Prospero's Kitchen

You're too busy, too worn-out, and can't think about being healthy

That sounds like a lot of us, doesn't it? But if you regularly take even a few moments out of your frantic life, you'll see results very soon.

Try walking. You can walk from where you park your car at the end of the parking lot to your office, classroom, grocery story, or shopping mall. You didn't notice that much, did you? If you can't walk, try wall push ups

Try chilling. You're at your desk and the papers are piled up in front of you. They're a mess and you're on edge. Try closing your eyes for ten seconds, breathing deeply, imagining that you're breathing out all that clutter in your mind. Easy. Right?

You're exhausted at the end of the day and can't even think about cooking. What you want to do is stop on the way home and pick up something at the drive-through. Try resisting the urge to grab a quick fix that's usually over salted and high in fat. Instead when you get home, take out a carton of flavored low-fat or fat-free yogurt or a small carton of flavored low-fat or fat-free milk and drink it while you're sitting down. Then, when you've got some energy back, take out some nutritious leftovers or stir-up a Super Easy recipe like the one below. Add an apple or other fruit of your choice and you're on your way to a strong, vital, healthy life!

Toasted Cheese with Tomato Slice

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 teaspoons lite mayonnaise

2 slices whole grain bread

2 slices reduced-fat cheese such as mozzarella or Swiss

2 slices from a large tomato, if available

Method

Cover cookie sheet or toaster oven tray with aluminum foil. Spread lite mayonnaise onto each of two bread slices. Place cheese and then tomato on each slice of bread. Put the cookie sheet into the oven or the tray into a toaster oven. Toast until the cheese begins to melt and the bread turns brown. Remove with a spatula onto plates.

 

I'm Baaack! With Some Pretty Good News

Thanks for being patient. I've been hunkered down going over my soon-to-be-published book page by page, line by line. And in doing so, I've realized this is NOT a gourmet cookbook. It's a collection of delicious, healthy, very easy recipes and shortcuts on how to eat healthily.

Several readers of this blog volunteered to be recipe testers, some from as far away as the United Kingdom and Australia. And surprisingly, I learned most from those recipe testers who weren't gourmet cooks. I also learned from the gourmet cooks about tweaks that the recipes needed.

We, those of us who are foodies, have gotten used to recipes and cookbooks that assumed we all know a lot about cooking and have lots of time to do it. The truth is we don't. And that's where the revised theme of the book started. Busy people won't  bother with the recipes if they seem difficult or speak a foreign gourmet language.  So, the book, Even You Can Be Healthy, now has a subtitle: This is NOT a gourmet cookbook!

Stay tuned. I'll be posting more recipes, more advice on becoming healthy, more ways to do it all easily. So that Even You Become Healthy!

What does being healthy mean? Plus Crustless Spinach, Bell Pepper, Feta Quiche Recipe

Trying to let the artist who's making drawings for the soon-to-be released book on healthy living, I told her that being healthy means you can do the things that matter to you. You can garden, do woodwork, hike in the woods, shop, cook, bowl. You can feel good about yourself and life. You can attend your house of worship, volunteer, work on a regular basis. 

And a healthy lifestyle means not only healthy eating, though that's a large part, it also means bringing exercise and stress relief into your everyday life, smoothly and easily. I'll be writing about those aspects of healthy living in upcoming posts. Watch for them.

In the meantime, here's today healthy, delicious, easy to make recipe. These photos were made by my sister-in-law who tested the recipe and has her own blog, CiaoChowLinda.blogspot.com. She focuses on Italian cooking and it's a beautiful and fascinating blog. Visit it.

Here's the recipe for today, and like all the recipes I give you, it's easy and healthy and you'll want to make it part of your cooking and eating life:

Crustless Spinach, Bell Pepper, and Feta Quiche

“Overall, this is a good recipe,” said Linda Prospero, CiaoChowLinda.blogspot.com, and recipe tester.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

½ cup bell pepper, seeds and pith removed, chopped. Red bell pepper adds color to this dish.

1 cup onion, chopped finely

1 package pre-washed fresh baby spinach leaves or 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and moisture removed by squeezing

About 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste, adding a minimum

½ cup low-fat or skim milk or “milk” of your choice, not sweet

4 eggs

½ cup crumbled feta cheese or shredded parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottom of pie plate or baking pan with half the oil.

Chop the bell pepper and onion. Add the other half of the oil to a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté bell pepper, stirring, for about 1 minute, then add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.

