Hello, my loyal readers, I'm hoping to help everyone be able to enjoy good foods, especially if your doctor told you that you had to lose weight, and sends you to a dietician or nutritionist. Mind you, I am all about trying to eat healthy, but at the same time, also to allow us to enjoy our favorite foods, especially our ethnic foods. Don't forget, I do not have a kitchen, I have a science lab where I create tasty food that is also nutritiously balanced.
Granted, these days, you can get some really good tips and a list of stuff you try to still eat a healthier version of things, such as whole grain pasta and ultra grain tortillas. But, my biggest complaint about all of these tips, is if you eat the "typical" middle American types of food, you're in luck, these lists, suggestions, tips, etc are like hitting the jackpot. But.... What if you are from a different ethnic background, or a multi-ethnic background? Here is what many "food experts" say, and I take this from a multitude of Certified Nutritionists, Registered Dieticians, Nurse Diabetic Educators, and online sources such as Mayo Clinic, is that the highest rate of obesity related diabetes occur in our Latino/Hispanic, Asian American, and African American ethnic groups... Mostly because in many of these cuisines, they are either carb heavy and/or high in fat.
Why does this happen? When talking Mexican food, the carbohydrates come from the tortillas (flour is a worse offender than the corn), Spanish rice, and the refried beans (legumes are a starchy protein) which are fried in bacon fat or some other form of lard or saturated fat. In many Asian restaurants, there is a high amount of sugar in the sauces, and of course, there is always rice, some even breaded and deep fried... Soul Food consists of BBQ'd ribs (fatty), fried chicken, collard greens cooked with pork hocks, and the barbecue sauces are often high in sugar or corn syrup as well. All of these foods are delicious, but, in their usual format, not very healthy.
Unfortunately, when we ask our "experts", they are usually of the American country cooking types, who have NO idea how to do these ethnic foods correctly, nor how to honestly use better swaps to make it better. For example, I had one nutritionist, who just thought she was all that and a cute bag of chips, too, tell me that to make Spanish rice, to just use a tablespoon of salsa with the rice. So I asked her how she would prepare that... I think she said something like making rice on the stove top, with plain water, and when you put it on your plate, to put the salsa on... So I mentioned that I don't want to use cold salsa or room temp either, because it takes away from having hot rice, and getting a good blend of flavor to make it still feel authentic when doing it that way. She asks me how the salsa can be cold. Um. I buy a jar of salsa... Use it with tacos... The remainder of the salsa goes into the fridge because it's opened... So, a few days later, I want Spanish rice, and so I take the open one out of the fridge... Because it's been in there, it's refrigerated, so the salsa is cold, and you said to use 1 TBS on the rice... So she says to just put it into the sauce pot... I tell her I use a rice cooker, and I want the measurements, because 1 TBS is not going to be enough for the amount of rice, she says just to put as much as I want... *sigh* so I ask her, if she has any suggestions, and she snaps at me about how she just gave me one, and I'm being difficult...
Okay, but, for those of us whose cultural foods which utilize rice or cous cous, knows that having these whole grains means that it has to be the right texture... As in, if you use 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, you don't want to use the whole 1.5 cups of water AND a 1/2 jar of salsa to cook that rice, unless we want soggy food... No, we do NOT want soggy rice, it is the medium as to which the rest of the meal revolves around, especially for someone like me, who was born and raised in Tokyo for 8 years, and the word "gohan" (Think the vowels of Gold Bond - go like the go in gold, han rhymes with bon in bond) means rice, but it also is used to mean "meal". Imperfect rice is just NOT acceptable. At all. I also think that it is completely silly of these people that they think everyone should make the foods so, well, WHITE! When you want Mexican food, you want Mexican food. You don't want Taco Bell. You don't necessarily even want Tex-Mex. You want bonafied, authentic, real deal Mexican food that slaps your taste buds the only way these flavorful foods can. But, if you need to lose weight, or need to lower cholesterol, you know you need to make these adjustments for your own sake, so you can keep taking care of family members.
What I am attempting to do, is to try to take at least a couple of these recipes, and keep the honest to goodness flavors in there, while making it better for your health, so you can feel good about serving your favorite people the foods they love while making the move toward being a stronger people. I say this, because, if you have to use exercise to offset your eating habits, there is something wrong with your eating habits. It's a good balance of eating well, loving what you eat, and exercising to take you that extra mile toward a holistic healthy of mind, body and soul.
So, here it is... These are not perfected, but, these are at least a slight improvement of family favorites to serve.
Sesame Chicken:
Marinade:
2 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS Sake - dry
2 tsp Sesame Oil
3/4 tsp Mrs. Dash
1 tsp fresh ginger juice
Mix well.
1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, in 1" cubes
Marinade at least 1/2 hour (longer is okay)
10 minutes before you're going to cook, add the white of an uncooked egg
5 - 6 TBS of Arrow Root flour or Water Chestnut starch
Deep fry in hot peanut oil. Drip dry 1st on cooling rack, then paper towel lined baking sheets.
Serve with steamed rice and a spinach salad
Tacos:
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 - 15oz can of vegetarian refried beans
1 medium onion, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 TBS cumin (to taste)
3 TBS cilantro (to taste)
Lime juice - varies, to taste/cookware
Red pepper flakes to taste
Brown ground beef with the onion
Add the peppers/spices
When meat is almost all done, add refried beans*
As the mixture becomes tacky and difficult to handle, use lime juice to de-glaze pan to add & blend flavors together
I do not use salt, because the can of beans has enough sodium, plus using other spices lessens the need for salt.
*I do not drain the 90%, because SOME fat need to be able to absorb into the beans, and because the grease will be minimal, it is better for you than rendered bacon fat.
Don't forget to top it with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and your favorite garden salsa.
Rice Pilaf:
18 oz risotto or Jasmine rice
26 oz low sodium/99% fat free chicken broth
1 small onion, minced
parsley flakes to taste
Mix well, steam in rice cooker
In a skillet, heat olive oil, saute to get that fried/crusty flavor
(Yes, I do it in reverse order)
If you have any requests for your favorite foods, let me know, I'll see if I can find a way to polish it up, and then give it back to you for you to try it out, and let me know if it passes your test.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment