Healthy, Fast, Easy (and delicious) Recipes: CookingLight.com

Posted on February 17, 2013 by marylbrandt

It’s not easy to eat well as a medical student, resident or busy physician. Besides setting a good example, eating well is important to feel well when working hard. .. not to mention it really pays off in the long run. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to eat well at work but you do have to cook (some) and plan (always).

One of my favorite sites to find healthy, easy, delicious recipes is cookinglight.com. They have sections like Superfast Stir-Fries and Sautés and Quick and Healthy Recipes which are fantastic for busy clinicians. If you aren’t a cook, they also have a section called Cooking 101 where you can learn basic techniques. Before you say you “can’t cook” remember – If you can learn anatomy, you can learn to cook!

Coconut Curried Pork, Snow Pea, and Mango Stir-Fry

Healthy, homemade steak house pizza

Chickpea Bajane

Fast, Easy Recipes: Canyon Ranch

Posted on September 13, 2012 by marylbrandt

I’m always looking for sources of recipes that meet my “pizza rule” for cooking. (Things that take less time to make than it takes to order a pizza).

Stressful work requires good fuel. Taking time to cook something healthy, satisfying and delicious provides that fuel – but it also sends a clear message that you are taking care of yourself. Canyon Ranch has been teaching people this message for years. They have a wonderful website with really delicious, easy and healthy recipes.

Recipe for Salmon with Mango Blueberry Salsa

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Recipe for vegetable soup

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Recipe Chicken Apple Quesadilla

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You are going to have to trust me on this one and try it. This is the most delicious cauliflower you will ever eat

Recipe for Mashed cauliflower

Setting an Example: Eating Well

Posted on August 5, 2012 by marylbrandt

At some point all physicians give advice to their patients about dietary changes to improve health. Let’s be honest. We don’t do so well ourselves. The “classic” fare of residency (donuts or muffins for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and some fast food on the way home) doesn’t really give you much credibility when you are talking to patients.

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No medical student or resident is going to be able to eat perfectly, exercise regularly, and do all the other things that lead to a healthier lifestyle. But every little change you make now will pay off. You’ll feel better and have more energy. You’ll be less likely to gain weight. And – you’ll be able to talk to patients – with specific examples – about what they can do to improve their own health.

In the crazy busy life of medical school and residency, it’s hard, if not impossible, to spend time and energy to shop, cook and eat really well. It doesn’t get much better once you start your practice. What is possible, no matter how busy you are, is to realize that there are some simple things you can do to improve what you are doing now.

My top 10 tips for better eating in medical school and residency

1. Eat fruits or vegetables with every meal or snack. This may mean buying a bag of apples once a week and just eating apples twice a day (boring but effective). Even better, follow the “USDA plate” recommendation – ½ fruit and vegetable, 1/4 protein 1/4 grain/complex carb on every plate of food you eat.

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2. Eat breakfast. If you are up too early to really eat, make a smoothie the night before to put on the blender when you wake up and take it with you in the car. My personal favorite: ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, ½-1 cup of fruit, ¼ cup egg whites (pasteurized, in a carton), 1-2 Tblsp honey.

3. Eat more eggs (especially egg whites). Eggs have gotten a bad rap, but they are very cheap and very easy to cook. Cook hard boiled eggs on the weekend to eat for breakfast or snacks during the week. Make omelets or huevos ranchero for dinner. Go ahead and spend a little more to get cage-free eggs to do the right thing.

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4. Don’t skip meals. Even on the worst call day you can keep a meal replacement bar or two in your pocket.

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5. Pack the food you need for call days the night before so it’s ready to go in the morning.

6. Chop up a bunch of veggies on the weekend to throw in salads, soups or in wraps.

7. Cook or buy one good meal on the weekend that will last for part of the week. A good stew or soup? Lasagna? Look for good recipes on the web. If you really don’t want to cook, find a healthy caterer or restaurant to buy it instead.

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8. Take a good sandwich to work for one or more meals. Peanut butter on whole wheat may be monotonous, but a) it doesn’t have to be refrigerated and b) it beats McDonald’s.

