What to Eat (& Drink) When You've Eaten Too Much

Light, refreshing post-holiday fare

Readers, I hope you had a lovely holiday, whether you spent a festive time with family and/or friends, or enjoyed a quiet day at home.

Usually on Christmas day, we’ve done the familiar ritual known as “Jewish Christmas,” which consists of going out for Chinese food (vegan in our case) and a movie. But since Covid, we’ve been doing this at home with Chinese take-out and a streamable movie.

But since it was also the first night of Hanukkah, I wanted to serve a homemade meal. It was just what I call “the original four” — my adult son and daughter & husband — plus the Vietnamese college student we sponsor. We watched The Whale (which everyone liked except me — I found it so unrelentingly dark). This is what we had for our meal:

• Roasted Vegan Sausage with Fennel and Polenta

• Vegan Potato Kugel (of course, Vegan Latkes are more traditional to the Hanukkah, but this is like one big latke)

• An improvised coleslaw with cabbage, leafy greens, apples, and pumpkin seeds

• And for dessert …

I haven’t made this Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cake for ages. It’s so easy, and a nice choice when you want something just a little more festive than brownies but less of a project than fancier cakes.

Altogether, it was a cozy and relaxing Christmukkah day, for which I am immensely grateful.

. . . . . . . . .

And so, onto the promised subject of this post, What to Make & Eat When You’ve Eaten Too Much. I don’t think any of us felt like we ate too much yesterday ; vegan food goes down easy, even meals like this one that are heftier than our everyday fare. Even so, it will feel good to focus on clean, refreshing fare for the rest of the week.

Whether you’ve been partying too much, or have been gravitating to starchier comfort foods starting around Thanksgiving, or just want to get a running start to lightening up before turning the calendar page to a new year (and Veganuary), here are a few favorite recipes for feeling leaner and cleaner.

Cucumber-Ginger Lemonade

If you’re regretting a food blow-out or just want to feel extraordinarily refreshed, you’ll love this cucumber-ginger lemonade.

It’s all about the hydration. The high water content (they’re 90% water, in fact) of cucumbers might make them less nutrient-dense than, say, kale, but they have still have plenty of food value.

Ingredients

• 1 medium cucumber, organic and unwaxed,
  or 1/2 long hothouse cucumber

• 2 cups water

• 2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

• Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh or bottled ginger, or to taste

• Mint leaves, as desired, optional

• Ice cubes, as desired

Instructions

1. Cut the cucumber in half. Peel one half and cut into large chunks; leave the second one intact, don’t peel.

2. For the second half of the cucumber, if you have a spiral slicer use the widest blade (not the one that makes noodle shapes) to create long, super-thin spirals. Or use a mandoline to do something similar. If you have neither, simply slice this piece of cucumber into very thin rounds.

3. Combine the cucumber chunks in a blender with the water, juice, lemon juice, and ginger. Process until smoothly blended.

4. Transfer the mixture to a liter or larger jar or carafe and add the spiralized or sliced cucumber. Or, if using right away, divide the spiralized or sliced cucumber between 4 large tumblers. Either way, serve over ice, garnished with mint leaves, if you’d like.

Kale, Avocado & Banana Smoothie

A few sources I browsed suggested potassium-rich foods to fight bloat, and banana and avocado are right up there. I love green smoothies and this is a reminder to me to make them more often. Oh my gosh, I haven’t made this is in ages — I’m going to do just that as soon as I hit the “send” button!

Enjoy this to start your day or as a mid-day energy booster. If using kale or collards, you’ll need to use a high-speed blender. Spinach will work in a regular blender.

Try it with hemp seeds: These protein-packed little seeds are entirely optional, but highly recommended.

• 2 medium kale or collard leaves, torn, or 2 big handfuls of baby spinach

• 1 medium banana

• 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks

• 1 cup plain or vanilla plant-based milk

• 1 cup fruit juice (orange, mango, pineapple, etc.)

• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds, optional

• A few ice cubes

Instructions

1. If using kale or collards, strip the leaves away from the stems. Discard the stems and tear the leave into large pieces. Rinse in a colander. If using triple-washed baby spinach, no need to do anything with it.

2. Combine the greens with the remaining ingredients in a blender (you can blend the ice into the smoothie or serve it over ice, as you prefer).

3. Blend until completely smooth. Thin with a little plant-based milk or juice if you’d like the smoothie to be less dense.

