Tag Archives: asian

Eat Right London!

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Chicken Rice Bowl from Itsu

I have heard all of the sterotypes about London: bland food, gloomy weather,  and extremely expensive. But being a born and bred New Yorker I know there is much more to a place than its stereotypes. So far I am most impressed with the amount of healthy lunch options in London compared to NYC. There is a Pret on just about every corner, somehow I missed the fact that Pret started out in London. For those of you that don’t know: Pret makes ” proper sandwiches avoiding the obscure chemicals, additives and preservatives common to so much of the ‘prepared’ and ‘fast’ food on the market today.” They also have salads, soup, and other yummy options and list calories on all of their food. While I am not a fan of calorie counting I do think it is useful and important for people to have a sense of how many calories they are consuming. Other than Pret,which most of us New Yorkers are familair with, I stumbled upon Itsu which seemed similar to the Pret Model but serves Thai food, salads, and sushi. The Itsu Motto is Health and Happiness and you can find where they source their ingredients from directly on their website. Like Pret, they also list calories for all items served. Both options are reasonably priced and pretty darn tasty. I wasn’t too surprised to find out that the ladies behind Pret are also behind Itsu. Well ladies, I think it is about time that you bring this delicious chain to the U.S of A. I would surely eat there quite often. So while the brits get a bad name for their bland food, I am pleasantly surprised that there are some tasty and healthy options to choose from.

NO more excuses! Cooking is easy! Soba Noodles and Mixed Veggies in a peanut sauce!

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“I am too tired to cook when I get home”, “cooking is so difficult and I have no time”, ” who has the time to go grocery shopping?”, “I am too broke to afford organic food”.

Are you someone who makes one or many of the above excuses on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis? I am here to put these excuses to rest TODAY. Lets say in an ideal world you could have your groceries delivered to your door and you could make a delicious, well-balanced, organic meal for 4 for $8.67, would that solve all of your problems? Would you still make excuses? Well, I am here to tell you that it is your lucky day, it is an ideal world, and I have the answers.

How does soba noodles, with stir-fried mixed vegetables, and a peanut sauce sound for dinner? You might be able to pick up the phone and order sesame noodles from the local Chinese food restaurant and call it a day, but I challenge you to do something healthier and even easier. You guessed it, make it yourself:

Soba Noodles and stir fried veggies in a peanut sauce

Serves 4 and takes 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 Box Soba Noodles

1 bag organic frozen mixed vegetables

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1/4 cup tamari sauce or soy sauce

1/3 cup warm water

1 medium garlic clove

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce ( Hot pepper oil, or hot sauce of any kind will do)

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon ginger

Directions: Boil Water. Once water is boiling add soba noodles and cook according to directions on the box. It should take from 6 – 8 minutes. Steam Frozen veggies. In a bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients. When the noodles are done cooking run them under cold water for 1 – 2 minutes and add them to the peanut sauce along with the steamed vegetables.

Ok, easy enough right? Everyone knows how to boil water, steam vegetables, and mix together some ingredients to make a sauce. So now I bet you are wondering how you will get these ingredients into your home and how this only costs $8.67.  So I am assuming that you already have a few things hanging out in your fridge: Tamari sauce or soy sauce, Sriracha sauce (hot sauce of any kind), garlic, ginger, agave nectar, and red pepper flakes. If you don’t already have these things in your home then you should get them. They are excellent and healthy ways to flavor your food and will last you months. You will need to buy Mixed organic  frozen veggies, Creamy organic peanut butter, and soba noodles. No time to go shopping? Log onto Freshdirect and have them deliver directly to your door. The cost of these three items on the Fresh Direct website is:

$2.89 = mixed organic veggies

$2.19 = soba noodles

$3.59 peanut butter

Total = $8.67

If you live alone you now have leftovers for 3 more meals. Still have any excuses?

The T Diet and Mooncake

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I just returned from a fabulous vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico. I studied in Oaxaca for a few summers in high school and absolutely fell in love with the place. Oaxaca, while being a tourist destination is very different from many of the spring break hot spots that most American tourists frequent. When visiting Oaxaca you get a taste for the real Mexican culture and cuisine. The food in Oaxaca is amazing, especially all the fresh fruits and veggies that we just don’t get this time of year in New York City. The hotel we were staying at had a fab breakfast buffet with tons of fresh fruit and fruit juices…mmmm! I was all about the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, which with every sip tasted as if you were eating a whole grapefruit. As much as the fresh fruit excited me, the highlight had to have been the avocado’s, I LOVE avocados; I could live off of avocados, and I think I might have lived off of them this past week. No matter how good the fruits and vegetables are, you can’t avoid all the other delicious delicacies offered in Mexico. I bumped into an old Oaxacan friend who asked me what I am up to these days. When I told him that I am a health counselor he responded by saying he is on a diet, “The T Diet”. I figured he was on some sort of tea cleanse and boy was I mistaken. I asked him to explain his diet to which he responded: “Tacos, Tortas, Tamales, Tlayudas, tortillas, the T diet.” This is precisely the delicious food that cannot be avoided while traveling through Oaxaca and precisely the reason I could not wait to get home and finally have a home cooked meal.

We returned home to an empty fridge with zero energy to shop or cook so we were forced to get delivery. We settled on Mooncake, which is a restaurant in soho offering cheap Asian comfort food. They use all fresh ingredients and organic when possible. Certainly not home cooked, but definitely hit the spot. I ordered the miso-glazed salmon, which comes with a side salad and rice. If you want brown rice, which is more nutritious than the white rice you need to specify; I forgot to do this, but will remember for next time. The food at Mooncake is tasty and indeed fresh, plus you cannot beat the prices.

Random Note: There is a ton of confusion surrounding the difference between whole grains (ex: brown rice) and refined grains (ex: white rice). Whole grains are foods that have not been significantly altered from how they occur in nature. They are great sources of dietary fiber, B vitamins, and vitamin E. Refined grains are processed grains, which are stripped of their nutritious outer layer, removing most of their key nutrients.