A Conscious Meal A Day

A Conscious Meal A Day

Do you find yourself eating when you’re not hungry? Never feeling satisfied?

We usually eat while watching TV, checking the latest updates online, surrounded by family and
talking during meals, and not being very conscious about what we put in our mouth.
Food is one of the greatest pleasures and blessings in life, and it is not something we should
compromise nor take for granted.

I propose we change it up a bit by having a more delightful experience with food. We need to
shift our surroundings to work WITH our lifestyle and not AGAINST it.

One of the key components of conscious eating is MINDFULNESS — moment to moment non-
judgmental awareness cultivated by paying attention. Another is using all your senses. This is
where you enjoy every bite and every flavor. Lastly, is incorporating a certain amount of
gratitude.

Awareness is key.

Conscious Eating involves eating in silence, without television, without a mobile phone, even
without speaking. Just feel your food in your mouth, taste it, enjoy it, and don’t gobble it down.

It also involves acknowledging responses to food without judgement. Try changing non-
productive thoughts on food and diet like “the good or the bad” and even “all or nothing”.
When you get to master conscious eating, you will get a new sense of control, new appreciation
and respect for food and taste, an improved sense of empowerment, and a much better understanding of connections between eating and emotions.

And it will most likely be the most pleasant meal of your day. 🙂

I love cooking and sharing tips and recipes with you. I’m excited to share this one that I enjoy
making with my loved ones for a few months now. It’s actually quite perfect for mindful eating,
too!

Just a brief backgrounder, my family loves the famous Popeye’s biscuit since the 90’s. When we
found out about this amazing potato biscuit recipe from Potato Goodness, we were excited to
try it out. And yes, it’s AMAZIIIIING! 😀

Fluffy Mashed Potato Biscuits with
Holiday Cranberry Jam

Fluffy and tender biscuits made light and airy with buttermilk mashed potatoes. These biscuits
set the holiday off right with a spiced cranberry and orange jam.

Ingredients:

Potato Biscuits

2 each (11 ounces or 350g) Medium Russet Potatoes
1/3 cup (80 ml) Buttermilk, chilled
¼ cup (60g) Sour Cream
2-1/4 cups (260g) Cake Flour, plus additional for dusting
1 tablespoon (15g) Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon (2g) Baking Soda
2 tablespoons (60g) Granulated Sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon (15g) Sea Salt
7 tablespoons (230) Cold Unsalted Butter, frozen is even better
1 each (55g) Large Egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons of cold water

Cranberry Jam

3-1/2 cups (420g) Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
3/4 cup (150g) Granulated Sugar
½ cup (120 ml) Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
½ cup (120 ml) Water
2 pieces (6g) Star Anise
1 each (10g) Cinnamon Stick
1/4 teaspoon (2g) Chinese Five Spice
½ teaspoon (5 ml) Vanilla Extract

PREPARATION
Prep Time: 60min | Cook Time: 15min

Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C).
Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
Pierce the potatoes with a fork or a paring knife and place them on a baking sheet.
Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Tip: To ensure the
potatoes are super light and fluffy use a probe thermometer to check the internal
temperature, the thermometer should read 205 F (96 C). Remove the potatoes
from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes.
After the potatoes have cooled slightly but are still hot carefully remove skin and
pass the potato flesh through a potato ricer or a food mill. If you do not have a
potato ricer or food mill you can mash the potatoes with a fork or potato masher.
Add the buttermilk and sour cream to the potatoes and fold the potatoes with a
rubber spatula until they are just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix the
potatoes or they may become gluey.
In a large bowl combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and sea
salt. Mix the dry ingredients until well combined.
Using a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture and using a fork or the
tips of your fingers gently crumb the butter into the flour mixture. Tip: This can all
be done in a food processor to save time. When finished the butter and the flour
should resemble a coarse meal.
Add the cooled mashed potato mixture from step 4 and fold into the flour and
butter mixture until it is just combined, over mixing the biscuit dough during this
step will result in tough biscuits. Don’t over mix during this stage.
Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, lightly sprinkle flour
on the top and pat down the dough with your hands until it is about 1-inch thick.
Fold the dough gently onto itself by folding it like an envelope. Then rotate the
dough 90 degrees and fold it like an envelope again. Rotate the dough 90 degrees
again and repeat the fold one more time, pressing or gently rolling the dough about
1 inch thick each time. Cover the biscuit dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes in the fridge. In the meantime, clean up your work surface and apply a light dusting of fresh flour.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on the floured surface. Gently press
or roll the dough to a one-inch thick rectangle about 6 inches by 12 inches. Using a
very sharp knife cut the biscuits into 3×3 inch squares. At this stage you could also
use a biscuit cutter for round biscuits but cutting the biscuits into squares ensures
no wasted dough. If using a round cutter, you can rework the scraps to make more
biscuits, however, working the dough more means the second batch of biscuits will
be slightly tougher than the first.
Place the biscuits on a non-stick baking sheet or line it with parchment paper if a
non-stick version isn’t available. Brush the biscuits with the beaten egg and water
mixture. Bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and
risen.
Allow the biscuits to cool for about 20 minutes before enjoying.
To make the cranberry jam, bring all the ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepot.
Stirring occasionally over medium heat, cook the mixture until the jam has reduced
by about a third. Remove from the heat and discard the star anise and cinnamon
stick. Place the jam into a glass crock or jelly jars and store in the refrigerator for 2-
3 weeks. Enjoy the biscuits with the jam and some butter.

Did you know that a tasty medium-sized potato with skin-on (148 grams) has more potassium
than a medium-sized banana? Plus, potatoes are naturally nutrient-dense with only 110
calories per serving.

Potatoes also contain dietary fiber which helps us feel fuller for a longer period. Personally,
what I love about Potatoes is that they are naturally zero in cholesterol, sodium, and fat. #USPotatoPower

literally fell in love with this recipe. I can’t wait to try it out again during the holidays! #PotatoNutrition ❤