Vacation Inspiration

I enjoyed a combination science conference and anniversary celebration trip with my husband last week in the San Diego area.  On our last day, just before we went to the airport, we had lunch at the famous Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park.  I was delighted to be able to get what they call the "Market Salad," teasingly pictured below behind my husband's paella. The salad was a gorgeous creation of plain but beautifully arranged golden and ruby beets, diced tomato, diced avocado, green beans, and fresh-cut sweet corn atop mixed baby greens.



These were dressed very lightly with a dressing that could have been improved--it seemed more straight olive oil than the "cracked coriander vinaigrette" the menu promised.  But it inspired me for my latest batch of nut-based creamy salad dressing.

Creamy Almond-Coriander Dressing

3 oz. lightly toasted almonds
Juice and flesh and a little zest from one lime
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. coriander, freshly-ground and sifted, if possible
1 slice candied ginger (fresh would be fine, but you might want to add a date for a touch of sweetness)
water to make 24 oz.

Combine all in blender and whirl until smooth and creamy.

Verdict: Very Good.  This is a very mild dressing, and I think it could use more ginger and more coriander, to really bring out that exotic flavor. The great thing is that 1/4 cup dressing is just 1/4 oz. nuts.

Quick and Satisfying Supper

Last evening I made a quick and satisfying supper I wanted to share:

Sherried Peas and Mushrooms


1/2 onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
16 oz. bag frozen peas
Tablespoon of sherry

Water-saute the onion and mushrooms until softened, then stir in the bag of peas and cook on medium until the peas are done, stirring occasionally--no need for additional liquid.  Just before serving, stir in the sherry.

Verdict: Very Good.  This was a hearty and satisfying flavor, keeping me from missing the creamed tuna and noodles the rest of the family had with it. :-)

Clementine-Fennel Green Beans


1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and broken or cut into 2-inch pieces
juice from 3 small or 2 regular clementines
1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed

Steam the green beans and then dress with the clementine juice and fennel seeds. I ate this at room temperature as a salad, but it would be good warm, too.

Verdict: Very Good.  I like the citrus combination with fennel seed--it's a "bright" flavor

I had about a cup each of these dishes, and an apple with sliced almonds, for my supper.

Resuming

Despite my silence here, I've been keeping daily food logs for months at drfuhrman.com . I've decided to post again here--if not every day, then when I have something interesting to share from a day's menu, in the way of a recipe or method. This is a summer endeavor--I may cave to time pressures again in the fall.

ITALIAN STIR-FRY

2 tsp olive oil
8 oz. bag frozen Italian-style green beans (the flat, diagonally-cut ones)
1 red bell pepper cut into strips (I used the delicious long "Ancient Sweets" in a plastic bag)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
big tablespoon pesto (mine is frozen homemade from last summer)
big handful (2 oz?) fresh spinach
grated asiago cheese to garnish

Heat the oil in a pan and add the green beans, stirring a bit before adding the pepper, onion, and garlic, then pesto, and finally spinach at the end to wilt it.  The idea is to leave the peppers and onion the slightest bit crunchy and colorful.  

Optional: I tossed my portion of this with whole grain penne and topped it with a little jarred marinara heated with a dash of wine

Verdict:  VERY GOOD.  I really enjoyed this satisfying recipe for supper. (I had about half of it with 2/3 cup pasta and a couple of tablespoons of marinara and a grating of asiago.) It's probably fine to omit the tiny bit of oil and the asiago, but you need something in the way of the pesto to perk it up, especially with no added salt. 

PEACHY-GREEN SMOOTHIE

1 peach and 1 nectarine, pits removed
1 navel orange, peeled
3 hand-sized leaves of kale
a tray of ice cubes and a cup or so of water

Combine in blender (Vita-Mix is best!) and whirl until smooth, with little flecks of nectarine skin.

