Healthy Eating

For many centuries human beings have known that diet is a key to health. Not only does the right diet prevent disease, but it also can actually cure disease. Interestingly, as advanced as twenty-first century man is, we still don’t have many definitive answers for what foods work to prevent or cure our ills. We have lots of clues and some answers but I’m sure you will agree that everyday the news carries a new theory supported by a new study that shows some foods to be either good or bad for us that were either formerly unknown or which have changed from former theories and studies. This frustrates me.

I have a stack of food books (some are cookbooks) dating from 1982 to 2006 that have titles like The Food Pharmacy, Food Remedies, Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal, 12 Best Foods Cookbook, etc. I am going through them all, extrapolating the consistent data on healthy foods. It probably comes as no surprise that fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, whole grains and nuts are big and show up consistently since the 1982 book. One of the things that has changed is carbohydrates with starch. Now there’s a new theory that rice, potatoes, yams, corn, a lot of the so-called “fattening” carbs are now called “resistant starches” and are very good for us. We’ll see what they say next month.

Another food that has been on the health see-saw is fat. We have gone from butter to margarine to monounsaturated fats. Linoleic acid is a fat that’s good for you but trans fats are a no-no. Then there is brown fat, good fat, bad fat—I can’t even keep all this straight any more.

The Currently popular cookbook, 12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi lists these as the 12 healthiest: Blueberries, black beans, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, salmon, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, chocolate, walnuts, soy and onions. I think she might be close and those are all available, reasonable foods. You can add other foods in the general categories of these such as most berries, most beans, other fatty fish, etc.

The next problem of eating healthy is cooking. I think that in order for food to really be good for you, it must be delicious. We have so many choices as to what to eat. We are bombarded by advertising and fast-food and convenience and it is so easy to go out when you don’t have time or inclination to cook--how does anyone really eat healthy foods? Most of them have to be prepared at home because processing them into convenience usually strips them of their nutritional super status, at least a little.

I am looking for high-health, tasty, quick-to-fix dishes and foods. It’s actually a fun quest—we have been eating some really good food. My friend Valerie gave me a recipe for Fettuccine with Brussels sprouts and pine nuts that is delicious and quick. I found a recipe for Lo-Mein that really fills the bill. It uses lots of veggies—any you have on hand—is quick to fix and delicious. So I am giving you these two recipes and asking you to e-mail me any you think would qualify and that you really like. I will write a column on the best of them.

By the way, about those resistant starches; I hope they’re right about this one and we can put potatoes, rice, and corn back on the dinner menu.

Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts

¾ pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed or ¾ pound broccoli flowerets
½ pound whole grain fettuccine
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. pine nuts or walnuts
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¾ cup chicken broth

Cook fettuccine until al dente. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook pine nuts or walnuts, stirring, until golden. Add quartered Brussels sprouts or small broccoli flowerets, salt and pepper and sauté over medium high heat until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet, along with chicken broth. Heat through and serve with cheese grated on top.

Lo Mein

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, lean beef or 1 can drained salmon or 1 pound extra-firm tofu
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pound whole wheat thin spaghetti
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 onion, halved and cut into slivers
2 cups chopped firm vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, baby corn, sugar snap peas, corn kernels or shelled peas, or any combination of these)
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 cups slivered greens, such as bok choy, broccoli rabe, cabbage, chard, escarole, or kale alone or in any combination
1/3 cup oyster sauce

Marinate the meat or tofu by combining it in a bowl with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine and sesame oil. Toss to mix well. Add the cornstarch and toss. Set aside. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of the oil and heat. Add the meat or tofu and marinade and stir-fry until cooked through, about 4-8 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil and the onion and stir-fry until tender. Add firm vegetables; fry about 2 minutes. Add carrot and 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce. Fry 3 minutes. Add slivered greens and remaining 1 Tbsp of soy sauce and stir-fry until all the vegetables are tender, 3 to 6 minutes. Add spaghetti, meat or tofu and marinade, and oyster sauce. Toss and stir-fry about 3 minutes. Serve hot.