Eat your fruits and veggies
The nutrition sessions we’ve had so far at bootcamp have stressed two things above all else: fruits/vegetables and dietary fiber.
According to the fitness assessment and personalized nutrition plan I got at the beginning of camp, I should be eating two servings of fruit and somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 servings of vegetables each day. That, my friends, is a whole lot of vegetables. These guidelines differ slightly for everyone, based on age, gender, activity level, body composition, etc. But, generally speaking, we could all benefit from more veggies, more fiber and at least a couple more apples or bananas in our lives.
So here’s a flavorful, filling meal that provides one serving of fruit and four servings of vegetables, plus 3 oz. of lean protein, a relatively small amount of “good” fat from the olive oil and approximately 1-2 servings of starch:
Cucumber-Buttermilk Vichyssoise
Chipotle Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry-Avocado Salsa
Haricots Verts, Radish, and Watercress Salad
Pine Nut and Lemon Orzo
Total Calories: 522 (with 32% of calories from fat and 10 grams dietary fiber)
How to do it:
Make the vichyssoise and the orzo ahead of time, if you can. They taste better chilled. Prep the pork the night before and let it marinate all day before you throw it on the grill or into the broiler. To save time, I used the Trader Joe’s microwave-in-bag green beans in place of true haricots verts and couldn’t taste a real difference.
This menu serves 12+ people, so you may want to halve the recipes or share with friends.
1. Make the vichyssoise.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 1/2 cups chopped seeded peeled English cucumber (about 3)
3 cups cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 1/4 pounds)
3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Thinly sliced cucumber (optional)
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 8 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add chopped cucumber, potato, and 2 cans broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is very tender, stirring occasionally.
Place one-third of potato mixture in a blender (or use an immersion blender directly in the pan — this is what I do). Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure twice with remaining potato mixture. Cool.
Add remaining 1 can chicken broth, buttermilk, juice, salt, and pepper to cooled potato mixture, stirring well. Cover and chill. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumber, if desired.
2. While the veggies are simmering for the vichyssoise, cook the orzo and make the lemon dressing. You’ll need:
4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 medium lemons)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Combine rind, juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly add oil to juice mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add the cooked, drained pasta to juice mixture; toss to coat. Cool to room temperature. Stir in parsley and pine nuts.
Cover and chill.
3. Prep the pork. You’ll need:
1/4 cup minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
To prepare pork, combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours (I let mine marinate overnight and it turned out very juicy and tender), turning bag occasionally.
4. Prepare the salsa:
5 cups quartered strawberries (about 2 quarts)
1 1/3 cups chopped peeled avocado (about 1 large)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
To prepare the salsa, combine strawberries and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; toss gently.
5. Make the salad. You’ll need:
3 pounds haricots verts, trimmed
4 cups trimmed watercress (about 4 ounces)
1 cup sliced radishes
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Steam beans, covered, 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. (If you opt for the Trader Joe’s beans, microwaving them for 2-3 minutes in the bag works perfectly.) Rinse beans with cold water; drain. Chill.
Combine beans, watercress, and radishes in a large bowl; toss gently. Combine oil and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over watercress mixture; toss gently.
6. Prepare grill. (A grill pan or broiler can work just as well for this, too.)
Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle pork evenly with 1 teaspoon salt. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink), turning occasionally. Let stand 10 minutes; slice.
Serving size: 1 cup vichyssoise, 3 oz. pork, 1/3 cup salsa, 1/2 cup orzo and 2 cups salad
This menu comes from Cooking Light, which is one of my favorite recipe sources.
I’ve just recently started incorporating small amounts of organic, sustainable pork back into my diet (for the first time since I was kid and flatly refused to eat my mom’s pork chops), so this was a new and different cooking experience for me.