VEGETABLE SAUSAGE QUINOA SOUP

For the past three weeks I have been making versions of this soup each weekend.  It is vegetable soup with the addition of sausage and quinoa or rice.  I have used italian sausage or breakfast pork sausage in the versions I have made.  I prefer italian sausage as it has more flavour than pork sausage.  I use mild italian sausage but you may prefer to use hot or other varieties of sausage.   There are options you can use in what vegetables you want to use to make the soup.  I use a variety of vegetables and like a soup that is thick and has many kinds of vegetables.  You could include cauliflower, potatoes, turnip or cabbage as other choices.  I have been using quinoa or a blend of sprouted brown rice and quinoa that is made by truRoots.  I buy this package at Costco.  Instead of cooking the soup on the stove, I used an electric pressure cooker and cooked the soup on medium pressure for 16 minutes.  The soup will great for lunches this week for both the DH and I.

Ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 to 3 small zucchinis, chopped
4 to 6 mushrooms, chopped
2 bunches fresh spinach, chopped
6 fresh or frozen skinned tomatoes, chopped
1/2 heaping cup of quinoa or sprouted rice quinoa blend
3 raw mild italian sausages, chopped into small chunks
10 cups of water or chicken bouillon
2 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
6 to 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large soup pot, add all of the ingredients.  Heat to a boiling point.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.  Serves 10.

TURKEY CHILI STEW

Even though it is late Spring, with the rain and cool temperatures, I was in the mood to make a chili.  My chili is sometimes a cross between a chili and a stew.  I like to add more vegetables than a typical bean and meat chili and I don't add a lot of heat in terms of spices.  I used extra lean ground turkey in this recipe but ground chicken or beef can also be used.  If you want a spicier chili, you can add chili pepper or hot peppers.  I also used a pressure cooker to make this dish.  The directions provided below are for stove top cooking.  I can sauté in the electric pressure cooker before using the pressure cooker function and followed the same directions and then set the pressure cooker for 15 minutes.  The DH said that the chili was very good.

Ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp oil olive
1 medium to large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 coloured pepper, chopped
2 small zucchini, medium to finely chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1.5 to 2 pounds ground lean turkey
1 large can of tomatoes or 6 frozen tomatoes
1/4 cup dry pearl barley
1 - 540 ml (19 ozs) canned white kidney beans
1 tsp herbes de provence
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

On medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and celery for 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the coloured pepper and sauté for a few more minutes.  Add the ground turkey and continue to sauté for about 8 minutes.  The turkey needs to be broken up if it clumps into pieces that are too large.

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat for an hour.  Stir occasionally.  Serves 6 to 7.

GRADUATION SPEECHES

This is the time of year when speeches are made to graduation classes.  I have heard some wonderful speeches in person with personal touches and great life stories.  I have also heard and read some speeches that are almost wishful thinking for the audience.  The person giving the speech has lived a life that most of us will never experience because of particular circumstances and significant opportunities that presented themselves to this respective person.  It is very interesting to hear about their lives and perspectives.  But how does that make it real for the graduate and how does the graduate relate to this person's life?

What got me thinking about this subject was a comment made on the radio this morning about the commencement address that Steve Jobs gave some years ago.  The commentator was talking about the first quote provided below.  She felt that Steve Jobs was downplaying the job that other people were doing so that he was able to follow his dreams and do the work he loved.  She provided examples of all the support he got at Apple, from the cleaners to the people who worked on the assembly lines putting together the computers.  In the first quote, Steve Jobs talks about doing the work that you love to do.  The second quote speaks to following your own heart and intuition and not living someone else's life. 







Both quotes from Steve Jobs provides wonderful advice.  But can we all relate to it?  What I am thinking about is the man or woman who works several jobs in order to give their children a better life.  Or the person who has responsibilities for elder care and is responsible for them and spends their  free time attending to needs of their parents.  They don't have the freedom to follow their dreams.  Or the person who was raised in an environment where education was not encouraged and wasn't encouraged to dream beyond the life of what their parent had.  Or the single parent who is raising several children, doesn't have a family support system and is unable to get training to improve their life.  Or the person who has disabilities and is discouraged by the uphill battle they face on a routine basis.

What I think should be discussed at these graduation ceremonies and other life events are the values you live by in your life and how you do your work.  The values include speaking truthfully; being clear and consistent in how you communicate; valuing all opinions; listening to others; keeping commitments; taking pride and satisfaction in your work no matter how small or big the task is at hand; being able to laugh at yourself; being grateful and showing humility.

