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| EAT MORE FRUITS & VEGGIES - this means YOU! - |
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refugee_lurker_27
 Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:50 am |
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EAT MORE FRUITS & VEGGIES - this means YOU!
Anybody else notice that the gov has onced again UPPED the amount of fruits & vegetables they advise people to eat - instead of five servings per day, now they are saying to eat between two cups to six and a half cups of fruits & veggies every single day.
In the recipe forum I noticed some requests for easy ways to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into the daily fare, and thought I'd start a thread here so that posters can share their tips and ideas about this.
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Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 1329
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| refugee_lurker_27
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:15 am |
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The first measure I advise someone who is really having difficulty incorpoarting any fruits & veggies into their diet is to institute a two-day period each week which is 100% meat-free.
On those two days, where meat is not permitted, you'll quickly see that it becomes MUCH easier to start eating some really healthy good tasting vegetables.
For instance, on one of those days the MAIN dish of the meal can be a thick rich cream of brocolli soup - to which of course there are sprinklings of your other fav soup veggies - diced carrots, a shredded potato, minced garlic, chopped onion, a tablespoon of corn, a little red pepper.
If you eat two bowls of such a homemade soup, you'll feel very satisfied and will NOT notice the absence of meat at your supper.
On the next day, do a BEAN soup, pick out your favorite legume, and make it a game to see how many different veggies you can add.
For both days, be certain that you have a serving or two of a raw salad.
IMPORTANT -- since you are not eating meat on these two days, buy some decent vegetables that you like -- buy that beautiful red bell pepper, splurge on the avacado, get some of the fresh parsley, etc.
Spend the money you've saved not eating any meat those two days on APPEALING vegetables.
My freezer ALWAYS contains just about any frozen vegetable available at the market - so ANYTIME that I have any hankering for any veggie, it's already THERE, ready to cook.
I also buy large amounts of green peppers and onions and celery when they go on sale, and so I usually always have frozen minced peppers, frozen chopped onions that I can add to MANY dishes; I always have small "Snack Bag" sized portions of cooked celery/carrots that I almost always add to any canned or homemade soup.
I have small jars of basil, oregano, garlic - and all of these significantly enhance the nutritional value of anything one cooks.
I always make sure that I have frozen squash on hand, because if I'm hungry TODAY for squash, it had better be on hand, because when I'm at the store, I may no longer have any hankering for it.
So, too, I always have ONE can of waxed beans in my pantry - at least once a year, I actually like to eat them; same with ONE can of candied yams; one jar each of pickled beets, pickled cabbage; a can of sauerkraut.
I always have plenty of canned beans, corn, potatoes on hand to add to soups & stews. And I use them, in order to keep the "emergency food supplies" rotated.
In the fridge I always have carrots, green & red cabbages - they don't go bad for weeks.
It's important to have a supply of delicious salad dressings to motivate you to make a daily salad.
I also have a whole variety of frozen sliced fruit --- to eat it, I usually dust it with powdered sugar, (use only SMALL amt of the powdered sugar, just to coat it alittle) then I nuke it for maybe 30 seconds and pour and the resulting fruit & thin syrup over plain yogurt.
Only buy a small amount of fruit at any one time --- but shop in the produce section OFTEN, I stop in the produce section 2-4 times a week, to encourage a continual consumption of a large variety healthy veggies.
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Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 1329
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| dithers
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:26 pm |
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Having gotten hooked on the South Beach Diet several years ago I find myself actually craving certain vegie dishes at times - they are so tasty and oh so colorful!
This black bean soup recipe is so tasty and quick to make. As with so many things it tastes even better left over so I always make a double batch.
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 whole medium ripe tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 lb. can black beans, undrained
In a skillet heat oil and saute chopped onion and green pepper until transparent. Add tomato, garlic, oregano, cumin, wine vinegar and salt. Mix well. Cook 2 minutes longer, then add beans. Stir in hot sauce, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add sherry.
Tips: Feel free to add more or less garlic or other vegies depending on how much you like them. Depending how much you like hot sauce I suggest adding it in small increments or not at all. I use cooking sherry or even dry vermouth or whatever if I don't have sherry. Sometimes I throw in some fresh deli salsa in addition to or instead of the tomato.
I adapted the above recipe in order to make it from canned beans. If you prefer to make your beans from scratch here is the original recipe which I cannot vouch for.
1 pound black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole medium ripe tomato
1 bay leaf
1/2 of a medium onion
1/2 of a medium green pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
For the soup:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Wash beans and discard imperfect ones. Place in a bowl and cover with water 2 inches above beans. Soak overnight.
