Cook This: Massaged Kale with Almond Butter Dressing

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 27, 2012

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Pre-massage

I’ve been cooking healthy food for 20+ years. I’ve worked in a macrobiotic restaurant. I’ve worked at the deli at a health food store. I’ve worked catering gigs. And I’ve taken countless classes in vegetarian cooking. But I have never, ever, heard of massaging kale.

My husband, who can barely cook his way out of a paper bag (ok, with the exception of whole grain scratch pancakes- he can totally rock those suckers), came home from visiting a friend of ours in Seattle and announced that he had learned a great new way to prepare raw kale. I was suspicious at best. He explained that she had him massage the kale for 10-15 minutes, squeezing it as hard as he could and the result was soft and yummy kale salad.

Within 24 hours I was set up in my kitchen to give it a try, partly because it seemed so ridiculous. But sure enough cowboy, it worked! And even better, I suspected it would go more quickly and easily if you actually massaged oil into it. Bingo!

Now to decide how to dress it. I remembered a pretty decent dish that I learned how to make about 25 years ago when I was following some absurd detox program. It was shredded carrots and celery with a dressing of almond butter and apple juice. But I don’t particularly like celery so the recipe settled into the recesses of my mind, until now. The dressing would work well here, I was certain.

The first time I made it I used regular kale, boxed OG apple juice and roasted almond butter. The second time I made it I used lacinato kale, raw almond butter and unpasteurized apple juice. The second round was tastier but I’m not sure if it was the different kale or the quality of the ingredients that made the difference. I’ll see if I can work that out. Please give me your feedback if you try it both ways.

Ingredients

I love orange!

  • 1 medium sized head of kale
  • 4 medium carrots
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup apple juice
  • Optional one inch piece of ginger
  • Pinch or two of salt if your almond butter was unsalted

Instructions

  1. Clean kale, remove tough center rib and rip into pieces.
  2. Grate 4 carrots.
  3. Pour oil on kale and massage it for about five minutes as if you’re kneading dough or giving someone a really deep back massage. You can add a little more oil here if you like. The pile should reduce in size by about 50% by the time you’re done.
  4. Add grated carrots to kale.
  5. Mix apple juice, almond butter and salt together with a fork. If you want the dressing a little thinner you can add some water. Here is where you would grate (on a ginger grater) ginger and squeeze the juice in if you go for the ginger part.
  6. Pour dressing over kale and carrots and toss well.

The finished product.

I’m on a kick to eat a head of kale every 2-3 days. This is helping.

 

Enjoy!

Dr. Samantha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook This: Ling Cod Fish Tacos

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 19, 2012

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I originally found the recipe for Scrumptious Halibut Fish Tacos on Epicurious about 4 years ago. I bookmarked it and have gone back at least a dozen times. This time though, I wanted a slightly less expensive fish for a weekday meal so I asked Lyf at Flying Fish Co what he thought would work well. It took him about 5 seconds to choose Pacific ling cod. It was fresh, never frozen, about half the price of halibut, and Lyf was 100% sure. And really, who am I to doubt the fishmonger?

There are a few other changes I made because I didn’t want to buy pre-julienned carrots or non-organic broccoli slaw. And next time I’m going to make my own tortillas. I bought a tortilladora about a year ago (I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets) and my first try was a disaster but I really need to get back on that.

I served the tacos as shown with a side of refried black beans. My five year old came up with that idea and was thrilled it helped everything “stick” so well inside the tortilla. And if you wanted to make this even lower in carbs you really could serve the fish over the slaw and skip the tortilla.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb Pacific ling cod (these fish are actually unrelated to cod) or other mild but meaty fish cut into pieces about 1 x 3 inches.
  • 1-2 T Olive oil
  • Flour for dredging fillets. I’ve used whole spelt flour for this and last night tried a coconut flour to make it GF. It didn’t work great. I’ll use corn meal next time.
  • 1 bag of corn tortillas

SLAW DRESSING

  • 1/2 C fresh lime juice
  • 1/3 C honey
  • 2 T olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. cumin powder (better fresh ground from seeds but not necessary)

SLAW

  • 1 1/2 C thinly sliced red cabbage
  • 1 C shredded carrots
  • 1/2 med. red onion slivered
  • 3 T rough chopped cilantro (on the topic of kitchen gadgets, just bought these- love!)

