More spice, less salt

As with cholesterol, learning about hypertension earlier this year really scared me. Controlling your blood pressure is not a theoretical recommendation: high blood pressure stresses blood vessel walls, increasing their risk of rupturing. Plus, your kidneys, which normally regulate body fluid volume and therefore blood pressure, readjust to whatever new blood pressure you set for them via your diet. I'd rather my kidneys not get used to anything too risky!

Not to sound snotty, but the best way to avoid salt is to avoid processed and prepared foods. As I think of it, restaurants don't have your best interests in mind! They want you to enjoy the food and come back. Only you, cooking at home, have your best interests in mind.

One way to cook with less salt is to seek out more flavorful herbs and vegetables. For example: fresh ginger and garlic instead of soy sauce; toasted instead of salted nuts; roasted vegetables. This means branching out a little, experimenting with some new vegetables and finding a way to use up a bunch of herbs before they go bad, but with practice anyone can get there.

Fennel is anything but bland. Why not try it as your experimental vegetable-of-the-week?

Braised fennel and white beans:

• 1 fennel bulb (sold in packs of two at Trader Joe's)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup white beans, reconstituted, or 1 can white beans
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• dried red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper
• optional garnish for the end: chopped parsley, parmesan

Cut the fennel bulb in half, cut out the hard white core in the middle, and slice the fennel into thin strips (varied thickness is fine). Heat olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and pepper flakes, and cook at medium heat for 1-2 minutes before adding the fennel. Saute until the fennel becomes softer and the garlic is fragrant, adding water as needed to keep from burning (it's okay to let the fennel brown a bit -- it adds flavor and according to our professor is only marginally carcinogenic!). Add the white beans and about 1/2 cup of water (or no-sodium chicken broth) and simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and parsley or parmesan if you like. Maybe you're starting to notice a theme with these recipes.

This would make a great side dish for fish or chicken; being a poor, busy, carless med student, I'm going to eat it on top of barley or pasta. Looks pretty good, no?

The play by play: