Healthy Cooking and Preparation

healthy cooking - Fish

1. Grilled Fish 

When you're grilling fish, keep a close watch. Fish only takes a few minutes per side to cook. If the fillets are an even thickness, sometimes they don't even require flipping--they can be cooked through by grilling on one side only.

• Brush the fish lightly with olive oil (super food).

• Place fish near the edge of the grill, away from the hottest part of the fire. (Don't try to lift up the fish right away; it will be stuck to the grill).

• Start checking for color and doneness after a few minutes, once the fish starts to release some of its juices.

• Flip the fish over when you see light grill marks forming.

2. Steamed Fish  

Steaming is another gentle cooking method. It produces a mild-tasting fish that is often paired with a flavorful sauce.

• Rub the fish with spices, chopped herbs, ginger, garlic, and chile peppers to infuse flavor while it cooks.

• Use a bamboo steamer or a folding steamer basket with enough room for each piece of fish to lie flat.

• Pour about 1½ inches of water into the pan.

• Place the steamer over the water, cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil.

• Begin checking the fish for doneness after 10 minutes.

3. Poached Fish 

This gentle cooking method is perfect for all kinds of seafood. Poaching keeps fish moist and won't mask the delicate flavor of the fish. To poach fish, use vegetable or chicken stock, or make a court-bouillon, a homemade broth of aromatic herbs and spices.

• Use a pan big enough to lay each piece of fish down flat.

• Pour in enough liquid to just barely cover the fish.

• Bring the liquid to a simmer, and keep it there.

• If you see any bubbles coming up from the bottom of the pan, it's too hot--the liquid should "shimmer" rather than bubble. The ideal poaching temperature is between 165 and 180 degrees F (74 to 82 degrees C). Gently simmer until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

4. Baked Fish 

• Baking fish allows you to get the satisfying crunch of fried fish without all the fat. Just because it's baked, though, doesn't mean it's healthy: watch the amount of butter, oil, mayonnaise, or cheese called for in the recipe.

• Most recipes will have a sauce - watch the ingredients.

• Coat a casserole dish with olive oil. Poke holes in the fish (salmon) with a fork, then place into the dish. Pour reserved sauce over the fish, top with green onions, and season with salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes.

• Cooking time is usually 20-30 minutes.

5. Broiled Fish 

When the weather's not right for grilling, try broiling instead. Broiling is great when you want a fast, simple, hassle-free preparation with delicious results. It gives fish a nicely browned exterior with the convenience of a temperature-controlled heat source. Just follow the basic grilling instructions above. For easy cleanup, line the broiler pan with a piece of foil. 

1. Grilled Chicken 

To achieve grilled chicken perfection, you must first get rid of any stress in your body and any lumps in your chicken. To do this, lay your chicken out on a cutting board and beat with something flat and heavy (like a jar) until an even thickness has been mostly achieved. Add seasoning to your already-brined meat, then place on a clean and oiled grill rack over medium heat. Close the lid. Turn occasionally. 

It is possible to grill almost any cut of chicken—even whole chickens if you're prepared to spatchcock them first.

If you plan to add a barbecue or teriyaki sauce to the chicken while it cooks, the best time is toward the end. It will have a chance to glaze onto the surface, but it won't burn and ruin the flavor.

When your thermometer reaches 165 the meat is done, you may remove it from the heat. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

2. Baked Chicken 

The easiest and best way to bake chicken? Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease your baking dish generously with olive oil (super food). Doing so prevents your chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pan during cooking. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then season them as you like. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the pan. Lightly grease one side of a sheet of parchment paper and place it over the chicken, greased-side down, tucking in the edges. This step helps to keep the chicken moist during cooking. Transfer the pan to the middle rack of the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside, 30-40 minutes. That's it! 

3. Roast Chicken 

Start with a high-quality whole chicken (turkey or pork loin). After removing the giblets, season with salt and pepper, then rub with olive oil. Place the chicken in a baking tray in the middle of an oven preheated to 450 degrees.  We recommend starting the chicken with the breast side down for the first 30 minutes of cooking time, which allows the juices to settle into the breasts. After 30 minutes, flip the chicken and continue cooking until your thermometer approves (165 degrees). Cover and let sit for 15 minutes before serving with some delicious roasted AlphaV Super vegetables like broccoli.  

4. Poached Chicken 

Poaching is one of our favorite ways to prepare chicken (turkey or pork), especially when we need some cooked AlphaV protein for a quick weeknight dinner. Think robust salads, savory tacos, next-level sandwiches, and satisfying last-minute soups.  In addition to being ridiculously easy and fast, it's pretty darn hard to mess up. The result is consistent: tender, juicy chicken.

While you can certainly poach bone-in chicken pieces with the skin on, this method of cooking works best with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. While grilling, roasting, or frying caramelizes the skin for enhanced flavor, poaching doesn't bring anything extra to the chicken. Moreover, if you plan to strain and reserve your poaching water for making soups, the skin leaves the liquid kind of greasy. 

Simply place a piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast in a medium saucepan (or a large one, depending on how big the cutlet is) and add water until the liquid just covers the meat. At this point, feel free to add aromatics to the saucepan if you like — think bay leaf, sliced garlic, ginger, and the like. Simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. The low temp and moist heat gets the job done in a gentle manner, rendering perfectly cooked chicken every time.

