Eating Clean, Fast-and-Dirty-Style

My last post about Lupercalia as an inspiration to give my diet a good "spring cleaning" has gotten me thinking about eating clean, and why we, as busy Americans, so frequently fall short of this goal.

What IS "clean" eating?
-Using the freshest, most natural produce and meats available. This can often include organic or local selections.
-Not eating chemicals. If it comes in a box or a can or a bag, you'd be well-advised to read that ingredient label twice. If it looks like your tenth grade chemistry final, then don't eat it.
-Increasing whole grain, less-processed starches, i.e. brown rice instead of white rice.
-Limiting sugar
-Limiting alcohol
-Staying adequately hydrated

Even the most stuck-in-his-ways, unadventurous eater of the Standard American Diet can review those basic guidelines and agree that they are pretty reasonable and totally attainable.

So...why do we all fall so short of the mark so often?

We're busy.

We leave work after a rough day, harried and exhausted. All we want to do is change out of the monkey suit and sit down in our own space. We're also traveling home with a growling stomach. We're starving. And we definitely don't feel like starting an elaborate cooking project. We want to pick something up on the way home, or nuke something that will be done in 4 minutes. So we buy packaged, processed foods. Or stop at drive-throughs as a desperate act of re-fueling. Or eat out at places where their sources and cooking methods are at best, unknown... at worst, totally suspect. Or we eat a bowl of sugared cereal or microwave popcorn in front of the TV.

I've done it, too.

But I HATE it. I don't think it's natural or right on any level. And I know for certain it makes us chubby or sluggish or both. We can all do better.

There is no shortage of information on how-to. The world is rife with "20-minute meal" cookbooks. Those cooking shows on TV lead us by the hand through the process of easy meals. Your local grocer might even give the occasional free demonstration/sample in the hopes that you'll buy the product he's promoting.

You can do it. I manage it. And I'll be honest, after cooking all day, I really have zero interest in cooking and cleaning up again when I get home. But I do have an interest in being healthy. So I dig deep and I pull it off. And I'm able to pull it off because I keep the preparations really short and uncomplicated (which, coincidentally, makes most "clean-eating" meals taste best!)

I humbly submit to you, my planned menu for the week, with estimated prep/cooking times (I am not counting inactive time where something is cooking in the background with zero effort on your part). I hope it gives you some inspiration. You don't even have to cook every night. If you think you can pull off just one or two of these in your busy week, you will reap dividends in your sense of well being. Just ONE...or two, if you're really motivated. Pick one, any one...! The only special equipment you need is a cast iron pan, available everywhere from fancy cooking stores to your local hardware store. They cook good food FAST and hot.

-Petit Filets of Beef with Raw Broccoli salad. Season the beef and sear in a hot cast iron pan (or on a hot griddle or grill) approximately 5 minutes a side. While the beef rests, chop a head of broccoli and an onion and toss with some dried fruit in slaw dressing. Elapsed work time: 15 minutes
-Whole Grain Pasta with Tomato-Raisin Sauce and Mixed Green Salad. Boil a pot of water for the pasta noodles. You can change clothes, return phone calls, whatever, while your water comes to a boil. Cook noodles for approximately 9 minutes. While they are cooking, open a bottle of high-quality, sugar-free pasta sauce and warm in a sauce pan. Toss in some raisins and capers. Throw some greens into a salad bowl and dash with olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, and some salt. Elapsed work time: 11 minutes
-Seared Coriander Tuna served with Lime Mayonnaise and Haricots Verts. Pat the tuna steaks dry, then liberally sprinkle with salt and ground coriander. Let that sit for a moment and boil some water for the haricots verts (skinny, pre-trimmed green beans). You don't need a humongous pot of water. Wipe a tablespoon of oil in a pan and get the pan good and hot. Drop tuna steaks in and cook 4 minutes a side. Meanwhile, drop your beans in the boiling water and let them go for 1-2 minutes, depending how al dente you like them. Squeeze half a lime into 3 tablespoons of mayo. Elapsed work time: 11 minutes
-Flank Steak with Brown Rice and Asian Slaw Follow the directions on the box or bag and start some brown rice in a pan as soon as you get home. Also, mix some lime juice, sesame oil, salt, and just a pinch of sugar and nuke in the microwave 1-2 minutes until warm. Drag your flank steak through this marinade and leave it out for a couple minutes while you change, return phone calls, whatever. Come back to the kitchen, grab a big bowl and toss some shredded cabbage with a half a can of coconut milk and a spritz of lime. Plop the flank steak in a lightly oiled, very hot cast iron pan and cook 4 minutes a side. Slice flank steak into thin strips to serve. Elapsed work time: 23 minutes
-Roast Chicken Breast with Apples and Garlic over Pureed Sweet Potatoes In your lightly oiled cast iron pan, drop a bone-in chicken breast skin-side down and cook on medium high for about 5 minutes or until skin is brown. Flip it over, skin side up, and toss a couple cloves of garlic and a chopped apple over the chicken. Put in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. (It's done when you prick it with the tip of a knife and the juice that runs out is totally clear, not pink) While it cooks, do your thing, answer some emails, and open a can of no-additive peeled, cooked sweet potatoes (you can boil them yourself, but I'm saving you time) and mash with a fork or whiz through a food processor. Add salt and dried oregano to taste. Elapsed work time: 11 minutes
-Baked Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese and Steamed Asparagus Beat 3 whole eggs. Add a cup of milk, some crumbled goat cheese, and some smoked salmon you've cut into little strips. Add some salt and onion powder to the mix. Pour this mix into your lightly-oiled cast iron pan and bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until fluffy and golden. While it bakes, cut the tough ends off some asparagus and drop it into a microwave safe dish with a lid. Pour a quarter cup of water over this, salt, put the lid on and nuke for 3 minutes.
Elapsed work time: 10 minutes

I hope these ideas get you thinking that you, too, can do a little better than average. They are so very do-able...really...and you deserve it. Remember that you could be waiting in a drive-through line for 11 minutes. Remember it will take the pizza delivery guy every bit of 20 minutes to show up. If you put a small amount of effort into those idle moments, you can achieve the goal of eating clean, even if you are doing it fast and dirty.