Dinner Jan 31, 2008 -Mediterranean Eggplant & Beans

Tonight was fairly good. It is good to note that there are probably more carbs than some might need if they are not at goal weight. The eggplant and beans was good. Even a little bit of the rice provides a nice texture to complement the flavors. A bit of Mrs Dash's seasoning really adds to the flavor. We finished off the meal with another one of the fruit compote's that I fixed on January 29th (see below).

The recipe for the beans and eggplant is as follows:

- 1 eggplant peeled and diced

- 1 onion sliced thinly

- 1 green pepper, chopped

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

- 2 cups of garbanzo beans

Steam the eggplant for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile braise the onions and peppers in a little water until soft. Add the eggplant, lemon juice and ketchup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the garbanzo beans and heat to serve. Note that if the dish has too much liquid, you can simmer with top off to reduce the liquid.

Dinner January 29, 2008 - Bean Enchiladas

We had a great meal tonight. We started with bean enchiladas with wilted kale (Eat to Live page 216). We finished off with a bean-berry shake (Eat to Live page 223). The bean enchiladas are composed of:

- 1 green pepper diced

- 1/2 cup diced onions

- 1 cup non-fat taco sauce

- 2 cups pinto beans

- 1 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1/4 chopped cilantro

- 6-8 non-fat corn tortillas

Saute the green pepper and onions in a skillet with 2 tbsp of taco sauce. Stir in the beans, corn, and seasoning. I simmered the mixture without the top until the liquid was dissolved. I also used a cast iron skillet to cook the corn tortillas (gives them a nutty flavor). I then filled the tortillas with bean mixture and heated them in the oven.

At the same time, I braised the rest of the onion in a little water. I then added enough water to steam the kale. I served the kale with some balsamic vinegar. One thing to keep in mind about the kale is that you need to cut out the woody stalks, wash each leaf to remove grit and chopped them slightly.

Finally the dessert is easy to make. Basically I took frozen berries, mangos and half a banana. I added 1/2 tbsp (or more) of whole flax seed, enough soy milk to blend and blended it in my vitamix until it was smooth.

The meal was excellent and we lacked for nothing...

Dinner January 28, 2008 - Tofu Spinach Pot

Okay so some squash is so hard and BIG that it requires extra tools to cut it. The turban squash we bought was quite large. I brought out a seratted knife from Cutco (you know cuts anything) and tried to slice it.. not happening. Then I tried a big chef's knife... not even close. So, no kidding, I brought out my saw from the woodshed. That finally worked. Here is a picture to the left that gives you an idea.....

Anyhow we had a fairly good dinner. Tonight we tried Furhmans Tofu Spinach Pot (Eat to Live page 222) with the squash. We added some raisons and drizzled maple syrup.

The recipe for the Tofu Spinach Pot is very easy to do. It includes:

- 1 lb firm or extra firm tofu, cubed

- 1 (10-oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed

- 3 tomatoes, chopped

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/8 tsp cayenne

- 1/8 tsp onion powder (ooop I put a lot more.. but it was good)

- 1/2 cup veggie broth

Saute all the ingredients in the veggie broth .. actually I used the veggie broth powder... We really liked the Tofu Spinach Pot!

Dinner Jan 25, 2008 - Turkish Lentil Soup

Tonight was our Bible study night including a potluck dinner so people brought different items. Fortunately we had a great array of foods that were quite healthy. We made a Turkish spinach& lentil soup (Sundays at Moosewood). Our friends Jeff and Ruth brought the roasted vegetables including eggplant, onions, corn on cob, balsamic vinegar and a roasting spice. We also had steamed broccoli, homemade lowfat whole grain muffins and a nice salad. All in all it was a great potluck. The soup recipe is as follows:

- 1 cup dried lentils

- 5 cups vegetable stock or water

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups chopped onions

- 3 garlic cloves, pressed

- 1/4 tsp cayenne

- 2 bay leaves

- 1/2 cup raw bulgar

- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (Muir Glenn canned chopped tomatoes are really a great choice)

- 1/ 4 cup tomato paste

- pinch dried rosemary (to taste)

- groupnd black pepper

- 2 cups stemmed, cleaned and coarsley chopped spinach

Rinse lentils. Cook in the water or stock (bring to boil and then simmer until tender 20-30 minutes .. recipe had 40 but the green lentils don't seem to need it). At the same time in a separate pot, begin by braising the onions in a little water. After a few minutes add garlic, cayenne pepper, bay leaves and raw bulgur and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Mix in parsley, tomatoes and tomato paste. For fresh tomatoes it may be necessary to add them first and then after the tomatoes release their juices, add the tomatoe paste. Add the lentils and simmer for 15 minutes. Add rosemary and black pepper to taste. Add more stock if needed, and remove the bay leaves.

