The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet (45 page)

Next, mound all the vegetables together at the bottom of the bowl to form a little hill. Cover with a plate small enough to fit inside the bowl and place a weight on top (I like to use a full tea kettle or a big gallon glass bottle filled with water). Press the salad for 35 minutes to 1 hour. Pour off the excess liquid, and give the salad a good squeeze with your hands. Taste it, and if it tastes salty, give the salad a quick and gentle rinse under cold water, then squeeze it once again.

Cabbage, Radish, and Cucumber Pressed Salad

This salad is made by the exact same technique as the previous recipe but uses vinegar rather than salt to wilt the vegetables to give it a different flavor. Slice all the veggies as thinly as you possibly can.

SERVES 2 OR 3

5–6 leaves napa cabbage, thinly sliced

3 red radishes, thinly sliced

3 whole scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

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cucumber, thinly sliced on the diagonal (peel only if the cucumber is not organic)

1 orange or apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1
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tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or brown rice vinegar (see Note)

1 tablespoon toasted sunflower seeds

Combine all the vegetables and fruit in a mixing bowl. Add the vinegars and massage the vegetables with your bare hands until they begin to wilt and release some liquid. This may take a few minutes. Don’t be afraid to get into it; really squeeze the vegetables and have fun. The massaged vegetables should feel quite wet by the end. Form into a mound and place a small plate on the vegetables within the bowl and place a weight on top (a full tea kettle or big jar of apple juice) to press the vegetables. Press for 20 to 30 minutes. Pour off the excess fluid, and give the salad a good squeeze with your hands. Taste it; if it tastes salty, give the salad a quick and gentle rinse under cold water, then squeeze it once again. Add the sunflower seeds and toss into the salad before serving.

Note:
If you make this often, make sure to use the brown rice vinegar most of the time as balsamic vinegar is more acidic. Whole Foods makes a good, clean balsamic vinegar with no added sugars.

SUPERHERO VEGETABLE DISHES

By now you surely know what an important role dark leafy greens play in the Superhero diet. Calorie-for-calorie, they are the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, so please eat leafy greens with your meals as often as you can—at least once a day but 2 or 3 times a day is even better. They are true super-foods, and you will soon fall helplessly and hopelessly in love with them.

If greens don’t turn your crank (yet), make a delectable sauce to eat with them. I like Ume-Sesame Dressing (page
259
), Tahini Dressing (page
259
), or the flaxseed and ume vinegar combo from the Baby Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette recipe (page
265
) on just about anything. Even a simple sprinkle of toasted sunflower seeds makes me happy! However, you will be surprised when—after a while—you really appreciate the taste of naked collards and kale. You’ll see . . .

And feel free to think beyond the steamer or skillet. Grilled zucchini and onions on the barbecue are one of my favorite dishes in summer—they are so delicious. Cut the zucchini and onions into nice thick slices, add oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill. This is a great way to cook virtually any vegetable you love. And don’t forget baked sweet potatoes!

Quick, Easy Snack

Steam or toast a piece of bread. Take 2 tablespoons good-quality, unpasteurized sauerkraut (Goldmine and Eden make good ones) and squeeze it to remove excess salt and fluid. (If it’s too salty for your taste, you might want to rinse it and squeeze it again.) Slice or mash up
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avocado. Spread the avocado on the toast, then top with the sauerkraut and a sprinkle of paprika.

Tahini Dressing

One of my favorites things is a big plate of steamed vegetables—leeks and beets are the absolute best—drizzled with tahini dressing. It’s also delicious over brown rice, noodles, pressed salads, as a flavorful garnish on soups, or as a spread for sandwiches.

I don’t have tahini dressing every day—maybe once or twice a week.

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

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cup tahini, raw or roasted

Juice from 1
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lemons

1–2 teaspoons shoyu

Less than
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garlic clove, to taste

Dash cayenne (optional)

1 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar (optional)

Combine the tahini, lemon juice, shoyu, garlic, cayenne (if using), vinegar (if using), and
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to
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cup of water in a blender. Puree until very well combined. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed jar. This will keep for about 4 days. You can add basil, cilantro, parsley, miso, and ume vinegar for variation, but if you add herbs, the dressing will only last for 2 days.

Ume-Sesame Dressing

This dressing is a more recent member of my repertoire, thanks to Mina Dobic. It’s sooo freaking good. I love it the most on dinosaur kale. It keeps well in a jar in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

MAKES ABOUT 1
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CUPS

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cup sesame seeds

1 tablespoon umeboshi plum paste

Place the seeds in a strainer, and rinse under cool running water. Shake off as much moisture as possible, and then empty the seeds into a medium skillet. Toast the seeds over low to medium heat, stirring often, until all of the moisture has evaporated and the seeds puff up a little and give off a nutty scent.

Transfer the seeds to a blender. Add the umeboshi plum paste and
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cup of water. Blend until the seeds are very finely ground, then add the remaining
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cup of water. The dressing should be nice and thick.

Gingered Green Beans with Hijiki

If hijiki and arame were siblings, hijiki would be the big brother and arame the shy sister. Hijiki is bigger, more mineral-rich, and has a stronger taste. It’s also amazing for you. Alternate between brother and sister (
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- to
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-cup servings) week to week. As you get acquainted with this recipe, you can add more or less green beans.

SERVES 2 TO 4

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cup dried hijiki

1 tablespoon shoyu

2 tablespoons olive oil

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cup onion, halved and sliced

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

Pinch of fine sea salt

2 cups fresh green beans

Juice from 2 tablespoons grated ginger

Place the hijiki in a small bowl, and cover with hot water. Soak for about 30 minutes, then drain and rinse in a colander to rid the hijiki of any remaining grit.

Combine the hijiki with the shoyu and water to almost cover in a saucepan. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until the water has nearly evaporated, about 30 to 40 minutes.

While the hijiki cooks, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and sauté for about 4 minutes, or until translucent. Cut the tips from the green beans, and add to the onions. Cover and cook until the green beans are tender-crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the hijiki and ginger juice. Mix well, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer to marry the flavors. Serve immediately.

Arame Turnovers

This yummy recipe comes from
Christina Cooks
. It’s a great, sneaky way to get sea vegetables into little kids (and big ones, too). Because they’re cooked in phyllo dough, they are elegant, delicious, and great for parties.

SERVES 2 TO 4

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cup dried arame, rinsed well and set aside to soften (do not soak)

Shoyu

Mirin

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, cut into fine matchstick pieces

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cup fresh or frozen and thawed corn kernels

3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Extra-virgin olive oil

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cup toasted almonds, ground into a fine meal

Rinse the arame under running water, and set aside for a few moments to soften. Place the arame in a small saucepan with enough water to half-cover. Add generous dashes of shoyu and mirin, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the shallots, carrot, and corn to the pot in layers, cover, and simmer until all the cooking liquid has been absorbed into the dish, about 5 minutes.