How to Make 5 Minute Cous Cous

Sometimes we just need to make something quick -- feed hungry kids, husbands or ourselves for that matter.  But quick doesn't have to mean unhealthy.

That's one reason why cous cous is awesome to make.  It only takes 5 minutes!  Here's how...

How to make cous cous

Ingredients:

1 C dry cous cous

1.25 C water or veggie broth

Bring water to a boil.  Add cous cous, stir it around once and put the lid on-top.  Remove from heat immediately.  Let sit for 5 minutes and your done!

What to do with cous cous

Cous cous has a light taste and a fluffy texture which can be fun to play with.  You can add any kinds of veggies, beans and spices to cous cous to make it yummy meal.  Keep some plain cous cous left-over in your fridge to throw into other dishes.

Here are two 'Trisha approved' recipes for cous cous:

1.  Mary McDougall's Tex-Mex Cous Cous Salad

2. Alicia Silverstone's Moroccan Cous Cous Salad

If you make any of these recipes, please post your thoughts on them in the comments section below.  Myself and others would love to hear your thoughts!

Take Control Now

Have you made cous cous before?  

What's your favorite way to eat it?

How to Saute without Oil

Sautéing without oil is easier than you'd imagine.  You can create wonderful flavors while skipping 100s of unnecessary calories and fat.  Here's how.

Instructions:

1. Put any pan (non-stick, stainless steel, cast iron etc.) on medium-high heat.  
2. Add chopped onion and stir with a spatula.  Stir frequently.  
3. Once the bottom of the pan begins to brown, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or veggie broth.  Continue to stir the onion around.  The liquid will remove 'the brown' from the pan and give your food added flavor.
4. Repeat as many times as necessary until the onion is translucent.  Then, you're done!

Helpful tips and tricks

• Don't saute chopped garlic on its own.  It will burn!  Add chopped garlic to the onion and other veggies once they've been cooking to avoid burning.
• Celery, carrots and mushrooms also sauté well as the 'base' veggie.
• More water/liquid will equal a softer, 'steamed' flavor.
• Less liquid will create a crunchier, sweeter flavor.  You have to keep a closer eye on the pan and constantly stir.  Otherwise, it will burn with less liquid.
• Sometimes you won't need any liquid, especially if using a non-stick pan.
• Use fresh and dried herbs and spices to add flavor to your dish instead of oils.  

Why Shouldn't You Use Oil?  

Here's a recap from last week's episode '5 Reasons Why Oil is NOT a Health Food.'

1. Oil is low in nutritional value (1).
2. Oil damages your endothelial cells.
3. Cholesterol levels can be lowered quicker by eliminating oil and saturated fats together.
4. Oil is the most calorie dense food on the plant -- it's difficult to maintain a healthy weight when oil is a regular part of the diet.
5. Heart disease has been reversed with a plant-based, oil-free diet (2).

Take Control Now

What and when will you sauté without oil this week?  What are your thoughts about sautéing without oil?

Click 'comments' and type your answers below this article.  

Sources:

1.  USDA Nutrient Database. Olive Oil. Agricultural Research Services.   2.  Esselstyn, CB.  Resolving the Coronary Artery Epidemic Through Plant-Based Nutrition. Preventive Cardiology 2001; 4: 171-177.

How to Prepare Your Healthiest Source of Omega-3 Fats in 15 Seconds

Omega 3 fats are essential nutrients.  This means we must eat them in our diet in order to survive. 

They're essential for our membranes, nerve tissue and endothelial cell function.  

A-linolenic acid (ALA), is an essential omega-3 fat.  When we eat it, out bodies convert it into EPA and then into DHA.  

But how much ALA do we actually need in our diet?  The Institute of Medicine recommends women eat 1.1 g of ALA each day and men consume 1.6 g per day (1).  

When you hear about omega-3s, the sources most commonly associated with these nutrients are fish and supplements.

However, there are much safer and healthier ways to consume omega-3s other than fish and supplements. 

Like plants!  All whole, plant foods contain small amounts of ALA.  Kale, collards, brocolli, potatoes and so on.  When you consume whole, plant foods at every meal (like I recommend), you should get enough ALA in your diet. 

Plants are where fish and all animals get their omega 3s from -- from the algae and phytoplankton in the ocean.  Fish are a secondary source of omega-3s while plants are a primary source (1a).

So what’s the best plant/primary source of omega-3s?  Ground flax seeds and english walnuts.  They're your omega-3 'insurance' foods.

One tablespoon of flax (10.3g) contains 2.35 g of ALA omega-3 fat (2).  With one tablespoon of flax, we’ve already surpased the recommended intake of 1.1 g/day for women, set by the Institute of Medicine.

How much ALA is in this same amount of wild, Atlantic caught Salmon?  0.03g (3). 

Flax seed has more omega-3 ALA fat than wild salmon!

Plus with flax, you won’t consume any environmental carcinogens like mercury, that accumulate in fish; you’ll consume less fat; you’ll skip the dose of cholesterol found in fish; and you’ll get more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.  

