Guest Author - Jill Valente

This week I thought I would discuss more of the information Rob Endelman, cooking class instructor/food and health expert, and I covered during our interview. Instead of just preaching about what you should not eat, I think the best way to make changes is to give examples of what you should eat. I asked Rob to share with us his typical breakfast, lunch and dinner...
He starts off each day with seasonal fruit and allows the growing seasons to dictate what he eats; right now that is apples and pears. He then has one vegetarian meal, usually lunch, which consists of a hearty salad of mixed greens, some cheese, a hard-boiled egg and whatever leftover vegetables are in his fridge accompanied by whole grain bread and butter. Yes butter! Rob uses Anchor Butter which is made in New Zealand from grass-fed, free-range cows. It has a richer taste than butter from non grass fed animals and is higher in Omega 3, Beta Carotene and Vitamin A. Rob’s final meal is protein-based, a grass-fed skirt steak with roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach is a good example. Obviously this is just an example of his typical eating day and all these meals can be altered but I really like his formula – seasonal fruits for breakfast, vegetarian meal for lunch and protein-based dinner. As for snacks throw in some dried fruits and nuts and for a sweet treat ice cream! He is a fan of Van Leeuwen Artisan ice cream which is made with fresh hormone free milk and cream from local farms and currently only available in New York. Another suggestion was Haagen-Dazs which I know we are all familiar with.

Roasted Vegetable Dip
Rob gave me this dip recipe and it is easy to make and delicious to eat. Serve it with assorted crudités and homemade pita chips for entertaining or use it as a spread on sandwiches and wraps for everyday. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 red onion
• 2 red peppers
• 2 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the eggplant, red onion and red peppers into 1-inch cubes and mince the garlic. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl with olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are browned and soft. Allow to cool. Place the vegetables into a food processor and process until almost smooth. Add a little olive oil if the mixture is too thick and season with salt and pepper.

Notes

This recipe makes about a pint of dip and it will stay in the refrigerator for up to five days.