This is the first supplement to the Health and Science Briefing on the Modern Human Diet (MHD). It has been cold and rainy, and in this weather, hot soups, stews, and chili are particularly wonderful. Below, you will find three recipes for making large pots of food that can be kept on the cooktop covered for 2-3 days at a time, simmering on low heat all day, or heating to a boil, serving, cooling, and reheating when ready for the next meal.
Remember, the basic structure of all MHD meals is as follows: lots of fiber, no sugar, and something fermented. All MHD meals are low glycemic and full of plant foods that are loaded with fiber and/or resistant starch. There is no need to add extra protein to the meals below (beans and lentils have plenty) but you may if you wish.
I will be adding more to this supplement over time, building out new recipes.
Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 pasillo pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers
4 large shallots
3 celery stalks
4 cups red lentils (they are actually orange in color)
A 2” x 2” square chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
8 cups of soup broth (vegetable or chicken)
4 chicken sausages (optional)
Black pepper
Cilantro
Plain yogurt
Cooking Instructions:
Inspect the lentils and remove any foreign objects; then rinse well in a strainer.
Chop the celery, peppers, and shallots.
Cover the bottom of a medium-sized pot with good quality extra virgin olive oil and bring the heat to medium.
Add the chopped celery, peppers, and shallots, sauteeing until all the vegetables are slightly softened.
Add the red lentils and the broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer, cooking until the lentils are just tender (about 20 minutes). There should still be quite a bit of broth remaining.
Using a hand blender, blend the lentils a little to create a creamier soup but leave the texture of the soup still rough.
In an air fryer, fry the sausages until browned and crisp on the outside (you can also fry the sausages in a pan using a little bit of olive oil on medium heat).
Chop the sausages and add them to the soup along with the chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano and pepper to taste. Let simmer for another 20 minutes as the cheese melts into the soup.
Serve with a dollop of yogurt for probiotics and some chopped cilantro. You can also add some chopped raw carrots to give a crunchy texture but don’t cook the carrots in the sauce as that raises the meal’s glycemic index (carrots go from low to high GI when cooked). If you need to, add a pinch of salt at the end but I find that the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, as it melts into the soup, provides enough saltiness.
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
2 scallions (chopped)
6 large sprigs of garlic (chopped)
2 whole carrots (chopped)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 large/2 small zucchini (chopped)
1 package of Amylu's roasted garlic and asiago chicken sausage (4 sausages in total).
2 quarts organic chicken bone broth
One rind of Parmigiano Reggiano (about 4 inches long x 2 inches wide)
Cooking Instructions:
In a large stock pot, bring 1 lb. of cannellini beans to a boil in a full pot of filtered water.
Once the beans begin to boil, shut off the heat, cover, and let stand for 1.5 hours.
Drain the beans and rinse well to remove excess starch and lectins.
Return beans to the pot, cover again with water and add plenty of salt plus 2 bay leaves.
Bring the pot to a boil then lower the heat and let simmer until the beans are tender.
Drain and rinse the beans.
Using the same stock pot, cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil and heat to low/med.
Add chopped carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and scallions; sautee, lid on, stirring occasionally to avoid food sticking to the bottom/excessive browning (about 10 mins.).
Add beans and broth; bring to a boil; then simmer on low.
In an air-fryer or under the broiler, cook 4 chicken sausages to well done (crispy on the outside).
Chop the cooked sausages and chop one large or two small zucchini.
Add the chopped sausage and zucchini along with one Parmigiano Reggiano rind to the simmering soup and let cook for 15 mins.
Using a hand blender, partially blend the soup being careful to avoid letting the blade touch the Parmigiano rind.
Let simmer on low heat until the soup comes fully together (about half an hour), then serve with grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a little extra ground black pepper.
Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients:
1 lb. dried cannellini beans
1 lb. dried kidney beans
1 lb. dried pinto beans
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
12 jalapeno peppers
8 bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow in any mixture)
8 pasillo peppers
2 large or 4 small sweet yellow onions
2 whole garlic
corn on the cob
cilantro
sharp cheddar cheese
plain yogurt
1 whole avocado
cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, white pepper
pomegranate seeds
Cooking Instructions:
Inspect the beans and remove any foreign objects; rinse in a strainer.
Place the beans in a large stockpot and fill the pot with water.
Bring the beans to a boil, then shut off the heat and cover x 1.5 hours.
Strain the beans and rinse well to remove any excess starch and lectins.
Add the beans back to the stock pot, refill with water, and add a good amount of salt to the water. Bring the beans to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until the beans are just tender.
Strain the beans and rinse well a second time. Set aside in a large bowl.
Chop the onions, peppers, and garlic, reserving a small amount of the chopped onions for topping when serving.
Cover the bottom of the now-empty stockpot with olive oil and bring to medium heat.
Add the chopped veggies and cook on medium heat, stirring regularly until slightly softened.
Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 3 Tbsp cumin, 2 Tbsp garlic powder, 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper, and 2 Tbsp white pepper.
Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer slowly for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to avoid food sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add salt to taste and adjust the spiciness level up by adding more cayenne if needed.
Serve topped with chunks of fresh avocado, a dollop of yogurt, some chopped sweet onions, shaved cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, raw corn kernels, and pomegranate seeds. It is a good idea to keep a bowl full of the toppings in the fridge to sprinkle on top of each serving.
I buy all of my beans, lentils, olives, farro, black rice, and olive oil from Alma Gourmet which imports all its food directly from Italy. Most of what I buy is organic. Here is a link to the olive oil that I use. Notice that it comes in a tin can which helps keep the oil from being acted on by sunlight. Once opened, use your olive oil; don’t store it for long periods of time as oils gradually turn rancid on exposure to light and air.
I get most of my vegetables from my local farmer’s market or Whole Foods. I buy organic vegetables when they are available (and they almost always are). For canned tomatoes, I use the Bianco brand, and for the tomato paste, Muir Glen (see above), both of which I get from Whole Foods. Below are the cannellini beans I get from Alma Gourmet. A 1.1 lb. bag costs $6.75 and makes enough for about 12 servings of beans.
*Added 3/3/23:
Creamy Asparagus Soup
Ingredients:
2 lb. fresh asparagus
1 large or 2 small sweet yellow onions
half a head of garlic
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
2 lemons
Fresh thyme
2 quarts broth or stock (chicken or vegetable)
cilantro and/or microgreens
plain yogurt
1 whole avocado
salt and black pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 knob of butter
pumpkin seeds and/or pomegranate seeds
Cooking Instructions:
Rinse asparagus well in a strainer, then cut the stalks into approximately 1-inch segments.
Reserve about 20 tips; discard the extremely tough, fibrous parts on the opposite end from the tips.
Boil the reserved asparagus tips in water for about 1 minute, then drain, rinse, and put in a bowl with some ice (or in the fridge). They will be used at the end for a topping.
Chop the carrots and reserve them along with the asparagus tips.
Chop the celery, garlic, and onions.
Cover the bottom of a large stockpot with EVOO and heat to medium, then add the butter.
As soon as the butter melts, add the chopped onions, garlic, and celery along with about 5-10 springs of fresh thyme and sautee covered, checking and stirring regularly (about every 2-3 minutes), until the vegetables are very soft and have started to carmelize (about 15 minutes). Note: do not rush this part. The longer and slower the aromatics are allowed to come together and develop their natural sugars, the more flavor they will impart to the finished product.
Remove the thyme from the stockpot and then add the broth and cut asparagus. Bring to a boil then lower the heat, cover, and allow to gently simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking the bottom of the pot.
Squeeze in the juice of the two lemons and stir.
Remove the pit, chop the avocado flesh, and add it to the pot, stir again.
Using a hand blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. For additional creaminess, add more fresh avocado.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in a bowl, topping with a dollop of fresh yogurt, some chopped carrots, a few reserved asparagus tips, pumpkin and/or pomegranate seeds, and a sprinkle of cilantro and/or microgreens.
Jumbo Prawns Scampi Style with Chickpeas
Ingredients:
Jumbo prawns (three to four per person)
Garlic
One medium tomato
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Fresh basil and/or Italian parsley
One lemon
1 cup dry white wine
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 knob of butter
Almond flour
Cooking Instructions:
Place the garbanzo beans in a large stockpot and fill the pot with water.
Bring the beans to a boil, then shut off the heat and cover x 1.5 hours.
Strain the beans and rinse well to remove any excess starch.
Add the beans back to the stock pot, refill with water, and add a good amount of salt to the water. Bring the beans to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until the beans are just tender.
Strain the beans and rinse well a second time. Set aside in a large bowl.
Clean, de-vein, and rinse shrimp.
Dry the shrimp using a paper towel.
Lightly coat shrimp with almond flour.
Slice 4 garlic cloves and chop the tomato, the basil, and the parsley.
Cover the bottom of a deep saucepan with olive oil and heat to medium.
Add butter.
As soon as the butter melts, add the garlic.
As soon as the garlic begins to turn lightly brown, add the chopped tomato and the shrimp coated lightly with almond flour, then add 1/2 cup of the white wine. Cook until the downside of the shrimp are well cooked (about 3 minutes).
Turn the shrimp, then add the juice of half the lemon.
Add the second 1/2 cup of white wine and half of the chopped herbs.
Serve by covering the bottom of a shallow bowl with garbanzo beans. Drizzle with EVOO and salt and pepper to taste. Lay the shrimp on top of the beans, then pour the sauce from the pan over the top. Squeeze some of the lemon juice from the remaining lemon half on top of the shrimp. Top with a sprinkling of the remaining fresh herbs.
Thank you for providing healthy recipes with easy and clear preparation directions. I tried the vegetarian chili. It was excellent and I can't wait to try the others. Keep them coming!