Oh yay!
Believe it or not, we've approached one of my absolute favourite foods on the Healthy Foods You Should Be Eating list: Swiss Chard!
Now, just thinking of Swiss chard makes me flash back to my childhood. It was a staple for dinners at my grandparents' house up in Canada - we'd have it all the time as a side dish to accompany pretty much anything. Nanny would steam it, then lather it with butter and sprinkle some salt on, and it was good to go. We've managed to find more ways to prepare it since then, but just plain old buttered Swiss chard will forever hold a special place in my heart.
So, why should we eat this (or try it if you haven't already had some)? According to The World's Healthiest Foods, Swiss chard is a "vegetable valedictorian." Swiss chard has been shown in multiple studies to be particularly good at preventing digestive tract cancers (colon especially), as well as seeming to have a protective effect on the kidneys.
Swiss chard packs quite the punch, too. It seems just simple and salty, but each serving of Swiss chard contains: concentrations of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. Swiss chard is also a very good or good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid. That's a lot for such a little vegetable!!
Want to try to work some Swiss chard into your diet? Here are a couple of recipes to try out. The first is one that we actually just made on Friday night (and LOVED!), and the second is one that we're going to try later this week. Both come to you from the Whole Foods website.
Coconut Milk-Braised Greens
Salt to taste
2 bunches collard greens, kale or Swiss chard (about 1 pound total), stemmed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Black pepper to taste
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add greens and cook for 2 minutes; drain well and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add reserved greens, coconut milk and lemon juice, stir well and simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 13oz/356g-wt.): 280 calories (190 from fat), 21g total fat, 10g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 450mg sodium, 19g total carbohydrate (10g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 7g protein
Greens with Carrots, Feta Cheese, and Brown Rice
2 carrots, shredded
2 bunches dark leafy greens (kale, collard greens or Swiss chard), tough stems removed, leaves very thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 (20-ounce) package 365 Everyday Value frozen Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice, prepared according to package directions
Method
Put carrots, greens, onions, 1/4 cup water, salt and pepper into a large, deep skillet and toss well. Cover and cook over medium heat, tossing once or twice, until greens are wilted and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Toss with feta cheese and spoon over brown rice.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 14oz/410g-wt.): 290 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 25mg cholesterol, 900mg sodium, 46g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 5g sugar), 11g protein
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Weigh In Day
Saturdays are my weigh-in day, and I often wake up scared to walk into the bathroom. I weigh myself in the same manner every week (I'm a bit obsessed about control here!). The night before (Friday), I pick out the same pajamas so that I'm wearing the exact same clothing the next morning to weigh in. I'm not sure why I think the difference in my pajamas' weights is so significant, but if it helps me sleep, I'll support this touch of neurosis! ;) I climb into bed, nervous about the next morning.
Saturday morning dawns.....and I jump out of bed. (Okay, not really....I try to bribe the boys to stay in their bedrooms longer and I roll back over and go to sleep. I won't lie...it's the truth. I just cannot JUMP out of bed on a Saturday morning). Anyways, Saturday morning dawns, and I eventually make my way out of bed - usually around 7:30/8am. I hobble into the upstairs bathroom like a little old lady, usually with a dog and two children in tow. Once in the bathroom, I pull out the scale and put it in the middle of the floor. I guess I like to torture myself while I pee (What?!?! It's first thing in the morning - I have to pee! It's part of the routine!!).
After I pee, and before I get drawn into the needs of the children in the morning (which seem exponentially higher than their needs on a weekday morning, just sayin'), I slip off my slippers because they, of course, weigh 5 pounds, and step onto the scale.
So far, on this diet journey, I've been pleasantly surprised. There was one week when I didn't lose or gain anything, which was slightly disappointing, but that was the week we were incredibly sick, so I think that had something to do with it.
This week was no exception!! I'm down another 2.5 pounds from last week!!!
Drumroll please....I'm down exactly TWENTY pounds since December 26th!! 20 pounds in one month is VERY cool in my mind - I'm extremely happy with it and proud of Mike and I for sticking to it.
Two weeks to go until the Michigan trip, and I'm hoping to be down another 5 when that trip happens......fingers crossed!!!