Verdict:  VERY GOOD. It's good this way but has a slightly sulfur cast. I threw in a couple of chunks of fresh pineapple to improve the second glass. Lemon would probably fix it, too.  This makes over a quart, and I add a tablespoon of flax seed meal to my first glass.

Doesn't look like much for breakfast?  Remember it's over a quart of smoothie, sweet and refreshing, so it's satisfying and filling, for sure. I ran the nutrition on this recipe (including flax, not counting pineapple), and it's under 250 calories, with 7 grams of protein (about the same as a small egg), 4 grams of fat (mostly from the flax), and 10 grams of fiber. It has over twice the RDA of Vitamin C, almost all the RDA of Vitamin A, half the RDA of copper and manganese, and at least a quarter of the RDA of Vitamin B6, magnesium, phosophorus, thiamin, and niacin.  And it's all fresh ingredients, the flax seed meal the only processed item. Having this at 8 a.m. will have me properly hungry for lunch about noon.

Clean-the-Kitchen Curry

Since October I have been living a pretty consistent nutritarian lifestyle, but I have also been quite busy. Many times the foods I have made have not really qualified as "recipes," and sometimes I have but I just haven't been able to post them.  I do keep this blog in mind and hope to begin posting more frequently.

For supper tonight I made a spectacular curry, if I do say so myself! :-)  I'm going to type up the recipe as I recall it, for posterity.

Clean-the-Kitchen Curry

2 teaspoons peanut oil (I actually used 1 T. but could have cut it)
3 cubed small potatoes
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/2 chopped onion
3 medium cloves garlic, sliced
12 oz. frozen green beans, chopped into one-inch pieces
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 cups stewed tomatoes (mine were from our garden, reduced, with basil)
1 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
1-2 T. red curry powder
small dried hot pepper
1/2 cup light coconut milk (75 calories -- I used 2/3 cup but could have cut it)

Saute potato, carrot, and then onion and garlic in oil, add green beans and cauliflower, then pepper, and when nearly tender add tomatoes with spices and hot pepper.  Near the end, taste and correct seasoning, then add coconut milk.

Serve over rice or lentils, with condiments like raisins, green onion, apple with lemon and fresh ginger, toasted coconut, toasted almonds, and diced tomatoes. (I had mine on lentils and offered the family a dish with roasted pork to add to theirs.)

Not counting the condiments or the base (rice or lentils), the recipe analyzes as follows:
1100 calories
41 grams fat (13 saturated, 11 polyunsaturated, 16 monounsaturated)
175 grams carbs (35 grams fiber)
26 grams protein

Per serving (1/4 of recipe makes a LARGE serving)
253 calories
10 grams fat
44 grams carbs (9 grams fiber)
7 grams protein

RDAs
Vitamin A - 40%
Vitamin B6 - 53%
Vitamin C - 106%
Vitamin E - 13%
Calcium - 9%
Copper - 45%
Iron - 11%
Manganese - 33%
Niacin - 23%
Pantothenic Acid - 21%
Phosphorus - 20%
Potassium - 23%
Riboflavin - 17%
Selenium - 2%
Thiamin - 23%
Zinc - 12%

Interesting that that serving also contributes 400 grams of water, or about 1-1/2 cups :-)

The 2/3 cup of lentils I had this on top of raises the one serving by
150 calories
1/2 gram fat
25 grams carbohydrate (10 from fiber)
12 grams protein

The lentils also add significant (more than 20% RDA of) potassium, phosphorus, iron, and manganese, with more than 10% of thiamin, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and zinc.

That's a pretty powerful supper!  400 calories, 10 grams fat, 70 grams carbs (19 from fiber), 14 grams protein

OK, I've analyzed that to death. I just have to do that from time to time. :-)

Thai Curry With Bok Choy

Participants in Dr. Fuhrman's "Six-Week Holiday Challenge" receive daily recipes via email, and today's is for Thai Vegetable Curry. As I glanced over the ingredients I realized I had most of what the recipe calls for, but I'm never willing to just let things alone, so I created my own version.

