RD - Leslie Becks Healthy Kitchen: 250 Quick and Delicious Recipes Plus Essential Kitchen Tips

LESLIE BECKS HEALTHY KITCHEN LESLIE BECKS HEALTHY KITCHEN 250 QUICK AND DELICIOUS RECIPES PLUS ESSENTIAL KITCHEN TIPS LESLIE BECK RD WITH MICHELLE GELOK RD RECIPE DEVELOPMENT AND NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS PENGUIN an imprint of Penguin Canada Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Canada Inc.) Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (WEB) Copyright Leslie Beck, 2012 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Manufactured in Canada. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION Beck, Leslie (Leslie C.) Leslie Becks healthy kitchen. Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-14-317186-7 1. Cooking. 2. Diet. 3. I. Title. Title.

TX714.B43 2011 641.563 C2011-906197-X Visit the Penguin Canada website at www.penguin.ca Special and corporate bulk purchase rates available; please see www.penguin.ca/corporatesales or call 1-800-810-3104, ext. 2477. ALWAYS LEARNING PEARSON ALSO BY LESLIE BECK Leslie Becks Longevity Diet The Complete Nutrition Guide for Women The Complete A-Z Nutrition Encyclopedia Heart Healthy Foods for Life Foods That Fight Disease The No-Fail Diet The Complete Nutrition Guide to Menopause Healthy Eating for Preteens and Teens Leslie Becks Nutrition Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy 10 Steps to Healthy Eating Leslie Becks Nutrition Guide for Women Leslie Becks Nutrition Encyclopedia Leslie Becks Nutrition Guide to Menopause PENGUIN LESLIE BECKS HEALTHY KITCHEN LESLIE BECK, a registered dietitian, is a leading Canadian nutritionist and the bestselling author of 11 nutrition books. Leslie writes a weekly nutrition column in The Globe and Mail, is a regular contributor to CTVs Canada AM and can be heard one morning a week on CJAD Radios The Andrew Carter Show (Montreal). Leslie has worked with many of Canadas leading businesses and international food companies and runs a thriving private practice in Toronto. She also regularly delivers nutrition workshops to corporate groups across North America.

Visit Leslies website at www.lesliebeck.com. MICHELLE GELOK is a Canadian registered dietitian currently based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Michelle writes health and nutrition articles and develops recipes for a variety of publications and corporate clients in Canada and internationally. Her work has appeared in Chatelaine, CBC Online, My Yoga Online, Aquarius magazine and The National newspaper. Michelle has collaborated extensively with Leslie Beck since 2004, developing recipes for her last four books, including The No-Fail Diet, Foods That Fight Disease, Heart Healthy Foods for Life and Leslie Becks Longevity Diet. Visit Michelles website at www.michellegelok.com.

Introduction Im often asked by clients and friends if I cook my meals. That might sound like a strange question, but its actually not. Consider that more and more time-crunched Canadians are relying on prepared foods to serve at meal time. Grocery stores offer plenty of choices for people too busy to cook: frozen and refrigerated entres, hot entres and side dishes at the deli countereven a sushi bar. And, of course, you can order take-out from almost any type of restaurant. Our busy lifestyle is certainly one barrier to preparing meals from scratch.

It can be hard to find the motivationand energyto cook after a long day spent working and chauffeuring kids to extracurricular activities. And, without a plan, its easy to give in to the temptation of an effortless meal that requires only heating and serving. But lack of time isnt the only obstacle. Some people dont feel comfortable in the kitchen because they havent learned how to cook. Baking salmon, cooking quinoa or even steaming vegetables are tasks that can intimidate beginner cooks. Many of my private practice clients ask me to design a meal plan thats as simple as possible to followone that requires very little preparation.

Yes, I do cook my meals. I eat breakfast at home, bring my lunch to work and prepare dinner from scratch seven days a week. (Okay, once in a while we order in a thin-crust pizza.) Its not just because Im a dietitian that I cook my meals. Sure, I understand that home-prepared meals are typically more nutritiousand tastythan a meal you buy at the supermarket or from a local restaurant. But I cook because I enjoy doing so. My mother taught me how to cook when I was in grade school.

While she was at work, I took on the task of preparing dinner when I arrived home from school. I experimented with different recipes and had fun in the process. I was also fortunate to have home economics classes offered in high school. Its a shame that home ec is no longer part of the school curriculum for so many kids today. To me, learning how to cook has equalor even moreimportance to learning world history or mathematics. Its a life skill, after all.

My goal in writing this book is to help you incorporate healthy and great-tasting meals and snacks into your familys menu plan. Even better, the majority of the recipes in this book are quick and easy to make. I hope my quick tips and recipes will also encourage your family to gather for meals as often as possible. Research shows that kids who participate in regular family mealsfive or more meals together each weekhave more healthful diets and meal patterns than their peers who eat few family meals. Whats more, kids who report eating as a family on a regular basis are more likely to have a higher intake of vegetables, fibre, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron when they are older. But family meals are not just about nutrition.

Studies also show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs or develop eating disordersand the more likely they are to excel academically. I know it can be challenging to find time for everyone to sit down together for the evening meal, especially five times per week. If your schedule gets in the way, eat breakfast together or gather for lunch on the weekend to encourage healthy eating habits. Ive included plenty of delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch recipes to help you do so! HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Leslie Becks Healthy Kitchen is different from my previous books about health and nutrition. While my focus remains on healthy eating, this book is intended to be used as a hands-on resource in your kitchen. Unlike my previous books, I spend very little time giving you background informationwhy certain foods are good for you, what studies have found and so on.