pre-diabetic

First, I have to apologize that I did not take a picture of the plate this time so I had to put a picture of “Mr. Grouper” from Bubble Guppies. He’s kind of cute and is not quite something I would want to filet, his being a cartoon and all. (And, please note that no cartoons were harmed while writing this blog post.)

The whole idea behind pre-diabetic cooking is to control the carbohydrate intake (you need about 30 grams per meal) and to make sure that you are getting the right kind of carbs for your diet. (think whole wheat, fruits and vegetables) I think this is one of the reasons that most of the literature points people in the direction of making sure that fruit is part of every meal. True a lot of fruits are full of sugar but the ones recommended for pre-diabetics and diabetics alike are berries. YUM! For any of you living near Maine or the New England area blueberries come to mind as the berry of choice along with your basic strawberries, raspberries and such. I have a high school classmate that said in our yearbook “Essence of blueberries is all you need to exist” and I would have to agree. So if you are cooking for a pre-diabetic make sure to include the berries, in their natural form of course.

This recipe was one of those thought up on a long ride one of these past weekends. For whatever reason, the leek and mushroom combination kept popping into my head which was kind of weird because before this time I had never cooked with leeks. (channeling a chef from the past maybe?) They are a fine vegetable, however, and are akin to very mild scallions only much bigger. I like this recipe because it is easy and the way that it is baked deep seats the flavors into the fish. So without further adieu here is the recipe. Later this week I will put out here the “how to” for the vegetable stock I made from the leftover parts of the leeks.

Glam Grouper
Grouper done with Leeks and Mushrooms
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

3 – Large Grouper Fillets (mine totaled about 2.5 lbs)
4 – Leeks
2 pts – Mixed mushroom slices (if you cannot find these use a mushroom with a lot of earthy flavor like Portabellas or Cremini and mix them with Shitakes, Oyster and other flavorful mushrooms)
7 – Garlic cloves (fine diced)
1 – Handful fresh parsley (or a bit more, coarse chopped)
16 oz – Mushroom broth (you could also do vegetable stock but the mushroom broth gives a better flavor)
1 pinch – Sea Salt per fillet ( use coarse ground and only put 3 to 4 granules each)
Coarse ground Black Pepper (a couple of grinds per fillet)

Preparation:
Prepare the leeks (you are going to use the white parts) by cutting the white part off and slicing the long way into shreds. Wash between the leaves because a lot of dirt can get caught in there and I am pretty sure the grocery store has not washed them for you ahead of time. Save the green parts of the leeks to make vegetable soup stock.

Construction Instruction:
Spray the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish with a non-caloric cooking spray and arrange the fillets evenly across the dish. Pour in the mushroom broth so that it surrounds each of the fillets. Next, salt and pepper the fish and arrange leeks, mushrooms, garlic and parsley more around the fillets than on them. The reason for putting the ingredients around as opposed to on top is that you are going to steam cook the fillets and allow the fish to absorb those flavors. Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

This was served with a wild rice pilaf made with lightly sautéed mushrooms and sweet onions, roasted cauliflower and asparagus. On the side, there was also a berry salad with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and some kiwi for good measure.

Enjoy!
The Well Fed Cyclist

No, I do not believe that I am unstable or that I will try to jump from a tall building but the title refers to the condition of “Pre-Diabetic” where folks are not quite at the fully diabetic stage but are on that threshold. People very close to me have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. My knowing this prompted me to embark on a project to adjust my recipes to fit this particular type of diet. I noticed that there are no “pre-diabetic” cookbooks thus leaving these folks to modify the full diabetic recipes to suit their needs (sometimes good, sometimes not so good) so these are not the same as the diabetic recipes but employ some of the same principals. There is the liberal use of cinnamon (this is just like a shot of insulin and helps a great deal in controlling blood sugar) and of as many herbs in as many combinations as can be imagined so that you can avoid reaching for that bottle of sauce with the “umteen” grams of sugar in it. As promised (maybe a bit later than I expected however) here is the first installment of “On the Edge” recipes for those with pre-diabetes. All you other folks don’t worry as I will continue to do my other kind of recipes with simple ingredients executed well but this is to help those who may have this condition.

Viejapthainese Meatballs (This recipe has a lot of different influences)
Asian inspired Turkey meatballs with sesame-lime gravy
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

The Meatballs:
2 lbs – Ground turkey breast
2 tbsp – Dried basil
1 tbsp – Cinnamon (ground)
2 tbsp – Red and Black pepper (I used “Hotshot” by McCormick) Note: if you are really adventurous you can substitute 3, finely diced jalapeno peppers or 4 Thai chili peppers here.
½ tbsp – Ginger (ground) Note: The original idea was to use fresh ginger finely chopped but I have not figure out the equivalent yet.
1 tbsp – Lite soy sauce
1 tsp – Toasted sesame oil
½ cup – Whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs
1 – Egg
½ – Sweet onion (diced very fine)
7 – Garlic cloves (run through a garlic press)
¼ cup – water (added in slowly to change the consistency of the meat ball mixture. You may not use all of it)

The Sauce:
5 – Limes (the juice of)
2 tbsp – Toasted sesame oil (depending on the size of your limes you could go a bit more here)
1 ½ tbsp – Honey
2 tbsp – Dried basil
¼ cup – Scallions chopped (the green part)
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

Construction Instruction:

In a large bowl, combine turkey with the remainder of the meatball ingredients except for the water. Mix thoroughly so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. (Note: I used a potato masher to make this as fine a mixture as possible.) Add water slowly to the mixture, using your hands, until the consistency is almost sticky. Make small (about tablespoon size) meatballs and place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam or some other non-caloric cooking spray. This should yield about 30 meatballs. Bake these in an oven that has been pre-heated to 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. At about 15 minutes turn the meatballs so that they cook evenly. Note: I started checking the meatballs at about the 30 minute mark to make sure that they had not gotten too dry. When done the meatballs should spring back lightly when pushed down on by a fork.

The Sauce Construction Instruction:

In a bowl combine the lime juice and the remainder of the ingredients Whisk together until the honey has had a chance to dissolve. Put the mixture in a small sauce pan and over low heat reduce by about 1/4th. This should take about the same time as it takes the meatballs to cook.

To serve, take 4 to 5 meatballs and put over Japanese buckwheat noodles or brown rice (I have had them both ways) and spoon about 2 to 3 tablespoon’s worth of the gravy over top. I served this with a cabbage, zucchini, squash and onion salad finished with rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds and green beans semi-dry pan roasted with crushed red pepper flakes.

This was a huge hit with the family. I hope that it turns out for everyone who wants to try it.

Enjoy!

thewellfedcyclist

On the Edge…part deux

On the Edge…