Is there such a thing as the healthiest diet in the world?

Yeah, man!

Think of it this way, Mediterranean countries boast delicious food and some of the longest lives lived in the world.

Let's see what all those veggies and great olive oil have to do with living long and well, today on Christina Cooks.

(upbeat music) ♪ (announcer) Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties, sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

♪ Johnathan's Spoons, individually handcrafted from cherry wood.

Each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by... Hi, I'm Christina Pirello, and this is Christina Cooks, where each week we take fresh, seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will they all be plant-based?

Yeah!

Will they all be delicious?

Yeah!

So, the Mediterranean diet, for the tenth year in a row, has been named the world's healthiest diet, and there's a reason for that, everything from great estate olive oil to tons of veggies, beans, and grains.

You can't go wrong.

It's delicious, it's sexy, it's delicious.

It's good for you, it's heart healthy, it's delicious.

And did I mention--okay.

So the first dish we're gonna make has lots of veggies and beans, and it's a starter course, it's a soup.

And it's a very traditional-style soup that we're going to make in a very untraditional kind of way as I often do.

Take some extra-virgin olive oil, about two tablespoons.

Turn on the heat, and add finely diced red onion.

You can use whatever onions you like, shallots, red onions, yellow onions.

I really like red onions because they're sweeter, and also because they're higher in magnesium and potassium than regular onions.

And magnesium, as we know, helps to calm us and make us feel serene, like we're staring out at the Mediterranean ocean.

Okay, I'm getting carried away, anyway.

So you're gonna let the sizzle build on these lovely little onions.

And we're gonna add to that some chopped garlic.

Now, I want strong garlic flavor, so the garlic is finely chopped.

And the reason I want that flavor is because white beans, while they're delicious, can be a little Clark Kent-ish, you know, a little mild, and we want some flavor to pop.

A pinch of salt.

Some crushed red pepper flakes, which honestly, I have to tell you guys, I'm not sure I can cook without crushed red pepper flakes.

I can try, but I don't see the point.

That little bit of spice, which stimulates circulation, makes you sweat just a little bit, is not only delicious, but it's-- it's kinda sexy, you gotta admit.

Right?

Hot spice is kinda sexy.

You don't think of a boring dish, and go, "Ooh, that was sexy."

But something hot and spicy?

We even refer to "sexy" as spicy.

Anyway, I got distracted.

Next goes in celery.

And because I wanna build depth of flavor without using a stock, I use a tiny pinch of salt in between each veggie so that the celery tastes like celery, the onion like onion.

That's why you do it.

But be careful because you're not seasoning here, so you don't wanna get carried away with salt.

Next goes in carrots, finely diced.

Another tiny pinch of salt.

I use a Sicilian flaked salt, and I like it because it literally melts in the dish and becomes part of the flavor.

And it's really hard to over-salt when you use a more delicate salt.

The next thing to go in is potatoes, diced, again, finely diced.

Pinch of salt.

Now I'm done adding pinches.

Now this is gonna just sort of simmer in their own juices for a little bit while I get the rest of the ingredients ready.

And one of the ingredients to go in is a vegan version of sausage.

This is a very popular Tuscan soup that uses beans and meat, but we don't use meat.

We don't cook with meat.

Meat's not good for us.

So, instead, we're gonna use a vegan sausage that's soy-based.

They also have ones that are wheat-based and bean-based.

When you decide to buy vegan sausage, if you decide to do it, which I hope you do, please look for one that contains the least amount of ingredients.

And if they contain ingredients that you can't pronounce, or don't know whether you should eat them or brush your teeth with those ingredients, don't buy that brand.

Buy something else that has whole ingredients that you can identify.

So that's gonna go in.

And then, the last thing before broth are cannellini beans.

Cannellini beans are white beans that are very popular in Italy, but particularly up north.

And they've been clinically studied and proven to help to lower cholesterol, and triglycerides and blood pressure.

So, they're creamy, and rich, and sexy, and they make their own sort of gravy.

They're amazing!

So we're gonna add water.

Now, when I make soup-- a little trick-- I make soup, I just add enough liquid to cover the ingredients.

Let it come to the boil, and cook it, and then add liquid as I need it.

