You won’t find many beef recipes on my site, but my Asian Chili Beef is a good one! Red meat has been independently associated with an increased risk for cancer. But if you choose a clean high-quality beef, like grass-fed tenderloin, for an occasional meal, it is likely (though we don’t really know because the studies haven’t been done) that you’ll minimize your risk while benefiting from the nutrient-richness of beef.
The plants in this recipe – the cilantro, chili, onions, and coconut, all dance nicely with beef (in flavor and nutrition) in a sweet-and-spicy Asian flavor marinate that becomes a sauce. So, in these last chilly nights of late winter, as we wait for warmer months to come, here’s a way of having a rich and flavorful meal that is healthful too.
If this recipe appeals but beef is too rich for you, you can use the same marinade for tofu, fish, or chicken. These will all cook much faster, but will still give you the sweet-and-spicy Asian tang. Yum!
My Asian Chili Beef is a way of having a rich and flavorful meal that is healthful too. The plants in this recipe – the cilantro, chili, onions, and coconut all dance nicely with beef (in flavor and nutrition) in a sweet-and-spicy Asian flavor marinate that becomes a sauce.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Equipment
large (glass or metal) bowl
large skillet or wok
Ingredients
1poundtender high-quality beeflike tenderloin or filet mignon
1/2onionchopped
1cupfresh cilantrochopped
1-2tspThai red chili pastestart with less and turn up the heat as desired
1-inchpiece of fresh gingerpeeled and chopped
1large shallot
1garlic clove
1Tbsphoney
2Tbsptamari or Bragg’s
1Tbspcoconut oil
Instructions
Mix all ingredients except beef in a large (glass or metal) bowl. Slice beef into thin strips – about 1/4″ by 3″. Place beef slices into the marinade, and leave in the refrigerator (marinate!) for anywhere from one hour to overnight.
Heat coconut oil in a large skillet or wok, over high heat. Place beef slices into the wok/skillet and sear each side for 3-5 minutes. Pour remaining marinade into pan over beef, turn heat down to medium-high, allowing the marinade to thicken and coat the beef.
Serve with brown rice and a vegetable dish like my Asian slaw.
Just completed the first draft of a book proposal for easeful whole-food eating. YEAH! So, I’ve been reading the amazing food meisters around the net to hear the consensus for quick & easy weeknight dinners. I agree with what I found; two pans max, about 40 minutes of active work max (which does not include the time your sauce simmers away or time in the oven). Leftovers are good. Happy times, because that’s how I cook and I have a great Coconut Peanut Chicken with Sweet Potato recipe for you that fits the bill.
Here is a skillet chicken recipe that is just that: easy, one pan, really flavorful, and great leftovers. The sauce will be lovely over veggies and the chicken will be wonderful tomorrow if you can resist eating it all tonight.
This recipe serves 2, with leftover sauce
Here is a skillet chicken recipe that is just that: easy, one pan, really flavorful, and great leftovers. The sauce will be lovely over veggies and the chicken will be wonderful tomorrow if you can resist eating it all tonight.
This recipe serves 2, with leftover sauce
3Tbspfresh cilantro – stalksfor sauce plus a few whole sprigs for garnish
1/4cpeanut butter
1tsphot chili sauce
1sweet potato – peeled and cubed
Instructions
In a large skillet turned to high, add onions and sear the chicken thighs, skin-down first (to get some fat in the pan). About 10 minutes.
Turn down to medium-low, add sweet potato, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
In a blender, pour coconut milk, ginger, cilantro, and blend until smooth. Run through a sieve (to remove some of the ginger woody pulp) into a medium bowl, add peanut butter and chili sauce, and whisk until smooth.
Add sauce to skillet mixture and simmer another 15-20 minutes.
Top with springs of cilantro and enjoy.
Notes
My Coconut Peanut Chicken with Sweet Potato recipe is easy to expand; you can easily toss in 2 more chicken thighs, or another sweet potato, depending on what you want for leftovers and how many mouths you are feeding tonight. Or, just double the whole recipe. You’ll be getting into 2-pan territory if you do that unless you have a really large skillet.
For all my recipes, I suggest using the cleanest ingredients you can find and afford. So, grass-fed organic chicken (and other meats and eggs) is always best, and organic or bio-dynamic herbs and vegetables are best, though consulting the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15/Dirty dozen list can be helpful if buying all organic will send you to the poor house (or make your house the poor house). Across the board, using ingredients in their whole form will usually give you the most nutrition. So, if you can grind your own peanut butter from organic peanuts, excellent. If you grow your own herbs, lovely. If not, just do the best you can and worry not about it. Every single ingredient has a whole-to-refined story (unfortunately), so it is hard to keep up. I do find that if you invest time and energy into eating a little cleaner and a little simpler, you will begin to see changes. Keep going!
