Dropping the F Bomb

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter. I know you've seen the reality cooking shows. I know that you think chefs swear more than truck-driving sailors (one of the things that attracted me to the profession). But I'm not dropping that F-Bomb. The "F" I'm talking about here is fiber.
 
I know, you’re thinking “Fiber? Really? Is Chef Jill going to do a blog on what my grandma called "roughage?” Well, yes. Yes, I am and your grandma had good reason to draw attention to it to. Fiber is an essential element that many of us are missing from our diets. To fill you in on fiber, read on. I’ll start with a little primer on the role it plays in your diet, followed it up with the health benefits of adding fiber to your diet and wrap it all up with a couple of my favorite F-Bomb recipes to make sure you’re making the most of the f-word.
 
Simply put, fiber is the indigestible portion of plant foods. So, how can something indigestible (in other words, not possible to digest) be healthy to eat? Well, even though fiber can't be digested, it does change in your digestive tract. Fiber ferments in your body, and in so doing it assists your body with digestion, acting like a scrub brush through your digestive tract by picking up waste along the way and carrying it out of your body.
 
In addition to helping with optimal digestion, fiber has been shown to have other health benefits:
 
*Fiber assists with maintaining ideal body weight. Because fiber can't be digested, it moves through your digestive tract slowly, making you feel fuller for a longer period of time. Eating foods rich in fiber make you less likely to suddenly become ravenous and make poor food choices.
 
*Adding fiber to your diet can reduce your cholesterol levels. According to How Stuff Works, soluble fiber reduces the amount of bile reabsorbed by your intestines. When this happens, bile is excreted in your feces. To make up for this loss of bile, your liver makes more bile salts. The body uses cholesterol to make bile salts. So in order to obtain the cholesterol necessary to make more bile salts, the liver increases its production of LDL receptors. Neat, huh?
 
*You will lower your risk of certain types of cancer by consuming more fiber, (increase the fiber, decrease your risk of colorectal cancer). Fiber pushes waste through your system, and since this waste often contains carcinogens (cancer-causing elements), getting them out of your colon quickly is a good thing. In actuality, fiber is great for allparts of your digestive tract and reduces your risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancers. What's more, is that fiber has also been shown to reduce your risk of breast and prostate cancers. Fiber binds with excess hormones in your body and carries those out as waste. If left unchecked, an excess of hormones makes your body a prime candidate for breast and prostate cancers. For more info, check out the Cancer Project.
 
*Fiber aids with blood sugar management and is excellent for diabetics. Remember the fiber primer (first thing we talked about with all this fiber)? Your body cannot digest fiber, and as it turns out, that's a very good thing. Because fiber is not broken down by your body, dietary fiber has no effect on blood glucose levels, unlike other carbohydrates, which raise blood glucose levels. The grams of fiber you consume can actually be subtracted from the total grams of carbohydrates you eat if you are using carbohydrate counting for meal planning.
 
Now, I'm sure you can see why I think fiber is the best F-Bomb to drop in the kitchen. Here are two of my favorite fiber-rich recipes to help you relate to the roughage:
 
 
Roasted Red Pepper Basil Hummus
Makes 8, ¼ cup servings with 3 grams of fiber per serving. Add whole grain pita or some raw veggies to really ante-up the fiber intake!
 
Ingredients
 
2 cups canned or home-cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
 
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste, available in the nut butter aisle)
 
2 cloves garlic, chopped
 
1 teaspoon cumin
 
2 tablespoon lemon juice
 
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
 
1 cup jarred or canned roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
 
½ cup fresh basil, cut into thin strips
 
salt and white pepper, to taste
 
Method
Blend the first eight ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the hummus reaches a smooth, spoon-able consistency.
 
 
Chicken and Kale Stir Fry with Brown Rice
Makes 4 servings
 
Ingredients
 
8 ounces brown rice
 
2 cups water
 
1 teaspoon salt
 
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24 ounces chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, previously cooked, chilled and sliced into strips
 
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6 teaspoons oil, olive
 
1 cup red onion, cut into thin strips 1/8” wide
 
2 cups bell peppers, cut into thin strips 1/8” wide x 3” long
 
8 cups kale, stems removed (reserve), cut into thin strips 1/4 "wide x 3” long
 
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
 
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
 
8 tablespoons soy sauce
 
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
 
½ teaspoon cornstarch
 
   1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a saucepot, bring the water to a boil and stir in the salt.  Spread your brown rice evenly into a baking dish, pour the boiling water over the rice and cover with foil.  Bake for 22-25 minutes for parboiled rice, up to 1 hour if not, until the water is absorbed and rice is fluffy and tender.
 

   2. Soak the kale under cold water for a few minutes to release any debris, then rinse under cold water thoroughly.  Dry in a salad spinner or blot with paper towel to remove excess moisture.  With a knife, cut along the stems to remove the leaf portions of the kale. Reserve the stems (if desired you may thinly slice these and add back into the dish later).
 
   3. Add the ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and corn starch to a bowl and whisk together.
 
   4. Pre-heat a non-stick pan over high heat, add the oil and begin sauté the onions and peppers.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions are translucent and soft. Next add the kale and garlic, making sure to mix evenly among the peppers and onions.   Add the cooked chicken breast to the pan along with the soy sauce mixture, stirring thoroughly to incorporate.  Allow the ingredients to cook in the sauce for 3-4 minutes.  Serve on a bed of brown rice.
 
 
Chef Jill Houk
Centered Chef Food Studios

Nourishment Redefined

www.centeredchef.com