Whenever I need a dose of reality about life, I need to look no further than the dog.  He doesn't spend his life looking backwards, will work hard at play, is loyal and is satisfied with just a toy in his mouth.

Satisfaction

REVIEW - THE DIET FIX

I enjoy reading Dr. Yoni Freedhoff's tweets and postings on his blog site (www.weightymatters.ca).  Dr. Freedhoff is a family physician and an expert on weight management.  Several months ago I bought his 2014 book called 'The Diet Fix'.

The book is divided into three sections: an overview, a 10 day reset program and implementation.  Dr. Freedhoff doesn't advocate one diet over another.  He does group the various popular current diets and explains how to use reset principles to reset any diet.

So what are reset principles?  He presents a 10 day reset plan to help you set patterns to make any diet you choose to follow be more successful.  The plan over 10 days includes:
1. Gearing up
2. Diarizing
3. Banishing hunger
4. Cooking
5. Thinking
6. Exercising
7. Indulging
8. Eating out
9. Setting goals
10. Troubleshooting and moving forward

There are a number of things that I liked about the book.  It presents short case studies of people who have struggled to lose weight; the Doctor explains that real life does include chocolate; on each of the 10 days you review a 'start and an end of the day checklist' which makes you think about the day ahead and then review what happened; and, the implementation plan covers eight areas - diet, live, eat, move, think, weigh, heal and parent.

Dr. Freedhoff reviews a number of diets and doesn't pick the best diet.  In fact, he describes that we are all different and there are pros and cons and health benefits to every diet. The fact is that you have to like the way you are eating in order to eat that way forever.  I also liked another point he made which says 'the more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your life you'll need to permanently change'.  He also says we need to aim for the healthiest life we can enjoy, not the healthiest life we can tolerate.  I could go on further and provide more nuggets of observations he makes but I will leave it at that.

If you want to read a realistic book about breaking the cycle of traumatic dieting, I recommend this book.

GLUTEN FREE NUT & SEED BREAD

A friend of mine was recommending this bread she makes and she sent me the internet link to get the recipe.  It is a gluten free bread made with oats, flax, nuts and seeds as the main ingredients.  What is great about the bread is that you mix it up in the loaf pan.  It needs to sit for at least two hours and can sit overnight before it is baked.

The blog site where I found this recipe is called My new roots.   The author of the blog site is Sarah Britton and she is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.  I have spent a little bit of time looking at the various recipes and the photographs are stunning.  She is a holistic nutritionist and received her certification attending a one year program in Toronto, Canada.   Using a good camera does make a difference with the quality of your photographs.

I am providing the original recipe from the blog site.  I made some modifications.  I added an egg to the wet mixture.  I didn't have flax seeds but had ground flax so I used the same amount and added 1/2 cup of ground flax.  You will have to add at least half a cup to a cup more water to the recipe as ground flax seed is more absorbing.  I don't have a silicon loaf pan and used instead a regular non-stick bread loaf pan.  I baked the bread for about 50 minutes in the loaf pan.  I am tempted to buy a silicon loaf pan as one can never have enough gadgets and baking tools in your kitchen.  I mixed up the loaf at suppertime and let it sit overnight on the counter, covered with plastic wrap and baked it in the morning.  You need to let the bread cool on a rack before slicing it.  For breakfast this morning, I toasted two slices and put a piece of cheese on top.  The bread is very delicious and filling.

Dry ingredients mixed in the non-stick pan

The wet and dry ingredients have just been mixed and now it will sit to thicken.

Ready to sample.

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread
Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup  sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups rolled oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
4 tbsp psyllium seed husks (3 tbsp if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 tbsp maple syrup (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee
1 ½ cups water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well.  Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup.  Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable).  Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.  Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight.  To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.

3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).

4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast.

REVIEW - THE END OF EATING

I bought this book. 'the End of Dieting' by Joel Fuhrman several weeks ago.  I have another one of his books called 'Eat to Live' which was written in 2003 and revised in 2011.  I have the original edition. Both books are based on a plant based diet which includes consuming nutrient dense food.  Other books written by Dr. Fuhrman include 'The End of Diabetes'. 'Super Immunity' and 'Eat for Health'.   Dr. Fuhrman is a U.S. board certified family physician and researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods.  He has over three decades of experience.

This book focuses on consuming foods high in nutrient density which is more satisfying than foods high in calories.  The premise is that diets are doomed to fail as they are based on nonsustaining methods and short term fixes.  Dr. Fuhrman promotes nutrient dense foods such as vegetables, beans, nuts, fruit and seeds.  He calls it a nutritarian program.  Eat these foods and less bread, potato, and rice.

