eggs grow much faster.” Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
2. Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as Hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise or Caesar salad dressing) that may call for raw eggs.
3. Avoid eating raw eggs. No matter how tempting, avoid licking the cake batter off the spoon! Make sure shell eggs used in baked goods or casseroles are thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Meringue-topped pies and soufflés should be baked at 350 degrees F for at least 15 minutes.
4. Sunny side up not a bright idea. Whether boiled, poached or fried; eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm and eaten promptly after cooking. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections.
5. You can’t judge a “good egg”. Contaminated eggs will not smell, look or taste any different from normal eggs. However, always discard cracked or dirty eggs.
6. Some are at higher risk for food poisoning. Eating raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided by young children, pregnant women, elderly and those with weakened immune systems due to serious illness. Good timing-September is The National Restaurant Association’s National Food Safety Education Month. The 2010 theme is High Risk Customers: Serve Your Fare with Extra Care.”
Sources: www.foodsafety.gov and www.cdc.gov

Eating Lessons in Eat, Pray, Love

It was the fresh buffalo mozzarella pizza with sweet tomato sauce and one sprig of basil that got me thinking of lessons learned about digging into delicious foods and letting go of weighty worries and calories consumed. In the first section of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love she travels to Italy as part of what the subtitle describes as “one woman’s search for everything.” Her journey of self discovery, now depicted by actress Julia Roberts in a movie of the same name, includes a serious confrontation with American women’s attitudes about eating, dieting and the guilt often associated with enjoying indulgent foods. At a pizzeria in Naples, Gilbert describes a “Thin, doughy, strong, gummy, yummy, chewy, salty pizza paradise” and orders two whole pizzas for herself because “the pizza is so good we can barely cope.” She goes on to admit she’s gaining weight every day in Italy and says friends back home refer to her trip as the “No Carb Left Behind Tour.” But Gilbert’s new found joyful abandon with pleasures of the palate isn’t a runaway train headed for dietary doom. It’s an exhilarating side trip of gelato, pastries, pasta, wine and chocolate with a plan to get back on track later as she imagines her body is telling her, “OK, kid, live it up. I recognize that this is just temporary.”

In both the book and movie, the message throughout seemed to be about finding balance in life, love, work, thoughts and deeds. Balance is certainly something dietitians talk about all of the time in terms of a healthy balanced diet to support well being of body and mind. So, here’s a sampling of thoughts about the eating in Eat, Pray, Love from nutrition experts who offer guidance to clients on their personal health journeys of self discovery.

Yes, her name is Love.

Page Love, Registered dietitian, Nutrifit Sport Therapy of Atlanta, “I think it is wonderful how the main character reminds women how to really enjoy food and be OK with letting her waistband expand. She also reminds us how to tune into cravings and mindfulness -listening to body signals and responding to what your body is telling you it wants -sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes more because it just looks so good and tastes so good, but then there are other times when our body tells us that we have had enough. She reminds us of the sheer enjoyment of eating without worry of what others are thinking or what may happen to our body!”
Love took her own solo mid-life trip to Rome and says she didn’t gain weight because she was so active touring around and walking everywhere as tourists often do. www.nutrifitga.com
When in Rome

Bonnie Taub-Dix, registered dietitian, National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, “I was smitten after reading the first part on Italy and wanted to pack my
bags immediately and go directly to that pizza shop! Traveling, for me, is so much about food. That’s the message I try to convey to patients: Savor the moment, make it
worth it, make it special, make it count. Don’t eat bread in Italy just because you’re in Italy. Eat bread in Italy when an amazing piece of bread is served to you while you’re there and hopefully it’s coupled with an amazing Barolo!” Taub-Dix is the author of a new book on better understanding food labels, Read It Before You Eat It (Plume 2010)

Give up the Guilt

Ann Dunaway Teh, registered dietitian, Dunaway Dietetics, Atlanta,
“Unfortunately I still think there is a lot of competition almost among women when eating, such as always noticing what the other person is eating or choosing, making qualifying statements or disclaimers about why they made this choice or that choice.
I counsel on moderation and not restricting certain foods because this can set up a person for “binging” on that particular item later and feelings of guilt. I also temper my advice with physical activity and teach people how to enjoy all foods in moderation and have their eating reflect physical activity and vice versa.” Dunaway Teh specializes in nutrition counseling for athletes and families.

