Healthy Homemade Ranch Dressing

Tags

cooking, healthy, ranch, salad dressing, vegetarian

Summer time = salad time. Aside from fresh ingredients, the key to making a delicious salad is in the dressing. I love mixing up different styles of salad dressings to add some variety into my daily salad routine.

While traditional ranch dressings are full of saturated fat (mayonnaise AND buttermilk?) and sodium, I like to make a yogurt-based version that is much lighter and healthier, while still retaining that creamy texture.

Ingredients

• 1 cups of greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of dill
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• 1 teaspoon of dry mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

Direction:

1. Whisk all the seasoning together in a bowl.
2. Add fresh garlic to the greek yogurt in a large mixing bowl, then add the mixed seasoning to the yogurt. Whisk everything together x 30 seconds. Keep dressing in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Enjoy!

-NZ

5 Healthy Foods That are Time-Savers and Stores Well

Tags

Beans, cooking, eating, frozen, healthy, vegetarian

Photo from Fun Learning Life blog – http://funlearninglife.com/2015/02/seeds-of-change-rice-microwavable/

I love the farmers market just as much as anyone else – here in San Diego, my favorite is the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market. Conversations about interesting vegetables you have never seen with the farmers that grew them, fruits that are in season, and the freshest greens ever! And lets not forget the weird/cool stuff – like a booth with just jewellery and decorative items made of old spoons! But lets face it, I end up throwing out about half of those fresh microgreens.

Once I started residency, the days of only cooking in cast-iron, never microwave and eating home-made salsa were a thing of the past. Instead though, I learned some new, really sustainable habits – I cook a big meal/s at the beginning of the week, and I buy ingredients that are easy to use and can last because I don’t have a long time to shop! And of course, because I LOVE food and have zero impulse control, and because I stress eat, everything at my house has to be healthy. I realized that some of you may benefit from knowing the staples I get – not just from Trader Joes (which has saved my Bee-Hind many times) but also from really anywhere.

1. Canned beans – Beans are one of my favorite foods to write about. They are eco-friendly, filling, great for your microbiome, FULL of fiber, help with glycemic control, and versatile. When you buy them in the can, they are pre-cooked and you don’t need to do much to them. Tip: wash the canned beans first (once or twice) to reduce the sodium content.
2. Frozen greens – There is nothing wrong with frozen food, so long as it is not full of fats, salt and sugar. Frozen vegetables might even be healthier than fresh, because they are literally frozen at the farm, ensuring that they lose as little nutrient content as possible. Frozen greens can be quickly added to soups, cooked rice dishes, casseroles,  and even fruit smoothies to increase the health-factor.
3. Frozen or pre-packaged grains – I use frozen brown-rice a LOT. To save time, I would throw the frozen brown rice into the dish as I am cooking, rather than making a stand alone brown rice as a side. Frozen brown rice is also a good filler for a dish, like adding it into a  soup as a thickener.
4. Arugula – Arugula lasts forever. Well maybe not forever, but pre-washed Arugula lasts me ~2 weeks. And my favorite thing about microgreens is that they are so compact and I can put a whole pack of arugula into a dish without feeling like it has taken over the dish.
5. Frozen berries – I keep all kinds of frozen fruit, but frozen berries top the list because they are nutrient dense without having a lot of calories. For example, on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, which wholefoods uses to label its foods, berries are on the top 5, with fresh cranberries topping the list.  Just remember to buy your berries organic – strawberries top the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen.

 

-DS

Making Ghee From Scratch

Tags

ayurveda, cooking, Food, ghee, gluten-free, health, healthy, nutrition, receipe, recipe, vegetarian

Seive through a strainer. Hubby helped with this

Frying is generally bad for you – example: frying unsaturated oils leads to the production of trans-fats which can contribute to cardiovascular disease, frying carbohydrates leads to the production of acrylamides & glycidamides which are carcinogenic, and frying proteins causes the production of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can contribute to cancer and are one of the reasons processed meats are considered a contributor to cancer by the WHO.

