JAMES KUDLICH Teddy's Bigger Burgers

James "Da Foodie" Kudlich and I went into Teddy's and James ate a huge ass Western Burger, and then he went home to sleep. Hank Telles the owner serves up some of the best grilled all beef burgers in Lahaina, a knock off of In N Out, Teddy's is actually one of my favorite burgers in town, located at the Lahaina Gateway Shopping Center just minutes from Kaanapali, Kahana, and Kapalua.

BROKE DA MOUTH 2012

This past summer's food fest in Lahaina Maui. 

Broke Da Mouth 2012 by Chris Mahon, it was a good first time event despite losing numbers according to Chris, it was a benefit event. Lahaina used to be the home of THE TASTE OF LAHAINA which no longer exists. Last week Lahaina had its PLANTATION DAYS event which featured local eateries, and top local entertainers.  

FOOD GOT BETTER AT L&L LAHAINA CANNERY MALL

In the not so distant past in the Lahaina Cannery Mall, the L&L Drive Inn began to serve some really crappy food, I mean the chicken katsu was always dried out and hard, their noodles was very tasteless. So about 7 months ago, I met Chucky, the new owner of the L&L in the Lahaina Cannery Mall, and from day one he told me, "Ron I make food bettah, I make it fresh, I even cook Filipino foods too." Really? Chucky sounds like that confident general that will overtake the enemy at the border, he'll carryout his blitzkrieg, and run over the enemy, this dude has all the confidence in the world, I saw it in his eyes, I saw it in the way he wiped down the counter, because the last Bozos did not even bother to clean anything, not even the soda dispensers. But Chucky, this dude knows how to make food fresh!

One day I get there I ordered the pancit noodles (Filipino Chow Mein), some kau yuk (Chinese braised pork), and some sweet and sour spareribs. Man it was great, not gourmet plates but for the everyday plate lunch lover, Chucky was batting 1000. I mean when a line starts to form, and bus drivers run to get there, hey Chucky is doin something right. Okay I ate that before my gout attacks I don't eat that anymore. But, Chucky the friendly guy that he is tells me, "Ron try the chicken chow mein." Okay so I ordered it, and when I got it, I was surprised because the plate weighed like 3 pounds! I opened it, and there was fresh veggies, pieces of marinated chicken korean style, and lots of noodles, now this is chow mein. And the steam came streaming out of the closed plate, yes, it was heaven, finally an L&L that made good food again.

Also the bbq chicken is good, better than before, the chicken katsu is better, in fact if you get the mini katsu plate, it'll fill you up, for 5.95, 1 scoop of rice, 1 macaroni salad, and a lot of chicken. Now, unless Chucky starts flaking out, I do suggest L&L at the Lahaina Cannery Mall. On a recent visit Chucky sold me their chicken chow fun, and it was kind of on the sweeter side, not really my kind of chow fun, it was a little too sweet, but it was still good, really I wasn't disappointed, it was just a tad sweet that's all, no worries, still hot and fresh, much better than the last moron that owned the dig.

Chicken Chow Fun L&L Drive Inn @ the Lahaina Cannery Mall.

Chow Fun should be made fresh, it should never sit in a hotel pan in a warming apparatus.

LOW SODIUM SAMOSAS W/ MANGO CHUTNEY

I love deep fried finger foods, I used to maul all the won tons my sisters would fry up during family dinners, I just couldn't wait for it to come out of the frying pan, we weren't sophisticated in having an electric deep fryer all we had was deep stainless steel pans or heavy cast iron woks. No matter, my sisters rocked when it came to making won tons, however the purists would claim that they didn't make it 100% from scratch because won tons are a Chinese staple and there are those foodies that'll claim, "Yeah but she didn't make those won ton wrappers she bought them from Foodland." Okay true that, but still it was delicious and I couldn't give a rat's ___ about that, to me if a store sold an excellent product why not use it to your time consuming life as leverage?

As time went on, I was introduced to Indian cooking by some talented chefs in a health food store I worked in, and one dish I loved was similar to the Chinese won tons, and that was the Indian Samosa, and it is relatively easy to make. It's hard to find a samosa wrapper on the market, some chefs will cheat and use a Thai spring roll wrapper, that was a "Nay" vote by the house. "Ron make em from scratch," one of the chefs instructed me, it's easy.