Pour beans and soaking water into a 4-quart kettle. Add more water if needed to cover beans 1 inch. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, tomato, bay leaf, onion, green pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, skim foam as necessary. Lower heat to moderate and cover. Cook 1 hour or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Remove bay leaf and what is left of tomato, onion, pepper and garlic. In a skillet, heat remaining oil and saute chopped onion and green pepper until transparent. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, wine vinegar and salt. Mix well. Cook 2 minutes longer, then add to beans. Stir in hot sauce, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add sherry.
I don't do this, but it can be served with white rice and chopped onions.
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| refugee_lurker_27
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:48 pm |
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| dithers wrote: | Having gotten hooked on the South Beach Diet several years ago I find myself actually craving certain vegie dishes at times - they are so tasty and oh so colorful!
This black bean soup recipe is so tasty and quick to make. As with so many things it tastes even better left over so I always make a double batch.
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 whole medium ripe tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 lb. can black beans, undrained
In a skillet heat oil and saute chopped onion and green pepper until transparent. Add tomato, garlic, oregano, cumin, wine vinegar and salt. Mix well. Cook 2 minutes longer, then add beans. Stir in hot sauce, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add sherry.
Tips: Feel free to add more or less garlic or other vegies depending on how much you like them. Depending how much you like hot sauce I suggest adding it in small increments or not at all. I use cooking sherry or even dry vermouth or whatever if I don't have sherry. Sometimes I throw in some fresh deli salsa in addition to or instead of the tomato.
I adapted the above recipe in order to make it from canned beans. |
Thank you, that looks absolutely scrumptious, I'm making a version of your delicacy in a few minutes, contingent upon what I find in my kitchen and pantry.
I had NO idea that such vegetarian fare had anything to do with the South Beach Diet, that's simply amazing.
And I'm startled by how much info exists online about a Vegetarian South Beach Diet - I had NO idea, I'm just amazed. It's astounding how popular it is.
South Beach Vegetarian Version Diet Plan
http://www.south-beach-diet-101.com/learn/south-beach-diet-vegetarian.html
Lots & Lots of SBD Vegetarian Recipes
http://www.south-beach-diet-101.com/learn/south-beach-diet-vegetarian.html
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Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 1329
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| dithers
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:42 pm |
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Re: SBD - yes, RL I think many people are under the impression it's a version of sorts of the Atkins diet. But there is no counting of carbs or calories or anything. It's simply learning good lifelong eating skills in three phases - and losing weight along the way - easily and without feeling deprived or hungry.
After many years on the various diet trails I can pretty much tell you the nutritional values of almost any food out there. And I was a label reader as well. But it wasn't until SBD that I truly learned how to read a label.
I'm very anal. I have a grocery document set up on my computer that is laid out like the aisles at my local store. So before I go shopping I simply insert those items I've written down from my pad in the kitchen in addition to items I find in the grocer's online ad. My whole point of this being is I've also permanently inserted on that document the reminders from SBD re: labels and how to make good food choices.
There are basic rules that make it so much easier to understand how to judge any food per serving.
Sugars 3g or less
Fat – 6g or less
Dairy 6g fat or less
Daily Fiber: 25-30g daily (5-10g soluble/ rest insoluble)
hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oil on the list of ingredients. If it is listed as the first, second, or third ingredient, the food has a lot trans fats in it. The common names for trans fats include partially hydrogenated of the following - soybean oil, corn oil, soybean and/or cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil coconut oil, and vegetable oil shortening.
If one of the first three ingredients is a word ending in "-ose," it's probably pretty high in sugar.
Avoid products w/20% or more of d.r.v. of sat fat
Anyway, sorry to get on my bandwagon. It's quite easy to do when touting SBD.
I've also discovered and fallen in love with all colors of bell peppers. They enable you to serve any dish in a presentation worthy of the trendiest restaurant.
And re: my black bean soup recipe. Thanks for highlighting the recipe in blue. I should have figured that out as I did realize it had kind of gotten lost in a lot of script. But you have already figured out the greatest secret of that recipe - and that is that it is so entirely versatile to alter and appeal to any particular tastes.
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| refugee_lurker_27
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:22 pm |
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Dithers, next time that you make that recipe, instead of using black beans, try a can of CHILI BEANS - I think it would work really well, and besides, canned chili beans so frequently go on really good sales, LOL.
Here is a recipe you can play around with, I have no idea what the original recipe was, it came through a friend, and it was always, well... a bit of this, or a bit of that.
The BASIC ingredients which comprise the soup broth are:
1 can chili beans, undrained
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup salsa
It's like your recipe, see, you can play around with stuff like tomato sauce, pizza sauce, even tomato paste.
