Read The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth Online
Authors: Jonny Bowden
The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth (29 page)
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal
: Serve over dressed greens. Dress watercress (2 large bunches) or baby arugula (4 cups) with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of red wine vinegar, a teaspoon (4 g) of mustard, and pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
Mouth-Watering Middle Eastern CroquettesPlace the onions and raisins in a food processor and process until minced. Add the cashews and pulse a few times until a coarse mixture is formed. Avoid making too fine a mixture by overprocessing. (If using oats instead of quinoa, add them now.) Add the egg, tahini, tomato paste, garlic, salt, and cumin, and process for a few seconds to combine well, scraping down the sides to evenly mix. Turn the mixture out into a bowl and add the quinoa and lemon juice, if using, mixing well. The mixture will be very moist.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Form 4 1/2-inch (11 cm)-thick patties and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on one side and 2 to 3 minutes on the other until lightly browned and hot throughout. Reduce the heat to medium low if the patties are browning too quickly.
While the croquettes are cooking, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, if using, salt, and pepper, and set aside for the flavors to develop.
Serve the croquettes with a dollop of the sauce, if using.
2/3 cup (110 g) coarsely chopped scallions (including white bulbs)
1/4 cup (35 g) raisins
1 cup (145 g) raw cashews
1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 g) tahini
2 tablespoons (32 g) sun-dried tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon prepared garlic (or 1 clove, minced)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup (185 g) cooked quinoa
*
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice, optional
2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil
Optional Tangy Sauce
(or just use a drizzle of tahini, to taste)
1/4 cup (60 g) plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon prepared minced garlic (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
1 tablespoon (4 g) minced fresh parsley, optional
Pinch salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
*
If you don’t have cooked quinoa on hand, use cooked brown rice or uncooked whole, rolled oats.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 435 Calories; 30g Fat (59.4% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 55mg Cholesterol; 543mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meals
: Serve them in whole-grain or sprouted wraps or over a salad. Either way, use lots of crisp green lettuce and raw or steamed veggies with a dollop of the sauce. With the Asian Croquettes try baby bok choy, shredded Napa cabbage, mung bean sprouts, snow peas, stir-fried veggies, sesame seeds, and so on. With the Middle Eastern Croquettes try chopped tomatoes, sliced celery, banana rings, shredded carrots, sliced dill pickles, drained and rinsed canned chickpeas, and so on.
NUTRITIONAL NOTE
What if I told you there was a pill you could take that would reduce your risk of heart disease by 35 percent? Oh, and the pill had exactly zero side effects.
Would you take it?
Of course you would.
Well, I don’t know of any pill like that, drug company advertising to the contrary. But I do know of a class of food that will do the same thing: nuts and seeds.
Eating nuts on a regular basis lowers the risk of heart disease by anywhere from 30 to 50 percent, according to a ton of research. In the Nurses’ Health Study from Harvard University—one of the longest ongoing studies of dietary habits and disease ever done—people who ate more than 5 ounces (140 g) a week of nuts had a 35 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who didn’t. Those numbers have been essentially duplicated in other studies, such as the Iowa Women’s Health Study and the Adventist Study.
It gets better. Research from Loma Linda University examined the lifestyle habits of 34,000 Seventh-Day Adventists (who are already known for living pretty long lives to begin with) and found that those who ate about five servings of nuts a week lived an extra 2.9 years! How great is that?
Nuts and seeds contain an awful lot of protective compounds, including magnesium, vitamin E, fiber, and potassium. According to Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School:
• Nuts may help lower cholesterol, partly by replacing less healthy foods in the diet.
• Nuts contain mono- and polyunsaturated fats, known to benefit the heart.
• The omega-3 fats found in walnuts may protect against irregular heart rhythms.
• Nuts are rich in arginine, a substance that may improve blood vessel function.
• Other nutrients in nuts, such as fiber and vitamin E, may also help lower cardiovascular risk.
Seeds are a pretty close cousin of nuts and have many of the same benefits. In addition, some seeds have special “extras.” Pumpkin seeds, for example, contain beta-sitosterol, a plant chemical that has some benefit in treating benign prostate hyperplasia, that annoying condition that makes men over forty have to go to the bathroom several times a night! Beta-sitosterol also lowers cholesterol.
