General Tso's Tofu

Hi foodies, in this blog post we'll do a healthy tofu dish Chinese style. The popular General Tso's Tofu. Actually it is suppose to be General Tso's Chicken. It's a deep fried sweet chicken dish that's popular in many Chinese restaurants. But you may ask, "How can this be healthy if it's sweet?" We'll use some natural sweeteners to omit refined sugars, and fructose syrups. And we'll use low sodium soy sauce as well.

INGREDIENTS

1 16-oz. package of firm tofu, drained of excess water

2 1/4 tsp. low sodium tamari soy sauce

2 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. mirin or rice wine

1 tsp. safflower oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. minced ginger

1 tbsp. arrowroot

Sauce

3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

2 tbsp. raw sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. low-sodium tamari soy sauce

4 tsp. mirin

2 tsp. rice vinegar

2 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. arrowroot

1 1/2 tsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. sambal oelek chile paste, a must

2 tsp. safflower oil

4 green onions chopped

1 clove garlic minced

Sides

Steamed cauliflower

Steamed brown rice

Directions

Cut the tofu block into 2 pieces. Wrap in paper towels, and place it between two cutting boards. Weight the top board with some plates. This will squeeze out the excess water. Drain for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, add in the low sodium tamari soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, oil, garlic, and ginger in a seal bag. Add tofu and toss. Coat well. Marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes to overnight. Make sure that the tofu absorbs all the liquid.

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F and coat baking sheet with Pam non- stick spray. Sprinkle arrowroot over tofu. Coat evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until firm and golden crispy. Turn a few tiems to brown.

Make sauce, whisk the broth, sugar, tamari soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sesame oil, arrowroot, tomato paste, and the chile paste in bowl, set aside.

In a large wok or skillet, add the oil, over medium-high heat, then add in the green onions, garlic and ginger, fry for 1minute. Add the borth mix, and cook 1 minute until thickens, then stir in the cripsy tofu. 

Serve with steamed cauliflower or steamed brown rice.

This is a photo of General Tso's Chicken

just imagine it's tofu. Sorry guys my tofu pic 

did not come out well at all. But you get the

picture. Haha.

www.whittleseabluecab.com

Blood Pressure Video

Here's a You Tube video on nutrition tips to lower blood pressure. 

If you are suffering for hypertension, being informed periodically on what is good for you, is well-good. We all need reminders, and support. That's a good life if we do have that. Life isn't easy period. It's a though world out there, we all need to go to work, pay the bills, and there's all kinds of stress that we deal with. Stress. We need to minimize stress. People can give us stress, but-only if we let them. So take a deep breath and don't let others stress you out for no reason. 

Keep your blood pressure under control. If you have a reading of 140 + over 90 +, you need medical assistance. Don't let high blood pressure keep you from living a good life.

RAISIN PORK

In today's post, we'll use raisins to sweeten the pot so to speak. Keeping our blood sugars down from high fructose items, and low sodium we shall eat a healthier pork meal. So here we go folks, get your eye glasses out.

INGREDIENTS Serves 2-3

1 1/2 lbs. of pork shoulder cubed

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. honey

1 cup organic raisins

3/4 cup low sodium vegetable stock

DIRECTIONS

Place all of the ingredients in a medium pot, and mix it well. Let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature. Cover pot, place over stove top on medium high heat. When it starts to cook and steam, turn heat down to low. Keep it covered, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Off the heat, and let it sit as it will continue to cook. Serve warm over brown rice, or mashed cauliflower.

Below is a video on pork shoulder, and also ideas on how to cook it. Pork shoulder or sometimes referred to as Boston Butt, is sold in smaller portions. This video teaches you how it looks like and how to break down a large cut of it. Enjoy.

www.whittleseabluecab.com

CHEF ROBERT IRVINE COOKS HEALTHY CHICKEN RECIPES

Hi foodies! Hope you're all doing alright. Me, I'm really busy doing things, so instead of creating some recipes right at this time, I'll be posting You Tube videos of some really fine cooks and chefs to teach you some healthy cooking. Today's video comes from Chef Robert Irvine. Yeah that Rober Irvine that looks like he's ready to kick ass. He's probably one of the more healthier chefs out there in t.v.. He'll be making a few simple recipes utilizing chicken, it looks real simple and for the working person that wants fresh food, this is pretty good. So enjoy the video, and guess what? You can subscribe to any video channel you want, you don't need me telling you how to cook healthy. Delve in the video world, you'll be amazed at the countless healthy ideas there are. Have a good day.

