Cancer-Fighting Cookbook (18 page)

PER 1 TABLESPOON
Calories: 163 | Fat: 16g | Sodium: 2mg | Fiber: 2g | Protein: 3g

Instead of stocking up with bags of oily chips and crackers, keep corn tortillas in the fridge and bake up an exact amount of chips whenever you want.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
   

2. Cover 2 cookie sheets with nonstick spray.
   

3. Cut each tortilla into 6 wedges. Scatter wedges onto cookie sheets.
   

4. Spray wedges with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 60 | Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 10mg | Carbohydrates: 12g | Fiber: 2g | Protein: 1g

You can make a homemade cashew nut butter with any kind of oil, so feel free to substitute using whatever you have on hand, but you're in for a real treat when you use coconut oil in this recipe! These are great ways to add calories when appetite is poor.

1. Process the cashews, sugar, and salt in a food processor on high speed until finely ground. Continue processing until cashews form a thick paste.
   

2. Slowly add coconut oil until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides and adding more oil as needed.
   

PER 2 TABLESPOONS
Calories: 280 | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 5mg | Fiber: 1g | Protein: 6g

Making Nut Butters

Nut butters can be very expensive to purchase, but are so easy to make at home! Try making almond, walnut, or macadamia nut butter for a delicious alternative to storebought peanut butter. Roasted nuts work best, so heat them in the oven at 400°F for 6–8 minutes, or toast them on the stove top in a dry skillet for a few minutes.

Steaming is one of the best ways to cook vegetables; it retains nutrients and keeps the bright color you want.

1. Steam the carrots until crisp tender, about 15 minutes, then plunge them into cold water to cool. Drain and place in a bowl. Steam asparagus until tender.
   

2. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, oil, mustard, lemon pepper, and salt and mix well.
   

3. To serve, arrange the carrots and asparagus on a platter; drizzle with lemon mixture.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 70 | Fat: 2.5g | Sodium: 320mg | Carbohydrates: 11g | Fiber: 4g | Protein: 2g

Steaming Vegetables

To steam vegetables, place water in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover with a steamer insert or a metal colander, making sure the insert or colander sits above the water. Add the vegetables to the insert, cover, and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Stir the vegetables occasionally for even steaming.

This is a delicious main dish for a hot summer day. Serve with iced green tea and some fruit sorbet for dessert.

1. In medium bowl, combine Havarti, Parmesan, yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, scallions, and capers and mix well. Stir in carrots, tomatoes, and salt, and set aside.
   

2. Cut off the top inch of the artichokes. Cut off the sharp tip of each leaf. Pull off the tough outer leaves and discard. Rub cut edges with lemon wedges. Cut artichokes in half lengthwise.
   

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add lemon wedges. Add artichokes and simmer for 20–25 minutes or until a leaf pulls easily from the artichoke. Cool, then carefully remove choke with spoon.
   

4. Stuff artichokes with the cheese mixture. Place on serving plate; cover and chill for 2–4 hours before serving.
   

PER SERVING
| Calories: 320 | Fat: 22g | Sodium: 540mg | Carbohydrates: 21g | Fiber: 8g | Protein: 11g

Artichoke Health Benefits

Artichokes contain a phytochemical called cynarin, which studies show may help the liver regenerate. Since the liver is essential to processing and removing cholesterol from the body, it's critical to your health. Artichokes are nutrientdense, providing potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and folate. They are also low in fat and contain no cholesterol.

This recipe takes the whole beet and transforms it into a combination vegetable side dish. It's full of soluble and insoluble fiber; the greens provide roughage and the beets themselves are loaded with soluble fiber and vitamins.

1. Wash beets but don't peel them.
   

2. Bring about 3″ of water to a boil and then put the beets, root down, into the boiling water. Beet roots will be in the water and the greens will cook in the steam above the water.
   

3. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Drain and cut the greens off the roots.
   

4. Chop the greens and peel the roots. (The skin will slip off easily.)
   

5. Put the beets, greens, and roots in a saucepan and add butter, lemon juice, and salt. Warm over low heat, and serve hot.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 210 | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 760mg | Carbohydrates: 35g | Fiber: 12g | Protein: 7g

Dark leafy bok choy is a highly nutritious cruciferous vegetable that can be found in well-stocked groceries. Keep an eye out for light-green baby bok choy, which are a bit more tender but carry a similar flavor. Choy means “cabbage” in Chinese.

1. In shallow pan, whisk together soy sauce, lemon or lime juice, and ginger. Cut tofu into cubes and marinate for at least 1 hour. Drain, reserving marinade.
   

2. In a large skillet or wok, sauté tofu in olive oil for 3–4 minutes.
   

3. Carefully add reserved marinade, bok choy, and sugar, stirring well to combine.
   

4. Cook, stirring, for 3–4 more minutes, or until bok choy is done.
   

5. Drizzle with sesame oil, and serve over rice.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 270 | Fat: 18g | Sodium: 1190mg | Carbohydrates: 11g | Fiber: 5g | Protein: 22g

It's Easy Being Green!