Just before serving, stir in the spinach and let wilt. Note that it might be possible to add frozen spinach instead and cook until thawed and tender. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Dinner Jan 24, 2008 - Veggie meatballs and sphaghetti

Well it was leftovers tonight. It shows the value of making a dish and putting it into the freezer. In this case, I had made vegetarian meatballs and spaghetti sauce a while back. Fix your choice of noodles from whole wheat to quinoa. I reheated the sauce/ meatballs and added a salad (small bowl so I needed two helpings). All in all a very satisfying meal. The veggie meatball recipe is quite tasty and is as follows:

- 1 1/2 diced eggplant (peel if skin is too thick and tough)

- 1 square tofu (1/2 pound)

- 1/2 cup minced onion (1 onion)

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used my own whole wheat/ oat bread)

- 1 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

- 1/4 tsp salt

- dash black pepper

- 1/2 cup finely grate parmesan cheese (cheated on ETL a bit but need to find substitutes)

- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (yeah still some in garden!)

- 1 tsp tamari

- 1 egg beaten (I believe I used egg white)

- 1/2 tsp each oregano, marjoram, and dried leaf thyme

I simple chopped the eggplant well and actually give it a quick whirl in the vitamix. I also used the vitamix to grind the walnuts. I then mixed the ingredients in a bowl. You then form balls. I should add that the original recipe had the balls rolled in the bread crumbs and fried. I mixed everything together, placed on a non-stick backing sheet sprayed lightly with a vegetable spray such as Pam and bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes. Note that an alternative to the spray is simply to pour olive oil on the sheet and wipe off with paper towel, leaving a thin film.. about the same.

So I do need to work on some substitute for the parmesan cheese. Also for the gluten free approach, quinoa flour may work instead of the flour, leave out the bread crumbs, and add extra quinoa flour until the mixture is solid enough to form balls.

Dinner Jan 23, 2008 - Thai Soy Chicken Pizza

Okay so it looks a lot like the picture I just posted. It is the same Thai soy chicken recipe. I guess we were inspired. The flavor is so great with base of peanut butter (you know the type that starts with peanuts in the top and comes out the bottom.. no added junk) with the great Thai spices including tamarind .. more on that below.

I added some baked sweet potatoes rounds. Also I cooked some wonderful collards. They are bit of work to clean and cut. You must wash each leaf, then cut the thick stalk out and cut into strips. Then put into a pot with some veggie broth and cook until tender and are darker. It takes about 15 minutes.

Back to the pizza, one of the interesting ingredients in the sauce is the tamarind. It is also called the Indian date. Unlike the middle eastern date, the tamarind is a bit like fruit flavor ala mango or papaya and slightly piquant rather than so sweet as the standard date. It is in the major ingredient in the Pad Thai sauce and other Thai dishes. I plan to experiment more with this flavor after finally tasting it for itself. It has real possibilities.

Thai Chicken (soy) Pizza

Here is a great recipe we tried a few months back. Other than being short on the bok chok, it was quite flavorful. Here is the recipe:

- 1/4 cup natural salt-free peanut butter (got it fresh ground from Whole Foods)

- 1 tbsp reduced salt tamari sauce

- 1 tbsp chili paste (e.g. Thai red curry paste is what we used..)

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 2 1/4 tsp tamarind

- 1 clove garlic minced

- 1/2 tp curry powder

- 1/4 tsp sesame oil

- 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

- 1 1-lb pkg refrigerated pizza dough (we got a premade whole wheat crust from Harris Teeter)

- 4 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 3/4 cup soy chicken cut into strips

- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

- 1 small shallot, quartered and thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

- hot sauce such as the Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce Tuong Ot TOI VIET

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together peanut butter, tamari, chili paste, sugar, tamarind concentrate, garlic, curry powder, oil and ginger in small bowl

2. Roll dough out, transfer to baking sheet (or use premade crush). Spread peanut butter mixture over dough. Sprinkle with mushrooms, then soy chicken, then bell pepper and shallots.

3. Bake 25 minutes for fresh crust or until the chicken is cooked for premade crusts.

Dinner Jan 22, 2008 - Tofu Chow Mein

So we made what Fuhrman calls Tofu Chow Mein (Eat To Live p 221). It was a typical chinese stir fry with Tofu. It did have a huge amount of vegetables. This is the big delight over those meals in many Chinese restaurants where the veggies are limited.

