Hi everyone, welcome. Today we’re going to be making a Mediterranean pharaoh salad. This recipe is packed with key nutrients that help support blood sugar, heart health, and digestion. Before we get started, let’s go over what we can expect for this session. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to prepare a simple and flavorful diabetes friendly meal. identify key ingredients that help support blood sugar control, digestion, and heart health. And lastly, you’ll also be able to understand how to budget and choose affordable but still nutrient-dense ingredients. This recipe is packed with nutritious and powerful ingredients that work with your body and not against it. For example, today our main ingredient is pharaoh. Pharaoh is a whole grain that is rich in fiber and magnesium which help prevent any blood sugar spikes and also support digestive health. Olive oil and olives are important in this recipe because they provide healthy or monounsaturated fats. And these fats help to lower the LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol. The green beans and red pepper in this recipe provide both fiber and antioxidants like vitamins’s A and C, which can help reduce inflammation. Now, let’s review a quick cost breakdown of this recipe. For the pharaoh, it was about $5 in the grocery store for a pretty large bag. You can get a couple helpings out of this. Um, uh, the green beans, I decided to opt for the fresh green beans that I could grab myself. And it ended up being about $1.15 for the 10 ounces of green beans that we needed. You can also use canned green beans or frozen green beans for this recipe. Whatever your preference is and whatever you can afford. Um, the bell pepper was around two $2. The chives were also around $2. The mustard I bought was on sale, so it was like $2 originally, but I got it for about $1. The parmesan was around two. And then the olive oil, salt, and pepper I did already have in my pantry. So, in total, this recipe costs about $23. And it does make about four servings total. So, that’s a little under $6 per serving. Lastly, let’s do a quick review of the equipment that we’re going to need today for the recipe. First, we’re going to need a medium saucepan, a colander or a fine mesh strainer, a cutting board, a knife, a large mixing bowl, a small bowl, and a whisk, and lastly, measuring cups and spoons. Now, let’s get to cooking. As we move through each step of this recipe, I am going to dive deeper into the specific health benefits of each ingredient. Okay, so first we’re going to start by boiling the pharaoh. So I started with my medium saucepan with four cups of water. And I have my 10 oz of pharaoh in this bowl right here, which is about 1 and 1/2 cups. Okay, so I’m going to just dump this pharaoh right in. And we’re going to put this on high heat and bring it to a boil. Once your pharaoh is at a rapid boil, you’re going to want to lower it to a simmer, cover, and keep it cooking for about 20 more minutes. While we’re letting the pharaoh cook for a little bit longer, we are going to review some of the health benefits of it. So, pharaoh is considered an ancient whole grain and also considered a great alternative for either white rice or pasta, although it does add a bit of a nuttier taste and a chewier texture. One cup of cooked pharaoh contains about eight grams of fiber and seven grams of protein. Adult women need about 21 to 25 grams of fiber per day and men need 30 to 38 gram of fiber per day. So just one cup of cooked pharaoh is giving women around 30 to 40% of their daily nutrient needs of fiber and it’s giving men around 20 to 25% of their daily needs. The fiber is really important because it helps to slow digestion of carbohydrates which is preventing any blood sugar spikes. Now this is really important for those individuals who do have diabetes and have to keep an eye on their blood sugar constantly. Pharaoh also contains about 60 to 80 milligrams of magnesium per cup which plays a crucial role in helping your cells use insulin more efficiently. So again, this is a great idea for those individuals who have diabetes and have to keep an eye on their blood sugar. So now that pharaoh has been simmering for around 20 minutes, we’re going to add some salt, mix it in, and keep it simmering for another 10 minutes. All righty. It looks like our pharaoh is just about done cooking. So, I’m going to go bring it over to the sink to strain it very well and put it in a large bowl to cool down. All right. So, next we’re going to work on our green beans. So, I have a pot of some salted water here. I’m going to bring it to a boil. And then we’re going to throw these green beans in and blanch some for about 2 minutes. Once that’s done, we’re going to transfer the green beans right to a a bowl of ice water so that they can get that crispy texture that we want. All right, the water is at a boil, so I’m going to throw these green beans in. So, while those green beans cook for a second, let’s discuss some of their health benefits. So along with green beans, the chives in this recipe and the bell pepper, they all are high in vitamins’s A and C, which support immune function and also help to reduce inflammation. The fiber in these vegetables also help to slow digestion as we mentioned before and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. All right. So, now I’m going to drain the green beans really fast and add them to our bowl of ice water. So, now we’re going to be making the dressing while our ingredients cool on the side. So, first I have 1/4 cup of the cherry vinegar that I’m going to add into my small bowl here. Then I have a4 cup of extra virgin olive oil that we’re going to add here. So, olive oil is a monoounsaturated fat which is considered a healthy fat. And this is important because it helps to reduce inflammation and also lower cholesterol. Next, we’re going to add our tablespoon of dijon mustard. Last, we have our half a teaspoon of salt and pepper that I’m going to add. And I do not have a whisk with me, but I’m just going to use a fork. And we’re going to whisk these ingredients together until they’re emulsified. All righty. Now, it’s time to combine all of our ingredients. First, we’ll dump in our fresh green beans, some black olives, red pepper strips, parmesan cheese, and our chives. And now we’ll give our dressing one last whisk. Should look just like this. Smells delicious. All right. And we’ll dump that over. Now it’s time to mix everything together. Give it a good mix. Now we have a healthy, delicious, nutritious Mediterranean pharaoh salad. All right, to wrap up, let’s recap the nutrition highlights of this recipe. Per serving, this recipe has about 8 to 10 g of fiber. Fiber is great for keeping you feeling fuller longer, helping your digestion, and regulating your blood sugar. There’s also about 60 to 80 milligs of magnesium in this recipe, which helps with insulin action. The B vitamins in this recipe, such as niacin, thamin, and folate, are essential for energy metabolism. Both the olives and the olive oil in this recipe are great healthy fats that help to lower LDL cholesterol and support heart health. Overall, this recipe is blood sugar friendly, helps lower your cholesterol, and supports your gut.
Dining and Cooking