Read The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth Online
Authors: Jonny Bowden
The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth (11 page)
Iron-Rich Blackstrap Balsamic SteakFrom Dr. Jonny
: Once you taste what blackstrap molasses does to food, you’ll want to find more ways to use this healthy sweetener. Molasses is actually the byproduct of sugar refining. It contains all of the nutrients found in the raw sugarcane plant, which are completely lost in processed white sugar. Blackstrap molasses, though still technically a sweetener, actually has a fairly high amount of nutrients. You might even call it the anti-sugar. A good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper, it makes a sweet glaze, which Chef Jeannette used to liven up this simple steak. Note: Pan-frying is a simple way to get some good lean protein on your plate and save some grill-heating time. (And beef is still, after all, one of the best sources of absorbable iron in the diet, with each serving of steak providing 3 or 4 milligrams’ worth.) Don’t forget to choose high-quality beef!
1 sirloin steak (12 to 14 ounces [340 to 400 g], 1 to 1 1/2 inches [2.5 to 3.5 cm] thick), trimmed
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (40 g) blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons (28 ml) balsamic vinegar
Pinch dried thyme
Pinch ground nutmeg
Season the sirloin with salt and pepper to taste.
Spray a large skillet (or grill pan) with olive oil to lightly coat. Heat the pan over medium-high heat (the pan is ready when you touch a fatty edge of the steak to the center and it sizzles quickly). Lay the sirloin in the pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium rare, slicing the steak open to check for desired doneness.
When the steak is finished, remove from the pan and reduce heat to low.
Add molasses, vinegar, thyme, and nutmeg to the cooled pan and stir quickly for a minute or so until hot. Drizzle it lightly over the steak to serve.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 197 Calories; 12g Fat (54.2% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 53mg Cholesterol; 49mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal
: Slice the steak into thick strips and serve it over a chunky salad. Combine 4 cups (120 g) of baby spinach (or chopped red lettuce), four quartered plum tomatoes, half a red onion sliced into rings, and chunky slices of peeled cucumber to make a bed for the steak.
If You Have 10 More Minutes
: Slice a whole yellow onion into rings and saute until soft in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil with pinches of salt and pepper over medium heat (cooked onion will replace the raw red onion in the suggested side).
Quick-Sizzle Beef Satay Shish KebabFrom Dr. Jonny
: Satay is a type of shish kebab dish that is wildly popular in Indonesia and Thailand. Usually it’s associated with Thai food and made of cubes of meat (beef, chicken, lamb), which are usually dipped in a traditional peanut sauce. Delish. Shish kebab in general is actually a quick and healthy way to grill both meats and veggies and is adaptable to the seasons. Just skewer whatever’s in season and grill ’em up. This version uses lean beef (please buy grass-fed if at all possible) and nutrient-rich zucchini, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes, all of which lend themselves to skewering quite well. If you’re feeling adventurous and ambitious, try whipping up your own peanut sauce or buy ready-made. (If you do make your own peanut sauce, why not use peanut butter that comes right out of the grinder? You can get that at a lot of supermarkets these days, and it has zero trans fats and zero added sugar, something that’s not always true of commercial peanut butters.) If not, no worries—the dish tastes fabulous either way. The minced garlic adds a nice touch—don’t forget to check out the Nutritional Note about it!
Beef Satay
2 shallots, peeled
1/4 cup (4 g) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon (6 g) prepared minced ginger (or chopped fresh)
1 teaspoon prepared minced garlic (or 2 cloves, crushed and chopped)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) low-sodium tamari
1 tablespoon (15 ml) peanut oil
1 pound (455 g) sirloin steak, cut into 1 × 1/2-inch (2.5 × 1 cm) slices
High-heat cooking oil spray
Veggies
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
12 cherry tomatoes
1 small zucchini, stemmed and cut into 8 equal-sized chunks
8 white mushrooms, whole if small or halved if large (zucchini and mushroom should be about the same size)
Preheat the grill to medium heat.
*
Using an immersion blender or food processor, process the shallots, cilantro, ginger, garlic, tamari, and peanut oil into a moist paste, adding a teaspoon or two of water to thin slightly, if necessary. Toss the beef strips in the paste, coating well, and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms, and toss gently to coat. Thread alternating zucchini chunks and mushrooms onto one metal skewer and place on the grill for 7 to 10 minutes or until softened, turning once or twice.
Thread the meat (scraping off the excessive paste) evenly onto two metal skewers, spacing the pieces apart, lightly spray the grill with high-heat cooking oil spray, and place the skewers on the grill for 6 to 7 minutes for medium rare or to desired doneness, turning once or twice.
