Healing Foods: Crusted Tuna Steaks with Quinoa Salad and the Facts on Flax

I have tried to maintain my healthy juicing and eating in 2011, even as I went through my 50^th birthday bender—a series of dinners and parties to celebrate my launch into a new decade. It’s been fun—but I am definitely craving the energy level that my healthy eating and juicing have given me after all the champagne drinking and cake eating of the last several weeks.

My daughter and I have been trying to get more flax into our diet, sprinkling flax seeds into salads and using flax seed oil in our dressings to give ourselves more of the powerful healing agents flax contains. According to my research, flax is rich in lignans, powerful antioxidants that help prevent many types of cancer. Flax is also a natural food that is the richest source of essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s and alphalinolenic acid). It is packed with fiber, and helps in fighting cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, constipation, menopausal symptoms and heart disease. It is also an immune system booster and powerful anti-inflammatory. Why wouldn’t we want more of that in our daily diet?

So, in order to test some flax recipes I created, I invited my favorite food critics and friends, the Lee family, to try a flax-inspired dinner. I made flax seed and sesame crusted tuna steaks, and paired it with an Asian inspired quinoa vegetable salad with cucumber, crunchy sweet peppers, shallots and cilantro. To satisfy my friend John’s love of spice, I made a dipping sauce to accompany the tuna with tamarind sauce, sushi vinegar and Korean red pepper paste. Marilyn added delicious garlic sautéed broccoli and a yummy green salad to the healthy mix, and we had a lovely weeknight meal. They assured me that the tuna and quinoa were blog-worthy, so I am inviting my friends to get on the flax wagon and try some recipes of their own with flax seed and flax seed oil. Here are mine…I hope you enjoy them!

Flax and Sesame Crusted Tuna

3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil

2 tuna steaks (about 1-1 ½ inches thick

¼ cup black and white sesame seeds

¼ cup flax seeds

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon chili pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix all dry ingredients on a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge steaks on each side to crust with seed/spice mixture. Heat oil on high heat in a shallow skillet. When hot, add steaks. Cook for 3 minutes each side for medium rare steaks (less if you like them rare). Allow to cool for 5 minutes, slice into ½ inch thick slices and serve.

Quinoa Salad with Vegetables

1 cup dried organic quinoa

2 cups water

1 tablespoon flaxseed oil

1 shallot, chopped fine

1 small yellow pepper, chopped fine

1 small red pepper, chopped fine

½ cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons sushi vinegar (seasoned rice vinegar)

4 tablespoons flaxseed oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp flax seeds (optional)

Put quinoa, water and 1 tbsp.oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15-20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Cool slightly.

Stir shallots, peppers, cilantro, vinegar and oil together. Add quinoa. Season to taste with salt, pepper and flax seeds.

Spicy Dipping Sauce

¼ cup organic tamarind sauce

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1 generous teaspoon Korean red pepper paste

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve with tuna steaks

Comfort Foods: Superbowl and Spinach Dip

Let me start by saying that I started my day on Sunday on a healthy note by drinking freshly squeezed juice of kale, cucumber and celery, and parsley. I got my superdoses of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants all in one glass (see My Juicy New Year, prior post), and energetically plowed into preparing a Super Bowl feast to enjoy with our neighbors. And there the waxing of healthy and nutritious comes to a screeching halt.

This year’s Super Bowl feast was a potluck with four neighbors. Rob, the owner of the 58 inch Visio flat screen and my next door neighbor, brought 3 different types of marinated chicken wings: Cajun, buffalo and teriyaki. Marilyn added her tequila and lime marinated wings to the platter, Connie brought pigs in a blanket and other passed hors d’oeuvres and I rounded out the buffet with cheeseburger sliders, sausage with sautéed onions and peppers (on potato buns), a garlic blue cheese dip with bacon, and a spicy spinach, cheese and sausage dip, served with corn chips and kettle chips. In a fit of guilt, I made a zucchini carrot slaw to have something more than celery and carrot sticks to offer the health conscious among us. As it turned out, there was lots of slaw left over for tonight’s healthy back on track meal!

