Steamed Vegetables

Whats on tonights menu? Steamed Vegetables!

I’m sure I just heard a resounding  sigh and “errr, I don’t think so” from my readers.  Yes, steamed vegies! They don’t need to be as bland as the reputation they have!

Whats so good about steamed vegies?

• Avoids heating oil increasing oxidation, toxicity and DNA damage.
• Steaming avoids fat and cholesterol intake
• Increased digestion and absorption of protein in steamed fish vs. fried 
• Steaming more alkaline less acidic
• Overcooking or burning food is easily avoided when steaming it.
• Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients are leeched away into the water, which is usually discarded.
• When comparing steamed vegies to boiled ones, steamed vegetables retain more vitamin C and folate, so making them more nutritious!
• Versus microwaved vegies, steamed vegetables retained their antioxidant properties better.

How to steam vegies:

Never steamed vegies before? Heres how to do it.

• Use a bamboo steamer – fill a saucepan with water and put a bamboo steamer on top (these are fairly cheap and can be bought at the supermarket and reused)
• Some woks come with a steamer plate (like I have!) – fill the bottom of the wok with water, then put the steamer plate on top.
• Some rice cookers have a steamer accessory – your steamer manual will have instructions on how much water to use.
• The pan method: put about 1cm of water into a pan. Once the water is boiling, add the vegies to the pan. Because there is only a small amount of water, the steam will do the cooking.

  

      You can also steam in the microwave, however this is how to traditionally steam.

Carrot, capsicum, kale, zucchini and onion ready to be steamed!

1. Wash your vegetables and chop them up. The thicker the vegies, the longer it takes to cook.
2. Allow the water to boil, then put the vegies on top on the steamer, which allows the steam to cook the vegies without getting wet.
3. The cooking time changes depending on how thick the vegies are cut. I have found that once the colours start to look more vibrant, it means they are ready. You still want some crunch in them.
4. Some people like to rinse their cooked vegies under cold water to stop the cooking process. I haven't tried this yet, so am not sure how much of a difference this makes.

What can you steam?

Heaps of vegies are steamable! Carrots, capsicum, broccoli, spinach, kale, onions, corn, zucchini, bok choy, asparagus, cauliflower, peas, snowpeas, green beans, artichokes, brussel sprouts...

Take note! Different vegetables will take different amounts of time to be ready. A thinner leafy vegetale, such as spinach, will only need a small amount of time, wehere as a more hardy food like a carrot would take longer.

How to add some extra taste to your steam veg..

To keep the nutrition of these foods, avoid putting a heavy sauce on them, like butter, white sauces or cheese sauces.

Some ideas for you...

• Olive oil
• Tamari (wheat free soy sauce)
• Sesame Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Cumin
• Fresh ginger grated – put your vegetables on top of grated ginger to allow the flavour to seep through!
• Fresh herbs (parsley, dill, thyme)
• Crushed garlic
• Lemon juice
• Chilli
• Balsamic vinegar
• Coconut oil

I love to make a mix of tamari, sesame oil, olive oil, salt and pepper. I then toss the vegies in this mix and serve. Yum!

Feelin Quorny?

Last night I was watching TV and one of those Smart Buy ads popped up, advertising Quorn products. According to the commercials, this product range provides a meat-free, soy-free solution to meatless meals. I have never heard of this brand, so I decided to do some investigation on whether this product is any good and what are the pros and cons, as I think its important to understand a food before eating or recommending it to patients!

So what is the Quorn meat-free and soy-free solution? Quorn uses a product called Mycoprotein – a microscopic fungus, Fusarium venenatum, which the company feeds with oxygenated water, glucose, and other nutrients in giant fermentation tanks. Once harvested from the tanks, the material is heat-treated in order to remove its excess RNA, and then dewatered in a centrifuge. Combined with egg albumen and other ingredients, it is then “texturized” into various meat-like shapes. mmmm, sounds tasty already!

Quorn prides itself on the fact that you will not be able to taste the difference between meat and their products – the texture and taste are almost identical to meat, without the saturated fat.