You play around with the amounts of the tomato base until you find the proportions that you like the best.
You start it out with maybe a couple cups of water in which you boil a cup of frozen mixed veggies and a cut up carrot - I really like this soup best when there is a diced potato added. But I doubt that potato is permissable on SBD.
I don't make up a huge amount of it; rather, by the second day when the first version is really dull, then I add a whole new DIFFERENT cooked veggie, or even play around with small amounts of barley, rice, small pasta shapes or ramen noodles.
I stock up on canned beans whenever they are on sale, but the chili beans go on sale more frequently and some times are as low as 35-cents each.
I intend to try making this soup some time using ONLY canned ingredients - to see how it would turn out, whether it would be a good soup during times of emergency - using canned mixed veggies, canned potatoes, a small can of pizza sauce. AND maybe a tiny can of salsa.
Since you've mentioned that you're using lots more legumes, I really encourage you try this recipe AND your own recipe with the chili beans - I think you'll like it alot, but if you don't, it sounds like you can doctor it up to fit the requirements of your palate.
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Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 1329
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| dithers
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:34 pm |
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Another great bean recipe/s - takes about 2 minutes to make. Great for lunch or a dinner side dish.
Canned Ortega spicy fat-free refried beans.
For lunch I simply take about a half-cup, throw on some no-cal taco sauce or a bit of salsa, a sprinkling of grated cheddar on top - zap about 1 minute and voila.
This is filling and as you can see extremely quick. But the things you can do to dress it up are endless. Especially for that no-meat dinner RL is speaking of.
Add some fresh chopped cilantro, or tomatoes, or jalapenos or whatever. Roll it up into a soft shell - no fat, lo fat, etc. tortilla - put the grated cheese on top, zap and lay on a bed of shredded lettuce. Makes a whole meal. You can put your ingredients on the inside, on the outside, or whatever. You can even simmer any added ingredients in the beans stovetop for a bit to blend the flavors before sticking into a shell and zapping.
Fresh deli salsa is a good alternative to fresh tomatoes because it's already got some pretty good added flavor and ingredients. There is no need for salsa to have added sugar although if you check the labels you'll find many do. The fresh ones usually don't. Check the labels. You can find great salsa with no added sugar that is only about 15 calories per tablespoon or two.
Even though you needn't use that much cheese that you need to worry about the fat content, etc. - Kraft now has a fairly decent no-fat shredded cheddar (as well as no-fat mozzarella). None of these no-fats will ever take the place of the "good" stuff but if you aren't a stuffy gourmand - then these will suffice.
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| refugee_lurker_27
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:48 pm |
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SUGAR in salsa????
 I had NO idea...
Anyhoo, thanks for the tip about the Canned Ortega spicy fat-free refried beans, as I've noticed that almost all the refried beans have LARD listed as an ingredient, and that's not something I'm interested in encountering outside of, maybe, a pie shell.
About as far as I've gotten with tortillas is to throw one on a non-stick pan, thrown on shredded cheese & minced green peppers & onions, then sprinkle a bit of tabasco sause, put another tortilla on top, and then heat on both sides.
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Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 1329
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| dithers
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:49 pm |
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RL -
After years of being anal and measuring to the exact n'th and following recipes to the "t" I've finally come to the realization that "mother knows best."
Can't tell you how many good concoctions I've made in recent years by simply using canned beef or chicken broth, any veggies on hand - either fresh, frozen or canned and added chicken, beef or hamburger if desired.
Rather than make goulash, I bypass the pasta and make a pretty good hamburger soup. Different every time but always with a can or two of tomatoes. I always have several kinds of different flavored diced tomatoes on hand.
I've found that if I have canned broth, tomatoes, beans, green beans, corn, those veggies I've thrown into the freezer or any combo resembling those above that almost any great soup in the world can be made.
I always do this little game in my head that if there was a reality type show where some famous chefs had to come into my kitchen and prepare something with what they found in my cupboard what could they come up with. Of course, I always envision great things. I'm sure even though I find my spice assortment quite impressive that they'd have major heart attacks over the expiration dates. LOL
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Pretty in Blonde
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 3468
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| refugee_lurker_27
Posted:
Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:57 pm |
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I can't use any meat broths, but if I use the canned vegetable broth and water, I invariably also use some type of cooked bean, doesn't need to be a large amount, which I puree with some of the soup liquid - it gives the soup base a pleasant thickening and of course adds protein.
The EASIEST beans to use are called ADUKI beans, they're Japanese, and there are several ways to spell their name. They are a small red bean, do NOT *need* to be presoaked --- like lentils, you can cook them at the same time you're cooking brown rice and they finish up at the same time.
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