So here is the ingredients to make a Samosa dough for the wrappings.

SAMOSA WRAPPER
3 cups of AP Flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. curry powder
1 stick unsalted butter clarified
1 cup of very iced cold water, more if needed

1. Add clarified butter, sea salt to flour, and mix it well like any dough mix. Add the iced water very slowly and mix with a ladle, or your hands or a standing mixer, just keep on going until a nice soft dough is formed and workable.

2. Knead dough for about 5-10 minutes, let it rest in a stainless steel bowl, that has some olive oil wiped inside, cover it with a large plate or plastic wrap until you are ready to deep fry them.

3. When you are ready to start to make the filling, roll out about a golf ball size of dough into a circle about 5-6 inches in diameter (possibly smaller depending on the structure of your finished dough). Slice this in half forming a half circle, continue with the rest of the dough until all is done.

SAMOSA FILLING
1 large organic potato, peeled, cubed and cooked until softened
1 cup of black organic beans from a can
7 oz. of firm organic tofu, grounded drained of all water content
1 small green organic bell chopped
1 small sweet round organic onion chopped
1 red chili chopped
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. turmeric
3/4 tsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro rough chopped
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (Bragg)
Sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat up 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat, add the mustard, fennel, and cumin seeds, once you see them pop, then add in the garlic and ginger cook a few seconds until you smell it, add in the chopped onion cook it until softened.

2. Now add in the potatoes, black beans, and tofu, bell pepper, red chili, turmeric, chili powder, the sea salt and pepper. Cook it until the potatoes and tofu and beans have been coated by all the spices.

3. Add in the lemon juice and cook it until the juice dissolves. Mix in the chopped cilantro and vinegar, cook 1 minute and let rest. Then using a masher, mash all of the ingredients together let it rest.

TO MAKE SAMOSAS

Take a half circle of the dough, spoon filling in the lower center, and begin to fold into triangles, or heck whatever shape you want, it doesn't matter.

TO COOK

Heat up a deep fry pan with about 3 inches of oil, over high heat when oil is sizzling, add in a few Samosas at a time, and fry until golden. Because this dish is without animal meats (Vegetarian) because we did use butter, it can cook rather quickly.

MANGO CHUTNEY (I buy mines)  PATAK'S SWEET MANGO CHUTNEY get em in most health food stores or online like Amazon.com this product does have sodium 310 Mg per 1 tbsp, but if you just dip the samosas in it in a small ramekin, you should be fine. If you treat yourself once in a while, it isn't going to really do you harm, however please ask your doctor or dietician for advice before trying this recipe.

Diabetic Teriyaki Sauce Made with Agave Nectar

Just a brush up on Diabetic Cooking, using refined sweeteners is a No No. You want to use a sweetener that raises your blood glucose level slowly, and because this Agave plant has a low glycemic index than sugar or other sweeteners, it makes a good addition to sauces.

I am not a registered dietician, but I have worked in a natural food store as a cook on Maui, and learned from the best chefs at that time. So when I do a personal chef gig for someone with diabetes, and they want something sweet to eat, I'll first have them sign a waiver that states they are allowing me to use certain ingredients, and that they should inform their health care provider, doctor or nutritionist that I'm going to use agave nectar so as if not to harm them if it may do so, just to protect client and myself.

I come from an Asian/Pacific Islander culture as well as American; so my cooking roots is rooted as such. One client had diabetes, and wanted me to make her and her husband a teriyaki steak with a salad. Well I informed them that if I used agave nectar it would be safer for them, but all the while stating that they should eat it sparingly.

So I did make them a nice New York steak grilled it for them, and made a teriyaki sauce that was drizzled over the steak, to their surprise it tasted great. I did not use any starches to thicken this sauce, however I utilized come culinary training I got from great chefs, one was my brother Harold God rest his soul. Instead of thickening it with a roux, or slurry, I reduced the sauce in a pan.

VOLCANIC AGAVE NECTAR ORGANIC, NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS LIKE CORN SYRUP, MALTOSE AND OTHER BAD STUFF.







THE AGAVE PLANT

The Agave Plant pictured here is what tequila is made from just for your info. 