Enjoy! It’s Healthy

Marsha Hudnall, registered dietitian, Green Mountain at Fox Run, Vermont.
“Food is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and the current attitudes about eating in this country seriously interfere with that enjoyment. We can dig into our food, enjoy it thoroughly, and still walk away healthy. In fact, enjoyment and happiness even promote good digestion and utilization of the nutrients in food. I believe that one of the positive life messages in Eat, Pray, Love is to realize that food is a wonderful part of life and to enjoy it as part of a full life that includes other things”
Hudnall is program director at Green Mountain at Fox Run in Ludlow Vermont, a women's healthy weight loss retreat and pioneer in the non-diet, mindful eating approach to health and healthy weights. She leads Adventures in Mindful Eating Tours of Italy!
www.fitwoman.com

Mealtime Mindfulness

Each one of the nutrition experts mentioned the importance of mindfulness in eating. Page Love said it well, “When we tune in by eating slowly, pausing during meals, you will get appropriate and accurate measures of when to stop. Set up a “healthy meal environment” sitting in an aesthetically pleasing environment. Maximize your enjoyment mindfully which will in the end help you decide how much you need of yummy food without overdoing it!”
Elizabeth Gilbert, author Eat, Pray, Love communicates mindfulness too writing about her lunch of eggs, asparagus, olives, goat cheese, salmon and a peach, “Finally when I had fully absorbed the prettiness of my meal, I went and sat in a patch of sunbeam on my clean wooden floor and ate every bit of it with my fingers.”

Carolyn O’Neil, MS RD is a registered dietitian and co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! www.carolynoneil.com She can be seen on the Food Network’s Good Eats with Alton Brown, as recurring nutrition expert, The Lady of the Refrigerator.


http://tinyurl.com/23qooz5

Watermelon Gazpacho & More New Tastes

The smiling chef with the view of Beaver Creek's awesome mountains behind him is Steven Topple, the talented chef at fabulous Beano's Cabin. If you're going skiing in Vail/Beaver Creek area you better make your reservations to eat there now! Chef Topple cooked a wonderful lunch for me and my friend Debbie Kopp, who lives in Vail.






Made me think that one of the best parts of traveling is tasting new things. Simple as it is...I had never thought of combining watermelon with a traditional tomato gazpacho before I enjoyed the one created by Chef Topple. The watermelon lightened up the tomato taste and added another refreshing taste of summer to the soup. The two dishes in his hands about to hit the table and our tastebuds are Fresh Dungeness Crab with Apple Tower and Pancetta Wrapped Rabbit with carrot salad and cinnamon cider sauce.

Now for MORE NEW STUFF.
As we wheel our carts down supermarket aisles or peruse a restaurant menu chances are we’re on the hunt for familiar tastes and the usual favorites. We’re creatures of habit, especially when it comes to food choices. Add to that the additional worries brought on by a lack luster economy and there’s even more reason to steer clear of expensive impulse purchases. Dark chocolate covered dried apricots sound delicious, but will they fit into the food budget? But, sometimes wandering off in a new direction can lead to fresh discoveries that satisfy culinary and cost demands – often led by other forces at work. According to results of the 2010 Food & Health Survey, conducted by The International Food & Information Council Foundation (IFIC), taste is the biggest influence on food and beverage purchasing decisions (86%) followed by price (73 %). However, the next biggest impact on food buying habits is concern about health (64%). And of the Americans who say they care about the healthfulness of their diet, a whopping 76% are moved to change the types of foods they’re eating. So, what’s new?
A Change for the Better
Whether it’s to lose weight, maintain weight or boost overall health status; Americans are adding and subtracting foods to support their goals. The IFIC survey found that nearly half of those questioned say they’re trying to eat more protein and consume less salt. Coffee drinking habits are changing too. While, less say they’re eliminating caffeine from their diet (10 % compared to 16 % in 2006); nearly three-quarters report consuming caffeine in moderation this year.


