Category: Healthy and Happy

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I love hot soup when it is cold outside. But I never have enough time to make it from scratch. So, like many people, I go to Costco and check out the fresh soups. They have some interesting offerings but read the labels. Too much salt, too much fat, not enough healthy oils. So, I buy it anyway and take it home and fix it!

This always seems like a good time of year for tomato soup, so I bought a pack of Tomato Curry Soup then home to the refrigerator and the canned goods. I keep low sodium canned chopped tomatoes on my shelf, and I had leftover wild and brown rice dressing with Kale, raisins, and chopped nuts in my freezer. I also had some cooked turkey breast in the fridge that was too salty for my taste or good health.

The solution:

1 qt. of tomato curry soup

1 can of low sodium chopped tomatoes

1 C of wild and brown rice dressing with plenty of Kale (add some fresh if
you want extra healthy)

1 C diced precooked turkey breast steeped in hot water for 5 minutes and
drained

Heat all together and in 10 minutes you have a hearty and healthy meal. If you need a low carb meal, just omit the rice dressing and put 4 C of chopped fresh Kale in the soup instead.

Ken Corliss, OD
Diplomate, American Board of Optometry

(253) 845-0585

I happen to love smoked salmon quiche.  Recently I set out to make my favorite recipe and of course I saw that it called for equal parts of milk and half-n-half, lots of cheese and no vegetables. Well I know I can do better than that, so I made my favorite crust and prebaked it for 10 minutes.  Then the magic started.  I had a cup of cooked broccoli and a cup of cooked beet greens and some 1% cultured buttermilk.  I spread the bottom with broccoli pieces and then a layer of cooked chopped beet greens which is pressed to remove the excess moisture.  Then the swiss cheese went in and I made the egg/milk mixture with half 1% milk and half 1% cultured buttermilk with the requisite eggs (I use omega+) which covered the vegetables.  Finally, I added a generous amount of smoked salmon and topped with a little parmesan cheese.  This was baked using my standard recipe time and temp.  The result was delicious, as good as it looks.

The point is that you don’t have to give up good food to eat healthy.  You just have to cook smarter and don’t be afraid of making your favorites a little different next time.

Ken Corliss, OD

Diplomate, American Board of Optometry

(253) 845-0585

As fall returns, so does my desire to cook. If you have read my recipes in the past, you know that I emphasize omega 3 foods but sometimes I like to remake a classic in a more healthful fashion. Today, I decided on Carne Asada re-imagined, so I can enjoy it and not feel sick from eating too much fat. I also like to make the prep easy, so here is my take on this Mexican classic.

Carne Asada

3# of pork shoulder cut into 2-inch cubes
3 medium size sweet onions quartered
2 cloves of garlic peeled
1 orange rinsed and quartered whole
2 limes halved
2 small apples cored and quartered
2 T oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt (large crystal)
½ tsp Chili powder

Pulse the onions and garlic in a food processor until you have a medium chop. Then pulse the oranges and limes until you have a medium fine chop. Place the pork and all the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high about 8 hours until you can mash the meat with a wooden spoon. Tender lumps are fine. Transfer to a flat-bottomed container mounding the meat in the center and refrigerate overnight. The next day you can spoon off the excess fat around the edges and prep for the tacos.

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Carne Asada Tacos

Shred ½ C of Red Cabbage per taco
Julienne half of a small apple per taco and sprinkle with lime juice
Put a ¼ C of plain non-fat Greek yogurt in the blender with—
½ C Cilantro leaves washed and removed from stems
The juice of one lime
A tablespoon more or less of your favorite fresh salsa
And a few dashed of Tabasco Sause
And process until smooth (I usually just do this in a half pint jar, shaking a few times)

Reheat about ¼ C of Carne Asada per taco and heat your favorite fresh tortilla and assemble with cabbage on the bottom topped with the hot Carne Asada, Julienne Apple, and the cilantro sauce.

    

I love lots of left overs because I put the rest in small freezer bags and then in a large freezer bag and I have a quick meal ready to go any time.

– Ken Corliss, OD

Post-Season Football means…..SNACKS! If you are like me, that means I am going to have to double down on those New Year’s resolutions. The trick is to make the snacks a healthy part of the meal. My go to plan here is Hummus. I like to make my own hummus because it is so simple and so easy to make it healthy. Try these.

1 Can of low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove
3-4 T of chopped roasted red peppers (you will find them with the pimentos most likely)
1 medium avocado peeled and diced
1 T chili olive oil (or olive oil and a pinch of hot pepper flakes)
1 T water

Process the garlic clove with the olive oil in a food processor until finely chopped then add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and lightly salt to taste. Serve with celery sticks, carrot sticks and red pepper slices.

You will find that organic celery has much better flavor and everyone can eat this without worrying about spoiling dinner. This snack is a healthy part of your dinner.

If you like a traditional hummus, this is how I was taught by a Palestinian friend many years ago.

1 Can of low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 T lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 T tahini (sesame butter)
1 T olive oil or more if desired

Process in a food processor until smooth and add salt to taste.
I really like artichoke hummus and this is how I make.

