Alexandra Beck's Blog

1. Buy untreated oranges or lemons, rinse and dry them.

2. Use a zester, a peeler or a small paring knife to trim away just the yellow zest, leaving the white pith on the fruit.

3. Lay the strips on a plate and let them dry at room temperature for 3-4 days, until they have shriveled.

4. Store the dried peel in a dark place, in a jar.

Use it in your tea, morning cereal and bakes.

This is a dish of instant ramen. It fills the stomach but, apart from a solid dose of carbs, it doesn’t have much else to offer. 
To make it your instant ramen a healthier meal, proceed as follows:

1. Use only half of the individual portion and throw in one or two of the following ingredients (depending on what you have in the fridge):
1/2 cup salad greens (spinach, arugula, cornsalad)
2 tbsp chopped scallions
1 grated zucchini
1 grated carrot
½ cup shredded cabbage
½ cup fresh parsley
1 tbsp broccoli or alfalfa sprouts
1 tbsp Greek yogurt

2. Add to that two or three of the following ingredients (depending on what you have in the pantry):
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp miso paste (don’t use the seasoning packet in this case to avoid excess sodium)
1 tbsp ground flaxseed 
1 pressed garlic clove 
½ tsp turmeric and paprika

3. Stir and serve.
This instant ramen meal will still be super-quick and no-cook. But unlike the standard version, it will also provide you with a decent amount of fiber, nutrients and antioxidants.
 

This meatless vegetable cake can become your answer to some of your friends or family's "salad intolerance". 

Ready in less than 30 minutes, it's nutritious, delicious and very easy to make!

You can substitute beetroots for carrots or zucchini, but I recommend keeping the potatoes as the bottom layer and the eggs on top! 
Ingredients:
6 young potatoes3 carrots2 zucchini2 eggs2 ounces sour cream1 tablespoon mayonnaiseSalt, pepper and dried herbs to taste


Directions: 
1. Rinse vegetables, cut potatoes and carrots in 1-inch pieces and steam-cook with some salt for 15 minutes.
2. During that time, hard boil eggs; separately grate eggs and zucchini, reserve.
3. Prepare the "frosting" mixing together sour cream, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
4. Separately grate potatoes and carrots.
5. On a serving platter, layer potatoes, carrots, zucchini and eggs, with the frosting between the layers.

Serve warm or chilled. 

This recipe is from  Easy Vegetarian Cooking - with a month's worth of quick dinner recipes based on Harvard Healthy Eating Plate.

If you are like most people, you love your barbecues too much to give up on them, even knowing about the harmful substances that form on the surface of the meat from grilling…

It appears that this trick can cut down the nasty toxins: rub some spices and rosemary into the meat and marinate it in olive oil for at least 10 minutes before grilling.

Here is a couple of slightly more sophisticated marinades for your beef, pork and chicken:
Honey & mustard marinade
Whisk together:
3 tbsp olive oil 
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tbsp honey
½ inch (1 cm) grated ginger
1 pressed garlic clove 
juice of ½ lemon Lemon & wine marinade
Whisk together:

1 glass of red wine
3 tbsp olive oil 
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 pressed garlic clove.

Enjoy!

There are few vegetables as versatile, easy and generally good-natured as zucchini (courgette to the Brits). You've no doubt already cooked it in different ways. So have I! Here are my seven favorite -- and equally delicious -- ways to prepare zucchini: 
1. Steam them Steaming is my cooking method of choice: it’s fast, healthy, easy and un-messy. Try steaming zucchini in rounds – it takes no more than a few minutes to obtain tender but still firm slices that only need a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to provide a healthy side to nearly any kind of main dish.
2. Roast them This is super easy. Rinse them, halve them lengthwise, throw them on the rack and drizzle a little olive oil (optional). In summer, grill them outside to accompany your barbeques. In winter, roast them on the top rack of the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, then flip and roast a little more. 

