Thirsty

A couple of months ago I realized I've been drinking less water.
 I was never an "eight glasses a day no matter what" person
 but I  often drank water if I felt tired, thirsty or hungry and it adds
 up over the day.  I may have figured out why I've been
 drinking less the past several months.



First, I'm consuming very little in the way of prepared foods including canned soups, frozen dinners or restaurant fare.  These all have a lot of salt.  Second, when so much of my diet comes from fresh produce I get a lot of fluids naturally from the food.   Does that sound like a reasonable explanation to you?

Garden Goodies

A co-worker brought some fresh produce from her garden into the office and I took full advantage.  I went home with three green peppers and 3 large zucchinis.  I grated two of the zukes and measured 2c portions into Ziploc bags for baking zucchini bread this winter.

I used the rest  of the veggies for Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Sauce.  The stuffing was shredded zucchini, carrots and baby bella mushrooms with brown rice, a few whole wheat bread crumbs and McCormick Perfect Pinch Mediterranean Herb seasoning.  I stuffed halved peppers and covered them with a sauce made with Progresso Hearty Tomato Soup.  I topped it with a sprinkle of grated Romano cheese and baked til bubbly.  I can think of lots of ways to vary this recipe with other grains, veggies and sauces but this was a great place to start!

Delicious Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Spinach Onion Tart

This was supposed to be kale but I used spinach.  The recipe was from one of McDougall's books which are usually good but this was really blah!  I should have followed my instincts and used more herbs and garlic in the veggies.  I would use my whole wheat pizza crust recipe next time, too.  This crust was made from scratch with whole wheat flour and yeast but no seasoning at all and  by the time it  browned was way too dried out.  It has potential so I'll try again some time.

Quick Main Dish

With fresh green beans and some leftover quinoa I set out to make some soup and thought this one came out pretty good.

Bring to a boil in a 2qt saucepan:
 4c cut up fresh green beans, 1/2 c cut up celery, a large chopped onion and 3-4c water

Lower heat, add seasonings and simmer 30 minutes:
 2T Tamari, 1tsp dried basil, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 tsp celery seed, fresh ground black pepper

Add 1c. cooked quinoa

Enjoy.

Baba Ganoush

I want to do some more experimenting with interesting combinations of nutritious foods but for now something simple...here's the lunch I packed for work tomorrow.  A baba ganoush spread on dark rye with shredded carrot and fresh spinach.

Baba Ganoush

Slice an eggplant in half lengthwise and roast on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 30 min.  Or put on the grill whole or sliced until soft.

Place the eggplant, 2 cloves garlic, juice of 1-2 lemons, 1T tahini, and sea salt to taste in a food processor until smooth.  The original recipe calls for 1/4 c olive oil(!) but I skip the oil.  Good as a dip or a spread with raw veggies or pita bread.

Nutrient Sparse

Back to work today after a week off.  The table in the staff lounge was full of "treats".  Bagels, a (not a whole grain in sight), coffee cake with frosting, and scones.  The scones were made with whole wheat pastry flour, blueberries, and oranges but I'm sure the sugar and fat content were up there.  It feels like I'm the only one in the world trying to eat the nutritarian way.  I brought a banana, melon and leftover stir fry with brown rice for lunch.  But I had a half a scone, too.  It was good.

Silk Surprise

It's my day off.  I didn't want the same old hurried oatmeal or tea and toast I have on many work days.  I wanted a smoothie for breakfast and I was thinking decadent but nutritarian.  This is what I ended up with:

Combine in a blender:

12 oz Lite Chocolate Silk (soy milk)
1/2 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. blueberries
1/2 c. ice
I was resigned to eating it whether it was good or not and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was delicious!  I sipped it as I read my emails this morning and fully enjoyed my breakfast.





While I'm on the subject of Silk Lite Chocolate here's a favorite late night treat:  Mexican hot chocolate: 
 Start with Silk Lite chocolate soy milk and add some cinnamon, vanilla, and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper.  Heat in a mug in the microwave.  Yumm.