Pestos with Panache and the Red Hook Initiative Weight Loss Challenge

Pestos with Panache has always been committed to developing wholesome, natural foods, which taste great, & are good for you; but now we’re taking an active role in changing the lives of fellow Brooklyn neighbors for the better.  Saturday March 19^th, kicked off the Red Hook Initiative’s Biggest Weight Loss Challenge, a program created to target obesity, heart disease & high blood pressure, which disproportionately affect Red Hook residents.

The Red Hook Initiative’s mission is to work to “confront and affect the consequences of intergenerational poverty through an approach that offers support in education, employment, health and community development. RHI believes that social change comes from within individuals. ”The Biggest Weight Loss Challenge” is a call to action for Red Hook residents to take ownership of their health & wellness.

Women & Men ages 18 and up, who live in the Red Hook Houses, signed up for the challenge! These participants were divided up into two teams & will be weighed biweekly to access team progress. Over the course of the “Saturday Kick-Off”, a dedicated staff of doctors, led by Svetlana Ten, MD, Director of Pediatric Endocrine Fellowship Program & Pediatric Endocrine Divisions of Infants & Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn at Maimonides & SUNY Downstate/ Assistant Professor of Pediatrics SUNY Downstate, along with volunteers, collected height, weight & BMI data. The health assessments were thorough & immediately shared with the participants. All of the news was not good news. Several cases of diabetes that had been previously undetected were diagnosed. Coming to terms with the diagnosis of diabetes, along with the lifestyle changes that need to be made as a result, is a tall order. These health assessments proved just how imperative this program is to the health & wellbeing of the residents of Red Hook.

Over the next 12 weeks, I will be teaching cooking classes featuring a new healthy recipe each week. In addition to nutrition counseling & cooking classes, challenge members will be participating in exercise activities such as Zumba classes, walking and dancing groups, & aerobics. This is truly a unique challenge to make a direct impact on the lives of our neighbors, & hopefully will extend for future generations.

Join me each week as I share my own healthy lifestyle tips & recipes with the Biggest Weight Loss Challenge participants for the next 12 weeks! I’m thrilled to be a part of this worthwhile cause. Our first, of twelve, healthy cooking classes was held last night. We made healthy Baja Fish Tacos with a Cabbage Slaw, which knocked everybody’s socks off! We are off to a great start…….

What I’ve found along my quest for health & wellness, is that the support of other people on the same journey, makes all of the difference. Whether your sharing weight loss tips, tricks, healthy food options, or going to Zumba together, it’s that collective voice, that keeps you going, when the hankering for Chinese take-out, becomes all too much to bear! I witnessed a great deal of that comradore last night & it inspired me inside & out.

Baja Fish Tacos

Marinade

1. 1/4 cup canola oil
2. 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
3. 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4. 2 teaspoons lime zest
5. 2 cloves garlic, minced
6. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
7. 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
8. 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
10. 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
11. 1 pound tilapia or mahi mahi fillets, cut into strips

Dressing

1. 1 (8 ounce) container light sour cream
2. 1/2 cup adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
3. 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4. 2 teaspoons lime zest
5. 1/4 teaspoon cumin
6. 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
8. salt and pepper

Toppings

1. 1 package of whole wheat wraps(Damascus Bakery Brand) 7 grams of fiber
2. 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
3. 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
4. 1 small head cabbage, cored and shredded
5. 2 limes, cut in wedges

1. To make the marinade, whisk together the canola oil, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning, black pepper, and hot sauce in a bowl until blended. Place the tilapia or mahi mahi in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate while preparing the dressing.
2. To make the dressing, combine the light sour cream and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning. Add salt, and pepper in desired amounts. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
3. Preheat oven 350 degrees, remove fish from the marinade and bake fish for 12 minutes on a cookie sheet sprayed with pam or cook on the stove top in a skillet spayed w/pam
4. Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired amounts of tomatoes, cilantro, and cabbage; drizzle with dressing. To serve, roll up wraps around fillings, and garnish with lime wedges