Let Food Be Thy Medicine – What I Eat (Part 2)
As I mentioned in Part 1 of my blog, I try to live by Hippocrates’ famous quote: ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’. In the busy world we live in, all of this takes advance planning. Although I am known as the ultimate planner, I often use up all my planning points for work and family so I have to keep things simple when it comes to meals.
Here are some dinner ideas that are part of my regimen.
Dinner at Home
My dinner menus are on the simple side and rarely contain more than 8 ingredients. I know that spices are some of the best additives to create a superfood meal but I am pretty lazy so don’t work with many – probably on my list to improve!
Tofu Steaks
Here is my sister’s recipe for Asian-style tofu steaks. It’s a great meatless dinner option and delicious with a side salad.
- 1 lb extra firm tofu
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (if using regular soy sauce, reduce to 1/8 cup)
- 2 TBSP sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 TBSP honey or maple syrup
- 1 TBSP Worcester sauce
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- Black pepper to taste
Cut tofu lengthwise into four equal slabs and put into a baking dish or a bowl. Mix all the other ingredients to make the marinade and pour over tofu and let it sit for 30 minutes. Remove tofu from marinade and fry it in a greased hot pan (olive oil or avocado oil) for about 2-3 mins on each side until browned. Place on serving dish. Then add the marinade to the pan, heat until boiling and pour over the fried tofu steaks. You can garnish with scallions if you’d like.
Simple Salmon
This is so easy I can do it in my sleep. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. To salmon filets, sprinkle some olive oil and salt and add to a heated skillet (make sure it’s oven safe). Cook with skin side up (so it’s easier to flip in the oven) on stovetop for 2 minutes then put skillet in oven and bake 5 minutes per side. It’s crispy on the outside and delicious! Here’s another simple recipe that you may want to try that uses butter: https://www.markbittman.com/recipes-1/roasted-salmon-with-butter
Cod, Sea Bass, Grouper or other white flaky fish
For each pound, make a mixture of 2 tablespoons of miso, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, dash of garlic powder, juice of half lemon, 2 TBSPs olive oil and some water to dilute. Marinate the fish in the mixture (you can do this overnight if you plan ahead) and throw in oven at 400 degrees for around 15 minutes (this will vary based on size of filet and thickness). If you want to make it a bit richer, you can top it off with a knob of butter towards the end.
Broccoli Salad
Buy bagged broccoli florets in produce aisle as they are similar in size and cook evenly. Steam (5-8 minutes) or boil (3-5 minutes) the broccoli florets, add some garlic powder, minced shallots (or red onion), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss together and it can be served warm or cold.
3-Bean Salad
You can use any three beans you like for this. I use chick peas, kidney, northern, limas or whatever I have in the house. To the three cans of beans (15 oz.), add ¼ cup chopped parsley, 1 tsp of oregano, ¼ cup chopped yellow/red pepper, ¼ cup chopped red onion (or green onion) and ¼ cup chopped celery. Toss with white or red wine vinegar (1/8-1/4 cup), olive oil (1/2 cup) and then add salt to taste. This tastes better the longer it sits so you can make a big batch and have it throughout the week.
Kale Salad
I prefer to chop up my own kale as the bagged ones have too many stems which make it difficult to digest. To one bunch of kale de-stemmed and chopped, add ~¼ cup pomegranate seeds, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 TBSP red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Massage kale and dressing to release the pomegranate juice and soften the kale. You can top off with ¼ cup nuts (pine, walnut) or some pumpkin seeds.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Another simple dish to add to any protein source. To a bag/pound of brussels sprouts (cut in half and tops cut off), add ¼ cup olive oil, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tsp Rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake in 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until garlic and brussels sprouts are golden brown.
Collard Greens
These are widely available and easy to prepare. Wash one large bunch of collard greens, de-stem and chop into small pieces. In a stockpot, add ½ cup of bacon or ham bits and cook with just enough water to get it browned. Throw in collard greens, ½ chopped onion, 1-2 cups of water and cook until soft. Add soy sauce to taste and finish off with some apple cider vinegar (~1/8 cup or to taste). We have collard greens in our garden that will NOT die no matter what the weather is or how much we neglect it so are enjoying them year-round.
Stir-Fried Zucchini/Squash or Mushrooms
This is a super easy side dish to add to any meal. Cut zucchini or yellow squash into rings and saute them in a tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter). Add salt to taste. You can do the same with mushrooms – the buttery goodness makes the veggies pop!
Sous Vide Chicken
Have you heard of the term sous vide? In French, it means “under vacuum” and in sous vide cooking, the food is sealed in an airtight container and submerged in a hot water bath. The temperature of the water bath determines the temperature of the food so it’s easy to cook foods without over or under cooking. Chicken is a perfect meat for sous vide as it cooks evenly without turning it into cardboard (especially chicken breasts). You will need to invest in a sous vide cooker which are widely available now.
To several chicken breasts or thighs, add salt, pepper, olive oil and whatever herbs you’d like (Herbs de Provence or Mrs. Dash). Mix well and put them in the sous vide bags. Immerse in water that’s come up to 145 degrees (for chicken). It should be done in around 2 hours but you can keep it on as it will not overcook. I usually start them sometime in the afternoon and it will often sit in the bath for 4 hours before I’m ready to make dinner. Take them out of the sous vide bag, put them on a pan and brown the skins on the broiler to get a nice crust. Serve with the juice from the sous vide bag as gravy.
Here’s a simple sous vide to buy.
And I only use re-usable silicone bags to minimize plastic contamination in the food.
Salad Dressing
This is my friend’s staple – she makes them in huge batches and gives them away as gifts in pretty bottles. It stores nicely in the fridge if you make more than you need.
To 2 TBSP of red wine or balsamic vinegar, add 1 TSP of Dijon mustard and ½ TSP salt. Whisk to dissolve the salt. Add 1 clove of finely minced garlic, and 6 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Black pepper can be added to taste. This dressing goes with any type of salad – arugula, spring greens, fennel, cabbage, radicchio, etc.
Dinner Out
- Try to stay away from heavy sauces as it’s most likely laden with unhealthy fats and sugars (Chinese food is a big culprit). It’s difficult to know what’s in them and it’s likely no one will tell you.
- It’s important to remember that food diversity is good for our gut. We are not designed to eat the same thing over and over. So when dining out, expand the variety by ordering foods that you wouldn’t normally have at home (especially the plant foods). For me, this includes lots of varieties of veggies and greens, pasta/bread (I rarely make this at home), fish of the day (I have a limited repertoire but restaurants offer more options), sushi, meats like lamb, duck or game. I actually enjoy cooking with game meats like venison but my meat supplier (my husband) hasn’t gone hunting in a while so off to a restaurant I go.