By doing it this way, you concentrate the flavors and get a better flavor in your soup.

Now I started with cooked cannellini beans to make a quick version of the soup.

If you start with dried cannellini beans, which will take about an hour to cook as the soup, you wanna add a bay leaf.

And a bay leaf will help you to digest the beans, so that after eating soup, you're not...musical.

But remember to take the bay leaf out when you season the soup.

So this is gonna cook for about 25 to 30 minutes, and then we'll season it, and you'll see the finished soup.

(upbeat music) ♪ Okay, so, after about 30 minutes, you have this lovely, creamy texture to your soup.

Now we're gonna season it with some white miso, and that's gonna give us the finish of sort of a cheesy flavor.

So I'm gonna take a little bit of hot broth.

Dissolve some white miso in that hot broth.

And you're just doing this so that it's easier, you know, palate-wise.

You don't want somebody biting down on a big, salty lump of miso.

So we're gonna dissolve that.

That goes back into the soup.

And you try not to boil the soup now because that destroys the digestive enzymes that are the reason we eat miso in the first place.

And so, it gets a nice sort of cloudy-ish color, which is really great.

And then we take the final ingredient to the soup, which is some lacinato, or black dinosaur kale.

Trim the edge of the stems, and cut it into really fine ribbons so it cooks quickly.

Now, you don't wanna do this ahead.

You wanna take the kale and cut it into ribbons just as it goes into the soup so you don't lose a lot of nutrients when you cut those greens.

Give it a stir.

And as soon as that kale wilts, like, as soon as it wilts, make sure you take out your bay leaves, which I always forget.

So if you forget them, don't feel bad.

I always, always forget to take out the bay leaves.

So now we're just gonna serve this up.

Oh, I need a ladle.

(dinging) That's good 'cause it made the kale cook down more.

♪ Make a nice, hearty bowl.

And you have an amazing starter course for any feast.

♪ So, I'm so excited, I have a special guest today.

Uh, I have a special guest today.

Does anybody know where Dr. Shah is?

You know, is he, like, coming anytime soon?

Dr. Shah?

(bright music) (inaudible) ♪ (man) Oh, gosh, I thought he'd never leave!

(Christina) There you are!

Are we enjoying coffee with my makeup artist?

(Dr. Shah) Well, a guy's gotta figure out how to get on the show somehow.

(Christina) Oh, clever boy!

So, this is Dr. Shah, who is a cardiologist in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and a dear friend.

And when I invited you onto the show called the World's Healthiest Diet, you said, "Let's make cauliflower pizza!"

And I thought, "Why?"

(Dr. Shah) Why not?

Who doesn't like a good pizza?

-Come on.

-Everybody loves pizza!

Pizza would be my last meal before death.

-It's my comfort food.

-Yes!

(Dr. Shah) That's where I used to-- When I used to study, that was the one thing I wanted, pizza!

(Christina) And you made it from cauliflower?

-No.

-Okay.

(laughing) (Dr. Shah) I actually came up with this recipe because I was looking for an alternative.

Okay.

(Dr. Shah) Your typical pizza dough has gluten in it.

-White flour.

-White flour, and things that people wanna get away from.

-It's high carb density.

-Right.

(Dr. Shah) So, I concocted this recipe.

I was playing around in the kitchen one day, and I said, "How do I get rid of all the bad stuff?"

So, your typical cauliflower crust has parmesan in it.

-And eggs, usually, right?

-Exactly.

-Which I don't eat.

-Right!

(Christina) So you did this for me?

(Dr. Shah) For you!

Only for you!

And I had to use a makeup artist to get to this point.

Oh, my goodness!

All right, how do we do this?

-There's cauliflower.

-Yes.

(Christina) What are you gonna do here?

(Dr. Shah) I'm just gonna say a magic spell.

(Christina) You're gonna say a magic spell, great!

It is the magic of TV.

-Okay, go ahead.

-All right.

So, basically, you take your cauliflower, dice it up a little bit just so you make small pieces.

Throw it in the food processor, rice it up.

Take it out, and then we put it in the oven for about 20 minutes, or so, to kinda get it to dehydrate.

And then, bring it back out.

We'll mix it with almond flour, some other spices.