Saturday morning dawns.....and I jump out of bed. (Okay, not really....I try to bribe the boys to stay in their bedrooms longer and I roll back over and go to sleep. I won't lie...it's the truth. I just cannot JUMP out of bed on a Saturday morning). Anyways, Saturday morning dawns, and I eventually make my way out of bed - usually around 7:30/8am. I hobble into the upstairs bathroom like a little old lady, usually with a dog and two children in tow. Once in the bathroom, I pull out the scale and put it in the middle of the floor. I guess I like to torture myself while I pee (What?!?! It's first thing in the morning - I have to pee! It's part of the routine!!).
After I pee, and before I get drawn into the needs of the children in the morning (which seem exponentially higher than their needs on a weekday morning, just sayin'), I slip off my slippers because they, of course, weigh 5 pounds, and step onto the scale.
So far, on this diet journey, I've been pleasantly surprised. There was one week when I didn't lose or gain anything, which was slightly disappointing, but that was the week we were incredibly sick, so I think that had something to do with it.
This week was no exception!! I'm down another 2.5 pounds from last week!!!
Drumroll please....I'm down exactly TWENTY pounds since December 26th!! 20 pounds in one month is VERY cool in my mind - I'm extremely happy with it and proud of Mike and I for sticking to it.
Two weeks to go until the Michigan trip, and I'm hoping to be down another 5 when that trip happens......fingers crossed!!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Second Food You Should Be Eating
Number two on the list of top foods that you're not eating (but should be!) is cabbage. Marrying into a Ukrainian family has allowed me to experience WAY more cabbage in the past 10 years of my life than the 18 before then, and I have to say that I really enjoy cabbage.
Cabbage rolls, soup, sauerkraut, you name it - I love them all!! Before marrying Mike, my cabbage eating experience was pretty much limited to coleslaw. Now, I'm happy to say that we regularly eat this off the Foods You Should Be Eating list.
So, why cabbage? you may be wondering. Here it is, courtesy of WiseGeek:
A cup of cabbage (approximately 150 grams) has only 33 calories. Yet it is packed with vitamins and provides an excellent source of dietary fiber. Some of the health benefits of cabbage are its high levels of vitamins C and K. It’s also a good source of many of the B vitamins, folate, vitamin A, and omega 3 fatty acids. Vitamin C alone makes cabbage rich in antioxidants that may help protect cells and deliver anti-aging benefits.
There are other documented benefits of cabbage. For instance, cabbage may be a helpful food when dealing with peptic ulcers. Red cabbage in particular has been shown in a few studies to have the potential to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A certain type of protein called amyloid beta may damage brain cells, and some cells in red cabbage, called anthocyanins, may act to prevent this damage.
Several studies have assessed the benefits of cabbage as a cancer preventative, and some of these are very encouraging. Many of these studies look not only at eating cabbage but other cruciferous veggies too. In research done in the Netherlands, people who ate cruciferous vegetables reduced risk of colo-rectal cancers nearly in half. Another study in Texas evaluated how these veggies could reduce bladder risk by nearly 30%.
There are quite a few published articles that suggest lung cancer risk may be lower for people who eat cabbage or cruciferous vegetables of other types. Even smokers may be able to reduce risk of lung cancer, though eating cabbage should not be seen as a way to avoid cancer for smokers. Benefits of cabbage for nonsmokers who are exposed to second hand smoke are high too, and might be significant in lowering risk for lung cancer due to exposure to smoke.
Another of the interesting benefits of cabbage is its potential to help reduce breast cancer incidence. Research into this suggests that adolescent girls who eat 3-5 to servings of cabbage per week may be less likely to develop breast cancer as adults. Adult women shouldn’t give up on eating the vegetable either, as regular consumption of cabbage may help provide continued protection against breast cancer.
Though there are many benefits of cabbage, there are a few people who should avoid it. Its high levels of vitamin K mean that those who take anticoagulants like warfarin (Coumadin®) should not consume cabbage. This may interfere with levels of this medication. Additionally, those with low thyroid hormone levels may want to skip cabbage because it can interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to produce thyroid hormone.
Are you feeling adventurous and want to add some cabbage into your family's diet? Here are some of our stand-by recipes:
Cabbage Rolls (created by me in an attempt to reproduce Baba's.....not quite, but still yummy!!)
