When it comes to eating a healthy diet, sometimes it’s better to focus on what you are adding in versus what you are taking out. Even some of our simplest go-to recipes that are perfectly clean and nutritious can be amped up without a peep from the peanut gallery.
Let’s look at tomato sauce: tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil stirred in at the end, more or less, right? We have lycopene in the tomatoes, a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant, garlic, a big help in cancer prevention and recurrence and basil, which contains antioxidants and anti-aging properties. This sounds pretty ideal, however there are some sneaky additions that we can use to enrich this recipe to let the cancer know we mean business. You may want to send your Nonna out of the room now.
Kombu is a type of kelp that you will often see in various Asian cuisines. It is one of the main ingredients in the broth base of miso soup (dashi). I add this to most things that simmer on my stovetop, to add a host of minerals and some alkalinity. Sea vegetables in general also protect us from radiation toxicity. Mixed in with the somewhat aggressive flavours of a tomato sauce, I promise you will not even notice it’s in there. PS- Although you could certainly eat it (it would be very good for you), my recommendation is only for you to simmer it in the sauce and then remove it, like a bay leaf.
Leeks & Onions and maybe a little extra garlic, work perfectly well in a tomato sauce, flavour-wise. By adding them, we are helping the liver to detox and adding even more minerals, including selenium, which nudges your natural killer cells in the direction of the cancer cells. Use red onion for extra pigment power.
So how and where do we introduce these fresh-faced additions? Take the chopped/diced leek, onion and garlic and sauté it on a medium/low heat with a splash of water and e.v. olive oil. Once wilted down a little bit, add the tomatoes (sodium and bpa-free, canned, whole tomatoes or fresh). Mash them up with a potato masher (or squish them with your wooden spoon), add the kombu and simmer for about 20 minutes, or longer for a thicker sauce. Poke the kombu down and stir it around occasionally to make sure it’s infusing your sauce with all of it’s talents. Once cooked down, you can either purée it (removing the kombu first) to give it a smoother texture and more even redness (less leek-y) or for a good time, just leave it chunky. Stir in lots of torn up fresh basil.
That’s it! Extra veggie servings, extra veggie varieties, same (or possibly better) delicious, comforting flavour. I’m sure if you have a look at some of your favourite healthy recipes, you can think up some tasty and nutritious additions. Serve the sauce with zucchini noodles, baked eggplant, portobello pizzas, thin out as tomato soup, or throw in some chick peas and call it a night.
No comments yet.