4. Divide between 2 to 3 glasses and serve at once.

Orange and Watercress Salad with Bok Choy
or Belgian Endive

The ingredients for this lively salad might suggest “spring has arrived, but they’re available year-round, and combined are a treaty for our winter-weary palates.

Other produce in this bracing salad includes a choice of baby bok choy or Belgian endives; watercress or green sprouts; red cabbage; and cucumber. The salad is topped with toasted nuts and dressed in an orange-lemon vinaigrette. This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 baby bok choy or Belgian endives, thinly sliced

• 1 small bunch watercress leaves or a big handful of green sprouts (like pea shoots)

• 1/2 medium cucumber, sliced

• 1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 2 small sweet seedless oranges, such as clementines

Orange Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• Juice of 1/2 orange

To finish

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted if desired

Instructions

1. Combine the salad ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss together.

2. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and stir together.

3. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette, and season gently with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the salad to a serving platter and top with the nuts. Let stand for a few minutes so that the flavors can blend, then serve.

Braised Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms

This simple dish features two ingredients that are made for each other and takes just minutes to make. Serve this lovely side dish with Asian-style tofu or noodle dishes. It's good on its own or over rice.

Use any kind of bok choy: Baby bok choy of any size is fine in this recipe. So is the other kind of bok choy with the large white stalks and darker green leaves. The latter seems to be more commonly found in supermarkets.

For lots more on this versatile vegetable, see this site's Guide to Bok Choy. And here are dozens of Delectable Plant-Based Bok Choy Recipes. This recipe makes 3 to 4 moderate servings.

Ingredients

• 8 stalks regular bok choy, 2 medium baby bok choy, or 4 to 6 tiny bok choy
  (8 ounces total, whichever you use)

• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed, and sliced

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water with 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube

• 1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh or jarred ginger

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. For regular bok choy, slice the stems and chop the green leaves roughly. For any size baby bok choy, slice through the stems and leaves. Rinse either variety well in a colander — there's sometimes grit in the stems.

2. Combine the shiitakes in a pan with the broth or water with bouillon cube. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until just tender.

3. Stir in the ginger, then add the bok choy. Cook for just a minute or two until wilted and heated through. Bok choy cooks quickly and is best with a little crunch.

4. Combine the cornstarch in a cup with just enough water to dissolve. Stir together and drizzle into the pan. Cook until the liquid is thickened, then remove from the heat.

5. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once in shallow bowls or over a hot cooked grain.

Quick Tofu Vegetable Soup with Napa Cabbage

Today’s theme wouldn’t be complete without a soup, so here’s one of my go-to’s when I want a light soup, proto. Following a quick onion sauté, the remaining ingredietns — cabbage, mushrooms, baby corn, snow or snap peas, and tofu need only the briefest of time on the stove.

I prefer napa cabbage in this soup; it’s usually available in well-stocked supermarkets. Good swap-ins are ordinary green cabbage, savoy cabbage, or large bok choy stalks.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dark sesame or neutral vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced

• 4 to 5 thinly sliced napa or savoy cabbage leaves

• 1 cup thinly sliced small white or cremini mushrooms

• 15-ounce can baby corn, with liquid (precut baby corn is convenient,
  but if whole, cut each in half)

• 32-ounce carton vegetable broth + 2 cups water,
  or 6 cups water with 2 vegetable bouillon cubes

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, or more, to taste

• 2 teaspoons minced fresh or bottled ginger

• Freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1 cup or so snow peas or snap peas, trimmed (halved if large)

• 14-ounce tub firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over low heat until golden.

2. Add the remaining ingredients except the snow peas and tofu. Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat. Simmer over low heat with the cover ajar for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cabbage is just tender.

3. Stir in the snow peas and tofu. Adjust the consistency with water if the broth is too crowded. Heat until piping hot and serve at once.

. . . . . . . . .

More ideas for feeling lighter and de-bloating: Various sources around the web suggest lots of filtered water (duh, but it does work), coconut water, potassium-rich foods like avocado and banana (see the smoothie combining these two, above); peppermint and ginger teas; asparagus (which seems to have become a year-round vegetable) and a few non-food things like walking, epsom salt baths, and using a foam yoga roller. Basically, eat less and move more for a few days, hydrating foods, no alcohol … all common sense.

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