Read The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth Online
Authors: Jonny Bowden
The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth (10 page)
Meat is beginning to lose its undeserved reputation as a “bad” food; but, there’s an important “but”-make sure it’s not the processed kind. Recent research shows that health issues with meat have more to do with the processing, sodium, and nitrates than with the meat itself. To avoid eating meat that contains hormones, steroids, and antibiotics, choose grass-fed meat whenever possible.
Gorgonzola Beef with Spinach, Super-Fast
Body-Building Broiled Steak with Mushrooms
Healthy Peanut-Hoisin Beef and Bean Sprouts in Seconds
Iron-Rich Blackstrap Balsamic Steak
Quick-Sizzle Beef Satay Shish Kebab
Cheater Fajiters
Game Time Five-Layer Salad, Lightened
15-Minute Middle Eastern Lamb Chops
Protein Powerhouse Lamb with Figs in a Flash
Luscious Moroccan Lamb Burgers in Less Time
Easy Grilled Lamb Chops Dijon
Gorgonzola Beef with Spinach, Super-FastFrom Dr. Jonny
: A cursory glance through this book reveals that we have only one red-meat dish in our no-cook section, for obvious reasons. If you want red meat and no-cook together, you’re going to have to use deli meats, which, honestly, we’re not huge fans of. But truth be told, it’s fine to use them occasionally as long as you choose an organic, and nitrate-free, variety. Chef Jeannette also suggests they be low sodium, which I wholly endorse, as most of the excess sodium in our diet doesn’t come from the saltshaker but from processed foods (such as canned foods and deli meats). Dump the nitrates and lower the sodium, opt for organic, and you’re good to go. Spinach, Gorgonzola, and pears have become the new trifecta for perfect salads—they mix and match tastes and textures in a way that is just short of heavenly. Add the protein from the—did I happen to mention nitrate-free?—beef, and the fiber, minerals, and omega-3s from the walnuts, and you’ve got a flavorful, fruity, easy, no-cook meal!
2 tablespoons (28 ml) pear or orange vinegar (we like Cuisine Perel’s D’Anjou Pear Vinegar or Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, or substitute balsamic)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 to 2 teaspoons honey, to taste
1/8 A teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (28 ml) walnut oil
6 cups (180 g) baby spinach
10 ounces (280 g) sliced low-sodium roast beef, deli style, diagonally sliced
2 ounces (55 g) Gorgonzola cheese, finely crumbled
1/2 A cup (50 g) sliced scallions
2 small ripe pears (red Anjou or Bosc work well), cored and sliced
1/4 A cup (30 g) toasted walnut pieces
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, pepper, and walnut oil.
In a large salad bowl, make a bed of spinach and top with the beef, Gorgonzola, scallions, and pears. Dress to taste and garnish with the walnuts.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 382 Calories; 24g Fat (53.7% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 68mg Cholesterol; 305mg Sodium
From Dr. Jonny
: When people come up to me at book signings, workshops, and lectures, they frequently ask me whether I’m a vegetarian, as if being healthy is synonymous with a vegetarian lifestyle. They’re often surprised (and often delighted!) to find that I’m not. It’s absolutely possible, even desirable, to include animal products in our diet, as long as they’re the right kind of animal products (see Nutritional Note opposite). And as long as those animal products are balanced with plenty of vegetables and fiber. So for you beef eaters, here’s a terrific dish that’s quick and easy. Steak goes beautifully with mushrooms, which are among the most healing foods on the planet. Even the common white button mushroom has a ton of potassium (a cup of sliced mushrooms beats the pants off a banana on the potassium scale), not to mention 18 mcg of selenium, an important mineral that is a powerful antioxidant and also has anticancer activity. And watercress (in the suggested side), despite the fact that it has almost no calories, is packed with vitamin A and two superstar nutrients for eye health, lutein and zeaxanthin. This dish comes together quickly and tastes as good as beef can taste!
1 sirloin steak (1 to 1 1/2 pounds [455 to 710 g], 1-inch thickness)
1/2 teaspoon salt + 1 pinch more
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
2 teaspoons butter 2 shallots, chopped
8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms (white, button, cremini, and shiitake all work well)
1 tablespoon (2.4 g) minced fresh thyme (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)
Preheat the broiler and lightly oil a broiler pan. Set aside.
Pat the steak dry and season lightly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper on both sides. Broil the steak 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 20 cm) from the heating element for 4 to 5 minutes and turn. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes more for medium rare. Remove from the heat and tent with foil to keep warm until the mushrooms are ready.
Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, mushrooms, and pinch of salt, and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until the mushrooms are just tender.
Stir in the thyme and sauté for 1 more minute or until the mushrooms reach desired tenderness. Remove from the heat.