GRILLED NEW YORK STEAK W/ AGAVE TERI SAUCE

1 lb. New York steak bone in or off, seasoned with onion powder and fresh ground black pepper, let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix these four ingredients well, heat up a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer, reduce to about half.

1 cup low sodium Bragg liquid amino
1/3 cup Volcano Agave Nectar1/4 tsp. minced ginger
1/4 tsp. minced garlic

Heat up (in my case) a cast iron grill pan on the stove top

This pan is an Emerilware pan that is great if you don't have an outside grill, makes a good addition to your kitchen. 














Directions:

Once the grill pan is hot, place the steak on it and sear it, cooking it for about 4 minutes and then flipping it to cook another 4 minutes, this should produce a medium steak, slightly reddish, if you have a thermometer, get it to about 145 deg. F. Remove steak and tent with foil to keep it warm.

Go back to the saucepan and, if the Agave Teriyaki Sauce is still reducing heat it up by intensifying the heat higher, and bring it to a boil and finish reducing sauce.

Once reduced, remove from heat.

Slice steak so that two can share on one platter, and then drizzle the Agave Teriyaki Sauce over the sliced steak and serve.

For diabetics, I try to cook them straight up grains such as Quinoa (Kee- Wah), a staple of South America, it is gluten free, and has somewhat of a nutty flavor but is filled with all the essential amino acids your body needs as well as packed with protein. This makes a safe side instead of white rice or even brown rice to keep the glycemic levels down.

  Directions on cooking quinoa.

Tips: 1 cup of uncooked quinoa yields about 3 cups of cooked product. Also quinoa can have a bitter aftertaste, to omit this, the outer layers can be removed. To add flavor to quinoa, when cooking use 2 cups of vegetable broth instead of straight up water, and put in a bay leaf and some salt and pepper or other favorite herb or spice.

1. Heat up a pot of 2 cups broth or water.
2. Add 1 cup of quinoa, and bring to a boil and immediately turn heat down to a simmer.
3. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, it will rise and become fluffy,  that's when it's done. Remove from heat and plate, garnish with fresh parsley or other nice herb leaves.


Happy eating and or cooking for you loved ones with diabetes. Go to my group DA FOODIE BOODIES on Facebook and join, and share your stories on healthy cooking.

ALOHA DELI ROCK THE HOT DOGS

Rocking hot dogs, smoothies, coffees, pastries, sandwiches, wraps, check out owners the father and son team of Howard and Steve Canastra, and the friendly and fast Justine. Aloha Deli is located top level Harbor Shops Maalaea, right off of HWY 30, just 15 minutes from Kahului airport, and just minutes from Kihei and Lahaina

CELERIAC CELERY ROOT

Celeriac or Celery Root, can be julienne and tossed into salads, or blended into sauces like a homemade mayonnaise. If you look at the picture to the left it is brownish on the outside, looks like someone's brain was split in half and the innards are whitish. 

To prep these, cut off the top part which is green, and take the bulb part, using a paring knife, trim off the outer parts (brownish skin), try to not cut into the flesh (whitish) parts.

Then begin to julienne the bulb, and toss them into your favorite salads. Okay let's create something with this root.

CRAB SALAD W/ CELERIAC

2 servings

6 oz. of chopped Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup of sliced sweet round onions
3 oz. of fresh spinach leaves rinsed
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced thin
1 cup of julienne Celeriac

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup tamari
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp. raw sugar

1 can crab meat

Directions:

Toss the Romaine to the Celeriac in a chilled bowl, cover and keep chilled.

Mix the lemon juice to the raw sugar with a whisk or fork.

Remove salad from chiller, and divide into two portions in salad bowls, drizzle dressing over and then sprinkle crab meat over the salad, garnish with more dressing.

* Canned crab meat is used for its convenience, I have no problem with it at times, however if you dislike anything canned, by all means utilize fresh crab meat.

BRAISED PORK 4 DIABETICS

Before you make this braised pork recipe, make sure you're fine to eat this with the listed ingredients, check with your healthcare provider, physician, nutritionist etc.

This is a simple braise, using the shoulder, with fat trimmed off.

Note: Limit the intake of the pork, eat just 4-5 oz. with lots of greens and fresh fruits, try and keep the starches small on your plate also.


INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. of pork butt, all fat trimmed off
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic cloves smashed
Spike seasonings (choose your flavors it is sodium free)
Fresh ground peppercorns to your liking
1 tsp. kosher salt 
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup low sodium wheat free tamari
2 bay leaves each halved

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. f.
2. Season the pork butt with the smashed garlic cloves by rubbing cloves into the meat, when done save.
3. Season pork butt with Spike, peppercorns, salt, rosemary, thyme.
4. In a roasting pan set over medium high heat on stove top, add oil, and sear the pork butt until a crust is formed. Remove from stove top.
5. Add in the vinegar, apple juice, tamari, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Cover roast with foil, set in the oven in center rack. Roast for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven, remove foil, let it rest for 30 minutes, slice into pieces and serve with lots of greens, and some beans.

CHICKEN PICCATA W/ PASTA & MUSHROOMS

This recipe is a low sodium and low fat dish, a typical Chicken Piccata has tons of butter in the sauce, we'll use less butter for the sauce. And a lean pound of chicken breast, and about 1/2 a pound of whole wheat angel hair pasta, this dish should be okay for high blood pressure and diabetics, before consuming, check with your doctor or dietician before continuing.

THE GOODS

6 oz. of whole wheat angel hair pasta

1/3 cup garbanzo flour divided

2 cups of organic low sodium vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon sea salt divided

1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper

4 - 4 oz. chicken cutlets (from a boneless skinless pound of chicken breast pounded flat)

3 teaspoons olive oil

10 oz. of mushrooms sliced thin

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup of white wine

2 tablespoons of orange juice

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons capers (rinsed)

2 teaspoons organic unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the pasta following directions on package, and drain and rinse

2. In a small dish, mix about 4-5 tsp. of flour with some broth until a paste is formed. Place the rest of the flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the cutlets, and dredge both sides in the flour. Heat up a nonstick pan over medium high heat with oil and cook the chicken cutlets until brown on both sides, remove set aside on a plate and cover to keep warm.

3. Heat the rest of the oil in the pan, add in the mushrooms and cook until softened, remove on to a plate, add garlic and wine to the same pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the flour broth paste, orange juice and the rest of the sea salt, bring to simmer and cook stirring continually until thickened.

4. Stir in the parsley, capers, butter and mushrooms, toss in the cooked pasta, warm through and serve.

ECONOMIC HARD TIMES AND HEALTH FOOD

Times are hard, people are still losing jobs, losing hours at work, and losing important medical benefits that help sustain their lives. Eating healthy has proven to omit the intake of expensive medications, eating natural and organic vegetables and fruits have proven beneficial by millions of people around the world. However in America it is very expensive to eat healthy, and if you lost your job, you're probably looking for just food in general, instead of an apple that may cost you 3.00 dollars, you may succumb to eating 3 hamburgers from Mc Donald's instead from that Dollar Menu.

"I used to buy organic vegetables from the local health food store, but now without the hours from work that I had, I have to scale back on my healthy eating," said a woman I know who is into health foods. "I used to pick up a sack of food for like 80.00 a pop," now I settle for foods that don't cost a lot, and of course not as healthy, it really makes things hard without cash on hand or credit, I'm used to having my cupboards and fridge filled with organic brands, all natural brands, now it's just not the same."

Eating healthy is important, it should be for all of us, it is frightening to think that major agribusinesses will create GM crops, and use all kinds of chemicals to help crops produce good yields, it has happened in the past where I come from in Lahaina, Maui in Hawaii. Back in the day of the Pioneer Mill sugar plantation, workers claimed the plantation used helicopters and planes to spray a ripening agent called Palado which has the chemical Glyphosate which is used in Roundup. The chemical is sprayed onto sugar cane to help it ripen, of course the plantation heads didn't tell the community about it, they ran the show, they were the big cheese employer of hundreds of locals. Now tell me, if you knew the sugar came from this plantation, would you seriously consume it? Former employees who were smart enough to research this chemical refused to use any product that came from the plantation.

Healthy eating goes beyond buying veggies and fruits, people in the know dig deeper into what really goes into our food supplies, and it seems that chemically laced foods are cheaper to consume than the foods that are grown naturally. "If you have a yard, I'd suggest you remove those pretty flowers and grow some fruits or vegetables," says a friend of mine who grows tomatoes and herbs in his yard. "If a sack of all natural vegetables are expensive then just grow your own."

