Jamie's Super Food (2015) s01e03 Episode Script
Kebabs, Veggie Burger and Salad
Superfood, for me, is a new way of thinking.
It's not about goji berries and green drinks.
It's about cooking smart with simple foods that are nutritious and delicious.
I think it can be really confusing these days.
There's such a lot of kind of noise about what is and what isn't healthy.
'So in this show, I'm going to some of the healthiest places 'in the world, where people live the longest, 'to find out what they eat' So good.
'.
.
and how they live.
' It's like a pantry of heaven.
'From the jungles of Costa Rica' It's like a gobstopper in your mouth.
'.
.
to the islands of Greece' This is what life's all about -- the old, the very young, all having a party, great food.
'.
.
and Japanese city life.
' Oh-ho-ho! It's really, really good.
'They're all using humble ingredients to make some of the simplest 'and tastiest dishes I've eaten.
' It's so incredible.
'Inspired by what I've learned, I'm going to show you the tricks 'and tips to build my version of superfood into your life I really love eating this kind of food.
Full of life, gorgeous.
'.
.
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
' I don't want you to eat healthy food because you have to.
I want you to eat healthy food because it's delicious.
This is not a faddy diet.
This is about fact, nutrition, science.
This is about food coming together in a really beautiful way that's healthy and nutritious.
But what does a day of superfood look like? There are five places in the world where experts reckon they've got it right and tonight I'm visiting two of them.
Greece provides the inspiration for lunch -- kebabs with a superfood twist -- bursting with big, beautiful, sunshine flavours.
So damn tasty! And inspiration for dinner comes from Japan, but with one magic ingredient that elevates it to superfood status.
Something a little bit different.
Really delicious.
An incredible superfood day, high in nutrients and all for under 1,600 calories.
So plenty of room for healthy snacks and treats too.
But let's start off with my own version of a superfood breakfast.
The most important meal of the day for sure.
When I've gone around the world to see the people that live the longest, most productive lives, they all have breakfast.
My popovers are chunky, savoury pancakes, packed with a quarter of your daily protein needs.
Three of these golden beauties will keep you full up until lunch and will rock in at only 189 calories.
Smoky ham, tomatoes, curds of cottage cheese and parmesan.
It's really, really good.
First up, it's kind of a batter.
One egg.
Then one heaped tablespoon of whole-wheat flour, so I'm trading up from the white flour to whole-wheat.
So we've got nice fibre in there.
Fibre fills you up and is essential for keeping your digestion tiptop.
Then I'm going to go for two tablespoons of cottage cheese.
It's high in protein and the lowest in fat.
So really, really useful.
That's our basic batter.
Now, on this, we can riff off of it.
I'm going in with some chopped mushrooms and a tomato.
And then last but not least, one slice of beautiful, smoked ham.
By finely slicing, you're going to get delicious smoky flavour throughout the whole dish, using one little slice of ham and then that's it, all done.
So, we've got a large non-stick pan on a medium-low heat.
No oil.
We're just being clever with cooking.
Drop six equal spoonfuls of batter into your hot, non-stick pan.
Now, we want to dip these little bad boys in something gorgeous and sumptuous.
Dollop a tablespoon of plain live yoghurt and make a little well in it.
And then we want to fill it with something that's going to kick-start your day in a beautiful way and taste great, so we're going to go in with some chilli sauce.
It kind of marbles that fiery chilli with that incredible fresh yoghurt.
Delicious.
After a couple of minutes, these protein-packed popovers are ready to flip.
You want the outside crispy and golden, and the inside is kind of like gooey and sort of curdy and lovely.
So these have had a couple of minutes on each side, but I want to add one more bomb of flavour and texture, and it's a cool little trick.
Place your golden popovers to one side.
Put your pan back on the hob, but turn the heat off and grate a thin layer of parmesan cheese into it.
Plop these fritters onto that little, small amount of parmesan and it's tricks like that that kind of give you big flavour, big texture, but it's not sending sort of the calories off the chart.
So look at that.
That is like filthy, filthy, naughty, but it's not, it's completely balanced and healthy.
Let's plate it up.
So to go with this, er, we're going to do a little salad.
I know it might seem weird thinking or even talking about salad and breakfast, but there's many countries around the world that get their veggies in in the morning.
