Mushrooms with leeks and peas—healthy habits and a 2021 wish
We are starting out the year right, with lots of vegetables and lighter meals. Today’s recipe, mushrooms with leeks and peas, is so satisfying it will not leave you craving any animal protein.
I don’t consider we over ate during the holiday season. Sure, I’ll admit we indulged in more sweets and Christmas treats. However, the extra sweets we had, when combined with eating less and not feeling completely full after a meal, got balanced out. If you’ve been following Mama Ía blog you know that I don’t believe in avoiding any food items, but in eating less —smaller portions, avoid seconds, sweets for dessert only on special ocassions. Nonetheless, it seems like January is a month of going back to healthier habits, both in terms of what we eat as well as in the return to more frequent and intense exercise routines.
Sunrise in Marrakech
Place Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech
YSL Museum
I’ve been asked many times how I keep thin given all the food I cook and bake. I don’t follow any diet, nor do I avoid eating any food items (except, of course, the ones I don’t like). I just follow certain habits that seem to work. For one, my diet is mostly Mediterranean (yes, you can follow a Mediterranean diet even if living in America’s Midwest).
MEDITERRANEAN DIET
Popular in Spain and Italy —the two highest ranked healthy countries in the world in 2019 according to the Bloomberg Report—, the Mediterranean diet is plant-based, rich in nuts, fruit, fish and healthy grains, and also rich in fat —the healthy fat that is, that comes from olive oil, or liquid gold, as we like to call it in Spain. Numerous studies have shown that such a diet has many medical benefits, particularly with respect to heart disease and diabetes (for more on this topic, check this post).
Apart from following a mostly Mediterranean diet, I follow other habits that seem to work for me.
Healthy Habits I follow
- Daily morning exercise, in one form or another. I change my routines so as to not get bored, alternating between yoga, pilates, cardio, walking and resistance training (except for walking, all others done at home since the pandemic started)
- Limit my food intake to a shorter number of daily hours (basically, I delay breakfast by exercising and even doing some work first). If I can not delay breakfast for some reason, I’ll have an early lunch, to avoid snacking
- Limit my intake of sugary foods and those with refined carbohydrates (refined carbohydrates tend to cause a spike in blood sugar levels, which lead to a subsequent crash that can trigger hunger and lead to food cravings. They’re usually also lacking in essential nutrients)
- I avoid sweets for dessert. It’s not that I don’t eat sweets (I have a sweet tooth and love them!), but I try to have them on a more empty stomach, when they get processed faster, without having to “sit” on top of a full meal, therefore having more time to get absorbed by the body
- I have to say that I am somewhat of a picky eater, and tend to cook and bake from scratch, therefore knowing what’s in what I eat. In this same line, I’m lucky I don’t like fast foods, and lines like “smothered in cheese” or “drenched in gravy” are very un-appealing to me
- This one might sound strange, but I swear by it: I eat slowly, enjoying every bite and making it last. Why? First, because that’s how I unconsciously eat. But secondly, I feel full faster. And how do I do it? I eat small bites and chew them slowly.
That Marrakech pink…
Broadly, this is what I do to maintain a balanced weight and stamina, but I’m not strict about any of the rules and tricks mentioned above, and if the opportunity presents itself and I over eat or under exercise, I quickly correct myself the next day: clothing is a very realiable gauge to tell me what I have to do.
My vegetarian friends will be happy to see today’s recipe: mushrooms with leeks and peas, a meal in itself, or a very combinable side —it can accompany meats, fish, eggs… you name it. My son Ethan liked it so much that this is the first dish he made when he returned to his college apartment last week.
Speaking of which, the house is very quiet now, after weeks of having all the boys home. Cooking daily for hungry boys and men required some adjustment, and now it’s time to adjust again. The new year has come with a return to routines, and with the hope of traveling in the future, when most borders open again and travel is less restricted. If there’s one thing I’m craving after all these months of pandemic that’s it: TRAVEL.
Just this very time last year I was visiting my mom and sisters in Spain, and spending a magic week in Marrakesh. I can still smell the smells, hear the sounds, see the colors of that magical city. 2021 comes with some key dates and anniversaries, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to replicate some of the fun we have missed for months. I am very hopeful.
Today’s recipe, mushrooms with leeks and peas, could allow some substitutions. For instance, if I don’t have fresh dill, I will use parsley. As for tarragon, I am thankful I dried the leaves of the tarragon I grew last summer in our vegetable garden! But again, don’t use it if it’s not available to you. The recipe is very forgiving and modifiable, according to what’s in your fridge. I would suggest, though, that you use a few varieties of mushrooms, as it makes it more interesting than using just one. And if eaten as a lunch dish, be sure to have some crusty bread handy: mushrooms with leeks and peas seem to be made for each other.
MUSHROOMS WITH LEEKS AND PEAS
Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh mushrooms I used chanterelles, white button and cremini
- 2 Tbs butter
- 4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 leek
- 1 cup fresh peas use frozen if fresh are not available
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp tarragon
- 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbs fresh dill divided
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the mushrooms liberally into pieces no smaller than 1 inch.
- Slice the leek transversally: 1/4 inch wide in the white part and 1/2 inch wide in the green part. Rinse the slices in a colander to release any soil. Dry in a cloth or paper towels.
- Melt the butter at medium-low heat in a skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add the oil and heat. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring once in a while, about 5 minutes. Chop the garlic and add to the sautéd leeks. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the peas and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the tarragon, the lemon juice and 2 Tbs chopped dill. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Notes
Sprinkle with some more chopped dill right before serving.