Times have changed, our economy has sunk considerably offering little hope to millions of people who need to recover from illness like cancer, kidney failure, heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, curing cost money, lots of money, it is a shame that people who need help can't really get it because of the cost, the cost is sending many to an early grave that is just the facts of life, and don't be jaded because someday it could happen to you, if you do have your job with all the benefits give thanks to God that you're okay and able to provide for your families because there's a lot of people I do know that are struggling just to stay alive, forget purchasing a wagon full of good food from the local health food store.

LACK OF HEALTHY EATERIES

Go to any town in this country chances are there will be more restaurants that serve unhealthy foods than healthy foods. I know one of the reasons why this is so, healthy foods are more expensive than unhealthy foods, and it is difficult to find a place of business that's affordable, let's face it if you do have a restaurant that is awesome, what's the sense in being in business if your landlord looks at your books and says, "Hey Jenny, I see your sales is soaring every month, we'll need to tack on 20% to your sales, and by the way that space next door that's empty, everyone in this building will chip in to have it maintained, and you by the way just won this month's award for paying for my daughters 600.00 cell phone bill."

Being in business in these times are just tough, a friend of mine is opening up a food counter soon, he had bigger plans in the beginning but altered it when shopping for places to stick in his food biz, from a sit down kind of dig, he detoured into a fast cook to order counter with a few seats and ample parking, the cost will be lower, his menu small, employees minimal, electric bill and water bill lower. He had to look at all the numbers and that was the frustrating part, Pete is a good businessman, has a heart, knows food, but even this little operation scares him just a tad because our economy isn't all that great right now.

But back to the healthy foods, it is difficult to find tasty good foods, just a simple low calorie pizza, or tacos. Everything seems to be jacked up in processed ingredients, sodium this, sodium that, lots of restaurants here on Maui use the same canned sauces that's doctored, while the food establishment claims "everything made fresh" yeah right, and I'm an Irishman from Dublin with a goat in the back of the truck.

If you have high blood pressure, you have to constantly ask waiters, "Can you please tell the chef to not put any salt in my pasta?" Sometimes you'll get a caring waiter, but sometimes it's like asking money from your dad when you were a kid, they give you that stupid sigh and that roll in the eyeballs like "you again?" well that's the way it is. Diabetes? Good luck. Sugar is just jacked up in soft drinks, even drinks considered healthy, some organic sodas have just as much sodas as the Cokes and Pepsis of this world.

That's just the facts of life, I had a friend that was about to open a health food store, but when she found out what was involved as far as cost, she decided to work in a curio shop instead, Maui is not a business friendly place, too me it is lost paradise, and only a haven for the rich people, of course I ain't complaining, that's been the way since the days of Moses. Rich people will afford the finer healthier things in life while the peasants get the crumbs. All I'm saying is some peasants wanna be business people offering healthy foods, but when it's time for them to do their number, the bottom line doesn't look too good. I guess most will continue to go pay check to pay check eating unhealthy foods.

LOW SODIUM MEATBALLS

Meatballs can be made into awesome sandwiches, or put in a nice marinara for an Italian pasta, or glaze it with a teriyaki sauce, or just simmering it in your favorite broth with vegetables to pour over rice. For people with hypertension or high blood pressure, keeping any meal tasty may be difficult if you are used to pouring stuff with salt or purchasing pre made meatballs with sodium preservatives.

By using simple ready bottled dried herbs and spices, you can create a fantastic tasting meatball dish for everyone in your household to enjoy, by practicing eating saltless foods, you'll get used to it, in fact you'll soon realize that foods without salt has a personality all its own, I know what you're thinking, "Man I can't eat a piece of chicken without salt, it'll taste like cardboard." No, it does not taste like cardboard, chicken...tastes like chicken, salt just enhances the flavors, but really, try eating things without salt, you will notice that foods will taste a certain way that is alien to you, but with practice, you'll forego that table salt shaker for other condiments like organic vinegars, spiced powders and herb powders and different store branded condiments that are ready made and healthy.

So here is just one version of a LOW SODIUM MEATBALLS

1 1/2 lbs. of ground beef
1 small onion minced use 1/2 cup
1/4 cup of minced green onions
1 tsp. minced parsley
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. low sodium steak sauce
3/4 cup of bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 deg. f.