A little bit more about Mycoprotein. Heres the nutritional breakdown of mycoprotein for a 100g serve:

Nutrient	Amount per 100g*
Energy (kcals)	85
Protein (g)	11
Carbohydrate (g)	3
of which Sugars (g)	0.5
Fat (g)	2.9
of which saturates (g)	0.7
w-3 Linolenic acid (g)	0.4
Fibre (g)	6**
b-glucan (g)	4
Calcium (mg)	42.5
Magnesium (mg)	45
Zinc (mg)	9
Iron (mg)	0.5
Potassium (mg)	100
Vitamin B1 Thiamin (mg)	0.01
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin - (mg)	0.23
Vitamin B3 Niacin (mg)	0.35
Vitamin B5 Pantothenic acid (mg)	0.25
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine - (mg)	0.125
Biotin (mg)	0.02
Phosphorous (mg)	260
Copper (mg)	0.5
Manganese (mg)	6
Selenium (ug)	20
Chromium (ug)	15
Molybdenum (ug)	< 25
Sodium (mg)	5
Salt (g)	0.0125

As you an see, its low in sodium and is a good source of complete protein, zinc and fibre. The phosphorus seems a little high – the Australian recommended daily intake (rdi) is 1000mg, however it is stated that doses of over 250mg at one time may cause stomach irritation in some individuals. Note that this is also an amount per 100g – some people have more than 100g, some have less, so your nutrient intake may differ.

So mycoprotein doesn’t seem too bad by itself. However, Quorn processes their mycoprotein for their foods and it is NOT the only ingredient in their products. Some products contained high amounts of mycoprotein (up to 90%), but some ready-made Quorn meals only contained 11% mycoprotein. So what makes up the rest? Here are some the ingredients I found that stood out:

• Rehydrated egg whites: This is powdered egg white, but should be noted for anyone who has an egg allergy.
•  Autolyzed yeast extract: Autolyzed yeast extract is a substance that results when yeast is broken down into its constituent components. It contains some free glutamic acid or monosodium glutamate (MSG) and is used as a less expensive substitute for MSG, leading some health and consumer advocates to object to its use in foods. As with MSG, the industry claims that yeast extract is a natural substance with no harmful effects, and opponents claim it causes a variety of health problems.
•  Whey protein concentrate: Protein isolated from cheese by-products. Contains lactose.
• Ferrous sulphate: a form of iron usually used in supplementation, however this form is not easily absorbed and is known to cause constipation. It also has warnings not to be used in cases of inflammatory intestinal disease (ulcerative colitis, crohn’s disease) and with some medications.
• Thiamine mononitrate: a synthetic form of vitamin B1, known to cause allergic reactions in some people as it can be more difficult to expel from the body than natural forms of B1.
• Sodium acid pyrophosphate: this is additive E450, which is an acidity stabiliser used to help emulsify products. This accounts for the relatively high amount of phosphorus in Quorn. Long term intake of this can lead to mineral imbalances in the body and effect bone mineral density.
• Sodium bicarbonate: used to lower stomach acid. Can cause bloating, nausea and indigestion.

Not all products contained all these, but these were the common culprits. Check the back label of ingredients to confirm what is in the product.

So is it the real deal? I found many cases online in which consumers experience vomiting, diarrhoea and even anaphylactic fits after having these products. There were companies in the US who were trying to stop the production of Quorn due to its side effects. However, the continent of origin, Europe, only a fraction of their consumers suffered these side effects. Are these side effects due to the mycoprotein, or is it the processing and the other ingredients added to create the meal?

Also Quorn contains fungi, gluten, lactose and egg products – so avoid Quorn if you suffer from any allergies to these.

So would I buy Quorn? No. There are other meat-free, soy-free protein sources which I would use before trying Quorn. Beans, lentils, quinoa, eggs can all be used as excellent sources of protein and taste so good that they don’t need to be moulded into fake meat patties to encourage people to eat them. If people are wanting to reduce their saturated fat content, opt for lean pieces of meat over fatty steaks. The products seem highly processed and just because something doesn’t contain meat, doesn’t mean its healthy!

-Laura x

Theres something about a pre-grill-marked fake chicken called chik'n that doesn't sit well with me...