So why do I suggest frying spices might be a good idea? When spices are slowly cooked in a tempering oil, the aromatic compounds, which are better drawn out by oil as they fat soluble, are released into the oil. When cooking, these aromatic compounds suspended in oil are better able to permeate the dish so that we taste and smell cumin, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, and curry leaves leading to the sensory experience that is characteristic of Indian food.

Why ghee? Ghee has been used in Ayurveda for millenia as a food, a vehicle for herbs (it is a fat so it helps absorption of fat soluble medicinal compounds), and for home remedies. When I was growing up and no one was supposed to eat any fat, everyone stopped putting ghee in their food. I tell my family, friends and patients who are South Asian to continue to cook their spices in ghee and flavor their foods with it. Why? Because I would rather they enjoy half a teaspoon of ghee and to flavor their foods and cut the huge amounts of white rice, white flour, and sugar that South Asians tend to indulge in. Also, ghee is a stable oil with a higher smoke point, and cooking olive oil to high temperatures necessary to cook Indian spices for tempering may not be as safe as unsaturated fats can become harmful when they oxidize, and even become harmful trans fatty acids. The nutritional community has decided for sure that trans-fats are certainly worse than saturated fat. And yes, ghee has saturated fat, but if you plan to put as little as 1 tablespoon of ghee in a large portion of cooked vegetable, then you might as well do things the traditional way, especially if theoretically you are creating harmful trans fats by frying unsaturated olive oil.

Ghee is easily available in Indian grocery stores and online nowadays. I am particularly fond of a couple of different brands. Pure brand is a good one, and I recently discovered Eat Good Fat brand ghee. Both are grassfed and organic, and taste really fresh. I tend to trust organic valley and they have started making ghee as well, but I have not tried their ghee. So why make ghee? Because no matter how good the brand you buy, fresh ghee tastes the best. It is also MUCH cheaper to make the ghee than to buy all of the above brands I quoted to you and it lasts a really long time.

Below are step by step instructions on how to make ghee with pictures. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 sticks of butter – I use grassfed butter, preferrably from a farm.

Recipe

1. Turn the stove to medium, put 3 sticks of butter in a pot and place on the stove. Wait for the butter to melt and then boil. The boiling goes through 2 stages. The first time it boils, you end up with a white precipitate.
2. With the second boiling point, you start to see a film of proteins build up on the top and then the ghee boils again. As soon as the precipitate starts to turn brown, turn off the stove and take the ghee off the stove.
3. When the ghee stops boiling, you will see brown precipitate at the bottom. This is very much edible, but NOT healthy for you – my husband’s family mixes a spoon of sugar with it. It tastes amazingly deliciously unhealthy.
4. Sieve the ghee through a cheese cloth, and its done! I have pictures below for each step. Enjoy!

Boiling point number 1

Precipitate number 1

Boiling point number 2 with the film developing at the top

Precipitate number 2. This is the point at which you turn off the stove

When you stop the stove and the boiling stops, this is what you see!

Seive through a strainer. Hubby helped with this

Deliciously unhealthy part – look at the spoon

 

 

 

Healthy Kale Stir-Fry

Tags

cabbage, carrots, cooking, Food, healthy, kale, recipe, stir-fry, vegetarian

Nothing cooks faster than a stir-fry dish and nothing is healthier than kale. So when I am busy and hungry, my quickest solution is to do a quick kale stir-fry that satisfies my stomach and my body.

The recipe below is pretty easy and only takes about 15 minutes to cook from preparation until serving. I added eggs in my dish, but you can also cook without them if you want an vegan option.

