Read The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth Online
Authors: Jonny Bowden
The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth (44 page)
Divide among four glasses and place a pinch of cardamom at the top of each glass.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 175 Calories; 3g Fat (16.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 42mg Sodium
*
Dried mango is tough and leathery. It’s easier to use kitchen shears than a knife to snip it into pieces. If you desire more sweetness than that from the dried fruit, add raw honey, 1 teaspoon at a time, until sweet enough.
From Dr. Jonny
: Wine and apples—how can that not be good? We already know red wine is brimming with
resveratrol
(see Nutritional Note opposite), a phenomenal plant polyphenol that’s been shown to turn on “longevity” genes in every species studied so far. And apples, well, they’re about as perfect a fruit as you can get: high in fiber from pectin, a great source of the anti-inflammatory, anticancer nutrient quercetin, high in bone-protecting boron, and rich in vitamin C. Should I go on? I thought not! Chef Jeannette has given us a lovely way to make a rich, flavorful evening snack, or even a dessert, that’s absolutely loaded with nutrients!
3/4 cup (175 ml) fruity red wine
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (36 g) Sucanat
2 large red, crisp apples (try Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Gala), unpeeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup (100 g) walnuts
In a medium glass container, whisk together the wine, cinnamon, and Sucanat.
Coarsely chop the apples and walnuts in a food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add wine mixture to the container, mix well to incorporate the wine and apples, cover, and marinate for an hour (or up to 3) before serving.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 225 Calories; 14g Fat (60.6% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 29mg Sodium
NUTRITIONAL NOTE
A ton of attention has been focused recently on a little plant chemical called resveratrol, especially among those who are interested in living longer!
To understand exactly how resveratrol exerts its “antiaging magic,” we have to go back to a bunch of important studies involving calorically deprived rats. Apparently caloric restriction turns on a set of genes known as the sirtuin genes, which are considered to be major influencers of how long we live. “The sirtuin genes are the holy grail of medicine and nutrition,” says my good friend Mark Houston, M.D. “These genes turn on or turn off different metabolic pathways that are designed to promote longevity and health.”
But calorie restriction isn’t terribly popular, especially among people who like to eat.
That’s why there was so much excitement when David Sinclair, M.D., a professor and researcher at Harvard Medical School, discovered that there was another way to turn on these longevity genes, one that wouldn’t require you to starve yourself. He and his associates published a now-famous paper reporting that plant compounds known as
polyphenols
could do the job quite well. And the polyphenol that seemed to work best was
resveratrol
.
Resveratrol is found in red wine, the skin of young unripe red grapes, grape seeds, purple grape juice, and to a lesser extent, in peanuts and mulberries. And it may turn out to be the closest thing we have at present to an antiaging elixir. Science and business are taking resveratrol very seriously. In 2004, a company formed to commercialize Sinclair’s research and develop drugs that work with the body’s own defenses against aging. That company, Siritis, was purchased by drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline in June 2008 for the nifty sum of $720 million.
That may turn out to be a bargain. If resveratrol lives up to its promise, it may not only extend life, but also improve its quality. Resveratrol has been shown in studies to inhibit the growth of several cancer cell lines and tumors. It’s also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. It ramps up detoxification enzymes in the liver (making it easier for your body to get rid of carcinogens) and protects the heart through a number of different mechanisms. It also protects neurons (brain cells). Recent research has even shown that it may reduce insulin resistance, a key factor in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
No one I know claims that taking resveratrol will counter the life-shortening effects of a terrible diet, smoking, and lack of exercise. But if you’re doing everything else right, a high-quality resveratrol supplement may just give you a real edge in the longevity sweepstakes.
Meanwhile, do as the French do and drink some red wine or include it in your cooking, as Chef Jeannette does in this recipe. If you’re not a wine drinker, or even if you are, start making dark grapes part of your diet.
