Luise Light What to Cook

Dr. Light's Vegetable Chowder
"A good way to use up leftover vegetables, this is pretty much a bombproof recipe, and only 150 calories for a 1-cup serving.”

1 onion, chopped                   ½ C. green beans, fresh or frozen
¼ C. chopped celery                         ½ C. diced yellow squash
2 T. chopped green pepper   1 C. corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 T. olive oil
1½ C. whole milk                 ½ C. diced, pared potatoes
2 T. whole wheat flour
In a 4-qt. covered pot, cook onion, celery and green pepper in olive oil until almost tender. Add potatoes, 1 ½ C. water and your favorite herbs and spices (tarragon, cilantro, turmeric or curry work well). Cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Add corn, beans and squash. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until beans and squash are tender. In a small bowl, mix flour with a small amount of milk. Add remainder of milk to cooked vegetable mixture. Stir milk mixture into cooked vegetable mixture. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly till slightly thickened.
Yield: four one-cup servings.

Dr. Light's Guide to Healthy Eating

Luise Light's Online Cook Book!

The Art of Eating

     It may be a lost art in America but it's not gone from our internal knowledge banks. Your senses and your biochemistry will respond positively to the modest plan I offer in this book that is within the reality realm of almost everyone reading these pages. It's simple, not based on elaborate computations and calculations, and it doesn't require that you eat specially formulated “functional foods” such as energy drinks or breakfast bars.
     Tasty, fresh real food served up in modest portions has a special alchemy. It not only gives us pleasure it transforms into chemical energy that cleans your tanks and pipes, metaphorically speaking, and can help you to revive a moribund metabolic rate so you burn what you don't need more efficiently. But there is no single plan that is good for everyone.
     We are individuals, biochemically and emotionally, so some types of foods are going to sit better with us than others. Pay attention to the signals your body gives you. Many of us have learned to override these signals, trusting what we ought to be feeling over what we do feel. It's comforting to be part of the in-crowd who are successful following the latest diet craze. But there just isn't only one way to eat well, lose weight or fix what ails us, whether it's following the South Beach, the Zone or the Mediterranean diet.
     The reason there are so many books with new eating plans is because each works for some people at least some of the time. You've probably tried a bunch of them over the years, and some may have worked for you, for a while. But eventually, you abandoned them because they were either too boring, too restrictive, or you had reached your goal. While you may have been told these were “diets for life” and you tried to make a lifetime commitment because you wanted results, your individuality couldn't be repressed forever. So what should we be doing?

Eat three meals a day and one or two snacks in a low stress environment. If you have to eat at your desk, close the door, clear your desktop and play some soothing music while eating. Don't do anything but concentrate on the food with all your senses. Eat enough to feel satisfied, not stuffed. Eat and chew slowly, savoring every bite. Concentrate on how you feel as you eat. If you don't, you won't know when you've had enough and you may overeat. Don't be guided by the serving sizes plated up in a restaurant or suggested on the side of a box. They may or may not be right for you.
Serving sizes should suit your body frame: small for small frames, medium for medium frames, large for large frames. But if you want to lose weight, you probably should stick to small or moderate portions, not large ones. Save treats for holiday fare or special occasions, if you eat them at all.
Be sure to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits daily, and don't count starches like potatoes and corn as vegetables even though that's how you experienced them growing up. Bread, muffins, bagels and buns don't count as grains unless they're made of 100% whole wheat or multi grains. In commercial grinding, grain is heated up to about 400 degrees, destroying most vitamins naturally in the grain. Be aware that most muffins, bagels and buns sold today are so big they count as multiple servings of starch, not just one.
Other simple nutrition rules are: enjoy your meals; eat a wide variety of foods in each food group, be sure to include leafy greens and other deeply colored vegetables and fruits, reduce and manage stress, get enough sleep; drink plenty of fresh, clean (filtered) water; eliminate toxic chemicals from your diet and home environment; get daily exercise and include aerobic, weight-bearing/muscle-building, and stretching exercises.
This plan will help your body stay balanced, and help you to avoid mood swings, depression and control the inflammatory conditions that underlie most diseases from heartburn to heart disease, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer's. It puts you in charge of your life so you will live longer but also live better.