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9. Free pizza isn’t really free. It’s incredibly high calorie and the ingredients in the cheap kind aren’t good for you. (Same for take out Chinese, donuts, muffins, etc)

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10. Skip the liquid calories. Cokes may give you an energy boost, but you are better off with real calories from a piece of fruit, a sandwich and some coffee or tea. (but learn how to use caffeine effectively)

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Zucchini

Posted on June 10, 2012 by marylbrandt

It’s summer and there are too many zucchinis (and yellow squash, tomatoes and other fabulous summer vegetables). Even in seasons other than summer, zucchini is always around and makes for really good eating!

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Cooking zucchini takes 5 minutes – just sauté them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and whatever herb you like (tarragon, thyme, basil). You can add in a little garlic if you’d like or (like the photo and recipe below) some almonds. Leftovers are great in salads or omelets, so cook more than you need for one meal.

Zucchini with almonds from Smitten Kitchen

One of my all time favorite summer foods is ratatouille, a great food that takes advantage of the bounty of the summer harvest. It’s easy to make and incredibly delicious. I suggest you make a big batch – It gets better with time (at least a few days). When you get tired of eating it plain you can put it over pasta, eat it cold (particularly good with cottage cheese), or mix it with a grain for a hot meal or salad.

Ratatouille recipe

Turkey stuffed zucchini from Skinnytaste.com

Tomato Zucchini Tart

Zucchini cups (and 20 more zucchini recipes from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

Fast, Easy Recipes: Kalyn’s Kitchen

Posted on January 17, 2012 by marylbrandt

I’m always looking for good websites for recipes that are healthy, simple and easy to make. In other words, the kind of food that makes it easy to avoid eating fast food when you are on call. Kalyn’s Kitchen is a fabulous website for delicious, healthy, and often low calorie recipes that meet the “pizza rule” for medical students and residents (i.e. recipes that take less time to prepare than it takes to order a pizza). She also really goes out of her way to teach each step in the recipe, so if you are new in the kitchen, this is a fabulous website for you!

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Capers and Tomatoes

Not-so-Dumb Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Onions, Avocado, and Balsamic Vinegar

Mediterranean Tostadas with Hummus, Feta, and Kalamata Olives

Crockpot Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup

Fast, Easy Recipes: The Gracious Pantry

Posted on August 21, 2011 by marylbrandt

The Gracious Pantry is written by a full time student who “creates simple, clean eating recipes with everyday ingredients.” The recipes are healthy, simple and beat eating fast food when you are on call. This website has a lot of delicious looking, healthy recipes that meet the “pizza rule” for medical students and residents (i.e. recipes that take less time to prepare than it takes to order a pizza).

Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk and Cilantro

Southwest Breakfast Muffins

Weeknight Spaghetti

Healthy Habits: Go Meatless (at least) One Day A Week

Posted on July 30, 2011 by marylbrandt

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to come up with monthly “resolutions” for myself and for anyone who follows this blog. Cooking Light magazine (which is one of my favorite sources of recipes and ideas for healthy living) had the same idea, so I am shamelessly borrowing their healthy habits! So, for August, think about setting a goal to go meatless one day a week.

It’s impressive to me how many of my colleagues, students and friends have become vegetarians. They have different reasons, from ethical concerns for how animals are treated to issues with their health. If you’ve thought about trying a vegetarian diet, this is a good month to experiment by going meatless one day a week.

What are the advantages of a vegetarian diet?

There is growing evidence that vegetarian diets can help with preventing or even treating a variety of disease states “such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, renal disease and dementia, as well as diverticular disease, gallstones and rheumatoid arthritis.”

You’ll save money. Meat costs more than fruits, vegetables, beans and grains.

It will be easier to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.

You’ll help the environment by decreasing the “carbon footprint” related to your food choices.

Here’s a list of 22 reasons to consider becoming a vegetarian

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What are the different kinds of vegetarian diets?

From Wikipedia: “An ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, such as eggs, dairy, and honey.”

How do you make sure you get adequate nutrients if you are not eating animal protein?