(Christina) So, show me real quick how to rice it, just a couple pieces so people can see the texture -we're lookin' for.

-Absolutely.

I'll just throw these guys down there.

(Christina) Okay, just give me one more.

-And then you just pulse this?

-Yup!

(spattering) -A little more.

-To get that rice texture that we all know cauliflower rice.

-Exactly.

-So, kind of just like that.

-Is that good for you?

-That looks good.

Yeah, and you might have some small chunks, -but that's okay.

-And then this would go onto this baking sheet -and off into the oven?

-Onto a baking sheet, -throw it right into the oven.

-Okay.

All right, and so, then, after it bakes-- So, it bakes for 15 to 20 minutes at 350.

-Right.

-And then, it cools down, -and then you squeeze it... -Yeah.

-...to remove water?

-That's really important.

You wanna get rid of as much water as you possibly can.

So what I do is just wrap this in a cheesecloth, and just keep working it.

(Christina) But don't you need the moisture to make the crust?

(Dr. Shah) Well, we're gonna add a little bit of water back.

(Christina) Okay, so this helps you -regulate the water?

-Yes, and it also gets rid of that cauliflowerness.

(Christina) Cauliflowerness, that's a new word.

-Good!

Let's do it!

-All right, let's do it.

(Christina) And then you're adding almond flour 'cause you're keeping it -gluten free.

-That's correct.

(Christina) So, you have a cup and a cup so far.

And now you're gonna season it with-- (Dr. Shah) Well, no, we're gonna put in our chia seeds.

-Okay.

-Okay.

(Christina) Carefully measured.

And the chia's gonna swell, so you guys know, the chia's gonna swell, and this is gonna be the egg.

It's gonna swell in the moisture of the cauliflower.

And now, do you want me to add the garlic powder and the onion?

-Yes, by all means.

-And do you add salt?

(Dr. Shah) I do, just a little bit.

-So we have garlic and onion.

-Yup.

(Christina) Or, onion and garlic, depends.

And just a--you add your salt because I know you're very-- -Very particular about that?

-Yes, you are.

That's why I use flake salt, actually, because of you.

And now water.

(Dr. Shah) And you know what?

Let's just throw a little bit of olive oil in there.

(Christina) I forgot the oil, the most important part.

(Dr. Shah) And another healthy ingredient, right?

-Yes!

-Good.

(Christina) So, it's a couple tablespoons, right?

-Exactly.

-And then you're gonna add-- Do you add your water slowly?

(Dr. Shah) Uh, yes, because you're really just trying to get the right consistency.

You see how it's now -starting to bind already?

-Yup, I do.

So, you've got the moisture of the cauliflower and the oil doing that.

So we're gonna give you-- -I'm gonna do just a tiny bit.

-That's good, that's good.

(Christina) So, in a recipe like this, you would add the water, let's say, by the tablespoon, yeah?

Depending on how much you squeezed.

(Dr. Shah) You're gonna get a lot, you're gonna get a lot of water out of the cauliflower.

(Christina) Even after it's roasted?

-Yup.

-Okay.

(Dr. Shah) It's actually amazing how much you'll get out.

(Christina) Get this out of your way so you can press the crust.

-And it's a pressed crust?

-That's correct.

(Christina) Nice!

-And then, what I typically-- -Can I?

-Smell that.

-Oh, it smells really good!

'Cause you don't smell the cauliflower anymore 'cause you squeezed-- squoze, I don't know-- the liquid out.

And so now, really what you taste is -the garlic and the onion.

-Yeah.

-Oh, it's yummy!

-Yeah, and it gets rid of the-- let's use that word again-- -cauliflowerness.

-Cauliflowerness.

Okay, press it.

You don't really need to knead it.

You're not activating the gluten.

(Dr. Shah) But what I do do is I'll let it kinda sit -for about 15 minutes, or so-- -You do?

-Yeah.

-To let the cauliflower rest?

(laughing) No, to let the chia swell, I know.

(Dr. Shah) I know you knew.

(Christina) Pull that over here.

We're gonna try to see if this holds.

-Oh, my goodness.

-It will.

(Christina) You are too much, Rakesh.

Here, I'll hold the paper down.

-So, this is super simple!

