Recipe Makeover - Shepherd's Pie

One of the simplest and least invasive ways to eat healthier is to upgrade the meals you’re already eating using healthier ingredients.  This way, you can still enjoy the dishes you like as you begin to also explore new foods. 

Growing up, Shepherd’s Pie was a regular on our dinner table.  Truth be told, I didn’t like it.  The original recipe began with cooked ground beef and onions.  Layered on top of that was a can or two of creamed corn, followed by a thick layer of mashed potatoes.  It was baked in the oven until the top got a little crispy and was usually eaten with ketchup. 

Even to this day, I won’t eat this traditional version of Shepherd’s Pie, yet, the other day, I asked my daughter what she wanted to make for dinner and her answer was, you guessed it - ‘The Pie”.  Thankfully, she was all about a recipe makeover too, to make it more palatable for me and we were both on the same wavelength when we came up with the recipe below. 

We preplaced the standard ground beef with organic ground turkey and added chopped celery in with the onions.  For the middle layer, we eliminated the sugary creamed corn and instead combined half of the onions and celery with frozen organic corn and peas as well as fresh, chopped carrots.   My favorite part was the top layer.  We roasted cauliflower and sweet potatoes and combined them for a sweeter yet less dense topping that carries a lower glycemic load than the traditional potatoes.

In the end, we have a cleaner, fresher, and I think, tastier version of one of my family’s favorites that doesn’t need condiments.   Since this dish requires a fair amount of work, my suggestion is to make a large pan and either have it for leftovers throughout the week, or freeze some for later.  Believe it or not, though, this dish did not last long...

Shepherd’s Pie

1 head organic cauliflower, washed and cut into florets

2 large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, and chopped into 1” pieces

olive or coconut oil

1 lb organic ground turkey

1 large Spanish onion, chopped small

2-3 stalks celery, washed, ends trimmed and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen organic corn (or fresh removed from cob if in season)

1 cup frozen organic peas

2-3 large carrots, washed, peeled, and sliced into quarters lengthwise, then diced

sea salt

pepper

oregano

thyme

Combine the cauliflower florets and sweet potatoes in a bowl.  Drizzle with oil and a dash of salt, stir to coat well, then transfer the mixture in a single layer to a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for ~45 min, or until both vegetables are tender.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, brown the turkey in a frying pan, adding herbs such as oregano and thyme if desired.  Transfer the meat to a bowl and sauté the onions, celery and garlic in the pan drippings until tender, adding a small amount of oil if necessary.  

Transfer half of the vegetables to the meat and combine.  Spread the meat into an oiled 13 x 9 baking dish.

To the remaining onions and celery, add the corn, carrots, and peas and a just enough chicken or vegetable broth to steam the vegetables.  Cook covered over medium heat until the carrots are almost cooked through.  Add salt and pepper to taste and layer the mixture on top of the meat. 

While the vegetables are steaming, place the cauliflower and sweet potatoes into a food processor and process until smooth.  Add a bit of broth or milk for a thinner consistency if necessary.   Spread the potato/cauliflower mixture on the meat and vegetables. 

Bake the pie in a 350 degree F oven until heated through, ~30-45 minutes.  Serve with sautéed greens and/or a crisp green salad.

You may also like:  Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Confetti Quinoa

Having color on your plate is more than visually appealing.   It’s one of the easiest ways to ensure that you’re getting a variety of phytonutrients from your food, provided that the color is found naturally in fruits and vegetables.   In this article, I explain the benefits of phytonutrients and break it down by color.   And in this recipe, I’ve combined several colorful and flavorful vegetables with quinoa for a healthy lunch or side dish for dinner.

Confetti Quinoa

To make this simple, colorful dish, begin by sautéing chopped vegetables, like the ones below, then add cooked quinoa and spices. 

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 small sweet potato or yam, diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped or shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 handful kale, chopped

sea salt

ground pepper

curry powder

tumeric (optional)

Begin by heating a pan and adding one teaspoon of oil.  Sautee the onion and red pepper until the onion is translucent, then add the sweet potato and one tablespoon of water and cover for a few minutes to let the sweet potato soften.  Add the zucchini, garlic, and kale and cover briefly again until the kale wilts.  Add cooked quinoa and spices or seasonings and mix well.  Can be served warm or as a cold salad.

The Health Food You May Not be Eating

I’m a huge fan of meals in a bowl.  They can be soups, stews, hearty grain dishes, or even salads.  In fact, more and more, I prepare my salads chopped–meaning that the ingredients are cut small and tossed together to make more of a slaw than a chunky salad.  Which is one reason I also like the vegetable grater for veggies like carrots, beets, and zucchini.  Tonight, I took the grater to another vegetable, the daikon radish.  Shown above, it’s much larger than the typical round, red radish.  I’ve seen them over a foot long.  This one was not so big. 