Ingredients
1 head of cabbage
cooked brown rice, 2 cups
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 tsp brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ketchup
thyme
oregano
salt
pepper
Directions
Cook brown rice according to directions.
Sautee bell peppers, onions, and beef until beef is browned and veggies are soft and translucent. Add spices as you cook, to taste. Add can of tomatoes near the very end, undrained.
Drop a head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for a few minutes, pull out and remove the outer leaves. Put the head of the cabbage back into the boiling water, and repeat the process until you have 8 leaves.
In a large bowl, mix meat mixture with cooked rice. Use this rice/meat mixture to "stuff" the cabbage rolls. Divide mixture evenly, and then roll up the cabbage, burrito style. Place, seam side down, in a casserole dish. Continue until the casserole dish is full.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Whisk together, and then pour over the cabbage rolls.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with sour cream, if desired.
Number of Servings: 8
Sweet Russian Cabbage Soup (one of our favourite recipes!!)
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds ground lean beef
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 4 cubes beef bouillon
* 2 medium carrots, shredded
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 quarts water, divided
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
1. Crumble the ground beef into a large pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef bouillon cubes, carrots, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil. Stir to break up the beef while heating. Once the soup comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.
2. Pour in another quart of water, and return to a slow boil. Add garlic and cabbage. Simmer for 25 minutes, until cabbage is tender. Ladle into soup bowls to serve.
This one we have never made before, but we're going to soon - I think we'd love it!!
Braised Red Cabbage
Braised Red Cabbage
1 red cabbage, sliced
3 onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp. butter
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 cloves
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 bottle dry red wine
1/2 tsp. sugar
Dash salt
Melt butter in large saucepan. Saute onions, then add cabbage, apples, sugar and salt, cloves. Mix well . Add vinegar and wine. Cover and cook over low heat until cabbage is soft and liquid has absorbed, stirring occasionally (approximately 1 1/2 hours).
What do you think? Ready to eat some cabbage? :)
Cabbage rolls, soup, sauerkraut, you name it - I love them all!! Before marrying Mike, my cabbage eating experience was pretty much limited to coleslaw. Now, I'm happy to say that we regularly eat this off the Foods You Should Be Eating list.
So, why cabbage? you may be wondering. Here it is, courtesy of WiseGeek:
A cup of cabbage (approximately 150 grams) has only 33 calories. Yet it is packed with vitamins and provides an excellent source of dietary fiber. Some of the health benefits of cabbage are its high levels of vitamins C and K. It’s also a good source of many of the B vitamins, folate, vitamin A, and omega 3 fatty acids. Vitamin C alone makes cabbage rich in antioxidants that may help protect cells and deliver anti-aging benefits.
There are other documented benefits of cabbage. For instance, cabbage may be a helpful food when dealing with peptic ulcers. Red cabbage in particular has been shown in a few studies to have the potential to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A certain type of protein called amyloid beta may damage brain cells, and some cells in red cabbage, called anthocyanins, may act to prevent this damage.
Several studies have assessed the benefits of cabbage as a cancer preventative, and some of these are very encouraging. Many of these studies look not only at eating cabbage but other cruciferous veggies too. In research done in the Netherlands, people who ate cruciferous vegetables reduced risk of colo-rectal cancers nearly in half. Another study in Texas evaluated how these veggies could reduce bladder risk by nearly 30%.
There are quite a few published articles that suggest lung cancer risk may be lower for people who eat cabbage or cruciferous vegetables of other types. Even smokers may be able to reduce risk of lung cancer, though eating cabbage should not be seen as a way to avoid cancer for smokers. Benefits of cabbage for nonsmokers who are exposed to second hand smoke are high too, and might be significant in lowering risk for lung cancer due to exposure to smoke.
Another of the interesting benefits of cabbage is its potential to help reduce breast cancer incidence. Research into this suggests that adolescent girls who eat 3-5 to servings of cabbage per week may be less likely to develop breast cancer as adults. Adult women shouldn’t give up on eating the vegetable either, as regular consumption of cabbage may help provide continued protection against breast cancer.