From Dr. Jonny
: Anyone remember the Mayo Clinic Diet, where you ate grapefruit at every meal supposedly to help lose weight? Well, that diet was never from the Mayo Clinic and was mostly regarded as bogus, but a 2004 study in the Division of Endocrinology at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, showed that eating grapefruit does in fact help with weight loss and insulin resistance. There was a significant difference in weight loss for those who consumed either fresh grapefruit or grapefruit juice over a placebo. Study participants lost an average of 3.6 pounds in 12 weeks, and their insulin resistance improved. The authors concluded that “although the mechanism of this weight loss is unknown, it would appear reasonable to include grapefruit in a weight reduction diet.” These scientists know what happened—they’re just not sure why. I say “who cares?” Low-calorie, low-glycemic grapefruit with its high vitamin C, antioxidant, and fiber content is a great food. And dressing it simply, as Chef Jeannette has done here, is a light way to mellow this very tart fruit. Enjoy!
2 large pink grapefruit
1 to 2 tablespoons (20 to 40 g) raw honey, or to taste
1/4 cup (24 g) chopped fresh mint leaves
Slice the grapefruits in half through the middle (around the “equator”). Run a knife just inside the skin around the segments and then along the side of each individual segment membrane to free the fruit. Squeeze about a tablespoon of juice from each of the four halves into a small bowl. Whisk the honey and mint into the juice. Pour the dressing evenly over each of the four halves and serve.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 76 Calories; trace Fat (1.3% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
This light, refreshing dish can be chilled in the fridge before serving for extra cooling benefits, or lightly broiled for a richer feel in cooler weather. To broil, before dressing the grapefruit, place the plain halves, cut side up, onto a broiling sheet under high heat for about 5 minutes or until the fruit starts to plump and caramelize. Remove from the heat, dress, and serve. Sprinkle with a bit of cayenne to pop the flavor even more. If you want to forgo the sweetener altogether, nutrition expert Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S., recommends spreading 1 teaspoon of olive oil on each cut half and letting it rest (in the fridge) for a few hours to neutralize the natural acid, increasing its sweetness.
Healthy Bite Cherry Chewies
From Dr. Jonny
: This bar is the easiest thing in the world to make. I know because I’ve made it myself and really, it was a pure pleasure. It’s an even greater pleasure to eat. Cherries, almonds, and pine nuts? What in the world could you possibly not like? And here’s a secret: These bars were inspired by cherry Larabars, a commercial favorite of both Chef Jeannette and myself. Truth be told, making these cherry delights at home is actually far less expensive, and this version has the added advantage of being lower in sugar. If you’re breezing through this book and wondering what recipe to start with, you couldn’t do much better than this one! It’s simplicity itself, comes together in minutes, and will knock your socks off with its rich, chewy texture and sweet-tart flavor. Worth noting: Although you can use unsweetened sweet cherries, you can also use juice-sweetened tart ones. Both varieties are a good source of anti-inflammatory anthocyanins, but tart cherries have a lot more. Animal studies conducted by University of Michigan researchers suggest that tart cherries can reduce factors linked to heart disease and diabetes.
1/2 cup (70 g) loosely packed, pitted dates (8 to 9, or 6 to 7 if using larger Medjool dates)
1/2 packed cup (60 g) dried, unsweetened sweet cherries or juice-sweetened tart cherries
2/3 cup (97 g) raw almonds
1/3 cup (45 g) pine nuts
1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 28 ml) water
Place the dates, cherries, almonds, and pine nuts in a food processor and process for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides a couple of times. The mixture will first come apart and then become finer, finally holding together in a clump of “dough” that will roll around in the processor. If the dough doesn’t hold together by 1 minute, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it does. When the ingredients are well incorporated into a dough, roll the mixture into quarter-size balls or tubelike mini-bars, or flatten it evenly into a 5 × 7-inch (13 × 18 cm) Pyrex dish (3-cup size) and slice (slicing is smoother if the dough is chilled for at least 1 hour). Store in the refrigerator.
Yield
: approximately 20 balls or 8 to 10 pan bars
Per Serving
: 57 Calories; 3g Fat (50.9% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1mg Sodium