Well, that certainly sounds like a mouthful of a title, doesn't it?

It's more of a delicious mouthful of a quick weeknight meal title.  But I digress.

This recipe is one I rely heavily on during weeks of poor meal prepping (we all have them) and/or lethargy.  

Sometimes you just don't wanna prep everything on the weekend and have a quick weeknight meal that can be made fresh, without the hours of hassle.

Benefits of Turmeric

This topic is covered in great detail in the guest post by Leonard Parker over on my blog.  

However, it's good to note that turmeric has been proven as a MAJOR anti-inflammatory compound.

Specifically, the curcumin in turmeric works at the cellular level to decrease inflammation.

It's been used for millennia in Asian cultures for its ability to blend well in both sweet and savory dishes.

Turmeric also promotes longevity by decreasing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and brain disease.

It can even be used in beauty regimens to promote healthy skin and nails!

But there's a little trick to gaining all the benefits turmeric boasts...

The key to turmeric success

As with all things science, things get a little complicated when trying to reap turmeric's benefits.

The body doesn't necessarily like to use the curcumin in turmeric without a little help.

Luckily, this easy weeknight dinner unlocks that good-good with one additional ingredient: black pepper.

Yep, you read that right.

One of THE most common ingredients in American cuisine unlocks the health benefits of a spice that Asia has known about for centuries.  

Pretty cool, huh?

This boils down to a term called "bioavailability."  

For all its health benefits, the curcumin in turmeric just simply isn't super bioavailable.

What is bioavailability?

When a substance is easily absorbed in the digestive tract and moved to be used by the body, it is considered highly bioavalable.

Likewise, if it is not easily absorbed by the body, a substance is classified as having low bioavalability.

It's the ability of the body to break down, absorb, and properly use any given nutrient.

In the case of curcumin from turmeric, there is a break down issue.  

The body breaks it down with certain digestive enzymes in the gut so quickly that the full form of it does not pass through the small intestines for anti-inflammatory use in the body.

But when you add black pepper, things change.

There is a substance called piperine in black pepper that stops those enzymes from working.

Stopping those enzymes means curcumin stays put together long enough to pass through the small intestinal wall and be used in its full form by the body.

It's kind of like a chess game, in my opinion.

The logic of this quick weeknight meal

I already use garlic and pepper in basically everything.

They're super common ingredients for almost all cuisines worldwide, and Americans are not an exception.

Heck, they're two of the only ingredients us fast-foodies recognize anymore.

So when I found out that this recipe, which already used black pepper and garlic, could taste good with turmeric... I sorta flipped.

And used a ton of turmeric.

As much as the stuff stains Tupperware, it's hella good for your body.

And you probably shouldn't be using Tupperware, anyway.  Go for glass, if possible. ;)

Anyway... I hope you fall in love with this recipe as much as I have.  

It can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken sausage and vegan by using coconut oil instead of ghee.

I'd call that a win for everyone!

10-minute stir-fry

 

Anti-inflammatory Stir-fry

Prep time: 2 minutes   Cook time: 8-ish minutes   Total time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Directions

Ingredients

  1. Melt ghee in a large pan on the stove over medium heat and crush garlic into it.  Cook the garlic for about a minute, until it is fragrant.
  2. Chop veggies according to ingredients list while ghee is melting, if you don't have the pre-made mix.  Add the veggies to the ghee & garlic.
  3. While veggies are softening on the stove, slice sausage into small pieces.  Sprinkle black pepper and turmeric into cooking veggies.
  4. After the veggies have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the sausage and mix it all together.  Cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in the sauce with the whole mix and allow to cook on low heat for another 2 minutes.
  6. Remove from the stove and serve!
  • 1 package Healthy 8 Veggie Mix from Trader Joe's, OR
    • 4 sticks diced celery
    • 2 diced large carrots
    • 1 cup shredded green cabbage
    • 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
    • 1/4 diced onion
    • 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
  • 1 package (4 links) gluten-free chicken sausage of choice
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ghee (or other healthy cooking fat like coconut oil)