Sunny Salad Americana

American salad mix**

fresh baby spinach 

sweet onion

tomato 

cucumber

avocado

Kraft Creamy French Dressing

Y**U**M**

No pretentious ingredients here.
Good ole down to earth salad.

**Ready to eat, comes in a bag, has iceberg lettuce, carrot, and sometimes a bit of purple cabbage.

No Tomatoes Salad

fresh baby spinach

diced apple

walnuts

apple cider vinagrette

Apple Cider Vinagrette Recipe:

equal parts cider vinegar and sugar

salt to taste

a dab of honey mustard

 oil: 2 or 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil per 1 tablespoon vinegar

Beat w/ a whisk while dripping/drizzling in the oil.

Continue to beat until it is thick and creamy.

ENJOY

More Beans: "So lets have beans for every meal!"

Quick, economical, yummy goodness and delicious:

• one baked sweet potato
• butter
• hot canned black beans (heat --do not drain--until boiling)
• grated cheddar
• sour cream

On the face of it this may not sound so good, but it is DeLIciOus.

Really.

Easy Curried Sweet Potato Soup

This serves 1. Multiply for more servings. 

1 cup baked sweet potato cubes

olive oil

diced onion

fresh garlic, 1 clove

Thai green curry paste to taste

yellow curry powder to taste

chicken bouillon to taste--instead of salt

black pepper

coconut milk

In a small saucepan saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.

Add approximately one half teaspoon each curry paste, curry powder and chicken bouillon. Roast briefly, then add the sweet potato and about 3/4 cup of coconut milk.

Bring to a boil and reduce to  simmer.  While it simmers mash the potato with a fork creating a creamy thick and chunky soup.  Cook until thickened and heated through, about 5 minutes.

This was delicious.

Note:  I used the coconut milk brand So Delicious.  One cup is 45 calories and it can be found on the shelf with the soy and almond milk in quart boxes or in the refrigerated section in half gallons.  You might use the canned coconut milk, but it is much thicker--I reserve it for my curries.

Easy Breakfast Skillet

 You will need:  

2 slices of cooked bacon

1 egg 

1 cup thinly sliced cabbage

diced onion

 garlic

 1 tsp coconut oil 

salt & pepper.

Spray a small non-stick skillet, then melt 1 teaspoon of organic coconut oil.  Add diced onions and garlic.  Saute until translucent. 

Add one cup thinly sliced cabbage.  Saute for a minute or two, then add a little water to help steam/cook the cabbage.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

When tender crisp, move the cabbage to one side of the skillet, respray the now empty side of the skillet and crack one egg into skillet. Cook gently--on low heat--to desired doneness.

Top with two slices of cooked bacon.  Remove to plate.

Enjoy.

Easy Table Garden Summer Supper

Our green bean, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash plants are prolific this year .  

A quick and delicious way we have been enjoying them is this:

Roast very young and tender whole green beans in the oven on high heat, drizzled with olive oil, and salt to taste.  

Do the same with zucchini that have been cut into pieces.

While the veggies roast boil some pasta.  When it is done, drain well, add a knob of butter, some olive oil and a good amount of grated Parmesan cheese.  Stir well to mix.

In your bowl--single serve pasta bowl is what we use--place some pasta, top with each kind of roasted veggie and grate some white cheddar or muenster over that.

For a side, and to use all those wonderful tomatoes we've been harvesting, I slice tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzle with Ranch dressing and cover with nutritional yeast--it tastes cheesy and is full of B complex vitamins, plus protein and some fiber.

There you have it--an easy summer supper I think you'll enjoy.

Lets Make A Big Pot of Soup

First things first.  Run a sink full of hot sudsy water so we can wash up as we go--this makes clean up a snap.

And if you want, light a fall scented candle--I'm currently enjoying Caramel Apple. And if you are a music lover put on some good music.   Brew yourself a cup of tea too--Constant Comment is nice this time of year. (Find the fun in a chore.  Relax to the rhythm of your work.  It's all good.)  

Now lets get out our chopping board and chop some onion--about a cup.  And wash and peel 3 or so medium potatoes and a couple of carrots.  Prep some celery--don't forget to string it--a rib or two.  Dice the potatoes, cut the carrots, slice the celery.

Next, heat a large non-reactive* pot and add a little oil in the bottom. When your oil is hot add your onions and throw in some dried minced garlic.  When the onions begin to soften, add one pound of lean ground turkey or lean ground beef--preferably organic.

Break that up with your big wooden spoon and when it's well browned add your potatoes and carrots; one large can petite diced tomatoes including the liquid, 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables and 3 cups of V8.

