Summer Food Ideas, and finds

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I just discovered a place that serves a breakfast salad.  Seemed so RIGHT, why isn't everyone doing it?

And this was such a terrific salad.  The greens were all dark out of the restaurant's garden, with candied bacon, rosemary homefries, avocado instead of bread, topped with an over easy egg, and Dijon dressing on the side.  Oh.... there were cherry tomatoes too.  I remember eating and thinking... THIS IS SO GOOD! 

WHen I left, I felt full, and not overstuffed.  I'm the kind of person to top everything with an egg, so this made complete sense to me.  The yolk combined with the dressing and coated everything.... so lovely.  The bacon at the restaurant was super thick, and almost imbibed with something very sweet..... as though it had been smoked with brown sugar.... good, but I won't have it again, bc of the sugar.

I guess it reminded me a bit of the Spinach salad my dad always made with thick bacon, and dressing made from the bacon drippings with carmelized onions..... red wine vinegar.... boiled eggs.  Eggs easy over on top would be better.

I made salads this morning, and changed it up with regular bacon, skipping the potatoes..... but still very yummy.  Hops you could keep the potatoes, and use tempeh pan seared with a it of sweet soy if you can have that.   

Another quick snack we love.... sliced apples....  Honey Crisp if I can get them, tossed in a baggy with Cinnamon.   If you can have fruit.... this is a good one.

We're eating a lot of Pho right now..... love the fresh veggies that go with, and brothy soups are winners in this house. 

I love Aldi's organic produce.... that's a no brainer.

I was really unhappy to pay what I felt was way too much for an organic and brined chicken at Trader Joe's yesterday.  I didn't remember them costing that much OR they've gone up.  They say they don't have sales.  I remember them costing almost half that: /

What is everyone else doing right now? 

A friend finally made the g/s/d free move on his own, and is asking me to do it again with him.  It's so hard, and I'm not sure I'm ready to go back at just this moment.  Everything gets very serious, and I'm..... cranky all the time, force feeding myself protein...... eating carbs once a week, being very picky at labels, which he's not, and there would be conflict, bc his idea of g/s/d free is different, and we'd be sharing cooking, and.....
I wonder if I could just let it go, and be what it is.

 IF I could do g/s/d my way, and let him do his his way, and share only the things that I can eat.

Food hasn't been a trauma for a while, and I feel very protective of this..... break. 



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[Hopalong]

Well, I'm no foodie, partly because having all the delectable fresh ingredients and great variety in my pantry is costly. On a fixed income, there's no room. I buy only the dirty dozen (the thin-skinned things) organically if I can. Big bags of frozen organic spinach for smoothies and frozen organic blueberries for smoothies and oatmeal. Otherwise, I limp along by having frozen fish or sardines a couple times a week. Eggs ditto. Just hope I'm getting enough protein.

I don't yearn for variety as much as I do simple one-pot vegetarian recipes that are truly balanced. And the will to make them.

I did start making my own milk kefir. Love seeing the grains grow and love the tangy flavor. Add a little maple syrup for something sweet.

Mainly, I just need to stuff myself with greens to feel well.

[sKePTiKal]

Huh. A friend has had great results from sticking (pretty closely) to the keto diet. He had to buy new pants because of the inches he lost from around the waist. Now, he has a pretty extensive homestead setup which keeps him VERY busy at physical tasks, mind you.

I am moving that way - and it DOES satisfy hunger pretty well and provide enough energy/strength. But carbs are one of my emotional crutches. I've never been a sugar addict - just chocolate once in a while. I'm slowly trying to wean myself off through sheer rational will/choice and it's HARD. There's got to be some chemical basis - a dopamine response - when those carbs are metabolized. But it also has a tolerance/resistance to it... where a little isn't enough and one feels the need for "more"... until you're eating a ton of carbs and very little else.

Unlike a lot of people - I simply can't just decide to "start" and "stick to" something like this in a day. I have to gradually work my way into it - letting go the stuff I know I'm overdoing and adding more of the stuff I think/know I need.

Food has increased in price - greatly - in the last few years. As well, it seems 3/4 of the stock in a store is all processed food. Doesn't matter where you live either - the "standardization" of retail means you're going to find pretty much the same things everywhere. The produce section has been reduced to a corner of the store. So, I think growing the easy stuff - greens and herbs - and finding the farmers who sell, the farmers markets, and local meats is the way to go.

So much of what the grocery stores/Walmart, etc sell isn't HEALTHY food. It's just calories.

[Hopalong]

Amen and amen!
Health-wise, you basically don't want to buy "manufactured" edible stuff that comes in a box. Or a bag (unless that's rice or beans).