Why eat daikon versus red radishes? I actually prefer them to red radishes because they have less of a bite.  The taste is similar, just less intense. And to me, this is one vegetable where looks can be deceiving because rather than a vibrant red or orange or green color, they’re white and I always associate bright colors with beneficial nutrients.  Yet for few calories, they’re loaded with vitamin C, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and lots of fiber.   And shredding really brings out the water in them, so they’re juicy and a little crunchy at the same time. 

Just wash, peel, and shred with the large grater.  Tonight, I ate them alone as a side dish with some greens and pumpkin soup.  But they’re great in a salad too and I like to cut them into sticks for dipping into hummus or guacamole.  If you normally shy away from radishes, I encourage you to try daikon.   It’s a simple healthy food you don’t want to miss out on…

Winter Candy

After making a delicious root vegetable soup the other day, I found myself with lots of leftover vegetables. This time of year, root veggies offer a wealth of nutrients and fiber and will stop a sweet tooth in its tracks.

When roasted, roasted root vegetables are colorful, crisp on the outside, warm and creamy on the inside and loaded with flavor. They’re perfect as a side (I had them with a fritatta) or even piled on top of a bed of salad greens. And no worries about what you have on hand. This time around, I didn’t have sweet potatoes, which are my favorite, so I used parsnips, rutabegas, beets, and fennel. The result was still sweet like candy and I didn’t even miss the sweet potatoes!

Roasted Root Vegetables

Any combination of the following:

Onions, Shallots, Leeks

Parsnips

Carrots

Celery

Rutabegas

Turnips

Sweet Potatoes, yams, or white potatoes

Beets

Fennel

Garlic, minced

1 – 2 T olive or grapeseed oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash, peel, and chop the vegetables into uniform, bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large bowl and add the garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well then spread the mixture onto a pan or in a baking dish. Roast at ~400°F for 30 minutes, turn the veggies over and roast an additional 15 minutes, or until tender.

You'll Go Nuts for This Sauce

Recently, a girlfriend and I had dinner at the home of some mutual friends. One of them is a master at Thai massage and a phenomenal cook who has an exceptional diet. Everytime I go there I'm treated to something wonderful (like his fried red rice yesterday : )

At dinner, he served us a beautiful platter with egg, fried tofu and sweet potato. Accompanying this was a nut-based satay sauce that is typically served with a very similar Indonesian dish called gado-gado, that paired really well with a beautiful display of veggies that included carrots, cabbage, snow peas, banana flowers, garlic flowers, bamboo shoots, long beans, watercress, and sprouts. It was a divine meal, enjoyed with some wonderful friends in a warm, cozy atmosphere. A perfect combination, I would say.

If you don’t have nut allergies, this sauce would round out a nice vegetarian meal with vegetables and grains and even fruit. And, if you’re having a tough time getting your kids to eat their green beans and broccoli, this is a healthy alternative to dousing them with melted cheese.

Mixed-nuts Sauce

1- 2 T grapeseed or coconut oil

2 cups mixed nuts

8 cloves garlic, chopped

4 shallots, chopped

3 fresh/frozen chilli peppers (1/2 tsp chilli powder)

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

450 ml / 16 fl oz / 2 cups water

1 tbsp tamarind water or juice of a lemon

1 cup coconut milk

A thin slice of shrimp paste (optional)

Salt to taste

Stir-fry the mixed nuts for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain in a colander, and leave to cool. Then pound or grind the nuts into a fine powder, using a blender, coffee grinder, or pestle and mortar.

Crush the garlic, shallots and shrimp paste in a mortar with a little salt, and saute in the remaining oil for 1 minute.

Add the chilli powder, sugar, soy sauce, water, and coconut milk. Bring this to the boil, then add the ground peanuts. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes thick; this should take about 8-10 minutes.

Add the tamarind water or lemon juice and more salt if needed.

When cool, keep in a jar in the fridge. Reheat as required for use with satay or as a dip for lalab crudites or savory snacks. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

A Home-spun Version of Bibimbap

The Korean word bibimbap translated literally means mixing (bibim) rice (bap). It is my favorite Korean dish and one that I regard as comfort food. Think, cold, rainy or snowy evening enjoying this meal. To me, it’s a healthy and delicious way to get a variety of vegetables in the winter.

If you’ve never had bibimbap at a Korean restaurant, you don’t know what you’re missing. It is served to you at the table in a sizzling stone pot layered with rice and small piles of vegetables, sprouts, sea vegetables, mushrooms, meat or tofu topped with an egg. It also comes with a side of a sweet and spicy red sauce called Kochujang.

To eat this dish, you begin by literally scrambling the contents with a large spoon, exposing the delicious crunchy crust of rice from the very bottom of the pot. Kochujang sauce is then added into the mixture. It’s hard to believe that something that seems so simple to me can taste so wonderful.

The other night, armed with a fridge full of veggies, I decided to make my home-spun version of this dish – without the stone pot and the crunchy crust. I began with a base of buckwheat and rice (a blend of black and mahogany) and then topped it with veggies, seaweed, tofu, mushrooms, egg, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I finished it off with the Kochujang sauce (recipe below). The result is the pretty dish you see above.