Learn to love your leafy greens! Pound for pound and calorie for calorie, dark, leafy green vegetables are the most nutritious food on the planet! Try a variety of greens:bok choy, collard greens, spinach, kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and watercress. When you find one or two that you like, sneak it in as many meals as you can!

The broccoli and tomatoes can be tossed with the sauce and served as a side dish, or the whole thing can be combined with cooked angel-hair pasta and served with a fresh green salad and a hunk of country whole-grain bread.

1. In a mortar and pestle or food processor, combine the oil, garlic, anchovies, and parsley; process to a loose paste. Add more oil as needed for consistency.
   

2. Steam or water sauté the broccoli until just tender. Remove from the heat; place in a medium-size bowl.
   

3. Quarter and chop tomatoes; add to the broccoli.
   

4. Spoon anchovy sauce into the broccoli and tomatoes; toss gently to coat.
   

5. Sprinkle with Romano cheese, add salt as desired, and serve.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 260 | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 1220mg | Carbohydrates: 12g | Fiber: 5g | Protein: 8g

What Does Water Sauté Mean?

When you want a quick, fat free way to cook vegetables while still retaining flavor and nutrients, a water sauté is the way to go. Simply pour 1″–2″ of water into a skillet, add the chopped vegetables, cover, and bring to a low simmer. Cook until the vegetables are just tender, then cool under running water and set aside until ready to use.

Make sure to blanch the broccoli before beginning the recipe.

1. Rinse broccoli raab well and trim stems. Loosely chop leafy parts, then blanch in 2 quarts boiling water 2 minutes. Drain well.
   

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet; add garlic. Sauté garlic 1–2 minutes.
   

3. Add cooked broccoli. Toss garlic and broccoli together well, so that oil and garlic are mixed evenly.
   

4. Add remaining ingredients; cook additional 2–3 minutes, until broccoli is tender.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 110 | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 229mg | Carbohydrates: 6g | Fiber: 4g | Protein: 5g

Preventing Bitter Broccoli Raab

Broccoli raab and other leafy greens (mustard or collard greens) can have a bitter taste once cooked. Rather than add extra salt to offset bitterness, this recipe calls for blanching 2 minutes, which helps reduce bitterness. Blanching should be done as quickly as possible by starting with water at full rolling boil, then removing after 2 minutes of boiling. If allowed to cook too long, boiling process will reduce amount of water-soluble nutrients found in vegetables.

Brussels sprouts are like little cabbages, but with more flavor and packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients.

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
   

2. Toss the sprouts with the oil and taco seasoning and put in a roasting pan.
   

3. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sprouts become tender.
   

4. Put them in a serving bowl and toss with the taco chips, salsa, cheese, and sunflower seeds, if using. Serve hot.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 390 | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 510mg | Carbohydrates: 35g | Fiber: 8g | Protein: 14g

Fennel has a licorice taste and, like most root vegetables, gets sweeter the longer it's cooked.

1. Trim fronds and ends from fennel bulbs and remove outer layer. Cut the bulb into quarters lengthwise.
   

2. Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add fennel and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
   

3. Add lemon, salt, pepper, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer, then cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until fennel is tender. Serve immediately.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 110 | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 135mg | Carbohydrates: 10g | Fiber: 4g | Protein: 1g

Cauliflower is mild and nutty and adapts well to almost any spice or herb. Roasted with curry, it becomes tender and spicy. Cauliflower is another cruciferous vegetable, and provides cancer-fighting benefits.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
   

2. Place cauliflower, onion, and garlic in roasting pan and toss to mix.
   

3. In a small saucepan, combine remaining ingredients; heat over low heat until butter melts.
   

4. Drizzle butter mixture over vegetables and toss to coat. Roast for 25–35 minutes or until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife. Serve immediately.
   

PER SERVING
Calories: 130 | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 230mg | Carbohydrates: 16g | Fiber: 6g | Protein: 5g

Cauliflower's Health Benefits

Phenethyl isothiocyanate is the compound in cauliflower that helps lower your risk of cancer. It is released when food is chopped, chewed, or otherwise exposed to the enzymes that release it.

This dish gets its Catalonian flavor from grilled eggplant slices, puréed roasted red bell peppers, and ground almonds. To add protein, you can sprinkle some grated Manchego cheese on top or add more fiber with snipped fresh herbs, such as parsley or oregano.

1. Slice the eggplant into ½″-thick rounds and place them in a colander over a bowl or in the sink. Sprinkle kosher salt over the eggplant and let sit for 30 minutes.
   

2. Meanwhile, make the romesco sauce by putting the roasted red bell peppers in a food processor with the almonds, garlic, vinegar, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Purée. Add ¼ cup olive oil while the motor is running.
   

3. Rinse the eggplant and drain on paper towels. Blot dry and brush with remaining olive oil.
   

4. Grill the eggplant on a preheated grill or grill pan for about 5 minutes per side.
   

5. Place half of the grilled eggplant on a platter and spoon half of the sauce over it. Top with the remaining eggplant rounds and spoon the remaining sauce over the top.