Buy WHOLE grains (brown rice, oats, bulgur, barley, etc.--quinoa too though it's a seed). Skip white-flour-based, pre-baked stuff of all sorts.
Buy PLANT foods.
Protein can be lean meat OR beans/legumes and/or nuts and/or fish and/or eggs. Fish lowest on the marine food chain are lowest in pollutants such as mercury and highest in Omega 3s (e.g., sardines). Wild salmon's great for Omega 3s if you can afford it. (The big fish that eat so many littler fish accumulate all the pollutants in their prey's bodies as well as what's in their own bodies. Toxic.)

Sheesh. Definitely garden if your body/budget/time/income allow it. Ditto farmers' markets. God help you if you're poor and live in a food desert punctuated with golden arches.

Meat of any sort is best as nearly a CONDIMENT. Reverse the portions we grew up with, put a 1/2 cup of protein on a plate full of 4 c. varied veggies.

Sigh. I know what's needed. Not always very good at being determined or prioritizing it.

I relate to the carbs trigger/craving/comfort/binge cycle, PR. Big time. I have found the most massive resistance I experience to this is when I stuff myself with huuuuuge salads punctuated with savory stuff like marinated mushrooms and olives, plus bright peppery flavors like radishes. When I really do eat one of these daily, the carb attacks later just don't happen as often by far.

I've been tempted by this, for that reason: https://smile.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Salad-Chopper/dp/B001AEH634/ref=pd_sbs_79_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001AEH634&pd_rd_r=6F7KWAMP5APS37G6N62F&pd_rd_w=YP6JB&pd_rd_wg=DHmTs&psc=1&refRID=6F7KWAMP5APS37G6N62F

Love from lardy,
Hops

[lighter]

Hops:

I wish I could still eat lentils.... I loved them so much.  I'd make a large pot, and eat them all week. 

If you're interested... saute up tomatoes and onions in olive oil till almost an oily paste then add your lentils and water to simmer till cooked.  Lentils are dry, so more olive oil is good.

 I always made a large quantity of small dice salad to go with... cucumbers, radishes, and carrots with lots of parsley, lemon, red wine vinegar, and Nature's Seasons.  One of my favorite meals.  You can use whatever is at the farmers market, but I always have cucumber as a base.  I could grab everything easily from fridge, eat and go on about my business without blowing up the kitchen as often. 

If I've never mooned over lentils on this forum.... I really like the little black round ones. Cooked just till done. The orange ones seem to be more like potatoes in texture.  The ones you find in the grocery store... brown..... are the ones I fell in love with first.

Amber..... I'm resisting the struggle with food...... entering into it..... again.  Buying food is one thing, but making the good choices, consistently.... a whole'nuther thing.  I feel better if I eat more greens..... I look better.  I can SEE and FEEL health bloom top to bottom. 

Today I grabbed Brussels and red peppers and onions and spinach and mushrooms and garlic and sauteed them for an Asian dish.  Bean thread noodles, and hot chili sauce... tamari..... chicken stock and it was a hit with TWO people in the household.  The other sniffed it and walked away. 

See..... that just compounds the frustration, and there's always one in the household who chooses to complain... I have to do something about that, and today we have a family meeting to lay out household tasks that include food planning and prep.   

::breathing::..

I have to emotionally detach..... I know I do.  I will.

Wednesday I'll scout the local outdoor market for a new local purveyor of pork..... and maybe chickens.  I'm not that into chicken anymore.  I wonder if I could make a move to tempeh for much of our protein needs.  Will have to research it, but I surely do like pork.

As for the salad chopper Hops..... we're girls who can handle rather large bites , and I sometimes chop things very thin bc I enjoy handling and eating it that way when I have time.  I have favorite knives that make me happy to use them.

If that chopper brings you pleasure, then by all means get it.  Cooking should bring us pleasure, IMO.  I'm going to focus on my bliss, and shut out other people's opinions more.

::nodding::


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[sKePTiKal]

Confession time:

Yes, it seems as if the fridge contains a lot of healthy choices... and for some reason they stay there until way past their "best by" dates or until the fresh stuff is transformed into something else. When I'm shopping - I'm drawn to all the good stuff, with the best of intentions. And I seem to be a whole different kind of "eater" at home, than I am a "shopper" in the store.

During the winter's "vacation" I took for a few months, I got in the habit of making something special for myself one day a week. I remembered to thank myself for the roast, or chili or soup. It felt good to do those things for myself... but then my follow through about eating it could evaporate instantly. I just found 4-5 servings of the last bean soup I made in the freezer. Treasure!! LOL.

I have a friend on another board that's going to culinary school. She absolutely loves being in the kitchen and I'm trying to pick up some enthusiasm from her again.

