Archive for May, 2010

Curried Veggies

Monday, May 24th, 2010

I’m pretty excited about this recipe.  I can see us having this quite often; it is simple, tasty, healthy and pretty quick to throw together. What more could you ask for?

I love Indian food but for the life of me cannot cook a descent Indian meal. And it’s not for the want of trying. I even had an Indian friend (who had recently moved to the US) give me a cooking lesson. The spices in Indian food are so strong that you need to get the right blend and proportions or else it is quite easy to create an inedible mess.

This recipe is so simple with such mild subtle seasoning that the actual vegetables give the flavor. I think kids would even dig this, that is, kids except mine….

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
2-3 cups of diced peeling Sweet Potato
2-3 cups of cut up Cauliflower
1 cup of sliced Green beans
11/2 -2 tsp curry powder
1 cored and diced apple
1 cup of veggie broth
1/4-1/2 cup raisins
1 cup of cooked lentils or chick peas (garbanzo beans)
Cooked brown basmati rice

Simple, yet tasty ingredients

Options:
You can add onion, carrots, peas, spinach, or yellow pepper is good too.

1. Cook the rice. I do enough for two meals so we have leftovers for the next day. This is usually two cups of rice to 6 cups of water. 
2. If you need to cook lentils, this is a good time to get them going.  Wash 1 cup of dry lentils and add to about 4 cups of boiling water, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
3. Over medium heat melt butter or heat up oil in a large skillet that will hold all the veggies and that you have a lid for. Add the sweet potato, green beans and cauliflower. Stir for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the curry powder and stir for another minute.
5. Add apple, veggie broth, raisins. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are tender but not mushy. 
6. Stir in the cooked lentils or chick peas and serve over rice. 

We had a spinach salad with goat cheese and pear to complete the meal.  All-in-all I think it took us about 40 minutes to get it all ready; the time it took to get the rice cooked.

 The ingredients above make 4 servings. That meant leftovers for the following night for us.  That’s always a good thing.  No cooking for one night means that I don’t mind spending the extra time to make a nice meal every other day.

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Main Meal Rice Cakes

Monday, May 17th, 2010

So I decided to turn Allen Lim’s Bike Fuel Rice Cakes into a main meal. Why  not? They make great bike food. And it just so happens they make good main meal food too, and better yet, they only take about 30-40 minutes to make and I made enough for leftovers for the next day.  That makes me happy. And I remembered to take photos along the way to brighten up the blog posting!

rice cake ingredients

rice cake ingredients

Ingredients:
2 cups of Sushi Rice
Olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 cups of chopped mushroom
1 1/2 cups of chopped yellow, orange and red peppers
11/2 cups of black beans
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Bragg or soy sauce

Method:
1. Cook the sushi rice as directed. I use 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water in a rice cooker. While the rice is cooking get the veggies going.

2. Using a little olive oil sauté the onion for a few minutes, then added the mushrooms and peppers.  After a few more minutes add the spinach and stir it until the leaves have just wilted. 

Saute Veggies

Saute Veggies

3. In a large bowl mix the rice, cooked veggies, beans, cheese and soy sauce together. The amount of cheese and soy sauce is up to you. Start with a little and you can always add more.

Main Meal Rice Cakes all ready to go

4. Lightly spray a casserole dish (9 in by 13 in) with a non-stick cooking spray like Pam. Then press the rice mixture into the dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate until it cools. Cut into slices and you can serve cold, but I prefer to eat them warm. 

Avocado and Sweet Chile Sauce

Serving suggestions:
We served with sliced avocado and sweet chile sauce, and a side of carrots, cucumber and celery with humus.

Notes:
I think these would be good with lots of other veggie combinations.  You could make a Greek inspired rice cake with olives, feta cheese, lima beans and spinach. Or a Mexican version with cumin, corn, tomatoes,  pinto beans and green chiles.  I see some experiments with rice cakes in my not to distant future. But not this week. I don’t want my family to OD on rice cakes.

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Real Food Fueling on the Bike

Monday, May 10th, 2010

I get asked a lot about what to eat on the bike during long rides. There is no right answer that will work for everyone. So experiment to see what works best for you. Here are some guidelines that work for me. Typically for rides under 1:30 hours or less I don’t eat anything. I make sure I’m drinking an electrolyte drink (Citrus Nuun is my current favorite) and for rides up to 2 hours then and I’ll throw in a scoop of maltodextrin along with the Nuun tablet.

For longer rides your body will probably need a little something beyond a drink. There are tons of bars and gels on the market. Some good and some not so good. I’ll save that for another posting! There are times when you might just feel like some real food. Dr Allen Lim has a couple of great ideas that he has posted on Youtube: rice cakes, potatoes, and Panini. Sound pretty simple, eh? They are. And not only do they make great on the bike food, but the rice cakes make good snack food too.

RICE CAKES

Ingredients:
1  cups of Sushi rice
1 -2 tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 Eggs
1/2  to 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Bragg or soy sauce
1/2 cup to 1 cup of chopped Canadian Bacon / Ham or for a vegetarian option use Black beans

Method:
Cook the sushi rice as directed. While this is cooking, scramble 3-4 eggs in a little olive oil. Once the rice is all cooked mix together with the scrambled egg, ham or black beans, parmesan cheese and soy sauce (I use Bragg). The amount of cheese and soy sauce is up to you. Start with a little and you can always add more. I get a big casserole dish (9 in by 13 in) and lightly spray with a non-stick cooking spray like Pam. Then press the rice mixture into the dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate until it cools. Cut into slices and wrap in foil.

Notes:
You really need to use sushi rice or else it just doesn’t stick together and you can end up with a right mess on your jersey back pocket. Allen recommends using Parmesan cheese rather than other cheeses because it is easily digested. If you watch the video pay attention to his fine foil wrapping technique!

You can make a sweet version using fruit and honey or agave syrup.

Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Rice Cakes Youtube video.

POTATOES

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Method:
Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes. Cool slightly in cold water. Remove potato skins (don’t need the added fiber for bike food). (For snacks, I leave on the skins and just slice the potatoes in half). Mix de-skinned spuds with salt, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and enjoy.

Notes:
Potatoes have a high glycemic index. What does this mean? It rapidly increases blood sugar. This means they will give you a quick energy boost so they are best used towards the end of the ride. They also contain potassium.

Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Potato Youtube video.

PANINI

Ingredients:
Bread (croissants)
Cream cheese
Jam
Canadian Bacon / Ham

Method:
Slice the bread in half. Spread cream cheese on one side, and jam on the other. Include some Canadian bacon or ham, and do Alan’s secret foil wrapping technique and you are all set. For the vegetarians among us you could replace the bacon/ham with some flavored baked sliced tofu. My favorite are the smoked or sesame flavors (flavours for the UK readers)

Video:
Dr Allen Lim’s Panini Youtube video.

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