Fresh, Healthy Family Meals | The Apopka Voice

Recipes to increase iron levels and plasma donation recovery

(Family Features) Chef Nate Appleman knows the importance of serving healthy meals for your family—ones they actually want to eat. Before having his first child, he changed his eating and exercise habits and lost 85 pounds to pursue a healthier path.

He now cooks meals for his family, including 14-year-old Oliver, who was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease as a toddler – an inflammation of blood vessels that can cause damage to the coronary arteries – as a healthy lifestyle is important to fighting the disease to cope with illness. Since Oliver’s diagnosis, Appleman has made it his personal mission to raise awareness about Kawasaki disease and the urgent need for plasma donations that many people with the disease depend on for treatment. That’s why he’s partnered with Abbott to raise awareness of the need for plasma donations.

Plasma is a powerful part of your blood that supports essential bodily functions. It is a lifeline for thousands of people who are immunocompromised and live with a variety of chronic and complex diseases. In fact, more than 125,000 Americans rely on plasma-derived medicines every day, according to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA).

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a serious shortage of plasma donors – average donations per center in the United States fell by about 11% year-on-year in the first few months of 2021 compared to the previous year, accounting for the nearly 20% drop in donations further deepened 2020 compared to 2019 according to the PPTA.

Donating plasma is a safe and relatively simple procedure. Because plasma is replaced in the body in about 24 hours, it can be donated up to twice a week. With a donation, which typically lasts between 1 and 3 hours, you can make a lasting impact by providing life-saving medicines to patients like Oliver.

It’s a good idea to fuel up on iron-rich foods before and after donating, so Appleman created these fresh, nutritious recipes he loves to serve to his family: Marinated skirt steak, lemon chicken with roasted red onions and potatoes, and cheesy veggie frittata .

Visit bethe1donor.abbott to find out where you can donate.

Marinated skirt steak

Recipe courtesy of Chef Nate Appleman on behalf of Abbott

Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juice only
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 small Thai bird chile or serrano chile, chopped
• 1/4 head finely shaved kale
• 1/4 head finely shaved red cabbage
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced

skirt steak:

• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed skirt steak
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
• salt, to taste
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup crushed peanuts
• 1 lime, quartered, for garnish

1. For the vinaigrette: In a large bowl, combine the oil, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, water, sugar, coriander, lime juice, garlic, and chili. Toss cabbage and carrots in vinaigrette; refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Prepare Skirt Steak: Marinate steak in coconut milk, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, sriracha, and salt to taste for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
3. Preheat grill too high.
4. Grill 3-4 minutes on each side until medium rare.
5. Leave to rest for 3 minutes.
6. Thinly slice steaks against the grain and serve with vinaigrette, rice, and mashed peanuts; garnish with lime wedges.

Lemon chicken with roasted red onions and potatoes

Recipe courtesy of Chef Nate Appleman on behalf of Abbott

Lemon chicken:

• 1 whole chicken, cut into eight pieces
• 1 ounce minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Potatoes:

• 2 1/2 pounds Yukon golden potatoes
• salted water
• oil

Cauliflower:

• 1 head cauliflower
• salted water
• ice cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Roasted onions:

To serve:

• 3 ounces pitted Castelvetrano or green olives, cut into quarters
• 5 ounces wild arugula
• 1 lemon, quartered

1. How to make lemon chicken: Marinate chicken in a mixture of minced garlic, granulated garlic, paprika, smoked paprika, fennel pollen, dried oregano, coriander and salt; leave overnight.
2. Prepare potatoes: Boil the potatoes in heavily salted water until tender. Cool, peel and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Coat with oil; Reservations.
3. Prepare cauliflower: Cut the cauliflower into florets and blanch in salted water for 1 minute; Shock in the ice bath. Remove from the ice and dry. Toss with mayonnaise, tamari, and parsley; Reservations.
4. Prepare fried onions: Preheat oven to 450 F. Peel onion and cut into 1 inch rings. Mix with salt and oil; toast until lightly caramelized with texture. Chill out and reserve.
5. Preheat oven to 450 F.
6. Bake the chicken on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes. Add potatoes and cauliflower. Bake for about 15 minutes, then grill the oven for about 10 minutes.
7. Squeeze the lemon over the reserved onion.
8. When the chicken is crispy and reaches an internal temperature of 165 F, remove from the oven and add the onions and olives. Arrange the chicken, potatoes, onions, olives and cauliflower on the arugula and garnish with lemon.

Cheese frittata with vegetables

Recipe courtesy of Chef Nate Appleman on behalf of Abbott

Roasted Garlic:

• 2 heads of garlic
• olive oil
• salt

Omelette:

• oil
• 2 medium leeks, sliced
• 8 ounces blanched chopped broccoli
• salt, to taste
• 9 eggs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 ounces grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 2 tablespoons cream

1. Prepare Roasted Garlic: Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Snip 1/4 inch from whole heads of garlic and place cut sides down in a 1-quart casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt; cover with lid.
3. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the garlic bulbs are soft and light brown. Allow to cool and then use the back of a knife to squash the garlic out of the pods.
4. Prepare frittata: Lower the oven to 375 F.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Boil leeks until tender; add broccoli, season with salt to taste and remove from heat.
6. In mixing bowl, combine roasted garlic, sautéed leeks and broccoli, eggs, parsley, Parmigiano Reggiano, and heavy cream; Place in a 9-inch cake pan and bake until the top of the frittata is brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2022/01/24/fresh-healthy-family-meals-the-apopka-voice/