I'm dressing some mixed leaves with a squeeze of lemon.
Finish with a burst of vitamin C from some strawberry slices.
Something a little bit different.
Try it because it really, really works.
Cheesy, moreish, protein-packed popovers and at only 189 calories per portion.
I'm going to have a little try.
Mm! Really, really good.
A delicious start to the day and, if you get breakfast right, the chances are you're going to get the rest of the day right.
For these recipes and more, go to To investigate what superfood can do for all of us, I've travelled to the beautiful, sunny, turquoise waters of the Greek Islands to visit a gem of an island called Ikaria.
People here live up to ten years longer than anywhere else in Europe and America.
Beautiful.
To see what they're doing right, I've been invited to join Tula, one of the best cooks on the island, on a shopping trip, Ikarian style, and we're foraging for wild greens and herbs.
We've just picked some wild oregano.
It does smell incredible.
Got some fennel down there.
Myrtle.
It's like kind of little mini bay leaves.
Delicious.
Mate, it's it's like a pantry of heaven.
There's just stuff everywhere.
There are over 150 varieties of wild greens and herbs growing on Ikaria, all packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which experts think could hold one of the keys to the locals' longevity.
Just I mean, just look at that.
Beautiful greens, all wild.
This is what they're kind of sucking up.
That's what's going into their bodies.
It's not like we're using this as a little garnish.
You know, this is the bulk, the density of pies and dishes and soups.
Right.
Let's go and do a bit of cooking now.
Ikarians eat a Mediterranean diet -- plenty of vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, the occasional red meat -- which seems to be working wonders for Tula's family.
Four generations all eat together, and on the menu tonight, a traditional dish, hortopita -- little pies filled with wild greens.
This is beautiful, isn't it? You got all those flavours from the herbs.
You know, they've got elements of sort of bitterness, which is kind of a flavour that we've forgotten and balanced with the onion and the squash, it's really, really clever.
To complete these traditional little pies, local feta cheese is stirred in and the filling is ready to be parcelled up into pastry dough, which is then fried in a little olive oil.
But it seems my pastry skills aren't quite up to scratch.
SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN Here she comes.
Now the big guns have come in.
She's going to prepare, er, the last, because she's the expert.
88 years old.
Still in charge of the kitchen.
Hands like a demon.
The guys here are getting it right.
You know, statistics speak for themselves.
You know, these guys are consuming huge amounts of vegetables and especially herbs and all those wonderful greens that you saw today.
So get plenty of the green stuff and big up the herbs.
Mm! That filling, all the wild greens that we picked, is so incredible with the squash and the pastry.
- It's like a total - Good, nice? It's really good.
I love it.
And they're not just delicious.
Many of these wild greens have far greater vitamin and mineral density than shop-bought lettuce, particularly vitamin C and vitamin A.
It's no wonder the people of Ikaria are still thriving at a ripe old age.
This is the way I'd want to get old -- surrounded by my family.
In my superfood day, I'm maxing out on the Ikarians' hero ingredient -- herbs and greens.
I managed to pump up the nutritional value of my breakfast popovers with some added salad, but now I'm going to super-charge my lunch with the power of herbs.
I want to bring together some of the things that I really, really love -- kebabs and garlic bread in a lovely little mixed salad, fruit -- it's going to be gorgeous.
Greek-inspired, herb-marinated chicken kebabs on a fragrant salad of sweet orange slices and tangy feta.
Light on fat content but full of flavour and only 444 calories per portion.
Thinly slice two chicken breasts and cut two chunks of bread.
Now let's do the marinade.
Let's get the garlic bread vibe going.
We're going to introduce some big flavour to our kebabs with some aromatic rosemary.
So, look, let's just take off the rosemary from this stick here, but what we're left with is actually a potential skewer.
Pinch of salt, in you go.
Might as well do pepper while we're there.
Have a look at that.
See what happens in there.
You just bashed out the flavour and the natural oils, and it smells just outrageous.
One or two cloves of garlic.
An amazing natural antiseptic and really, really good for you.
Add some extra virgin olive oil, some white wine vinegar and pour all over the chicken and bread.
Then get in there and massage it up.