Remove water from fresh or defrosted frozen spinach and add to the skillet, stirring for about 1 to 2 minutes, until vegetables are well mixed. Remove skillet from heat and season bell pepper, onion, and spinach mixture with basil, salt, and pepper to your taste. Stir.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk or “milk” of your choice, not a sweet milk.

Sprinkle feta or Parmesan cheese over bottom of oiled pie plate or baking pan. Arrange vegetable and spinach mixture on top of cheese. Pour egg mixture over spinach and bake the  crustless quiche on a cookie sheet in middle of oven for about 20-25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the middle. If it comes out clean, the crustless quiche is ready. Wait about 10 minutes and then slice into serving-size pieces. Serve with a salad (recipes on pages xx, xx, and xx) on the side and warmed whole wheat baguette

Recipe tested by Linda Prospero

 

 

 

Healthy, Easy, Chocolate Mousse!

Becoming healthy means we pay attention to what we put into our bodies. It doesn't mean giving up our sacred, favorite goodies. With this recipe you get your chocolate fix without the downside of high fat.

The essential threes of health are exercise, stress relief, and most of all healthy eating. And healthy food means loading our plates with colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains (not white flour), and lean protein (no saturated fats or trans fat).

The dish here, Healthy, Easy, Chocolate Mousse has cocoa powder as an all important ingredient to chocolate lovers. There's no settled definition of the cocoa pod. Some say the inner part, from which we get out cocoa, is a seed, some say a nut. What matters to us is that with cocoa powder the fat has been removed and we get the powder, plain and simple.

The other part of this dish that is important to us healthy eaters is the tofu, which is derived from soy beans and is very high in protein.

Overall this amazingly good, healthy dessert is very low in calories and a good source of protein, too. Make it, enjoy it, and don't feel the least bit guilty.

(This recipe was tested by Emma Allan, UK, photo by Emma, also.)

Chocolate Mousse Light

This tastes rich and delicious and it’s so good for you as well as being extremely easy to make. I recommend you try this easy recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

8-12 ounces plain silk tofu

1/3 to ½ cup cocoa, regular, not extra-dark

½ cup sugar or honey, or to taste

1 tablespoon vanilla, or to taste

1 tablespoon milk or more as needed, low-fat or skim, or “milk” of your choice, just enough to liquefy

Method

Add all ingredients except milk to blender bowl. You can also use a handheld blender in a small bowl.  Blend until smooth, adding milk only if needed to liquefy. Adjust sweetener, cocoa, and vanilla to taste. Pour into a bowl, serving dish, or individual custard cups. Chill 2 to 3 hours or more until ready to serve. The mousse will set as it chills. It keeps well in refrigerator.

White Fish Fillet with Tomato, Onion, Capers, and Olives

This recipe is a prime example of the easy, delicious, healthy recipes that I'm collecting for you.

The cook who tested this recipe says, “This was the first time I had ever used capers in a recipe, and I love the flavor they added. The dish was really easy and really tasty. I like the fact that it cooks all in one skillet and is done in about 30 minutes. You can bet I'll be cooking this recipe again and again!” 

Let me know what you think!

 

White Fish Fillet with Tomato, Onion, Capers, and Olives

Serves 4-8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

½ cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 14.5-ounce can tomatoes, diced, any flavor

1 tablespoon capers (optional)

2 tablespoons canned black olives, sliced and drained (optional)

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley 

1 pound raw fish fillets such as tilapia, snapper, sea bass, grouper, sole, or flounder (Tilapia is very inexpensive.)

Juice of ½ lemon or 1 teaspoon vinegar

Method

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté onion till tender. Add fresh garlic, if using, and sauté for 1 minute more. Stir in canned tomatoes with juice, powdered garlic, if using, and parsley. Add red pepper flakes, capers, and black olives, if using. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. (This dish tastes best if you use most ingredients when cooking it.)

Remove cover and add raw fillets. Drizzle the lemon juice or vinegar over the fillets and spoon the sauce over them. Re-cover and simmer for another 10-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. The fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.

Serve over about ½ to ¾ cup cooked brown rice, couscous, or other whole wheat pasta.

 

 

What You Eat Determines Your Health--Mostly

The basics of healthy eating are so simple it'll be hard for you to forget them.

