How to eat

I find it curious that we are still seeking the answer to, what is eating healthy? After all the fade diets and miracle pills have we learned nothing? I have my answer, which is really short and simple: eat a bit of everything and move. Now, here is the caveat to my axiom.

I am a great proponent of learning to say yes to more foods – if I have never seen it before I try it, however, the most important aspect is that all foods created, served and eaten should be recognizable; i.e. understanding its relationship to the earth. There should never be foods that have been overly manipulated and packaged by any industrialized food manufacturer in the kitchen – butter over margarine; oven crisped sweet potatoes in lieu of Tatter Tots.  Any canned item in the pantry must have an extremely brief ingredient list (about four ingredients or less), and definitely, read and understand the label. In the winter months when the selection at the farmer’s markets is slim vegetables are going to be frozen rather than sodium drenched and already overcooked tinned ones. Of course, buying organic and certified humane is of great value, though I am greatly sensitive to the cost unfortunately associated with this choice. But part of eating “healthy” is not consuming the drugs administrated widely to our food supply in order to grow stuff bigger, faster, and fuller.

The ultimate healthy eating is not necessarily going vegan, swearing gluten-free because it is the cure, or cooking a pre-historic meal plan. It is finding the foods and style that are appealing and allowing the plate to be dominated by vegetables that you can live with for the rest of your life. Find the pleasure equally in a slab of baby back ribs or a slab of tofu; indulge in the slice of cake and revel in fruit tossed with some snipped herbs. Healthy eating is meant to keep us healthy both emotionally and physically.

We all must eat consciously and understand the amount of calories we are taking in because no matter how “healthy” one supposedly eats, too much is just that.

Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce – yields 4 servings

½-pound boneless/skinless chicken breast – cut into thin strips

4-ounces vermicelli rice noodles

½-hot house cucumber – sliced in strips

1-celery stalk – slice into 1-inch strips

½-pound jicama – peeled and sliced into strips

2-tablespoons chopped mint leaves

½-pound (about 4 pieces) chopped baby bok choy

3-scallions – sliced

Bring 3-cups of water to the boil, and add the chicken strips. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the chicken through a sieve into a bowl that has the noodles. Allow let the noodles soak in the hot cooking liquid for ten minutes, and then drain.

In a large bowl add all the ingredients, and toss with the peanut sauce. Serve room temperature or cold.

Peanut Sauce

3-tablespoons lemon juice (from a ½-lemon)

3-tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)

¼-cup all natural peanut butter

1-tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1-garlic clove

2-teaspoons sesame oil

1-tablespoon rice vinegar

3-tablespoons soy sauce

¼-cup water

Place all ingredients in a blend, and process until smooth.

Leafy Joy

I am asked frequently what my last meal would be, and my answer does tend to disappoint. I love a salad. From baby greens tossed with Meyer lemon juice and a Sicilian extra virgin olive oil to a Romaine hearts with a Humbolt Fog blue cheese to a Cobb salad on a bed of peppery arugula. I am always satisfied by a salad and never quite got the concept that this was “diet” food.

Clearly, this leafy obsession can be traced back to my mom – nightly, she would lay a salad bowl on the table no matter what the night’s meal consisted of, and we got an array of salad dressing to choose from: French, Russian, Green Goddess and Zesty Italian where drizzled over various plates. Nine times at of ten I went for the Green Goddess with the occasional yearning for Italian. Today, I could not image bottled dressing on my table but I definitely continue my mother’s tradition of a nightly salad. While I could munch away on a head of any leaf, save iceberg, which has not made its way back into my crisper, I married a man that does not share my love of a bowl of leaves.

So, in an effort to please us both I add artichokes, cucumbers, olives, or jicama, anything to give him more texture and allow me to have forkfuls of lettuce. Okay, and I am also trying to get more salad into his diet, and making sure he will be there to that last meal.

                                                                       Cobb Salad – serves 4

2-eggs

6-cups packed, torn arugula  (or any leafy salad green)

4 slices cooked bacon – crumbled

1-pound tomato – chopped

½-pound roast turkey - chopped

1-avocado - diced

1-English cucumber – chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

½-cup lemon juice (from approx. 2 lemons)

In a 1-quart saucepan place the eggs, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over a high flame, and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from the flame, and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Remove the eggs from the water, and peel.

Chop the eggs.

On a platter, or individual plates place the lettuce. Then arrange the bacon, tomato, turkey, avocado and cucumber over the lettuce strips so that each item is completely visible. Season the salad with black pepper. Then drizzle over the lemon juice.