If you are going meatless a day or two every week, none of this will apply to you. If you are thinking about a completely vegetarian diet you may want to look at the the USDA resource page on Vegetarian Nutrition. The four nutrients that may be deficient in some vegetarian diets are:

Protein. If you include eggs and dairy products, it’s realtively easy to get enough protein in a vegetarian diet. Good protein sources include beans, soy products (tofu has 20gm of protein per cup) and nuts. In the past, people who ate a vegetarian diet were told to combine food to make sure they got complete proteins. Current thinking is a little different – as long as you are eating a variety of proteins during the day, you’ll be fine. Women need about 50 gm of protein a day, men a little over 60 (unless you are an endurance athlete, pregnant or nursing). Here’s a list of protein sources from SportsMed Web.

Calcium. If you include dairy products, calcium is not usually a problem. For vegans, it’s important to include calcium rich foods or consider a supplement.

B12 is only present in animal sources. For that reason, vegans are particularly at risk for B12 deficiency.

Iron Most vegetarians get enough iron if they eat a variety of foods, but a supplement may be necessary for some people.

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Where can I get good vegetarian recipes?

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day

Vegetarian Times

Vegetarian recipes from Epicurious.com

Vegetarian recipes from allrecipes.com

Food Network vegetarian recipes

Easy, Fast Recipes: Stone Soup

Posted on May 8, 2011 by marylbrandt

I found another great recipe site to share – Stone Soup. Jules Clancey, who developed her blog to share recipes, also runs a cooking school and has authored an ecookbook. The site has a great collection of recipes with only 5 ingredients – and that are usually well within the parameters of the “pizza rule”.

Zucchini “surprise” pasta

Chickpea and Rosemary Fritatta

Simple Salmon Kedgeree

Super moist carrot cake

Healthy Habit: Get Cooking

Posted on February 27, 2011 by marylbrandt

Cooking Light’s 12 Healthy Habits

Last week I had a fairly common conversation with one of my residents. She told me that with her schedule it’s almost impossible for either parent to cook for the family. Secondly, she said when she does shop for food, she buys everything she thinks she might need… and half of it goes bad in the refrigerator. They have resorted to picking up take-out as their solution to the problem. There are at least two major problems with this strategy (and a lot of other minor problems): 1) It costs a LOT more and 2) It is clearly not going to be as healthy.

I know this is a common scenario, hence why this month’s resolution is to cook at least 3 meals a week at home. It’s doable! Here’s how to get started:

Change your mindset about cooking.

Cooking is not hard and it doesn’t take as long as you think. There are some basic skills you have to know, but you can start small and add new skills one at a time. Make up your mind that you are going to acquire this important skill and practice! Start with one simple act – sautéing an onion. Here’s how to cut up an onion and how to sauté. If you get this one simple skill down, you’ve learned the beginning of many, many recipes!

Make a plan

Decide ahead of time what you are going to cook and write it down. You can map out the whole week if you are a “gunner” – but, at a minimum a) find 3 recipes for the week b) make a shopping list for the ingredients in those three recipes and c) go shopping. If you plan ahead, you’ll have everything you need – but not a lot more (so no more growing interesting molds in the back of the refrigerator). You’ll also be able to really eat well when you are on call (which is the hardest day to plan for).

Remember the pizza rule.

No one who is really busy has time to do fussy cooking. You should look for recipes that take less than 30 minutes (the time it takes to order a pizza). I’ve posted a lot of recipes that meet this requirement (use the tag marked “recipes” to the left of this web page). Another strategy is to pick a cookbook, one issue of a magazine, or a website (some of my favorites are listed below) to choose the week’s recipes. Another option is to subscribe to a site that will send you weekly menus (and will also automatically make your shopping list) – like Six O’Clock Scramble ($54.50/year) , Send Me Recipes ($65/year), Dinner Planner, ($60/year), or Make Dinner Easy (free).

Cook ahead for the week

It’s boring to eat the same thing over and over… but it beats buying fast food on the way home. If you cook a big casserole or stew on the weekend, you’ll have it for meals on call, late at night or lunches. If you really want to cook just once for the entire week, you can double the recipe or make two different dishes at the same time, and freeze portions for later in the week.

