broccoli – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Broccoli Rice Bake

December 14, 2021by Rebecca1 Comment

and a tip for taking care of digestion during the holidays and beyond

Before I get to the recipe below, there’s one little nutrition tip I want to share today that just about every one of us can use, especially during the holiday season. It’s simple – but can go a long way in terms of improving negative digestion symptoms, in addition to energy, having a steady appetite, clear skin, and focused thinking.

It’s that we should leave out habitually grazing or snacking throughout the day.

When we’re in a pattern of habitual grazing all day, or feeling constantly hungry or snacky, it’s often because we haven’t eaten enough at a previous meal. Or we’re eating for emotional comfort, or simply skipped a previous meal altogether. Or we’re doing those holiday gatherings that involve no real meal but constant “finger foods.”

In any of these cases, eating when the last meal hasn’t fully digested can put the body in a stressed state and leave us with indigestion, bloating, fluctuating energy levels, and a whole host of other symptoms. When we snack on the go or while distracted during our busy days, the same uncomfortable symptoms often occur.

But what about for athletes? I know many of you, like me, move your body a lot and need more food to be getting enough for your needs.

As endurance athletes doing daily workouts or training for an event, having a snack or two during the day is reasonable. But we should not feel constantly hungry, or hungry every hour or two.

Eating again before the last meal has finished digesting puts a lot of stress on the digestive system and it can’t do either job of processing the new food or assimilating the last meal effectively. This goes for everyone, regardless of whether you notice negative symptoms or not.

Aim to have snacks about four to six hours after your last meal has been eaten, and two to three hours before your next meal. This is the length of time it takes to fully digest your meals. For a person that is active less than an hour per day, three meals is usually plenty. For those who are more active, an eating schedule with a snack built in to get enough food might look like having breakfast at 7am, lunch between 11-12:00 pm, a snack around 3-4pm, and dinner between 6-7pm.

Do you feel worse when you constantly snack or graze throughout the day? I know I do. Try cutting all snacks or sticking to the above schedule for a week or two, and see how much better you feel.

Now, for something nourishing to eat during your actual meals. At least during one holiday of every year while growing up, there was my mom’s Broccoli Rice Casserole, which we all craved. Likely a holiday meal because it involved ingredients we didn’t eat any other time of the year (processed cheez whiz and instant rice), I have no idea when the tradition began, or when/if it ended, but we all enjoyed it.

Several years in to a dairy-free lifestyle, I tried upgrading the recipe to be based around whole foods and be dairy-free as a final project for one of my grad school cooking labs. Like most vegan / dairy-free recipes trying to mimic a cheesy taste, the result I got was trying too hard to stimulate all the taste buds with the nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, etc. combination of flavors, and I never really landed on a finished recipe that I wanted to remake year after year.

Then I stumbled upon the flavor/spice combination below while having a little creative session in the kitchen earlier this year. Without intending to, the result ended up being exactly what I was going for in the failed recipe revamp. And here we have it! A whole foods remake of the Broccoli Rice Casserole I loved from youth.

Broccoli Rice Bake

This is a far cry from, yet extremely reminiscent of the cheezy Broccoli Rice Casserole I grew up eating around the holidays. The combination of the spices, tahini and coconut milk seem like they’d yield a curry rice bake – but the result is actually far more subtle and more in line with the cheez whiz, instant rice, and cream of mushroom soup combination of childhood. It’s creamy, comforting, and a perfect addition to either a holiday or an everyday winter’s meal.

Prep: 4-8 hours soaking (optional but recommended) | Cook: 1.25-1.5 hours | Serves: about 4

3 ½ cups (320 gr) chopped broccoli
1 cup (185 gr) brown rice (soaked for at least 4 hrs)
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground fenugreek seed
¼ tsp. ground fennel seed
1 ½ tsp. grounding masala spice blend or curry powder
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root
3 Tbs. (45 gr) tahini
1 cup (240 ml) coconut milk*
2 1/2 cups (600 ml) water

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C ).
Spread the broccoli out in a 9×9″ baking dish along with the soaked (and drained) rice. Set aside.
Stir together the spices, fresh minced ginger, salt, and tahini into the coconut milk and water. Pour over the vegetables and rice and mix. Then spread the mixture evenly, making sure that the broccoli and rice are submerged in the liquid. Cover with kitchen foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Now discard the foil and increase the oven temperature to 430°F (220°C). Bake for a further 25-30 minutes, or until the broccoli and rice are cooked and the sauce starts to form a slight crust around the edges of the pan. It might look a bit softer than steamed rice consistency at this point, but will set up after removing from the oven.
Let cool for about 10 minutes out of the oven before serving as a side dish.

Notes: Use canned coconut milk, the type used for cooking. Either lite or full-fat can be used but full-fat is preferred, and will result in a creamier texture and richer flavor.
I’ve tested this a couple times in a larger, flatter 13×9″ baking pan. It still works, but the rice really benefits from a smaller, deeper pan so it can fully immerse and steam-bake, rather than dry out without fully cooking.

Nutrition + Health, Summertime

Broccoli, Raisin + Sunflower Salad

July 21, 2017by Rebecca2 Comments

I’ve had a whole line of early summer recipes to share, which I tested on repeat until getting just right. Inevitably I never got around to photographing and sharing, and then the ingredients in question were past their season and the moment was gone.

Sigh.

