Happy Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

When I grew up in a small town in Austria, food seemed to be very regimented.  I grew up thinking you could only eat spinach with fried potatoes and eggs, since it’s the only way I ever had it.  Or you had to eat roasted chicken with rice, but never with potatoes or noodles.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim set me free on all this limited thinking.  She explained that food needs to not only be healthy, made of organic, fresh ingredients, and be tasty, but also needs to look inviting.  And there should be a good variety and not always the same old thing.

So, although we love soup a lot, by now we are temporarily “souped out” and ready for bright spring dishes.

So here is Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s recommendation to beat the winter soup blues.  These stuffed peppers are very simple, yet very healthy and appealing.

You start by washing the peppers and cutting off the top, like in the picture.  Dry the inside well and set them in a well oiled, oven safe pan.  Set the oven to 350 degrees.

For the basic filling, mix cooked (brown) rice, pre-boiled ground beef, eggs, (I get good results with 1 egg per pound of ground beef) finely chopped parsley, cilantro, yellow and green onions, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

For added nutrition, Dr. Tae Yun Kim adds hemp seeds, a good handful of it, and chia seeds.  If you like it hot, add either finely chopped jalapenos, or hot red pepper.  Mix very well and stuff the peppers.  Put back the “lid”, and add tomato sauce into the baking pans.  I like to keep the sauce very spicy and chunky; make sure it comes up 3/4 the height of the bell peppers.

Bake for about half hour, and enjoy!

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Memory or future vision? Sweet and Spicy

So yesterday I shared with you a quick and easy, yet tasty and very healthy dish that will help you get back on track after all the Holiday feasts we’ve been having.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has many such recipes.  Today, I am sharing another one of her gems.  This is more for hot summer days, but I am thinking, if you are in a cold weather area like I am right now, and look outside and see snow in big piles, maybe you would want to re-create summer in your heart and stomach, and try this delicious beef-noodle salad that is sure to delight your taste buds and make you think of balmy summer afternoons.

So how do you make this beautiful salad?  Very simple!  If you have some leftover beef roast, or chicken, tear it into bite sized pieces. If you want to use eggs, boil a couple, peel and quarter.  Cut your veggies and fruits into bite sized pieces, smaller is better – tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, kale, cabbage, cucumbers or any other combination you like.  Add some berries, we had home grown blackberries and strawberries.  But apples, oranges, or pears work well, especially now in the winter when you may not have fresh berries available.

The noodles in the picture are Korean acorn noodles, they are superb with this dish.  Since they are not gluten free, substitute any gluten free pasta, or you can leave it out altogether.  I just happen to think pasta adds nice texture and flavor, and Dr. Tae Yun Kim explains that noodles are a symbol of long life, and who wouldn’t want that?

Now that you have your ingredients ready, make the dressing.  This is pretty spicy, so use as little or as much red pepper and garlic as you need. You start with apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and a few Tbsp lemon juice, add a teaspoon toasted, crushed sesame seeds, about a Tbsp raw sugar, red pepper flakes, and a touch of (gluten free) soy sauce , and add a bit of water and some olive oil.  Mix the sauce with the veggies first, then add the meat and the noodles.  Toss well, and put on plates and decorate with the cut up eggs. Enjoy!

Doesn’t that make you feel like digging out your bathing suit and going for a swim?

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Corny Creativity with tomatoes and zucchini

By this time, you probably have had your fill of zucchini and tomatoes.  Gardens and markets alike are full with the freshest of produce, and just yesterday a dear fellow Jung Suwon warrior brought me some more homegrown zucchini and tomatoes.

Of course I am always grateful for homegrown veggies, however, you need a lot of creativity to keep coming up with new ways of cooking and serving them .   I just so happened to pick up Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s book “The First Element” and find this little gem:

“Remember, when you wish to create or manifest any aspect of your life, you do not have to invent anything.  All you have to do is open your awareness wider and wider, and your infinite capabilities and richness will become more and more visible.  Jung Suwon doesn’t teach you something new.  It teaches what you already have – what you can open to as you become more aware.”

Using this creativity, I really wanted to make something incredibly delicious, yet easy to put together, and very healthy – and good-looking too.

Here is the result:

If you want to try it, here are the very easy instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and grease the foil.

