Monday back to the gym & Favas with ‘Shrooms

Back to the gym….my goodness 5am comes early in the morning. I did a little time on the elliptical, spin bike and finished with the track. Not the best calorie burn day but my knee feels okay. Dan did say I was limping a little on the track so maybe I still need to take it easy for a few weeks. Darn it! On the bright side there was no serious pain though my knee felt a bit unstable, so I shouldn’t complain. ;-) I bought an adjustable sport knee wrap Sunday night but it felt weird so I didn’t wear it. Do any of you have a knee wrap you like? If you do I would love to know the brand.

Since Sunday Dan’s voice has been a little froggy sounding. He said his throat doesn’t hurt and he doesn’t have a fever or any aches but I still wanted to get some raw garlic into him since it is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Of course I crushed the garlic and let it sit 10 minutes before we consumed it so the allicin had time to develop. I made us some quick tomato juice in the Vitamix by combining: 32 ounces canned tomatoes (no salt), ½ raw red pepper, ½ cucumber, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon dill, ½ teaspoon celery seed and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth and serve. You can add ice to this or drink it room temperature. I think it has been flavor when it is room temperature.

Dan’s breakfast this morning was oats with wild blueberries (frozen), cinnamon, ginger, ground flaxseeds, walnuts and a little stevia.

We also had a mug of Youthberry white tea from Teavana which has become our latest obsession. If you haven’t tried it this stuff is really good. Pricey, but good!

My breakfast was the end of the miso veg soup with okara. Having soup for breakfast lately suits me well. I will need to make more soup soon so I have that option in the morning. I have come to the conclusion that I am much more a savory than sweet person though Dan likes his sugar. I need to work on cutting that back for him though he still has good fasting blood glucose so I might be getting too hyper about this. OCD, me? I bet you can’t imagine that can you? ;-)

My lunch was Indian leftover from last night without the rice.

My afternoon snack was cucumber slices which I dipped into cashew and sundried tomato dressing that I made last week.

I also had an orange and two Brazil nuts.

Since we ate the end of the cooked beans in the Indian food I knew that was on my agenda today. We hadn’t had fava beans in a while so I grabbed some of those from my pantry.

Egyptian flavored Fava Beans and Shitakes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup dried fava beans (cook 10 minutes and peel)
6 cups water
16 ounces diced tomatoes (no salt) or 15 ounce can of low or no salt tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 red onion, finely diced
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup dried shitake mushrooms
2 cups water for rehydrating mushrooms
2 meyer lemons, zested and juiced (or substitute 1 lemon and ½ orange)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the beans and water and boil for 10 minutes then let them cool enough so you can pick them up. Remove the dark outer skin and throw that away. Return the peeled beans to the pot and cook until tender.

While the beans are cooking combine the dried mushrooms and water and heat for a few minutes then allow the mushrooms to sit in the liquid for at least 30 minutes until they are tender enough to cut into thin slices (6 or 8 slices per cap).

When the beans are tender add the remaining ingredients except the lemon and cook until the veggies are tender.

When you are ready to serve, top the beans with lemon zest and juice. I served this over baked sweet potatoes for dinner with two servings leftover for lunch tomorrow.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 205.41
Calories From Fat (4%) - 9.2

Total Fat - 1.1g
Saturated Fat - 0.17g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 29.19mg
Potassium - 886.36mg
Total Carbohydrates - 40.79g
Fiber - 12.91g
Sugar - 6.23g
Protein - 12.62g

Comments:

This dish requires more work than most bean dishes due to peeling the beans. That step is a little tedious and time consuming but results in a very tender creamy bean so it is worth it occasionally, IMO. The flavor of this dish is mild until you add the lemon. I used meyer lemons because it was what I had in the house but regular lemons would also work but then use less since the flavor is more intense.

I had this on Tuesday for lunch and had it over white potato instead of sweet potato and used red wine vinegar in place of citrus and added parsley. Those changes were enough to make it taste like a second dish which is something I like to do with leftovers.

Dan needed the calories so I made him strawberry and banana soft serve with kale because there wasn’t any kale in breakfast. Yes we do try to eat dark leafy greens everyday for nutrition. As always I had a few spoons and gave most of the dessert to Dan.

Happy thoughts:

Monday was another good day for me. I was productive and had a good day making a dent in my to-do list. I have much to be thankful for and here are my happy thoughts today:

• I am always thankful when I can get items crossed off my to-do list. There is nothing like being productive to put a big smile on my face.

• It was great to get back to the gym and to no overdo it and harm my knee further. I feel good about learning to moderate my activity.

• We had a good food day in terms of health. Whenever we have a healthy food day I realize how fortunate we are that I have the both the time to research nutrition and make our food from scratch. I love knowing that what we eat nourishes us.

• My little fur kids were so precious today. I love them so much and I am very thankful to have them in our lives. They help to make our house a home. Who wouldn’t be smitten by a cat that gives wants to give you a bath? Our babies can be adorable.