Dr. F's recipe calls for basically boiling all the veggies in carrot juice for a while, then stirring in peanut butter, coconut milk, and so forth.  That just didn't inspire me, and I don't have any carrot juice nor any firm tofu (which the family wouldn't want anyway), so I made this variation:

THAI CURRY WITH BOK CHOY

1 T. peanut oil
1 cup diced carrots
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. grated fresh ginger
2 T. each, chopped fresh: mint, Thai basil, and cilantro
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 large eggplant, cubed
2-3 cups green beans, in pieces
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 head bok choy, chopped
1-1/2 t. red curry powder (for a spicier dish, or yellow for milder)
2 T. natural peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk (didn't have the light called for in the original recipe)
1/3 cup peanuts
2 T. chopped dried mango

Heat oil in a wok or very large skillet and stir fry carrot and onion. When those begin to go tender, add peppers and green beans, then mushrooms, then bok choy, allowing five minutes or so between additions.  Cook until crisp-tender, adding garlic, ginger, chopped herbs, and curry powder between stirrings. Then add peanut butter, coconut milk, peanuts, and mango, plus up to a half cup or so of water if needed, covering pan to simmer a bit and combine flavors.  Serve alone or over brown basmati rice.  Serves 8 (or 4 very hungry nutritarians).

Verdict: Excellent. I don't know about the boiled carrot-juice original, but mine is wonderful! :-)  I had 1/4 of the recipe over a half cup of the recommended rice.  I think fresh bok choy is definitely superior to canned bamboo shoots and lots of watercress (though the watercress is nutritionally superior to bok choy, no doubt).  It's more fat than I'm used to having in a dish, but I cut back from the recommended amount of nuts while using full-fat coconut milk and that tablespoon of oil. I could have cut the oil back to 2 teaspoons easily, but I think it was a good first try. I estimate that my version is 150 calories per 1/8 of the recipe while the original is 200 calories for the same amount.  So my 1/4 of the recipe was 300 calories, plus the rice.

The Day After . . . Comfort Food

For lunch I made a nutritarian version of comfort food: instead of a big bowl of mashed potatoes with all the rich trimmings, I had a half a cup of them (and the recipe modified--see yesterday's post) tossed with two whole cups of steamed broccoli. All the warmth, the creaminess, and health to boot--that's real comfort food!

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

large can red enchilada sauce
9 small corn tortillas
2/3 can refried beans
1/3 cup kidney beans
small can Mexican corn, drained
small onion, half shredded or finely chopped, the other half in rings
1/4 red bell pepper, shredded or finely chopped
Optional: salsa and chopped tomato and pepper and onion to garnish

Pour enough enchilada sauce into a 9x13 glass dish to cover the bottom. Spread each tortilla with refried beans and then add kidney beans, corn, onion, and pepper. Fold up the sides of each tortilla and put open side down into the dish, over the sauce. Mine fit better at a slight angle. Cover with remaining sauce and onion rings and bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes, until bubbly.

Verdict: Good. I'm not a big fan of red enchilada sauce, but I needed a quickie casserole to use up leftovers (thus the odd amounts of beans). I put too much salsa on mine, too, so it was hotter than I would have liked. It would be nice to refine this recipe in the future, maybe with green enchilada sauce (what I intended to buy) and other fillings.


TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Banana eaten in part at 3 a.m. and in part at 8 a.m. for the purpose of taking ibuprofen; AMBROSIA with flax seed meal

Lunch--2 cups steamed broccoli with 1/2 cup (maybe a bit more) of mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving, a snipped scallion added for bite

Snack--Apple

Supper--ENCHILADA CASSEROLE (I had two tortillas, about 90 calories, with the fillings and sauce), green beans (frozen from our garden)

Snack--Clementine, pear

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am indeed thankful for so many things this year--for the news of TWO matches in the cord blood bank for a little girl I know who needs a bone marrow transplant, for my amazingly beautiful and interesting and just-fun-to-be-with children, for my dear husband and his new scratchy mustache, for my teaching work and engagement with plans for the future for all the family, for my amazing friends online and local, for my country, as flawed and frustrating as it is, and most of all for my great God, Who does so much for me that I often take so for granted.