Cut up a one-foot long zucchini (that’s what I had, you can use smaller ones too, for appetizers.) into rounds, not too thick

Cut a pre-packaged tube of Polenta (or make your own if you prefer) into slices, again, not too thick.

Now cut up tomatoes, and let the fun begin!

Lay out the zucchini rounds on the foil, brush with some olive oil, and put in oven for about 15 minutes.

Cover the zucchini slices with the polenta slices and then with the tomato slices.  Drizzle with olive oil and garlic, and add salt and pepper and bake until heated through and vegetables are cooked.

If you can have dairy, it’s very tasty with some cheese melted in.

Of course, from here, do as Dr. Tae YunKim  suggests, and let your creativity flow – you can add herbs to your liking, you could try different cheeses, or even add some pastrami.

Have fun with this recipe!

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Possibly the best chicken salad that I have ever made/tasted

Don’t go by the picture please and trust me on this.  Ok?  This is really really good!

I was going to insert an appropriate quote from Dr. Tae Yun Kim, something to the effect of “don’t be fooled by your 5 senses” but then I read the end of her book, “The Silent Master,” and it is simply beautiful, and I wanted to share it with you, so bear with me please.

“We live in a wonderful time called now.  In this moment, everything true about you is waiting to be recognized and expressed.  Everything in the past is gone. Tomorrow will never come.  There is always only now.  You can take charge, take action, and create freedom for yourself.

Right here and right now let’s start celebrating!  Freedom is real.  Freedom is possible.  You have power, truth, beauty, and potential within you alway waiting to be discovered, always waiting to be expressed.  Brighter and more precious than diamonds, warm as the spring sun and beautiful like spirals of galaxies sprinkled over this vast universe, your Silent Master awaits your return, so that together you will come forth as one radiant being in charge of your destiny.  What is stopping you?  What is holding you back?  You are free to be free!  Spread your wings!  Fly and be free!”

So, now, back to making an awesome chicken salad!  We had some very hot days last week, and cooking wasn’t on my mind.  Yet, with a summer-time Jung Suwon potluck in the backyard, something had to be done!  This was one of those dishes that came together simply using what I already had at home.  Luckily that included an organic, roasted chicken, from Whole Foods!  I quickly boiled about 6 – 7 eggs and chilled them.

I started by taking all the meat off the chicken and chopping it (several of our Jung Suwon warriors have to watch their cholesterol, so I didn’t use the skin.)  into bite size pieces.  NORMAL bite sized pieces please, not hulk, and not ant sized either!

After that, I chopped up the eggs, again, not too fine and not too huge, and add to the chicken.  Chop some celery (washed and peeled) maybe a handful, and add, and also add a handful of chopped tomatoes (firm ones, and take out the liquidy part.)  Chop some olives fine, and add, as well as a good handful of green onions, both white and green parts, chopped finely.  Add some marinated artichoke hearts, chopped into small pieces, a total of a good handful ( 😉 ), and a handful of marinated mushrooms, also cut into pieces.

Now, gently mix it all together, and add gluten-free, organic, olive oil based mayonnaise, just enough to make it moist.  Add salt (I use Himalayan salt) and garlic pepper to taste, and let sit in refrigerator for a couple of hours, to let the flavors do their thing.

Of course, there are hundreds or even thousands of ways how to make a chicken salad.  This one just happens to be my current favorite.  With  Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s own words, “it is your life, and your world!  Don’t let anyone stand in your way!”

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More tomato love

Don’t these cherry tomatoes look really good?  I love them!  They are perfect after a tough Jung Suwon class, as they help you cool down, plus, as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim points out, they are packed with vitamins and minerals and are great to replenish your body.

Today we are blessed with some torrential rain, which I think is awesome!  To me, this spells soup!  But since it’s a weekend, it’s not just plain tomato soup which I told you about yesterday.  This is a soup that eats like a meal!  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches her students about proper nutrition, and balance.  Not only do we need to balance our bodies after a Jung Suwon workout, we also need to make sure we have a balance of all the nutrients we need!

So todays tomato soup is “enhanced, ” as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim likes to call it.  It is the same recipe as I posted yesterday, except today I didn’t run it through the blender and left it chunky.  But go ahead and make it whatever consistency you prefer.  While the soup is cooking, get started on the “enhancements.”  In this case, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s version of matzo balls.