-Yeah!

And actually, you can even do this without the parchment paper, and just straight onto the pan.

(Christina) Oh, no, doesn't happen in my world.

-It goes on parchment, sorry.

-Okay, that's all right.

(Christina) You preserve the pan.

And it's important that it's even, not so much that it's round, -so that it bakes evenly.

-Exactly.

(Christina) And then this is gonna go into the oven at -350?

-About 350-ish, or so -for about 20, 25 minutes.

-Okay.

(Dr. Shah) And what you're looking for is a nice, brown edge.

And you'll see the color change slightly to a mild brownness.

(Christina) All right, I'm gonna go put this in the oven.

-I'll be right back.

-Sounds good!

♪ Oh, look at that, isn't that beautiful?

(Christina) It's gorgeous!

So after 25 minutes, you guys can see, you've got that lovely edge that you want.

And now, so you're gonna scoop some of your tomato sauce, -gravy, sorry, it's gravy.

-And taste it.

(Christina) I'm gonna taste it when it's all together.

And when we make pizza in our house, regardless of the crust, after we do this part, right, we garnish it with baby arugula... -Love it, love it, love it.

-...to kind of make a freshness that adds to the mix.

(Dr. Shah) And for people who wanna add cheese, go right ahead.

(Christina) No!

No!

-No!

No, Rakesh!

-I know it's not in your world, but I gotta also think about everybody else.

(Christina) Everyone else shouldn't eat cheese either.

(laughing) All right, so do we wanna drizzle this with olive oil -after our arugula goes on?

-Sure, why not?

(Dr. Shah) Yeah, you could do a little baby-- -a little balsamic.

-You want balsamic vinegar or oil?

-Uh, both.

-Both?

So, a little balsamic, here, drizzle away.

Hold that little chain back.

Ooh, lovely!

A little olive oil.

All right, I take it back.

I take it back, Dr. Shah.

This is a beautiful cauliflower pizza.

-And completely yummy!

-Yes.

And if you wanted to add other veggies, you can throw it back into the oven for another 20 minutes, or so, let everything bake and cook, and then it really turns out amazing.

-This is awesome!

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-You bet, this was awesome!

(Christina) Cauliflower pizza, you guys.

It really is good.

♪ One of the things we do best in American culture is demonize ingredients when we find out they might have a detrimental effect on us.

It's as though we're looking for the one little thing that takes away our health, when, in fact, it's much more big picture.

But let's talk about salt.

Salt is one of the biggest ingredients to be demonized on the planet.

What do we do?

Do we use it?

Not use it?

People take it away.

Salt's job in cooking is to tenderize food and enhance the flavor, so that it tastes like itself, only better.

So, when salt isn't in food, we miss it.

We think things taste flat.

But when we eat a lot of processed food, we get a ton of added salt that then results in hypertension and all the things we associate with too much salt.

So what's the deal with salt, really?

Should we use it, should we not use it?

Salt actually helps to keep our muscles tight.

It's our seawater.

It helps to keep our blood healthy in good amounts.

It keeps our skin from becoming too flaccid.

It really is a healthy ingredient if it's used in cooking.

You never add it at the table.

You use salt in your cooking.

If you make a dish that's flat, and you get to the table, tough.

Learn how to season.

So, there's a ton of salts, so let's go through them and see what's out there, among other things.

This is red salt and black salt from Hawaii.

They're lava salts, and what they are is higher in minerals than a white salt.

This one's higher in potassium, higher in magnesium.

A quarry salt is pink Himalayan salt, really delicious, sweet.

But this quarry salt is from a quarry that used to be part of the ocean and now is a quarry, so it has a little more potassium.

Then we have things like flavored salts, garlic salt, onion salt.

This is a smoked salt, which is really nice on grilled veggies.

Then, we have the salt that should be in your pantry every single day, white sea salt that's a little bit moist and clumpy, so you know it's unrefined.

These are the salts you cook with every single day.

♪ So, world's healthiest diet or not, life is not complete if there's not a little bit of sweetness added.

So we're gonna make a lemon pound cake with a blueberry compote.

Wait, what?

You heard me.

So, in this pan, I have fresh blueberries.

