Tsan:

OK, so I stopped following my own advice for a month and went for the
sandwiches and burritos we routinely furnish. Several pounds (and a
morning of I-cant-get-these pants-zipped) later, I’m back on
plan. . . . it took 5 minutes to make (start to fork):

Mixed greens
1/2 can of tuna
cucumbers
apple
almonds
vinaigrette

!!!

Let the pounds begin to shed (again).

——————————————-

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It’s summer. I’m all about the slaw. But after pounding through an episode of Jessica’s sit-ups, I’m not going to let that slimy white stuff (AKA mayonnaise) pass through my lips. But what’s a slaw-gal to do?

This slaw’s got it all: flava, freshness, and best of all, a way to use the leftovers. That’s right, kids, this slaw can be cooked the next day for a sauteed cabbage taste sensation. Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS

1 head red cabbage sliced thin (I use a mandoline)
1/2 red onion, minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 apple, julienned (or if you don’t have the patience, just chop it)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbl water
2 tbl rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp five spice powder (optional)
1 tbl sesame oil
1 tsp pepper

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, onion, cilantro and apple. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and toss. You’re done. Garnish with seeds and eat.

The next day, dump the leftovers into a saute pan, add 1/4 cup of water and 2 tbl cider vinegar and saute until the cabbage is tender. If Steven would let you eat brats, I’d say pair it with a bratwurst. Instead, go for a grilled chicken breast.

-Dish It Out Tsan!

Prior to becoming a legal goddess, Tsan worked in the food industry, both as chef (in Cambridge and New Hampshire) and as an event planner (in Vail). She also ran the Culinary, Hospitality and Restaurant Management Certificate Program at UCLA Extension. 

I’ve been living too long in Berkeley to eat veal any more, but, heaven help me, I love me some osso buco. So I created this dish using short ribs instead. Someday, when I’m truly green, I will stop eating meat altogether and share my recipe for osso bucco with tempeh. But that’s not today. Or anytime in 2008.

This dish can be doubled or tripled and then frozen with excellent results.

A note about cooking methods:
I have tested this recipe in the oven and in a crock pot. Both work just fine. By attaching an electric timer to the crock pot, you can leave the house and come back to great results.

A note about searing:
I have tested this recipe searing the meat first and also just throwing it in the pot. There is no question that searing the meat (as shown in the picture) make the meat more juicy and gives it that dark carmelized look that I like. If, however, that’s too much work, you can skip it.

Osso Buco:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
pepper
3 lbs boneless short ribs, fat trimmed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
6 cloves garlic (yeah, 6), chopped thin
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, zest peeled in wide strips (for easy removal)
1 bottle burgundy (amarone is traditional, but expensive)
2 cups chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bunch curly parsley, stemmed and cut
3 tbl of flour blended with 3 tbl oil
½ cup marsala

If you are using a crockpot, turn it on high. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat oil in dutch oven or large frying pan (I prefer cast iron). Dredge short ribs in pepper and pan sear on all sides (about 6 minutes). Remove from pan. Add the onions, shallots, celery and garlic and sauté until transparent and soft (if you need to add a little more olive oil, do so).

Season with salt and pepper and return the short ribs. Pour in the wine, the tomatoes, the broth, the parsley, lemon zest, bay leaves and bring it back to a simmer. Reduce on the stove for 20 minutes, then transfer to crockpot or oven and cover, cooking for 3 -3 ½ hours.

Remove ribs and simmer liquid on stovetop for 20 minutes (if you have time, refrigerate the sauce and let the fat rise to the top so you can remove it, then return to stove). Remove peel and bay leaves and discared. Whisk in the oil-flour mixture and cook 15 minutes to thicken. Add marsala and return ribs to sauce. Serve with your favorite vegetable.

-Dish It Out Tsan!

Prior to becoming a legal goddess, Tsan worked in the food industry, both as chef (in Cambridge and New Hampshire) and as an event planner (in Vail). She also ran the Culinary, Hospitality and Restaurant Management Certificate Program at UCLA Extension.

With Nani’s rapid rise to stardom, and the shocking admission that she actually ate more to lose weight, there is suddenly a lot of talk about the merits of frequent eating. Most of this talk centers around logistics – what do you eat, how much do you eat and when do you eat it?

Frequent eating is a good plan for most people but vital for athletes at the Ice Chamber (that’s you, people). Besides revving up your metabolism, eating 5 – 6 meals/day will help you maintain your energy levels and build muscle – critical for getting the most out of your workout and your day.