Now for the seasonings.  Break up a couple or three beef bouillon cubes--this replaces the salt.  Add some black pepper to taste.  And definitely add some Louisiana hot sauce to kick things up a notch.  Not too much though.  A little is good--too much not so good.  Those who like it hotter can add it to their bowl.

Time to add some water.  Add enough water to cover everything with about an inch above the top.  The vegetables will release their juices and some liquid will evaporate during the cooking process.

Bring the pot to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook covered, until the vegetables are tender to your liking.  Check now to see if it needs salt.  If it does, add it now.

All these ingredients are easy to keep on hand so that you can whip up a pot of delicious soup at a moments notice.

Serve simply with some crackers.  Or if you're inclined make a pan of corn bread.  To expand on a simple meal, some olives, cubes of cheddar cheese and a nice crusty loaf are good additions.  Place them on a rustic wooden bread board for a country look.

And for a quick pantry dessert, whip up my chocolate cobbler.  You can go here for the recipe.  

 That cobbler is pure comfort food.  It's cute served in small coffee cups and needs no other adornment, though whipped cream or ice cream don't hurt it any.  But they are not necessary.  Sometimes simple is best, ya know?

See--you don't need Martha or a degree is food science to make some lovely food.

Eat.  Enjoy.  Have fun.

*Non-reactive:  stainless steel, porcelain, ceramic, non-stick, but not aluminum or cast iron--or any metal that might react with the acidity of the tomato products.

A Simple Side Dish

 When you get tired of a green salad and want a fairly low carb option that provides a good dose of vegetables and a rainbow of colors make this Cucumber Salad.

You'll need

• 2 regular cucumbers (not pickling, not English)--if waxed remove most of the peel...leave a few very thin strips for eye appeal, then slice...sort of thick but not giant sized thick.
• 1 rib of celery de-stringed and thinly sliced
• one firm tomato, cut into small bite sized pieces--or--one red bell pepper cut the same way--or both if you like
• one very thinly sliced carrot--or you could grate it if you don't have the patience to slice it paper thin
• thin wedges of  red onion
• zesty Italian salad dressing
• grated Parmesan cheese--the kind that comes in a can/jar, not the good stuff

Prep all your veg per above instructions and place in a bowl.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of the cheese, and enough salad dressing to coat and marinate the whole shebang. Toss to mix.  Let sit a bit before serving.

Note: you probably won't need to add salt since the parm is salty as well as the bottled salad dressing.  Black pepper is nice though.

Enjoy.

Beautiful Salad

This time of year it's a good idea to eat salads because you can save some calories--and you need your veggies too. But tomatoes, which often are part of a salad, don't taste very good, plus they are more expensive.

Enter this salad. It's one of my favorites--and it is beautiful too.

There is no recipe. But I will give you a general of idea of amounts for one salad.

Here's the ingredient list: (layer in the order given)

2 cups of washed baby spinach

1 ounce of soft plain goat cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons of dried cranberries

1 heaping tablespoon of walnut pieces

Serve with a lightly sweetened dressing like a balsamic vinaigrette or a poppy seed dressing. Yum.

Note: In the summertime I replace the cranberries with fresh strawberry slices.

Eat Your Veggies

This time of year we are all busy and and all too often we're eating a lot of rich food and not getting our veggies in.

Here's a quick fix: Amy's Chunky Vegetable soup. It's loaded with lots of healthy veggies and the whole can is less than 120 calories.

For a light meal pair it with a few crackers and a low fat string cheese stick.

Considering a half cup of veggies to be one serving, you'll consume almost 4 veggie servings. Not too shabby. And your body will thank you.

Go here to Amy's website to view the nutrition information.

Autumn Soup: Cheap, Tasty, Nourishing, Fast

Have you heard of Stone Soup? I always thought that was such a good story. And the resulting soup was simple and quite humble. That's what I feel about my Autumn Soup. It's a humble soup and that alone makes it, I think, taste better. In fact, by volume, water is probably the largest single ingredient in Autumn Soup.

My Autumn Soup, as I've named it because of its color, was inspired by a native American dish I ate recently at an Indian Pow Wow. My husband's grandmother was Cherokee so we have an interest in such.

At the Pow Wow the dish was served with Indian fry bread. I used to make fry bread when "fat" was not an issue. Not wanting to bother with it I served our soup with Delimex Chicken Taquitos (I read about these on Back to the Fridge--let me warn you--they could be addicting--I thought they were incredible taste wise) and some home made guacamole for dipping. Avocados are a good fat-- a 2 T. serving won't do much damage--and I had a very ripe avocado that needed using.