1 Can of low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 T lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic crushed
4 marinated artichoke heart halves

Process in a food processor until smooth. You won’t need to add salt or oil because the marinated artichoke take care of that.

Finally, a new favorite of mine, beet hummus.

1 Can of low sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 Can pickled beets drained, reserving 2 T of the juice (don’t use those Costco beets, too sweet)
1 clove of garlic crushed
2 T tahini
1-2 T water

Process the garlic clove with the tahini in a food processor until finely chopped then add the garbanzo beans and the drained pickled beets with 1 T each reserved juice and water; process until smooth. Add more water and juice if necessary to reach proper consistency. Serve with celery sticks, carrot sticks and red pepper slices.

Winter time is soup time. I love to warm up with a hot and hardy soup and all the better if it is easy to make. Homemade soup gives you control of salt, sugar and fat and keeps life interesting. Here is my recipe for Creamy Squash Soup.
Creamy Squash Soup.

2# Turban or Kabocha Squash
1Qt. low sodium vegetable stock

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pierce the squash with a short knife to allow the steam from the center cavity to escape during baking. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for an hour or until the squash is soft. Cool for 30 minutes and then split the squash crosswise and scoop and discard the seeds. Quarter and peal the squash and then mash in a heavy pan and add the vegetable stock. Cook on low until the mixture purees easily. Allow to cool before pureeing and processes in batches until you have a thick soup. Serve hot with garnish of your choice.

A typical 2 C serving will be less than 200 calories with less than 10 g of sugar. Total carbs will be about less than 50 g and the sodium will be less than half of any commercial soup. Besides, it’s delicious.

Ken Corliss, OD

During the holidays, it is easy to over eat and eat too much fat, sugar and salt. A simple fix for that is some good vegetable soup. And being extra busy and nobody wants to cook; fortunately, there are simple food hacks to the rescue. I have a simple nutritious solution and all you need is a can of black beans, a can of whole kernel corn, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce.

Quick Vegetable Soup

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can whole kernel corn drained
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

Stir together and eat hot or cold. This is enough for 4 lunches or 2 dinners and is only 161 calories for a 14 oz. serving or 320 calories for a 30 oz. serving. The sodium content is half of a commercial canned soup, the sugar content is amazing low (7.9 gr in 14 oz.) and no significant fat. If you like your soup spicy, add a dash of tobasco. In my bowl a tossed in a little left over sweet potato. You probably have something left over in the frig. Feel free to add what ever. Eat healthy and feel great.

Ken Corliss, OD

Thanksgiving at our house is a time for family to get together and of course eat. Mom and Dad spent the day with us and enjoyed food, family and their 3 great-grandchildren. Each year I try a few things different. This year I tried to cook the turkey on the BBQ using the high temperature method published by the New York Times. The turkey got done in record time (2 hrs.) but was a little dry…needs more work. Fortunately, the vegetables turned out great and we totally cooked them a day ahead.

One of my favorite is Brussel sprouts baked in the oven. This time of year, they are still plentiful and available on the stock. They will be slightly bitter now; the supper sweet ones are early in the season and Thanksgiving is late in the season. I always buy Brussel sprouts on the stock if possible because they are so much easier to prepare that way. You don’t have to trim all those little ends. All I do is tear off the damaged outer leaves, rinse and set on a large baking sheet covered with foil to drip dry. When they have dried a little (doesn’t have to be perfect) I spray them lightly with olive oil (now available in spray cans) and sprinkle with a few grains of salt; then bake in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes or so until the outer leaves are slightly brown and the sprouts give a little when you squeeze them. Remove from the oven and let them cool until they are easy to handle and cut them off the stock with sharp kitchen shears. Then refrigerate until you are ready to use them. When you are ready to use, simply reheat. For Thanksgiving, I reheated mine in a stoneware dish at 150 degrees in the oven covered with foil. It took about 20 minutes. Remember to let your dish and the sprouts warm to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before reheating.

Brussel sprouts can be used in a surprising number of ways. My leftovers never go to waste. I often halve leftover sprouts lengthwise and sauté in a non-stick pan with an egg for breakfast. The carbs in fibrous vegetables are much better for you than that piece of toast and will last for hours helping you get to lunch without a snack. Sometimes I take a half dozen or so in a bag and eat them cold with my lunch and of course they are easy to reheat in the microwave for dinner. You may live alone or be a family of 2 but don’t be afraid of leftover vegetables. They make cooking easy and sharing with someone you care about no fuss at all.
Ken Corliss, OD

Don’t put the BBQ away yet! I know it is getting cold and rainy in the northwest but roasting vegetables on the BBQ is a great way to make a healthy meal. Just like oven roasting, open flame roasting concentrates flavor and is a great way to build a healthy meal as well as stock up the frig with precooked snacks, lunches and dinners. Today, I’m taking on several fall favorites of mine: Butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant.