So add ground flax to your oatmeal, smoothies or use as an egg replacer when baking.  

Answer this question in the comments section below and lets hear what you think of this information.

Take Control Now

How will you incorporate ground flax into your diet?  Are you surprised there's more omega-3 ALA fat in flax than fish?  

Sources: 1, 1a, 2, 3

3 Quick + Easy Ways to Make Oatmeal

Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day.  But many of us skip it because we don’t make the time to prepare and eat it.

Oats can be a quick and easy breakfast.  It takes me 5 minutes to prepare it every morning.  While they're cooking, I brush my teeth, wash my face and begin getting ready for my day.  

If you really struggle getting out the door on time in the morning, you can also prepare oats the night before.  Just reheat in the morning or, let them soak with plant-milk over night and eat them cold.  

And oats are an awesome food to eat for breakfast!  One cup has 8g of fiber, 307 calories, 10.6g of protein, 42mg of calcium, 293 mg of potassium, 26mcg of folate and 0 cholesterol (1).  Not to mention all of the high nutritional value from the added fruits and or nuts that normally accompany them.  

Oatmeal is really filling and 2/3 C easily keeps me filled for 3-4 hours.  Other breakfast foods such as eggs and bacon are loaded with fat, cholesterol, zero fiber and less bulk so you could end up eating more calories and become hungrier sooner, further increasing the amount of calories you could eat in day.

No thank you!

Here are 3 quick and simple ways to prepare oatmeal.  
 

 Take Control Now!

If you enjoy oatmeal, which of these 3 options would you prefer?  Or, is there another way you enjoy preparing oatmeal you'd like to share?

Type your answer in the comments section below.  

How and Why to Make Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are my FAVORITE food.  They are DELICIOUS, simple to prepare, incredibly nutritious and inexpensive.  Sweet potatoes are my sustenance.  I eat them multiple times a week in multiple different ways.  

But my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes --  the food that sustained the longest lived population on earth, the Okinawanas of Japan -- as fries.  

But before you can cook them, I need to clear up some confusion.  Sweet potatoes are commonly called 'yams' in U.S. grocery stores.  When in reality, both the 'yams' and the sweet potatoes, are actually sweet potatoes.  'Yams' in the store are simply a variety of sweet potato.  Here is what true yams and sweet potatoes look like.  

Why are these sweet tubers so good for you?  

Like most whole plant foods, sweet potatoes are naturally low in calories and fat.  There isn't even 0.5 g of fat in one large sweet potato!  They contain zero cholesterol, but are a powerhouse of nutrition for preventing and reversing chronic disease, when eaten as a part of a plant-based diet.  And, they're incredibly filling, so you fill up on less calories and an abundance of nutrients.  

One Large Sweet Potato, 180g

Calories: 162                      Fat: 0.27 g                              Cholesterol:  0 mg

Fiber: 6 g                            Calcium: 68 mg                      Magnesium: 49 mg

Folate: 11 mcg                 Vit. A (RAE): 1730 mcg           Beta carotene: 20,716 mcg

                                                                                  Source: USDA Nutrient Database

One of the longest lived populations in the world, the Centenarians of Okinawa, Japan, eat sweet potatoes daily as their staple food, along side of cereals, beans, fruits and vegetables (1) (2).  They eat a whole foods, plant-based diet!

How to prepare sweet potatoes:

As fries - served with salsa or mustard as a snack, side-dish or appetizer. Rinse, then cut into equal sized strips, toss with dried herbs and spices, and then broil in the oven on low for 15 minutes or until soft and about to brown (the herbs stick to the potatoes w/o oil).  Watch the above video for more detailed instructions ;)

Baked - sweet potatoes are sweet and creamy when baked.  Scrub with water, then poke with a fork around the whole potato.  Bake in the oven for one hour at 400 degrees F.  

Enjoy with black bean soup on-top (no butter!), as a side-dish, a snack, in soups or use to mash.  

Mashed - Bake, remove skins once cooled, and hand mash.  You can add small amounts of almond milk and maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg, for a smoother and sweeter dish.

Other options - Sweet potatoes are awesome in quesadillas, soups and in veggie burgers.  Bake a bunch at a time and keep them stocked in the fridge so you always have some sweet potato lovin' to add to your meals.  

Storage - always store sweet potatoes in a paper bag, NEVER plastic.  They can't breathe (really) in sealed plastic bags and will poison themselves with their own gases.  

Store in a warmer location, never in the fridge.  Sweet potatoes like it hot!

Let me hear it!

How will you prepare a healthy sweet potato?  What is your favorite way to eat them?

Type your answer in the comments section below and start to take control of your health today!

References:

1. Chen, C. A survey of the dietary nutritional composition of the centenarians. Chinese Med J (Engl). 2001. Oct. 114;(10)1095-7.

2. Sho, H. History and characteristics of Okinawan longevity food. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2001;10(2):159-64