Living in the big city of Toronto it's hard to buy all natural, organic foods. There are farmer's markets (which I try to get to when I can) and health food stores but you can't get all of your groceries at these places so that means extra trips to the grocery store, more groceries to carry on the subway and extra money on the TTC (which is expensive!). There just isn't enough time in the day for all of that. If your someone who is able to shop at these places than kudos to you! But for the rest of us, shopping at Loblaws and Sobeys are our only options. One trip and you're done.
As dancers, we're constantly on the go. Teaching, rehearsing, choreographing, shows, gigs, classes, part time jobs and the list goes on. It's easy to resort to packaged, microwaveable foods. Eating and cooking healthy doesn't have to be time consuming. My meal tonight took 15 minutes. That's quicker than Kraft Dinner. All of my ingredients came from Sobeys. Nothing was prepackaged or frozen. Haddock from the fish mart, green beans, lettuce and tomato, and whole grain buns from the bakery. And with all of this I got 2 complete meals out of it with lots of everything leftover except the fish. I did use a couple cooking techniques that my wonderful partner taught me to add flavour.
Here's what I did.
1 small pot
2 medium frying pans
Preheat oven 375F
String beans
Haddock
Whole grain bun
Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
Lemon juice and grated rind
Toppings (I used lettuce, tomato and fresh basil)
A spiced mayo would be excellent on this but I didn't think of that until after the fact.
Bring small pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat pan #1 on medium with olive oil.
Strain beans and heat medium pan #2 on medium heat with olive oil.
Place fish in pan #1 and cook for 3 mins on each side with a little salt, pepper, lemon juice and grated rind.
Place beans in pan #2 covering lightly with the oil and cook to desired crunchiness. Add a little salt and pepper for taste.
Place fish in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
Place fish on prepared bun. Don't want the bread? Eat the fish as is!
And voila! Delicious meal in no time at all.
On a side note, if you're not a fan of fish, you can use the same technique on chicken. Sear it in the pan for about 4 minutes on each side then cook it in the oven on 400F for about 8 minutes.
Enjoy!
~Hannah
Remember, a healthy mind and body equals a happy and healthy dancer.
