Thaindian News

Sep 20 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Former US President Bill Clinton was a star on the Rachael Ray show today, where he admitted that he is not completely a vegan. Although he has made many major changes in his diet since he stepped down as President of the United States, he admitted to Rachael today on her show that he does not truly stick to the vegan diet religiously.

As Rachael cocks her head to the side and looks at Clinton asking, “have you gone vegan?” He answered, “Close. I’m very careful, because strict vegans not only don’t eat any meat or fish or dairy products, but they don’t ever eat any processed breads and they’re very careful what kind of oil goes into their food. So I, you know, I can’t quite make that. My daughter, who was a vegetarian most of her life, beats up on me to eat more fish so I maybe have fish a little bit, once or twice a month, but I sort of lost the taste for all of it.”

Rachael looked at him again and asked, “So, if you could cheat, if you fell off the bandwagon, what would be your guilty pleasure? Isn’t there anything that you really miss once in a while?”

Clinton bean his answer with a tale of last year’s Holiday Season, “You know, last year at Thanksgiving because my daughter always brings all of her friends who can’t go home for Thanksgiving or come from other countries where they don’t celebrate it. So Chelsea will bring 18 or 20 people home and tell Hillary and me what we have to do to help her cook dinner. So I had, literally, I had one bite of turkey and one bite of ham. A bite. And I didn’t want it, and about once a year I have one bite of steak, and I don’t want it anymore.”

But Clinton did admit that there are two made foods which he will get cravings for. :I do miss omelets,” he shared. “And I get a protein hunger so I, you know, I do eat fish from time to time, a little fish. I’ll eat uh, you know, a couple bites of fish or a little tuna fish if I get hungry.”

Here is a Recipe from Rachael and Clinton’s “Get Healthy Recipes in School” Campaign. It is a Bar-be-Que Turkey Sloppy Joe recipe which is served with Jalapeno relish and Pineapple Slaw.

Ingredients
For the jalapeno relish:

• 1 small dill pickle, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
• 1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

For the pineapple slaw:

• 1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt, regular or low fat (optional)
• 1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 bag store-bought Cole slaw mix (14 ounces) or 1 small head white cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, freshly processed or canned, no sugar added, lightly drained

For the sloppy turkey:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 pounds ground all-white-meat turkey breast
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can tomato sauce (14 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 8 crusty whole grain rolls, split and toasted

Combine all the relish ingredients together and stir to combine.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, ginger, salt and pepper, vinegar and oil. Place the Cole slaw mix and pineapple in a medium size mixing bowl and pour the dressing over top. Toss to coat. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

To make the sloppy turkey, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the turkey into crumbles so that it can brown evenly. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the grill seasoning. Once the turkey begins to brown, 3-4 minutes, add the onions and bell peppers and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. In a bowl, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and hot sauce. Stir the barbecue sauce into the turkey mixture.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mixture bubble for another 5 minutes.

Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile the sloppy turkey onto the toasted bun bottoms, then top with the jalapeno relish and the bun tops. Serve alongside the pineapple slaw.