Lentils! oh yes.... onion & red pepper... black olives... and a simple vinagrette. Perfect food. I haven't made tabouleh in a while, either. I think I have the grains. But even whole grains are carbs; so trying to get to keto... protein, fats and veggies are the focus (sans corn; corn is a big no-no). I think I'm making egg and chicken salad this week.

[lighter]

I prefer Tabbouleh without grains actually.  Just give me the cucumber, tomatoes... whole little perfect grape ones, a little chopped red onion, tons of parsley, and maybe carrots  and radishes...... but definitely lemon, red wine vinegar, and Nature's Seasons.

I had another breakfast salad yesterday morning.... with two eggs.... so.  Good.

This morning I had oatmeal with stevia and salt.... a tiny pour of cream for comfort.   

This whole Comey thing...... laying out Trump's PD pathology for everyone to see..... and doing it with carefully planed steps.... documenting from the first moment he was subjected to him..... I was thinking YES!  YES!  You have to document!

::smoothing blouse::

And now Trump goes from drowning me in nausea, distress and disgust to being the actual poster child for PD pathology, IMO.   FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD.....
GLOBAL.

::nodding::

Imagine not having to tell an entire convoluted non sensical PD story ever again....
 
but using ONE word to find instant understanding....

                                                                                        "Trumped"
                                                                                           

Anyone remember the term "Munsoned?"
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[lighter]

I roasted a chicken last night.

It smelled wonderful.  It filled the house and brought the girls to the kitchen an hour before meal time.

Anyone roasting chicken..... if I haven't already told you this..... before you pop it in the oven take the time to tear up some day old bread..... French bread.... I use Against the Grain GF..... and make good sized croutons to toss around the chicken.  Sometimes I put some under the chicken.  Drizzle all with olive oil, toss in some chopped rough garlic, and roast per usual.  When it comes out of the oven some of the bread is crunchy and brown, and some is a bit like stuffing, and most are a bit of both...... oh my goodness.

::sigh::

Everyone, who can eat chicken, deserves to enjoy this meal, IMO.

So.

Good.

Lighter

[Meh]

Just eating a bag of snap peas for supper meant to eat them at work but forgot.  A beer. Some washed cherries in my bag. Eh nothing fancy.

I'm a slow eater so I have to graze quite a bit at work. I always have some food on my desk. Plus I don't get to leave for lunch until 2 PM so I think that justifies me eating earlier.

I eat Bobs Red Mill Muesli and granola at my desk.

Chug coffee like it's going to save me from something evil.

Some Cajun flavored baked salmon from home. Might be over cooked but pretty much I pick a "fatty piece" so a thicker piece that has white lines between the meat segments. The fatty fish seems to come out soft and tender. I put maybe a half teaspoon of bulk no salt cajun seasoning. Then I put a decent amount of white pepper. I put rubbed sage/sage powder. Put some spike seasoning. Some olive oil, few dabs of butter, a little salt. Baked it in foil for long time maybe 35-40 mins at 375. Cooled it down in freezer but not frozen and took it to work. Tastes pretty good to me. Put some fresh lemon on it. It came out pretty fishy because I didn't have a lemon at home when I cooked it which seems to kill the fish smell a bit. For some reason I always thought Cajun seasoning makes fish smell fishier. It certainly does nothing to mask the smell. Tastes better than it smells.

I like the salmon deal in that I do find my skin seems to clear up a little bit when I eat it, I think due to the anti inflammatory oils and all.

But yeah I don't really have my own kitchen, it's shared. So everything I do is simple.

Made some homemade salsa. Nothing special again. Garlic, onion, jalepeno no seeds, cilantro, lime juice, little vinegar maybe not needed, dried oregano, salt, tomato... I put it on beans and rice or eat it with chips which causes me to eat too many chips.

I think there is a way to make roasted salsa in the oven with heated up dried peppers or something though I haven't arrived to that  plane of existence yet ... To be continued.

[Hopalong]

Damn you're a good cook, Boat!
Simple IS a talent.

Made me drool. (I do fish, but not birds or mammals.)

It's like your art, beauty knowledge.

Hops

[lighter]

Mmmmmmmmm....salsa.  Fresh salsa.  Sounds so good, Boat.

[Meh]

Just made some pork country cut ribs in the oven. They came out just ok. Probably not worth the calories.

Also waiting for some beer/cheese bread to come out of the oven. Smelled great, tasted gross. No beer in bread.

Okay so today was not blessed by the kitchen gods.

Resorted back to Rainier cherries. But what is summer without eating too many cherries

[Meh]

Might try to make a fruit galette soon. Seems like a quickie thing but with less filling than a regular pie.

Not exactly healthy. To top it off cream cheese on the bottom of it I think.