healthy

Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

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It’s no wonder people eat more and more sh***y fast food.
This 2 lbs of cod fillet was $ 20.00 incl tax !!! 😦
Ground beef $ 7.00 a pound, chicken wings $ 5.00 and up, a small loaf of bread $ 4.00 and up, etc, etc 😦
Yet, a small crappy cheeseburger with fries and a coke is $3.00 ! What a shame.
I spend about $ 200.00 per week just on groceries and paper goods for Bella and myself, no laundry or cleaning cost for my cleaning lady included. How do families with a few kids and regular income do it ??? Everybody works, money and time is tight, so fast food is the only answer. Most young people do not have home-economy classes in school anymore, so it eludes them how to prepare a good, tasty, healthy, and economic meal for lets say $ 2.00 per person from scratch, or mostly from scratch with some canned protein or “secondary meat cuts” added. For a professional chef this should not be a problem, but for an inexperienced young couple with kids, who were never taught how to economize, save, calculate and be frugal, this will be nearly impossible. Financial disaster, poor nutrition, and a never ending circle of misery is the inevitable result.
Teaching home economics in school, affordable supplies of nutritious food at acceptable prices and less waste because of idiotic standardisation of size and appearance, mostly by supermarkets, as well as the stupid expectation by consumers that all food should be standardized, is highly required and necessary if we don’t want to be living in a world were only the rich can afford to buy nutritious food and drink.
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Ok now, done with the rant and back to today’s dish, which was delicious, beautiful and healthy (and Expensive). 🙂
As you can see in the pictures, there was a lot of EVO and whole butter, (I used a spoon to eat the beans) but as long as you don’t consume this much every day, you’ll be fine,
Also, if you don’t think it’s good for you, just use less ! 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Fillet on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more Fish on ChefsOpinion
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Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: 1 can drained, washed cannellini beans, 1/2 cup diced red and yellow peppers, 1/4 cup sliced scallions

: mix with 1/2 cup EVO, 1/2 tsp garlic paste, cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and kosher salt to taste

: cut a 2 lb cod fillet into two portions (I removed the belly-flap for Bella)

: season the fish with kosher salt, sriracha and fresh lime juice to taste, dredge in corn starch

: saute in EVO until fish is at 160F internal temperature, remove and keep warm (The carry-over heat will cook the fish to a perfectly safe and perfectly JUICY 164 F) (see the pic of the inside of the fish above- VERY juice and flaky) !

: discard the remaining oil from the pan, add 4 oz of whole butter

: ready -go !

: plate half the bean salad

: add the fish

: top the fish with slices of lime or lemon, top with coarsely chopped italian parsley

: when the butter starts to brown, pour over the garnish of the fish – serve at once

: Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

: Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

: Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

: Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

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And of course, Madam’s meal 🙂
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: Bella’s Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

: Bella’s Sautéed Cod Fillet With Cannellini Bean Salad

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Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms, & Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

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When I was a child, (many decades ago 🙂 , I, like most kids, hated nearly all vegetables with a passion. Later, grown up and being a professional cook, I realized early on that this was no fault of the poor veggies, but entirely the fault of our mothers, who usually cooked the crap out of vegetables, did not season them properly and mostly looked at them as a sideshow who did not deserve the respect the protein served in a meal deserved.
I was lucky to visit, live and work in Asia, South East Asia, India and the Orient early in my professional life, at which point my negative attitude towards vegetables was changed to an attitude of love, respect and admiration.
Meanwhile, in Europe, with the advent of novelle cuisine in the 70’s, the approach to vegetables had changed and we are now lucky to see, eat and enjoy vegetables in a completely new light. Compared to before, this changed to include vegetables in prettier, lighter, tastier and healthier food preparations, either on their own or as part of a meal.
Since then, while the average home cook (mostly) still does not understand the beauty of fresh vegetables and herbs, at least many professional chefs have seen the light and pay the simple veggie the respect, attention and love they deserve.
Nowadays, everybody and their sister touts the health benefits of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. Unfortunately, most home cooks and professional cooks do not pay enough respect to cook them properly, so that they are not only healthy, but also delicious and beautiful to look at.
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Today’s featured dish is a typical example how ordinary vegetables and fungi can easily and without much culinary finesse be transformed into a wonderful, beautiful and delicious dish fit for a king/queen. 🙂