Enjoy!
Annie
I love this recipe for pumpkin custard! Quick, easy, tasty, healthy. Boom.
My recipe was developed for the Natural Health Expo in the fall with the intention of having a healthier holiday. I wanted to make a no-bake vegan pumpkin pie recipe, and this fits the bill. It uses the amazing product, cashew cream (a DIY product, that is). I’m excited to continue to play with it through the spring & summer.
You could sub cooked sweet potato or any yellow squash for the pumpkin if you’d rather roll that way. Too, changing the spice profile to include other sweet spices like cloves and cardamom is certainly in my future.
My recipe for a vegan maple pumpkin custard was developed for the Natural Health Expo in the fall with the intention of having a healthier holiday. I wanted to make a no-bake vegan pumpkin pie recipe, and this fits the bill.
Course Dessert, Snack
Keyword custard, pUMPKIN, Vegan
Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
1cuppumpkinorganic from can
1/2cupcashew cream
1/4cupmaple syrup
2tspfresh gingerminced
1tspcinnamonground
1/2tspnutmegground
1/2tspsalt
Instructions
Blend everything together and serve up daintily. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
We find that eating this in small tasting portions tastes best. More serving ideas: Serve over graham cracker crumbles or crust, top with candied nuts.Click here for the recipe link for Cashew Cream
Let’s talk lentils. Easy and quick to cook (20-30 minutes and don’t need soaking like other beans and pulses), lentils are the short cut to more plant protein in your diet. Nutrient dense, they are also rich in fiber, folate, and other nutrients. They are low digestive gas-producers relative to other beans and pulses. I’ve heard that if you drop them into boiling water they produce less gas but I have not yet put that to the test. I also like to use a thumb-sized piece of the seaweed kombu in the water – it adds minerals and reduces gas.
Lentils absorb the flavors in which they are cooked, so what you cook them with is key to what you have in the end; tasteless mush or tasty mush. It’s all in the seasoning.
Here’s a recipe I developed over the holidays, using French green lentils, but feel free to substitute any lentil you can get your hands on.
10 min to prep
40 min to cook
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups lentils (I used French green lentils)
1 1/2 Tbsp ghee
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped, or 1/2 c tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp cumin or curry spice
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
3-4 c water
Directions
Place chopped onion and ghee in a large pot over medium heat until the onions are soft. Add other ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and simmer 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.
Makes about 3 cups.
Serve warm with rice, steamed vegetables, or roasted winter squash.
Would you like a recipe that can, in one fell swoop, transition you joyfully to a more plant-based diet? Cashew cream just might be that recipe. It is a fantastic vegan substitute for dairy cream and creamy cheeses like ricotta or cream cheese. It makes a killer alfredo sauce for over vegetables. It is absolutely divine in a lasagna, as a whole or partial substitute for ricotta. Best of all, it is very very easy to make (though you do need to soak the nuts overnight).
Whip up a batch and you’ll see what I mean.
Cashew Cream Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
water for soaking
1/2-3/4 c additional water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper
Directions
Soak cashews in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Place all ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth and the desired consistency is reached. Use less water if you are aiming for a thicker cheesier consistency, and more water if you are aiming for a creamier consistency.
Variations: add garlic, ginger, scallions or other herbs and spices to taste.
Enjoy!
My Ayurvedic brothers and sisters may balk at a raw lemony kale salad (though acid in lemons does “cook”) in winter, but how much I love this salad in this season reminds me that we do need to hold food rules more lightly than hard-and-fast. In Ayurveda, winter is the time of warming stews and cooked vegetables, which makes perfect sense. I have found, in my own experimentation of Ayurveda, that tending my constitution with food works best when I enjoy the whole foods I’m drawn to and then use spices to address my constitution.
For all nutritional guidance, each of us is one point on a spectrum for any particular tenet; we will each react a little differently. Ultimately, to find what works for you, when you encounter a guideline that gives you that ping of recognition “this might be good for me!” see how you feel when you really practice it. You might use a food journal to connect what you eat with how you are feeling and reacting. If you are puzzled by the process, happily there is an army of professionals who can help you out (including me).
This salad always bursts with life, color, and nutrition. In this season of sugar, here’s an antidote!
Lemony Kale Salad Recipe
Ingredients
1 bunch lacinata kale, sliced thin
1/2 orange or red pepper, cubed
2 scallions, sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
For the dressing
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 small clove garlic
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar and shake to blend. Place the sliced kale in a bowl, add a few Tbsp of dressing and yes! MASSAGE. Give it a good rub, a good toss. Or, let it sit in the dressing while you do the dishes, draw a bath or otherwise occupy yourself. Then add remaining salad ingredients and the rest of the dressing. Toss and serve.
Enjoy.
Annie