Sprinkle over a generous pinch of cayenne pepper and thread onto your rosemary skewers, along with herb number two -- bay leaves.
What we've created there is texture, tenderness, flavour.
I don't need to put any oil in this pan because I've got oil on the marinade.
To help these cook quicker and go gorgeously golden, place a plate on top of the kebabs to weigh it down.
Cook for three to four minutes on each side.
And that little bit of weight, you can hear, "Sh-sh!" You're going to get a nice kind of caramelised, crispy, flat surface on the bread, on the chicken.
Now, let's talk salad.
When we came back from Ikaria in Greece, it was really obvious to see that they embrace greens and herbs like no-one else.
So nice big handfuls of spinach.
Rocket, I've got in there as well.
We've got dill.
Beautiful.
We've got mint.
Mint in salads is absolutely my favourite herb.
And then a little parsley.
Really, really nice.
Just rip some in.
Finally, a sprinkling of edible thyme flowers.
Dress the salad with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of lemon juice.
Here's a thing, right? In spinach and quite a few of these greens is some nice iron, right? But the iron is absorbed into your body much more efficiently in the presence of vitamin C.
So with the lemon juice, it's just going to get the good stuff into you really efficiently, which is a good thing.
Iron will keep your red blood cells nice and oxygenated.
And keep that vitamin C coming with some thinly sliced oranges to go on top of your greens.
It's really going to fill your mouth with some amazing flavours.
Time to serve up.
Then the chicken.
Whoa! Beautiful colour! So I'm just going to place this on our salad.
Beautiful.
So, with a little bit of a homage to our Greek brothers and sisters -- feta.
Finally, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to finish.
And that, my friend, is a super salad of superfood.
450 calories, do you know what I mean? So damn tasty.
Right, let's try some.
Mm! Really, really good.
The thing is, that's a big old plate of food.
You're going to get full up.
You've got all the good stuff.
That is a great dish.
Enjoy.
Give it a go.
'Coming up, I head to the Japanese island of Okinawa to learn 'an ancient secret of some of the world's longest living people' It's incredible.
It's artisanal.
It's totally diverse in the way you can use it.
'.
.
and I'll knock up a beautiful burger, 'bolstered by a healthy homemade ketchup.
' Celebrating veg and tofu.
Really, really nice.
My wish is that through incredible, tasty food, I can inspire you to live a longer, happier, healthy life.
I'm cooking a day's worth of gorgeous meals, packed with vital nutrients.
So far in our super food day, we've had gorgeous, crispy, protein-packed popovers for breakfast.
And inspired by my trip to Ikaria, herb-marinated chicken and garlic bread kebabs for lunch.
Next on my journey to find out how to get more super foods into our lives, I'm heading to Japan.
On the island of Okinawa, a bustling metropolis and rugged coral beaches support one of the longest-living populations on the planet.
There's a super food ingredient that they eat more of than anywhere else in the world, and today I'm due to visit a revered master in the art of its production.
He starts work at 4am every day, but before I meet him, I'm taking part in another of Japan's early morning rituals.
Radio Exercise is a workout programme that is broadcast nationwide every morning.
And it's something that the Japanese, young and old, have been participating in for nearly 100 years.
I guess this is all about stretching and flexibility.
This lady here's 93.
Oop! They learn these exercises in primary school.
So kids across the whole country do it.
And it's great.
Our kids should be doing it in Britain.
Daily exercise coupled with a healthy diet seems to be working wonders for Okinawans.
And there's one food they champion more than any other.
Okinawans eat more tofu than anyone else in the world and if you're not sold on tofu yet, then bear with me, because it's incredible.
Really, really nutritious, and I'm going to get to meet a third-generation tofu maker that still makes it by hand.
55-year-old Shigaru Nagado is one of the dwindling numbers of artisan producers.
He starts with dried soya beans, grinds them up and makes it into a milk, which is then heated, split and made into tofu.
And I'm about to taste it freshly made.
A rare treat.
This is an opportunity that no-one gets! Ooh! Oh-ho-ho! It's really, really good.
The depth of flavour is unbelievable.
Mm! This is the best tofu I've ever had in my life.
How important is tofu to Japan and Okinawan culture? When are you going to retire? Whoo! So a few more years to go? One of the reasons Shigaru, his dad and Okinawans young and old may be living such healthy lives is because in a diet with very little meat, tofu is an important sauce of protein.
