Category Archives: Health & Weight Loss

Do you eat jicama?  It’s that ugly, bulbous, brown “root vegetable” (it’s actually a legume).   They look a little like a squashed turnip in shape.  A few years back, in my “try something new a week” phase, I picked up a jicama and ate it in a simple form — peeled, cut into sticks and dipped into a low calorie dressing along with my celery, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.  (Jicama is high in fiber and water (it’s 90% water) and low in calories. In fact, a cup of jicama contains only 45 calories, so it makes a good choice for someone watching thier calories and trying to stay full on less.)  And I really like it.  It’s texture is similar to a raw potato, but the flavor is slightly sweet.  Since then, I always include it on my vegetable trays, and from the number of “What’s this thing?” questions that I get, not very many people DO eat jicama.  But they usually try it and then agree that its worth eating.

I’ve been looking to expand my culinary uses for jicama.  With my low iron count at my last OB visit, I’ve been refreshing myself on eating to promote iron uptake, and was reminded that vitamin C is one of those things that helps the body absorb the iron provided by other foods.  Orange juice isn’t a good idea right now with the glucose monitoring, so I’ve been looking to savory foods.  A half cup of jicama pieces provides almost as much vitC as 3/4 C. orange juice — and a lot more fiber.  (Non-green Bell Peppers and Broccoli are other good savory sources.)

I do like it as a dipper, or by itself in a little salad of matchstick pieces tossed with a little lemon or lime juice and some chile powder.  But sometimes I get bored!

 

Corn, Jicama and Pineapple Salsa

 

1/2 medium jicama, peeled and diced (about 1 C.)

1/2 C. diced fresh pineapple

1/2 C. corn kernels

1 serrano chili or habanero chili, seeded and minced

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt to taste, optional

Freshly ground black pepper to taste, optional

 

Combine the jicama, pineapple, corn, serrano chili, cilantro, lime juice and garlic in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper if desired and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.   Serve as a relish with salmon.

 

Beef Tataki

 

8 oz. rib-eye steak

2 small jicama, peeled and julienned

2 red onions, julienned

2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned

4 T. soy sauce

6 T. orange juice

4 T. hot pepper sauce

4 T. rice vinegar

 

Sear the rib-eye steak to medium rare. In a small bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Remove the meat from the pan, and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice the meat very thinly. To serve, plate the sliced steak and top with the salad mixture.

 

 

Chinese Spinach Toss

 

3 1/2 C. fresh bean sprouts

1/3 C. rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar

1/3 C. salad oil

1/3 C. honey

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

1 bunch spinach, washed and stems removed

1 C. diced jicama

1 C. crisp Chinese noodles

 

Toss bean sprouts lightly with vinegar, oil, honey, soy sauce and fresh ginger.  Chill at least 1 hour, tossing occasionally.  Just before serving, add spinach and jicama.  Toss gently to coat.  Top each serving with Chinese noodles. For a main dish, add 12 oz. of cooked chicken, tuna or shrimp, cut into chunks.

 

Posted by Kristen in Cooking, Health & Weight Loss

From over at Bloomacious (which I don’t normally read, but followed a link from Tastespotting for the recipe.  I’ve never tried a fruit salad with carrot, but I do like fruit salads, and this one is a great combo of super nutritious produce.

Happy – Sexy 2009 Fruit Salad

 

1 Kiwi sliced

1 average sized Orange peeled and sliced, 1/4 sized section save for juice

1 Carrot slivered or grated

2 Dried Apricots chopped

1 Banana sliced

1/2 Mango cubed

 

Place Kiwi, Orange Slices, Apricots, Banana, and Mango in brightly colored bowl, layering in Carrot and finishing with lovely garnish on top.  Squeeze remaining Orange section over top.  Think happy thoughts!

 

The payoff according to David Grotto, author of 101 Foods that Could Save Your Life:

 

Kiwi ~ the most nutrient dense of the 27 most commonly eaten fruits – has more Vitamin C than any other fruit – also high in Fiber, Potassium, Lutein, and Vitamin E.

 

Orange ~ provides 137% of the RDA for Vitamin C per orange.  Also high in Vitamin B Folate, and Flavanones.

 

Carrot~ excellent source of carotenes – one cup of diced carrots provides 686.3 % of the RDA for Vitamin A.  Also high in Fiber, Manganese, Niacin, Potassium, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C. 

 

Apricots ~ In their dried form one of the best sources of Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene ~ can reach over 16,000 micrograms of carotenoids in just 3 apricots.  Also contain Potassium, Vitamin C, Fiber, Phytochemicals D-glucaric acid, Chlorogenic Acid, Queretin, and Lycopene.

 

Banana ~ good source of Vitamin C, B6, and Fiber.

 

Mango- excellent source of Vitamins A, C, Potassium, and Carotenes.

Posted by Kristen in Cooking, Health & Weight Loss

I love Brussels Sprouts.  It’s possible that I may be the only person on the planet that would say that.  It’s part of our media history consciousness — what is that pungent little cabbage the sneaky kid feeds to his dog under the table?  Yep, its the brussels sprout!  In fact, according to some surverys, the only vegetable that people dislike more than this healthy cruciferous ball is the eggplant (and someone else will have to argue the eggplants case, its not my favorite by far!).

Aside from the fact that they are delicious (which many would argue, I know!) they are amazingly good for us.  Unlike most vegetables, Brussels sprouts are rather high in protein, accounting for more than a quarter of their calories. Although the protein is incomplete — it doesn’t provide the full spectrum of essential amino acids — it can be made complete with whole grains. This means you can skip a higher-calorie source of protein, like high-fat meat, and occasionally rely on a meal of Brussels sprouts and grains.

Brussels sprouts are very high in fiber; they have 3-5 grams of fiber per cup and at 25 calories per 1/2 cup cooked, they give us a reason to eat them more often. Brussels sprouts are one of those foods that will fill you up, without filling you out.  They also belong to the disease-fighting cabbage family. Like broccoli and cabbage — fellow cruciferous vegetables — Brussels sprouts may protect against cancer with their indole, a phytochemical. Brussels sprouts are loaded with vitamin A, folacin, potassium, calcium Brussels sprouts are also particularly rich in vitamin C, another anti-cancer agent.

 

Of course, the health argument does little to sway a five year old, nor the 38 year old daddy with the taste buds of a five year old.

Personally, I love them plain, just steamed until nicely soft or roasted with just a touch of olive oil and pepper, but after a number of tries to get both the hubby and the kidlet to tear in with some enthusiasm, it’s time to turn to my recipe cache.  If healthiness won’t win them over, maybe I can find a way of cooking them to raise thier appeal.  One the docket this week:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar 

 

Fresh Brussels Sprouts

Good Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt (I actually omit the salt, sorry foodies.)

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Preheat oven to roast at 375°F.  Peel the outer, beat-up layers of the Brussels sprouts off.  Trim the end, and then cut Brussels sprouts in half.  Toss in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat evenly, then add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Lightly oil a sheet pan, and then spread out Brussels sprouts, cut side down. Roast in oven for 15 minutes.

Prime Brussels Sprout season is over (September – February) so hopefully there’ll still be some nice looking fresh ones in the produce section this week, otherwise I may have to find a recipe that uses frozen ones.

Posted by Kristen in Cooking, Health & Weight Loss