The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth (8 page)

From Dr. Jonny
: Everyone loves barbecue! But let’s face it—it’s really not the best dish for health, what with high-heat cooking (carcinogenic compounds form), high-sugar sauces, and factory-farmed meats. So consider the choice—a big old plate of Applebee’s ribs (calorie count: ranging from 890 for the smallest portion to, are you sitting down, 1,700 calories!) or this quick, tangy barbecue made with lean chicken or, even better, high-fiber beans! This dish to me is a perfect example of how to take an old favorite comfort food and make it fabulously quick and healthy without sacrificing a drop of flavor. For even greater health impact, check out the low-carb option with a whole bunch of greens. That’s a meal that’s hard to beat!

Quick Barbecue Sauce

1 cup (240 g) high-quality ketchup (Choose an organic variety to avoid high-fructose corn syrup—we like Annie’s)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons (40 g) molasses

1 tablespoon (12 g) Sucanat, optional, to taste

2 teaspoons horseradish mustard (or Dijon)

2 teaspoons organic Worcestershire sauce (Choose organic for this, too—high-fructose corn syrup is everywhere! Try Annie’s organic Worcestershire.)

1 tablespoon (15 g) prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Wraps

3 cups (420 g) shredded cooked chicken or 3 cups (300 g) cooked beans (black-eyed peas, kidney, or pinto all work well)

4 large whole-grain wraps (sprouted wheat, sprouted corn, brown rice, etc.)

2 cups (110 g) shredded lettuce

1 cup (110 g) shredded carrots, optional

1/2 cup (65 g) chopped dried apricots (unsulfured), optional

Place all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes, lowering the heat if it sputters too much. After 10 minutes, dress the chicken or beans to your taste with the sauce and mix gently to combine well.

Lay out the wraps on a working surface and place one quarter of the lettuce and carrots on the bottom third of each wrap. Spoon equal parts of the chicken or bean mixture over the veggies and top with a sprinkle of the apricots, if using. Roll from the bottom up and place on the plate, seam side down. Store the remaining barbecue sauce in the fridge.

Yield
: 4 wraps and extra sauce
Per Serving
: 447 Calories; 7g Fat (13.7% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 57g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 1232mg Sodium

From Dr. Jonny
: Peaches are a “low-glycemic” fruit (glycemic load is only 5 on a scale of 0 to 40+), meaning they won’t play havoc with your blood sugar. And one peach contains 3 grams of fiber—that’s peachy! This quesadilla is lightning fast because you use prepared chutney. It comes together in a flash, and the sweet spiciness of the chutney balances perfectly with the fontina. You’ll never look at fast food quesadillas the same way!

4 large whole-grain tortillas

1 1/2 cups (210 g) shredded or chopped cooked chicken

1 cup (110 g) grated fontina cheese

1 large peach, pitted and sliced thinly (or ripe pear, cored and sliced)

4 tablespoons (64 g) prepared chutney, or to taste

Heat a large dry griddle over medium heat and lay out two of the tortillas. Grill until lightly toasted, about a minute, and flip. Spread one quarter of the chicken over half of each tortilla, and cover with one quarter of the cheese. Lay one quarter of the peaches over the cheese and spread 1 1/2 tablespoons (24 g) chutney over the other half of each tortilla.

Fold the quesadilla closed and grill until hot. Flip it once, if desired, to toast more evenly.

Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 452 Calories; 21g Fat (41.8% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 646mg Sodium

Easy Asian Endive Wraps

From Dr. Jonny
: In Los Angeles, where I live, one of the most perennially popular dishes at virtually all the popular chain restaurants (P.F. Chang’s, the Cheesecake Factory, Elephant Bar) is the lettuce wrap. Each restaurant does its own twist on it, but the basic idea is a nice mixture of warm, Asian-spiced meat wrapped up in cool lettuce leaves, often accompanied by a variety of dipping sauces. This is our take on that classic favorite—a calorie-light version that really satisfies and that almost no one will believe you made in 15 minutes! And the ingredients are stellar: shiitake mushrooms, a classic food for building immunity, mixed with a variety of typically Asian white vegetables such as mung bean sprouts and water chestnuts (I recommend you use those!). All complement perfectly the low-fat, high-protein ground turkey. Note: If you want to try a variation, grass-fed beef works well as a substitute for the turkey. Either way, you’ll love it.

