Better Nutrition February 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

HEALTHY DISH * The challenge with kale is making it taste good. Look, everybody knows kale is super healthy, but if you don’t prepare it in just the right way, it can be bitter and unpalatable to the average eater. Fortunately, there are ways to prepare it that cut the bitterness, leaving you with a delicious vegetable that can’t be topped when it comes to nutritional power. So, if you haven’t enjoyed kale up until now, get ready for a surprise. When I talked with Chef Jeannette about this salad recipe, she told me that most home chefs find making raw kale challenging. One way to conquer the “kale objection” is with a really amazing salad dressing. And this salad has the best dressing you’ve ever had on kale. No kidding. Also, pay attention to this month’s “Notes from the Clean Food Coach,” because she tells you the game-changing trick to defeating the bitterness problem when preparing raw kale. If you’re like me, by the time February rolls around you just might be feeling a little … blah. After all, we’ve just come off the holiday season, we’ve spent most of the winter eating heavier, warmer foods, and in most parts of the country it’s still bitterly cold. These are not ideal conditions for lighter, greener fare. But the dense chewy nature of the kale—and the tasty fats of the avocado and the dressing— are satisfyingly fresh without making you feel cold inside. Enjoy! 46 • FEBRUARY 2020 recipe makeovers full of modern flavor Nourishing Winter Greens Salad We normally think of salads as a summertime treat, but winter vegetables make for equally delicious—and healthy—combinations BY JONNY BOWDEN, PHD, CNS, AND JEANNETTE BESSINGER, CHHC Photo: Pornchai Mittongtare; Styling: Robin Turk; Food Stylist: Claire Stancer
make it! Winter Greens Salad Serves 4 Dressing ¹⁄ ³ cup sundried tomatoes ¹⁄ ³ cup extra virgin olive oil Juice and zest of 1 medium lemon (¼ cup juice) 1½ Tbs. raw honey Scant ½ tsp. sea salt ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes Salad 1 large bunch curly green kale, ribs removed, chopped into bite-sized pieces, and massaged 1 medium Haas avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced Fresh grated Parmesan cheese to taste, optional 1. Cover sundried tomatoes in boiling water in a small bowl for a few minutes to rehydrate and soften. Remove from the water and transfer to high-speed blender, reserving soak water. Let water cool until it’s warm, but not overly hot. 2. Combine ¼ cup cooled soak water, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, honey, and salt and pepper, and blend until smooth. Stir in red pepper flakes. 3. To make salad, combine prepared kale and dressing, and toss until thoroughly coated. Gently fold in the avocado and top with Parmesan, if using. Per serving: 290 cal; 2g prot; 27g total fat (3.5g sat fat); 15g carb; 0mg chol; 320mg sod; 4g fiber; 7g sugar Featured Ingredient: Kale Once upon a time there was a testing procedure used by the USDA to determine the antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables. It was called the ORAC test. Researchers would look at all the different antioxidants and phytochemicals that are found in a plant food and determine how well they worked together as a team to fight cell-damaging free radicals. The foods were given what’s called an ORAC rating. Kale consistently scored as number one among the vegetables. (The ORAC test has since been retired, but kale continues to score high rankings on virtually all the tests that have replaced it.) Kale is actually a type of cabbage, which means that it has even more health benefits than its antioxidant power alone. Like others in the brassica family, it contains powerful phytochemicals such as cancer-fighting indoles. It’s also high in sulfur, and contains a compound known as sulforaphane, which helps give a boost to the body’s detoxification enzymes and may help fight cancer as well. Sulforaphane is formed when the vegetables containing it are chopped or chewed, and it triggers the liver to remove free radicals and other chemicals that may cause DNA damage. Several studies—including one in the prestigious Journal of Nutrition—have demonstrated that sulforaphane helps stop breast cancer proliferation. Kale is also loaded with calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C, and bone-building K. It contains seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and 10 times as much lutein and zeaxanthin, eye-protecting carotenoids known to help protect against macular degeneration. And 2 cups of the stuff contain about 4g of protein and 3g of fiber, making it an all-around nutritional powerhouse vegetable. Photo: adobestock.com Notes from the Clean Food Coach: To prepare curly kale for a raw salad, strip the greens from the stems with your fingers. The stems can be chopped and sautéed or stir-fried for another use later. Chop the leafy part of the kale into small pieces—large pieces make the salad harder to eat. Sprinkle the chopped kale lightly with salt and massage it well with clean hands for about 30 seconds. Don’t be afraid to squeeze it hard all over to help break down the fibers. Raw kale is tough and can have a bitter edge—lightly salting and massaging it will mellow the flavor and soften the texture without cooking. FEBRUARY 2020 • 47
Page 1: YOUR ULTIMATE RESOURCE FOR NATURAL
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTS February 2020 / Vol. 82 /
Page 6 and 7: EDITOR’S LETTER Happy Hearts YOUR
Page 8: NEWS*BITES BY VERA TWEED How to Kee
Page 11 and 12: Sweet on Monk Fruit Monk fruit, a Z
Page 13 and 14: make it! Frontier Bison Stoup Serve
Page 15 and 16: CBD DOES THIS SH*T EVEN WORK? Yes.
Page 17 and 18: What do you get when you combine di
Page 19 and 20: The #1 Best-Selling Mushroom Supple
Page 21 and 22: WIDE VARIETY Some of the top medici
Page 23 and 24: BREATHE BETTER
Page 25 and 26: UNLEASH YOUR INNER ENERGY — with
Page 27 and 28: Is your thyroid operating efficient
Page 29 and 30: the real effects kick in. Here’s
Page 31 and 32: And it shows up earlier. As a predi
Page 33 and 34: Third way: Order an inexpensive lab
Page 35 and 36: FEBRUARY 2020 • 33
Page 37 and 38: often have a lower intake of sugar,
Page 39 and 40: Grab Your Headphones and Feed Your
Page 41 and 42: Will cannabis cure cancer? Is CBD s
Page 43 and 44: Photo: Pornchai Mittongtare De
Page 45 and 46: Photo: Pornchai Mittongtare; Stylin
Page 47: eggs from caged hens. Omega-3 forti
Page 52: What a difference a week makes! A w

Better Nutrition February 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?