GARNISHES

  • 1 sliced avocado
  • 3 scallions diced
  • fresh diced jalapenos (optional)

Instructions

1. Assemble slaw, mix dressing ingredients and whisk , pour dressing over slaw and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Pour flour onto large plate, add cumin, salt, and pepper. Dredge fish in flour mix.

3. Heat up a stainless or cast iron skillet with olive oil and cook fish until just cooked through.

4. Heat up tortilla on hot cast iron pan or directly on electric burner.

4. Put slaw on tortilla and top with fish and garnishes.

 

I serve with lime wedges, avo, refried black beans (amy’s are my favorite), scallions and fresh jalapenos.

 

Enjoy!

Dr Samantha

Cook This: Meatoaf Muffins- Gluten and dairy free goodness

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 14, 2012

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A patient recently told me she made up a recipe for “buffaluffins.” Buffalo meat muffins. Brilliant, I thought. And look what was sitting in my fridge- a pound of grass fed grass finished beef waiting to be made into burgers. Forget it! Muffins it is. The first round was good. Not great. I tweaked the recipe a bit to add more veggies and took out a few things I threw in there that didn’t work (flax seeds for one- not sure what I was thinking.) Bingo.

Note: this recipe includes cooked quinoa which I would recommend making the night before so it will be cool for mixing into the meatloaf. Here is a great link for instructions on cooking it. I take a simpler approach and just go 2:1 (ish) with water to quinoa but her instructions lead to a better result texturally.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb grass fed/grass finished ground beef
  • 1-2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 medium onion: minced
  • 2 medium or one large carrot: minced
  • 2-3 cups of chard cut into tiny strips- packed tightly into measuring cup
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 egg
  • 2 TBSP tomato paste
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • pepper grinder with whole pepper

Instructions

  1. If you haven’t cooked quinoa, do so now. See above.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. While quinoa is cooking heat 1 TBSP oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot add minced onion. Sauté about 5 minutes or until onion is soft and starting to brown. Add carrots. Cook until just soft. Add chard and cook until soft. Please note at any time if you need a little more olive oil, feel free to add it.
  4. Remove from heat and put in large bowl to cool. When it’s slightly cool add quinoa, tomato paste, egg, salt and a few turns of pepper to the bowl. Mix well. I use my hands.
  5. Add meat. Mix.
  6. Add egg. Mix.
  7. Roll into balls and drop into muffin tin. This recipe made 8 muffins for me.
  8. Cook 15-20 min until cooked through.

You can serve with red sauce or ketchup. A good side dish with this is sautéed spinach or kale. And a salad. Of course.

Here’s a nutritional breakdown per muffin. Calories: 179, Carbs: 9g, Protein 13g, Fiber 2g, Fat 11g.

Enjoy!

-Dr Samantha

 

Seriously, HOW did you get your kid to eat that?

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 12, 2012

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Green Stuff.

Simple. Start from the beginning. Of course there are some kids that no matter what you give them they won’t have a taste for healthy foods, but in my experience that’s the very rare exception. Naturopaths who have an emphasis on nutrition most often have children who eat a wide range of foods including varied vegetables, spices, whole grains, game meats, healthy fats, and even take herbs, fish oil, vitamins and other remedies without batting an eye. What’s so different about how we feed our kids? We give them healthy foods. Period. And call me a zealot but I say kids should get healthy foods and healthy foods only for as long as you can possibly manage it.

