Artichokes are in season!

Two cooked beauties! Ready to enjoy!

I love artichokes! I used to steam them on the stove in a big pot and it was a big production! Today, I discovered a much easier way! Just microwave them! It fast and easy and the artichokes come out perfect!

Two raw artichoke beauties and their stems that have been trimmed of their outermost fibrous covering

• Cut the stem from the artichoke, leaving about 1/2 inch of the stem attached to the artichoke.
• Peel the stem with a sharp knife, removing about 1/8 inch of the outermost layer. Set aside.
• Break off the small leaves at the base of the artichoke, and discard these leaves.
• Starting at the bottom and working your way up, use a sharp scissors (like this one, which I love), to cut the thorns off the leaves. But don’t bother cutting the thorns from the top 1/4 of the artichoke, because in the next step you are going to cut them off.
• Using a sharp heavy knife (like a chef’s knife), cut about 1.5 inches off of the top of the artichoke.
• Now give the artichoke a good rinse, pulling the the leaves apart to flush out the debris that may be there. Then place them upside down in a bow of water and swish them around.
• Put 1/4 cup of water into a deep microwavable bowl.
• Add the artichoke to the bowl, cut side down.
• Throw the reserved trimmed stem into the bowl with the artichoke. (Sorry, photo doesn’t show the stem.)

Artichoke is placed cut side down in the water. Add the trimmed artichoke stem to the bowl, too!

• Cover the bowl with a silicone cover (like this one, shown below) or with a plate.

• In my experience, a large artichoke takes 5 – 6 minutes on high. A very large one takes 7 – 9 minutes on high. Then let it steam for about a minute before you remove the lid. (Artichokes vary in size and microwave ovens vary in wattage, so timing is relative.)
• Test artichoke for doneness: When the artichoke is cooked, you can easily insert a knife into the stem.

Cooked artichoke stems, sliced. Delicious just as they are! Cook’s treat!

How to eat an artichoke?
This short video shows how.

A few simple sauces that go great with artichokes

• Mix olive oil, lemon juice and a little butter — warm and then add Parmesan cheese.
• Bagna cauda sauce, like in this recipe.
• Preserved lemon vinaigrette, in this recipe.
• Invent your own recipe: In a bowl, wisk some of the liquid from a jar of preserved lemons, like from this jar, with some extra virgin olive oil, a little fresh lemon juice, and a sprinkle of garlic granules (or garlic powder). It’s so simple and so delicious!

Artichokes are very nutritious!
Artichokes are high in fiber and many different health-promoting phytochemicals. To learn more about the nutrients in and health-promoting benefits of artichokes, see this article.

Enjoy and be healthy!
Leni

Kimchi and Scallion Frittata

Kimchi and scallion frittata, not yet quite finished cooking

Supper tonight was so easy and so tasty. All I did was lightly sauté a whole bunch of scallions (green and white parts) and over that I poured a few eggs that had been mixed with a fork. Then I topped the uncooked eggs with some spicy kimchi. I let the frittata cook in the pan with the lid on until it was done. While it was cooking, I heated up some edamame in the pod.

What could be easier? A nice simple supper for a spring evening!

And, as you probably know, fermented foods like kimchi are so good for your health, especially because they increase gut microbiome diversity and reduce inflammation, as mentioned in this short out-take video with Will Bulsiewicz, MD, author of Fiber Fueled.

And BTW, you can attend a Zoom program with Will Bulsiewicz on May 8. Sign up now! See you there!

Be well,

Leni

After a Vacation, Reset Your Gut Microbiome with a Vegetable Bean Soup

When I come home after a vacation, I make a special effort to eat many DIFFERENT whole plant foods in order to help my gut microbiome recover from having eaten too few plants while I was away. Research has shown that if we eat 30 or more plants a week, we help to improve the diversity and health of our gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of different microbes which promote the health of your digestive, nervous, immune and endocrine systems. To help these microbes survive and thrive, you need to feed them the food they eat and that’s fiber and polyphenols, both of which are only found in plant foods.

There are thousands of different fibers and polyphenols and about 500 different species of gut microbes, each of which feeds on specific fibers or polyphenols. So the best way to feed ALL of your gut microbes is to eat a wide VARIETY of whole plant foods.

Enjoy this simple vegetable bean soup along with a few seeded crackers and give your gut microbes a feast of 26+ different plants!

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Vegetable Bean Soup with Seeded Crackers

• 1 jar Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Soup (contains 16 different plants)
• 1 jar or can of beans (contains one or more different beans)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)
• Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice (optional)

Directions: Mix the quantity of soup and beans you want in a serving bowl or in your own soup bowl. Heat in the microwave or on the stovetop. Garnish with olive oil and cilantro or parsley. Add a spritz of lemon or lime juice, if desired.
Serve with Trader Joe’s Seeds & Grains Crispbread.
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Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Soup
This Trader Joe’s soup contains real foods and no ultra processed ingredients, such as modified starch, a common ingredient in many soups, including organic soups. The sole purpose of these ultra processed ingredients is to make cheap food taste better and last longer. Unfortunately, we are only beginning to know what damage these ultra processed ingredients do to our bodies!

Note: I have not done an extensive search for vegetable soups that do not have ultra processed ingredients. If you know of any other soups that do not contain ultra processed ingredients, please leave a comment to let us all know. Thanks!

Jovial Beans
Jovial beans are high quality organic beans that have been pressure cooked in small batches and canned in glass jars. I like the just-right firmness of the beans and how clear and clean the bean liquid is. Jovial beans come from Italy and are available in most supermarkets. Amazon Fresh sells them for a lower price than most stores.

Trader Joe’s Seeds & Grains Crispbread
In our local Trader Joe’s, there are two varieties of these delicious crackers, but only this variety is pictured on the company’s website. I prefer the other variety, Seeds and Grains Crispbread, the one that’s not shown on the website. It contains sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, wholemeal rye flour, oat bran, oatmeal, flaxseed, spelt wheat bran, wheat bran, water, sea salt, salt, oregano, thyme, for a total of 9 different plant foods, though only the seeds and spices are whole plant foods. These crackers are made in Norway.
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If on vacation you do not eat a sufficient quantity and variety of plant foods, your microbiome is going suffer a setback. No worries! You can rehabilitate your microbiome by eating lots of whole plant foods like the ones discussed here and many others. Also, consuming fermented foods, in small amounts and frequently during the day, will help your microbiome to reboot. In addition, make sure to have plenty of water because if you eat more fiber you need more water.

Note: If you are someone who normally does not eat a lot of foods with fiber, go slow and increase your fiber intake gradually. You may want to work with a dietitian to help you do this.

If you find this post useful or have any questions, please leave a comment so we can all benefit from your thoughts.

Thanks and all the best,
Leni

On this blog, I mention specific products in order to make the information more practical. I realize that some people do not have access to the products. So my hope is that for those people, the products will serve as guideposts for their shopping. I am not affiliated with Trader Joe’s. Also, I am not compensated in any way for any product I mention.