 |
A Guy's Gotta Eat
The regular guy's guide to eating...
Children Of The Corn
The low carb revolution – reportedly in
decline, by the way – has cast an evil eye on the vegetables and
fruit that are higher in calories – such as raisins, sweet potatoes
and corn. But higher than what? A little perspective here: none of
those is more than 200 calories per serving, while a bag of “super
size” fries is around 560 calories. Corn on the husk is about 80-90
calories per ear, give or take a row.
In other words, the calories are almost irrelevant. What really
matters is that when corn is fresh from the farm, on the cob, you
are missing a seriously terrific part of the summer if you’re not
eating any.
Any kid will tell you that. Some of us grew up with a ritual or
tradition for cooking corn-on-the cob – perhaps roasted in the husk,
or boiled in a kettle. Taking a cue from Latino culture, one might
remove the husk, sprinkle it with chili powder then toss it on the
grill.
This is about making it one ear at a time, as a part of a
convenient, 10-minute meal so you can enjoy it on a work night, not
simply at a weekend barbecue.
The Facts
According to the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (August
14, 2002), when you cook corn, the level of beneficial antioxidant
activity increases (conventional wisdom, wrong in this case and when
applied to tomatoes, is that cooking destroys nutrients – in fact
it’s a little more complicated than that because some nutrients are
destroyed while others become more bio-available). Cooking sweet
corn unleashes a phenolic compound called ferulic acid, which
provides health benefits that battle cancer, say researchers.
This ferulic acid occurs in grains and corn (which is a grain, you
know) and not many other places. So failure to go corny is letting
your body down.
Corn and Limey Beans
You don’t need to fire up a grill to make corn on the cob. This meal
is something you can make in around ten minutes – and go to bed
satisfied that you have your ferulic acid along with high-protein
beans.
You need:
You need:
• Medium sized skillet
• Microwavable bowl and a microwave
• One or two ears of corn, husk (leaves) on
• One 16 ounce can of black beans
• Onion, medium to large size of any variety
• Minced garlic
• Olive oil
• Lime juice
• Salt, pepper, and other spices to taste (most
appropriate: chili pepper)
Directions:
1. Immerse corncob (at least half way, leaves on) in a
bowl of water. Loosen leaves slightly to allow water to
soak into the cob. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes,
turn half way, and then microwave another 3-5 minutes.
An alternative is to microwave it in plastic or paper
towels, with no water, for 2-3 minutes per ear – it’s
even faster.
2. In skillet, shake about 2 tablespoons of olive oil,
heat at medium/medium-high.
3. Chop onion, and mix with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
and other spices in skillet.
4. Add can of black (whole) beans.
5. After about four minutes, add lime juice (enough to
taste, but not to overwhelm).
Serve the beans on a plate, but eat the corn the old
fashioned way – so it gets all over your face. And if
you’re eating alone or with really close friends, try
sucking the juice out of the cob after the kernels are
gone. It is a surprisingly sweet nectar in an unexpected
place – sugar in the pre-processed form that is the
source of high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener
lurking in thousands of processed foods (a case of too
much of a good thing – a single sugary soda pop has 150
calories, while your whole ear of corn has a little more
than half that).
|
For more ideas on healthy meals made with
long shelf-life foods in under 15 minutes, get “A Guy’s Gotta
Eat, the regular guy’s
guide to eating smart” (Marlowe & Co, March 2004).
“A Guy’s Gotta Eat” strives to return
sanity to the simple act of eating, emphasizing the ease with
which sound nutrition can
be achieved in a busy workaday schedule through frozen, canned,
dried and fresh produce; whole grain cereals, breads and pastas;
leaner cuts of beef, chicken and pork; fish and other seafood;
and lower-fat dairy products. The book features 15-minute
recipes using long shelf-life products, ideal for grocery shopping-averse
men and others who are thin on cooking skills – meals that can
be faster, tastier, less expensive and far healthier than drive-by
foods ubiquitous in our convenience food culture. It is available
nationwide where books are sold.
Get the whole story on “A Guy’s Gotta
Eat.”
Order today
Questions for Russ?:
Russ Klettke
|