• I am very fortunate to have many caring people in my life. How did I get so lucky? I am not sure but I am grateful to have them in my life. Thank you guys!

Signing out:

Time for me to spend time with my hubby and fur babies. I will talk to you again tomorrow with the results of pulling my pressure cooker out of storage. I tried one experiment and made a nice sweet and sour cabbage dish in the style of caponata today.

Enjoy the remainder of your evening.

Sweet and Spicy Beans with Shitake Mushrooms and Brown Rice

I had fresh beans and shitake mushrooms in the refrigerator and that screamed Chinese food to me. I considered making this dish all spicy but I don’t make sweet Chinese sauces very often so I decided to try to go left (not something I do well … I am far too predictable).

My husband enjoyed this dish tonight and will be taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. If you like Chinese food this is a fast, no fuss dinner.

Sweet and Spicy Beans with Shitake Mushrooms and Brown Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of short grain brown rice
2 cups of water
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

1 tablespoon of mirin
1 red onion, sliced thin
3 cups of green beans, tipped
3 cups of wax beans, tipped
½ pound of fresh shitake, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes so the allicin can develop)
½ tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely minced
2 tablespoons of agave
2 tablespoons of liquid aminos
1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce
2 tablespoons of cashews, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the rice, water and salt in pan with a lid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes longer (with the lid on) so all the water will absorb. Fluff the rice with a fork to serve. Don’t use a spoon it will mash the grains.

Heat a big pan and add the mirin and onion. Cook until the onion begins to soften slightly. Add the beans and cook for a minute or tow. Add the remaining ingredients except the cashews. When the vegetables are heated through add the cooked rice and toss to coat the rice with sauce. You want the to absorb the sauce as much as possible. As soon as the rice is heated through you are ready to eat.

Plate the rice, beans and mushrooms and top with a few cashews.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 274.29
Calories From Fat (11%) - 30.9

Total Fat - 3.79g
Saturated Fat - 0.45g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 642.31mg
Potassium - 289.57mg
Total Carbohydrates - 61.73g
Fiber - 9.33g
Sugar - 2.98g
Protein - 6.95g

Comments:

This is much more filling that it looks. My husband and I had a serving and I also couldn’t finish my dessert. On the other hand my husband had no difficulty eating two desserts (but he can always do that).

I decided to make this sweeter and less spicy but you can easily increase the chili and garlic sauce and get more heat into this dish. The dish was tossed into the pan to absorb the sauce. I wasn’t in the mood to use any cornstarch tonight and when you add the warm rice to the pan it eliminates that need.

If you like fresh beans and mushrooms I think you will like this dish.

Asian Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce and Cashews

This dish came together based on what we picked up from our organic CSA this morning. Bok choy is part of the cruciferous vegetable family and is thought to fight cancer. Some studies indicate that shitake mushrooms also exhibit cancer fighting abilities in addition to a great deal of flavor. Onions, garlic and ginger all contain high levels of antioxidants and are thought to fight cancer. Snow peas were included for crunch. The black bean and garlic sauce was included purely for flavor. Cashews were included for healthy fat and texture and color. If I had had a red or orange bell pepper I would have added that to the dish for color, flavor and beta-carotene.

The combination of flavors and textures in this dish is good. You could turn this into four servings if you add 2 cups of cooked brown rice or noodles to the base of stir-fried vegetables. I wanted to keep the nutritional content of the meal high and that is why I did not include brown rice or noodles.

Asian Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce and Cashews
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 head of bok choy, sliced
2 cups of snow peas
¼ pound of fresh shitake mushroom caps, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 tablespoons of black bean and garlic sauce (jarred sauce on the Asian aisle of the store)
4 tablespoons of cashews

Directions:

Sauté onion in canola oil over high heat for two minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except cashews) and cook for approximately 5 minutes until vegetables are soft. Plate stir fried vegetables and top with cashews. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 345.51
Calories From Fat (43%) - 149.89

Total Fat - 17.39g
Saturated Fat - 2.3g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1405.83mg
Potassium - 1588.09mg
Total Carbohydrates - 37.72g
Fiber - 11.53g
Sugar - 13.11g
Protein - 15.56g

Comments:

The calorie count on this dish is very low considering the large quantity of food it made. If you want to reduce the fat you can easily eliminate the canola oil and use a little water to stir fry the vegetables. I had not initially planned on adding the cashews or I may not have omitted the oil. The fiber count, grams of protein and potassium in this dish are also quite good.

This dish comes together very quickly. I had everything prepped to go into the hot pan in about 5 minutes. The total cooking time was about 7 or 8 minutes. I love a dinner that I can pull together in less than 15 minutes from mostly fresh ingredients.

If you are unfamiliar with black bean sauce it is a wonderful sauce that is savory, salty and has a lot of umami. I learned to love black bean sauce in San Francisco and have been buying it ever since. If I decide to figure out how to make black bean sauce I will post it on the blog.