Thursday, April 21, 2011

Stir fry and hot dogs!

Saturday, April 16

-This day was a big blur. Worked all the day at the market then just ate an insane amount of corn chips. Between the two types of samosas I had today and the Indian food (spinach dish and tomato dish) (3 servings)
-Not sure if corn chips can count for vegetable servings, but I ate a really awesome Organic type that has a lot of calcium, protein and fibre in it, and even though I ate a shitload of corn via these chips, I'm only gonna count it as (one serving)


Total: 4


Sunday


-Breakfast (at 1:30 pm or so) 2c. salad mix (2 servings) with 1/2 c. additional tomato and cucumber (1 serving)



At about 1 am I ate the contents of the above photo. I made the whole thing while I was on the phone, so it was kind of a blur. Cumin red vegetables (beets, carrots, corn,spinach), mashed potatoes with tamarind sauce, and chana masala (tomato). (5 servings)

Total: 8

Monday (apparently a snacky day): 

-leftovers from the night before (1/2c= 1 serving)
-tomato soup (2 servings)
-edamame (1 serving)
-cake (yes, cake! More on this later!=1/2 serving)
-sandwich with various vegetables (1 serving)

Total: 5.5 

Tuesday: 

-2 c. salad mix
-Thai Thing with 1.5 c. cabbage, carrots, parsnips, 1/4c. spinach/jalapeno (1/2 serving), 1/4 c. corn (1/2 serving)= 4
-baguette sandwich with 1/2c. kraut, tomato, lettuce, olive, cucumber (1 serving)


Total: 7


Wednesday


-baguette sandwich with 1/2 c. vegetables listed above (1 serving)


-Then we had a midnight stir fry and veggie dogs! I didn't even consider that this combination was a li'l wacky until Brucifer mentioned it, but I guess it kind of was! This stir fry was HUGE and had 5 cups. of vegetables! We split it, so we each ate 5 servings! I hadn't eaten all day (other than hot cross buns, anyway) and actually had more vegetables than what's pictured here. I was pretty full. Featured vegetables were a beautiful organic orange pepper, corn, sundried tomatoes, a mass amount of cabbage (to make up for the lack of green leafies), carrots. 


Total: 6 

Thursday 

-Earlier today we went to Heartwood and I slowly savoured one of my favourite dishes, a bean burger served with raw vegetable toppings and a  HUGE side of leafy green vegetables and cabbage. That big pile o' goodness netted me (3 servings) of kale, red cabbage, raw onion, lettuce, avo, tomato.


-Ugh. I kind of made a stupidly large stirfry and ate 6 delicious servings of vegetables-- red pepper, cabbage, mushrooms and garlic. I probably didn't need this many. 

 Total: 9 !!

Friday, April 15, 2011

The great nacho FACE-OFF!


Breakfast (at 3pm) today was a scramble with 5.5 servings of vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, tomatoes with toast. Yup, I was pretty full afterward. 


While at the grocery store I got a pretty dope idea for dinner that could incorporate a bunch of vegetables and still feel kind of like junk food if you want it to. The photo has probably given it away by now: NACHOS! 

Brucifer defnitely didn't protest, and it was clear we'd do our our own versions: his with ground beef, japalenos, sundried tomatoes and cheddar on a base of Spicy Nacho Doritos and mine on organic blue Que Pasa chips with green peppers, jalapenos, chopped tomatoes, spinach, kalamata olives, mushrooms, and daiya cheese. This meal allowed me to consume 3 servings (or 1.5 c) of delightful vegetables. 

Daily total: 8.5 servings of vegetables!

Which plate o' nachos would you rather eat? It's okay... I won't be offended if you pick Brucifer's. 

Full disclosure!


Before we get into the thick of me counting my vegetable servings every day, I'll show you a couple of things I ate in the days prior to my beginning the official count. These peppers look better than they tasted. For some reason the buckwheat cooked strangely and I felt awkward about eating it. It got starchy and I got eerily full. Didn't use a recipe here, but perhaps I should've.
 