Meanwhile, some results from the IFIC survey read like a shopping list of a concerned yet confused consumer. Nearly three-fourths of Americans are trying to consume more fiber and choose whole grain versions of foods, but they don’t really know what the benefits might be. (For the record, whole grains are beneficial for digestive health, heart health, weight control and provide a myriad of disease fighting antioxidant rich plant nutrients.) Dietary fat remains a dizzying area, too. Most (64%) are trying to consume fewer artery clogging trans-fats and saturated fats but less than half (43%) say they’re choosing more heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Maybe that’s because they don’t know the canola oil salad dressings and salmon they’re eating are sources of Omega-3’s? One thing remains a constant in food and health surveys (including this one from IFIC) a significant barrier getting in the way of improving diets is the perception that newly adopted healthy foods won’t taste as good as old favorites. So here are some suggestions for great tasting healthy foods you may have noticed but might not have tried before.

New and New to You Foods for a Healthy Menu – why not try something new for taste and health?

Jicama- Eat more veggies by trying new varieties. Pronounced "hick-ah-mah," this large brown tuber doesn't look very pretty when judging from its plain Jane outside. But, it's the Cinderella of vegetables! Cut it open to reveal a white interior that looks and tastes kind of like an apple. It’s crunchy, slightly sweet and perfect for salads or as crudités with an impressive 6 grams of fiber per cup!


Scandavian Crispbreads: Messages to consume at least half of your grains as whole grains may be new. but these flat breads have been around for years. Super crunchy, high-fiber, whole grain crackers like Wasa crispbreads from Norway are only 40 calories a slice. No added sugar or fat. Top off with turkey and Swiss or humus and tomato slices.

Quinoa: Add more players to your whole grain cast. Quinoa (keen-whah) seeds cook up into slightly nutty tasting light and fluffy rice-like grains. Perfect as a side dish combined with fresh herbs and chopped veggies. Unlike other grains, quinoa is good source of complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids.


Flat Iron or Hangar Steaks: Cut back on saturated fat and still enjoy beef. Leaner lesser known cuts of beef such as the Flat Iron Steak or hangar steak (think Steak Frites in French bistros) are lower in total fat and calories per serving but big on flavor. Order medium to medium rare and slice against the grain to maximize tenderness.


Cocoa Nibs: Enjoy the taste of chocolate in tiny bites. Cocoa nibs are crunchy slightly bitter sweet roasted bits of cocoa beans. Loaded with antioxidants and the mineral magnesium, a little goes a long way. Sprinkle on a fruit and yogurt parfait or add a mocha hit to your coffee. At Canoe Restaurant, Executive Chef Carvel Grant adds a kick of cocoa and crunch by adding cocoa nibs to Fallen Chocolate Soufflé with Chocolate Mint Ice Cream.

Yerba Mate: Cutting back on caffeine but still need a boost? This weird sounding South American tea possesses health benefits that sound pretty good. A study conducted at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana found that yerba mate's super high antioxidant content out performs red wine and green tea. Mate contains one third the caffeine of coffee, and provides a milder stimulant lift.

Summer Time's Greek to Me

Even if you’re enjoying a “stay-cation” at home, summer’s blue skies, sunny days and star lit nights offer the perfect settings to enjoy a taste trip to Greece. Many of the ingredients in Greek cuisine can literally be described as food of the Gods when you dip into the stories of ancient mythology. Milk from the goat, Amaltheia, was said to have nourished the great god Zeus who was born in a cave on the island of Crete. According to myth, a bee nestled in that same sacred cave was the original source of Crete’s delicious velvety honey. Citrus fruit was created by Gaea, the goddess of the earth, as a wedding gift to Zeus and Hera and then closely guarded in the Garden of Hesperides, far from the inquisitive eyes of Minoan mortals. Sliced oranges topped with a sprinkling of goat cheese and a drizzle of honey sounds heavenly and fits in with down to earth modern medicine’s advice for a healthy diet.
Greek Food and Good Nutrition
Today, nutrition researchers who work to separate food fact from fiction when studying the benefits of dietary habits through time point to the Greek way of eating as one of the best in the world. Healthy highlights include daily consumption of fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, seafood and olive oil. In the 1960’s and ‘70s, Greece topped the charts with the highest life expectancy and one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world attributed to the doubly beneficial effect of the Greek diet and the culture’s emphasis on physical activity. Artemis Simopoulos, MD, author of The Omega Diet and one of the world’s leading experts on the traditional Greek diet points to the positive nutrition power and disease fighting properties which come from “bioprotective nutrients” such as vitamins C and E in fruits and vegetables and the fatty acids in fish, nuts, olive oil and greens.
Greek Menus
The menu at Kyma, a Greek restaurant in Atlanta, features dishes that would please both ancient Greeks and modern nutritionists with its emphasis on wood grilled whole fish and a multitude of tasty vegetable side dishes.

