One Step At a Time...
You Can Go Meatless
One Day For All Three Meals
Natural Gourmet partners with doctors from Lenox Hill Hospital to promote wellness through cooking.
On October 15, Natural Gourmet Institute had the privilege to host Dr. Robert Graham, his wife Julie Graham (a certified holistic health coach), and 13 residents from New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital for a special, hands-on evening of healthy vegetarian cooking. The Grahams and NGI created the event to draw attention to the Meatless Monday campaign and give doctors the knowledge and tools to treat common lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity with healthy food choices and cooking techniques.
The evening kicked off with hors d’oeuvres and a meet-and-greet between the doctors and NGI staff. Then it was into the kitchen for the doctors to prepare a healthy, balanced vegetarian meal under the direction of NGI instructor Richard LaMarita, who designed the Italian-inspired menu.
Colin Zhu, a recent graduate of NGI’s Chef’s Training Program and first-year resident at CentraState Health Care System, introduced the evening’s recipes and talked about their health benefits and nutritional highlights. Chef Rich followed with a quick knife skills tutorial, and then the doctors teamed up to make a healthy, seasonal four-course meal.
The class was a resounding success and the first in a series where these internists, each committed to promoting the role food choices make in our health, will learn basic vegetarian cooking techniques they can share with patients.
Maybe more hospitals and health care institutions will follow in Lenox Hill Hospital’s footsteps!
I know many people think chicken is a healthier alternative to red meat, but..."Eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States goes to chicken, pigs, cows and other animals that people eat, yet producers of meat and poultry are not required to report how they use the drugs — which ones, on what types of animal, and in what quantities."
Healthy Meatless Recipe:
Orzo-Stuffed Peppers
(Courtesy of Giada DeLaurentis)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
- 2 medium zucchini, grated
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
- 6 sweet bell peppers (red or yellow)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and break them into pieces using a pair of kitchen shears or your fingertips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo will be only partially cooked. Drain the orzo through a sieve, reserving the chicken broth, and add the orzo to the large bowl with the vegetables. Stir to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.
- Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.
- Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle each pepper with cheese, and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the stuffed peppers to serving plates. Garnish with basil, if desired.
- Serves 4-6.
Enjoy and Bon Appetit!
Healthy Weekly Motivator:
Food Day is Wednesday, October 24
Food Day is a nationwide celebration and movement of healthy, affordable and sustainable food. Food Day Kansas City intends to spread the word by strewing Apple Share events throughout the metropolitan area. Apples are at the core of health — an easy and inexpensive way to chomp on real food, plus they embody a symbol to raise awareness about food issues. Apples will be doled out at various venues not only for nutrition, but to get us thinking about daily diets and health.
Food Day does not merely cull from the small pool of foodies, grub pundits, locavores, vegetarianism, lifer organizers, health freaks and so forth. Food Day is not a limited campaign replete with superficial goals and vapid aims. Food Day does not insinuate that you reject your diet entirely only to embrace the strictures of vegan life. Not at all, as it’s about good food and choices.
Food Day should be an inspiring event, and the day accepts all — vegetarians, carnivores, and omnivores alike. Food Day is a celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainable food, and represents a campaign for better food policies. All that we humbly ask is to strive for good, real meals at your table — at homes, restaurants, cafeterias, or businesses — whether communally or alone. Serve some kindness on your plates and avoid that fast food nation. Join hands and reduce obesity, heart disease and diabetes rates while eating well. Become more informed and cognizant of your food choices, ever so slightly or even more and become active.
Each of us must, by necessity, eat and drink almost daily. So, why ever make the art of cooking and eating so unwholesome?
Above all, please remember our children…meanwhile, munch on an apple!
Have a great week everyone and remember a better tomorrow starts with what you eat today! Do you have a favorite meatless recipe you would like to share with us? Send it my way!
Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,
Lisa
LQ WELLNESS
Professional Wellness Coach
973-383-0955
Interested in Optimal Wellness? Take a look at products available here!
Make sure to follow me on Twitter @lq_wellness
“Let thy food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be thy food.”
~Hippocrates, Father of Medicine~
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