Healthy Stir Fry

Last Sunday I spent most of the day at home, working on school work or just nesting around the house.  I was starved for lunch and decided to make a filling meal, something that would get me through my 6:45 pm yoga class.  I had already defrosted some fabulous Sczechuan sauce that I had put in the freezer some months ago, as well as some random pieces of tempeh that I had left over from making a vegan meatloaf.  I am trying to eat all the odds and ends that I can't bear to throw out, but that pile up in the freezer.  I had a veggie bin full of produce so I decided all combined it would make a good stir fry.

There's not really a "recipe" for this, so I 'll just walk you through what I did.  This is a great way to cook.  Use what you have, and end up with a healthy and delicious meal.  No plowing through cookbooks and special trips to the grocery store!

Start by chopping the veggies that you have.  I had onion, carrots, cabbage, baby bok choy and broccoli.

Heat a big wok or skillet over high heat.  I use a really big cast iron wok. Cast iron is great because it is naturally non-stick and does leach chemicals into your food the way non-stick pans do.  In fact it is a source of iron as iron does come out into the food, especially if the food is acidic.  Here is a great article on cast iron cookware.

Add a spoon of coconut oil to the hot wok.  I love coconut oil which does not break down when heated, is a good source of medium chain fatty acids, and is a natural antioxidant, used in some cultures as a medicinal product.  Depending on the brand it can be very "coconutty."  Experiment to find the one you like best, but try to chose an unrefined, organic version if you can.

Add the veggies in order of length of time required to cook them.  Stir continually.  I added the onions and cooked a few minutes, then the carrots, cooking for about 5 - 8 minutes, then added the cabbage and broccoli and cooked for about 3 minutes, then the bok choy, cooking for another few minutes.  Basically cook to your desired level of softness.  I am not a fan of almost raw, so I cooked mine until they were tender.

 Add the chopped tempeh.  You could certainly use any sort of left over protein that you have.  I think shrimp would be good but you could use chicken or pork loin, whatever you like and have on hand.  You certainly could skip protein altogether.  Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add a handful of chopped cashews. Keep on stirring.

Add  a couple of spoonfuls of the sczechuan sauce.  I had sauce leftover from these Ina Garten noodles which are really good,  but the recipe makes a ton. I made a 1/2 recipe of the noodles a few months ago but made the whole recipe of the sauce.  It has a ton of ingredients so it is worth doing once and saving what you don't need. It froze beautifully.  It was really thick when I thawed it so I thinned it a bit with a little water.  You can use any other sauce of your choosing.  There are a number of prepared sauces you can buy.  Just read the label and get the one with the least amount of sugar and unpronounceable ingredients.  You could also add just some soy sauce, a squirt of sriracha, a spoon of sesame oil, maybe a splash of rice wine vinegar.  Whatever sort of Asian stuff you have in the pantry!

Keep stirring and cooking until it is all mixed up.
I served this on a half of baked sweet potato but you could eat it over rice or over nothing...just in a big bowl.  It was delicious, kept me full for hours, and was packed with nutrients.  I actually only ate a piece of fruit after yoga at 8:30 and I was satisfied!  This made a ton so I ate a huge plateful, and have had it for lunch several more times this week. Unfortunately I put one servings' worth in the freezer, so I didn't make much progress on the freezer clearing project! :)

What to eat for breakfast....

A couple of years ago I went to see an Ayurvedic medicine specialist.  I wanted to see what my dosha was and how I could eat better for my constitution.  (More info on Ayureda is here http://www.ayurvedapages.com/index.html)  Turns out I am a pitta/vata and my vata was out of balance.  Yes, it is all a little confusing and I left with a list of foods to eat (cooling foods like salad) and things to avoid (cabbage?!.) At any rate, one of my big take home messages was I eat a lot of wheat.  She analyzed a daily sample of food I eat and it was clear that I was eating wheat at almost every meal and in many snacks.  Easy to do! My wheat was mostly whole wheat but there are so many more grains and choices besides wheat!   Based on her recommendations and what I have learned in my Integrative Nutrition class, I have changed my diet considerably since then,  eating mostly vegetables, fruits, eggs, a little seafood and legumes.  I have focused on limiting wheat and and adding in other grains like brown rice, quinoa, barley, and millet.  Unfortunately I can overdo it on the cheese and dark chocolate!

