Question for the foodies...and if I ask I care for the answer, whatever purpose of my question might be, so please, do not think I have too much time and nothing to do.

What are you foodies eat at home that is healthy and tasty? And if you go out what places you go to ???

Thanks for the recipies,
Z

Hi Z,

Please define "healthy" and "tasty".

Does it have to be healthy and tasty at the same time?

I think "italian" cuisine is healthy and tasty... the importance of vegetables...dishes more or less not "the meat" but seasoned with meat (the steaks in Florence, being an exception)...and the vehicle to get them to your mouth, the pasta.

Also, I think asian cuisine is healthy and delicious.. again, vegetables "seasoned" with meat...

But? I also enjoy roasts..and steaks...and potatoes...and pasta...
and rice...and bread... and wine...

"healthy" and "tasty" yes ira.

I want to know not what those foods are, I am aware of conception but rather
as I said :
What are YOU foodies eat at home that is healthy and tasty?
I understand people who value food have to know some how to cook at home...

Well, I just had potatoes, cucumber and "gravad" whitefish. Simple: Take a filét of whitefish (also trout and salmon are OK, but not as good as whitefish), throw sea salt, pepper and lots of dill on top of it, cover with plastic, put into the fridge and place some weight on top of it. Next day scrape the toppings off and cut into paper thin slices. There is your food. Healthy and tasty.

I am sure I can't be considered a "foodie," as I'm not a gourmet-lover per se, but I do love to cook and eat!

One thing that enhances many of our household dishes is pesto. It's healthy, delicious, easy to make, and has many varieties...for example, sun-dried tomato pesto. Toss that with whole-wheat pasta and cubes of smoked mozzarella, and you have a to-die-for pasta salad.

I agree with the above suggestion of Italian cuisine for healthy and tasty recipes (though not always low-fat!). Look beyond the "American" version of Italian, and you find recipes chock full of vegetables and delicious pasta options. I'm beginning my cookbook collection, and have really enjoyed exploring the depth of the Italian cooking repertoire.

Often I find we stay healthier by planning and cooking ahead, because on weeknights we're too tired to cook. Spend a few hours one Sunday making a big batch of tomato sauce (the "real" kind) and you'll have a delicious staple that you can quickly pull out of the freezer any night of the week.

Ziana, in winter I love soups; particularly filling ones that make a meal with some good bread. Minestrone, black bean soup, moroccan chickpea, that sort of thing. Homemade of course. Definitely healthy and tasty.

All things in moderation. I don't eat out much, and tend to be a food-is-fuel person, but I do try and stick to a balanced diet with as much fresh fruit and veg and as little processed food as possible.

One thing I've recently rediscovered is the Staffordshire oatcake, which is a pancake made from half flour and half fine oatmeal, with yeast and no binding agent other than water (no egg, no butter). Give the batter mixture about 15 minutes, so the yeast can get to work, and cook in a lightly greased pan till it's set. Then fill it with what you like. One of our grosser diet-makeover programmes showed a HUGE mother and daughter who liked them smothered in bacon and cheese (and washed down with umpteen vodkas of an evening), but Mrs Bossyboots who runs the programme suggested a healthier filling with beans and veg. I do one with beans, peppers, onion, tomato puree and some dried porcini funghi (ceps) for added flavour. Come to think of it, it was the ceps that were the making of my home-invented vegetarian shepherd's pie (chopped mushrooms instead of minced meat; added chopped red peppers for flavour!).

But occasionally I spoil it all with a chocolate fudge pudding recipe I found in a magazine.....

Sometimes I think that when we don't eat pre=prepared or packaged foods, its more "healthy"...what the hell are some of those chemicals and "salts" that prevent spoilage...extend shelf-life of the product so that we can eat it!?
I make a pantry-pasta...left over veggies, tomatos, garlic, zucchini..a splash of olive oil, onion, herbs...and pasta. That's healthy and tastes good.

biscuits and gravy

One more thing I forgot to mention- risotto! Rice dishes are great for you, especially when veggies are included. My favorite is a mushroom risotto, but there are endless varieties.

I suggest two cookbooks to answer your question, Ziana:

Eat Smart for a Healthy Heart Cookbook, by Denton A. Cooley, M.D. and Carolyn E. Moore, Ph.D., R.D. ISBN 0-8120-5745-7

The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook ISBN 0-7370-2068-7

A healthy regimen won't be followed very long unless the food prepared is also tasty. Both of these will provide lots of choices and are full of healthy ideas and nutritional info for each recipe or menu.

BTW, just found a bookmarked page with a recipe for Veal Medallions a la Grecque. When I go out later I'll have to get the shallots, mushrooms and artichoke hearts.

Things we eat at home:

I usually make our bread and pasta.
I make our pizza at home.

We eat lots of fish and seafood, some chicken and pork (the other white meat), little red meat. Eggs once a week.

