The headlines in national newspapers this week have been screaming out at us 'one in 7 hospital patients are diabetic!' That's a staggering statistic!
Diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight, too little exercise and an unhealthy diet. 3.8m Britons have diabetes, 100 amputations a week are carried out on patients with diabetes and 24,000 diabetics die early each year.
The processed food diet of the Western world has contributed greatly to the type 2 diabetes epidemic. The rate of type 2 diabetes has increased since processed foods flooded our food supply yet many of us are complacent about this illness assuming it is an irritant that can be fixed with tablets!
Studies have shown that Mediterranean's are some of the healthiest people. A Mediterranean diet is rich in fish, vegetables and fruit and has been advocated by the medical profession, particularly in terms of reducing the risk of diabetes.
The Spaniards adore fish and don't shy away from it as we do here in Britain. Hake, sea bass, salmon and cod are cooked in a variety of ways: with salsa verde, which is made with parsley and peas, or cooked with Seville oranges, lemons, garlic and olive oil, Poached fish served with Mediterranean vegetables, hard boiled eggs and a large dollop of aioli is very popular, it's all a far cry from our misguided, fried to a crisp piece of cod and chips.
In Spain food is often cooked 'a la plancha' this refers to a method of searing food over a very hot metal plate, this method of cooking is similar to barbecuing, however, unlike us Brit's who cook sausages and burgers, the Spanish cook lots of fish and seafood which is far healthier and very tasty! With the barbecue season rapidly approaching it's a good opportunity to start thinking about alternatives to processed burgers and sausages. Fish is easier and quicker to cook and really has the wow factor.
Squid is a divisive ingredient, as a former vegetarian I certainly didn't like the look of the raw squid (above) when faced with it in a Spanish restaurant. If like me you're squeamish, ask your fishmonger to clean and prepare the squid, I assure you if cooked respectfully it's utterly delicious!
Calamari
Recipe
1lb calamari, cleaned and cut into 1 inch rounds and tentacles (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 lemon wedge per person
Heat oil in a pan (cast iron if possible, you want it searingly hot!)
Sear calamari for 2 minutes per side
Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and a wedge of lemon
King prawns
Recipe
8 king prawns
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large lemon
Sea salt
Heat oil in pan, as with calamari, searingly hot
Wash prawns and dry with paper towels
Place prawns in pan, sprinkle with salt, squeeze half of lemon directly on prawns, cook for 2 minutes
Turn prawns over and repeat process, prawns will turn pink and the shells golden
Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon
I had baked trout for lunch at a restaurant which was wrapped in bacon and served with baked potatoes, for trout recipe see post: 'fresh fish Friday'
Cod
Recipe
1 thick slice of fish per person (you can use hake, sea bass, haddock, or turbot
Plain flour
Salt and pepper
Butter
Olive oil
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan
Season the flour and coat fish
Place fish in hot pan, cook for 3 minutes, add butter
Turn fish over and baste with foaming butter until the surface becomes slightly crusty
Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon
'The abundance of cheap food with low nutritional value in the western diet has wreaked havoc on our health; in America, one third of children and two thirds of adults are overweight or obese and are at risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease'
-Ellen Gustafson
Eat well!
Love Donna xxxx
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