Here are the soup ingredients:

• diced onion (approx. 1/4 cup)
• diced green bell pepper (approx. 1/4 cup)
• diced jalapeno pepper (to taste--I used a tablespoon)
• 8 ounces of ground turkey, chicken or pork
• 4 small, 3 medium or 2 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• lots of water, plus chicken bouillon for flavor if you like (I did)
• salt and pepper to taste
• chili seasoning powder to taste
• cumin powder to taste

Method:

Using non-stick spray or one tablespoon of oil saute the onions and peppers. When softened add the ground meat and break up, frying until well browned. This is important--it gives it more flavor when the meat is well browned. It may take some time because the meat will yield a lot of water and will need to dry up before it begins to brown--so be patient.

When the meat is brown add the can of tomatoes (don't drain), the potatoes and the corn...and at least enough water to cover . Adjust the amount of water--if you want it thick, use less, thinner, use more--for a humble soup you must use more--thickness, I think, indicates, opulence--and Autumn Soup is a humble soup. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are nice and tender and the spices have had a chance to cook into the meat and veg.

After dipping it up into our serving bowls we added some hot sauce to spice it up more.

The night we ate this I had a couple of bananas that needed eating and not wanting to make banana bread I came up with this--there's no real recipe, just a method:

I sliced two bananas; sprinkled them with cinnamon, then tossed them with a heaping half cup of fat free Cool Whip. When this was mixed together, I sprinkled the top with some flax meal. Then I melted a tablespoon of peanut butter in the microwave and drizzled it over the top. My husband, who is not a big fan of bananas scarfed this down. I enjoyed it too.

If you don't keep flax meal on hand you could sprinkle it with a crumbled cookie or cake...it doesn't take much--I used a heaping teaspoon of flax meal to give you an idea.

Again I warn you--if you get the Delimex chicken taquitos watch out!! I was totally surprised at how good they tasted. So often frozen foods are just o.k. These were more than o.k. Use portion control and you'll be fine.

Note: Delimex products are available at Kroger's and Walmart in my area. If you go to their website they give a full listing. I purchased mine at Walmart in the freezer section. However they weren't with the frozen Mexican foods, but in a case with bulk frozen prepared foods, like egg rolls and precooked chicken tenders. You may have to hunt to find them. They will definitely be part of any future party fare we serve.

Hey Ricky!!

At the beach we ate breakfast at a great little restaurant called Another Broken Egg Cafe. It was adorable with it's French Country decor and the food and service did not disappoint. The "Hey Ricky" omelet was delectable. I've been enjoying it at home.

If you'd like to indulge, make a basic omelet filling it with: sauteed onions and peppers, cheese and avocado. Top with sour cream and salsa. Yummmm.....

I used Laughing Cow Light Cheese and one quarter of an avocado diced. I store the remaining avocado with the pit intact and the exposed flesh sprinkled with lemon or lime juice (I just cut out a 1/4 size wedge).

The calorie tally for a one egg omelet is: egg 70. LCL cheese 35, avocado 75, onions and peppers 10, sour cream (1 TB) 30, salsa (1/4 cup) 20. (I cooked it in a non-stick sprayed pan.) Total=240 calories

I'm thinking this would be a good dinner/supper meal too since it has quite a few veggies--onions, peppers, avocado, tomato. It's quick, simple and economical.

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Tip: I keep a bag each of frozen chopped onions and chopped peppers in my freezer. They're handy and shorten the prep time.

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A New Veggie Adventure

Well, I finally did it...tried spaghetti squash that is. For the past few years I've been hearing about it--how good it tastes and how easy it is to prepare. Low carb-ers touted it...George Stella, the TV chef mentioned it often on his program.

So, last week I finally purchased a spaghetti squash. The price was $1.19 per pound and mine weighed a little over a pound making the cost $1.37 plus tax.....not too expensive as fresh produce goes. It even had a sticker with cooking instructions. I chose to microwave mine.

I washed it, punctured it with a fork in several places and put it in the microwave for 9 minutes, than let it rest 5 minutes to finish cooking. Then I cut it in half and removed the seeds. Finally using a fork I "scraped" out the spaghetti type strings of squash. It yielded enough for two generous servings of a large plateful each.

My extra serving was stashed in the fridge for later in the week. The one I ate immediately was misted with butter flavored spray, sprinkled with salt and pepper and I crumble a wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese, French Onion variety, over the top. I returned it to the microwave and nuked it to get the cheese melty. Yummo is all I can say. The taste was terrific and it was very filling. And calorie wise that pile of squash, excluding the cheese, was about 50 calories. A similar volume of pasta would have been about 210 calories.