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P.S.
Chinese black mushrooms (shiitake), Chinese seafood mushrooms (enokitake), Bok Choy (bak choy, bakchoi), etc, etc…….. 🙂
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P.P.S.
The only rice I had in my cupboard was Arborio. If you look closely at the cooked rice, you will see the difference of the short grain used here and the long grain typically used in Chinese restaurants.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Chinese Steamed Rice Recipe (Fan) on ChefsOpinion
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Click here to find out about Which Type Of Rice Is Used In Chinese Cooking

(Hint – short-, medium-, and long-grain is used)
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Click here for Rice Varieties From Around The World
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Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: blanch, shock, drain 6 ea small stalks of bok choy. cut into quarters

: prepare “Fan” – 3 cups of rice of your choice, prepare according to link “Fan” on this page

: prepare sauce by mixing 1 cup oyster sauce, 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cop chicken stock, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp chili oil, 1 tsp brown sugar and 1 tsp (or to taste) chili paste, mix well

: prepare a cornstarch slurry from 2 tblsp corn starch and 3 tblsp chicken stock

: remove stems from12 oz fresh black mushrooms, cross-cut the top, discard the stems

: saute the mushrooms in 2 tblsp peanut oil until starting to change color

: add the sauce, simmer for 1 minute, remove from the heat, let the mushrooms steep in the sauce for at least 15 minutes

: place the blanched bok choy and 5 oz raw seafood mushrooms in a steamer or colander, place in a steamer and steam covered until just heated through

: Mushrooms steeping in sauce, bok choy and seafood mushrooms heating, rice resting

: Chinese Steamed Rice Recipe (Fan)

: bring the mushrooms and sauce to a simmer, add enough of the cornstarch slurry to lightly thicken, add the bock choy and seafood mushrooms, cover all in sauce, check / adjust texture and taste

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

: Black Mushrooms, Seafood Mushrooms And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

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Meal Plan – Week 4 “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food”

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Update after my own completion of Week Four of “ Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food ” meal plan :
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Here is the final tally after my own completion of four weeks of “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food” meal plan :

1) Total weight loss: 28.5 lbs. (From 286.5 lbs on January 19th, to 258 lbs on February 16th).

2) No more need to inject Insulin. Before my change of eating habits, I had to inject twice a day for about ten years)

3) Tremendous increase in energy.

4) New-found ability to sleep well and deep.

5) No more depressions and dark moods.

6) Overall increase in well-being

7) Even with occasional “falling off the wagon” from my meal plan, (ahhh, those pastries 😦 ), my weight has stabilized at 261 lbs. Obviously this is still too high and I will start with a new Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food meal plan (Same principles, different dinner menus) at the beginning of May to shed another 20 lbs.

As I mentioned before, I am sure that other changes in my life style, such as more exercise, alcohol abstinence and refraining from smoking have greatly contributed to my overall improvement of physical and mental well-being. However, all noticeable improvements have only started since I started Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food meal plan.
After just one month of adhering to my Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food meal plan, my physical and mental state has changed so much that I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody who is on a quest for a healthier lifestyle without being confined by a bland, boring, unrealistic diet which does not make sense and is impossible to maintain in the long run.

However, please note that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you change your nutrition or your medication without consulting your physician and / or nutritionist first, even getting a second or third opinion before considering any changes !!!