Tasty, fresh real food served up in modest portions has a special alchemy.

Eat three meals a day and one or two snacks in a low stress environment.

Be sure to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits daily, and don't count starches like potatoes and corn as vegetables.

Vegetarian Chopped Liver
This is a dish my mother used to make for parties that everyone loved and asked about. They could never guess what was in it. You'll be surprised how tasty, meaty, and flavorful this recipe is, and how much kids like it in sandwiches.

3 medium onions, sliced fine    1/2 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil              2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 hard-boiled eggs,                  1/2 teaspoon celery seed
shredded with a grater            2-1/2 C. lightly cooked green beans Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon to taste
Salt and pepper to taste. Grated egg yolk, chopped parsley, or chopped scallions for garnish.
(Serves 6 to 8)

Swiss Chard with Nuts and Raisins

2 bunches of Swiss chard, chopped   1/4 C. pignoli (pine nuts)
2 tablespoons olive oil                           1 t. cinnamon
1 small onion, chopped                          Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C. raisins

Clean and remove large stems from the chard. Cook in a small amount of water for about 10 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and drain well. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the onion, raisins, and nuts. When nuts are lightly browned and onions are soft, add chopped chard and cook in a covered pan over moderate heat for about 15 minutes or until tender. Add cinnamon, salt, and pepper in last minutes of cooking.

©Copyright Luise Light 2006

French Spinach Salad
1 lb. fresh spinach, cleaned, trimmed, and torn
2/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1/2 cup diced celery
1 ripe pear, peeled, trimmed, and diced

Combine ingredients and dress as follows:
2 tbs. evaporated milk Salt and pepper
Juice of one lemon Dash of sugar
(Serve 3-4)

Hummus
“I first tasted this recipe at a workman's café in an old Arab market in the Middle East, It was brought to the table warm with freshly baked small loaves of pita bread and a plate of olives, pickled turnips, and hot peppers. Garnished with warm whole chickpeas, it was fragrant and delicious, much tastier than the factory-made hummus found in most supermarkets today.”
1 medium can cooked chickpeas, with liquid
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon to taste
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional olive oil for drizzling
1 T. finely chopped fresh parsley
Paprika as garnish
In a saucepan, heat chickpeas and liquid from can over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool to warm and pour into blender, reserving six to eight chickpeas for garnish. Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Blend to puree consistency. Humus should be white or lemony white in color. Pour the mixture into a wide, flat serving dish. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and paprika. Add reserved warm, whole chickpeas on top. Serve with Ak-Mak crackers or whole-wheat pita bread triangles and a plate of Mediterranean-style olives and peppers.
Serves 3 to 4

Find more recipes in Dr. Light's book What To Eat!

Dr. Light's Rumanian Eggplant Appetizer
"Wheat free! Dairy free! Absolutely delicious... and healthy!"

1 medium eggplant                               2 tbs. virgin olive oil
2 red peppers                                      Juice of one lemon
1 medium onion                                    Dash of Cayenne pepper
1 large garlic clove, minced

Bake eggplant, peppers and onion in skins for one hour in 375 degree oven. Remove and cool slightly. Peel vegetables and chop together. Add other ingredients. Mix well. Chill well. Serve as a dip or spooned on endive leaves or crackers as an appetizer.
Serves 3-4.

Beef or Turkey Tacos

1 lb. ground beef                   1 C. shredded lettuce
¼ C. chopped onion               ½ C. (2 oz.) shredded natural
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce            sharp cheddar cheese
2 t. chili powder                     12 taco shells (non GMO)

Brown ground beef or turkey and onion in frying pan. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 10 to 15 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture is crumbly and dry. Fill taco shells with approximately 2 T. of meat mixture. Mix tomato, lettuce and cheese. Spoon about 2 T. of mixture over meat in taco shells.

Yield: 6 servings of 2 tacos.