Though there are many benefits of cabbage, there are a few people who should avoid it. Its high levels of vitamin K mean that those who take anticoagulants like warfarin (Coumadin®) should not consume cabbage. This may interfere with levels of this medication. Additionally, those with low thyroid hormone levels may want to skip cabbage because it can interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to produce thyroid hormone.
Are you feeling adventurous and want to add some cabbage into your family's diet? Here are some of our stand-by recipes:
Cabbage Rolls (created by me in an attempt to reproduce Baba's.....not quite, but still yummy!!)
Ingredients
1 head of cabbage
cooked brown rice, 2 cups
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 tsp brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ketchup
thyme
oregano
salt
pepper
Directions
Cook brown rice according to directions.
Sautee bell peppers, onions, and beef until beef is browned and veggies are soft and translucent. Add spices as you cook, to taste. Add can of tomatoes near the very end, undrained.
Drop a head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for a few minutes, pull out and remove the outer leaves. Put the head of the cabbage back into the boiling water, and repeat the process until you have 8 leaves.
In a large bowl, mix meat mixture with cooked rice. Use this rice/meat mixture to "stuff" the cabbage rolls. Divide mixture evenly, and then roll up the cabbage, burrito style. Place, seam side down, in a casserole dish. Continue until the casserole dish is full.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Whisk together, and then pour over the cabbage rolls.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with sour cream, if desired.
Number of Servings: 8
Sweet Russian Cabbage Soup (one of our favourite recipes!!)
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pounds ground lean beef
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 4 cubes beef bouillon
* 2 medium carrots, shredded
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 quarts water, divided
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
1. Crumble the ground beef into a large pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef bouillon cubes, carrots, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil. Stir to break up the beef while heating. Once the soup comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.
2. Pour in another quart of water, and return to a slow boil. Add garlic and cabbage. Simmer for 25 minutes, until cabbage is tender. Ladle into soup bowls to serve.
This one we have never made before, but we're going to soon - I think we'd love it!!
Braised Red Cabbage
Braised Red Cabbage
1 red cabbage, sliced
3 onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp. butter
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 cloves
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 bottle dry red wine
1/2 tsp. sugar
Dash salt
Melt butter in large saucepan. Saute onions, then add cabbage, apples, sugar and salt, cloves. Mix well . Add vinegar and wine. Cover and cook over low heat until cabbage is soft and liquid has absorbed, stirring occasionally (approximately 1 1/2 hours).
What do you think? Ready to eat some cabbage? :)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
10 Best Foods for You......That You're Not Eating
(Courtesy of The New York Times)
Do you ever wonder what the latest research shows are the BEST foods for you to be eating? Do you ever wonder if you (or your family's) diet is measuring up to those standards?
After seeing a recent post on Maine.MomsLikeMe.com , I wanted to look more into what those foods were and just why they were the "best" for you. Every week, I'm going to pick one of those top ten foods and research them for you, then give you a few recipes to try them out with. Are you ready?
According to New York Times, the best foods for you - that you're probably not eating already - are:
Beets
Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Cinnamon
Pomegranate juice
Dried plums
Pumpkin seeds
Sardines
Turmeric
Frozen Blueberries
Canned pumpkin.
You can read the whole article here, but I'm going to start at the top and work my way down over the next couple of weeks. So here we go.......ready to learn about beets?
Why beets? you may be wondering.......Well, it turns out that the pigment that makes beets the colour that they are is a huge cancer fighter. Multiple studies show benefits in fighting colon cancer specifically. Studies have shown them to have cardiac benefits as well - decreasing "bad" cholesterol and and increasing their "good" cholesterol significantly. Beets are also particularly rich in the B vitamin folate - and all of you moms and preggos out there just perked up. Folate is VERY important in preventing birth defects. The daily requirement of folate is 400 micrograms.....and just one cup of boiled, sliced beets contains about 130 of those micrograms!
So bring on those beets!! To get you started, here are a few of our favourite recipes:
Borscht (of course, we ARE Ukrainian!!)
* 1 (16 ounce) package pork sausage
* 3 medium beets, peeled and shredded
* 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
* 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded
* 1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
* 1/2 cup sour cream, for topping
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
1. Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Fill a large pot halfway with water(about 2 quarts), and bring to a boil. Add the sausage, and cover the pot. Return to a boil. Add the beets, and cook until they have lost their color. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cabbage, and the can of diced tomatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer to the pot. Add the raw garlic to the soup, cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley.
