Health knowledge made personal
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Today’s Eat. Live. Be. for a better 2011 is about lunch; which actually ties into my new little poll (look over there to the left). Is lunch your favorite meal? The day I do go out to lunch is another story. I usually tend to splurge a bit more on that day, but, within reason. We go to a local Mediterranean restaurant called Mandaloun a lot. I typically get the fattoush salad and order a side of hummus. Sounds pretty virtuous right? Nope. Restaurants go above and beyond to make the food taste good; typically without regard to your waistline. Even though the salad is super fresh with tons of aromatic herbs, it has a very generous amount of dressing as well as little crispy fried pita strips. And boy, are they oh so good. On top of that I might eat an entire pita with the hummus. This all adds up to far more than I would typically eat at lunch, but it is my once a week treat so I figure every now and then is ok. What is your typical lunch?  I was on a quest to do something with my CSA cabbage that I would actually look forward to. I figured I was just not a fan. I mean, it is OK but I'm never really like Yes! We are having CABBAGE TONIGHT! In fact, I had already used half the head on fish tacos with cabbage slaw but I didn't post that one as I wasn't really excited about it. This, on the other hand, is a cabbage recipe I can really look forward too. Yes it is labor intensive but you will not be disappointed if you like spicy and flavorful Indian food. I promise.  Green Lentils with Ginger, Coconut Milk, Sweet Potato and CabbageAltered from Smitten Kitchen and Madhur Jaffrey, Indian CookingEstimated 10 (1-cup) Servings**4 WW Pts Plus Printable Recipe Ingredients 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained if necessary ( truRoots Organic Sprouted )6 cups water or broth (I used 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth 2 cups water)1 sweet potato, chopped (Organic unpeeled)1/2 heaping tsp ground turmeric3 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp butter1 heaping tsp cumin seeds2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped (or 3/4 Tbsp dried minced)1 medium onion, peeled and cut into fine slices1/2 head finely shredded cabbage1 to 2 fresh, hot green chilies, finely sliced3/4 tsp salt14.5oz can peeled to whole un-drained, tomatoes chopped (Muir Glen)1 heaping tsp peeled, finely grated fresh ginger3/4 cup light coconut milk Directions 1. Pour water and/or broth, sweet potato and lentils into a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Add turmeric; stir to mix. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to vent, turn heat down to low; simmer gently for 1 1/4 hours. Stir several times during the last 30 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds; allow to sizzle for 3 to 4 seconds. Add garlic; stir to combine and cook a few more seconds. Add the onion, cabbage and green chilies. Stir the cabbage mixture for about 10 minutes or until it begins to brown and turn slightly crisp. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Turn off the heat under the frying pan. 3. Stir remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, the tomato and ginger to the lentil pot (after the initial cooking time); stir to mix. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Add the cabbage mixture; stir to mix and bring to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk. Nutrition Facts Estimated 10 (1-cup) Servings **4 WW Pts Plus Amount Per Serving Calories 159.8 Total Fat 6.0 g Saturated Fat 1.3 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g Monounsaturated Fat 3.4 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 325.5 mg Potassium 303.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 22.2 g Dietary Fiber 4.9 g Sugars 2.3 g Protein 4.7 g Vitamin A 55.6 % Vitamin C 68.2 % Folate 19.8 % |
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