www.whittleseabluecab.com

Mayo Clinic Radio, on Diabetes

Sometimes it's best to watch and listen to the experts talk about certain subjects, in this case diabetes. I could read up on it, and watch thousands of videos and then write about it. Or with modern tech, I can search for excellent material and share its content with you. Since my new mission is to cook and eat healthy, and with diabetes a threat to our human race in America, I believe it is best to get information from experts. Watch this interesting video from the Mayo Clinic on diabetes.

www.whittleseabluecab.com

BUTCHERING VIDEO ON PORK BELLY

Since I am far from being a decent butcher, I'll post a YouTube video on a professional butcher, cutting up the portion of pork for pork bellies. Watch as he takes half of the hog, and uses his boning knife, a cimeter, and a saw to get to the belly. Why did I post this? As you know I'm trying to cook and eat healthy, what does pork have to do with eating healthy? First of all, I am not against meat eating. I am not a vegan, or a vegetarian. I love all kinds of food genres. However, for those of you that are wondering how do markets get their belly pork, and what's involved with it, this video will give you an idea. It's not long at all, and it cuts to the chase. Watch and learn something if the kitchen is where you want to be. I'm not suggesting that you pick up a half a hog from some farm, not at all. This is just to educate you and I, on the skills needed to be a professional butcher. Enjoy.

www.whittleseabluecab.com

BROCCOLI A HEALTHY ADDITION TO ANY DISH

Broccoli is a healthy addition to any meal. Toss it in raw to any type of cooked meal, and you got all the nutrients with no compromise. A member of the cruciferous family, broccoli has found its home in many open salad bars from eat to west. It has been added to many Asian dishes, most popular is the Cantonese stir fry, beef broccoli. As I continue into cooking and eating healthy in 2019, today I'll focus on broccoli and how you can add this vegetable into any meal. 

Beef Broccoli in a slow cooker.

Beef broccoli in a slow cooker is easy. All you need is inexpensive cuts of beef, like chuck, or round. The tougher meats are cost efficient and becomes fork tender after a few hours slow cooking at a low temperature. Just place a pound or more of cubed beef into the slow cooker, add some chopped ginger, garlic, and some onions. Add a few tablespoons of low sodium tamari soy sauce, a little oyster sauce, a little sesame oil, and a little water or low sodium broth. Set the temperature you need for the amount of time you'll cook it. It doesn't matter, because all you'll need to do, is trim your broccoli, and add it into the pot when the meat is cooked. Let's say you set your slow cooker to be done when you come home from work. Simple come home, open the lid and toss in the broccoli. It will soften from the heat. And retain most of the nutrients. And you'll get the fiber from it as well.

Adding to hamburgers

Why not chop some broccoli tops, and instead of lettuce add some broccoli to your grilled hamburgers. You'll have a nice little crunch to the sandwich. Someting to consider.

Burritos

If you make your own burritos, or you buy it from your favorite taco stand, bring your own chopped broccoli, raw. And tip the chef to add the broccoli into your burrito. Always try to add it raw.

Chicken Salad

When making your favorite chicken salad recipe, hopefully you are not using lots of mayonnaise and salt. Add some minced broccoli to the mixture. Again, that crunch and freshness will make it taste really clean. I promise you that.

Pizza

OK, pizza may not be the healthiest of dishes, however, if you find a deli that makes pizza from all-grain crusts, and organic, ask them if they got broccoli to add on to the pizza. Some health food stores won't have it for pizzas, but will have some at their salad bar. And I'm sure they can accomodate you. Broccoli on pizza, it's a winner.

Nutrition

Broccoli, raw (edible parts)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	141 kJ (34 kcal)
Carbohydrates	6.64 g
Sugars	1.7 g
Dietary fiber	2.6 g
Fat	0.37 g
Protein	2.82 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene lutein zeaxanthin	4% 31 μg 3% 361 μg 1403 μg
Thiamine (B1)	6% 0.071 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	10% 0.117 mg
Niacin (B3)	4% 0.639 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	11% 0.573 mg
Vitamin B6	13% 0.175 mg
Folate (B9)	16% 63 μg
Vitamin C	107% 89.2 mg
Vitamin E	5% 0.78 mg
Vitamin K	97% 101.6 μg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	5% 47 mg
Iron	6% 0.73 mg
Magnesium	6% 21 mg
Manganese	10% 0.21 mg
Phosphorus	9% 66 mg
Potassium	7% 316 mg
Sodium	2% 33 mg
Zinc	4% 0.41 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	89.3 g

Steamed Broccoli

Steaming broccoli makes a good side dish, just steamed to soften slightly adds color and lots of good for you nutrients. A 5 oz. steak, with mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. That's a good marriage. Or a few ounces of roasted turkey or chicken, with some wild rice, and steamed broccoli. Awesome. The list goes on and on. This gives you some idea on how to use broccoli as a home cook.

Happy chow time!

www.whittleseabluecab.com