PinnacleHealth Proven Recipes

Local fruits and vegetables are plentiful this time of year in farm markets, supermarkets and our backyard gardens. So what can you do with the abundance of all that fresh produce? This question was presented to the nurses and staff who serve the patients of PinnacleHealth’s Medical Outpatient Unit.

These patients come to the unit for their infusional chemotherapy and blood products. They may come daily, weekly or monthly depending on the schedule of their treatment. Friends are made and relationships are formed. Soon, staff and patients alike are sharing stories, family pictures, book and movie recommendations, food and of course recipes.

We thought that we would share some of these healthy recipes that have been developed over the years. Including good uses for summer produce is just another added benefit of getting those recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Try these healthy recipes at home with your family:

This first recipe comes recommended by one of our registered dieticians. It is the perfect way to use up all those tomatoes- Chilled Roasted Tomato Soup. Plum tomatoes are blended with garlic, basil and rosemary for a low calorie, flavorful combination that’s rich in cancer-fighting compounds like lycopene and quercetin.

Chilled Roasted Tomato Soup- from Health-e-Recipes, issue 408

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 3 lbs. plum tomatoes, halved

• 8 cloves garlic

• 2 cups low-sodium organic chicken stock 

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

• 2-3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary

• 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
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• educed fat sour cream to garnish

• 4 sprigs parsley to garnish


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub a little oil on surface of a baking dish. Toss tomatoes and garlic cloves with remaining oil in bowl. Place tomato halves and garlic on baking dish. Roast for about 1 hour. (A little charring is tasty but don’t burn the tomatoes or garlic.)

Remove from oven. Snip off garlic clove ends. Hand squeeze (be careful, they are hot!) or use the blade of a butter knife to squeeze out softened garlic from the skins into a blender or food processor.
Add tomatoes to processor, scraping the bits to capture all the flavor. Add stock, basil, rosemary and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Let cool and place in refrigerator to chill. Divide among 4 bowls, garnish with a dollop of sour cream and parsley and serve.

For a refreshing summer salad, try Confetti Salad, a recipe offered by Leslie who works with the patients at our Woman’s Cancer Center.

This salad utilizes multicolored bell peppers which contain a large amount of phytochemicals that have exceptional antioxidant activity. Those phytochemicals include chlorogenic acid, zeaxanthin, and coumeric acid.

Red peppers have even higher levels of these cancer fighting nutrients.


Confetti Salad

• 1 cup each of Red. Yellow, Orange and Green Pepper, diced

• 1 cup diced celery
• 
1 cup of sweet onion diced (optional)

• 1 can each drained and rinsed chick peas and kidney beans

Toss above with your favorite light or balsamic vinaigrette.
 Salt and pepper as desired. 
To make this a main course, add cooked shrimp, salmon or crab or canned tuna.

Moving on to our main course, Cheryl, our Medical Outpatient Unit clinical assistant offers Eggplant Rolatinni. Eggplants are rich sources of phenolic compounds that function as antioxidants and the purple skins contain nasunin which studies have shown supports brain health.

Eggplant Rollatini

• 1 large purple eggplant (skin on or off per your preference)

• 1 lb low fat ricotta cheese

• olive oil
• 
low fat shredded mozzarella
• 
shredded parmasan cheese

• jar of marinara sauce
 


Slice eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 -1/2 inch thick slices. Brush each side with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Grill over medium heat about 2 min per side. Remove from heat. Spread with ricotta cheese and roll jelly roll style. Place, open side down in baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and marinara. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 20min or until cheese has melted.

Finish your meal with a wonderfully sweet use for all that zucchini. This Zucchini Bread is a healthy adaptation of a family recipe shared by Barbara, our MOU nurse manager. These vegetables are good in B-complex group of vitamins like thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and minerals like iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc and potassium.

Zucchini cake/bread (a healthy version)

• 2 cups shredded zucchini (in the fall can use pumpkin)

• 2 cups sugar or splenda
• 
1 cup of canola oil 

• 4 eggs (or the equivalent in egg substitute)

• 2 ½ c flour (whole wheat works well)
• 
1 ½ t. ground cinnamon 

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp baking powder
• 
½ tsp baking soda

• ½ cups chopped walnuts or raisins

Beat sugar, oil and eggs until well blended, combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Fold in zucchini. Bake in 13×9 pan or 2 bread pans, 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Finally, cool off with an Herbal Iced Tea packed with antioxidants. This tea comes recommended by Linda D’Agostino, our acupuncturist who is certified in Chinese Medicine. Ginger root helps relieve nausea and soothes aching joints. Peppermint also aids in digestion and helps calm the nerves. Green tea is known for its anti-oxidant value.

Herbal Antioxidant Tea Cooler

• 4 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger root

• 2 Tablespoons dried or fresh minced peppermint
• 
4 bags of green tea or 4 tablespoons loose green tea

• 1 qt water

Gently simmer the gingerroot in 1 qt water in a covered pot for 10 minutes.
Place the mint and green tea in a heat resistant quart (or larger) jar.
Pour the simmered ginger-water into the jar, close the lid tightly and let steep at room temperature for 3-4 hours. If using loose tea, strain before serving. Tea may be stored in the refrigerator and serve it just slightly chilled or at room temperature.

There you have it, a complete summer meal, using the bounty of the harvest in tasty and healthful ways. Enjoy your summer and don’t forget to share your recipes with your friends and family.

We’d like to learn from you too. Feel free to submit your own in the comments below. We can all make efforts to eat in a healthier yet tasty manner.

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