You can also roast them dipped in a mixture of oil, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs to make delicious crisps (click here for a nice recipe).     
3. Stir-fry them (Asian style) Rinse zucchini, cut julienne-style using a mandoline slicer or a good knife and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes with some oil (for instance, sesame oil). Combine with julienne-style chopped carrots for extra color, vitamins and crunch (make sure to start with the carrots, as they take longer than zucchini to cook). Before removing from heat, season and add some soy sauce (such as Tamari) for a nice Asian flavor.
4. Sauté and simmer them (French ratatouille style)  Chopped zucchini is an essential component of the delicious ratatouille, a typical Mediterranean dish from the south of France. To make ratatouille, cook zucchini with chopped eggplants bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic and herbs (preferably, Herbes de Provence). You can find lots of recipes on the Internet, or try the quick ratatouille recipe from my cookbook “Easy Vegetarian Cooking.”     
5. Bake them (as a quiche/pizza/tart topping or in a gratin)   This one is pretty straightforward as well. Rinse them, slice them and use as a topping for your quiches and tarts. They are also great on pizzas. If you are low-carbing, you can skip the dough and layer zucchini with other vegetables (solo will do too) in a buttered oven dish, sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake for about 20 minutes. For a more sophisticated version, check out this Food Network recipe.

Oh, and did I mention the stuffed zucchini? Try minced meat or grated cheese (both go into the oven with the zucchini) or a ricotta/cream cheese and herb mixture (added after the zucchini is baked).   
6. Simmer and puree them in a soup Finely chop and sauté an onion, chop zucchini and simmer them with the onion in chicken or vegetable broth. After 30 minutes or so, season and puree to obtain a creamy comforting soup. Here is a nice recipe, and there are many more at the click of your mouse.   
7. Eat them raw Who said zucchini should always be cooked? Try marinating in vinegar instead. Check out this original recipe to make marinated zucchini salad or side dish (zucchini is cut into thin ribbons with a peeler).

But the best news is that zucchini can be eaten without any processing at all. Just rinsed and then diced in a salsa or thinly sliced in a salad. For instance, in the salad below, cucumber slices are mixed with zucchini slices, to enhance taste and nutritional value.
To recap: you can cook zucchini in the following ways: 
steamroast stir fry sauté and simmer bakesimmer and puree eat raw (marinated or not)Enjoy -- and do let me know if I left something out! 

Did you know that whole grains contain more antioxidants than many common fruits and vegetables?

Refined grains, on the contrary, are poor in antioxidants and minerals, reduced by the refining process (for instance, Vitamin E is reduced by over 90 %). At the same time, refining concentrates the fast-digested carbs that are bad for your health and your figure.
So, here are the 3 compelling reasons to ditch that white bread sandwich you are eating and switch to whole grains instead:  1. Wholegrain foods reduce the risk of cancer
Study after study demonstrates that wholegrain intake reduces the risk of several cancers including those of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, gallbladder, larynx, bowel, colorectum, upper digestive tract, breasts, liver, endometrium, ovaries, prostate gland, bladder, kidneys, and thyroid gland, as well as lymphomas, leukemias, and myeloma.
2. Wholegrain foods reduce the risk of inflammatory disease
Eating three servings of whole grains per day can slash your risk of dying from an inflammatory disease by more than 35%, according to a recent study. These servings can be oatmeal at breakfast, some whole-wheat bread at lunch and a portion of brown rice at dinner. 3. Wholegrain foods help you lose weight
According to a 2012 Danish study, switching from refined-wheat (i.e. white) bread or pasta to whole-grain versions of those foods can boost your weight loss by 35% and help you melt nearly 50% more body fat.

 
Sources:

H. E. Miller, F. Rigelhof, L. Marquart, A. Prakash, and M. Kanter. Antioxidant content of whole grain breakfast cereals, fruits and vegetables. J. Am. Coll. Nutr.19:312S–319S (2000); J. L. Slavin, D. Jacobs, and L. Marquart. Grain processing and nutrition. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr.40:309–326 (2000); L. Chatenoud, A. Tavani, C. La Vecchia, D. R. Jacobs, Jr, E. Negri, F. Levi, and S. Franceschi. Whole grain food intake and cancer risk. Int. J. Cancer. 77:24–8 (1998); D. R. Jacobs, Jr, L. Marquart, J. Slavin, and L. H. Kushi. Whole-grain intake and cancer: an expanded review and meta-analysis. Nutr. Cancer. 30:85–96 (1998); L. Marquart, K. L. Wiemer, J. M. Jones, and B. Jacob. Whole grains health claims in the USA and other efforts to increase whole-grain consumption. Proc. Nutr. Soc.62:151–160 (2003); Schatzkin, A. et al. Prospective study of dietary fiber, whole grain foods, and small intestinal cancer. Gastroenterology 135(4):1163-1167 (2008)

Jacobs DR Jr, Andersen LF, Blomhoff R. Whole-grain consumption is associated with a reduced risk of noncardiovascular, noncancer death attributed to inflammatory diseases in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun; 85(6):1606-14.

