Lunch!

Today's lunch was great and a throwback to when we lived in Knoxville TN. There was a restaurant there (a chain, but still good) that we liked to frequent, the Silver Spoon American Cafe.  They offered the usual fare for a casual type eatery, but their Tomato Dill Soup totally won over my heart (and tummy!) When I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, I became BFF's with that girl who takes your carry-out order over the phone.  It was like a bad coke habit, but tomato-y and healthy.  I bet that I ate this soup 3 times a week for several months.  I've tried to make it from scratch at home and even doctored up good ole Campbell's Tomato Soup with mediocre results.  Last night was different.  The stars were aligned, the moon was in it's optimal phase. I had found it.  

After a late afternoon movie with the kids, we ran by the local Publix on the way home.  Rolling ideas for a dinner still unplanned in my mind, I determined that soup would be a good option (I love soup all year, not just in the winter). And then I saw it...an innocent can of soup in the organic aisle. A trusty brand name with a photo on the can that looked appetizing.  Could it be that this might be what I've been looking for all these 10 + years?  I started dinner when I got home. The soup looked great. The soup smelled great. One glance at the ingredient list and the nutritional facts deemed it more than acceptable.  I added a touch of sea salt, a generous pinch of dried dill and swirl of organic cream on the top. I plated a beautiful salad of field greens, sliced strawberries, walnuts and feta cheese topped with homemade Sesame Maple Dressing.  I added a slice crusty whole grain baguette and sat down, tasted and fell in love.  It tastes JUST like my beloved Tomato Dill Soup and I can have it anytime right here in my own hometown. Bliss.

Tomato Dill Soup

1 or more (it's NOT condensed, so allow 1 can per person) Amy's Light Sodium Organic Tomato Bisque
-Per can: 1 t. dried dillweed
-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
-1 t. organic heavy cream or So Good brand Coconut Creamer (optional)
-small handful of croutons, optional

Heat up the soup and add the dill and salt/pepper to taste.  Spoon into a soup bowl and drizzle the cream from the end of a spoon onto the surface of the soup in a swirl or other decorative pattern. Gently lay croutons on top and serve.  It may be out of a can, but this is healthy and oh, so tasty!

The First Day of School

I've been waiting all summer for this day...the first day of school for ALL my children.  I've not had all my children enrolled in school EVER in my 23 years of married life (22 of those years with children). It's not that I'm ready to get them out of the house, it's that I can't get the organizing/exercising/praying/daily Mass attending/you name it done with everyone underfoot and wondering what I'm feeding them next.  I need time to plan and organize so that we can finally have an organized and peaceful home. Yes, I do believe that to be possible even if it kills me getting there.

True confession time...we ate junk this summer, and a lot of it! We all gained weight, too.  It's time to practice what I preach and get the junk out of our lives and diets. I'm going to break off my affair with that other man, Papa John and say good-bye to Happy Hour at Sonic, as well. I just turned 50 this past weekend and am determined to make the next 50 healthy.

Breakfast!

As we are trying to reduce animal products to nearly none around here, breakfast seems the hardest meal hit.  Salad just doesn't cut it for breakfast (at least not for me) and fruit or smoothies on an empty stomach sometimes sends my blood sugar soaring.  I love hot cereal...it's warm and inviting in the morning and does seems to "stick to my ribs " more than your average breakfast.  However, cutting out processed foods means cutting out instant oatmeal or grits  - the two products that make hot cereal a reality on rushed mornings.


Last night I whipped out my trusty favorite slow cooker cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman, and attempted to make my breakfast a few hours in advance.  Their recipe called for 4 1/2 c. of water to 2 cups of thick rolled oats, slow cooked for 3 hours on high or overnight on the low setting. The morning proved that my crock pot isn't just for dinner anymore, but the recipe did need some tweaking.  Here's what I finally decided upon...

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

-2 c. thick rolled oats (I used Silver Palate's Thick & Rough Oatmeal - DO NOT use instant or quick oats or you will have a crock pot full of mush!)
-5 1/2 c. water
-Pinch of sea salt
-1/2 c. organic raisins (optional)
-1 T. cinnamon


Butter or spray your slow cooker crock  (I used my smaller 4 qt. model). Add all the ingredients and stir well. Cook on low over night  (6-8 hours) or on high for 3 hours.  You may need to add a little milk (I used almond milk) to thin it to your liking.  Add the sweetener or your choice (I used grade B organic maple syrup-- a bit more nutritionally worthy than Grade A) and enjoy!


 What to do with leftovers? Well, they sell frozen oatmeal at the grocery...why can't I do it? Well, the answer is that I can! Leftovers can be frozen for 1 month in individual serving sizes. Just thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat (preferably on the stove top, not microwave). Quicker than making from scratch in the morning!


or...


use this recipe to make leftover oatmeal muffins (just sub a few ingredients to make it healthier...whole wheat flour for at least half of the white flour, date sugar for half of the brown sugar, etc...)
http://www.food.com/recipe/leftover-cooked-oatmeal-muffins-318283

Enjoy your oats!

In the beginning...

Today we begin our journey to become a healthier (and happier?) family. None of us are dying soon that we are aware, but we are certainly on our own individualized slow paths of destruction.  I have Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol and triglycerides and increasingly poor circulation. My DH has numerous food and environmental allergies and high blood pressure...we're both in great need of shedding our two youngest children's combined body weights and we're READY to make a change.  I will turn 50 this summer and I hope to feel/look/function much better by then!


In addition to our needing to lose weight, we truly want to rescue or children from the processed jungle commonly called the standard American diet. It's mainly our fault for introducing them to "frankenfoods" in the first place... full of artificial ingredients that we can't pronounce and a longer ingredient list than should be allowed on the side of a box.  I am vowing to get back to basics and make the bulk, if not all, of our food the old fashioned way...in my kitchen!


As far as the hubby and I are concerned, we are beginning the Six Week Plan (or maybe longer) outlined in Dr. Joel Fuhrman's, Eat To Live.  I would LOVE for him to be my personal physician. Basically, his plan is what I have believed in for quite some time...about 95% low-fat vegan, about 50-70% raw.  The kiddos all currently subscribe to varying schools of thought on diet.  I have 8 children...2 girls and 6 boys, ranging in age from 4 to 22. Our family is a real sociological experiment in the works! 1 of our children is vegan, 1 is lacto-ovo vegetarian, 2 eat mainly chicken and eggs as protein, but doesn't use dairy, 1 eats mainly chicken and eggs as protein, but does eat dairy, 1 likes meat a lot and a lot of it, 1 eats a pretty normal, well-rounded diet and the last lives off of a no veggie, soda-laden, fried food junk diet.  


Where do I start? Well, first I'll work on getting all the processed junk out of the house and begin making more food staples and meals at home, then I'll work on them going veg. First order of business? Get rid of the junk in the house!


Wish us luck!