I had a side salad of tomatoes, carrot, baby spinach and cooked wheat berries dressed with a tablespoon of Annie's Goddess dressing. Wheat berries are my new love along with this squash. They are so chewy and filling and couldn't be easier to prepare. Next post I'll tell you how I prepared mine and give you some calorie info and a couple of links for some recipes using wheat berries.

In the meantime if you have yet to try spaghetti squash, I say "don't delay"...once you do try it, if you're like me, you'll be thinking "why did I wait so long?".

Mindful Feeding

All to often we feed our desires, so if we can change what we desire, perhaps we will feed differently.

I've been reading lots of vegetarian blogs (which include photographs of what the author is eating) and guess what I've been desiring?....lots of fruits and veggies!!!

I see them...I want them.

If I see decadent desserts loaded with fat and sugar or heaping plates of crispy fried chicken and sumptuous biscuits---guess what I'm led to eat? You got it....chicken and biscuits. That is why I don't dare watch Paula Dean on TV.

What might we learn here? We will tend to behave in correlation to our thinking.

Perhaps we can "hypnotise" ourselves and change our behavior by viewing that which will aid and assist us in our effort. We can practice a little mind control by being mindful of what we allow into our brain.

Mindful eating, I conclude, begins long before we take the first bite.
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Having read so many vegetarian food blogs and being a veggie lover I purchased a vegan cookbook--Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. Mind you, I'm not a vegan or even vegetarian, but I'm always looking for ideas and ways to get more veggies into my diet.

Today I had a vegetarian taco. I got the idea from ED&BV. I don't have a recipe, but here is a general description.

In a saute pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil I sauteed some broccolini, portabello mushrooms, corn and added a leftover garbanzo bean salad which contained red onions, red bell pepper and fresh spinach. I seasoned the mixture with some chili powder and salt and pepper. I placed it on a multi-grain tortilla and topped it with a slice of white American cheese which I nuked just long enough to melt the cheese.

This "meal"---it was a huge taco---contained protein, lots of fiber, and lots of veggies. And it tasted so good. I also had a large navel orange as part of my meal.

We need to make an effort to think outside the box. I remember eating my first fish taco at the beach in Florida. It was delicious. When I tell people how wonderful fish tacos are, most respond "yuk".

Don't limit yourself--expose yourself visually to the "good" things which will assist you in your weight loss efforts and soon you'll discover you will be desiring those very things.

CASHEW GINGER CARROT SOUP

Recently I was in Whole Foods Market and saw this (pictured) soup and it sounded so good. I decided to try my hand at making a homemade version.

I did and I loved it...here's the recipe. It makes one serving (one cup) and is approximately 115 calories.

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1 teaspoon virgin unrefined coconut oil (see note 1)
½ teaspoon ginger- garlic paste
4-5 whole cashews
2 regular carrots cut into pieces
1 cup chicken broth (see note 2)
½ teaspoon sugar
Dash of onion powder
Dash of curry powder
Dash of paprika
Sea salt to taste (see note 3)

1 tablespoon of half and half (see note 4)
Dash of garam masala (see note 5)

In a saucepan briefly sauté the ginger-garlic past and cashews in the oil. Add the broth and 2 regular carrots cut into small pieces (smaller=quicker cooking). Bring to a boil, adding the sugar, onion powder, curry powder and paprika. Boil/simmer until carrots are tender…then add salt to taste. You can add additional broth at this point if it has boiled away to less than one cup.

With a stick blender (or a regular blender) puree the contents of the sauce pan, adding a pinch of garam masala. When everything is smooth, add 1 tablespoon of half and half and stir to blend. Do not boil after adding the half and half because your soup will curdle.
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As noted above this recipe makes one serving, or one cup. For multiple servings increase accordingly.

Note 1) The coconut oil has a slight fragrance of coconut which pairs so nicely with the ginger, cashews and carrots. If you don’t have coconut oil on hand and wouldn’t want to purchase it to use in other ingredients, just use an oil with no flavor and add a good pinch of coconut, or perhaps some coconut milk at the end…but again do not boil after adding the coconut milk or your soup will curdle.

Note 2) I used a powdered chicken flavoring plus water for the broth. You could use plain water or a vegetable broth but it may not be as tasty.

Note 3) If you salt to taste at the beginning, the finished product, which cooks down and condenses, may be too salty.

Note 4) You can use evaporated milk instead. The half and half or evaporated milk makes the soup opaque and only adds an additional 30 calories. The serving of soup has a total of approximately 115 calories.

