Broccoli with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Club Dine In!

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Broccoli is not traditional in Indian cooking, but I used to love eating broccoli. Every Monday, I cooked my own meal of sauteed vegetables and broccoli was definitely part of the medley of vegetables. A few years ago, I stopped eating broccoli because it simply just didn’t agree with my body constitution. Satish, on the other hand, has almost the exact opposite of my body constitution and can digest most foods easily. His favorite snack is tortilla chips with salsa. In trying to eliminate all processed foods from our diet, I had to come up with fast, easy replacements for the chips. He also loves Chinese food, but we rarely ever eat it since high quality, inexpensive Chinese food is hard to find and I haven’t ventured into cooking it for ourselves. This is a great recipe that combines salt (soy sauce), spice (red chili flakes), and crunch (sesame seeds). I would hardly call this dish “Chinese”, but it has the flavor profile. The broccoli is full of vitamins and phytonutrients that will help your body fight free radicals and support your immune system. I sometimes serve this over a bed of quinoa for a complete meal. Low quality broccoli can forever leave a nasty impression in your mind, so it’s very important to choose a good stalk. Organic, local, or pesticide-free varieties are your best choices. Broccoli are naturally in abundance during the winter and only last a few days in the fridge before it starts to loose color.

Sesame Seed Broccoli
serves 2

Ingredients
2 cups cut Broccoli florets
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2-3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes (more or less to your liking)

Method
1. Cut and wash the broccoli under cool running water. Meanwhile bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Place broccoli in your vegetable steamer and cover. Let steam for 3 minutes. Or just add them into the boiling water and drain really well after 3 minutes of boiling.

2. While the broccoli is steaming toast red chili flakes and sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat. Once the sesame seeds start turning brown, remove quickly from heat. Toss in the steamed broccoli and soy sauce. Mix well and serve immediately. Tastes great over a bed of rice or quinoa.

Who wants to take me Asian pantry shopping, because broccoli+sesame seeds+ 365 brand soy sauce is just not cutting it for me?!

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Whole Grain vs Refined Flour

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Club Dine In!

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It is day 13 of January Rules and I am going strong. Interestingly, I have been presented with opportunities to eat processed flours- like croissant sandwiches, Mac n’ Cheese from Grub, and pizza from Tony’s Coal Fired Pizza. Constantly. I normally do follow the three rules of January Rules, or at least I thought I did. I have come to realize that my weakness for food made with refined flour is greater than I thought and I make a lot of exceptions. Pizza, croissants, desserts, breads, pasta- oh you name it and I love it. Unfortunately, all of these things are made with refined flours that have very little nutritional value and contribute to empty calories, fatigue, malnourishment, constipation, mood swings, and preventable chronic diseases.

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January Rules

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Club Dine In!

The holidays were really fun- going from one party to another, learning how to make cookies from scratch, participating in cookie swaps, decadent dinners, brunches, and exciting Club Dine In! events. My favorite was Irvin’s dessert party. Irvin, a passionate baker and blogger, throws an annual grandiose dessert party. He bakes all of his desserts from scratch and asks his guests to bring only their sweet tooth. Irvin had 21 desserts, all displayed beautifully with name cards. I tried to take only bite-sized servings of the desserts I really wanted to try, but I decided that everything was sooo worth it. My favorites were the Red Velvet Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting and Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Marshmallow Sour Cream Topping.

I baked cookies from scratch! Pistachio+Muscovado Sugar+Egg Whites+Meyer Lemon

I don’t feel that guilty about my indulgent ways in December and have set goals to get back on track to healthy eating and living. Instead of making large, undefined resolutions such as “losing weight” I’ve decided to go to the gym at least four times a week, limit desserts to once a week, and appreciate food more. I’ve also decided to clean up my act a bit more by participating in January Rules. Remember, the October: Unprocessed challenge? Andrew Wilder at Eating Rules has come up with another challenge: January Rules. This challenge is much more lax and asks you to follow only three rules. I already follow these rules normally, especially #2, but I need to more vigilant.

When you eat grains, eat only 100% whole grains.
Don’t eat high fructose corn syrup.
Don’t eat hydrogenated oils, trans fats, or anything that’s been deep-fried.

Also, once a week, go ahead and “cheat.” Eat anything you want. I encourage all of you to kickstart 2011 with joining me on January Rules. Follow the hastag #januaryrules on Twitter for inspiration, motivation, and ideas. Follow me on twitter for more frequent ideas on how to satisfy your sweet tooth, make unprocessed choices, and pretty pictures of food and other musings.