Low Fat 15 Minute Stew or Pasta by Dr. Donald A. Miller

As I have written in my diet book and several articles, one way to reduce consumption of saturated fats, and gain other benefits of plant foods, is to replace part of four legged meats with such soy foods as tempeh and tofu. These, like ground beef, can be measured into small portions, wrapped in plastic film, and frozen. For use, let thaw over night in the refrigerator, or let stand one to two hours at room temperature, not long enough for spoilage. Be cautious if using a microwaver for thawing, so as to not incinerate.

I usually try my food experiments on myself before inflicting them on anyone else. When cooking for one person, I have found that lean ground beef in 1/4 cup portions works well for me. For tempeh, I usually cut an 8 ounce package in thirds, or a 12 ounce package into fourths, wrap and freeze. With 12 ounce packages of extra firm tofu, one can slice the block lengthwise into fourths, place the layers in a plastic freezer container with wax paper separators. This way, a bread knife can be used to separate out one or more layers without thawing the whole block. The freezer container is because freezing separates water from the tofu, which becomes very obvious on thawing, such as when using the entire container's worth.

It is certainly possible to dice tempeh and tofu before freezing, but best if wrapped in pre-measured amounts.

I now describe a recent experiment making lean stew with roughly equal parts of lean ground beef and tofu. To make a pasta dish, omit the potato and carrot, and use angel hair pasta, about 0.7 inch or 1.8 cm circle's worth, which requires only 3 to 5 minutes boiling.

I sliced a small potato lengthwise in half, then each half in thirds, then crosswise thinly. I also diced a handful of baby carrots. All this was put into a covered glass dish, and microwaved a minute at a time on high. The results were fork tender, not mushy, at a total of 7 minutes in my oven. The chef can do these vegetables slightly ahead of time, or while doing the following.

My "non stick" skillet needs a bit of help, which I provided with a thin coating of cooking spray. At moderate heat, I broke up and browned the meat, then stirred in the tofu, fork mashed. I had a refrigerated jar of diced garlic, otherwise would have used dried, about two teaspoons. For flavor, I added about a tablespoon of mixed green herbs (this time, "Italian Seasoning), and a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper. I NEVER USE GARLIC SALT.

Next I mixed in the carrots and potatoes, and turned off the heat.

I was fortunate to have some vine ripened tomato, which I had sliced into layers, then diced. I probably used about a fourth to third cup. I stirred in the tomato and two tablespoons of a reduced salt Japanese soy sauce. Note that I only warmed the tomato. Less soy sauce also works.

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BIO:

Dr. Donald A. Miller is author of "Easy Health Diet" http://easyhealthdiet.com/diet.htm, "Easy Exercise All Ages" http://easyhealthdiet.com/eeaa.htm, and numerous free articles on health http://easyhealthdiet.com/articles/.
Seven of ten deaths are caused by preventable diseases.

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