Today’s Recipe: Vegetable Stir Fry

One of the most important ways to enhance detoxification through dietary means is to increase the vegetables in the diet. Veges of all types increase the numbers and types of minerals and vitamins, as well as other nutritional elements that are critical for the function of all the biological systems, most especially the liver. I recommend that everybody “take the challenge” and try to eat 8-9 servings daily of fruits and veges.  Remember, a serving is one medium apple, pear or peach, and 1/2 c cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw vegetables. We recommend no bananas, as they have a property of spiking the blood sugar (high glycemic index).

Vegetable Stir Fry

This makes a big pile, enough for several servings. You can vary the types and amounts of veges to your liking. All slices should be about the same thickness, I like about 1/4 inch.

1 carrots, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 onion, top and bottom ends removed, sliced from North to South

1 celery stalks, sliced on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, core removed and sliced. I like to go from North to South

1 medium zucchini, ends removed and sliced

2 cups broccoli. Cut the top of the tree off. Make small trees, they call these florettes.  Cut the bark off the trunk. Cut the bottom end off the trunk and then cut the whole thing on the diagonal

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed, if you like

1-2 T minced fresh ginger, if you like

2 T soy sauce, if you like

2 T olive oil, or more or less to your preference

1 T butter

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan on High heat. Add the butter and melt it. Quickly, before the butter burns, add the onions and celery and stir and saute for about 3 minutes. Add ginger if using. Add the carrots and broccoli stems, and garlic if using. Cook 2-3 minutes until they are getting hot, then add the bell peppers, broccoli florettes. Check to see how things  are getting done. If they are still pretty raw, cover the pan for a couple of minutes to allow things to steam. Or, stop cooking at any point. The veges should be bright in color and somewhat crunchy in texture. The garlic is added at the end here, to keep it from burning as that makes it bitter. At the very end, season with soy sauce. You can also drizzle sesame oil over it and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like.

The principle of making this work is to add the hard veges at the beginning so they can cook longer. Add the softer veges at the end so they don’t get too limp. We like beginning with onion as it gets sweet as it cooks and flavors all the other veges.

This is a staple in my house and keeps well in the fridge for future meals. Try different vegetables if you like. Purchase red bell peppers when they are on sale as they keep well. Green peppers are always affordable and go well in this dish. Other veges to try would be napa cabbage (add last  as it cooks very fast), broccoli rabe, fennel bulb, summer squash, red or green cabbage, Japanese eggplant, parsnips, snow peas, sugar snap peas, and whatever you want to try.

It is easy to get 2-4 servings of your 8-9 of veges and fruits per day by eating this. Just two cups on your plate, next to the meat and whole grain is all you need to get 4 servings.