AMBROSIA

(All counts are approximate--I don't remember exactly what I did.)
2-3 pink grapefruit
2 navel oranges
2-3 tangerines
3-4 clementines
1/2 cup shredded coconut (yes, mine is sweetened)

Peel and section all citrus, peeling off most of the membranes but leaving some so that there are distinguishable chunks throughout, adjusting quantities for the right mix of colors. Then mix in the shredded coconut and stir well, leaving in the fridge overnight. Better as the days go by.

Verdict--Excellent! This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions, though I often make it with just navel oranges. Those and coconut constitute the traditional Southern version, though some might sneak in some sugar, if the oranges aren't juicy enough.

IMPROVED THANKSGIVING STANDARDS

Turkey--It's pretty healthy to begin with. I'll have a few ounces, and yes, some dark meat, but no skin.

Gravy--My turkey roasted so moistly there weren't really any browned bits in the pan, so I'm just reducing the stock (chilled overnight and skimmed of fat) and adding some white wine and seasonings, no thickener. This is amazingly good--try it!

Dressing--Instead of adding a whole stick of butter to the bag of mix (combined with half a skillet of homemade cornbread), I used just a couple of tablespoons, with which I sauteed an onion and two ribs of celery and a bunch of sage from our garden. I used chicken broth for additional "body" and flavor.

Mashed potatoes--Instead of lots of butter and cream, our big three quarts or more has about a half a stick of butter and a half cup of sour cream with 1% milk to correct the consistency.

Green beans--Instead of a casserole, with mushroom soup and canned fried onions (why does everyone find it necessary to make this?!), we're having a nice batch of plain steamed green beans, though I might add a bit of butter and some slivered almonds if I feel they need dressing up.

Sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce--A guest is supplying these, and I'll have a little of each.

Rolls--To reduce temptation and labor, I purchased some pretty ones (mixed types) from the grocery bakery. I can leave those alone, or just taste one of the rye ones.

Appetizers--I will put out a dry salami and good cheese with crackers. As long as I don't open the Boursin cheese, I won't be too tempted, but I might sample the salami (a sliver). I am thankful that I am so well nourished and not "craving" most of the time, so that I can really enjoy "just a taste" of these kinds of things.

Pies--My daughters made traditional apple and pumpkin, and I'll have a bite or so of each, but that's it. I'm saving up for . . .

COMPLETELY WORTH IT INSANE INDULGENCE--Priceless Pecan Triangles. One 48th of the recipe is 160 calories, 100 of those from fat. I plan to have no more than two of these today, and maybe just one, fully savored with a good cup of coffee.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Leftover oatmeal with apple and ginger and cinnamon

Lunch--Scant three ounces of mixed white and dark meat turkey, (measures following approximate) 1/4 cup dressing, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, 2 tablespoons reduced turkey stock (see "gravy" above), tablespoon homemade cranberry sauce, 1/4 cup sweet potato casserole, 3/4 cup green beans (dressed with scant dab of olive oil and lemon juice), 3/4 cup AMBROSIA; two bites each of apple pie and pumpkin pie, equivalent of one pecan triangle

Supper--Salad of red leaf and iceberg lettuce with red bell pepper, canned beets, 2 oz. turkey breast, and a tablespoon of cucumber dressing with two tablespoons of plain lowfat yogurt; 1/2 cup canned baked beans with navy beans; one pecan triangle

Hungry and Another Curry

I woke up this morning pretty hungry (even a bit woozy), so I'm working on making sure I'm getting high-quality calories in there. Beginning tomorrow evening I will have three full days out of town without known access to groceries, etc. I may not post during that time but I'll report when I return.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast early--Banana with peanut butter and flax seed meal

