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I Love You Ewan McGregor!

This move reaffirmed my teenage-borne love for Ewan McGregor (see Moulin Rouge!). I am also not afraid to say that I find him utterly irresistible even more so when he's acting gay.

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Purple Food

Red cabbage is one of those foods whose nutrition can be detected aesthetically: the sturdiness of its stalk and leaves gives this cruciferous vegetable the fibrous integrity to endure high heat, and its deep purple color provides a generous serving of antioxidants. Cabbage gives you a lot of nutrition bang for your buck. It's one of the most nutritionally dense vegetables you can get for your money, usually costing around $2-3 a head. Unlike other leafy green vegetables such as spinach, cabbage does not wilt or become slimy after a few days in the fridge. Wrap half a cabbage up in plastic and it can last you up to three weeks - another way to maximize your dollars spent. As another added benefit, this affordable veggie carries only about 30 calories per cup, yet it tends to be quite filling because of its high fiber content - the perfect recipe for anyone looking to lose weight.

Often people complain about the bitter taste of cabbage, a result of sulfur containing compounds called glucosinolates. These chemicals are actually meant to ward off the hungry herbivore that is looking for a snack, but luckily the combination of ingredients in the recipe below helps eliminate some of the bitter taste resulting in a tasty, nutritious and economic side dish. 

Ingredients:

1/2 medium cabbage, chopped or shredded

2-3 medium cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1-2 small limes

2-3 tbsp olive oil

cilantro, avocado and sour cream to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Healthy sauté the cabbage and garlic in a quarter cup or so of water for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat and add the olive oil and lime juice (notice the change of color!). Add salt and pepper and more lime to taste. Garnish with 3 slices of avocado, cilantro and sour cream. 

Nutrition Facts

Of the abundant components of red cabbage's nutritional profile, antioxidants, fiber, isothiocyanates and Vitamin K are, in my opinion, the best to remember. Anything that dark in color is guaranteed to be loaded with free-radical scavenging antioxidants, and any vegetable that sturdy is almost always high in fiber (see: celery). 

As part of the Cruciferae family, cabbage contains compounds called isothiocyanates, better known as ITCs, that are the byproducts of the chemicals responsible for the notorious bitter taste of Cruciferae vegetables. These compounds have been shown to have potent anti-carcinogenic (cancer-fighting) effects in animal models. 

Last but not least, a cup of cabbage will provide you with 50% of your daily value of Vitamin K, an essential nutrient that is essential in maintaining bone health and proper blood clotting.

The Fat Rebound

Do you ever wonder why it's so difficult for people to lose weight, and even more difficult to keep it off? There is a physiological basis for this, and its implications go beyond the scope of obesity, posing a more significant threat to children whose BMIs continue to climb at alarming rates.

We all have fat, it keeps us warm and supplies us with energy while fasting. Tens of thousands of years ago, before the advent of agriculture and modern civilization, homo sapiens living far enough north or south of the equator were scrounging around for food all summer, fattening up and filling their stores in order to prepare themselves for the winter. It was evolutionarily advantageous to store substantial amounts of fat, ignore our tummies when they told us we were full, and keep eating in order to maximize the amount of calories available to tap into when food availability was zilch.

Like a balloon our fat cells stretch to hold as much lipid as they can, but once they are maxed out, our bodies create more to increase our storage capacity. Herein lies the problem for homo sapiens living in our modern obesogenic environment: we can't get rid of the fat cells once we make them. A person losing excess weight has a greater capacity to hold fat, and like a bunch of deflated balloons, their fat cells will have higher elasticity, making it easier to fill them up the second around.

The take home message is this: if we don't focus our educational efforts and policy changes on mitigating childhood obesity, we will be faced with a generation of people who, for the first time ever, will have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Health care costs due to adult obesity are already skyrocketing; add another 30 years of complications per obese child into the equation and the collapse of our health care system could be in the forecast.

Image courtesy of: http://www.mebo.cn

Zesty Chickpea Curry over Brown Basmati Rice

I have found that for many people, a common excuse for not eating healthy is that it is too expensive and cooking too time consuming. I understand that the luxuries of fresh blueberries in January and vine-ripened tomatoes in the springtime are not feasible for people on a limited budget. However, I maintain the belief that eating healthy should not be a thing of affluence, and cooking is not as intimidating as most think, if you have the right ingredients.

It is possible to construct a nutritious diet full of cheap meals that can be thrown together using a few key ingredients. Almost everything I cook includes one or more of the following: onions, garlic, olive oil, lemon/lime salt, spices. If you have any desire to add zest to your everyday meals, these are the essentials. They are extremely versatile, most add nutritious elements, and they come at a low cost--especially if you use them often.

Here is a recipe that a friend of mine and I came up with that blends high quality proteins with antioxidant elements and generates flavor and heartiness enjoyable in every bite.

Note: Don't worry about having every spice on the list. If you go to your local grocery or natural foods store, you will find bulk spices where you can stock up for cheap on these delish commodities. Otherwise just use the curry that's in the natural foods aisle.

Zesty Chickpea Curry over Brown Basmati Rice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium white or red onion, chopped

2 cups cooked chick peas

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

3 tsp curry spice 

      OR 

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric 

1 tsp cayenne pepper (taster discretion advised)

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground pepper

1 cup brown/white

1 lime & some cilantro (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

Money Saving Tip: Buy dried chickpeas in bulk and boil them in water (1:4 ratio chickpeas:water) until softened. A pound of bulk dried chick peas goes for aroun $1.50, whereas a 12 oz can of them usually costs around $1.

Directions:

Rice - combine 1 cup rice with 1 1/2 cups water in a medium sauce pan. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil before lowering the heat to a simmer. Allow rice to cook 15-30 minutes until it has reached your preferred firmness.

Curry - healthy sauté your garlic and onions in 3 tbsp of water until the onions are softened. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and spices and cook together at high heat for 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the flavors to come together, tasting after 15 minutes and adding salt and other spices as needed. 

Scoop a heaping pile of the chickpea curry onto a bed of the cooked basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro and squeeze lime over the finished dish for zesty, tasty, filling meal!

Nutrition Facts

Brown basmati rice served with chick peas make a complete protein, meaning that together they contain all the essential amino acids that you can't make in your body. 

This dish provides an excellent source of fiber and the chickpeas are a great source of folate, molybdenum and iron. Additionally, the acidity of the lime juice and tomatoes will aid in the absorption of plant-based iron.

Antioxidants are abundant in this meal; brown rice is an excellent source of selenium and tomatoes are chuck full of vitamin C, both known for their ability to scavenge free radicals. Furthermore, the spices used have well-established anti-inflammatory compounds, such as curcumin in tumeric and capsaicin in cayenne pepper.

This meal has a low energy/high nutrient density, meaning you get a lot of nutrition bang for a low-calorie buck. Fill up on this hearty dish and keep the rest in your fridge for a satisfying lunch tomorrow!