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Daily Breakfast – Fruit/Tea (fibrous fruit + unsweetened tea of your choice)
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Daily Lunch – Energy bar/Fruits (fruits of your choice + energy bar of your choice)
(many different brands / types of Energy Bars are available – consult your doctor/nutritionist)
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Daily Dinner –

Monday – “ Chicken Noodle Soup ”
Tuesday – “ Salade De Pâtes” ”
Wednesday – “ Bombay Vegetable Omelette”
Thursday – “ Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp ”
Friday – “Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi”
Saturday – “ Curry Ribs ”
Sunday – “ Lentil Salad With Tandoori-Style Chicken ”
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Special Chicken Noodle Soup

Salade De Pâtes

Bombay Vegetable Omelette

Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

Curry Ribs & Naan

Lentil/Yogurt Salad With Tandory-Style Chicken

Lentil/Yogurt Salad With Tandoori-Style Chicken

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Seafood Snack

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Your choice:
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$ 3.95 – 1 pack of crappy “Nachos”
$ 4.50 – 1 small tub of crappy “Salsa”
$ 3.50 – 1 small can of crappy “Cheese Dip”

Total: $ 11.95 for a crappy snack 😦
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OR !!!
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$ 11.00 – 1,5 lbs snow crab legs
$ 6.00 – 0.5 lb eat & peel shrimp
$ 1.00 for some Thai sweet & spicy chili sauce
$ 0.50 half a lemon
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Total: 18.50 for a delicious, healthy, beautiful snack 🙂
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You be the judge !

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Bon Appetit ! (Either way) 🙂
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: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Bella loves Seafood 🙂

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Freeze Your Bananas !!!

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Link to “ Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food ”
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One of my favorite fruits are bananas. So, me being me, every time I buy a bunch, without fail I buy too many. In the past, I discarded them once they had too many brown spots – until I started to become a fan of smoothies.
At first, I made my smoothies like I’ve seen them being made in bars around the world: Some fruit, lots of ice, milk, lots of sugar. Wonderful concoction if you are young, healthy, slim and have a smoothie once in a while. However, if you drink a lot of the stuff you will soon realize that after standing at room temperature for a short time, all that ice will melt and you have a very watered-down mess in your glass. Also, all that sugar and full-fat milk is fattening and can be harmful if you are a bit overweight (HELLO) and a diabetic (HELLO AGAIN).
In order to remedy all that , here is my recipe for a guilt free, delicious sweet treat / great drink, which can be had any time of day, for breakfast, lunch or dinner or as a sweet treat / dessert in between or after meals:

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Freeze any fruit that is on the verge of becoming overripe in airtight ziplock bags. This will save you money and it eliminates the need to add ice to your smoothie, keeping it from watering down.
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Instead of full-fat milk, use fat-free milk.
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Instead of sugar or artificial sweetener, use natural honey or fruit nectar (frozen into cubes) as sweetener.
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For extra body, add fat free Greek yogurt.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Guilt Free Sweet Pleasure: Banana / Strawberry Smoothie

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: cut bananas

: place in ziplock bag, freeze

: to prepare smoothie, place greek yogurt into blender

: add fruit of your choice

: add more frozen fruit of your choice

: add fat free milk

: add honey or fruit nectar

: blend all until smooth

: serve in chilled glass

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Red Beet Delight

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Link to : “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food”
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Like most kid’s, when I was little I used to hate vegetables. One of my favorites in the hate department were red beets. Mom used to make a salad with them, so that salad combined the TWO most hated food stuffs – beets and onions :-(.
My Mom used to bribe me sometimes (When my dad didn’t catch it) with 10 pfennig, or about a nickel, to eat the onions, which I otherwise sorted out and pushed to the side 🙂
Of course, things have changed, like so many other Issues ( I went from skinny to fat, from handsome to rugged?, from long-haired to bald and from a vegetable hater to a vegetable lover) 🙂
I have prepared red beet soup for many years, but as it is tradition, I usually included a (un)- healthy dose of heavy cream to lighten the color and to smoothen the texture. Not this time. This beauty is pure red beets, liquefied with vegetable stock and enriched with a topping of steamed broccoli and a bit of Greek yogurt.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Red Beet Delight

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: wash beets thoroughly, reserve leaves for sauteeing

: simmer beets in salted water until soft, drain, peel (reserve beet stock)

: blend with stock (add additional vegetable stock if too thick), season with cayenne pepper, kosher salt and a healthy dose of garlic paste

: pure goodness…….