1. Mix all of the ingredients together very well.
2. Form meatballs about 11/2 inch round.
3. Place on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes.
5. Reserve the juices from the sheet.

Place meatballs in a semi deep dish.

Place juice from meatballs into a small sauce pan, heat to medium high.
Add 1/2 cup of red wine, simmer to reduce to about 1/4 cup, place in a ramekin, use as a dip for meatballs.

*It is easy to cook healthy, in this event I'm looking for low sodium, hence I'll cook regularly with one exception, I'm not using any salt, or any high sodium ingredients. If you love any kind of food, cook it, but leave out the salt. Below is a list of ingredients you may want to try to enhance some of your cookings for a hypertension/high blood pressure diet.

Onion powder
Garlic powder
Organic vinegars
Fresh squeezed juices from citrus
Soy sauce that is mixed with 3/4 water
Fish sauce that is mixed with 3/4 water
Olive oil
Fresh ground peppers of different varieties
Minced nuts
Fresh cooked beans
Nutritional yeast
Spike brand seasonings
Mrs. Dash brand seasonings

Also check in your area for healthy cooking classes, you may find a healthy chef doing a live demonstration at the local college or churches, go online and join social media like Facebook, Twitter, and others and connect with other foodies. Write your own blog, keep a journal of your healthy eating or cooking progress.

Remember that the less bad stuff you eat, the less chances you'll get sick. Most doctors are instructed to prescribe medicines for you because it is tied into the pharmaceutical companies and the clinics or hospitals you are attending, despite these medications benefit to help you lower blood pressure, there is nothing more safe and works well, than eating properly to avoid any ailment to begin with and to have sufficient exercise each day to get your blood circulating.

LOW SODIUM GRILLED FLANK WITH MASHED YAMS

Today I'll share an idea with you with high blood pressure or hypertension, if you want to treat yourself to a piece of steak, try this simple recipe that has zero salt, none, nada! As I share with you my struggle with high blood pressure, and stage 3 kidney failure, and a diet that is supposed to prolong my life, quite possibly taking me short of stage 4 kidney failure, but want to have a piece of beef on occasion, and if you are not being a glutton, I think you'll survive for only you know your body, however check with your doctor and or dietician before cooking and consuming this recipe.

LOW SODIUM GRILLED FLANK W/ MASHED YAMS

1 lb. of trimmed flank beef steak
Spike seasoning (choose your flavor)
Fresh ground black pepper as you wish
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 bay leaf halved
1 tbsp. agave nectar

Directions:
Mix all of the seasonings from the Spike to agave nectar in a bowl. Place the flank inside the bowl, remember that when you treat yourself to beef, eat it sparingly, since 1 lb. is 16 oz. cut this steak into fourths, so you have 4- 4 oz. steaks. Soak the steaks overnight. Save the last 3 or share it with someone, you can also freeze it and grill it later but wrap it tight with freezer paper twice, and reinforce it with plastic wrapper.

Mashed Yams
2 large yams peeled and cubed

Directions:
Boil yams until soft, and then mash them in a bowl, season them with Spike, nutritional yeast, fresh ground black pepper to taste, and a tablespoon of organic sour cream, with some chopped chives.

When you are ready to grill the flanks, heat up any grill, charcoal or gas, and grill each 4 oz. steak for about 3 minutes per side, or to your liking. Discard the marinade.

Per serving:
1 large scoop of mashed yams
1 4 oz. steak
Add fresh greens or a nice salad

Tip: to add more after cooking flavors to both the steak and the mashed yams, try squeezing some fresh orange juice over it, or splash some Bragg apple cider vinegar over it.

Grilled Flank on the medium raw side

Photo from Simply Recipe

Spike can be found in health food stores, it is likened to Mrs. Dash seasonings, I like Spike better.

Good luck and healthy eating.

EGG WHITE WRAPS WITH SAUTÉED VEGGIES

In this blog post I'll give you a pretty healthy recipe, gluten free, sodium free, and best of all it will be about 60 percent vegetarian, the only animal product is the egg whites we'll utilize. To remove the yoke in the egg, just crack the eggs, and use both shells to sift the whites into a bowl.








