Crispy Baked Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli & Creamy Guacamole
Hey everyone! This is Rita here. Our daily meals don't always include soaking, processing, freezing, rolling and baking (but boy was that Roasted Almond & Salted Caramel "Cheesecake" good or what?). In fact, we mostly eat much simpler meals, with lightly cooked and seasoned vegetables and loads of potatoes and rice. Here's a recipe for a simple, nurturing meal we prepare quite often at home. It's really easy to make and about as satisfying as it gets. The potatoes are lightly steamed, tossed in cornmeal, thyme and garlic and then baked in the oven until crispy and golden. Meanwhile we steam the broccoli and whip up some creamy guacamole and that is all for this one. I'm guessing many of our readers will find this to be an incomplete meal (shout out to my aunts who think we only eat side dishes!), so I thought I'd write a bit about what we've come to believe is an optimal diet.
Anyone who's not at all familiar with the terms High Carb Low Fat Vegan might indeed find a bit odd that this meal is made from just potatoes, broccoli and a serving of guacamole. The HCLF vegan diet suggests we get most of our calories (80%) from carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, potatoes and rice, 10% from proteins (which all plant-based foods have by the way) and 10% from fats such as avocados, coconuts, nuts and seeds. This is particularly easy to achieve because most plant-based foods are naturally very high in carbs and low in protein and fat. You won't have to drive yourself crazy counting macronutrients. You can read about this in a number of books (check out our What to Read page), but if I had to pinpoint the one book that will tell you all about it, I'd definitely suggest reading the The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas N. Graham. In the book you will find that one of the main ideas behind this lifestyle is to eat carbs (mostly fruits and vegetables) in abundance, until you are fully satisfied, without any kind of calorie restriction. This has been proven to be the absolute optimal diet for humans and it encompasses many aspects of human health. Many of our recipes are actually HCLF, but none is as obviously rich in carbohydrates as this one right here.
These facts alone are probably not be enough to convince the occasional sceptic that might come across this blog post. The fact is most western cultures have been brought up to believe a good meal must include a nice, big steak. We're used to telling our children whenever they're not hungry anymore to at least finish eating their meat. And we believe it to be normal that meals should take 3 to 4 hours to digest and to feel bloated and queasy at the end of the day and all through the evening. None of this is actually true, nor healthy. When your body adapts to following a HCLF vegan diet, you'll find yourself eating a lot more often, in much bigger quantities (4-5 bananas for breakfast anyone?) and digesting your meals in far less time. You won't be restricting your calorie intake and you'll probably lose the extra weight you've been carrying around. Even more so if you include daily physical activities in your routines and keep your body well hydrated. Living a healthy life free of degenerative disease is completely within our reach, because we are all designed to thrive on this whole-foods, plant-based diet.
Not to mention the health benefits of the mighty broccoli. This deep green cruciferous is one of our favorite ingredients ever not only because we simply love the taste of it but also because it is one of the most nutrient packed foods out there. Would you care to know a little bit more about broccoli? Check out this amazing article by Helen Nichols, in which she goes through its 43 science-backed health benefits. For example, did you know that there is more Vitamin C in broccoli than in citrus fruits? We sure didn't! Apart from this insightful article, Helen has also put together a list of recipes where this spectacular superfood is put to good use. Anyhow, in one way or another, just give this simple, yummy recipe a go. If you're anything like us, you'll probably get hooked on these crispy potatoes!
Crispy baked potatoes & steamed broccoli
55 minutes | serves 2
INGREDIENTS
600 gr. new potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
sea salt to taste
CREAMY GUACAMOLE
1 avocado
4 sprigs cilantro
1/4 small red onion
1 garlic clove, center germ removed
juice of 1/2 lime
sea salt & black pepper to taste
SERVE WITH
organic ketchup
STEP BY STEP
Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.
Preheat the oven to 450ºF / 240ºC and line a tray with parchment paper.
Steam the potato wedges for 5 minutes.
Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with the cornmeal, garlic, thyme and salt. Make sure they are well coated with the spices.
Lay the seasoned potatoes on the baking tray and place them in the oven for 30 minutes. Shake the tray every 7 minutes or so to guarantee the potatoes crisp up evenly.
While the potatoes are in the oven, prepare the steamed broccoli: using the same pot you steamed the potatoes in, steam the broccoli florets for 10 minutes and season them with sea salt when they are ready.
GUACAMOLE
Start by chopping the cilandro in your food processor for a few seconds.
Add the red onion and garlic clove and process until they break down into small pieces.
Add the avocado, lime juice, sea salt and black pepper and process until the guacamole is perfectly smooth and creamy.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY!
We'd love to hear how your creations turn out. Let us know if you give any of our recipes a go and tag your photos with #cocooncooksblog on Instagram so we can see them! xo