Ingredients: (serves 3)

• 1 tbsp of coconut oil (you can also sub it with olive oil)
• 1 bunch of kale, chopped
• 1 cup of cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp of tumeric
• 1 tsp of chili oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables.
2. Heat a large wok or a frying pan with the coconut oil in low-medium heat.
3. Add the sliced green onions into the wok, then break the eggs into the wok.
4. Slowly let them cook until the egg white congeals. Stir the eggs occasionally like you are making scrambled eggs
5. Add kale, cabbage, carrots into the mix.
6. Season the mixture with salt (~1 tbsp) and tumeric. Gently mix and stir the content of the pan to mix the seasonings.
7. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 1 minute
8. Add pepper and chili oil into the mix and stir-fry x 5 seconds.
9. Serve hot!

-NZ

Healthy Green Smoothie

Tags

arugula, banana, cooking, green juice, recipe, smoothie, vegan, vegetarian

Believe it or not, arugula and bananas are a great combination for a smoothie. I know it sounds weird, but don’t dismiss it until you try it! The addition of lime also makes this smoothie refreshing. Rich in potassium and magnesium, this smoothie is also great for your heart health.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices lime or lime juice
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of arugula
• 1 cup of milk alternative (such as soy or almond milk)
• 3-4 cubes of ice
• 1 cup of orange juice

Directions:

1. add all the ingredients into a blender
2. blend until smooth. For vitamix-blend on 4 for 10 seconds, then turn it on high and blend on 7 for another 10 seconds
3. Serve immediately!

-NZ (recipe created by my SO)

“Love Juice” Iron-rich Smoothie

Tags

apple, beets, blender, dairy free, Food, iron rich food, kale, recipe, smoothie, vegan, vegetarian

As Valentines day approaches, some of you may be wondering what would be a fun, creative and healthy way to take advantage of another American tradition that usually makes for fun cubicle decorating and themed parties. Well, do I have the answer for you – an iron-rich beet and apple smoothie! This smoothie is named after one of my favorite cafe owners in history – Drew, from the Namaste Cafe in New Brunswick, NJ. Drew no longer owns Namaste Cafe, but he came up with all the great recipes they ever served, and one of my favorite juices there was this apple, beet, lemon, ginger conconction called love juice. A search for iron-rich foods yielded this amazing recipe, which reminds me so much of the love juice at Namaste Cafe

Some caveats: If you have anemia, make sure you are evaluated by a doctor or healthcare professional. If you have moderate to severe anemia, you may need to take iron pills, or you might even need more significant intervention, such as a blood transfusion. This is not a substitute for necessary medical care (as is the case with anything else on this blog).

One thing about iron pills is that they are somewhat constipating. This smoothie is quite the opposite. No sense feeling bound up in addition to being sick! This is a great smoothie for those who are anemic or have a tendency for heavy monthly cycles, even if you are already on an iron pill for a short period of time.

Men have to be wary of having too much iron, but this does not have enough iron to cause iron overload in men (men need about 8mg of iron. This smoothie has about 2 mg. Pre-menopausal women need about 18mg per day)

Ingredients:

• 2 small beets, cut into large chunks
• 1 apple – large chunks
• 4 dates
• 1/2 cup kale
• 1-1.5 cup water

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. May need to add extra water to achieve desired consistency.
2. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

-DS

 

Healthy Vegetarian & Gluten-Free Stuffed Peppers

Tags

cooking, crockpot, Food, gluten-free, healthy cooking, recipe, stuffed peppers, vegetarian

Stuffed peppers are a healthy and versatile dish because you can choose to put a variety of ingredients as the “stuffing”. Traditional stuffing is made usually with ground meat, cheese and some veggies but I like to make my own version that is both vegetarian and gluten-free. Another great thing about this stuffed pepper dish is that you can make it either on the stove or in a crockpot. 