Thread the tomatoes onto one skewer and place on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft, but not falling off the skewer. Divide all the skewers into four equal portions and serve.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 319 Calories; 22g Fat (59.6% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 71mg Cholesterol; 221mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
If You Have 30 More Minutes
: Let the beef marinate in the paste for a richer flavor.
*
These can be broiled as well if you don’t have a grill. Keep them about 6 inches (15 cm) from the heating element.
NUTRITIONAL NOTE
The key to the astonishingly wide range of health benefits in garlic-documented in more than 1,200 published studies-is a compound called
allicin
. But this is the good part: Allicin isn’t actually in garlic.
So here’s a brain teaser for you: If allicin is the key to garlic’s benefits, and it isn’t technically in garlic, what’s the connection?
Here’s the answer. Garlic cloves contain an amino acid called
allin
. They also contain an enzyme called
allinase
. Allin and allinase live in completely different compartments in the garlic plant, much like Siamese fighting fish have to be kept in separate parts of a fish tank. When you crush garlic, it’s like lifting the barrier between the Siamese fighting fish. The enzyme allinase reacts with the amino acid allin, and presto bingo, the interaction produces allicin!
Mystery solved.
Now the reason this is important to cooks is this: How you prepare garlic is critical. It’s got to be chopped, crushed, or otherwise broken up in some way (the finer, the better) so that those two components-allin and allinase-get to interact. (If you were to swallow a whole clove of garlic on a dare, you would probably not get the full health benefits of this terrific edible herb.)
Allicin starts to degrade shortly after it’s produced, so the fresher the garlic is when you use it, the better. Garlic experts advise crushing a little raw garlic and combining it with the cooked food shortly before serving.
Full disclosure: We used prepared minced garlic in many places in this book, but we did it to save time. It was a tradeoff. Crushing it fresh may take a bit longer, but it has way more nutritional impact.
If you’d like to read a more thorough discussion of the health benefits of garlic and the research that supports those benefits, please check out the subject in my book
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
.
From Dr. Jonny
: When I first arrived in Southern California ten years ago, I did not know the difference between a taco, a fajita, and a burrito. Considering there are more Mexican restaurants per square foot here than anywhere else I know north of the border, this was a serious cultural drawback. It didn’t last long—with fabulous Mexican food everywhere I came to love the fajita, but the challenge is to come up with one that isn’t 2,500 calories! Interested? Look no further. You’ve got your lean beef; tons of low-calorie, high-nutrient peppers and onions; a whole-grain sprouted wrap; and a taste of Tex-Mex inspired by Los Angeles!
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 1/4 pounds (567 g) beef tenderloin, top sirloin, or top round, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain (1/4 × 1-inch [0.5 × 2.5 cm] strips)
1 tablespoon (25 ml) peanut oil
2 cups (320 g) prepared sliced onions and bell peppers (in the refrigerated section or frozen, thawed)
2 tablespoons (28 ml) fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon (15 ml) low-sodium tamari
8 small whole-grain or sprouted wraps or tortillas (about 6 inches [15 cm] in diameter)
In a medium bowl, mix the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss the sliced beef with the spices to coat. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onions, and peppers, and cook until the meat has reached desired doneness and onions and peppers are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and tamari for the last minute of cook time. Serve one quarter of the hot meat and two wraps per serving with the optional condiments, if using.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 562 Calories; 19g Fat (29.8% calories from fat); 44g Protein; 56g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 82mg Cholesterol; 786mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal
: Serve the fajitas with prepared salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped avocado, and/or shredded Jack cheese, to taste.
Superspeed Tip
: In a pinch, save time by substituting a premade fajita seasoning pack for the homemade seasonings. Just make sure it’s 100 percent natural, low sodium, and sugar free! We like Simply Organic Fajita Seasonings.
Lightened
From Dr. Jonny
: For most of my life I have managed to resist the appeal of spectator sports (except for tennis), but I recently succumbed to Laker fever in Los Angeles and am now a confirmed fan. Which means I, like just about everyone else in America, apparently, need to find myself some game-night food. But I’d like to find some that won’t bankrupt my health. Enter the five-layer salad. These layered Mexi-salads are fun to fix and serve and are a great compromise for game-night food. There’s a ton of volume and taste in this salad, but it’s way light on calories. Unlike any other typical television snack food, this nibbly salad has protein, tons of fiber, and high-antioxidant veggies. And you won’t have to apologize for serving “healthy” food once the Laker fans start digging in.