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February 2004 Magazine Article
START THE DAY RIGHT << A good breakfast is a healthy thing.
HUNGRY? Think about alderwood smoked salmon with herbed cream cheese on sourdough rye crispbread for lunch. Chicken fajitas quesadilla with a chipotle dipping sauce for dinner. Are these from the menu of a fancy new restaurant? Nope! In fact, this is what I’m preparing in the cab of my “big truck”. My name is Randy Pollak, aka the “OTR Chef”. You may have seen me on the Food Network’s “Emeril Live” television show or in the August edition of “Trucker’s News”. My passion is food; my occupation is truck driver.
Why bother cooking for myself? It’s all about flavor and eating healthy! I’ll be sharing my recipes and heath tips now with truckers everywhere thanks to Trucker’s News.
I do my “cooking in the cab” with a variety of methods. I carry a “single-burner propane stove”; a small BBQ grill; a “lunch-box” stove; and, a “portable toaster oven”. Just one of these cooking devices, available at most truckstops, is all you need to begin cooking healthier meals for yourself. Of course there are some meals you do not need to cook that will help get you on the road to healthier eating; and, that brings us to “breakfast”. Breakfast is the one meal you cannot afford to miss! Consider what researchers have found about breakfast and obesity. Your chances of becoming obese increase by 43% if you wait three hours or more after waking before eating breakfast; 137% if you eat breakfast in a restaurant; and, a whopping 450% if you skip breakfast altogether! “Healthy eating” begins with eating breakfast. With a little shopping at the “Walmart Supercenter” you can have a nutritious and delicious breakfast everyday, in about five minutes, without cooking. In the cereal aisle find a box of “Kashi Go Lean”. Now get some “unsweetened” applesauce, in individual servings, and sliced almonds. Finally, in the pharmacy, get 4-packs of “Carb Solutions” vanilla protein shakes. Don’t forget the “Hefty” 12-ounce plastic bowls. A spoon would help, too. For breakfast, put 1 cup of cereal in the bowl, add a serving of applesauce and about an ounce of the sliced almonds. Pour on the vanilla protein shake and devour. A sprinkling of cinnamon is optional. What you get (nutritionally) is: 10g of monounsaturated “good” fat to help lower your “bad” cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. You get 82% of your daily requirement of fiber and 75% of your daily requirement of protein. The fiber will keep you regular and slow the absorption carbohydrates in your system so that they do not convert into fat. Protein contains essential amino acids for building muscle and satisfies your hunger for hours. Calcium, which we all know “builds strong bones”, also helps your metabolism burn more fat; with this meal you get 78% of your daily requirement. All this from the one meal you used to skip.
What happened to the “Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas with Chipotle Dipping Sauce”? Ok, here’s the recipe:
Chicken Fajitas Quesadillas
Method: Propane burner and skillet or wok
Servings: 2
- Chicken Breast (5-ounces), boneless and skinless, sliced thin
- ½ Yellow Onion, sliced thin
- ½ Poblano Pepper, sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon, Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Whole-grained tortillas (I prefer white corn)
- 1 Slices, Monterey Jack Pepper Cheese
- The juice of one lime
- A teaspoonful of prepackaged fajita seasoning mix.
In a bowl, combine chicken, onion and poblano pepper and toss with limejuice and seasoning. Preheat skillet on moderate heat. Add olive oil and chicken mixture. Cook until chicken is done and vegetables are softened. Set aside. Wipe skillet clean and dry with paper towel. Then cook one side of each tortilla until it begins to brown a bit. Assemble quesadillas by placing a slice of cheese and one-half of the chicken mixture onto the cooked side of the tortilla; fold in half. Repeat with remaining tortilla and chicken. Place folded quesadilla in skillet, side-by-side, and cook until browned. Flip and continue to cook reversed side until browned. Serve immediately with dipping sauce and a tossed salad.
Nutritional Values: Calories: 236; Total Fat: 12.6g; Sat. Fat: 3.8g; Mono Fat: 6.4g; Net Carbs: 11.7g;
Protein: 18.2g
Note: Canned chicken breast or rotisserie chicken works well in this recipe too.
For the “Chipotle Dipping Sauce”, combine ¼ cup of your favorite salsa with 1 or 2 tablespoons of “Heinz Lite Chipotle Mayonnaise” and Voila.
Some of the graphics on this page courtesy of Trucker’s News and eTrucker.
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