Spinach pie, made with eggwhites.

Homemade pasta (clam juice and Roma tomatoes for the sauce)

Homemade Humus with homemade Pita bread

Yesterday we had chili made from venison.

Roast pork loin stuffed with apricots, prunes and raisins, with braised red cabbage and steamed potatoes.

Also pound out sliced pork loin and make as schnitzel or scallopini.

Roast chicken, Coq au vin (We have a supplier of organic chicken)

We make our own yoghurt.

We make our own peanut butter.

We fry with either 100% EVOO or 1/2 & 1/2 EVOO and Canola oil - gives a balance of 3- and 6-omega acids.

A recipe I learned many years ago in Denmark: Broil salmon, skin side up, with spinach under the salmon.

We buy inexpensive (not cheap) balsamic vinegar and cook it down very slowly (don't let it boil) to about 1/2 volume. Greatly improves the flavor.

Braised ribs - about once a month.

Shrimp and grits

Past with a sauce of shrimps sauteed in EVOO with onions, sun dried tomatoes (optional) and lemon juice.

Eggplant lasagne (no pasta)

Corn tortillas stuffed with black beans, onions and rice.

Chimichangas: Flour burritos stuffed with vegetables folded up and pan fried. (We do't do deep-fried)

Ohhhh ira!!!! I want to eat at your house!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ira, you'd be the perfect guest in my house for you'd be surprised how many of those things you'd find there !

I make eggplant parmigiana which is very similar to your lasagna (or moussaka) but with no meat. Also my veggie : meat intake is identical to yours.

I make hummous with lots of fresh garlic and lemon juice, but I've never tried making pita bread. But I have made Naans before.

Try straining regular yogurt through cheesecloth overnight, then mixing the solids with honey and fresh fruit for breakfast. Thick and creamy and delicious.

Also, oven roatsed sliced eggplant doused in olive oil and when cooled, sprinkled with coarse salt, lemon juice, crumbled feta cheese and chopped parsley. Yum.

elina! Your "gravad" whitefish is right on money.
I will make it tonight for tomorrow.
I appreciate everyone who took their time to answer.
Ofcourse ira as always beats all odds and gets whatever
prize there is in a biggest box LOL


I want to only add for those who will continue here:
I wanted to see YOUR OWN foods and dishes NOT COOK BOOK
as someone suggested. I can WRITE cookbook but do I want to
read it? NO WAY! Through my life I never found ONE decent
recipy in a cookbook that tasted like home made meal.

So I am expecting real foodie friend from abroad and I want
to feed her well with something none of us ever tried before.

For you eggplant eaters I can share my own eggplant recipy:

Cook large eggplant and red bell pepper in the oven until it pops.
Scrape insides.
Add tomatoes (skin off by splashing boiled water on top),
onion, garlic - chop it all up together with large knife.
Strain if too liquidy.
Add olive oil, salt, black ground pepper to taste and eat
with bread, crackers, whatever. Yummy!

I love red meat, but really try to keep it to once a week, and we eat a lot of meatless meals. Lots of pasta, and lots of fish.

My South of the Border Style baked Salmon with Rice and Black Beans:

A favorite meal is baked salmon in a little EVOO, lime juice, garlic, chile powder, cumin, and fresh cilantro.

I like brown Texmati brand rice, and I prepare some while I make the beans. I cut up onion, garlic, and red peppers, and saute them until tender, then throw in canned black beans, lots of lime juice, a little bit of balsamic vinegar, and chile powder, cumin and cilantro. Some hot pepper is good here too.

I serve the salmon along with the black beans poured over the rice. This is good and healthy.

When I make chili, stuffed peppers, meatballs or anything else with ground beef, I buy the leanest beef and mix it with ground turkey breast. I actually hate the ground turkey on its own, but to replace about 1/4 of the beef, it is great and undetectable.

Recently been eating whole wheat pasta. Not bad.

I make a lot of spicy marinara type sauce by browning an onion and some garlic in EVOO, and then adding lots of tomato and spices. Sometimes I add a little red wine, and usually just a few drops of balsamico. Hot red pepper flakes, too.

Our favorite homemade eggplant dish is baba ganoush, and cook the eggplant over the outdoor grill until the skin is all charred and the flesh is tender. Makes a great smoky flavored baba.

By the way, I'm not cooking tonight. We are having decadent burgers and sweet potato fries from the local bar and grill. They are so good. ;-(

BTW aren't 'healthy' & 'tasty' typically exclusive of each other ?

If you have both left hands then it is...sorry, I couldn't resist...but it is so true. If you can cook you eat healthy and tasty. If not...sorry.

I love Big Macs and Whoppers and try to eat them at least 4 times a day. They have lettuce on them so I know they are good for me. And I'm sue Kentucky Fried Chicken must be healthy because it slides right through me!