Ingredients: (serving size=6)

• 6 bell peppers
• 8 oz of organic frozen spinach (preferably whole leaf)
• 6 oz of organic cottage cheese
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 2 eggs
• 4 mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup of corn
• 1 cup of carrots, diced
• 1/4 cup of onions, diced
• parsley, chopped
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of pepper flakes
• Options: parmesan cheese, grated

Crockpot Directions:

1. Cook the brown rice either in a rice cooker or on the stove top. Do this few hours early or the night before (you can refrigerate the rice).
2. Cut the tops off the bell pepper and removed all the seeds and ribs.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the onions and carrots. Cook until the onions become translucent.
4. Add the mushrooms, spinach and corn. Cover the skillet and let it cook in low-medium heat until the frozen spinach is melted (~3 min).
5. Add the cooked rice and season with pepper flakes and salt
6. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, mix the 2 eggs, then add the mix into the rest of the stuffing.
7. Add chopped parsley, cottage cheese. Blend and season the mix with pepper.
8. Place the stuffed peppers (with the opening facing up) into the crock pot.
9. Using a spoon fill each of the peppers with the “stuffing”.
10. Add the vegetable stock to the base of the crockpot. Avoid adding any liquid to the inside of the pepper.
11. Option: top each of the stuffed peppers with grated parmesean.
12. Cook the stuffed peppers on high heat for 3 hours.
13. Serve warm and enjoy!

Stop Top Directions:

1. Cook the brown rice either in a rice cooker or on the stove top. Do this few hours early or the night before (you can refrigerate the rice).
2. Cut the tops off the bell pepper and removed all the seeds and ribs. The split the peppers into half vertically.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the onions and carrots. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
4. Add the mushrooms, spinach and corn. Cover the skillet and let it cook in low-medium heat until the frozen spinach is melted. (~3 min)
5. Add the cooked rice and season with pepper flakes and salt
6. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, mix the 2 eggs, then add the mix into the rest of the stuffing.
7. Add chopped parsley, cottage cheese. Blend and season the mix with pepper.
8. In a separate skillet, add ~1 tbsp of olive oil and place the stuffed peppers the skillet. Let it cook in medium heat ~3 mins.
9. Turn off the stove, and using a spoon fill each of the peppers with the “stuffing”.
10. Add the vegetable stock to the base of the pan. Avoid adding any liquid to the inside of the pepper.
11. Option: top each of the stuffed peppers with grated parmesean.
12. Put a lid over the skillet and cook the stuffed peppers on low heat for  ~30 minutes or until the liquids are gone.
13. Serve warm and enjoy!

-NZ

Gluten-Free Vegan Corn and Kale Porridge

Tags

breakfast, cooking, fall, gluten-free, healthy, kale, paleo, porridge, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

For me, nothing says comfort better than a bowl of warm porridge. I’ve recently discovered using corn as a grain-substitute for porridge. It is really fast & easy to prepare, so it’s a great meal for when you are short on time. To take advantage of all the fall vegetables, I’ve been making this savory grain-free corn and kale porridge. You can easily substitute the kale for other vegetables, like chard or spinach.

Note: be sure to purchase organic corn to avoid eating genetically modified corns.

Ingredients:

• 1 ear of organic corn
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/4 of yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup of almond/soy milk
• 1 cup of kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup of water
• A dash of red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Use a knife, grate the corn kernels into a bowl
2. In a large pot, sautee the onion in oil on medium-low heat until they become translucent.
3. Add the corn, kale and water to the pot and cook x5 minutes. Then add your choice of soy/almond milk and sea salt. Let the pot simmer for 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens.
4. Serve hot with red pepper flakes and ground pepper.

-NZ

this recipe is linked up at Real Food Fridays

Vegan Quinoa and Kale Dish

Tags

cooking, dish, kale, quinoa, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Nothing screams healthy than quinoa and kale, but not only is this dish healthy but it is actually really tasty and filling as well. I also love that this is super easy to make (15 minutes and dinner is served)!

Quinoa is high in protein and fiber, and also a great source of folate…more on that at a later post.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of quinoa
• 2 cups of kale, chopped (option to use arugula or bok choy as an alternative)
• 2 garlics, mashed and chopped
• 1/2 cup of shredded carrots
• olive oil or coconut oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa in a pot with water until it sprouts and ready to eat (~15 minutes). Follow the boiling/cooking instructions on the quinoa package.
2. In the meantime, heat a pan with oil in medium heat.
3. Once the pan is hot, add the garlic and let it cook for 10 seconds, or until fragrant.
4. Add the kale and shredded carrots. Cook for ~1 minute.
5. Add the cooked quinoa and mix the ingredients together. Add sea salt, then seal the pan with a lid so the dish can simmer in low heat ~1 minute. Make sure you don’t overcook the kale.
6. Stir the dish, and add pepper to taste. This can be served hot or cold. ENJOY!!!

