Tag: recipes

The following recipe is just for readers of this newsletter, “In Step With Jonny”—it’s an advance preview of our forthcoming book, “The Live Longer Cookbook” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!

Crunchy Apple Baked Beans

From Dr. Jonny: So I have to tell you my personal story about beans: I frequently have them for breakfast. Call me crazy, I know. But the thing is, nothing really keeps your blood sugar even like beans, and they satisfy for hours. (Sometimes I have them as a side dish with my eggs.)

But enough about me and beans. According to nutrition experts at Michigan State University, who reviewed 25 years of research involving beans and various health issues, beans are a powerful food to improve overall health and specifically to prevent heart disease. “Scientific evidence proves that increasing bean consumption will lower your risk”, said lead researcher Maurice Bennink, PhD. And just for good measure, recent research showed that women in the famous Nurses’ Health Study who ate four or more servings of legumes a week were 33% less likely to develop colorectal ademonas, a non-cancerous tumor that can progress into colon cancer.

The thing I love about this particular recipe is the apple flavor- which you’d never expect in a bean dish but makes it sweet and spicy at the same time. In addition to breakfast, this is really satisfying on a cold night!—Dr. Jonny

Crunchy Apple Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 cup dried pinto beans, picked over and soaked overnight, drained
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• ½ cup dried apple, pulsed in food processor to the size of large raisins
• 3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ½-3/4 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle pepper
• ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
• ½ teaspoon epazote, optional yo hlp with bean digestibility
• 2 cups apple cider (also good with hard cider!)
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Directions:

1. In large heavy-bottom pot, heat oil over medium burner and sauté onion for 4 minutes.
2. Add beans, apple, molasses, mustard, cayenne, liquid smoke, epazote, cider and broth, stirring to combine.
3. Increase heat and bring to a simmer.
4. Lower heat to maintain a low simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours or until beans are tender.
5. After first 45 minutes, stir and check liquid level every 30 minutes or so, adding additional broth if necessary.
6. Add salt to taste at end of cooking time.

Yield: about 8 cups

The following recipe is just for readers of this newsletter, “In Step With Jonny”—it’s from the just-released book, “The Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!

Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

In my humble opinion, great chefs and great musicians have a lot in common.

Great musicians take the same twelve tones that exist in the Western scales and rearrange them in constantly surprising, novel, interesting ways that ordinary mortals would never think of. Chefs do the same with ingredients. I love honeydew melon (and cantaloupe, too) but never in a million years would I think of pairing it with goat cheese and pistachios. (That’s why Chef Jeannette is the chef and I’m the nutritionist!) What a burst of flavor and texture! Fresh, light, and sweet, this dish is got something for everyone—the sweetness of the melon, the tartness of the cheese, and the crunchiness of the nuts. It’s surprisingly reasonable in calories too, largely because the salad is mostly water by weight. And pistachios- like most nuts- are high in minerals (potassium and phosphorus) as well as being a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat  Note: Get melon at the peak of the summer season so it’s bursting with flavor!

–Dr Jonny

Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup roasted, salted, shelled pistachio meats

1 ripe cantaloupe or ½ large ripe honey dew melon, unpeeled, seeded, and cut into 4 slices

2 cups ripe strawberries, stemmed and halved

¼ cup chevre

In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey, and zest until well-incorporated.

In a sandwich-sized plastic bag, lightly crush the pistachios with a mallet or rolling pin.

Lay out the melon slices and fill with even portions of the strawberry halves. Dot evenly with chevre and drizzle dressing over all, to taste. Top with crushed pistachios.

Yield: 4 servings