Breakfast late--Half whole-wheat bagel (120 calories) with a smear of homemade elderberry jelly; two egg whites and half a yolk microwaved with a bit of milk, half a snipped scallion, a teaspoon of cheddar cheese shreds, salt, and pepper

Lunch--Leftover cup of LENTIL SOUP enriched with canned diced tomatoes, fresh spinach, and dried minced onions; smoothie of red grapefruit, frozen strawberries, and frozen blueberries

Snack--Tablespoon of peanuts and raisins, apple

Supper--SATYAMMA'S FAMOUS CAULIFLOWER CURRY (see sidebar for link to Molly Katzen's website--this recipe is from The New Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen's Classic Cooking) ), which includes a blended sauce of peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cayenne, coconut, and fresh ginger over sauteed (I used very little oil) onion, cauliflower, and carrots, with lemon juice and garbanzos added near the end. We had condiments of green and red onion, tomatoes, bell pepper in red and green, toasted almond slivers, and I forgot the raisins. :-) The family had it on rice, and I had it on green beans. WONDERFUL! I had a little homemade peanut butter cup (chocolate chips melted in a candy cup with peanut butter filling to finish, feeling a little deprived because the family were all munching cookies around me.

Simple Sunday

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Smoothie of pear, banana, tangerine, spinach, flax seed meal, and water and ice to blend

Snack--1/2-3/4 cup leftover WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

Lunch--Green beans cooked with about 1/2 a smallish red potato, 1-2 oz. bbq rib meat (lean), 1/3 cup leftover cole slaw (vinegar-type dressing), 1/2 cup fruit salad (canned peach, apple, banana, canned pineapple), about one bite chocolate chip pound cake

Supper--Red leaf and romaine salad topped with 1/3 cup kidney beans, 1/4 cup leftover red chili with beef, chopped bell pepper, tomato, and onion, and salsa (too much--hot!); 1-1/2 corn taco shells (75 calories); orange; 1/2 oz. roasted cashews

French Beans and Stir Fry

FRENCH POTATO AND GREEN BEAN SALAD
(Inspired by the recipe in the The Joy of Cooking)

3 cups cooked green beans
1/2 large baked or boiled potato
2 tablespoons red-wine tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley
4 small green olives, chopped (original recipe calls for capers)
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil

Combine dressing ingredients and toss with beans and potato, heating a little to meld flavors well. Half of this is a full lunch with some fruit.

Verdict--Good. I want to tweak this in the future, but I really liked coming across the little bits of olive--capers would be nice, too. It could use more red onion.

GINGER-SESAME STIR FRY

1 tablespoon peanut oil (or other)
1/2 small cabbage, sliced into large shreds
1/2 cup broccoli slaw
1/2 cup matchstick or coarse-shredded carrots
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 small knob grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
sprinkle of soy sauce

Heat peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan, then add vegetables in the order listed so they're all crisp-tender at the same time, adding the onions, garlic, and ginger near the end and stirring frequently as it all cooks. Then clear a space in the bottom of the pan and add the sesame oil and sesame seeds, stirring until the seeds begin to brown a bit and release their aroma. Stir all together again and add soy sauce.

Verdict--Very Good. I have leftovers to try by themselves, but my third of the recipe was good with the family's more conventional type of stir fry on top (and they all ate portions of mine, too). Of course the vegetables can be varied according to what's around the fridge, but these worked well together. I think the initial oil can be cut in half, maybe.

FRIDAY'S MENU

Breakfast--banana with peanut butter and flax seed meal

Lunch--FRENCH POTATO AND GREEN BEAN SALAD, red and green grapes

Snack--1/2 can Progresso Lentil Soup

Supper--GINGER-SESAME STIR FRY, garnished with the family's Aldi Teriyaki Stir Fry with steak strips and extra veggies

Snack--honeydew melon chunks with a bit of leftover strawberry smoothie for a sauce (The family had ice cream, sherbet, and cookies, and I was completely satisfied with what I had!)