BY MELISSA ROLLINS (Morning News)
Florence’s Biggest Losers learned Tuesday night how to make a tasty burger, a fruity salsa and healthy greens, all with just a few simple ingredients.
During the Cooking with Kitty and Lisa event, the contestants learned from Lisa Tolbert and Kitty Finklea that cooking tasty food doesn’t have to mean a lot of ingredients or cooking out the nutrients.
“What we are focusing on tonight is veggies and the benefits of cooking with veggies,” Finklea said. “In this country, most people choose meat and starch a lot. Trying new vegetables and fruits and maybe seeing them prepared in different ways is what we are working on.”
Tolbert, who prepared black bean burgers before the event and already had them cooking, demonstrated how to make the burgers.
“These are really easy to make; there’s not a lot of ingredients,” Tolbert said. “This recipe is very versatile. If you wanted to have a Southwestern flavor, you could put cilantro and those kinds of spices in it. If you wanted more Italian flavors, you can put basil and oregano. There is a lot of room for play with a recipe like this.”
One of the main ingredients in the burgers is quinoa. The grain serves as a meat substitute in the burger patty.
“Quinoa is high in protein and low in carbohydrates,” Tolbert said. “There are only 18 grams of carbohydrates in a one – ounce serving but there are four grams of protein. And it is a complete protein; it is one of the only grains that is a complete protein.”
Wendy Bird, vice president of campaigns for United Way of Florence County and a 2015 Loser, made a mango salsa to go on top of the black bean burgers.
Finklea sautéed two bunches of kale, some with garlic and some without. She let the contestants try different seasonings such as Mrs. Dash Table Blend, ground ginger, chili powder and apple cider vinegar.
“In the South, we like to cook all of the nutrients out of our greens,” Finklea said. “You don’t have to use butter and fatback to make it taste good. There are a lot of seasonings out there; you juts have to find out what you like. Try something at least once; you never know.”
Contestant Tiffany Straus said she enjoyed the recipes, especially how simple they were and the fact that she had many of the ingredients in her fridge or pantry.
“I really liked the black bean burger with quinoa,” Straus said. “I liked that they showed us ways to put our own little twist on it but still keep it healthy. I have experimented with quinoa but I had kind of run out of ideas for it. I’m really glad to have another way to use it since it is a great source of protein.”
Read the story and get the recipe at SCNOW.com!