Esselstyn Exilir

I was inspired my Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's presentation Tuesday night, and our conversation afterward!

In honor of meeting the amazing Dr Esselstyn, I introduce:
(EXILIR: because on his diet, you're heart attack proof, cancer proof, you won't get cancer or osteoporosis, ...and so, you may LIVE FOREVER!  :)

Esselstyn Exilir

12 c water
1 c brown rice, uncooked
1 lb frozen spinach
4 carrots, sliced
small head of celery, chopped
Italian seasoning (majorum, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil)
4 small onions, chopped
Tbsp garlic, minced
10 heads baby bok choy, chopped
Poultry seasoning (sage, thyme, onion, majorum, pepper, celery seed, and red pepper)
2 cans beans (I used cannellini, and 3-bean (kidney, pinto, and black)
1 can diced tomatoes

Boil spinach, carrots, and celery in water with Italian seasoning. Saute onions, bok choy, and garlic in a little water with poultry seasoning, and then add to soup. Let it all simmer for as long as you like. After an hour, it will be a lovely soup, and after 2, it'll be a thick veggie stew!

It's vegetarian (meat-free), vegan (animal-free), oil-free, and nearly sodium-free (it works out to be less than 50 mg per cup!)  Edan Organic beans only contain 30 mg sodium per serving, compared to up to 450 mg per serving beans of other brands.

It also includes two of the six greens that he recommends everyone eat daily! They included spinach, bok choy, kale, collard greens, arugula, and I think mustard greens!

If you have low blood pressure and a healthy heart, adding a few cashews, like we did with leftovers, was yummy!

COMMENTS: Have you heard of Dr Esselstyn or read his book or watched Forks Over Knives?

COMING SOON: A summary of Dr Esselstyn's presentation, our conversation, and my thoughts on it all :)

What's So Big about BROWN Rice?

Most of us now know that BROWN is a BETTER option than white when we think about grains, and here is a chart so you can VISUALIZE the huge difference!

SERIOUS BENEFITS of BROWN RICE

The image below from Whole Grains Council compares fiber, vitamin, and mineral content in"white rice" (white bars) and "brown rice" (brown bars). The longer arrows indicate "enriched"* nutrients.

*ENRICHED sounds so fancy!  Hardly. It means that there are SO many nutrients REMOVED from the grain (flour, bread, grain, rice, etc.) that the government REQUIRES that A FEW of them be added back!

Click to ENLARGE.
Thanks to 100 Days of Real Food who shared the visual by the Whole Grains Council!

Plus, you've gotta quickly see all the GREAT Benefits of WHOLE GRAINS!

Here is a post called "Grains Galore" that shows you a huge variety of WHOLE GRAINS to choose from, besides brown rice!

Finding the word WHOLE before wheat, as in "whole wheat" at the BEGINNING of the ingredients list is SO important! If you do, then you'll be getting all the nutrients of the BROWN BARS up above, naturally!

BROWN RICE Preparation: use directions on the package OR to SIMPLIFY...if you dare :)

Fill wide a pot with some water (3 or so inches) and dump some rice in the middle (pour roughly enough rice so the middle of the pile is dry, above the water). Bring to boil and reduce heat to a gentle boil for about a half hour. Done when chewy! If any excess water remains, simply use a straining spoon to serve!

What to do with your brown rice?

My kids actually love it plain!  Here are some other ideas!

Palak Paneer and Punjab Eggplant

You can try it some delicious and simple Indian food!

Add simply some celery, carrots, and pepper 

to your brown rice for a veggies and rice dish, and add more liquid for soup!

Mexican Fiesta Bowl!

If you have the rice ready, it can even be a "2-Minute Friday Night Dinner"!

Coming soon: Tomato Cashew Soup...so yummy!, Garlic Challenge!

Love at First Bite -- in a Box!

A CONVENIENT meal in a box that is QUITE healthy!

Do you enjoy Indian food?  If you haven't ever tried it, then you can't say no!

Yum!  I had it for the first time in my life, after college, on my first date with my hubby!  I have been head over heals ever since!  With my husband too!  Indian food has amazing flavors!

This lovely image came from Kitchens of India.

This cuisine is so packed with flavor that you will never miss the meat (see why this is good!) in a delicious Indian meal!  Note, while vegetarian eating is common in Indian society, they also make dishes that contain meat, especially poultry.

These are 2 awesome products / companies:

Kitchens of India and Trader Joe's Indian Fare!

Kitchens of India promises all products contain NO Preservatives!  

And here is the Trader Joe's Label Promise:

Click to ENLARGE

No artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, MSG, 

genetically modified ingredients, or artificial trans fats!

These dishes are Palak Paneer (a delicious spinach sauce with large cubes of cottage cheese...which we now don't eat) and Punjab Eggplant (we were on an EGGPLANT kick this week: we also grilled eggplant with other veggies another day and made Easy Eggplant Parm yesterday!).

There are many other Kitchens of India dishes and sauces available from www.amazon.com at a fraction of the cost found locally.

Trader Joe's is known for offering so many great deals, and their Indian fare is just another example!