This would work well with leftover vegetables, rice, and even meat if desired. Just reheat, assemble, and add the sauce.

The Dish

Cooked rice or any combination of rice and whole grains;

Any combination of vegetables, cut into strips and quickly sautéed:

- carrots, zucchini, peppers, scallions, mushrooms (or dried mushrooms that have been soaked);

- seaweed that has been soaked and drained – I used arame;

- ground or chopped meat or tofu – I drained some firm tofu, cut it into rectangles, fried it in a little grapeseed oil, then seasoned it with a little pepper, tamari, and sesame oil;

- a sunny side up egg;

To make the dish pretty (for a few minutes anyway : ), spoon hot rice or grain mixture into the bottom of a wide bowl. Arrange the vegetables, meat, and/or tofu in piles around the outer edge of the rice. Place the egg on top in the middle. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, add a large spoonful of Kochujang sauce, then get to work mixing it all together and enjoy!

Kochujang Sauce

2 T chili paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T soy sauce or tamari

1 t sesame oil

2 scallions, chopped small

2 t sugar (I used maple syrup)

Mix all the ingredients together well. This makes about 1 – 2 servings.

Get Cultured with Fermented Vegetables

I’ve written before about the benefits of adding probiotics to the diet in the form of cultured dairy products and fermented foods like miso and tempeh. This time of year, especially, it’s important to keep the immune system in top condition to ward off colds, the flu and the myriad of infections that can arise during the cool, dry winter months. Probiotics are an effective way to do just that.

One method I’ve been using to add more probiotics into my diet is culturing vegetables. This time of year, in particular, I believe they’re a great idea because we often skimp on the veggies we consume during the cold months and opt for heavier, cooked foods. This is fine and even preferable for me too because my body naturally wants warmer, heartier meals right now. It’s helpful, though, to balance the diet out a bit with some raw food and the root veggies and heartier winter crops are the perfect varieties for fermenting.

There is also a significant benefit to fermenting vegetables of the Brassica family, including kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. In their raw state, these vegetables have thyroid-suppressing activities because they can interfere with the uptake of iodine by the thyroid. However, fermented vegetables lose this property while still remaining raw. They are also alkaline in nature and therefore detoxifying and a great alternative for people who stay away from dairy products.

It’s easy and inexpensive to make your own cultured vegetables. Here’s what you need (adapted from BodyEcology.com):

- A sealable glass container, one to two quart

- A large bowl

- a cutting board and sharp knife

- blender and/or food processor

- mixture of veggies: cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, sea vegetables,

- fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, seeds like fennel or caraway, pepper, etc.

1. Wash well and chop finely or shred/process a mixture of vegetables of your choice.

2. Mix together in a large bowl. In the blender, add a couple of cups of the mixture and enough water to blend into a thick liquid.

3. Add the liquid slurry to the bowl of veggies and mix well.

4. Pack the vegetables into your glass container, leaving an inch or two at the top.

5. Stuff a couple of rolled-up cabbage leaves at the top of the container and seal the container.

6. Leave undisturbed in a warm place (~70°F) for ~3 - 7 days (Although, I do invert the jar once per day to redistribute the liquid that naturally settles to the bottom. Is this interfering with the fermentation process? I don't know for sure, but my veggies are usually ready within 7 days). Check the taste. They should taste vinegar-y. When they reach the desired flavor, refrigerate to slow the fermentation process.

7. Eat as a side with your meals, in salads, sandwiches or wraps, or as a topping to other foods. They should be eaten raw, though, the preserve the beneficial enzymes and bacteria. Enjoy!

A Sweet and Tangy Red Juice

I’ve talked about my time every week in Boston on several occasions and there’s always something to learn from it for me. I work not far from a few small but good restaurants and although I mostly bring my food with me for two days of work, I will sometimes eat out. Around the corner from the office is a place called the Blue Shirt Café that makes salads, wraps, soups, smoothies, and juices. Before leaving Boston one week, I designed my own fresh juice of beets, carrots, cucumber, lime, and ginger and I instantly fell in love with it!! It’s a beautiful, vibrant red from the beets and carrots, it's sweet, it’s tangy, it’s got a little bite from the ginger, and it’s refreshing. In fact, drinking this on my ride home has become habit–almost ritual, and when I get home I feel fabulous. It keeps me from getting hungry without weighing me down, loads me up with energy, and alleviates any sweet attacks that may be lurking. I enjoy it so much that I’ve begun to make it at home. And it’s great with a scoop of green powder to boost the already abundant levels of nutrients. This is one of those habits that I’m so glad I’ve adopted!! So here it is...

Red Juice

1 raw beet, top and bottom removed and mostly peeled

1 large cucumber, quartered

4 medium carrots

½ lime, much of the skin removed

2” piece of fresh ginger

If using organic vegetables, wash well and remove any stems. If not organic, peel the vegetables and remove most of the skin from the ginger and lime. Run everything through a juicer, or blend in a blender, then strain. If desired, add your favorite green powder. Enjoy immediately!!