Go ahead, eat, drink, and be merry. Christmas gives you that license to chill ... to binge (providing you have no health concerns), but don’t forget to purge.
We got this timely invite from our friend Harvie De Baron who, many Christmases ago, had his own bruising battle with the bulge due to stress, poor diet, and an unhealthy lifestyle. Devising his own method of losing weight, he lost 60 unwanted pounds and found renewed zest for life.
Here goes Harvie’s message: “Hi, it’s Christmas again ... With all the parties and celebrations happening around this season, I’m sure quite a few of us are struggling to keep on an eating plan and stay healthy. If you’d like to meet up to get back on track or just chat about the new developments we have with the Baron Method, I would love to catch up with you during December 2015/January 2016. As my commitment to all Baron Method alumni members, I don’t plan to charge you. I just wanna help (if you need my help) you get back on the right path as part of a continuing service that I promised you when you started with the Baron Method.”
The delicious thing about the Baron Method is that you don’t have to starve to lose weight. After all, it goes by the dictum “Eat more, live more.”
You’ll probably like to eat more because Harvie and wife Eizza can whip up the most delicious healthy dishes. “Healthy doesn’t have to be tasteless,” Harvie passionately declares.
“We cook everything from scratch, using only the freshest, healthy ingredients,” says Eizza. “We even make our own healthy ice cream and chips!”
From what I’ve tried, I just love the oatscaldo, made of rolled oats and homemade chicken stock, and the Baron Fried Chicken in cassava flour, shallow fried in culinary coconut oil.
So, never say diet! Here are more healthy Baron recipes.
PANCIT PALABOK
1/2 kilo pancit luglog/palabok dry noodles (usual ingredients are rice flour or cornstarch)
1/4 kilo shrimp
1/4 kilo squid
1/4 kilo mussels
1 cup brown rice flour or pure cassava flour or pure camote flour
4 cups water
1 tablespoon annatto powder
1 white onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
bunch of spring onion, chopped (for garnish)
2-3 hardboiled eggs, sliced (for garnish)
toasted chopped garlic (you can toast it in the air fryer or oven)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons culinary coconut oil
1. Soak noodles in warm water for two to four hours.
2. Take shrimp heads and crush in about half a cup of warm water, strain to get the juices.
3. Boil all remaining seafood in a pot of water (just enough to cover the seafood). Once cooked, strain liquid and put aside.
4. Sautee garlic, onion in oil. Add two to three cups of water (include seafood water in the measurement). Add shrimp juice.
5. In a separate pot, toast the flour until it is slightly browned, add ingredients from step #3, stir well to avoid lumps. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water, trying not to make the sauce too thin.
6. Add annatto powder, salt, pepper to sauce
7. Drain soaked noodles, cook in boiling water for about 4-5 minutes. Drain again.
8. Combine sauce and noodles, arrange seafood on top and add garnish. Serve with calamansi.
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BBQ POTATO CHIPS
250 grams potatoes, sliced thinly (using a mandolin)
water for soaking
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
about 3-4 tablespoons culinary coconut oil
BBQ powder:
1-1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon muscovado sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
Slice potato thinly using a mandolin. Place sliced potatoes in a bowl of water (potatoes must be submerged), add a pinch of salt. Soak for 15-30 minutes.
Heat pan, add culinary coconut oil once pan is hot.
Fry potatoes until golden brown. Drain on a cooling rack and then transfer to a plate covered with paper towel.
Toss potato chips (in a large ziplock bag) with half of the bbq powder. Taste and add more bbq powder as needed.
* * *
CHICKEN AND QUINOA SALAD
3/4 cup shredded cooked chicken breast (you can use any of the chicken marinade recipes in the manual and cook accordingly)
2 cups cooked quinoa
1-1/2 cups baby arugula leaves
1 cup shredded corn (shredded from cob, do not use corn in a can)
3/4 cup cubed ripe mangoes
1/2 cup toasted cashews (or any nuts of your choice)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Combine ingredients 1 to 5 and mix well. Combine orange juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to make a light dressing. Toss mixed chicken, quinoa, etc. with dressing.
Top with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and serve.