EGG WHITE WRAPS WITH SAUTÉED VEGGIES 

3 egg whites
1 tbsp. vegetable oil and 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/4 chopped bell peppers
1/2 cup diced tofu
Spike
Dijon mustard
Vegenaise
Sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up nonstick pan with vegetable oil 1 tbsp. over medium high heat, cook the egg white until firm on one side, flip and cook the other side until firm, remove from heat on a plate.

2. Heat up same pan with 4 tbsp. of oil, sautee the mushrooms, green beans, black olives, bell peppers, and tofu until heated through. Remove pan from heat.

3. Season to taste with Spike, Dijon mustard, Vegenaise, while pan is still warm, season with salt and pepper, use salt very sparingly.

Note: Once the egg whites cool, it is still pliable, it holds together very well, you can even use it like a taco shell. Cooking the mustard and Vegenaise in a warm pan is alright it will not totally break. Spike is found in most natural food stores it comes in different flavors, it is a bottled seasoning with herbs and spices and no sodium like Mrs. Dash.

Vegenaise is a vegan mayonnaise made from Follow Your Heart, it is animal free, no cholesterol.

Dijon mustard gives the veggies a little flavor and some kick.

Trying to stay away from heavy, salty cooked meats is important for good health. Not totally eliminating meats, but slowly eating less of it will make you feel better. Lots of proteins from meats can be hazardous, eat more vegetables and fruits.

Stay away from bags of chips that is made from those companies that stock up your local gas and go food mart, or the convenience stores. If you want snacks, purchase a small dehydrator and make your own vegetable or fruit chips, those market chips are filled with bad sodium based additives that is not good for the body, and the artificial food colorings have been known to give people allergies, and cancers.

Eat healthy, be healthy, be positive- without good health I don't care how much money you got, you'll be sick and then what? Look around you the next time you're out in public, look at the people who are overweight, and struggling to walk from their car to the store, and when you run into them at the food court they are mauling a huge sandwich filled with greasy pork, and greasy fries, with a chocolate sundae chaser! Not good.

So today, be healthy, instead of a bag of unhealthy chips, eat an apple instead, an organic one would be best. Drink water instead of a soda, if you want a soda, just drink half the can and save the rest, the more you cut back on the bad stuff you'll realize that you don't need the bad stuff.

WATERCRESS WITH FETA CHEESE SALAD

As we head into the fall months in warmer climes such as Maui where I'm currently blogging, cool foods are in pretty much year round unless we do have a cold front that travels through our state in the middle of the Pac Ocean. Cold front? Yes, it can stretch over 3,000 miles from Kauai to northern Cal. So on the tops of our volcanoes, Haleakala on Maui over 10,000 ft. and the two on Hawaii Island, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are both in the 13,000 ft. range, well over a mile high, we can see blizzards up there if the winds crank up in the middle of winter with the cold fronts.

Enough of the weather, let's talk about healthy foods. Feta ( fetuh) is a cheese that is crumbly in persona, tangy in flavor, made from sheep or goat's milk. It is healthy unless... you can't eat this, then a vegan cheese would be better, but all in all in moderation, this cheese should be good and healthy for the average person.

WATERCRESS WITH FETA CHEESE SALAD

This serves one person.

2 cups of watercress tops with 4 inches of stems, rinsed in ice cold water

1/2 cup feta cheese

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp. ume vinegar

1 garlic clove minced

1 small basil leaf sliced thin

1 tsp. honey

pinch of sea salt

pinch of white pepper

Mix dressing ingredients well in a small bowl, add in the watercress and toss well, and place on salad plate or a bowl, spread feta over it.

Watercress tops with stems, make sure when you buy this, you rinse it well, and look for crispness, if it is soggy it's not going to be good for a salad, though will be alright for soups.

Feta cheese, made from goat or sheep's milk, very crumbling type of personality and a tang to the bite. Purchase from supermarkets that sell these in nice tight wrappings. 

Ume Plumb Vinegar from Eden Selected, made from plums it is salty and tart to be exact, with the acidity of a vinegar, this makes a good addition to sauces, or in this case salad dressings, or on top of grilled beef steaks, if you like tart salty with acidity, ume vinegar is for you. Some people pronounce this oo may, or ooom.