Children’s palates are a blank slate. They learn foods as they eat them. Now that said, some children do have an immediate dislike for certain textures or tastes. My friend Michelle posted a video on her blog a few years ago that proves this point swimmingly (please do not try this at home, folks.) But even if your child rejects a food, try it again every few weeks, you’ll be surprised at how your child’s tastes change.

A child who has never had white bread will be satisfied with whole grain. A child who hasn’t had food smothered in cheese won’t ask for mac and cheese for dinner. Oh, and by the way, dairy isn’t a nutrient, calcium is, vitamin D is, but your child will be fine if she doesn’t eat dairy on a regular basis as long as she’s getting enough calcium and vitamin D. But I digress.

 

After J licked the spinach out of the bottom of the bag. Really.

Here are some tips to start your child off right. And trust me, the earlier you start the better off you’ll be.

  • Don’t give any food that is strictly sweet. Make sure there are other flavors: sour, bitter, salt, spicy, and umami. Example: Sweet potatoes? Add pureed chard, kale, and spinach. We actually added this to everything our son ate until he was off of pureed food. Everything. Oatmeal? Green. Eggs? Green. Chicken? Green. All of it. Sometimes that and a bowl of all green. See photo above titled “green stuff.”
  • Avoid the trap of “children need cake.” A mom actually said this to me when my son was under two. It sounds nuts but many (dare I say most?) parents feel it is depriving their children to not give them sugar when they’re little. It’s not.
  • Yes, feed your child what you are eating (once she’s old enough) but that means YOU need to eat healthy food. Of course your child will eat pizza if you’re eating pizza. But a child raised on healthy food will also eat halibut with olive tapenade wrapped in organic prosciutto with a side of sautéed spinach.
  • Every meal should be served with a vegetable. Most meals with more than one. Including breakfast.
  • If you’re feeding packaged foods to your child, even from the health food store, read the label. If the food contains hydrogenated oil or corn syrup, drop it. If it has artificial colorings and flavorings, chemicals or preservatives, think twice. You want your child to be satisfied with the taste of real, whole food.
  • With every plate of food you prepare for your child ask yourself “how could I make this healthier?” And do it. Only a few veggies? Add more. No protein? Add that. If a child starts with meals that are served with several kinds of vegetables, that will become the norm.
  • Serve veggies first, when your child is hungry. We call it the appetizer and although our son will eat veggies with his meal we can get more in him if we start with a big bowl of them while we’re getting dinner ready.
  • Add fresh herbs and spices to the foods you serve your child. From the beginning.
  • Breast feeding mamas- eat plenty of varied foods, including vegetables. If it causes your child digestive issues watch it but otherwise know that if you eat bitter veggies your child will more likely develop a taste for them.
  • If there is a food your child doesn’t like, mix it with something she does like to get her accustomed to it. For the little miss in the video above, Michelle could have tried mixing the avocado with sweet potatoes (and kale!)

    Caldo gallego soup. Extra kale, please.

 

ETA: I just read this post to my husband and he pointed out I should add that another healthy tip is to skip dessert entirely. Just because you’re used to dessert, there is no reason to give it to children. Dinner can be complete, should be complete, without a sweet ending. How many adults wish they hadn’t developed that habit of wanting something sweet to eat at the end of a meal?

43 is the new 35

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 8, 2012

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A few months ago, around Halloween, I started to have some shoulder pain when I was working out. This wasn’t terribly unusual for me so I ratcheted it back a bit but it kept getting worse. At the end of December I broke down and made an appointment to see the orthopedist. As a physician, I try not to self-diagnose so I played dumb at the appointment but my suspicion was also his suspicion- a SLAP lesion. I’ll spare you the details but let’s just say it’s not pretty. The first week of January I had an MRI done at Siker Imaging in Portland* and the result was as we expected. Oh, there were also a number of more minor issues- fraying, partial tears, fibrosis or tissue thickening, and inflammation. Not a terribly big surprise but a drag to hear, nonetheless.

