No Recipe Required Veggie Stew

Give me a baked potato any day of the week. I know of no healthier way to fill up than with starches - and potatoes are my fave.  Most people are scared to death of them - and for good reason I guess!  The diet industry has manipulated the public into believing that anything WHITE is automatically bad! I even read recently that if you are on welfare, you can't purchase russet potatoes with your food stamps!! That is so ridiculous to me.  IT'S THE CRAP YOU PUT ON THE POTATOES THAT IS MAKING YOU FAT PEOPLE!  Don't blame the poor potato!

There. I feel better.

Having said that, your probably wondering - well if I don't put CRAP on my potato how the heck can I eat the dry thing?

So glad you asked!!

I cook a bunch at the beginning of the week and keep them in the fridge.

If I have 5 minutes prep time available and it's a snack, I just heat in the micro (cut in half and cover with a paper towel) and top with salsa, bbq sauce, or ketchup.

If I have 10 - 15 minutes prep time - and it's for lunch, I will open a can of healthy soup and pour over my baked potato and nuke.

Or if I have 20+ minutes, I might make a stew with veggies and top my potato with that.

No Recipe Required Veggie Stew
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 -3 cups frozen or fresh veggies 
Italian, Mexican, or Cajun spice blends 
salt & pepper

Above, is a pic of a stew I made with cabbage, shredded carrots and a can of diced tomatoes.  I left it plain and added a different spice each time I ate it.  Serve over baked potatoes or reheated ones cut into bite sized pieces.

Adapting for children/hubby/non-McDougall lovers: I would serve plain baked potatoes (with assorted toppings), garlic bread and/or grilled cheese sandwiches for the kiddos.  But they would have to have a small bowl of the veggie stew first! (And maybe some carrot sticks too!)

Pass the...Buck?

I know... I've dropped off the face.  I'm sorry, if there is anyone out there who actually reads this blog!! Actually, I got a comment this week that is prompting this post, asking "Where I've been?"  Truth be told, I am just busy working 2 very part time jobs and being a mother, wife, friend, and churchy worker.  Most of the time the thought of "one more thing" just overwhelms me - even though this blog IS a fun thing for me.

So thanks for reading in the past...I don't know what the future holds for this blog - it might have served it's purpose when I needed it, and now I am not so needy.  (ha ha) Still feeding my kids lots of vegan/vegetarian meals, but keeping around some of their favorite meals so I can still be loved and adored for my culinary skills ; )

Happy Eats!

Jen

Fall Lunches for the Ridiculously Lazy (that's me!)

The hardest time of day for me is what to eat for lunch. If I happen to have a left over soup then it's easy - I put it over brown rice or potatoes - but even that takes time. You have to cook your rice, or pre-cook it, the same goes with your potatoes. And for some people, taking that extra 30 minutes at lunch time for yourself just doesn't happen! Hence fast food lines at lunch time - people just won't/can't/don't want to do it!! That's what led me to this...

I saw these bags of precooked frozen brown rice at Costco and thought, "How lazy can you get?"... apparently pretty dang lazy because I bought some last week (after my Auntie swore she did the math and it worked out to $1.40 per lb. - and I pay $1.29 per lb. for my short grain brown rice) I figured it was worth .10 cents a pound to give it a try.

Oh my! They are the BEST!! The rice combined with a bag of your favorite frozen veggies (I like the Stir-fry mix at Costco - it has baby corn cobs, water chestnuts, broccolli and carrots cut in fun sticks along with other yummy veggies - hate the mushrooms in the mix though (too slimy, and I AM a fan of mushrooms) - I just pick them out.

So here's how it goes around 11:30am at my house.

Open freezer and pull out ginormous bag of Stir-Fry Veggies and a packet of brown rice.

Nuke the rice for 3 minutes - put on counter

Nuke some veggies for 3-4 minutes - and pour on top of 1/2 the bag of rice.

Choose a sauce or topping.

Sometimes it's a orangey spicy asian bottled sauce.

Sometimes my homemade teriyaki. (Made ahead in fridge - weeks ago)

Sometimes it's nutritional yeast (I LOVE this stuff - reminds me of "cheesey" comfort food.) I think you might need to develop a taste for it - but once you do - watch out!! Well you don't need to really watch out - it's very good for you! And no fat or oil - so....

Once in a while plain soy sauce and crushed red pepper.

You get the idea.

So for most of us who don't have time to slave in the kitchen at lunch time and the leftovers aren't looking too good, try a SUPER EASY veggie & rice dish - hits the spot everytime - especially in the fall/winter when warm comforting lunches are where it's at!

Got an easy lunch idea? Please share!

Potatoes O'Brien with "Summer's Last Hurrah" Tomatoes

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post...ummm...(almost 4 months) - but let's not hold that against me - I mean 4 children, 1 husband and 2 jobs doesn't exactly leave a person with lots of time for "fluffy" things.

Like this blog.

It's a luxury.

If I have time (energy) to blog then I do. If I don't, then I (obviously) don't. But I KNOW there are so many amazing food blogs out there that I'm sure all of you are fairing just fine. In fact, you're thinking....Pass the Who??

So mostly this blog is for me - as I don't even know who reads it anymore. And because it's for me (and my posterity) I feel the need to document how and why I eat the way I do - just incase it might help someone in the future or now, who is struggling with health issues.

****

I have realized something over these past few months (ok, and pounds) that creeped up on me. That I can not "do" moderation when it comes to rich food. When I taste it, I just want more.

And more.

Some people can.

I can not.

Therefore, I must stick to the program at all costs. Or the one day "cheat" turns into one meal - turns into one day, turns into one week, month etc. etc. You get my drift?