It's naturally lower in saturated fat, and helps lower cholesterol.
If we're talking about the longevity and health of Okinawans, it's kind of impossible to rule out the important connection with tofu.
It's so prolific in their diet.
It's such an incredible protein.
This is definitely something that we should get in our life.
Definitely.
OK, dinner.
I'm going to keep embracing the tofu, just like back in Japan.
It's great value, really high in calcium, protein, and low in fat.
So let's try and find a way to love it.
And a burger, it's just the best way.
A fast food favourite, but not as you know it.
It's a gorgeous, golden patty, stacked with cheese, pickles and home-made sauce, on a bed of crunchy rainbow salad.
And all for only 425 calories a portion.
You can now get tofu in most supermarkets, and our first job is to squeeze some of the moisture out of it.
You want to remove about four tablespoons of liquid.
Losing some of the water content ensures some lovely crispy edges when the tofu cooks.
Add some wholemeal breadcrumbs, and crack in an egg.
We're going to use flavouring from an old friend.
So I want two teaspoons of Marmite.
And that's the great thing about tofu.
It's a great carrier of flavour.
You could swap Marmite out and put pesto in.
You could swap pesto out and you could put miso in.
But this recipe is a good base and it gives you a good texture when you put it in a bun and put it in your gob.
Shape into four patties, and it's time to cook them.
I've got an amazing tip that's going to add a load of warm, herbal flavour and more crunchy texture to my burgers.
Rosemary, when it gets fried in oil, incredible things happen.
It's kind of turns into, like, little crisps.
Now it's time to knock up a vitamin-packed, home-made ketchup.
Roughly chop some lovely, ripe tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Definitely, I like a little bit of spice, so some dried flakes of chilli here, and then what other things make a kind of ketchup work? Acidity.
That kind of that sort of piquance.
So red or white wine vinegar.
About a tablespoon.
Tear in some fresh basil and help the sauce break down with a potato masher.
Look how quickly that's happening! After three minutes, flip your burgers.
Look at these.
I mean, they're looking really good.
Great colour.
Crispy.
Soft and sort of nice in the middle.
Kind of quite excited about that.
Next, classic burger territory -- cheese.
To add calcium, but also I want to keep it light on calories.
50 grams is all we need.
So to complete this meal, we want to kind of do a hybrid of a slaw-cum-salad, cum kind of shred vibe going on.
Eating a wide range of colours will provide a spectrum of super nutrients.
So I'm using all sorts of crunchy veg.
Sliced, chopped, ribboned, and for some real retro fun, crinkle-cut.
You get kind of crinkle-cut chips.
Yay! This reminds me of an '80s perm.
I don't know why.
And once we've done that, let's just get in there, mix it up.
Next, a dressing for my salad.
Plain live yoghurt.
Good for your digestion.
A handful of basil leaves, Dijon mustard, a splash of white wine vinegar.
Some salt.
Just a little bit.
And chilli.
Whizz it up until smooth.
And drizzle over the rainbow salad.
I'm using warm wholemeal buns.
On average, double the fibre of white buns.
Covered in that tangy tomato sauce with your cheesy tofu patty resting on top.
And no burger is complete without pickles.
And then the lid.
Go on! Get stuck in there.
So look, there you go.
Really healthy.
Totally balanced.
We've got all of those elements.
We got carbohydrates, protein, fruit, veg, and dairy.
Yeah! 425 calories of goodness.
Mm! The tomato sauce is delicious.
Texture in there, it's soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.
That, my friend, with the salad, unbelievable.
Something a little bit different and really delicious.
And quite messy.
I like it.
So there you have it.
Soft golden breakfast popovers.
For lunch, a healthy, herby, fruity take on kebabs.
And for dinner, a burger that's busting with goodness.
A whole day's worth of delicious, nutritious food and all for under 1,600 calories.
It's all about filling your bodies with the good stuff.
That's super food.
Next time, an unusual super food ingredient in Greece gives me an idea for a healthy spin on a comfort food classic.
Enjoy this beautiful skinny carbonara.
It's spectacular.
And hanging out with some of Costa Rica's toughest cowboys It's just like Essex.
.