Spoon the mushrooms over the steak and serve.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 298 Calories; 21g Fat (64.3% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 76mg Cholesterol; 381mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal
: Slice the steak into thick strips and serve over dressed greens. Dress watercress (2 large bunches) or baby arugula (4 cups or 80 g) with 2 tablespoons (28 ml) of olive oil, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of red wine vinegar, a teaspoon of mustard, and pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
NUTRITIONAL NOTE
I’ve been an outspoken advocate for grass-fed beef almost from the day I became a nutritionist. (I wrote about it at length in my previous books). Yes, it’s expensive, but here’s why it’s totally worth it: Factory-farmed meat, the kind you get in most supermarkets and at all fast-food places, is filled with antibiotics, steroids, and hormones.
In addition, feedlot-farmed meat is fed nothing but grain, which is the most unnatural food in the world for cows. It makes them sick, which is one of the reasons they have to be fed copious doses of antibiotics. Grain-feeding-even organic grain—changes the quality of the animals’ fat. Grain-fed meat from feedlot farms is high in inflammatory omega-6 fats and has almost no omega-3 fats.
A quick look at the documentary film
Food, Inc
.will show you all you need to know about how the animals on feedlot farms are treated and the conditions under which they’re raised, which is enough to turn you off meat completely-but remember, that documentary is about animals on feedlot farms. Animals raised on pasture, in addition to having far more tranquil and happy lives, eat their natural diet of grass. Studies show that grass-fed meat has much higher amounts of the highly beneficial, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, as well as a particular kind of cancer-fighting fat called CLA (conjugated linolenic acid), which is conspicuously absent from the meat of feedlot-farmed animals.
Nearly all farms that raise grass-fed meat are concerned about the health and welfare of their animals, and the farmers rarely if ever use chemicals, steroids, or antibiotics. The bottom line is that it costs a lot more to raise grass-fed meat, but you are getting a healthy food as opposed to the junk that has been associated with higher rates of cancer and disease. If you can’t find grass-fed meat in your local store, you can order online and get the best quality shipped to your door. Two sources I recommend highly are U.S. Wellness Meats (which you can find through a link on my website,
www.jonnybowden.com
, under Online Store/Healthy Foods) or the wonderful Novy Ranches (
www.novyranches.com
), owned by a health-conscious veterinarian named Lowell Novy, who raises grass-fed Angus beef that tastes amazing-rich, flavorful, juicy, and decidedly more healthy for you than “commercial” meat. I’d rather eat one serving of (admittedly more expensive) grass-fed meat once a week than seven burgers from a fast-food restaurant, and that’s exactly what I do. I recommend you do the same.
From Dr. Jonny
: Sprouts got a touchy-feely reputation when they became associated with all of us “granola-eating, tree-hugging” types who used to be called—amazingly—health nuts. (Now the tides have shifted, and those who don’t care about their health could reasonably be called “nuts”!) Anyway, bean sprouts (or mung bean sprouts) contain a plethora of plant chemicals known to be valuable for health. Saponins, for example, protect plants against disease, bacteria, and predators and offer a similar kind of protection to your cells. Sprouts combine beautifully with a high-protein dish such as steak. The juicy lightness of the plump, water-based sprouts mixed with the slightly sweet hoisin sauce creates the deliciously satisfying feel of Asian food with a light touch. Highly recommended: Make the Thai cucumber salad at the end to perfectly round off the meal’s flavors!
2 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
1 boneless top sirloin or flank steak (1 to 1 1/4 pounds [455 to 567 g]), fat trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch (0.5 cm)-thick slices, 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) long
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons [9 g] prepared minced ginger
1 teaspoon prepared garlic
2 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons (40 ml) low-sodium tamari
3 cups (150 g) mung bean sprouts (or prepared cabbage and carrot slaw mix)
2 tablespoons (18 g) crushed roasted peanuts (or 1/4 cup [35 g] whole, to save time)
In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the steak strips, season lightly with salt and pepper, and sauté, turning frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. Remove the steak and set aside.
Drain the pan and lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil, ginger, and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the hoisin and tamari sauces and cook for 1 minute. Add the steak to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Serve the steak and sauce over the mung bean sprouts (or slaw mix) garnished with the peanuts.
Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 254 Calories; 12g Fat (38.3% calories from fat); 33g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 66mg Cholesterol; 609mg Sodium
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal
: Serve with Thai cucumber salad. Using a mandoline or food processor, julienne or shred 1 small peeled English cucumber. Dress with 2 tablespoons (28 ml) of unseasoned rice vinegar or fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon of Sucanat, 2 teaspoons of low-sodium tamari, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of Thai sweet chili sauce (optional), 1/2 cup (50 g) of sliced scallions, and 2 tablespoons (18 g) of crushed peanuts. Optional addition: 1/4 cup (4 g) of chopped fresh cilantro.