So the bottom line is this: Eat your nuts. Regularly. At least 5 ounces (140 g) a week.
The only caution is this: They’re high in calories. So don’t buy a 3-pound (1 1/4 kg) bag of almonds and eat them mindlessly all day long, at least not if you’re not also cutting back on calories from other sources.
Other than the calorie warning, there’s no reason to stay away from nuts.
In fact, there’s every reason not to.
Feel-Great Feta-Fig TabboulehFrom Dr. Jonny
: This is another of my favorite Chef Jeannette concoctions because it exemplifies her signature ability to combine unexpected flavors, textures, and foods into dishes that sing off the tongue. Just picture figs with feta cheese, seasoned with mint and sprinkled with walnuts. Add some finely ground bulgur wheat, make a sweet and sour dressing with a base of orange juice and vinegar, and you’ve got the perfect “one-pot” meal for a summer’s evening. And as far as health goes, remember that lentils and nuts are two of the dietary staples in most of the areas of the globe where people routinely live the longest, healthiest lives. Lentils (and beans) are both enormously high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants. Put them together with the bulgur, figs, and cheese and you’ve got a fruity twist on a Middle Eastern favorite. Best of all, the amount of cooking involved is…let’s see…that would be…zero.
Tabbouleh
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) vegetable broth
(or water)
3/4 cup (105 g) bulgur wheat (fine grind)
1 can (15 ounces or 425 g) lentils, drained and rinsed
3 ounces (85 g) crumbled feta
8 to 10 dried figs, chopped (pulse briefly in the food processor to save time)
1/2 cup (60 g) toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, or to taste
1/2 head of bibb or other tender lettuce
Dressing
1/3 cup (80 ml) orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)
2 tablespoons (28 ml) fig vinegar (or 1 1/2 tablespoons [25 ml] apple cider vinegar, but the fig is worth getting—its unique, sweet tang is utterly delicious and works well on meats and veggie sides, too!)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) walnut oil
2 teaspoons orange zest, optional
Bring the broth to a boil and pour over the bulgur. Soak for 7 minutes (it takes 15 for medium grind—faster if you simmer it, but add a little water so it doesn’t get too dry) and drain any excess liquid (or follow the package directions for cooking), pressing it against a double-mesh sieve to squeeze out any excess moisture. While the bulgur is soaking, in a small bowl, whisk together the juice, vinegar, walnut oil, and zest, if using. When the bulgur is tender and drained, gently fold together the bulgur, lentils, feta, figs, walnuts, and mint. Dress to taste and mix gently to combine well. Line a salad bowl with lettuce leaves and spoon the tabbouleh into the center.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 860 Calories; 27g Fat (26.7% calories from fat); 43g Protein; 121g Carbohydrate; 44g Dietary Fiber; 20mg Cholesterol; 869mg Sodium
From Dr. Jonny
: There’s one trick I know about making omelets, and I learned it from an old girlfriend who learned it from her mother and it was this: Make the pan really hot and cook the eggs quickly. And use really high-quality fat. So when I got this recipe from Chef Jeannette, with whom I’ve never actually discussed my omelet-making prowess, I smiled to myself when I read the cooking instructions. Ah, I thought to myself, my ex-girlfriend’s mother must have taught her the same thing! Just kidding. Fact is, the quick, high-heat cooking in a small amount of healthy, delicious fat is the key to the simple richness of this egg dish. The omelets are fluffy and tender and a cinch to whip up on a moment’s notice. They work equally well as a quick light lunch or dinner as well as making a terrific breakfast. Worth knowing: Studies show that eating eggs for breakfast helps with weight loss, probably because the protein makes you feel fuller for longer.
2 eggs
1 tablespoon (15 ml) water
Pinch salt
Pinch fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
Lightly whisk the eggs, water, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the coconut oil in a small sauté or omelet pan over high heat, swirling to coat the pan for about 1 minute or until fully melted and distributed evenly across the bottom and side surfaces of the pan. When the pan is well coated and hot, pour the eggs into the pan and do not disturb for about 30 seconds. When eggs are bubbling and the bottom surface has solidified, gently lift one half of the omelet and fold it over the other side (about 30 seconds). Let it cook for another 20 seconds or until desired doneness and slide out onto your plate. If you prefer your eggs to be well cooked, you may flip the omelet over and cook for another 10 to 20 seconds before plating.