My inspiration for the dips came from my friend Debbie, who brought the spinach dip to my last indoor tailgate party for the OSU/Michigan game. It was such a hit with everyone, and so deliciously satisfying and decadent, that my Super Bowl guests asked for the recipe.

When you are looking for a bubbling, spicy, cheesy spinach and sausage dip to cure your junk food cravings—try this one. And don’t ask me who won—I spent most of my evening at the food table!

Debbie’s Delicious Spinach Dip

8 ounces Velveeta (I know, I know….)

8 ounces sharp cheddar

8 ounces Monterey jack

8 ounces salsa

1 box frozen chopped spinach

8 ounces of ground sausage, cooked

Thaw and drain spinach, squish with your hands for best results.

Chop all cheeses into small chunks.

Sauté and drain sausage.

Mix all ingredients and place in pottery or glass dish.

Bake on 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. Stir after the first 15 minutes and again at 30 minutes. If cheese becomes too crispy on top, cover the last 15 minutes with a lid to prevent crunchy top. Serve with chips or pita triangles.

Comfort Foods: Snowball Cupcakes

Ole’ man winter hit hard this year. Starting with a white Christmas, we have had our share of snowstorms in January, including a snow day! Growing up in Ohio, I was used to lots and lots of snow—the blizzard of ’78 (coupled with budget cuts) closed schools in my hometown for a month. Even with a month’s worth of schoolwork to finish at home, it still gave lots of time to play in the snow and ice. When it snowed here two weeks ago, Sophie and I made snow angels, took pictures and tried to catch snowflakes on our tongues as we frolicked in the snow.

A dear friend and fellow food blogger, Linda Skelcy (www.thegoodcooknj.blogspot.com) posted pictures of her front porch transformed by the snow and ice on her food blog, along with her recipe for a Snowball Cake. Her recipe inspired me to make a winter comfort food treat for my daughter and her friends to enjoy with hot chocolate on cold winter days. We turned Linda’s recipe into cupcakes, and they are a rich chocolate, fluffy marshmallow bite of deliciousness. Perfect after ice skating, snow man making and igloo building in the snow.

Snowball Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup hot coffee

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Put everything (starting with the dry ingredients) in a large mixing bowl. Plug in your mixer. Beat on low speed (trust me on this one) until well combined. The batter is very thin.

Pour into paper lined cupcake tims and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 20 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes

Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove onto racks and cool completely before frosting.

Here comes the snowball part:

Marshmallow Frosting:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/4 salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag sweetened coconut flakes

Put all the ingredients except the vanilla and coconut into the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until the sugar is melted. Using a hand mixer beat the mixture for seven minutes or until light and fluffy. Remove from heat and fold in the vanilla.

Working quickly frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle the coconut onto the frosting.

Healing Foods: Glazed Baby Bok Choy with Sauteed Chicken Breasts

As I continue to try to maintain the healthy eating that we started in January, I have been seeking out my favorite food research and recipe sights (and cookbooks!) for inspiration. My friend Marilyn brought me some baby bok choy from Chinatown last Sunday, and I was thrilled when I found out how healthy these vegetables (part of the group of cruciferous vegetables) really are.

According to World’s Healthiest Foods (www.whfoods.org), in terms of conventional nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbs, and fats), we cannot find another vegetable group that is as high in vitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber as the cruciferous vegetables. As a group, the cruciferous vegetables are simply superstars in these conventional nutrient areas.

Vitamin K helps regulate our inflammatory response, including chronic, excessive inflammatory responses that can increase our risk of certain cancers. The amazing K content of cruciferous vegetables is definitely related to their cancer-preventive properties through mechanisms involving better control of inflammation. The concentration of vitamin A,C and manganese are key components in their growing reputation as a powerful antioxidant. One hundred calories' worth of cruciferous vegetables (about 5-6% of a daily diet) provides about 25-40% of your daily fiber requirement. Two additional macronutrients-proteins and fats-also deserve special mention with respect to recent research on cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables can contribute a surprising amount of protein to the diet-over 25% of the Daily Value in 3 cups-and at a very low calorie cost.

So tonight, I am making simple sautéed chicken breasts, and glazed baby bok choy. The caramelized coating that comes from glazing gives a richer taste to the bok choy, and pairs well with the chicken. Healthy and kid friendly—what more could you want for a weeknight meal?

