Quick & easy healing meals: our 15-minute meals will help you lose weight, beat fatigue, and boost your immune system

Natural Health, July-August, 2008 by Rozanne Gold

NO ONE wants to spend the summer feeling sluggish or rundown. Or battling colds and allergies. Or gaining weight. The best way to avoid any of these scenarios is to eat energizing, immunity-boosting food. But most of us would rather not spend hours in a kitchen preparing elaborate meals. That's why we designed these really simple dishes using super nutritious ingredients.

"Everyone knows the expression 'You are what you eat," says Dale Bellisfield, R.N., a clinical herbalist with a practice in New Jersey. "But I tell my clients, 'You are what you absorb.' Every part of your body--your neurotransmitters, immune system, skeleton, and muscles--puts the nutrients in healing foods to work." In Bellisfield's kitchen, healing foods include fish to fight fatigue, herbs and spices to fortify the immune to hydrate and tonify.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

With Bellisfield's help, we compiled a handy guide to the most effective healing foods (see "8 Must-Have Healing Foods," page 44), plus three delicious healing recipes that can be prepared in 15 minutes or less.

Eat to beat fatigue

"When a client comes to me with fatigue, I tell them first to get rid of the stimulants in their diet--coffee and sugar that can bum them out--then energize with protein, good fats, and dark leafy greens."

Buy quality protein. Get your protein from a combination of organic whole grains and legumes; from the meat of free-range, grass-fed, organically raised animals or low-mercury, sustainably raised seafood; or from soy-based products like tofu. Protein increases our metabolic rate, and because we digest protein more slowly than carbohydrates, we get a long-term energy boost rather than a brief burst.

QUICK TIP: Green tea soba noodles, high in fiber and antioxidants, cook up in just 5 minutes and can be found at most Asian markets and specialty food stores.

Cumin Chicken with
Tomato Chutney &
Green Tea Noodles

Serves 4

The combination of cumin,
chives, and spicy scotch bonnet
peppers provides a powerful
dose of antioxidants.

CUMIN CHICKEN

4 large skinless, boneless
chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons ground
cumin
1 small onion
1 lemon
6 ounces organic green tea
soba noodles
1/4 cup coarsely chopped
chives, for garnish

TOMATO CHUTNEY

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, chopped
Fresh ginger, chopped
(about 1/2-inch cube)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper,
sliced with seeds removed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon organic cane
juice crystals

1. Bring a large pot of salted
water to a boil.

2. Place chicken, oil, and cumin
in a large bowl. Grate onion
thickly and add to bowl. Grate
lemon and add zest and lemon
juice to bowl. Add a pinch of
salt and toss to coat chicken.
Heat pan and add chicken;
cook over medium-high heat
for 5 minutes on each side.

3. Pulse tomato chutney ingredients
in food processor until
almost smooth. Add salt to
taste. Set aside.

4. Put noodles in boiling
water. Cook 5 minutes, then
drain well in a colander. Serve
chicken topped with chutney
and chive garnish and soba
noodles alongside.

Per serving: 465 calories, 16
g fat (2.5 g saturated), 38 g
carbohydrates, 42 g protein, 5
g fiber, 600 mg sodium (26%
Daily Value).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Enjoy fats wisely. Incorporating olive oils, eggs, nuts, and seeds gives you the most efficient, energy-dense fuel and helps create the building blocks for compounds that fight inflammation and maintain brain health.

Choose dark leafy greens, Kale, spinach, and collards--all of these contain energizing B vitamins (including folate, the B vitamin critical to the generation of healthy new cells), antioxidants, and dark green chlorophyll, which helps in tissue growth and repair.

Eat to boost your immunity

"Lately I'm really keen on 'black foods' like olives, berries, figs, dark chocolate, and sea vegetables," Bellisfield says. "The darker the hue, the higher the immune boost."

Pile on the onions, To ensure a healthy immune system, get your fill of onions, shallots, leeks, and fresh raw garlic. High in pungent sulfur compounds, these aromatic veggies can provide potent protection against harmful microorganisms and cancer.

3 SUPER SNACKS

Our 15-minute meals are designed to give you time to slow down, savor the meal and the company, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. But for those days when even 15 minutes in the kitchen is too much, Bellisfield has some suggestions:

1. TRY A POWER SHAKE. Combine healing ingredients like yogurt, berries, kale, cinnamon, and almond milk in a blender and shake it up.

2. MAKE TRAIL MIX. Blend 3 cups nuts and seeds with 2 cups dried fruits for a healthy homemade snack.

3. BUY WILD-SALMON JERKY. stock your pantry with a healthier version of beef jerky for a quick shot of protein. Look for Kodiak Solstix, available at wildrivergrilling.com.

Silky Miso Salmon with
Bok Choy & Snow Peas

Serves 4

Salmon is a great source of
omega-3s, which help regulate
serum cholesterol. It's even
better combined with the B
vitamins of leafy bok choy, and
anti-inflammatory turmeric.

1/4 cup white miso
1 teaspoon finely minced
fresh rosemary
2 large cloves garlic
4 6-ounce thick salmon
fillets, with skin
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large leafy bok choy heads
8 ounces snow peas, trimmed
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons toasted
sesame seeds

1. Preheat broiler.

2. In a small bowl mix miso,
rosemary, and 1 clove pressed
garlic. Add 2 tablespoons water
to form a paste. Coat skinless
side of salmon with paste. Rub
turmeric into salmon until it
turns golden. Place fish on a
lightly oiled rimmed baking
sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon
oil. Broil for 2 minutes
until golden brown; immediately
place in 500-degree oven
for 5 to 6 minutes until just
cooked through (keep it moist).

3. Meanwhile, coarsely chop
bok choy. Heat 2 tablespoons
oil in a large wok. Add bok
choy and snow peas. Cook 2
minutes over high heat, stirring
constantly. Add 1 clove
pressed garlic with a small
pinch of salt. Stir constantly for
3 to 4 minutes, until vegetables
are crisp-tender. Remove fish
from oven. Transfer vegetables
to 4 large plates. Top with
fish and sprinkle with sesame
seeds. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 568 calories, 33 g
fat (6 g saturated), 21 g carbohydrates,
47 g protein, 6 g fiber,
600 mg sodium (26% Daily
Value).