: garnish soup with steamed broccoli florets and a dollop of greek yogurt

: Red Beet Delight

: Red Beet Delight

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Fruit – What’s Not To Love ? ! ………..

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Ever since I have started my “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food” meal plan, many people have asked me:
“How can you survive on so much fruit without getting bored?”
My meal plan calls for fresh fruit (supplemented by power-bars, dried fruit and nuts) for breakfast, lunch and snacks.
Below find a small selection of typical fruit platters and fruit bowls I make at least once a day. Please notice that there are few (if any) “exotic fruits”.
I will of course buy other fruits besides the ones pictured, such as mango, rambutan, star fruit, kumquat, sapote, dragon fruit, passion fruit, dates, mongosteen, star apple, etc, but what you see below is my usual, daily staple. I usually make a large platter of mixed fruit and berries when I get home from work and put it in the fridge. Later, a few hours after dinner, I usually eat about half, then have the other half for breakfast. For lunch on workdays it’s usually apples, pears, mandarines and such. Lunch at home is usually a bit more elaborate, with grilled fruits and a small cup of sugar- free/fat-free yogurt or sugar-free sherbet thrown into the mix. Most fresh fruit meals are supplemented by either dried fruits, vegetable chips, powerbars and assorted nuts or a combination thereof.
I hope the pictures below will encourage you to eat more fruits and help you to believe that a plate of fruit does not have to be boring 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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: Fresh Fruit & Grilled Fruit and Dried Fruit & Nuts & Berries

: p; Sugar Free/Fat Free Mango Sherbet, Sugar Free Vanilla Wafers

: Fruit & Berries & Fat free/sugar free yogurt

: Fresh Fruit & Grilled Fruit and Dried Fruit & Nuts & Berries

: Fruit & Berries & Sugar Free/Fat Free Mango Sherbet, Sugar Free Vanilla Wafers

: Fruit & Berries & Sugarfree/Fatfree Mango Sherbet, Sugar Free Vanilla Wafers

: Fruit & Berries & Fat free/Sugar Free Yogurt

: Fruit & Berries & Fatfree/sugardree yogurt

: Fresh Fruit & Grilled Fruit and Dried Fruit & Nuts & Berries

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“ Red Lentils & Bell Pepper Burgers “

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Red Lentils & Bell Pepper Burgers,
Served With Raita

For one of those meatless, healthy day’s 🙂

Ingredients

2 lbs red lentils, cooked until tender

2 lg egg

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

1 med green bell pepper, diced, sautéed

1 med red bell pepper, diced, sautéed

1 med onion, finely diced, sautéed

Garlic, minced, to taste, sautéed

2 tblsp Cilantro, coarsely chopped

Cumin, to taste

Curry powder, to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Oil to sauté

Method

Mix all ingredients except the tofu and oil. Shape into ball’s, make an indent and fill with tofu.
Sprinkle lightly with additional bread crumb’s and sauté until golden and heated through

Raita

Grated cucumbers greek yoghurt, garlic powder, cilantro, salt, pepper.
Use quantities according to your preferences.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Stir Fried Vegetables & Longevity Noodles “

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Light, tasty, healthy, delicious.
Life is Good !
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” Braised Chicken, Garbanzos & Potatoes “

Enjoying a light, delicious and healthy soup for lunch.
Cream cheese & parmesan raviolini, spicy veal meatballs,
shrimp and broccoli rabe in chicken broth.
Life is Good ! 🙂