Kyma’s executive chef Pano Karatassos, lavishes as much attention on a simple stew of plump giant white kastorian beans with tomatoes, onion and dill as he does on his show-stopping slow braised lamb shank entrée with Greek couscous. A side of wilted wild greens tossed in extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice is right in line with Dr. Simopoulos’ research suggesting that regular consumption of dark green leafy vegetables is one of the specific reasons the Greek diet is rich in disease fighting phytonutrients. For dessert, a traditional Greek yogurt topped with nuts and honey is food for the gods and guests at Kyma.

But, since humans do have a weakness to drift off course toward temptation (as detailed in just about every story of Greek mythology) Greece has lost some ground in the super-healthy category as modern day Greeks succumb to the gradual addition of more processed foods higher in sugar and saturated fats and have become more sedentary due to a contemporary lifestyle dependent on cars and computers.

So, before you sit down to a huge plate of hearty Moussaka (ground lamb and eggplant casserole) or platter of flaky spanakopita (phyllo pastry filled with spinach and feta cheese) remember that portion sizes still count when enjoying nutritious Greek foods. And note that too much sitting down can be part of the problem too. Healthy Cretans studied in Greece paired their goat cheese consumption with chasing goats up and down rocky hillsides.

Modern Ways to Reap Ancient Dietary Rewards


• Alpha to Omega- Eat foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids such as fish, walnuts, olive oil, canola oil and dark green leafy vegetables

• It’s no myth - Eating seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day is the foundation of a healthy diet.

• Earthly advice - Eat more vegetable protein, including peas, beans and nuts.

• Go for Greek Dairy- Feta cheese has one-third less fat and 30 percent fewer calories than cheddar cheese. Greek yogurts contain nearly twice as much protein as other yogurts.

Finding Fitness in a Fattening World

The best formula for weight loss is and always has been consuming fewer calories and burning more of them through exercise.

But, keeping track of calorie counts has never been easy. There are charts and graphs and lists of the calorie counts of foods to refer to, but it’s time consuming and often confusing. Even dietitians who analyze diet records admit it’s often a frustrating chore, especially when clients overestimate and underestimate some amounts.

Say you had a glass of wine with dinner? Okay. But, was it in a 16-ounce tumbler? You had a salad with lunch? Great, but was it a few lettuce leaves drowned in ranch dressing or a large bowl of mostly vegetables, lightly dressed?

Dietitians are trained to be diet detectives to help ferret out the truth and teach clients how to better communicate exactly what and how much they’re consuming. That way they can figure out why the client isn't losing weight and help design a diet that hits the mark with the right number of calories to consume each day.

Calling for help

Research shows that dieters who keep food journals noting what they eat lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. Adding notes on physical activity is critical, too.

But the pages of a journal don’t tell you how many calories in a croissant.

Enter an age of technology-aided dieting. Weight-loss programs available on smart phones, including the iPhone and BlackBerry, make it easier to tabulate calorie intakes and even help plan diet goals. While there are no long-term research studies yet to show how well these apps help shed pounds, weight-loss experts are enthusiastic about these new tools. Losing weight is hard enough; so if keeping track of calories is easier, more accurate and perhaps even more fun using your iPhone, then chances are you will be more successful.

Popular, free weight-loss apps to try include LoseIt for iPhone and Calorie Counter by Fat Secret, for all smart phones.