.
inspires a powerhouse bean stew like you've never tasted.
You've got to give that a try.
It's not about goji berries and green drinks.
It's about cooking smart with simple foods that are nutritious and delicious.
I think it can be really confusing these days.
There's such a lot of kind of noise about what is and what isn't healthy.
'So in this show, I'm going to some of the healthiest places 'in the world, where people live the longest, 'to find out what they eat' So good.
'.
.
and how they live.
' It's like a pantry of heaven.
'From the jungles of Costa Rica' It's like a gobstopper in your mouth.
'.
.
to the islands of Greece' This is what life's all about -- the old, the very young, all having a party, great food.
'.
.
and Japanese city life.
' Oh-ho-ho! It's really, really good.
'They're all using humble ingredients to make some of the simplest 'and tastiest dishes I've eaten.
' It's so incredible.
'Inspired by what I've learned, I'm going to show you the tricks 'and tips to build my version of superfood into your life I really love eating this kind of food.
Full of life, gorgeous.
'.
.
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
' I don't want you to eat healthy food because you have to.
I want you to eat healthy food because it's delicious.
This is not a faddy diet.
This is about fact, nutrition, science.
This is about food coming together in a really beautiful way that's healthy and nutritious.
But what does a day of superfood look like? There are five places in the world where experts reckon they've got it right and tonight I'm visiting two of them.
Greece provides the inspiration for lunch -- kebabs with a superfood twist -- bursting with big, beautiful, sunshine flavours.
So damn tasty! And inspiration for dinner comes from Japan, but with one magic ingredient that elevates it to superfood status.
Something a little bit different.
Really delicious.
An incredible superfood day, high in nutrients and all for under 1,600 calories.
So plenty of room for healthy snacks and treats too.
But let's start off with my own version of a superfood breakfast.
The most important meal of the day for sure.
When I've gone around the world to see the people that live the longest, most productive lives, they all have breakfast.
My popovers are chunky, savoury pancakes, packed with a quarter of your daily protein needs.
Three of these golden beauties will keep you full up until lunch and will rock in at only 189 calories.
Smoky ham, tomatoes, curds of cottage cheese and parmesan.
It's really, really good.
First up, it's kind of a batter.
One egg.
Then one heaped tablespoon of whole-wheat flour, so I'm trading up from the white flour to whole-wheat.
So we've got nice fibre in there.
Fibre fills you up and is essential for keeping your digestion tiptop.
Then I'm going to go for two tablespoons of cottage cheese.
It's high in protein and the lowest in fat.
So really, really useful.
That's our basic batter.
Now, on this, we can riff off of it.
I'm going in with some chopped mushrooms and a tomato.
And then last but not least, one slice of beautiful, smoked ham.
By finely slicing, you're going to get delicious smoky flavour throughout the whole dish, using one little slice of ham and then that's it, all done.
So, we've got a large non-stick pan on a medium-low heat.
No oil.
We're just being clever with cooking.
Drop six equal spoonfuls of batter into your hot, non-stick pan.
Now, we want to dip these little bad boys in something gorgeous and sumptuous.
Dollop a tablespoon of plain live yoghurt and make a little well in it.
And then we want to fill it with something that's going to kick-start your day in a beautiful way and taste great, so we're going to go in with some chilli sauce.
It kind of marbles that fiery chilli with that incredible fresh yoghurt.
Delicious.
After a couple of minutes, these protein-packed popovers are ready to flip.
You want the outside crispy and golden, and the inside is kind of like gooey and sort of curdy and lovely.
So these have had a couple of minutes on each side, but I want to add one more bomb of flavour and texture, and it's a cool little trick.
Place your golden popovers to one side.
Put your pan back on the hob, but turn the heat off and grate a thin layer of parmesan cheese into it.
Plop these fritters onto that little, small amount of parmesan and it's tricks like that that kind of give you big flavour, big texture, but it's not sending sort of the calories off the chart.
So look at that.
That is like filthy, filthy, naughty, but it's not, it's completely balanced and healthy.
Let's plate it up.
So to go with this, er, we're going to do a little salad.
I know it might seem weird thinking or even talking about salad and breakfast, but there's many countries around the world that get their veggies in in the morning.
I'm dressing some mixed leaves with a squeeze of lemon.
