Arora Creations – Healthy Indian Cooking

Words to live by.

As noted many times before, we love spice (remember our Tandoori Cauliflower blogpost?) Whenever something tastes bland, we usually add some hot chili sauce known as sriracha, or we add some kind of spice to impart more heat.  Many dishes that we are served at other people’s houses or in restaurants are too mild for our taste, which is one reason we enjoy Indian food. The generous use of spices ignites our tastebuds, and those first few bites are heaven. For these reasons, we were extremely excited when we were approached by Arora Creations, one of the top of the line retailers of authentic Indian Spices Blends.  They were kind enough to send us a sampling of their line-up of organic spice blends. All of their blends are made from 100% pure spices, and they are vegetarian, gluten-free, sugar free, kosher, nut-free, contain no MSG and are non-irradiated. Many Indian packaged spice blends are very salty, so the low sodium content and absence of MSG was very appealing. These inexpensive Indian spice blend packets allow you to create unique homemade Indian dishes with relative ease.

A Venture into Korean Food!

Thanks to our friends Nomie and Noah, we recently delved into the world of Korean cooking.  Before this particular meal, Marnina and I were completely unversed in Korean food; we only knew that Korean and Japan shared some culinary history and that there is some ingredient overlap.  Nomie, who speaks Korean and is very knowledgeable about Korean food and culture, was a capable guide to introduce us to Korean food.  And we are very thankful that she was there, because the instructions on all the package labels were in Korean!  She informed us that traditionally, rice and/or noodles, and vegetables make up many Korean meals, and that commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, and pepper.  Meats or tofu are sometimes added to these dishes too.  The basic seasonings make for a relatively salty and spicy meal.  (*Be on the look out for a new restaurant guide in which we will be expanding our list of cuisines and how IBDers can navigate these cuisines*).

Roasted Parsnip Soup with Mushrooms

Parsnips are an anomaly.  When roasted, they are sweet and slightly spicy.  They are just as versatile as carrots.  And after comparing their nutritional makeup using nutritiondata.com, they are richer in vitamins and minerals than carrots. So why aren’t they as ubiqutous as their close relative, the carrot? We have no idea, and unfortunately, parsnips often languish in produce sections in favor of their more popular and brighter relative.

Slow-Cooker Meets Turkey

For those with IBD, owning a crockpot (AKA a slow cooker) should be a necessity.  Crockpots can be a time saver — you can set them up to cook while you are at work and then come home to meals without having to slave away in the kitchen. Crockpots are especially useful for making stews, because they cook vegetables, meat and potatoes “to death” while still providing a wholesome and nutritious meal. The slow cooking breaks down the fiber and connective tissues in foods, making them softer and more digestible.  This cooking method also allows the seasoning and sauce to infuse into the cooked veggies, meat, etc.  The final product is always moist (as long as there is enough liquid), and incredibly flavorful.  If you are cooking meat, a crockpot will yield fall-apart meats, which not only sound good, but taste good.  Slow cooking on relatively low heat tenderizes meat, and since Marnina and I often cook with lean meats that are inherently less tender (less fat = less tenderness), we often use the crockpot to tenderize our ground turkey or ground beef.