Now, I haven't tried these, but will soon and will review them. Until then - here you go!
Russian Beet and Potato Salad
Ingredients
* 2 beets
* 4 small potatoes
* 2 small carrots
* 3 small dill pickles, diced
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
* salt to taste
* 3 green onions, chopped
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook beets until tender, about 30 minutes. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes and carrots until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain vegetables, cool, and remove skins. Dice and place in a large bowl.
2. Place the diced pickles in the bowl with beets, potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt. Sprinkle with green onions. Chill completely before serving.
Roasted Beets N'Sweets
Ingredients
* 6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
* 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
* 1 large sweet onion, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large resealable plastic bag. Place the sweet potatoes and onion in the bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat vegetables with the oil mixture.
4. Bake beets 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.
Does your family have a favourite way to eat beets? If so, share here!
Do you ever wonder what the latest research shows are the BEST foods for you to be eating? Do you ever wonder if you (or your family's) diet is measuring up to those standards?
After seeing a recent post on Maine.MomsLikeMe.com , I wanted to look more into what those foods were and just why they were the "best" for you. Every week, I'm going to pick one of those top ten foods and research them for you, then give you a few recipes to try them out with. Are you ready?
According to New York Times, the best foods for you - that you're probably not eating already - are:
Beets
Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Cinnamon
Pomegranate juice
Dried plums
Pumpkin seeds
Sardines
Turmeric
Frozen Blueberries
Canned pumpkin.
You can read the whole article here, but I'm going to start at the top and work my way down over the next couple of weeks. So here we go.......ready to learn about beets?
Why beets? you may be wondering.......Well, it turns out that the pigment that makes beets the colour that they are is a huge cancer fighter. Multiple studies show benefits in fighting colon cancer specifically. Studies have shown them to have cardiac benefits as well - decreasing "bad" cholesterol and and increasing their "good" cholesterol significantly. Beets are also particularly rich in the B vitamin folate - and all of you moms and preggos out there just perked up. Folate is VERY important in preventing birth defects. The daily requirement of folate is 400 micrograms.....and just one cup of boiled, sliced beets contains about 130 of those micrograms!
So bring on those beets!! To get you started, here are a few of our favourite recipes:
Borscht (of course, we ARE Ukrainian!!)
* 1 (16 ounce) package pork sausage
* 3 medium beets, peeled and shredded
* 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
* 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded
* 1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
* 1/2 cup sour cream, for topping
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
1. Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Fill a large pot halfway with water(about 2 quarts), and bring to a boil. Add the sausage, and cover the pot. Return to a boil. Add the beets, and cook until they have lost their color. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cabbage, and the can of diced tomatoes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and water until well blended. Transfer to the pot. Add the raw garlic to the soup, cover and turn off the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream and fresh parsley.
Now, I haven't tried these, but will soon and will review them. Until then - here you go!
Russian Beet and Potato Salad
Ingredients
* 2 beets
* 4 small potatoes
* 2 small carrots
* 3 small dill pickles, diced
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
* salt to taste
* 3 green onions, chopped
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook beets until tender, about 30 minutes. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil and cook potatoes and carrots until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain vegetables, cool, and remove skins. Dice and place in a large bowl.
2. Place the diced pickles in the bowl with beets, potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt. Sprinkle with green onions. Chill completely before serving.
Roasted Beets N'Sweets
Ingredients
* 6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
* 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
* 1 large sweet onion, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large resealable plastic bag. Place the sweet potatoes and onion in the bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat vegetables with the oil mixture.
4. Bake beets 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.
Does your family have a favourite way to eat beets? If so, share here!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Shopping at its Best
So how do YOU shop? Heidi has been off to Whole Foods and doing well staying within budget (mostly, I think). Personally, out in the boonies of New Jersey (yes there are boonies here), I have few choices for grocery stores. There are no Trader Joe's OR Whole Foods in my area. The closest are in Princeton which is about 45 minutes. I do know of one mom who travels every Thursday to fill her family of good, healthful nutritious foods. Personally, we don't believe in EVERYTHING organic. In fact, little of what we buy is (only if its on sale). With a husband who has a Master's in Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology I try to follow his lead when he notes what we should and should not eat organic...and his opinion is that though chemicals are used to protect from insects, those chemicals can also protect us from food borne illness and disease. So he's a huge proponent of actually WASHING, not shining or rinsing your fruits and veggies...and doing it twice even if it says you bag of Spinach is already "prewashed".