Finish with a burst of vitamin C from some strawberry slices.
Something a little bit different.
Try it because it really, really works.
Cheesy, moreish, protein-packed popovers and at only 189 calories per portion.
I'm going to have a little try.
Mm! Really, really good.
A delicious start to the day and, if you get breakfast right, the chances are you're going to get the rest of the day right.
For these recipes and more, go to To investigate what superfood can do for all of us, I've travelled to the beautiful, sunny, turquoise waters of the Greek Islands to visit a gem of an island called Ikaria.
People here live up to ten years longer than anywhere else in Europe and America.
Beautiful.
To see what they're doing right, I've been invited to join Tula, one of the best cooks on the island, on a shopping trip, Ikarian style, and we're foraging for wild greens and herbs.
We've just picked some wild oregano.
It does smell incredible.
Got some fennel down there.
Myrtle.
It's like kind of little mini bay leaves.
Delicious.
Mate, it's it's like a pantry of heaven.
There's just stuff everywhere.
There are over 150 varieties of wild greens and herbs growing on Ikaria, all packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which experts think could hold one of the keys to the locals' longevity.
Just I mean, just look at that.
Beautiful greens, all wild.
This is what they're kind of sucking up.
That's what's going into their bodies.
It's not like we're using this as a little garnish.
You know, this is the bulk, the density of pies and dishes and soups.
Right.
Let's go and do a bit of cooking now.
Ikarians eat a Mediterranean diet -- plenty of vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, the occasional red meat -- which seems to be working wonders for Tula's family.
Four generations all eat together, and on the menu tonight, a traditional dish, hortopita -- little pies filled with wild greens.
This is beautiful, isn't it? You got all those flavours from the herbs.
You know, they've got elements of sort of bitterness, which is kind of a flavour that we've forgotten and balanced with the onion and the squash, it's really, really clever.
To complete these traditional little pies, local feta cheese is stirred in and the filling is ready to be parcelled up into pastry dough, which is then fried in a little olive oil.
But it seems my pastry skills aren't quite up to scratch.
SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN Here she comes.
Now the big guns have come in.
She's going to prepare, er, the last, because she's the expert.
88 years old.
Still in charge of the kitchen.
Hands like a demon.
The guys here are getting it right.
You know, statistics speak for themselves.
You know, these guys are consuming huge amounts of vegetables and especially herbs and all those wonderful greens that you saw today.
So get plenty of the green stuff and big up the herbs.
Mm! That filling, all the wild greens that we picked, is so incredible with the squash and the pastry.
- It's like a total - Good, nice? It's really good.
I love it.
And they're not just delicious.
Many of these wild greens have far greater vitamin and mineral density than shop-bought lettuce, particularly vitamin C and vitamin A.
It's no wonder the people of Ikaria are still thriving at a ripe old age.
This is the way I'd want to get old -- surrounded by my family.
In my superfood day, I'm maxing out on the Ikarians' hero ingredient -- herbs and greens.
I managed to pump up the nutritional value of my breakfast popovers with some added salad, but now I'm going to super-charge my lunch with the power of herbs.
I want to bring together some of the things that I really, really love -- kebabs and garlic bread in a lovely little mixed salad, fruit -- it's going to be gorgeous.
Greek-inspired, herb-marinated chicken kebabs on a fragrant salad of sweet orange slices and tangy feta.
Light on fat content but full of flavour and only 444 calories per portion.
Thinly slice two chicken breasts and cut two chunks of bread.
Now let's do the marinade.
Let's get the garlic bread vibe going.
We're going to introduce some big flavour to our kebabs with some aromatic rosemary.
So, look, let's just take off the rosemary from this stick here, but what we're left with is actually a potential skewer.
Pinch of salt, in you go.
Might as well do pepper while we're there.
Have a look at that.
See what happens in there.
You just bashed out the flavour and the natural oils, and it smells just outrageous.
One or two cloves of garlic.
An amazing natural antiseptic and really, really good for you.
Add some extra virgin olive oil, some white wine vinegar and pour all over the chicken and bread.
Then get in there and massage it up.
Sprinkle over a generous pinch of cayenne pepper and thread onto your rosemary skewers, along with herb number two -- bay leaves.