Simple sautéed chicken breasts

2 chicken breast halves, cut in half (makes 4 servings)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. Olive oil

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil until hot. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Saute about 5 –7 minutes on each side at medium high heat.

Glazed Baby Bok Choy, rinsed and patted dry

12 baby bok choy

2 tbsp butter

1/2 teasp. Sugar

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add butter and swirl around pan to melt. Sprinkle sugar over butter, and place bok choy in pan side by side. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, and turn over. Cook again 5-7 minutes. They outside leaves should have a bit of brown caramelized coating over them. Serve with chicken breasts

Healing Foods: My Juicy New Year

The recent holidays are a blur of great family, friends, fun and food. Lots of rich, delicious, decadent food. I had planned to write about the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on Christmas Eve, the poached foie gras and lentils on Christmas day, the oysters, foie gras and lobster on New Year’s eve and all of the sumptuous eating and drinking in between….but was either too busy eating or too sated from all the food and drink to sit down and type. I promised myself that I’d go back to blogging in earnest in January.

And here it is—the first month of the new year—filled with infinite possibilities. I am not much of a resolution maker, but my daughter asked that January be a true “healthy eating” month. I am happy to comply. We made a pact to eat more vegetarian meals, and I pulled out my juicer to give our healthy eating plan a kick-start. January will be filled with lots of great juicing—and I have tapped my Ayurvedic and yogic cookbooks for some great green juice recipes.

According to Lissa Rankin MD, an integrative medicine practitioner in California and green juice enthusiast (www.owningpink.com), organic green juice is a readily assimilated, easily digestible, unbelievably nutritious superfood. 
 Drinking green juice fills your body with living enzymes, vitamins, oxygen, and phytonutrients. Because of this, green juice feeds your cells the necessary nutrients, allowing your cells to uncover the body's innate healing power, thereby boosting your body's ability to fight infection and heal chronic diseases.


Because the juicer eliminates the fiber that keeps you from being able to eat 3 pound of green veggies in one sitting, green juice allows you to consume more veggies and provides your digestive tract with much-needed rest, allowing the body to focus on repair, healing, detoxification, and renewal. Using organic produce, the nutrition you introduce to your body via green juice has very few, if any, of the chemicals and toxins we usually put into our bodies.

I have been making green juices to drink first thing in the morning and as a nightcap before going to bed. In the morning, our potassium filled energy juice is a medley of carrot, celery, spinach and parsley juices for an energy packed breakfast. At night, a juice of celery, cucumber and parsley is both calming and healing. In between, we eat healthy, vegetable rich meals, and drink lots of water. All of these recipes will be shared eventually, but I am including the juice recipes today for both inspiration and suggestion. I feel great….and want this feeling to carry me through all of 2011!

A happy, juicy new year to all….

Morning Green Juice

3 carrots, 3 stocks celery, ½ bunch parsley, 1 bunch spinach.

Juice all veggies together, mix and drink. Makes about two 6 oz servings.

Bedtime Calming Juice

1 large cucumber, 6 celery stalks, ½ bunch parsley.

Juice all veggies together. Makes 2 servings.

Dr. Lissa Rankin’s Green Superjuice (for daytime energy boost)

3-4 large kale leaves, ½ bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch sunflower sprouts, 3 stalks celery, 1 large cucumber, juice of 1 lemon, small piece fresh ginger, and 1 seeded jalapeno.

Juice all veggies together. Makes 2 servings.

May the Best Buckeye Win

This coming Saturday is the big college game day. My alma mater, Ohio State, plays Michigan in a match that has long been the biggest rivalry in college football. Some of my family will be at the game cheering for my Bucks, and my friend and fellow Buckeye, Debbie, is coming over with her family to watch the game with me.

Debbie is a diehard Buckeye fan. Her dog’s name is Wayne Woodrow Hayes (Woody, for short) after the infamous Buckeye coach of many years. She is worried that our TV is not big enough, that I will talk too much during the game, that I don’t know any of the player’s names, that I don’t have a scarlet and gray sweatshirt to wear and that I know nothing about football. She’s right on all fronts. I only care about what we will eat.

