Recipes for when the quest for healthy AND delicious seems futile
Still recovering from the years spent eating rice cakes because Cosmo told me to.
Hello, chefs.
I don’t know about where you are, but here in Nashville, it is absolutely, without a doubt, summertime. More than any other season, summer always gives me more of a pep in my step to be nicer to my body and look my best. I want glowing skin, strong arms, in-season lewks! But I know for a lot of people, summer can unearth a lot of guilt around—or maybe just extra attention to—the things we eat.
I’ve talked about this before, but I truly believe that the key to healthier eating is in fact eating more. Eat the things that make your mouth water, and eat them alongside something you’re excited to put into your body for all the good it will do.
I’ve never gotten on the calorie counting train (how on earth did this 90s kid dodge that?!?!?!), but what I do find fascinating is keeping tabs on the good stuff that’s going in. Have I eaten enough greens and fiber today to keep me feeling sustainably energized? Have I eaten enough salmon and avocado to make my skin glow? Can I add a bit of garlic/ginger/turmeric to this for some extra antioxidant or anti-inflammatory benefits?
Sometimes I forget about the magic of just adding something extra to a meal and find myself in a rut with what to cook. So many delicious recipes, so little nutritional value. I forget that the best thing I do for my sanity and health is to cook (or order) whatever the heck looks good, and then ask myself, what can I have this with? A dense broccoli salad that keeps all week and goes with everything? A chia and spinach smoothie alongside Dan’s leftover BBQ? A ginger turmeric shot before our french toast and bacon? Maybe add some flax seeds and pepitas to the weekly sourdough?
This exercise in finding balance has been surprisingly fun these last few weeks, and I’m excited to keep checking things off my summer cooking bucket list (what’s on yours?!) and sharing them with you.
-Faith
Leftover golden rice
This is a perfect meal to plan for later in the week, and is a take on this recipe that I’ve shared before, just using leftovers instead. Maybe you roasted a chicken on Sunday, had something requiring rice on Tuesday, and on Wednesday you’re pressed for time and overall desire to cook: enter this guy. Even better if you have some well-intentioned greens and herbs withering away in the fridge. The real star of this dish are the herbs and scallions, but you can lean more heavily on one or the other if you’re short.
Heat your oven to 400. Put a sheet pan in the oven to heat up.
In a large bowl, mix your leftover rice (enough to feed your mouths), a healthy sprinkle of turmeric (enough to color the rice), thin slivers of fresh garlic to taste, some tubed ginger, enough olive oil to get the rice nice and slick (I’ve found that a few tablespoons does the trick for ~2 cups of cooked rice), and plenty of salt.
Press the rice mixture into your hot sheet pan in an even layer and return to the oven. Bake for ~10 minutes.
Take the rice out and top with a generous handful of greens and leftover chicken. Give the rice a stir, scraping up the crispy bits from the bottom and wilting your greens a bit. Add more oil here if you need it. Bake for another ~10 minutes or until crispy.
Toss the rice with fresh sliced green onions and/or cilantro and serve.
Charred green beans with lemony yogurt
This recipe is misleading, because really what I’m recommending here is that you make these green beans to accompany some crispy salmon (I’ve finally come to an agreement with my air fryer) and some lemony, salty couscous or risotto. Whichever grain you choose, make it with vegetable or chicken broth instead of water, and finish it with the zest and juice of one lemon and some grated parm.
Toss your green beans with olive oil and salt. Lay out on a sheet pan.
Make your lemon yogurt: greek yogurt + the zest and juice of a lemon + salt. Spread on your serving dish.
Broil your green beans until they have a nice char, about 10 minutes for me, but check them frequently. Place them on top of your yogurt’ed dish, top with a squeeze of lemon and a bit of salt, and serve.