Little things are big things

Apply the little proverb to weight control: Little things mean a lot. Little bouts of exercise -- as short as 10 minutes in duration -- can add up to significant gains in fitness. Unfortunately, it’s also the little bites eaten here and there above daily caloric needs that can add up to sizable weight gain over time.

Call it the “creep” -- the cumulative effect of small daily errors in energy balance that slowly but surely feed the growth of body fat.

As obesity expert Dr. Robert Kushner of Northwestern University explains, “By consuming just 12 calories more per day you can gain two pounds a year. By eating 125 calories more per day you can gain more than 12 pounds in a year.” The sage budget advice to "watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves" holds true here, too.

On the exercise front, registered dietitian Ruth Ann Carpenter of the Cooper Institute in Dallas summarizes physical activity guidelines for weight maintenance. “Do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week, such as walking, biking or gardening. Split it up into at least three days a week with no less than 10-minute bouts at a time.” If you want more health benefits, you’ll have to do more exercise.

It’s the calories, folks

Bottom line: to prevent weight gain, each day you should walk 2,000 steps and cut 100 calories. (Skip the cheese on the burger and pass on another pat of butter.) To support weight loss, you should walk at least 10,000 steps and cut 500 to 1,000 calories a day.

Learning how to make these healthy lifestyle choices is not easy in a world that weight control experts call an “obesogenic environment.” But it is a critical survival skill needed to prevent weight gain and related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.

I’ve taken Dr. Kushner’s list of forces that contribute to obesity and given them healthy makeovers.

Finding fitness in a fattening world

- Hurried life, always rushing: walk even faster to burn more calories, take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, park farther away and walk instead of circling to find the closest parking spot. Make moments of calm count. Savor your foods.

- Food available everywhere: this often means more variety, so be more selective about what you choose. Since weight loss apps are mobile, you can keep track of your calorie totals as the day progresses. Think twice before taking a second helping.

- Eating out more: whether it’s a fast-food or fancy place, become familiar with the calorie counts of your favorite foods at restaurants you frequently visit. Weigh-loss apps tap into databases with nutrition information on thousands of foods. Check them.

- Exercise engineered out of our lives: take the stairs, hide the remote, just say "no" to robot vacuum cleaners, open the garage door manually, ditch the drive-thru and walk into the restaurant. Weight-loss apps include extensive lists of the number of calories used during various physical activities. Track your totals so you’ll know how many more stairs to climb before the end of the day.


Carolyn O’Neil is a registered dietitian and co-author of “The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous!” E-mail her at carolyn@carolyn
oneil.com.

Dive Into the Pool! Solving Summer Diet Slow Downs

Heirloom Tomatoes from JCT Kitchen "Killer Tomato Fest"...proof that summer flavors are hot!
So how are you doing on that summer time slimming regime? If you've lost a little steam and starting steering away from the low calorie side of the menu, you’re not alone. Nutrition researchers have found that our enthusiasm for the “diet” version of foods slows down over time. A study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that after just five days of feeding participants lower calorie versions of recipes such as spaghetti and meat sauce satisfaction ratings fell by 30 percent. This might help explain why so many people are easily side tracked from healthy eating goals in a relatively short period of time. So, what can you do to keep your mind and taste buds motivated to choose the meals more likely to help you meet summer weight control goals? Here are a few strategies and suggestions to help keep boredom at bay.



Know Which Flavors are Free – There are plenty of ways to jazz up steamed vegetables, grilled fish and other menu choices you might otherwise garnish with a high fat sauce. Lemon juice, salsa, steak sauce, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce and vinegars are low cal or no cal options for adding flavor without fat. If you’re watching your sodium intake choose lower sodium versions of soy sauce and go easy on the steak sauce.

Add Detective Novels to Summer Reading – Learn to read between the lines because menu descriptions don’t always tell the whole story about the added fat and calories in a dish. If it says “crispy coating” it probably means it has been deep fat fried or pan fried and always ask the server about how sauces are made. For example, is it a “light” tomato sauce because it’s made with cream and color is lighter? It can happen! And did you know that many restaurants poach seafood in oil? When you see “poached” it doesn’t always mean in low calorie water based broths.