So since we've moved to teh great Garden State ( I actually reside where the REAL gardens are), we have had the challenge of getting to the grocery store. With three girls, who are homeschooled, and a husband who works full time, I usually trek out on my own accompanied by 3 helpers. I can't tell you the number of times I hear "wow, are they all yours". Um, its three people, in Michigan this is a minimum requirement (LOL).
Anyway, since our only option in town is a disgusting store known as the "DIRTY SHOP RITE", I often venture to a nearby town 10 miles down the road OR over the border to Pennsylvania 16 miles to my dear old Wegmans. Since its a TREK, it takes an afternoon, and since it takes an afternoon, we typically do it TWICE a month. I feed the family on a total of $500.00 in groceries or less. So, how do I do it? I have learned I HAVE to. I purchase fresh fruits and veggies for the first week and yes, those horrid canned veggies and fruits for the second. Typically oranges, apples, carrots, celery and cucumbers will make it an additional week. I also don't flinch at buying a bit underripe as it allows me to provide fresh fruits and veggies for both weeks before returning to my shop of choice.
Keeping it under $500.00 for a month for five people typically means that I am spending $125.00 per person per month including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. IF I have to make a meal for a friend or neighbor, I sometimes go over. Recently we've added meat into our diet as the children seem to love it, and though I still mostly do fish, fruit, veg and pasta, I have been able to add one large meat product per two week cycle. I also use coupons and circulars to plan my trips. Couponmom.com has some great coupons that allow me to stay within my budget as well.
So, I was wondering, doing YOUR best, how do you do it? What do you spend and how do you save????
So since we've moved to teh great Garden State ( I actually reside where the REAL gardens are), we have had the challenge of getting to the grocery store. With three girls, who are homeschooled, and a husband who works full time, I usually trek out on my own accompanied by 3 helpers. I can't tell you the number of times I hear "wow, are they all yours". Um, its three people, in Michigan this is a minimum requirement (LOL).
Anyway, since our only option in town is a disgusting store known as the "DIRTY SHOP RITE", I often venture to a nearby town 10 miles down the road OR over the border to Pennsylvania 16 miles to my dear old Wegmans. Since its a TREK, it takes an afternoon, and since it takes an afternoon, we typically do it TWICE a month. I feed the family on a total of $500.00 in groceries or less. So, how do I do it? I have learned I HAVE to. I purchase fresh fruits and veggies for the first week and yes, those horrid canned veggies and fruits for the second. Typically oranges, apples, carrots, celery and cucumbers will make it an additional week. I also don't flinch at buying a bit underripe as it allows me to provide fresh fruits and veggies for both weeks before returning to my shop of choice.
Keeping it under $500.00 for a month for five people typically means that I am spending $125.00 per person per month including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. IF I have to make a meal for a friend or neighbor, I sometimes go over. Recently we've added meat into our diet as the children seem to love it, and though I still mostly do fish, fruit, veg and pasta, I have been able to add one large meat product per two week cycle. I also use coupons and circulars to plan my trips. Couponmom.com has some great coupons that allow me to stay within my budget as well.
So, I was wondering, doing YOUR best, how do you do it? What do you spend and how do you save????
The Mom Struggles
We all do it - we over-schedule ourselves. We fill our days to the max, agreeing to do more than our share. The same is true for me - which has made blogging difficult recently. If only I could figure out how to blog from my phone!! :)
It's always a struggle to find time for myself. I think the same is true for ALL women, whether you're a stay-at-home mom, or a working mom, or a mom with grown kids, or a woman with no kids. We women seem to have a hard time making time for ourselves - we can rationalize away any of our "free" or "me" time by claiming that it's "for the kids" or "for our job" or whatever.