As I was fully expecting the orthopedist to schedule surgery I was practically giddy to hear him say that he thinks aggressive PT might very well take care of my symptoms. It was almost enough for me to let slide his comment “Well you’re not 35 anymore.” True, that, but really, doesn’t he know that 43 is the new 35?

Anyway, in addition to the exercises, my PT wants me icing my shoulder for 15 minutes 5x a day.  It’s not how I would do it if I were in charge but I’m leaving it up to her (did I just hear you gasp?). In order to facilitate the icing I bought a shoulder ice pack, which thankfully was available in a youth size for little league pitchers. Apparently my shoulder girdle is the size of a 12 year old’s.

I’ve also put myself on a bunch of anti-inflammatory supplements and I’m about to start a 6-8 week anti-inflammatory diet. I’m already a very healthy eater. No wheat, no dairy, very little soy, little sugar, no artificial anything (excepting a very occasional bag of sour patch kids- the dentist told me it was better for my teeth than eating lemons), and only ethically raised meat. But we’re digging in a little deeper for the next few months. No gluten, cooked tomato, peppers, pork-that one is a biggie for me, bread of any kind, potatoes, noodles, or other high carb items.

I’m actually pretty excited to have to put aside some of our standard fare and try some new recipes. We just bought 2 new cookbooks The Primal Blueprint and Well Fed, both paleo cookbooks with lots of very interesting recipes.

Oh, I had my first fail this morning with a smoothie: D’Adamo’s type O protein powder, hemp milk, frozen banana and greens powder. Gag. I’ll be back to post the recipes that actually work.

 

*As an aside I was shocked to find that I absolutely loved being in the MRI machine. It was weirdly soothing. I seriously could have spent the entire day in that tube.

Navigating Superbowl Sunday

By Dr. Samantha Brody, On February 5, 2012

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Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday. We’re just over a month into 2012 and already I’m seeing that the gym isn’t quite so full of all of the resolution folks. But if you resolved to make healthier choices this year (or you have a healthy eating theme) and you are having trouble figuring out how to navigate in a world where most people don’t make healthy choices, Superbowl Sunday is a great opportunity to put your values into action.

These ideas aren’t specific, of course, to Superbowl parties, but can be used at any party. It just seems for some reason that a gathering around sports is more likely to include crappy food. What’s up with that?

  1. Pick a designated driver. OK, that’s not a food choice but tomorrow ranks high in traffic fatalities due to alcohol. Don’t drive even after a few drinks, it’s not worth it. You never know how impaired another driver will be and you need your reflexes intact.
  2. Decide ahead of time how much you want to drink, and really, if you want to drink at all. It’s remarkable when you’re in a room full of people drinking beer how your hand just always seems to have a beer in it. Not to say you shouldn’t have beer, but it’s empty calories and you just might be engaged enough in the game that a glass of water would suit your needs just fine.
  3. Call ahead. If you are wondering if the host will have healthy food available, give a call. A simple “Hey, I’m curious to know what’s on the menu tomorrow.” can go a long way to helping you make your game plan.
  4. Bring a dish to share. Depending upon how well you know the host you can ask about bringing something or just bring it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve brought something healthy to a party full of junk food and have had person after person tell me they’re so glad to have it available.
  5. Eat first. I do this all the time. I’ll eat a big salad with some protein on it, leftovers from the fridge, or in a pinch I’ll stop and grab something to eat on the way. That way I can skip eating at the party, or just graze. A little bit of unhealthy food is way better than a lot of unhealthy food.
  6. Bring your own food. I recently attended a wedding with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread in my purse. And an auction with whole grain crackers in my coat pocket. I’m not whipping it out in front of everyone but if it’s a priority to eat healthfully, what’s the harm in slipping out for a sec? No harm at all, I say.  You know what? Now that I think of it there are plenty of times (at a casual gathering) I do just bring my own food and load it up onto a plate instead of loading up what’s on the buffet table. Again, I wouldn’t do that at a wedding but a Superbowl party? Sure.

Enjoy! (and go Giants!)

-Dr Samantha