The core concept is that health equals nutrients divided by calories.  Calories come from three things - protein, fat and carbohydrates.  But there are also noncaloric nutrients found in plants that are beneficial and important to your health.  Noncaloric nutrients include vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals.  The doctor emphasizes that a high nutrient diet reduces one's need for high calorie, low nutrient foods.  You don't need to count calories.  People who are overweight struggle with sugar and fat cravings and physically feel the need for food.  But to beat food addiction you also have to beat emotional eating.  Dr. Fuhrman says that ice cream can be addictive but a peach is not.  The sugar and fat in ice cream makes you give up control.  Emotional eating is when you eat for comfort during moments of high stress or great difficulty.  Three essentials habits of health are nutrition, exercise and a positive mind set.  

Dr. Fuhrman evaluates five popular diets - the standard american diet, the paleo diet, the mediterranean diet, the wheat belly diet and low-fat veganism.  You will have to read the book to get his thoughts and criticisms on each of these diets.  It is quite fascinating.   

Dr. Fuhrman says we should stop looking for diets and just eat as healthy as possible.  Eat only for health.  His nutritarian diet plan has six basic guidelines:

1. Eat a large salad every day as your main dish.

2. Eat 1/2 a cup to one cup of beans a day.

3. Eat one large serving of steamed green vegetables a day.

4. Eat at least one ounce of nuts and seeds each day.

5. Eat mushrooms and onions every day.

6. Eat three fresh fruits a day. 

This style of eating does promote a limited or non consumption of animal products.  So could I follow it?  I do like eating some animal products including eggs and cheese.  There are days when I can be vegan and other days when I am an omnivore.  I do eat vegetables every day, but I don't think I want to eat mushrooms and onions every day.  The hypothesis set out in the book about how to eat healthy makes sense. It is all a matter of doing it.

PROTEIN POWDERS - SMOOTHIES

For at least five of the seven breakfasts I have each week I will make a smoothie.  If it is a work day,  I will make the smoothie at home and take it to work in a tall plastic cup that has a snap on lid.  It is always wise to have a secure lid for the plastic cup when juggling coffee, purse, briefcase and lunch bag to take to your office.

I decided today to audit all of the varieties of protein powders I have.  This photo does not include all of the different varieties that are in the cupboard.  I currently have six flavours - plain, vanilla,  chocolate, berry, lemon citrus and banana berry.  Of course, the accumulation of this spread of protein powders occurred over time.  The protein powders are different in their protein, fat and carbohydrate content.  I have become more conscious of protein, fat and carbohydrate grams since I started tracking what I eat on my fitness pal.  There are some varieties I prefer because of the lower carbohydrate content.  When you add things such as frozen fruit, peanut butter powder, hemp seed, chia seed or ground flax seed, it is not hard to increase the carbohydrate content of the smoothie.  When all done and ready to consume, the smoothie can contain over 30 plus grams of carbohydrate.   Looking for a protein powder that has lower carbohydrate levels makes it easier for me to keep within target levels that I try  to meet based on my fitness pal tracking for the day.  Yet I have to make sure that the protein powder has enough protein per serving.

The other reality is that one needs variety and having the same smoothie flavour every day loses its appeal over time.

I used to add almond milk or yogurt to my smoothie but I now just add water.  I realized that water was sufficient and that I didn't need to add yogurt or milk.  I will add a handful of spinach or kale to some of my smoothies.  It make me feel healthier adding some greens to the mixture.

I found that is does take some experimentation to figure out how much fruit and other ingredients you need to add to the protein powder and water in order to feel satisfied and know that the protein, fat and carbohydrate amounts in the smoothie will sustain you for several hours.  

There are all kinds of blenders that people use to make smoothies.  I have used a few different kinds.  My favourite is the Vitamix.  I can make a smoothie in the Vitamix that has the texture of a mousse.  The power and watts of the Vitamix creates a great smoothie.

However you make your smoothie, it doesn't need to be thought of as just for breakfast.  You can make smoothies that include celery, cucumber and kale or spinach, apple, hemp seed, coconut oil, frozen mango, orange juice, and vanilla protein powder that can be a lunch or supper meal.  There are many available recipes worth investigating.  

QUINOA VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

A friend recently gave me a recipe for a vegetarian moussaka.  She made it with zucchini instead of eggplant and used quinoa in it.  I decided to take the basics of it and make it lower calorie along with some other tweaking.  The DH and I both enjoyed it and I froze several portions for future lunches.

Vegetable mixture in the pan.

Sauce poured over the vegetables.