Kristensen M, Toubro S, Jensen MG, Ross AB, Riboldi G, Petronio M, Bügel S, Tetens I, Astrup A. Whole grain compared with refined wheat decreases the percentage of body fat following a 12-week, energy-restricted dietary intervention in postmenopausal women. J Nutr. 2012 Apr

I love sushi. It tastes great and it looks great. It does, however, have two "design flaws" that make it unsuitable for "smart cooking": it's high in carbs and calories (what with all that white rice), and it's relatively long and messy to make. 

But who said there was only one way to make sushi? I asked myself this question last Sunday, and that got me thinking, the result of which I am happy to share with you now. 

Here's how I made Cucumber and Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls for three in 10 minutes. This was meant to be an appetizer but turned out quite filling, in spite of the appearances. Must be because of all the water in the cucumbers and the protein and healthy fish oil in the salmon... 

You'll need the following ingredients: 
3 oz smoked salmon2 medium to large cucumbers2 Nori sheets or lettuce leaves
Directions:

Step 1: Rinse cucumbers and peel them, unless they are organically grown
Step 2: Slice them into 1-inch segments and core them with an apple corer
Step 3: Lightly moisten Nori sheets on the smoother side and place them on a cutting board, the rougher side facing upwards (or rinse lettuce leaves and place them on a board, on whichever side you like)
Step 4: Cut salmon slices into long strips and wrap the strips in Nori / lettuce Step 5: Cut cucumber segments into 1/2 inch rounds
Step 6: Cut salmon & nori rolls into 1/2 inch segments and place them in the cucumber rounds. 
O shokuji o o tanoshimi kudasai! (According to Google, this is Japanese for "Enjoy your meal!". Please note that I decline all responsibility if they got it wrong :-)
Do let me know what you think about this, and if you'd do something differently. 
If you too happen to have found alternative ways to make sushi/maki, do share!

When obese dieters ate a big 600-calorie breakfast of healthy protein and carbs (think scrambled eggs, diced turkey, whole-wheat toast, and a banana), they lost significantly more weight than dieters who ate only half that much. Why? Researchers speculate that eating a large balanced meal in the morning helps regulate appetite and reduce carb cravings later in the day. 

Source: Effect of diet with high carbohydrate and protein breakfast on weight loss and appetite in obese women with metabolic syndrome. Jakubowicz, D. et al.; Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, poster session, June 17, 2008.

I often feel guilty when eating potatoes. They taste great but are poor in vitamins, have too many ‘empty’ calories (especially when fried) and a high glycemic index... They do taste good though. 

My solution to this quagmire consists in the following 3 tricks:

1. I buy organic potatoes,so that I can keep thenutrient-rich peel on. 

2. After washing and brushing them, I steam them (sliced) or bake them (halved) in the oven. This keeps the calory count from climbing out of control. 

3. I serve them with olive oil and vinegar. Vinegar has been shown to reduce the glycemic index of the foods it’s combined with. 

Finally, I sprinkle them with chopped scallions or onion rings and minced garlic, for extra health boost. And eat them without feeling guilty. 

When there's no time or energy to prepare several courses, make an easy one-dish meal, and follow it with cheese and grapes accompanied with good wine. 

Cheese, grapes and wine is the shortest way to sophistication I’ve found so far. It's no longer than the distance between the fridge, the kitchen sink, the wine bar/rack and the dining table. And at the end of those few meters lies a prize as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. 

Just make sure to tidy up the dining table before serving cheese and grapes. It would be a shame to allow a dirty napkin to interfere with your art de vivre…