You can start out with your favorite matzo ball mix (comes in nice little boxes such as this:

One quick note about kosher foods.  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim at times recommends the use of Kosher ingredients, and even mentions this at Jung Suwon.  Why?  “Kosher foods are prepared under strict supervision, under the watchful eye of a Rabbi,” Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim explains, “Kosher foods therefore are pure and clean.  You do not need to be Jewish in order to benefit from Kosher foods.

Prepare the dough according to directions, and add some ground beef (that you have boiled out, and drained well.)  Add some finely chopped Italian parsley and/or any herbs you like.  Let this mixture sit for at least 30 minutes.

In a large pot, bring salted water to boiling, then put in the matzo balls you have rolled meanwhile.  Keep them small-ish, maybe as big as half an egg.  Turn the heat down and let the matzo balls simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.  Drain and put into the tomato soup, let it simmer for another 5 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

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Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes!

So, in trying to do my “internal spring cleaning,” as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim recommended,  I am feeling great, inside and out.  Skin nice and soft, lost a couple pounds and generally feeling better.  The tomatoes, in conjunction with some “kick butt” Jung Suwon classes, have worked miracles in my body, mind, and spirit.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has a lot of special tomato recipes.  A couple of days ago I started with some very basic ones.  Here are some more!

Basic tomato soup:

This is my absolute favorite and it is so simple!

First, sautee a chopped up onion in some olive oil. Use good quality oil, it does make a difference.  As Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim always reminds, us, we are what we eat, so we want to use the best available ingredients!

Add freshly chopped garlic, and chopped up fresh tomatoes.  Add chopped parsley and basil.  If you like it spicy, add some freshly chopped Jalapeno pepper.  At this point, if you want to get fancy, you could add bell peppers, celery, mushrooms etc, I prefer mine very plain.

Sautee until tomatoes are soft, season with salt and pepper.  Let it cool a bit, then put in food processor until very smooth and thick.  I love it plain, as is, but you can eat with some nice, crusty bread, or rice, or even put some noodles in it!  It’s awesome however you eat it!

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim also recommends stuffed tomatoes.  They are simple, easy, and you could even prep them before you go to Jung Suwon class, so that when you come home you got a good, light meal ready!

Here is Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s special stuffed  tomato recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Take a medium to large tomato, wash well with kosher salt.

Slice off the top, and hollow out.  Put it into a small, oven proof container and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until firm/soft, but not mushy.

Meanwhile, sautee some onions and garlic with some finely chopped potatoes.  You can add parsley, green onions, or even spinach if you like.  When one, add a couple eggs and sautee until just creamy, then put it all into the tomato. Top with some cheese, and bake for 5 more minutes.

Now enjoy!

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The powerful Tomato

Here is some more of what Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim is teaching about internal cleansing.

(disclaimer:  I am not a doctor or nurse of any kind, so please check with your physician before you start any cleansing program, new diet, or anything that could have unwanted side effects. )

I personally, on the advice of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, am increasing the amount of tomatoes in my diet by a lot, for one week.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim mentioned in Jung Suwon class the other day, that tomatoes have powerful cleansing and healing qualities.  You can find the scientific data all over the internet.  But Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim – although she knows all the scientific background – goes strictly by Ki energy.  Great Grandmaster Kim mentioned that right now the energy is right for some good cleansing, losing weight, internal housekeeping and such.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim also points out that no two people are the same, so therefore no program will fit all people.  For me, personally, I will have breakfast every day, and then tomatoes the rest of the day, for one week.

What I can recommend though, is for everyone (that isn’t allergic to them) to incorporate more tomatoes in your diet.  I love them a lot just plain, and eat them like an apple.

They are also great slized or quartered, with just a little salt, or with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Or your can use the sauce you learned to make here and enjoy that way.

Or, slice them up and have them with some parsley, as parsley is also a wonderful cleanser and has incredible amounts of vitamin C.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim recommends that it’s always best to combine internal cleansing with an exercise program.  Of course classes at Jung Suwon are awesome for that, as you are guaranteed to sweat out everything.  But any type of exercise that will make you sweat works great!

Let me know how you will use more tomatoes, and stay in tune for more tomato related updates tomorrow!

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