Fast forward to January 2011.  I gained some weight over the last year first while training for a marathon (yes it is commonly happens) then when I had an injury and had to quit running, and lastly when I had knee surgery to fix the injury and had to stop all exercise for about 6 weeks.  So now I am trying to get back to a happy place where all my pants fit.  The last few weeks I have eaten mostly vegan (except some milk in my decaf coffee) and really focused on eating mostly vegetables, some fruits, legumes, nuts, tofu and tempeh.  I have stopped all refined sugar and most natural sugar, just for a while to see what happens.  Believe it or not, after the headache for a couple of days, I feel great, don't crave sugar or chocolate anymore, and don't get very hungry.  Three cheers!  But trying not to eat wheat and eating mostly vegan left me with what to eat for breakfast? Not toast, not eggs....so GRANOLA was a good answer.  I have made granola a number of times and have tons of recipes.  This time I tried a hybrid of a bunch of recipes and came up with a delicious batch. I eat a small amount (1/3 cup?) with almond milk and some added almonds, pecans, or hemp seeds for some added protein and goodness.  Today I added blueberries and blackberries.  Yes I know they are not in season but they were inexpensive and actually delicious.  A nice splurge from locavore eating!

Granola with Nuts and Coconut
4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 pecans
1 1/2 cup coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup flax meal
1 Tbsp cinnamon
big pinch of salt

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together all dry ingredients in a big bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in a small bowl, then mix into the oats mixture. Stir together until well mixed.  Pour onto a large jelly roll/sheet pan (large sheet pan with sides) and spread out evenly.  Bake in he over for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes, until golden brown. Add dried or fresh fruits of your choice when you serve.

Note: It will get crunchy as it cools.  If you want it to stick together in clumps you'll need to increase the agave.  You can change the type of nuts to add whatever you like best. If you add dried fruits before you bake it I find they get very dried out and not very good!

Welcome!

Well today is the day I am finally going to start the blog I have been thinking about for so long.  Hopefully someone will eventually read it!  I am a 47 year old nurse who works as a hospital administrator. I run a large cancer clinic and spend much of my time in personnel management and operational issues associated with having 78 employees and 200+ patients per day that rely on me!  Despite the rewards of being a nurse and all the passion and reward that implies, somehow I have lost the real zest for the work. To manage the stress I have a long time love for running...okay really just jogging... yoga, and cooking.

Through yoga I met someone who introduced me to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition http://www.integrativenutrition.com/
a wonderful school in New York City.  The timing was perfect and I enrolled in their distance learning program, and am almost finished -  soon to be a full-fledged Holistic Health Counselor.  I have found a new passion!  I started my business, Catherine Craig Health Counseling.  You can find my website at catherine-craig.com. I work with women, who like me, have spent years confused about what to eat to be healthy and find a happy weight. I have always latched on to whatever the latest news blurb was promoting....eat protein, eat low fat, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Schwartzbein, China Study, Belly Fat Cure....yes the list goes on and on. Clearly that latest thing had to be the answer! Little did I know/realize that the media and the hype is about making money and selling books or special products.   I am finally figuring it all out....

Eat real food!  Eat when you're hungry.  Figure out when and why you are eating if you aren't hungry. Sleep enough. Be active.  Find an exercise you like and do it! Find love with your family, your friends, your job...
Yes it all sounds easy, and it can be hard or it can be second nature.  I am working on the second, and although I am not perfect I am doing pretty well.  I am starting this blog so I can not only support my clients, but to reach other women in the same boat or struggling to get on board.  Together we will work it through so we can all live a happy and long life!  So please join me in this journey, to eat well and live fully!