While we’ve touched on lunch and dinner in the past, we haven’t addressed one of the most important elements of frequent eating – snacks. Snacking can mean different things to different people. People who are new to eating many times a day often want guidance on what to eat for a snack.

Because I have a tendency to eat 3 larger main meals, I prepare small snacks to eat between those meals. Other people choose to eat 5 or 6 medium smallish sized meals. The important thing to remember is that you want to AVOID eating 5 or 6 large meals because, after all, a calorie is still a calorie.

For me, a meal isn’t satisfying unless it contains some lean protein, unrefined carbs and good fats. So, some standard snacks for this vegetarian are:

• Lowfat cottage cheese, ¼ cantaloupe, sprinkling of sunflower seeds
• Couple of tofurkey slices, handful baby carrots dipped in ¼ of a mashed avocado
• Couple slices of baked tofu, big handful snap peas, a few almonds
• Slice of lowfat swiss cheese, apple, a few almonds

Like Nani, I usually prepare a few snacks at the beginning of the week and store them in the fridge in either ziploc baggies or small containers. Then, in the morning, I just pop one or two snacks into my backpack or purse and off I go.

If you ascribe to 5 – 6 meals a day, what kinds of snacks do you eat? Do you eat 3 big meals and 2 – 3 snacks? Or are all of your meals roughly the same size?

If you are not eating smaller, more frequent meals, but have questions about this method, please let us know. We’re here to help!

-Shari

From Shari:

10. Imagine your IC trainers are omniscient – the evilness of the next workout will be directly proportional to how much junk you ate today. Ask yourself, “Is this really worth 10 extra burpees?”

9. If it’s marketed to children, has a cartoon character on the front, or comes in “fun shapes,” JUST DON’T.

8. Vente, Grande, Large, Triple, Double,…if you don’t want these words to define you, then don’t let them describe what you consume.

7. Make sure 75% of your food is as close to its natural form as possible. Mmmmm…I bet your homemade Bolognese sauce will completely transform those wheat stalks.

6. Your (choose one) unsupportive, hyper-critical, cake-baking, coffee and pastry wielding, nacho-craving, chocolate proffering, frappuccino drinking friend/relative? You’re busy. Indefinitely.

5. No matter how much aioli accompanies your fancy shmancy Pomme Frittes they’re still deep fried.

4. Snap Pea Crisps, Taro Chips Veggie Sticks, Carrot Chips, Kettlecorn. Are not vegetables.

3. Never. ever. consume. anything. you. don’t. have. to get. out. of. the. car. to. order. EVER.

2. Donuts = deep fried rings of white flour and sugar. ‘Nuff said.

1. They don’t call it a Big Gulp for nothin’!

Quick, healthy, easy and pretty…

For those dinnertimes when you’re so hungry you’d rather do drive-thru than prepare something nutritious – DON’T DO IT! Try this instead: Throw some protein (salmon, chicken breast, whatever) on the grill. During the 3-4 minutes per side that it’s cooking, prepare this ridiculously simple side dish. No dressing required. What you get is the taste of something fresh.

Peel and seed 1 ripe papaya and cut it into chunks
Ditto 1 avocado
Toss gently with juice of ¼ – ½ lime

Bonus: All the remnants can go straight into your compost pile. And by the time you’re done, your protein is cooked.

Dinner is served!

-Liz

Sorry Tsan; sometimes you just have to get the job done with whatever is available in order to stay on track…

It ain’t always pretty.


LUNCH:

A salad of lettuce, hummus, almonds, chicken and tomatoes…. with balsamic vinaigrette. Filling and full of protein. The only thing I had to do was make the dressing (3 days ago), and cut the tomato. Everything else was bought ready-to-eat. Make it easy on yourself.

-Dish It Out Tsan!

________________________________________

How many of you have tried Tsan’s recipes? Send photos! Here’s a picture of Steve’s last attempt at her tuna poke.

Now a house favorite!

What did you eat?

What do you plan to do about it?

People are always asking IC members what they eat. Inevitably, the answer always includes lots of vegetables. But what do you do if you don’t really know how to prepare vegetables? If your only culinary secrets involve a lot of butter or melted cheese, then eating your daily allotment of IC-sanctioned veggies can be daunting (and downright boring or disgusting depending on which side of the vegetable spectrum you fall). But there are plenty of people out there eating tons of leafy greens and really enjoying them. So, please, share with the rest of us. What are your veggie secrets? Criteria: your tricks must be easy/quick and tasty. Unusual ingredients are o.k., especially if we can use them over and over again.