For the past month, I've been trying to reclaim some "me" time, at least four to five times a week. I've been trying to take 30 minutes a day for myself - whether it be a workout, a chance to read a chapter of my book, or a chance to blog, or heck, just a chance to shower without interruptions. Mike's schedule has been slightly more forgiving this month, which has helped us both reach our goals of working out and attaining "me" time. I'm hoping that we can keep it up over the next couple of months as his schedule gets crazy again.
At this point, I realize just how important that time is for me. I've been a much happier and much more fun mom the past month. Food is getting made from scratch again, instead of relying on store-bought. I'm healthier - down 19 pounds this morning! - both physically and mentally. I think I've become addicted to that "down"time, and I'm committing myself to finding a way to schedule it in to my days from here on out.
I think the benefits of this time vastly outweigh the downsides (slightly less sleep, less time to spend online, less time for things like shopping trips, etc). In my life, it has been, at least.
What are some of your tricks for "me" time? How do you spend that time? DO you spend that time?
Is getting "me" time a priority for you? Why or why not?
It's always a struggle to find time for myself. I think the same is true for ALL women, whether you're a stay-at-home mom, or a working mom, or a mom with grown kids, or a woman with no kids. We women seem to have a hard time making time for ourselves - we can rationalize away any of our "free" or "me" time by claiming that it's "for the kids" or "for our job" or whatever.
For the past month, I've been trying to reclaim some "me" time, at least four to five times a week. I've been trying to take 30 minutes a day for myself - whether it be a workout, a chance to read a chapter of my book, or a chance to blog, or heck, just a chance to shower without interruptions. Mike's schedule has been slightly more forgiving this month, which has helped us both reach our goals of working out and attaining "me" time. I'm hoping that we can keep it up over the next couple of months as his schedule gets crazy again.
At this point, I realize just how important that time is for me. I've been a much happier and much more fun mom the past month. Food is getting made from scratch again, instead of relying on store-bought. I'm healthier - down 19 pounds this morning! - both physically and mentally. I think I've become addicted to that "down"time, and I'm committing myself to finding a way to schedule it in to my days from here on out.
I think the benefits of this time vastly outweigh the downsides (slightly less sleep, less time to spend online, less time for things like shopping trips, etc). In my life, it has been, at least.
What are some of your tricks for "me" time? How do you spend that time? DO you spend that time?
Is getting "me" time a priority for you? Why or why not?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tasty Tuesdays!!!
Hi all-
As promised on Facebook, today's recipe came from my friend Catalina Munoz, and is a Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry. We had it for dinner last night, over jasmine rice, and with naan bread on the side - it was amazing! My boys just LOVED it!
Enjoy!
Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups red lentils
Directions
Bring 3.5 cups of water to a boil.
In a large saucepan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and bay leaf and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the boiling water and stir in the lentils. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the lentils break down and the sweet potatoes are tender, 18-20 minutes. Season with salt.
While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, wrap a stack of pitas or naan bread in a slightly damp cotton towel, and place in a warm oven for 10-15 minutes. (bread not included in nutritional information).
Serve over jasmine rice (not included in recipe nutritional information)
Number of Servings: 6
Nutritional Info
* Servings Per Recipe: 6
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 135.7
* Total Fat: 5.2 g
* Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
* Sodium: 31.5 mg
* Total Carbs: 18.4 g
* Dietary Fiber: 5.6 g
* Protein: 5.4 g
As promised on Facebook, today's recipe came from my friend Catalina Munoz, and is a Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry. We had it for dinner last night, over jasmine rice, and with naan bread on the side - it was amazing! My boys just LOVED it!
Enjoy!
Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups red lentils
Directions
Bring 3.5 cups of water to a boil.
In a large saucepan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and bay leaf and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the boiling water and stir in the lentils. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the lentils break down and the sweet potatoes are tender, 18-20 minutes. Season with salt.
While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, wrap a stack of pitas or naan bread in a slightly damp cotton towel, and place in a warm oven for 10-15 minutes. (bread not included in nutritional information).
Serve over jasmine rice (not included in recipe nutritional information)
Number of Servings: 6
Nutritional Info
* Servings Per Recipe: 6
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 135.7
* Total Fat: 5.2 g
* Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
* Sodium: 31.5 mg
* Total Carbs: 18.4 g
* Dietary Fiber: 5.6 g
* Protein: 5.4 g
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