Supplement your main dish with lots of fruits and vegetables

If you don’t have a steamer basket, this is a cheap piece of kitchen equipment that is really worth having. Almost any vegetable can be sautéed or steamed and it’s really easy to do. Buy vegetables fresh, wash them, dry them and then store (clean) in the refrigerator (one less thing to do when you are tired). Refrigerator to plate will be less than 10 minutes for most veggies. (Here’s a table of cooking times for vegetables.) Leftover steamed vegetables make a great “salad” by themselves (just add some olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper) or as an addition to other salads. You can also toss them into scrambled eggs or an omelet. Having steamed potatoes in the refrigerator is particularly helpful – they are great in salads, with eggs, or just as a snack. Frozen vegetables are more expensive, but are perfectly fine, too.

Make a list of “emergency” meals (<5 minutes) for nights you are completely exhausted and really, really don’t want to cook. (And keep these items in your pantry and/or refrigerator.)

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Scrambled eggs or egg whites (with leftover veggies and/or cheese if you have them) with toast.

2. Angel hair pasta (takes 3-5 minutes) with bottled spaghetti sauce with a green salad

3. Veggie (or regular) hamburgers (from the freezer) with a green salad

4. Couscous with canned beans, canned tomatoes and any leftover (or frozen) vegetables you have

5. Sandwiches

6. Pancakes

Websites for “pizza rule” recipes

My favorite magazines to cook from

Cookbooks worth buying

How To Cook Everything

The Silver Palate Cookbook

The Art of Simple Food

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Posted on January 1, 2011 by marylbrandt

I had already decided that I would propose a “resolution” every month this year for myself and anyone who follows this blog when I came across Cooking Light’s 12 healthy habits. Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines, so I’m going to take their idea and run with it!

It just makes sense to spend 30 days working on a single habit to change, rather than creating a long list of resolutions without an endpoint. If this idea works for you, take these habits (one at a time) and work on them for a month.

Here is January’s healthy habit:

Add at least 3 servings of vegetables and fruit to your daily diet

Here’s some suggestions for how to accomplish this goal. These are some of my ideas and other ideas compiled from suggestions on thedietchannel.com, nutrition.about.com, cancer.org, and health.harvard.edu

Take fresh fruit or veggies with you to work to eat as a morning and afternoon snack. The best fruit for your pocket are apples, clementines carrot and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes (in a Ziplock bag), and grapes (in a Ziplock bag).
Cut-up celery, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, etc and keep them front and center in your refrigerator for snacking. If you don’t like them plain, dip them in hummus or ranch dressing. They’ll be fresher if you do this yourself, but if you need to, buy them already cut up in the grocery store.
Add fruit like berries, a banana or a cut up peach to your cereal in the morning.
When you shop, buy the ingredients to make a mirepoix, chop them up and store them in the refrigerator. A classic mirepoix is carrots, celery and onion. The Cajun “trinity” is a variation – celery, onion and bell pepper. Pick anything that can be cooked (mushrooms, bell peppers, are a good addition), and chop them up when you get home. Grab a handful for stir-fries, salads, omelettes or soup.
Steaming vegetables is really easy and very fast. If you don’t have fresh vegetables (or don’t want to take the time to steam them), make sure you keep steam and serve frozen vegetables in your freezer as an easy way to add vegetables to your meals at home.
Keep frozen fruit in your freezer to throw in a blender with yogurt or milk to make smoothies.
Dried fruit is a good occasional substitute for fresh fruit, but beware – it’s very caloric!
If you are making a sandwich to take to work, pile on veggies – spinach, shredded carrots, cucumbers etc. Use avocado instead of mayonnaise.
Fruit or vegetable juice is not a great substitute, but will do in a pinch. Most fruit juices are high in calories. It’s always better to eat the fruit if you can so you get the fiber and other nutrients, but if there are no other options, juice is better than nothing!
Applesauce and canned fruit (in water) can be bought in single serving portions, or you can share larger portions!
If you are buying food for lunch in a cafeteria or fast food restaurant, look for vegetable soup or a salad bar than lets you pile on the veggies.
Sweet potatoes can be microwaved in 10-12 minutes and make a great meal when paired with a salad or some frozen veggies.
Choose desserts that are fruit based – and have as much fruit as possible. Chocolate dipped strawberries or a berry cobbler are better than cheesecake!