Get what you want but skip the extras- Give in but don’t give up. It’s not the craving for pizza that ‘done your diet wrong’, it was the decision to add extra pepperoni or double cheese that sent the fat and calories over your limit. Watch out for extras such as fried croutons on salads, bacon slices on burgers and cheese sauce slathered on steamed broccoli. Use cravings as an opportunity to add good nutrition such as more veggies on pizza. In the dessert department enjoy a large bowl of fresh berries topped with a small serving of ice cream, instead of a huge bowl of ice cream topped by a few berries!



Find Farms on the Menu

Fresher flavors make for happier taste buds, so summer’s bounty of just picked produce can help keep healthy fruit and veggie focused meals more interesting. The good news is that a bumper crop of chefs today are enthusiastic about featuring top notch organic and locally grown ingredients on their menus. Carvel Gould, executive chef at Canoe in Vinings buys as much as possible from local farmers and added raised bed gardens to the landscaping around the restaurant. Jimmy Carter owner of Milton’s Cuisine and Cocktails in Alpharetta tends an acre garden overflowing with corn, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, herbs and other tasty treasures for chef Boyd A. Rose to feature on their menu of “new southern cuisine.” City chefs focus on rural riches, too. Thomas McKeown ‘s menu at Terrace restaurant at The Ellis Hotel in downtown Atlanta reads like a road map of Georgia with heirloom cherry tomatoes from Crystal Organic in Newborn and lettuces from Indian Ridge Farm in Clarksville. He says, “I try to keep the food as natural as possible and let the food speak for itself. When you start with high quality product it is easy to make great dishes.”


Happy with the Taste but Want to Eat More?
Well, then you’ll have to move more. Whether it’s a morning jog before it gets too hot, a lunchtime cardio class or dancing after dinner, exercise not only helps you maintain the weight loss you’ve achieved; it allows you to eat more without regaining. Trade in some hammock time and step up your activity level this summer and you’ll burn the calories needed to savor a ballpark chili dog or poolside frozen cocktail.

About those recipes.....on Fox 5 Atlanta

The Lady of the Refrigerator...reveals......













Avocado Spring Rolls
Makes 8 rolls

3/4 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage (packaged angel hair works great too!)
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 avocado, sliced ¼” thick lengthwise
1/4 cup citrus dipping sauce*

Optional:
4 ounces (1/4 pound) cooked chicken breast (Rotisserie chicken is perfect for this)

*Citrus dipping sauce:
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Whisk all ingredients together

16 rice paper wrappers

Make the citrus dipping sauce and set aside for flavors to blend.
Remove skin from chicken breast and shred into small pieces. Combine the cabbage, basil, mint, cilantro and toss. Cut the red pepper, cucumber and avocado.

Fill a shallow pan with hot water. One at a time, dip the rice paper wrappers in the hot water until soft and pliable. Spread the hydrated rounds onto a clean, flat, dry surface. Arrange avocado and peppers in a single layer across the center of the rice paper round; spread 1/4 cup of the cabbage mixture on top then 1/2 oz. chicken. Drizzle with the dipping sauce. Fold the bottom end of the rice paper over the top of the mixture, fold the sides up and then roll into a tight cylinder, "burrito style". Repeat until all ingredients are used. Cut diagonally and serve with the dipping sauce.

Watermelon and Mango Salsa
Serves 6

1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, finely minced
1 small jalapeno pepper, core and ribs removed, finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, 1/4" dice
2 cups watermelon, 1/4" dice
1 ripe mango, peeled and 1/4" diced
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, 1/4" diced (1 small cucumber)
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, very thinly sliced

In a large bowl, whisk lime juice, brown sugar, salt, ginger and pepper until sugar dissolves. Dice the onion and soak in ice water to remove acid and crisp. While onion is soaking, cut watermelon, mango, cucumber, and mint and add to the bowl with the dressing. Drain the red onion and add to the fruit mixture; gently toss. Cover and chill. Season with salt to taste and serve cold.

This is great with a baked, whole grain tortilla chip or over grilled fish or chicken.


See these recipes on Fox 5 Good Day Atanta


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