I decided to make an All-Ohio menu. We will be serving chili cheese dogs with Skyline chili (imported from Cincinnati), Buckeye potato chips (imported from Columbus) with a garlicky blue cheese dip topped with bacon. And for dessert, I will be making Buckeye candies—a delicacy that is served at many an OSU tailgate party. Little balls made of peanut butter and confectioners sugar are dipped in melted chocolate, leaving a cap of peanut butter at the top. Made to look like the buckeye nut—the fruit of the tree of my home state—these yummy treats are one of the best things about being from Ohio.

I am looking forward to game day. My daughters and I made a big batch of buckeyes, and in the spirit of good sportsmanship I shared some with a parent at Sophie's school who is a diehard Wolverine. And I’ll definitely tune in to the Ohio State marching band half time show—in between the chili dogs and dessert. Let’s Go Buckeyes!!!

Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 stick softened butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar (about 1/2 lb.)

4 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tsps. vegetable shortening

In a large bowl (or the bowl or an electric mixer), combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar to the mix until it is well mixed.

Roll the mixture into 3/4" balls, using your hands, and place on a plate lined with waxed paper. Stick a toothpick in each of the balls (to be used as a handle for dipping in the chocolate). Chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

When the peanut butter balls have set, gently melt the chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler, stirring frequently, under smooth.

Dip the frozen peanut butter balls in the chocolate, holding them by the toothpick. Leave a small portion on the peanut butter showing at top so the candy resembles the fruit of the buckeye tree. Return the buckeyes to the plate. Gently remove the toothpick and smooth over the hole. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Giving Thanks That The Turkey is Gone: Turkey Chili

My children won’t eat leftovers. No amount of cajoling, bribing, or demanding will get them to eat food the day after it was cooked and served. That poses a bit of a problem for the biggest leftover meal of the year: Thanksgiving. Nothing can be served in its originally prepared state to these picky eaters. So, to throw them off, I began creating a party the day after Thanksgiving—a Mexican fiesta with guacamole, chips, cheese quesadillas and steamed tortillas (served up with drinks that have pineapple and cherry skewers in them!)---and a big steaming pot of turkey chili.

It looks or tastes nothing like Thanksgiving dinner. The thick spicy tomato sauce is flavored with onions, peppers, celery, garlic, beans and a mixture of spices that completely mask the fact that it was yesterday’s meal. I have even chopped up the previous days steamed carrots or baked sweet potatoes, as long as they don’t look like they did at Thanksgiving. My girls have happily eaten the chili topped with shredded cheese, sour cream and a little extra hot sauce. And it packs a nutritional punch with the protein loaded turkey and beans.

Our Turkey Chili Fiesta has now become an annual event—and I have passed along the recipe to friends and family who cannot face another turkey pot pie or turkey soup leftover meal. Blend up some nice icy margaritas and chill the Coronas—it’s a great way to celebrate the weekend--con gusto!!

Turkey Chili

2 onions diced fine

2 peppers diced fine

2 stalks celery diced fine

2 carrots diced fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp allspice

2 tbsp chili powder

salt/pepper to taste

(I have also thrown in curry, chinese five spices, and cayenne before to taste)

(I have used up our cooked carrots from dinner and also sweet potatoes--it's a great way to use leftovers!)

Olive oil

2 cups chicken stock.

turkey diced into small bites (2 cups or whatever is leftover. If you have the turkey carcass with meat on, add it with the chicken stock and let the meat steam off--then shred with a fork.

2 large cans tomatoes, chopped

1 can tomato sauce,

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can pink beans.

Heat Oil in large stock pot or dutch oven. Add vegetables and spices above. Saute 5-7 minutes. Add chicken stock and turkey/carcass. Cover and let steam 20 minutes. Shred remaining meat from carcass with fork and return to pan. Discard carcass. Say prayer of thanks that the turkey is finally finished.

Add to stock 2 cans tomatoes, chopped, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can garbanzo, 1 can kidney, 1 can pink beans. Simmer for 1 hour (or put on low and let cook all day--that's what we did). Correct seasoning and add tomato paste to thicken about 10 minutes before eating.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, chips, steamed tortillas and beer.