Now, why are these packaged items so great?

Click on the image below to view the ingredients in each product!

The large print for the ingredients is a good sign, and check them out: veggies and spices mostly!

The spices are are a bonus because Indian spices are often costly.

The SPINACH dish contains ginger and cashews!

The EGGPLANT dish contains TURMERIC, among other awesome ingredients :)

BE SURE to watch for animal products close to be the beginning of the list like butter and cream!

See why in FREE YOURSELF FROM THESE FATS!

Click here for some FOOD LABELS tips!

The Kitchens of India products are made in India! While I've never been to India, the Trader Joe's dishes taste impressively authentic, according to my experience dining out and eating home cooking of Indian friends!

Traditional Indian cuisine uses mostly long grain white rice, but we still with BROWN RICE! Check out the benefits of WHOLE WHEAT ... similar to brown rice.

Since these packages take just a few minutes to warm up -- as easy as making a can of soup -- on the stove or in the microwave. FIRST, make some BROWN RICE (cooks for about 30 min)!  While you can't eat this meal in five minutes, it takes maybe 90 seconds of "actual effort"!

Or check out Grains Galore to try another substitution for white rice!

COMING SOON: healthy chai tea, simmering sauces, other Trader Joe's favorites, and brown rice benefits.

Tasty Tofu?! YES! Hubby-Approved!!

One of the first meals I started regularly making when I really began cooking about a decade ago. I am not sure what even made me think to try tofu! ...though a discussion of SOY is coming SOON!

My hubby who doesn't (DIDN'T!) like tofu ... thinks this is delicious!!!

Rich and Tasty Tofu Stir Fry


3 Tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
1 Tbsp garlic, minced 
½ tsp ginger
Cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 lb package tofu, EXTRA-FIRM
2 T sesame seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 c broccoli, chopped
16 oz bag spinach
1 c cashews CLICK HERE to find out about why nuts are wonderful!
2.5 c uncooked brown rice (prepare)
Optional: some cooking wine and a bit of sesame oil...we have been omitting these for several years, but originally included.

Drain water from tofu as much as possible. Chop tofu in ½-inch cubes. Heat skillet or wok. Bring soy sauce, garlic, ginger, pepper, and some water to boil. Add tofu, cover, and simmer about 15-20 minutes, until tofu well-soaked with sauce; stir occasionally. I don't get tofu to crisp, unless I cook it in the oven, but it's always tasty. Remove tofu and remaining broth from skillet. Heat skillet and cook vegetables over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add tofu, remaining broth, and cashews. Heat together. Serve over brown rice.

You could probably use any type of veggies for this; any frozen bag of mixed or stir-fry veggies would work. The sauce flavors are so tasty -- they make anything really yummy -- like tofu!!

BONUS HINT about tofu: Firm is for savory dishes, and silken is for smoothies and desserts!

Reversing can be disastrous! Once, around the time I started making this recipe, I tried making a smoothie with firm tofu -- no matter how many pieces or varieties of fruit I added, I could not get rid of the unpleasant, tofu taste! I think he avoided trying new foods for a long time after that experience! Sorry, Nicholas.

As for stir-fry, you simply need the firmness to hold shape!

Read 5 BIG Reasons to Make Your Meat Portions Small!

Coming soon: Benefits of Soy; Soy and Cancer, and Milk Comparisons!

COMMENTS: How do you like your soy? How are you spending Mother's Day?

Chipolte Anyone?! Spice Up Your Order with Health!

I love Chipolte! And eating there doesn't have to be a "2000 calorie jamboree!" I loved that, Julie!

With some adjustments to your usual order eating out at Chipolte can be a healthy experience!

Start with a burrito in a bowl (SUBTRACT 290-CALORIE white tortilla).

Next, ask for BROWN rice. This great NEW addition to Chipolte's menu is not even on their website yet!

Choose the BEANS AND SALSA that you like best; just be sure to take BOTH! The corn salsa has more calories, but they are healthy calories! If you really want to cut calories, pick one of the other 3 salsa varieties AND make it a "salad" (adds lettuce and omits rice)! Black beans are the ideal choice, if you have no preference. All beans are super nutritious, but the darker in color, the more phytochemicals.

A more FUN change is to ask for the guacamole! It adds calories, but they are ALL healthy calories, healthy fat, and who can pass up FRESH guacamole! Yum, I can taste it now! Maybe that's because I actually did just eat this (click here)! which tastes very similar to Chipolte, actually! And look how pretty!

This is a big one, SKIP the meat AND cheese AND sour cream. To ease into this adjustment, ask for 25% of the cheese (This will get you half. If you just ask for half, you might get nearly the full serving.) This change REDUCES SATURATED FAT of your meal by 12 grams.

Perhaps make just ONE order-change PER VISIT, if you're overwhelmed, and think I'm stealing your burrito! Gradual changes are going to STICK -- become "what you do", rather than "just a phase".

TELL ME IN A COMMENT! Do you try to order out healthy sometimes? Or do you save your healthy eating for at home? What tricks do you use to cut the calories at your favorite restaurant?