• Eat lots of colorful vegetables and fruit. They can be fresh, canned, or frozen, which is especially high in nutrients because they're packed immediately after harvest.
• Use “good” fats. That's olive oil and canola oil. Other vegetable oils work well, too. The polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and fish lower disease risks. Our bodies absolutely need good fats to function well.
• But we don't need the "bad" fats that clog our arteries and cause diseases. Stay away from saturated fats found in red meats and full-fat dairy and from trans fats, hydrogenated oils, found in processed foods and baked goods.
  
• Whole grains need to be a part of our diets, not white flour, which is considered a "bad" carb. Whole grains are a good source of fiber and needed nutrients such as selenium, magnesium, and potassium.
• Use low-fat proteins, such as skinless chicken breast, beans, and nuts, and lean cuts of beef and pork. And have two servings a week of fish.

Here's today's recipe, a one-pan dish with low-fat proteins, white beans:

Amazing Response from Recipe Testers

My asking for Recipe Testers a couple of days ago got a generous and welcome response. Testers who worked on Chefs of the Triangle recipes from the chefs answered. New testers who are interested in the book and in being a part of its coming into being answered.

I'm grateful and overwhelmed.

My goal is the get the book to the publisher before the end of July. So if you'd like to join the rest of us in testing the recipes, please do. Your reward is that you'll be a part of creating this book on leading a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy food, directed to busy people.

Your name is published in the book and you receive a free published book. Who knows? It might even help you?

Sign on to be a Recipe Tester today!

Why Bother? After All, It's a Lot of Trouble

Because You'll Gain Increased Energy and Stamina, Clearer Mind, and A Better Quality of Life

But you don't have the time to devote to eating better, exercising, even chilling out. You've already got too many activities, many responsibilities, and lots of things that must be done—now! You eat on the run--in a meeting, at your desk, in the car as you're taking the kids to school. And you don’t exercise. Probably don’t get enough sleep. And surely don’t eat right.

Who has the time to cook? It's too easy to go out to eat or pick up a fast food meal.

Yet the facts are that by paying attention to three simple aspects of a healthy life, the dividends far exceed the time and effort expended. Those three cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle are:

• Exercise
• Rest and stress relief, and, above all
• Healthy eating

If  you decide to give your body and mind the chance to become healthy, to soar at their optimums, you'll see almost immediate results from minimum changes to your life. You'll be surprised at how easy these changes will be, and you'll end up feeling good about yourself, having a longer life span, and finding yourself free from all those diseases that are associated with the way your were living before--unhealthily. And when you make the decision to be healthy, you'll be more in control of your life.

How about a healthy, easy recipe for today?

First Make the Decision to Live a Long and Vital Life

Your first and most important step on this journey to a healthy and vital life is to decide that you're going to do what it takes to make that change. I know you dread the thought of eating the right foods, giving up your favorite treats, shunning exercise because it tires you out, and not to mention the time it takes to calm down! Who wants to do all that? Just for being healthy? Not you. Not most people.

That's where this blog comes in. You'll see that becoming healthy and vital and more energetic is actually kind of easy. A lot easier than you ever dreamed it could be. You're going to discover the whole thing is really very do-able.

You'll find out the shortcuts--didn't think there were shortcuts, did you?--to a healthy diet with lots of simple and easy-to-make recipes; to finding the time for exercise, time that was there all along; and to looking for calming moments in your daily life.

Stay with me. We'll do this together.

Now for the recipe of the day:

So You Want to Be Healthy, But Don't Have the Time

This blog is for all of you who want to be healthier and to have a better quality of life but don’t really know where to begin. And you don’t have the time or energy or money to live healthier. You think it'll be demanding. But the reality is that when you start living a healthy life, you'll have more energy and you'll feel great. Plus, you'll save money when your frequent visits to doctors’ offices become a thing of the past. 

I want to help you become healthier and I want to show you how it's easy and simple to live a long and good life as strong people.

Your first and most important step is to make the decision that you're going to change for the better. And when you make that decision, you'll see that those changes are far easier than you ever imagined. I’ll show you some shortcuts you may not have known. That includes the easy way to a healthy diet with some quick and simple recipes, plus hints about how to find time for exercise in your everyday life and where you'll find those calming moments.