What we've created there is texture, tenderness, flavour.
I don't need to put any oil in this pan because I've got oil on the marinade.
To help these cook quicker and go gorgeously golden, place a plate on top of the kebabs to weigh it down.
Cook for three to four minutes on each side.
And that little bit of weight, you can hear, "Sh-sh!" You're going to get a nice kind of caramelised, crispy, flat surface on the bread, on the chicken.
Now, let's talk salad.
When we came back from Ikaria in Greece, it was really obvious to see that they embrace greens and herbs like no-one else.
So nice big handfuls of spinach.
Rocket, I've got in there as well.
We've got dill.
Beautiful.
We've got mint.
Mint in salads is absolutely my favourite herb.
And then a little parsley.
Really, really nice.
Just rip some in.
Finally, a sprinkling of edible thyme flowers.
Dress the salad with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of lemon juice.
Here's a thing, right? In spinach and quite a few of these greens is some nice iron, right? But the iron is absorbed into your body much more efficiently in the presence of vitamin C.
So with the lemon juice, it's just going to get the good stuff into you really efficiently, which is a good thing.
Iron will keep your red blood cells nice and oxygenated.
And keep that vitamin C coming with some thinly sliced oranges to go on top of your greens.
It's really going to fill your mouth with some amazing flavours.
Time to serve up.
Then the chicken.
Whoa! Beautiful colour! So I'm just going to place this on our salad.
Beautiful.
So, with a little bit of a homage to our Greek brothers and sisters -- feta.
Finally, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to finish.
And that, my friend, is a super salad of superfood.
450 calories, do you know what I mean? So damn tasty.
Right, let's try some.
Mm! Really, really good.
The thing is, that's a big old plate of food.
You're going to get full up.
You've got all the good stuff.
That is a great dish.
Enjoy.
Give it a go.
'Coming up, I head to the Japanese island of Okinawa to learn 'an ancient secret of some of the world's longest living people' It's incredible.
It's artisanal.
It's totally diverse in the way you can use it.
'.
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and I'll knock up a beautiful burger, 'bolstered by a healthy homemade ketchup.
' Celebrating veg and tofu.
Really, really nice.
My wish is that through incredible, tasty food, I can inspire you to live a longer, happier, healthy life.
I'm cooking a day's worth of gorgeous meals, packed with vital nutrients.
So far in our super food day, we've had gorgeous, crispy, protein-packed popovers for breakfast.
And inspired by my trip to Ikaria, herb-marinated chicken and garlic bread kebabs for lunch.
Next on my journey to find out how to get more super foods into our lives, I'm heading to Japan.
On the island of Okinawa, a bustling metropolis and rugged coral beaches support one of the longest-living populations on the planet.
There's a super food ingredient that they eat more of than anywhere else in the world, and today I'm due to visit a revered master in the art of its production.
He starts work at 4am every day, but before I meet him, I'm taking part in another of Japan's early morning rituals.
Radio Exercise is a workout programme that is broadcast nationwide every morning.
And it's something that the Japanese, young and old, have been participating in for nearly 100 years.
I guess this is all about stretching and flexibility.
This lady here's 93.
Oop! They learn these exercises in primary school.
So kids across the whole country do it.
And it's great.
Our kids should be doing it in Britain.
Daily exercise coupled with a healthy diet seems to be working wonders for Okinawans.
And there's one food they champion more than any other.
Okinawans eat more tofu than anyone else in the world and if you're not sold on tofu yet, then bear with me, because it's incredible.
Really, really nutritious, and I'm going to get to meet a third-generation tofu maker that still makes it by hand.
55-year-old Shigaru Nagado is one of the dwindling numbers of artisan producers.
He starts with dried soya beans, grinds them up and makes it into a milk, which is then heated, split and made into tofu.
And I'm about to taste it freshly made.
A rare treat.
This is an opportunity that no-one gets! Ooh! Oh-ho-ho! It's really, really good.
The depth of flavour is unbelievable.
Mm! This is the best tofu I've ever had in my life.
How important is tofu to Japan and Okinawan culture? When are you going to retire? Whoo! So a few more years to go? One of the reasons Shigaru, his dad and Okinawans young and old may be living such healthy lives is because in a diet with very little meat, tofu is an important sauce of protein.