It’s been that sort of summer. I’ve been trying to just go with it.

The Recipe Redux challenged us to Beat the Heat with the Slow Cooker/Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker this month instead of turning on the oven or stovetop. But the god’s honest truth? I wiped out//not invited in as many appliances as I can, in the name of less clutter, open space, and more peace of mind. So I don’t have too many kitchen appliances to cook with in lieu of the oven and stove, save our tiny countertop grill.

And also, If you read my last post about eating more soup in the summer (a practice that is still going strong), you’ll know I’m okay with a little summer heat. I’ve been delving more into eating in the way that serves me best these last few years and warm, cooked foods are generally better for me. Our climate is also fairly mild and I’m enjoying being outside as much as possible in this season; the warm days are particularly pleasing. Chameleoning, I call it.

I worked outside in the shade for most of the day earlier this week, and though it was easily in the low 80’s, I had a long-sleeve on for most of it. Later, at a meeting in an unairconditioned house, I put those longsleeves back on and was super comfortable while around the table, everyone else was in shortsleeves and tank tops. The sameish story is true when I work from home, until the end of the day when William walks in the door and must-have-fan/AC. In the evenings, I don my sweaters and socks!

So super cold person here. And summer is my season.

But to keep with the theme for this month, I did turn off the oven/stovetop and I made one of my favorite broccoli salads. It’s a rendition of that mayonnaise, bacon, and sugar-infused potluck dish I remember from summers long ago, but this is one I actually enjoy eating.

Plus, it’s keeping the broccoli forest in my backyard in check!

Paired with easy grilled tofu and some slices of rustic whole-grain bread, or whatever else you’ve got on hand and sounds nice, it’s a dish for these warmer summer evenings.

Broccoli, Raisin, and Sunflower Salad, serves 3-4
I’ve been growing Apollo Broccoli from Territorial Seeds for the last couple years and this variety is a broccoli cross, which has tender side shoots/sprouts that grow continuously from May through December. It looks extra leafy because when harvested and used fresh, the tender buds, stems, and leaves are all sweet and delicious. Make this with the broccoli you have available, but try to limit the from garden/farm/store-to-plate timeframe because some of broccoli’s best nutrients are depleted rapidly by light, heat, and long-storage!

a big bunch of fresh broccoli
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, toasted*
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt
1/2 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Cut the broccoli florets and stalks into small, bite-sized pieces. Place them in a big serving bowl along with the raisins, toasted seeds, yogurt, and salt and pepper. Use your hands or a large spoon to mix everything until the broccoli is coated with yogurt to your liking.
Serve right away along with the sides/mains of your choice.

* To toast your seeds, put them in a small saute pan over medium-low and heat until just beginning to smell toasty and turn golden, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into this salad.

Summertime

Coconut Basil Zucchini Rolls

July 21, 2016September 13, 2021by Rebecca2 Comments

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

from Wendell Berry’s How To Be a Poet

Somehow we’ve found ourselves in mid-summer and I’ve discovered that I can accomplish tasks in the online world while hanging in the backyard on a blanket next to the summer squash. The connection is a little slow and not altogether consistent but that opportunity leads to moments to turn and stare at the cloudless sky and listen for the gaps between the sound of the trees. Today there is more commotion with the street noise and I remember instead a more peaceful mid-summer day years ago, lying on my back in my parents’ yard out in the country, staring up through their ancient, looming trees, just listening.

Coconut Basil Zucchini Rolls, serves 4-5
Recipe Updated: 9/13/21

This mid-summer recipe is a creation for The Recipe Redux, as we were challenged to use the season’s abundance in interesting shapes. I basically took a bunch of what’s growing in the backyard right now and made it into a quinoa salad of sorts, and then rolled it up in grilled zucchini. The same can be done with eggplant instead of zucchini and the vegetable fillings can be interchanged accordingly.
To make this easier, but certainly less beautiful to look at, this is also wonderful to make lasagna style, with the zucchini (or eggplant) being used like noodles and the quinoa, veggies, and coconut basil sauce added in layers, followed by repeating the process. Then bake as instructed.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic
2 cups packed basil leaves
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. fennel seeds
¼ cup capers, divided
1 Tbs. lemon juice and zest
¼ tsp. sea salt and black pepper
2-3 large zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise (or 1 very large eggplant)
1 small broccoli, cut into small pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas

Place quinoa in a saucepan, add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat immediately and simmer for about 15 minutes, before setting aside.
In a food processor or blender, puree the garlic, basil, coconut milk, spices, about half the capers, lemon juice, zest, and salt and pepper. Then set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay zucchini slices on a flat baking dish covered with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes until soft through. Repeat as necessary if not all the slices fit on one sheet.
Then spread the broccoli and mushroom pieces out on the baking dish lined with parchment and sprinkle with salt and mustard seeds. Place in the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes.
When the quinoa is slightly cooled and the vegetables are done, stir in about ¾ of the coconut basil sauce, the remaining capers, roasted broccoli, mushrooms, and the peas.
Roll the zucchini: Place the zucchini strips, one by one, in front of you. Add a large spoonful of the quinoa mixture at the bottom of it and roll up lengthwise away from you. Place the rolls back in the baking pan with parchment paper. There will be more filling than rolls (unless you make grill up some big zucchini), so inter-space some of the extra filling among the rolls as you go. Drizzle with the remaining basil sauce.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400°F just to heat through.