A.S.P.E.N. Enteral Nutrition Practice Guidelines (2009)

Clinicians working with tube feeding patients/clients will be interested in these practice guidelines that A.S.P.E.N. published online yesterday. You can access them without a password.

Enteral Nutrition Practice Recommendations

Barley -- Beyond Beer & Scotch Broth (Part 1)

 

Along with knitting, my other 2009 creative challenge  -- thanks to inspiration from some old & new blogging friends and a New Year's resolution someone else made on my behalf -- is to try new-to-me recipes, including ones with seasonal foods near the bottom of my preferences list. Like parsnips. Which I'm still working on. With Sophie's help. However, I've finally conquered my indifference to barley, thanks to this recipe I found in an old Canadian Living cookbook.

Bean & Barley Salad 

(File under: all-season, pantry-based, make-ahead, potluck-friendly, quick-and-easy, economical, vegan, high-fibre)

Any combination of legumes works well for taste and presentation. In the version I made this weekend, I used butter beans instead of chick-peas.

1/2 cup (125 mL) pearl barley
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) chick peas
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) red kidney beans
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) white kidney beans
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped green onions
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh coriander or parsley
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup (75 mL) red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
1/2 cup (125 mL) extra virgin olive oil

1) In saucepan of 12 cups (3 L) boiling water, cook barley over medium-high heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender but firm; drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again and place in a serving bowl.

2) Drain and rinse chick peas, and red and white kidney beans; drain well and add to bowl. Add onions, coriander (or parsley) and jalapeno peppers.

3) Dressing: In small bowl, combine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin; gradually whisk in oil. Toss gently with bean mixture.

Salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Analysis (using RecipeAnalyzer):

Calories (kcal)	380.2	Folate (μg)	111.4
Fat (g)	16.3	Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.5
Protein (g)	12.6	Vitamin B12 (μg)	0
Carbohydrate (g)	47.5	Calcium (mg)	87.4
Sugar (g)	2.9	Iron (mg)	3.6
Fibre (g)	13.2	Sodium (mg)	934.2
Vitamin A (μg)	29.7	Potassium (mg)	547.2
Vitamin C (mg)	13.1
Vitamin D (μg)	0
Vitamin E (mg)	2.2
Thiamin (mg)	0.2
Riboflavin (mg)	0.1
Niacin (ne)	3.9

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I'm going to end the recipe section of the post here. Part 2, to be published in a day or two, will have more information about barley, including its nutrition profile, glycemic index and recent research on health benefits. 

Freshly-brewed Tea

I agree, tea tastes best sipped from a bone china teacup, especially a treasured heirloom. {Musings about tea originally inspired by this post on a favourite blog.}

What's your favourite cuppa? This past month I've been drinking organic White Bai Mu Dan Leaf with cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom for my breakfast tea.

Varieties, history, traditions, health benefits and of course, techniques to brew the perfect pot of tea -- Camellia sinensis is fascinating to study from different perspectives. But where to begin? Dietitians and nutrition professionals may want to start with Dietitians of Canada's Practice Based Evidence (PEN), which has a Knowledge Pathway on Green Tea. Although a subscription is needed to access PEN's complete resources, these two factsheets are freely available online:

• Tea (Health Canada monograph)
• The Pleasure of Eating: Could Chocolate, Green Tea and Red Wine Actually be Good for Us?

Another online resource is The Tea Association of Canada's web site, which includes information for health professionals and links to the Proceedings of the Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Health.

I've also been using Google Scholar to retrieve an abundance of articles on tea's antioxidant properties and potential health benefits. Here's one example: a recently published review on green tea. I could probably make tea a topic of study for the rest of January although I was leaning toward cabbage, cauliflower & quinoa.

Three cups of tea

Three types of tea (Camellia sinensis) brewed for 3 minutes each: white (top), black (lower right), and green (lower left). I didn't have Oolong in my tea canister or I would have represented all four basic tea types.

I have tea on my mind as a result of reading this book (a Christmas gift -- thanks J, P, S & K), this blog post, and a few Twitter updates in which people have been discussing their beverages-of-choice. Oh, and learning to knit. I find tea and knitting go well together. Especially in January.

If you are curious about aspects of tea, you can share in my learning journey that begins here.

Happy New Year

Today is January 1st 2009, and I wish all who visit here a Healthful, Hopeful and Peaceful New Year.

Here are some New Year's posts that have inspired me:

• Light
• A Happy & Healthy 2009

I imagine the list will continue to grow as I visit my blogging friends' sites today and the rest of the week before returning to "real" work on January 5th.