Unless it's a feast day (holidays/birthday) where I can allow my self to slightly stray. (And I'm talking 10 days out of a year!)

SO if you are eating a diet of grains, veggies and very little oil (less than 10% of calories from fat) - after about 3 days, do you find that all of the food starts to taste MORE delicious than if you were eating "rich" foods along side?

I find I am MORE excited to eat, and I don't feel deprived or hungry for those "rich" foods anymore. But the key (for me) is not to stick my toe in the pool. For first the toe and then the foot and then a back dive into the deep end.

This is just my experience. What's yours?

I would love to hear your comments...

On to the recipe now. If you can call it that.

I was recently at Albertson's (a regular grocery store out here in CA) and found these hash brown potatoes. They contain no added oil. I "fry" them up in a non-stick skillet - don't add oil, they will brown without it! Then I sliced some tomatoes (sweet darlings - on their way out...) from the garden added salt & pepper and there you go, that's been my breakfast for the past 4 days. Mmmm... really delicious.

The reason I'm even mentioning this SUPER simple recipe is because if you're like me, sometimes you make things harder than they need to be. I shop at all kinds of "non-mainstream" markets - but have never seen this product! And if there was something comparable I'm sure it would've been very expensive - because those places usually are for "convenience" type foods.

Though I won't be giving up my Trader Joe's or Henry's anytime soon - I just thought that I would share with you that sometimes good ideas are right under your noses.

Have a great week!

p.s.

Here's a great article on moderation by Dr. John McDougall - is it an wonder I love this guy??

Super Fast and Easy Fruit Crisp

Most of what I blog about is pretty darn simple. That's because I have 4 children, a husband, a home to run and a part time job while the kids are in school...all of which don't allow me to spend hours creating culinary masterpieces in the kitchen. So please excuse the paper plates and using the microwave - I'm sure it's giving me various tumors in my brain - but I will have a healthy body!!! lol!

This recipe was born out of pure desperation. I made my family these beauties...

because my children are at the age where if I don't make it - they will find some other mommy who does and I won't be their favorite any more. (That's another post)

These babies were sitting around, and they are my BIGGEST weakness - cookies!! So I decided I needed me something sweet to compete. And believe me people it's not gourmet - it's desperate.

Super Fast and Easy Fruit Crisp
Putting this dessert on a plate instead of a bowl will make it "crispier" instead of soggy. Feel free to use a beautiful plate and make your dessert feel "special".

* 1/2 cup of fruit - fresh or frozen
* sprinkle with a teaspoon of flour
* and a dash of salt and/or cinnamon if it compliments your fruit
* top with a handful of regular or quick oats
* drizzle with agave, honey or sprinkle brown sugar

Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Let cool or you will burn your mouth off. Enjoy while everyone else is eating their fat laden treats! WILL POWER PEOPLE!! That is all that separates us from them. Good old mind over matter. Sounds so easy huh?

Red Leaf Lettuce with Roasted Corn & Pico De Gallo

It's almost time to get into the swim suit. And I'm feeling the effects of too many "treats" basking around my bottom half.

SO, it's back to 2 salads a day for a while. Do thoughts of salads make you cringe? I know it's hard in McDougall world to find a dressing that's fat free and palatable - I don't care for the bottled fat free varieties. But I DO love rice vinegar paired with different things...like PICO DI GALLO.

You can make your own pico de gallo or buy it pre-made at the store - it is one of my staples. And the kids don't like the chunkiness so they don't touch it - but recently my hubby tasted my salad and was like, "Oooh - that pico de gallo rocks!" Now I think I'll be sharing with him.

In addition to salads, I use it to top baked potatoes, brown rice and even oatmeal!! Just kidding on the last one. I wanted to make sure you are paying attention.

I learned from Susan V that you can roast corn on the cob super easy by throwing them in the oven with their husks still on. 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. And because I LOVE corn on the cob I almost always have leftovers on hand for this salad. But if you don't, you can use frozen corn or * gasp * canned if you must. ; ) Read more about how to roast corn here.


Red Leaf Lettuce with Roasted Corn & Pico De Gallo
This isn't so much a recipe as it is a combination idea - use your own amounts. To make this more filling you can add warm brown rice too. Warm rice on a cold salad? Try it! It's so dang good.

red leaf lettuce (or whatever kind you like/have on hand)
1 cob of roasted corn, sliced off the cob
pico de gallo
sprinkling of seasoned rice vinegar
salt & pepper

The White Pig Blueberry Pancakes

Throw away all your pancake recipes EXCEPT this one.

Don't let this picture be the judge of whether or not you try these pancakes. I was in a hurry - as usual. So if you are too, then you need to make these DELICIOUS pancakes - that only have 6 ingredients!! I'm ditching my old recipe for this one - and the ENTIRE family is in agreement!
These pancakes are SO tender and fluffy - you will save time, money, and fat.

I got this recipe from my Vegetarian Times magazine May/June 2010. It is from a vegan Bed & Breakfast located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Central Virginia called "The White Pig."


The White Pig Blueberry (or Strawberry) Pancakes
serves 6

This recipe states that you can substitute spelt or gluten-free flour, along with any kind of dairy free milk. These are scrumptous with blueberries and/or strawberries - and whatever else your imagination can dream up.

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbs. Sucanat natural cane sugar
2 Tbs. nonaluminum baking powder, such as Rumford
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups unsweetened soymilk
2 cups blueberries

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in soymilk, adding more if necessary, for a smooth, spreadable batter. (I used water to thin them out to desired consistency)


Happy Breakfast!!