Here's you first menu and a recipe from that menu. Many more will follow in the days to come. Since this is summer, or almost, the menu comes from the Summer section of the Healthy Eating Plan:

Main Meal Menu

Salmon with Brown Sugar, Balsamic Vinegar, and Light Soy Sauce Marinade, Recipe below

Brown Rice or Couscous

Baby Lettuce Salad with Scallions and Seasonal Vegetables with Salad Dressing

Baguette, Whole Wheat

Blueberries or Strawberries with Milk

Salmon with Brown Sugar, Balsamic Vinegar, and Light Soy Sauce Marinade

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pound salmon fillet, fresh caught or farm grown (This amount leaves leftovers for Light Meal, Day 2, page xx.)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or other vinegar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method

Raise oven shelf to about 6 inches below the broiler coils. Preheat oven to broil. Cover rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place salmon fillet skin-side down on the cookie sheet.

Salmon Marinade: In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, vinegar, and light soy sauce. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour part of the marinade by the tablespoonful over the salmon. Let sit for 15 minutes. Reserve remaining marinade to add to cooking salmon and to serve over rice.

Place cookie sheet with salmon under the broiler and cook on the first side for about 4-6 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, turn the salmon over with a spatula, and spoon more marinade over the fish. Insert cookie sheet back into the oven and broil another 3-4 minutes. The flesh should be firm, flaky, and opaque.

Remove cookie sheet from oven and scrape or peel the skin from the fillet. There are four servings in a 1-pound fillet. Serve the left-over marinade in a small bowl for the rice or couscous. Serve half the cooked salmon fillet for a dinner for two. Reserve the other half of the cooked salmon fillet for a salmon sandwich for a lunch or future meal..

 

We're starting the journey today to a healthy life, the easy way!

Today's the Big Day! Join me as I help you as you begin your journey to a healthy, long, and vital life. I'm going to start with some of the reasons why you need to lead a healthy lifestyle and then I'm going to show you that health and a healthy life can be very easy to achieve. I'll show you how each step of the way.

I'm also going to include easy recipes and shortcuts to healthy eating. This part will be available all along the way. So join in! Now! Let me know what you really want to know about healthy living, the easy way. I'll give you what you want and need

Why exercise in a Healthy Eating plan?

You eat to provide energy to your body and nutrients to keep your system working at the optimum level. The calories that you put into your body should match the calories that you burn through your daily activities. That's one of the reasons you need to exercise--to burn calories. But there are even more compelling reasons.

Exercise is linked to your cognitive functions helping you to be more alert, to your emotional well being leading you to become more positive and less depressed, and to a healthy body that works smoothly and efficiently . Exercise, too, lowers blood pressure and eases the effects of diseases on your system a thing of the past.

All you need to do is choose the exercise that suits you best. That could be a walk, gradually working up to the level till you're walking twenty to thirty minutes a day. Or a swim. Or sit ups in your bedroom. Or any activity that allows you to be committed to doing it everyday.

Some tips for making Healthy Eating easy

Tips for making your commitment to healthy eating easier:

Start out with adding fruit to your diet.

When you want something sweet, eat a banana, grapes, an orange, or another piece of your favorite fruit.

Don’t let yourself get starved before eating. This is not a deprivation diet. It is a Healthy Lifestyle. Go to your snack food that you have on hand and try to eat on schedule. If you’re starved, you eat much more to satisfy both the physical and emotional needs.

If you get the urge to eat an unhealthy food, try distraction. Take a walk outside. Call a friend.

Learn to read nutrition labels on what you buy at the grocery store. Soon certain restaurants will be required to post nutrition labels on menu items

The Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyle Plan

Our lives these days are filled with activities, responsibilities, and things that must be done. We probably don’t get enough sleep. We don’t exercise. And we don’t eat right because who has the time to cook and because we’d rather go out to ea or buy food already cooked. We combine eating with meetings and work, and ultimately, we think, save time and energy. Yet paying attention to a healthy lifestyle pays dividends far beyond the time and effort expended.

The cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle are exercise, rest and stress relief, and healthy eating. And the benefits far exceed the effort to gain a healthy lifestyle: more energy, feeling good about ourselves and our lifestyle, longer life spans, freedom from many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and even depression. We feel more in control of our lives.

Each of those factors is in your control. The decision to become healthy only seems difficult because it requires your commitment. It requires you to make decisions instead of automatically eating the way you’ve always eaten. Stopping by the bakery to buy cupcakes, picking up a quick meal at a fast food joint, eating all the goodies in the gifts you’re given, and being tempted by so many lures. But soon the old way will feel wrong and the new way seem natural, easy, and good..