Brucifer and I checked out Threeman's, our pet name for the new Freeman's location in Fairview. This is the Grilled Vegetable Salad. They have it at all locations. I got it with hummus rather than tzaziki. It's a huge salad that I can't finish. It packs in about 4.5 servings of vegetables (3 servings or 1.5 cups of cooked and 1.5 servings or 1.5 cups of raw leafies) and is served with tasty toasts. Big fan of this meal. 


MONDAY:

This was the best breakfast I've had in ages. A scramble with 2 servings (1 c.) of tomato, mushrooms, green pepper and 1 serving (1 c.) of tatsoi (green leafy spinach-tastealike/mini-collard- lookalike), 1 serving/1 c. of spicy salad mix, and some bonus kimchi. I ate this with sprouted grain toast with coconut butter, maple syrup and cinnamon. This is the best fucking breakfast I've had in ages. Same as the first sentence, but with swearing for lack of my being able to explain its awesomeness without it. 

Later I had a sandwich with 1/2 c. of cucumber and tomato (1 serving)


Then apparently I had another sandwich-salad combo with 1/2 c. cucumber, green pepper and kimchi and a salad of tatsoi (1 c) =2 servings in total for the meal

MONDAY's vegetable servings= 7 which meets the MINIMUM recommendation for adult Canadian women according to the Canada Food Guide. I was full all day. Almost too full. 7 servings is pushing it for me. I think I can eat a lot, but I'm still just a l'il girl. Vegetables are filling!
 

I was telling Brucifer how excited I was that I'd eaten 7 servings of vegetables, and he told me he hadn't had any yet today. This was midnight or so. He was upset that I didn't tell him we had cucumber. He then made himself this cute snack of cucumbers, sriracha and salt n' pepa from which he shaped himself the best cucumber pentagram he could muster. 




TUESDAY:
  
Brucifer and I shared some "Thai Thing." We each had 3.5 servings of vegetables (blue potato, carrot, jalapeno, orange pepper, tatsoi and spinach). 


At about 1 a.m, I made myself some sushi that was made in such ravenous haste it was too hideous to photograph. I packed about a half cup of vegetables (1 serving) into it. 

Daily total: 4.5 servings.

WEDNESDAY:
 

Breakfasts can feature a lot of vegetables! I managed to pack 3 servings of mushrooms, carrots, swiss chard into this soup and ate it all (and was pretty full). Eating miso soup for breakfast is an awesome way to pack in some vegetables before you head out the door. It doesn't take too long to make (15 min or so), but if you're in a rush, a smoothie might be a better choice. Yes, friends, I PROMISE to do a miso soup post soon!

Later, Brucifer and I shared some fried rice featuring carrots, spinach and corn. My portion had about 1.5 servings of vegetables. 

Daily total: 4.5 servings. I can already see a pattern emerging. When I get up late (which is most days), I tend to only eat one or two major meals, therefore finding it difficult to pack in enough vegetables. I usually don't get hungry enough to make a huge meal late at night and often don't eat until 1pm or so on days I get up late. 


THURSDAY:

 Brucifer and I clinked glasses while we drank some delicious Purple Counts for breakfast this morning. They were particularly friggin' delicious and each had about 2 servings of blueberries (as you can see, I'm keener on the vegetables than the fruit) and 1/2 serving of banana. I ate some more banana later. =3 fruit servings


This is what I had for supper. I just wanted some beans on toast like the olden days. It wasn't as tasty as the days of yore, but it was quick. I made myself have a l'il salad with 1 serving of spinach and 1 serving of tomatoes and orange peppers. Total 2 servings. Today's total: 5 servings


How many servings of vegetables and fruit did you manage to eat today? It's okay if it's low. Mine's only this high because I'm making a concerted effort in order to solidify this habit for life. I want to help inspire you to eat more.  Let me know how I can do that for you!

Friday, April 8, 2011

TUNO: the tuna that thrills you





I feel so irresponsible, like I've left you ill-informed, in the dark. Maybe you've been huddled in a corner weeping because you wanted to eat a tunafish sandwich, but you don't eat fish anymore and didn't know what to do. I can't believe I've never even told you about tuno! 

I've had this recipe in my roster for 10 years. If you're a close friend, you've probably had this at my house, at a potluck, or seen it in a cookbook or recipe exchange. This is my go-to recipe. I usually make it once a week or so. It's one of the quickest meals I know of, and I've just discovered a new innovation-- adding pickles! Here's how to get 'er done!