Note 5) Garam masala is an Indian blend of spices. Its main ingredients are cinnamon, cloves and coriander (powder). You can replace the garam masala with a pinch of cinnamon and a tiny pinch of cloves…and if you have coriander powder add a pinch of it too.
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This soup was incredible in flavor.

For an explanation of the definition of a dash click here.

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In a couple days I will give a weight management update.

Quick and Easy

I try to eat something raw at each meal. With a sandwich I really like slicing some red bell pepper and dipping it in a wedge or two of Laughing Cow Light. The Garlic and Herb or the French Onion are two of my dipping favorites.

The LCL is also good spread on some whole grain Melba toast and is a nice accompaniment to a cup of tea when you need something crunchy and quick.

An easy savory snack I've been enjoying is shrimp cocktail. I purchase the frozen cooked tail on shrimp, 40-60 per pound. They are not that expensive. Thaw them per package directions....about 10 shrimp are a serving and are 70 calories with 12 grams of protein. I make the cocktail sauce. I don't keep horseradish on hand, but I always have wasabi paste. It's a simple matter of mixing a little wasabi with some catsup. Instant sauce so to speak.

These are so no brainer they hardly seem worth mentioning, but thought I would just in case you haven't thought of them yourself. The shrimp can be tossed into some "kicked up" Ramen Noodle soup.

After the Holiday No Hassle Healthy Meal

And, I might add, no left overs. But you will need some fish fillets and vegetables. Both can be frozen. If the fish is not too thick you don't even have to thaw it. I used tilapia for mine and the frozen stir fry mixture of veg. For seasoning I used salt, pepper, dill and some butter. You'll also need some foil, heavy duty...if you have regular, just use two layers. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and follow this recipe from Linda's Low Carb recipes. Couldn't be easier.

Next, while your fish/veggie packet bakes for 30 minutes heat in a microwave safe bowl a cup of soup. One of my favorites is Imagine Organic Butternut Squash Soup .

When the timer goes off announcing your veggie fish packet is ready, remove from the oven and place on a plate opening carefully...you don't want to get burned from the escaping steam.

Minimum preparation, no pans to wash and a meal on the table in a flash. Healthy, tasty, fast...what more could one ask for?

Aloo Zuchhini Curry

Being in a weight loss mode, I was reading the Weight Watchers' (of which I am a lifetime member) message boards. The thread was snacks. One question was how those posting had points left for snacks...the questioner saying she only had 23 points per day.

A reply that hit home for me was in essence: learn to love your veggies...then you'll have lots of points for snacks...BINGO. I do love veggies...don't know why I didn't think of this myself, since I too am in the lowest allowable point range. I'm "cursed?" with being short...hence lower points are a necessity.

So I offer you here my Indian dish that is loaded with veggies and low in points.

ALOO ZUCCHINI CURRY FOR ONE

You will need these spices: turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt and pepper.

Note: if you must buy several of these spices, do so at a store that sells them in bulk by weight...you can buy a small amount for a fraction of the price you'd spend at the grocery store. Also, the garam masala is available at any Indian grocery. If you don't live near one, you can mix equal parts of cinnamon, cloves, coriander...all in powdered form...and add a grating or pinch of nutmeg.

For the veg you will need half a small zucchini, washed, dried and quartered then sliced thickly in triangle shaped cubes; one small potato cooked in the microwave for 4 minutes, then peeled, and cubed; half a small tomato, diced; a couple tablespoons of diced onion.

You will also need a clove of garlic, sliced, and a small piece of ginger root thinly minced, 1 tsp oil, and 1 egg.

Begin with the egg....grease a small cereal bowl, and add the egg...beat with a fork and nuke for about 1 minute at 20% power. Cube the egg and set aside.

In a small non-stick skillet add the oil, 1/4 tsp cumin seed, and 1/4 tsp mustard seed. Let sizzle until mustard seeds pop. Then add the onions, garlic and ginger. Saute about 1 minute, then add the tomato and cook about 3 minutes until the oil separates from the mixture.

Now add about 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, and salt to taste. Add some water, about 3-4 T, the zucchini and the potatoes. Continue to fry and stir, wrapping the veg. in the spices . Add water a couple tablespoonfuls at a time as needed to keep from sticking. When zucchini is tender to your preference sprinkle in 1/4 tsp garam masala, add the egg, and stir to combine. Cook briefly--about another minute or so.

Remove from heat. It is ready to eat...a good accompaniment is plain yogurt and a steaming cup of spiced chai.