-NZ

Quick Whistling Pressure-Cooker Brown-Rice & Quinoa Kichdi

Tags

anti-inflammatory, brown rice, cooking, daal, Food, kale, kichdi, pressure cooker recipe, quinoa, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

In India, whistling pressure cookers are the norm. These cookers let out lively whistles when enough pressure builds up through the opening on the top, and one uses a different number of whistles to cook different things. 4-5 for meat, 2-3 for vegetables. An internet search will bring up lots of fun reviews about whistling pressure cookers. Check out this informative post by missvickie.com.

If you want a dish to help you jump into Indian cooking, this is the post you’ve been looking for!

I have had to become an expert on quick, comforting, tasty recipes during my residency (Which I am graduating in 2 weeks from by the way – AH!). You can’t beat placing all the ingredients in the pressure cooker, hanging out on the dining table doing some work while the whistles happily increase your anticipation of the upcoming meal, and then adding some spices fried in oil to finish the job.

This recipe has creaminess from Indian daal but has some added complexity to its texture from brown-rice and quinoa as well as some of the veggies. You can use any vegetable you want, but I highly recommend you add some kale because the stems add crunchiness. The flavor is enhanced by elements that add tanginess. Tomatoes help with this, but I would also recommend one slice of lemon or a spoon of tamarind concentrate. We try to stay away from dairy on this blog, but a dollop of creamy greek yogurt mixed into a bowl of this baby really takes it up a notch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown-rice
• 1-1/2 cup Quinoa
• 2 cups red or yellow split daal (Masoor or Toor Daal which can be found at an Indian store or online. This can be substituted with Moong beans which are more easily found at an American grocery store, but the creaminess from the other 2 types  adds a lot to the dish
• 1/2 cup moong daal
• 1 bag frozen kale
• Any other veggies you would like – I add carrots, beans, peas, okra, spinach. I’m personally not a fan of bell peppers for this dish. Butternut squash adds a nice sweetness and makes the dish milder
• A spoon of tamarind concentrate or the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 can of preservative-free diced tomatoes not from concentrate or 3 diced or cubed tomatoes
• Curry leaves if you have them
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 tablespoon of salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon of chilli powder
• 2-3 jalapenos if you would like a kick

Tempering spices:

For more information on what Indian tempering spices are, check this page out 

This is a nice youtube video explaining the process. 

For tempering in this dish, use the following:

• Cumin
• Black mustard seeds
• Dried red chilis
• fresh curry leaves
• chana daal
• Urad daal

If you have none of the above, no fear. Cumin alone will suffice to take the dish up a notch. 

Method:

Recipe is made for a 6.5 liter pressure cooker

1. Place all ingredients except tempering spices in pressure cooker with water filled half way up to the top
2. Wait for 4 whistles. They sound like this “choo choo choo choo… wheeeeee!”
3. Turn off the stove. Wait for the whistling to completely stop before taking off the lid. Taking it off too early can be dangerous and can cause serious burns
4. In a separate small frying pan or wok, add 3-4 table-spoons of oil. Preferrably ghee, coconut oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil or sesame oil. Olive oil has a low smoke point so is not ideal, but I am not going to lie, I use it all the time.
5. Add your tempering spices. When they start to spatter and their fragrance is released as they are cooking, they are ready. If you are using urad daal and chana daal for your spices, they also start to turn a little golden.
6. Add the oil and tempering to the kichdi and mix together. The oil will spatter when it comes into contact with the watery ingredients so keep your head and face far away as you add it.
7. Serve with a dollop of yogurt as an option.

Enjoy!

– DS