It's naturally lower in saturated fat, and helps lower cholesterol.
If we're talking about the longevity and health of Okinawans, it's kind of impossible to rule out the important connection with tofu.
It's so prolific in their diet.
It's such an incredible protein.
This is definitely something that we should get in our life.
Definitely.
OK, dinner.
I'm going to keep embracing the tofu, just like back in Japan.
It's great value, really high in calcium, protein, and low in fat.
So let's try and find a way to love it.
And a burger, it's just the best way.
A fast food favourite, but not as you know it.
It's a gorgeous, golden patty, stacked with cheese, pickles and home-made sauce, on a bed of crunchy rainbow salad.
And all for only 425 calories a portion.
You can now get tofu in most supermarkets, and our first job is to squeeze some of the moisture out of it.
You want to remove about four tablespoons of liquid.
Losing some of the water content ensures some lovely crispy edges when the tofu cooks.
Add some wholemeal breadcrumbs, and crack in an egg.
We're going to use flavouring from an old friend.
So I want two teaspoons of Marmite.
And that's the great thing about tofu.
It's a great carrier of flavour.
You could swap Marmite out and put pesto in.
You could swap pesto out and you could put miso in.
But this recipe is a good base and it gives you a good texture when you put it in a bun and put it in your gob.
Shape into four patties, and it's time to cook them.
I've got an amazing tip that's going to add a load of warm, herbal flavour and more crunchy texture to my burgers.
Rosemary, when it gets fried in oil, incredible things happen.
It's kind of turns into, like, little crisps.
Now it's time to knock up a vitamin-packed, home-made ketchup.
Roughly chop some lovely, ripe tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Definitely, I like a little bit of spice, so some dried flakes of chilli here, and then what other things make a kind of ketchup work? Acidity.
That kind of that sort of piquance.
So red or white wine vinegar.
About a tablespoon.
Tear in some fresh basil and help the sauce break down with a potato masher.
Look how quickly that's happening! After three minutes, flip your burgers.
Look at these.
I mean, they're looking really good.
Great colour.
Crispy.
Soft and sort of nice in the middle.
Kind of quite excited about that.
Next, classic burger territory -- cheese.
To add calcium, but also I want to keep it light on calories.
50 grams is all we need.
So to complete this meal, we want to kind of do a hybrid of a slaw-cum-salad, cum kind of shred vibe going on.
Eating a wide range of colours will provide a spectrum of super nutrients.
So I'm using all sorts of crunchy veg.
Sliced, chopped, ribboned, and for some real retro fun, crinkle-cut.
You get kind of crinkle-cut chips.
Yay! This reminds me of an '80s perm.
I don't know why.
And once we've done that, let's just get in there, mix it up.
Next, a dressing for my salad.
Plain live yoghurt.
Good for your digestion.
A handful of basil leaves, Dijon mustard, a splash of white wine vinegar.
Some salt.
Just a little bit.
And chilli.
Whizz it up until smooth.
And drizzle over the rainbow salad.
I'm using warm wholemeal buns.
On average, double the fibre of white buns.
Covered in that tangy tomato sauce with your cheesy tofu patty resting on top.
And no burger is complete without pickles.
And then the lid.
Go on! Get stuck in there.
So look, there you go.
Really healthy.
Totally balanced.
We've got all of those elements.
We got carbohydrates, protein, fruit, veg, and dairy.
Yeah! 425 calories of goodness.
Mm! The tomato sauce is delicious.
Texture in there, it's soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.
That, my friend, with the salad, unbelievable.
Something a little bit different and really delicious.
And quite messy.
I like it.
So there you have it.
Soft golden breakfast popovers.
For lunch, a healthy, herby, fruity take on kebabs.
And for dinner, a burger that's busting with goodness.
A whole day's worth of delicious, nutritious food and all for under 1,600 calories.
It's all about filling your bodies with the good stuff.
That's super food.
Next time, an unusual super food ingredient in Greece gives me an idea for a healthy spin on a comfort food classic.
Enjoy this beautiful skinny carbonara.
It's spectacular.
And hanging out with some of Costa Rica's toughest cowboys It's just like Essex.
.
.
inspires a powerhouse bean stew like you've never tasted.
You've got to give that a try.