The color is not as vivid but there are peas, mushrooms, cabbage (we used bok choy), water chestnuts and bean sprouts. One needed addition is fresh ginger root (though tragically we were out tonight).. I tend to slice it and then chop it finely with chef's knife rather than grating.. it is the way that the chinese themselves tend to cook. I remember back in college inviting a couple from Taiwan to dinner. The dish had fresh ginger root cut into strips (1/16 inch by say 1 inch), and the flavor was amazing. After cooking the ginger is not strong and tastes like a flavorful vegetable.

As for how to spice it, we did make some changes there. I used hoisin sauce and a little of the Vietnamese hot sauce. We will try to work with this dish as it may need a little work in the spicing. Another option is the Chinese 5 spice, though not all like this flavor.

Ray

Dinner Jan 16 2008 - Veggie Chili

So dinner tonight was simple but tasty. We made the vegetarian chili from Eat to Live pg 222. It has kidney beans, textured vegetable protein, raisins, along with a large number of veggies such as carots, celery, onions and green peppers. Perhaps we got it a little watery but it was very tasty. To that we added a salad... brown rice was optional. All in all, it was very satisfying.

Ray

P.S. - I thought I would mention the rest of the day. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with raisins, cinamon and tblsp flaxseeds and an all fruit smoothie... supplements are vitamins (Whole Foods Complete) and Plant Sterol Esthers. Lunch was a sandwich of homemade whole wheat and oat bread, a lot of almond butter and banana. I tend to snack lightly on nuts, fruit and carrots during the day. I tend to be heavier on nuts due to my weight being low and my high level of activity.

Dinner Jan 9, 2008 - Pintos, squash & greens

We had pinto beans. In our case, I had some no salt 365 brand beans.. which are good for last minute choices though I should have seasoned them a little with garam masala. I have attached the picture of our meal. We had braised curly kale, turban squash, pinto beans and Thai grilled tofu. The curly kale was done simply by sauteeing onions in water, adding the greens on top with fresh garlic and cooking until tender. The pinto beans were prepared simply with chili powder and cumin. One of the highlights was the turban squash which has an amazing flavor. We steamed it two days ago and reheated it adding chopped pistachio nuts and raisins. Finally the Thai grilled tofu. I make a sauce with Thai red curry, rice wine vinegar, dab of sesame oil, honey and ginger. Since our grill was out of gas, I simply broiled it in the oven. I added some of the extra sauce to the greens.

Dinner Jan 15, 2008 - Tofu scramble

Based on a inspirational comment when eating with our friends Jeff and Ruth Browning about tofu scramble, I tried the recipe from Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live pg 220 tonight. Also I did a simple braised kale (onion and garlic braised in water until soft, add kale and cook until soft). Finally I did another favorite of chili roasted root vegetables. I dice white potatoes, sweet potatoes half of a turnip and onions sliced and broken into rings.. toss with a little garlic oil (less than a tsp for big bowl), chili powder, fresh garlic, cumin, Mrs Dash and a little water... bake in oven for 45-50 minutes. Finally I heated the steamed squash from the night before and put a little diced pistachio nuts and raisins. This is the round green and white squash that we originally mistook for turban squash. Other than a little chopping and braising it was not difficult. ... Oh I sprinkled a little balsamic vinegar on the kale.

All in all it was quite successful.

Ray

What it is all about

So this blog is about some of the meals that I am making as I explore ways to reduce my cholesterol numbers without drugs.. which is working. I found out that despite the fact that I am good athletic condition and health, especially for age 54, I have a slight narrowing of one of the main vessels feeding the heart muscle. It is called the LAD (Left anterior descending) and is often nicknamed the widow-maker due to how severe sudden blockage can be fatal. In my case, I have a 20% narrowing which may be not uncommon but it is technically stage one heart disease.

My cardiologist did put me on statins (cholesterol drugs - simvastatin) but I did became too dizzy. So I am trying to control it with diet and exercise. It has dropped from LDL 130 to LDL 96 (the bad) while maintaining a high good cholesterol - HDL 76-80. The total is now around 188. My goal is under 90 if not under 80.

My diet is near vegetarian, very whole food including beans, squash, tofu, nuts, whole grains, very little processed oil and fish once in a while. Fortunately I love to cook. So while I may post progress periodically on my goals, I will mostly post recipes and food ideas.

Ray

P.S. - Oh I almost forgot to acknowledge the inspiration from many source including Dr. Dean Ornish's work and books, Dr. McDougall, Jeff Novick RD, and Dr Joel Fuhrman. I have recently found Dr. Fuhrman's site to be most helpful (http://www.drfuhrman.com)