TUNO!
 
1 can chickpeas
juice of half a lemon
2 stalks celery diced, diced onion, minced pickle (optional)
1 tsp. or more kelp powder
2 tbsp. veganaise (or regular mayonnaise), or more or less to taste
onion and/or garlic powder to taste (optional)
cayenne powder if you like it spicy!

Mash chickpeas with potato masher. Add lemon juice, diced celery or other vegetables, kelp powder, mayo, onion or garlic powder, cayenne and stir. Serve between pieces of healthy bread,on a bed of greens, or grilled with sauerkraut or some sort of cheese to make a tuno melt! Serve. Takes approx. 5 minutes and makes enough for a few sandwiches.

Tuno is so awesome for so many reasons. Firstly, it takes only a few minutes to make, and it tastes goddamned amazing. Secondly, make a sandwich out out of this and you get a ton of awesome fibre to sweep the garbage outta your intestines-- especially with the addition of a couple of vegetable servings in the tuno mixture or in your sandwich. Thirdly, you're using kelp powder which has hundreds of vital trace minerals from the sea including one we're often deficient in: iodine! Your thyroid needs iodine. A healthy metabolism depends on it!

Anyway, as a former tuna lover, this recipe always has and always thrilled me and fulfilled me. Hope it does the same for you. Holla back and let a sistah know!


 

Friday, April 1, 2011

Hot toddies'll waarm* your everything

Crown Royal will do in a pinch.  
I never expected to feel compelled to make this post in April! There's such a gross storm a brewin' outside-- rain, snow, hail, repeat. Yesterday was 100% gorgeous outside and I took my bare legs for a walk in my new mini jeanskirt. Today, by comparison, is really just the pits. I got super soaked and really cold today walking out in this crud today. I've been home for an hour and half, and I'm just nicely starting to warm up. 

I give all the props to my hot toddy!


I throw the term hot toddy around a lot in the winter, especially when my kith and kin are sick. It's a favourite home remedy of mine. While there are no hard n' fast rules regarding what a hot toddy must include, generally speaking, a dark hard liquor like rum, brandy or whisky should be the base, mixed with hot water, lemon and honey. 

The very first hot toddy I made, way back in 2004, was pretty hilarious. I used equal parts Jack Daniels, honey and lemon. No water. No friggin' around. Pretty sure Emily  felt no pain after downing this ill-advised science experiment. Many years later, I still don't frig around when preparing hot toddies. I don't like to make 'em predictable or painless. I want 'em to hit ya upside the head like a big burlap sack o' bricks, but then get you pretty gunned, or at least sufficiently warm n' fuzzy so as to not feel said smack upside the head. 
 

My hot toddy usually goes something like this. I get a little more extreme if I'm treating a cold. Hell, I'll just tell you my extreme version and you can  dumb it down from there if you like, although I recommend going all the way!**


HOT TODDY to make you WAARM!

1-2 shots of whisky or rum
juice of a quarter of a lemon, or more if you like 
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 whole peppercorns 
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of hot-as-hades cayenne powder
just-boiled water to fill the mug


If you don't want stuff floating around in your mug, you could use a teaball or piece of muslin. I like to chew on the pieces of ginger, which is definitely medicinal if you're ailin' from a stupid cold or flu. 


Anyway, the noble ol' hot toddy is a favourite of mine during cold nights, when I'm illin' or when I just want a hot drink and some whisky at the same time. 


Recommended brands of rum: Ironworks (local), or Sailor Jerry (strong as hell + spiced). 

Recommended whiskies: Glenora (local), Bulleit Bourbon (my all-around fave liquor).




HAPPY DRANKIN'!... I mean.... waarming up n' gettin' well.



*old folks around these parts, especially those from the South Shore of Nova Scotia, sometimes pronounce "warm" more like "arm" than like "storm." It's hilarious. When you wanna really stress that you're warm, this is pretty effective. And funny. At least to me. And my Dad.

**for my friends that don't drink alcohol, you can omit the alcohol and this is still a pretty delicious and effective drink. Maybe you could put a couple shots of ginger beer (Propeller if you live handy me) in instead.