I guess you could use frozen, but fresh are so much nicer and a little tart.

We're gonna add a little bit of brown rice syrup, which is a fermented glucose-based sweetener that gives us a lovely sort of butterscotch flavor.

Tiny bit of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

And this is gonna simmer just until the blueberries break down, which should be not even minutes, right, okay.

Next, we're gonna make the batter.

And the batter is six tablespoons of coconut sugar, carefully measured.

Hearty.

Don't be doin' that thing where you put the knife across your tablespoons.

Just sort of six.

Baking is not as precise as people would have us believe.

The next thing I do is my favorite kitchen trick in the world, which is freeze your lemons, and then when a recipe calls for lemon zest and/or juice, you take this frozen lemon, and you grate straight through the skin, the pith, right into the flesh, and you get this amazing-- and I mean amazing-- lemon perfume.

I mean, the smell is so great.

And, yes, you should choose organic lemons for this 'cause you're grating it right into your food.

But you can see I grated right through into the flesh of the lemon.

And you want about two tablespoons of lemon for this recipe.

Okay, that's that.

Next thing to go in is pure vanilla extract.

And then a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil.

You can also use vegan butter in this.

Actually, it's gonna be a half cup.

Oops, half cup, not a quarter cup.

You can also use vegan butter for this, but I find that I get a really light, tender crumb when I use oil as opposed to vegan butter, but know that you can use it, it's fine.

Either way, it's just fine.

Then I'm gonna whisk these things together to start blending, and it'll make almost like a paste.

(whisking) Blueberries are simmering.

(whisking) To this, I'm going to add arrowroot, about a tablespoon.

And then, a teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda.

And this is gonna help the cake to have some lift.

(tapping) But to really make sure that your cake rises, I like to use an egg replacer.

So you just take a tablespoon-- in this particular one that I use, a tablespoon is the equivalent of an egg.

Add a little bit of water.

It says that you need to soak it for a minute or two, but I never do.

(whisking) This goes in.

Whisk again.

(whisking) Now, everything's in here except a pinch of salt to make your cake sweet.

And you should smell lemon.

Great.

Now we'll add to this, two cups of sprouted whole wheat flour.

I use a half-cup measure, I know it's weird, but when I bake, I use very small measuring cups, and I find that it gives my baking sort of a-- a small-batch feel.

I'm actually gonna use two and a half cups.

Okay.

Then we'll add a cup of water.

Now, you can bake with any of the non-dairy milks that exist.

My experience is that I get a lighter, tender crumb if I use water, and the texture doesn't suffer.

The cakes are yummy.

So you're gonna whisk this until it's smooth.

Now, depending on how you store your flour, you may need a little bit more liquid, but you judge it by starting with about a cup.

You need a nice, smooth batter.

We've used a cup and a half now.

Then go in here with a spatula and clean out the whisk.

See, this is why I don't whisk.

This stuff right here.

Now, you mix the batter until it's nice and smooth.

It's gonna go into a prepared, meaning oiled, Bundt pan.

I love Bundt cakes.

They make me laugh.

Goes right into the pan.

And what you wanna do after your batter is in the pan, you wanna take your spatula and make sure that the batter is even.

And do this gently so you don't take all the air outta your batter.

(tapping) And then this is gonna go into the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.

♪ Once our cake is cooled... ...you're gonna go in... ...cut a nice hearty slice.

It's beautiful!

Just beautiful!

Then we're gonna take some cooled compote... ...and just scoop that right over top.

And if this isn't part of the world's healthiest diet, I'm not really sure what is.

♪ So what are you waiting for?

Let's get back to the cutting board, and I'll see you next time on Christina Cooks the Macroterranean Way.

♪ ♪ (announcer) Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties, sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

Jonathan's Spoons.

Individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by... You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at christinacooks.com, and by following Christina on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The companion cookbook, The Macroterranean Way, combines the Mediterranean diet with the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine, allowing us to understand how food affects us so we can cook deliciously while creating the wellness we want.

To order your copy for $14.95 plus handling, call 800-266-5815.

Add Back to the Cutting Board and Christina's iconic Cooking the Whole Foods Way, and get all three books for $49.95 plus handling.

Call 800-266-5815.

♪ (bright music)