Just out of the oven.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 clove garlic. minced
2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
2 medium size zucchinis, quartered and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
small can of tomatoes or 4 fresh or frozen tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water or broth
pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 cup milk
2 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat and add the garlic and onions.  Reduce heat to medium and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini, quinoa, tomatoes and broth.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until the quinoa is cooked, about 15 minutes.  Season with pepper to taste.

In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs and add the flour.  Whisk the eggs and the flour and add the milk.  Combine well and add the shredded cheese.  Add salt band pepper, mix and set aside.

Oil a 9 X 13 inch pan and place the vegetable mixture in the pan.  Spread the mixture evenly across the pan and pour the sauce over the vegetables.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes until the dish is golden brown.  Serves 6 to 8.

GRANOLA BAR - OHSHEGLOWS

I have collected cookbooks over the years and I do find it relaxing to sit in a relaxing chair and read cookbooks as a way to unwind.  I may not read the cookbook from cover to cover but will read sections at a time.  I also enjoy the books that include pictures.  The challenge is of course when I make a particular recipe, will it look like the one in the cookbook.  The following recipe does look like the photo in the cookbook.

I have been spending time reading the new cookbook I bought, "oh she glows", which I quite enjoy.  I decided to make the classic glo bar which I have paraphrased as a granola bar.  What attracted me to the bar is that I buy protein bars or a healthy 'clean eating' bar for myself and the DH to have as a snack during the day.  These bars filled the bill as a good snack.  I also figured out the carbs, protein and fat content using 'my fitness pal' based on 12 bars.  Each bar contains 191 calories, 24 grams of carbs, 9 grams of fat and 5 grams of protein.  If you don't have dry rice cereal you can substitute with another dry cereal.  These bars are gluten free.  Both the DH and I enjoyed the bars and we ate them over a period of 9 or 10 days.  I will make them again.

I can't the provide the original recipe to you as it is copy right protected and I didn't modify it enough to make it different from the original recipe in the cookbook.

LENTIL NUT LOAF

I have been reading the recipes in the new cookbook by Angela Liddon.  In a previous post I wrote about her new cookbook 'Oh She Glows'.  I really liked this lentil nut loaf and I took it for lunches instead of my usual soups.  The DH also liked this loaf.  The glaze is worth making as it adds to the flavour.   

It is a great loaf to make if you want an alternative to a meatloaf.

Chopping the vegetables in a food chopper.

Mixing the vegetables and the raisins.

Ready to go into the oven.  You can see how the parchment paper  goes over the sides of the loaf pan.

Cooked and being to be sliced.  

Lentil Nut Burger

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked green lentils

3 cups of water

1 cup mixed nuts, toasted, finely chopped

3 tbsp finely ground flaxseed

1 tsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped

1 apple, peeled, cored, finely chopped

1/3 cup raisins

½ cup flour

½ cup bread crumbs

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic apple glaze:

¼ cup ketchup

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce or apple butter

1 tbsp maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1.     In a medium size pot, cook the lentils in the three cups of water.  Once the lentils start to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.  Drain excess water and using a food processor, process the lentils for less than 30 seconds until it is a smooth paste.   Don’t puree all of the lentils and leave about half a cup of lentils intact as they add texture. Put the lentils into a large mixing bowl.

2.     Line a loaf pan, 9 X 5 inches with parchment paper.  The parchment paper needs to come up the sides of the loaf pan and be a bit taller than the loaf pan so that you can lift the loaf out of the pan by the parchment paper.

3.     In a large wok or frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the celery, carrot, apple and raisins.  Saute for five more minutes.

The nuts and vegetables should be finely chopped so that the loaf holds together.   

4.     To the processed lentils, add the flaxseed, nuts, flour, bread crumbs, thyme and oregano.  Stir until well combined. Add the sauteed mixture to the mixing bowl and combine all of the ingredients.

5.     Press the lentil mixture firmly and evenly into the loaf pan.  You can use the back of a fork or a wooden spoon to press the mixture down firmly in the pan.

6.     In small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the balsamic glaze.  Spread the glaze over the loaf using a spoon or a pastry brush.

7.     Bake uncovered in the oven at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.  Gently lift the loaf out of the pan using the parchment paper and place onto a cooling rack. Cool for thirty minutes before slicing.  Makes 8 servings.

Options:

To make it gluten free use oat flour and gluten free bread crumbs. Instead of adding bread crumbs you can add a half cup of cooked leftover oatmeal.

I used unsalted mixed nuts that were already toasted.  You can use just walnuts,  almonds or other nuts.

Modified from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.