For the butternut squash, start by trimming the ends and used a sharp pull peeler to remove the skin, then set the squash on the large flat end and split it down the middle with a sharp knife and scooped out the seeds with a spoon. Place the squash safely on its flat side and cut it into half-inch thick slices and lightly oil the slices with olive oil; then roast on a slow grill until nicely brown on each side turning once. Remember to pre-heat your grill and oil lightly to prevent sticking. Cooking time will vary depending on your grill but should be about 10 minutes on the first side and half of that on the second. Your squash should be thoroughly done and will have a sweet, intense flavor.

For the zucchini and yellow squash rinse, trim, and slice into strips about a quarter inch thick. For the eggplant, rinse, trim and cut crosswise half an inch thick. Then toss the slices with a little olive oil and an inexpensive balsamic vinegar and grilled on low heat until lightly brown and just tender. Since eggplant doesn’t have much flavor, I put a few grains of slat and more balsamic vinegar on the eggplant when I take it off.

To finish the meal, we cooked a pre-seasoned Tilapia fillet in the oven. Of course, there was more salt in one little fillet than in the rest of the meal, but the rest of the meal makes up for the failings of the fish. You could cook some healthier fish of course but my point is that when you make your meal mostly vegetables, it is hard to go wrong.

Now I have plenty of left-overs to make my lunch or another dinner. And you might be surprised how good the cooked vegetables are as a healthy snack. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I am planning to use my BBQ skills to make my holiday meal healthier and easier. Stay tuned.

Ken Corliss, OD
Board Certified, ABO (253) 845-0585

If you have been following my blog, you know that I believe that we can all eat healthier with a little imagination. Maybe you have had this happen to you. I was the recipient of some leftover church casserole made with hamburger, mushroom soup, and a little zucchini. Having been raised in a household that never threw any food out, I knew I had to be creative if I wasn’t going to be sick. Sooooo..

I coarsely chopped 1 onion and sautéed it in a little olive oil, then added 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms I bought at the grocery store and cooked until they started to brown nicely. Then I added a whole bag of baby spinach that I had refreshed in water, drained and left wet to the pan and tossed in the casserole on top. Covered and cooked until the spinach was wilted and I was ready to serve. If you look at what I started with and what I ended up with, you can see that instead of one meal that was going to make me sick I now have at least 3 healthy meals and I made dinner for 2 and one lunch for myself out of 2 C of unhealthy casserole.

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Don’t forget that fall is a great time to roast vegetables. And it is so easy. This week I also trimmed up a bag of Brussel sprouts, peeled and quartered a butternut squash and after scooping out the seeds sliced the squash into thick ½ inch slices and quartered an onion. The I layered the vegetables on foil and sprayed each layer with a little olive oil and roasted until tender crisp in a 350 oven which took about 40 minutes. Now what to do with all those vegetables.

Remembering that every meal should be a balanced meal, I often add vegetable to my breakfast. I slice the Brussel sprouts in half and sauté the medley in a little olive oil for a few minutes and then cook an egg on the side. Voila, you have a healthy breakfast. Enjoy!

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Ken Corliss, OD
Board Certified, ABO (253) 845-0585

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If you have read my food blog before, you know that I sometimes try to figure out how I can buy some prepared food and make it healthier. Today I went to Costco and bought a product called Vegetable & Barley Soup. It said it was organic, vegetarian, and dairy free. Additionally, it had only 1g of fat per serving. Reading more closely it also said that it had 490mg of sodium in a 1 C serving that was only 70 calories. What that says to me is that you will need to eat at least 2 C for even a small lunch and that would be too much salt. So I set out to make a couple healthy meals from this soup.

First, I took a 2 C bowl with a snap lid for my lunch and packed it with raw spinach. That is only 14 calories but it is a very good source of Vitamins A, C, B9, and K. Spinach has only 24mg of sodium in 2 C and no significant sugar. Then I put 1 C of the Vegetable & Barley Soup on top and sealed it up. At work, I placed the soup and spinach in the microwave for a minute and a half with the lid off. Then, I put the lid back on and walked to Pioneer Park where I took off the lid, on my much improved soup, and ate it by the marigolds. Even though the spinach only added 14 calories, my soup was much more satisfying and the additional fiber and nutrients stayed with me until dinner at 5PM.

The second thing I did with my soup, was make a dinner for 4 people. I started out with 1 C of coarsely chopped onion and 1 C of chopped celery which I sautéed in 1T of olive oil for 5 minutes then I added the remainder of the soup container (there was 2 and ½ C left) and a 14oz can of diced tomatoes. My canned tomatoes say that they have about half as much sodium per cup as the soup. I brought that to a simmer and added 1 small zucchini cut into ½ inch pieces and half of an orange bell pepper diced. Then I turned the pot off and covered it for 10 minutes. The resulting vegetable stew is now about 8 C and will make 4 very generous servings that are only about 150 calories per 2 C serving and the sodium is about 500mg in that 2 C or about half of the original product.

Prepared foods can be great time savers but it takes careful reading of the nutrition information and a willingness to modify what you started with to make a healthy meal. Usually that amounts to just doubling the vegetables and don’t add any more salt. I hope you will enjoy experimenting with prepared foods and will let us know what your favorite “food hack” is.

Ken Corliss, OD
Board Certified, ABO (253) 845-0585

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