Cooking With Fighters: Josh Samman's spectacular stew

For those of you that follow UFC middleweight standout, Josh Samman, you already know that he lives a very healthy lifestyle, and not just for his fight camps. He's a disciplined person, and rarely (if ever) strays from his diet and exercise regimen, so when I got the opportunity to work with him in showcasing his extremely detailed training and conditioning system, I jumped at the chance.

Now, I have been working with him again to bring our readers a long overdue chapter in my "Cooking With Fighters" series. In this segment, we get a tasty recipe for Samman Stew, a spicy, healthy concoction rooted in an old family recipe that he has since altered to fit his lifestyle.

Samman Stew

This is a recipe I stole from my dad and began to expand on years ago. He originally used to make it with just ground beef, green beans, and garlic. I began to add ingredients to satisfy more nutritional needs, as well as modified it a bit to include more lean proteins. This has become my constant go to for everything from large meals to small snacks, as I usually keep a pot of it in the fridge, and eat it throughout the week in varying portions.

Ingredients:

Pam butter flavored pan spray
One pound hot italian turkey sausage
One lb ground turkey breast
Three jalapenos, three chili peppers, three pepperoncinis
Worcestershire sauce
Whole white onion
Garlic bulb, peeled
One head of broccoli
One dry pint grape tomatoes
Half pound of sliced portabellas
Two corns on the cob
Coarse salt, cayenne, adobo, hot sauce

Instructions:

Use one large, deep, wide pan. Spray pan with enough Pam to cover entire surface. Start by browning sausage, turning often. Cook sausage on medium while slicing peppers.

Slice sausages only when able to be cut without falling apart (usually after 5-6 minutes), then insert peppers and ground turkey breast into pan. Toss in anywhere from 10-15 squirts of worcestershire.

Stir well and move heat to low-medium. Dice 5-6 cloves of garlic and slice whole onion. Throw into pot and stir well again. Meat should still be pink. Put on low and let simmer, and cut up vegetables and insert in following order:

Broccoli tips

Grape tomatoes (either cut in half or pierce and squeeze for stronger tomato flavor)

Sliced portabella mushrooms

Two cobs of boiled corn on the cob (boil 7-8 minutes before cutting into pan.. I normally wouldn't ever recommend relying on canned food but was feeling lazy today and used a can here.)

Add one tbsp cayenne, one tbsp adobo, one tbsp salt.

Cover (our pot cover went missing today so we are rigging it with a plate), and keep on simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until broccoli is medium softness. Stir often and salt and pepper more or less to taste. Also add hot sauce to taste.

A few notes:

-This recipe is obviously not low sodium. If on low sodium diet, as many fighters and regular folks alike are, interchange salt and worcestershire with lemon juice or vinegar, and substitute hot sauce with more fresh peppers.

-Broccoli can be interchanged with one lb green beans.

-Turkey sausage should be replaced with one lb ground turkey breast when dieting. Dark meat poultry and sausages are higher in fat, and beef or pork is even fattier.

-To add carbs, eat with slices of wheat bread.

-Meal should not take longer than 30 minutes to cook.

-I was taught that color contrast satisfies hunger better, and to always use butter substitutes to avoid unnecessary fat. I was also taught that peppers, in high intake, can boost metabolism. If you don't like one of the ingredients, feel free to leave it out, or mix and match with your own. Know that you like curry, or blackened seasoning, or some other spice? Use it. Like spinach? Throw it in at the very end. The point is not to always follow an exact recipe, but to be a loose guideline to follow in making a filling, low fat, easily accessible meal that's high in protein, fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients.

Give me your feedback on how you like it, and enjoy!