5. Pan Roasted Chicken 

Pan-roasting is a two-step process that takes you from the stovetop to the oven — three steps if you count the trip to your mouth. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. The first step is to sear your chicken skin-side down in a smoking hot oven-proof skillet (cast-iron is best) with a little olive oil to brown the skin and lock in delicious flavor. Next, transfer the skillet to the oven to continue cooking, flipping about five minutes before the chicken is finished cooking. You will be rewarded with crisp, caramelized skin and tender, flavorful meat. 

healthy cooking - Vegetables 

1. Air Fry Vegetables 

This is one of our favorite methods to cook vegies.  It's quick, delicious and super healthy.  To cook tender vegetables in an air fryer, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F (190 C). Prep your veggies by chopping them to the size you want, drizzling with olive oil (this will make them a bit more roasted tasting in the end). Add to your air fryer in as flat of a layer as possible and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the air fryer pan once or twice during cooking to promote even cooking.  Ideal for:

• Crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)

• Soft Veggies (like bell pepper, tomato)

• Thin Veggies (like asparagus)

Great for frozen vegetables - just add a couple of minutes to the cook time.

2. Steam Vegetables  

The main adage to steaming: don’t be tempted to overcook! You’ll want to cook your veggies just until they’re crisp tender. This also means you’ll need to be ready to taste test, fork in hand! Cooking even a few minutes past the right timing makes veggies go from bright and crisp to faded and mushy. Here are our tips on how to cook veggies using a steamer basket.

To get the vegetables to cook evenly, the best advice: chop in the most uniform pieces you can! The thicker the veggie, the longer it will take to cook. (This is most important for veggies like carrots: the smaller your pieces, the shorter the cook time.)

Rule number one of steaming vegetables is this: bring the water to a boil first! Don’t be tempted to just throw everything in the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Add about 1 inch water to the bottom of the saucepan or pot, then place in the steamer basket. The surface of the water should be just under the basket (so pour out water if you need to). Then bring it to a boil!

Once boiling, add the veggies to the steamer basket and cover the pot with a lid. (If your steamer doesn’t have a handle, place it in the pan before boiling the water, then add the broccoli once boiling.) Cook with the lid on just tender. Here are the approximate timing:

• Broccoli: 3 to 5 minutes

• Green Beans: 4 to 5 minutes

• Carrots: 4 to 5 minutes, depending on how thick you cut them

• Cauliflower: 10 to 12 minutes

Test a piece with a fork and taste to assess whether it’s done. The cook time will be different every time based on the thickness of how you’ve chopped them, and the maturity of the vegetable.

Carefully remove the veggies to a bowl. Then toss with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. If you’d like, amp the flavor by using lemon juice, fresh herbs, feta cheese crumbles, or other spices. 

3. Grilled Vegetables 

Healthy.  Easy.  Taste Great.  Fun.

Slice the vegetables the same thickness so they cook at the same rate. I use a handheld mandoline to make my zucchini, eggplant, and onion slices perfectly coordinate. I aim for slices that fall somewhere between 1/3″ and 1/2″ — I can’t do math so I eyeball it. Slicing the veggies too thin will  make them too tender as and disintegrate on the grill.

Give your veggies a generous amount of olive-oil (super food). Follow the golden rule of grilling: oil what you grill, not the grill itself. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil then spread it evenly with your fingers. The mushrooms will absorb the oil quickly so work fast but don’t fret too much about them, they’ll produce plenty of their own juice.

Season simply. Sprinkle the vegetables somewhat generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. They will absorb the salt as they cook, enhancing their inherent sweetness. Feel free to add dried herbs such as oregano, mint, tarragon, or basil if you’d like.

Grill ’em up hot. Start your veggies over medium heat, about 350°F to 450°F. Lay long slices and asparagus or carrots crosswise over the grates so they don’t fall through. Close the grill lid and cook the vegetables undisturbed, flipping after 3-5 minutes.

Close the lid. Closing the lid of your grill creates the same environment as an oven, baking the vegetables as they lightly char. Check their progress regularly.

The best vegetables for grilling:

• Zucchini — green or yellow work perfectly, cut into 1/3″ to 1/2″ slices before grilling—cut too thin and they’ll fall apart.

• Bell peppers, poblano peppers, jalapeño peppers sweet baby peppers, shishito peppers — slice bell peppers and remove seeds of the bell peppers before grilling for easiest eating.

• Portabello mushrooms or large brown mushrooms — no need to slice the mushrooms, grill them whole. Start the mushrooms gill side down then finish cap side down to hold in moisture.

• Eggplant — grilled is my favorite way to eat eggplant, where it becomes tender, creamy, and smoky

• Carrots — grilling quickly softens carrots and makes a pretty tiger-striped presentation

• Onions — any variety including green onions become oh so sweet when grilled

• Asparagus — fatter asparagus cooks more evenly than skinny and won’t fall through the grates

• Corn — cooking corn doesn’t get easier than this…see my complete grilled corn tutorial here.

• Artichokes — these grilled artichokes are my fave

• Cauliflower — slice as steaks so they hold together

• Broccoli — slice as steaks or grill in florets

• Romaine lettuce — this recipe is totally unique but oh so good

• Tomatoes — best grilled only if halved or grilled whole, watch them as they tend to explode and leak