1 1/2 tablespoons (25 ml) sesame oil

4 ounces (115 g) presliced shiitake caps, chopped

1 tablespoon (10 g) prepared minced garlic (or 3 large cloves, minced)

1 pound (455 g) leanest ground turkey (or leanest ground beef)

2 tablespoons (28 ml) low-sodium tamari

2 1/2 tablespoons (40 ml) oyster sauce

2 tablespoons (28 ml) mirin (or sake)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

3/4 cup (75 g) sliced scallions (greens only)

1 1/2 cups (75 g) mung bean sprouts

2 tablespoons (16 g) toasted sesame seeds, optional

4 heads endive, cored (or use 1 head tender green lettuce leaves, such as Bibb, for a sweeter finish)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shiitakes and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the turkey and sauté for about 3 minutes or until almost no pink remains, draining any excess oil if necessary. Stir the tamari, oyster sauce, and mirin into the turkey to incorporate well, and continue to cook until the turkey is completely cooked, about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, scallions, bean sprouts, and sesame seeds, if using.

Divide into four portions and serve with one head endive each. To eat, separate the leaves and use as edible scoops for the turkey.

Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 374 Calories; 19g Fat (42.4% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 18g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 598mg Sodium

From Dr. Jonny
: Whenever I teach my course for weight-loss coaches or give a seminar for the public on healthy eating and weight management, I talk about the ideal diet: high in protein, healthy fat, and fiber. The Smoked Turkey-Apple Cobb Salad is a textbook example of combining those three ingredients. Protein from the turkey and eggs; healthy fat from the avocados, egg yolks, walnut oil, and cheese; and fiber from the apples and—surprise, surprise, the avocado! (Little-known secret: Avocados are actually high in fiber, providing more than 13 grams per single fruit!) This Cobb salad is particularly good for the heart with its nice complement of apples, walnuts, and turkey. Not to mention that it goes together in a flash and tastes great—fresh, light, and perfect for a summer afternoon.

1 bag (6 ounces or 170 g) chopped romaine lettuce

1 smoked turkey breast (3/4 pound [340 g], nitrate-free: we like Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey Breast), sliced thick

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise

1 bag (14 ounces or 400 g) prepared sliced green apples, about 4 cups (440 g), or 2 apples, sliced

1 cup (115 g) cubed or 4 ounces (115 g) sliced cheese, diced, such as Muenster, Colby, Gruyére, or Cheddar

2 medium ripe Hass avocados, halved and pitted

1/3 cup (40 g) walnut pieces

Dressing

3 tablespoons (45 ml) walnut oil (or almond or olive oil)

1 1/2 tablespoons (25 ml) apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) frozen apple juice concentrate, melted

Pinches salt and black pepper

In a large salad bowl make a bed of the chopped romaine. Roll the turkey slices (double up if sliced thin) and lay across one end of the salad. Lay the egg quarters, if using, out in a row beside the turkey. Lay the apples across the middle of the bowl in a row next to the eggs. Lay the cheese out in a row next to the apples.

Peel the avocado halves (try scooping intact halves out of their skins with a spoon), and slice each half lengthwise into four slices. Lay the slices out in a row next to the cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, cider vinegar, honey, apple juice concentrate, salt, and pepper until lightly emulsified. Drizzle the dressing over the salad to taste and sprinkle the salad evenly with the walnut pieces.

Yield
: 4 servings
Per Serving
: 563 Calories; 42g Fat (64.8% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 262mg Cholesterol; 131mg Sodium