Munchie Monday: Orange Pepper Soup

This new regimen recommends many non-starchy vegetables, plus some specific starchy ones.  The long list of non-starchy ones can be eaten raw or cooked.  I took one of their suggested recipes and made it my own.

Being winter, one of my favorite foods is soup.  I particularly like broth-y soups.  Often I just ladle out and drink the broth then add more water to make more broth.  The soup I just made for supper (so I would not be tempted to eat other stuff because supper was not instantly ready to eat when we arrived home) is Orange (Bell) Pepper Soup.

Orange Pepper Soup

1 Tablespoon avocado oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped--or diced, depending on your preference
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan salt
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
4 large orange peppers, washed, cored, and chopped
2 cans (14-15 ozs) diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil

In large soup pot (a good size is 6-8 quarts) place the avocado oil over medium heat.  When it begins to shimmer add the onions, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Stir well then stir occasionally until the onions are translucent, more or less.

Add the vegetable broth and stir well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the peppers are mostly tender.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, and basil and bring heat back up almost to boiling then reduce heat again and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Get out your immersion blender after the soup has cooled 5 minutes, and puree the soup...then ladle into mugs and enjoy as much, and as often, as you like!

The one thing I did that I did not mention above is that I was not sure there was going to be enough broth to suit me so I added 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon dried chicken bouillon powder.  Also, when I poured in the diced tomatoes from the cans, I sloshed a little water into the cans and poured that into the soup, too.  No need to waste the good tomato business that was left in the cans and that we paid for...

Anyway,  this is really tasty.  I recommend it.  It might be as good for you as that old cabbage soup diet thing.  It certainly cannot hurt.

Food Friday: Funny thing, Not Funny Ha-Ha

Always interested in improving my health,  I started a new regimen which includes a protein shake for breakfast and lunch and a "sensible dinner".  Today is my fourth day.  Yesterday was halfway a disaster.

For the shakes, I prepare them both at once and put the second one in my trusty mason jar to put it in the refrigerator at the office.  The first two days this worked just fine.  Yesterday I decided to add blueberries to the shake, a perfectly acceptable thing to do, and a real boost in nutrition.

When it came time for lunch this is what I saw:

Half a jar of purple sludge.  I tried to eat it, telling myself it was pudding.  But.I.Just.Couldn't.  This was a bit of a problem since I was beginning to feel a little weak and wimpy.  So...what to do, what to do...Since I had to go pick up some items from the office and for Dear One, I also picked up some rice crackers, thinking they might get me through.  Plus I ate a basketful of carrots and celery sticks.

So, I guess I will go back to the plain protein shake for lunch.  Never mind the good blueberries.  The guy who sold me on the idea of this regimen said it was a pleasant-tasting shake.  This morning as I was drinking my shake I gave myself a LOT of positive self-talk:  "This is nice-tasting.  This is pleasant-tasting.  At least it is good for me. Or barring that, it is supposed to have a good effect on my health."  Did not really work that well so I just chugged it.

Snow, and What Happens Here

Where we are there is a little bit of snow on the ground.  You can see the ground through the snow.  When we got out to the parking lot of the apartment complex, we discovered it was almost completely filled with cars.

When we got to the office, the parking lot was completely empty!!! 

The Oregonians are just not able to handle snow.  Dear One learned that all the schools are closed.  I was thinking mildly judgmental thoughts, but then thought again and realized that with all the hills in Portland it really is not safe for many people to drive unless chains are a part of a car's accessories.  Every part of Portland seems filled with hills.

Wednesday Wonders: Snow on Spring Flowers!

For days the forecast has been for snow.  Dear One and I drove a missionary to the airport yesterday during the late morning.  There was wet snow falling as we drove through the city.  I was a nervous wreck just sitting there in the passenger seat.  We did get to the airport and back.  By the time we got back through the city and onto Route 26 heading west to the office there was no snow, and not even any rain.  The pavement was dry.  So nice.

This morning I was up early talking with my retiree representative to find out about the new prescription provider (big surprise yesterday: insurance coverage ended 12/31/2018!).  Dear One came into the living room and said, "The ground is white."  Well, isn't that a pretty pass...

When we were finally ready to leave the apartment I checked on our little spring flowers.  Here they are.  I hope they are not discouraged!

More Mission Paper Crafting

When mail comes to the office for missionaries who have been released we forward it along. I usually make an envelope but this time the mail was a magazine so I needed an envelope larger than I had paper to craft the envelope.  So I decorated a white one.

This was kind of fun to make.  It turns out I should have done ALL the decorating before I put the packing tape over the paper to keep it attached.  Next time...!  Every project I learn something so I called it a good day's work.😀

Munchie Monday: Hula Bites

Lenny Gale at the YouTube channel:  LifeIsNoYoke put out some great recipes recently. Ones that he thought would help with weight loss possibly.  He uses a Vitamix to make the recipes he posted since he is a Vitamix guy.  This one has been pretty popular around here.

Hula Bites

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup dried pineapple
8 pitted dates

Coconut for rolling the balls

Place the almonds, oatmeal, macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dates in the Vitamix and blend well.  Lenny says don't over-blend.  My second batch I under-blended (or else I left out the dates) and the mixture did not stick together very well so I pushed it into a pan.  That seemed fine until I tried to take them out.  Not so successful. 

To make them the proper way, take one tablespoon of the "dough" and roll into a ball then roll in coconut.  Actually, Lenny has you take a small piece of the dried pineapple and form the dough around the pineapple then roll in coconut.  Those look really good.  One of my test subjects said,
"Use the coconut."  I still have not found it.  I guess I will get some at the store.  That is sure to help the bag we already have to turn up.

Another hula batch is coming up very soon.  I will try quality control...in that I will try to follow the recipe better. I did not have macadamia nuts the first time.  Instead I used raw cashews.  They came out really well.  Since the macadamia nuts are so expensive, I may just continue with the cashews.

This silicon pan was meant to use when making millet loaf. I thought instead of making it in a loaf pan I would smush it into these wells then bake it.  My intention was that it would be exactly right for millet loaf sandwiches.  This hula bite project was the first time I have used the pan in the year since I bought it.  Oh well.

Food Friday: Purple Smoothie

When we went to Costco to get TurboTax software and medication, we happened to walk by the Vitamix demonstrator.  She had just made some Four Fruit Smoothie which I tasted and which was pretty good!  She asked if I had any questions and since I had recently had a problem with the attachment we chatted a bit.  She gave me some tips, one of which was that the cup needs to be securely screwed into the blade base, but not TOO tightly, in order for it to work.  I realized my problem had probably been not tightening enough.  Since she was so nice and asked if we had the 20-ounce cup to use with the extra base, we considered it.  When she told me the one cup was $23.00 I immediately picked one up!  When we had bought the Vitamix a year ago, to get the 20-ounce cup, we would have had to buy two, plus another seal adapter/blade assembly, which cost $100 which I could not justify.  Now, for $23.00, we could have the best of both worlds.

As soon as we got home Dear One walked over to Whole Foods Market, which he wanted to do anyway (to check out Amazon PickUp and Delivery), and where he bought a can of crushed pineapple so I could make my own version of the Four Fruit Smoothie.

This is my version.

In the 20-ounce cup place--

2 mandarin oranges/clementines that have been peeled and separated (the mandarins were not as sweet and juicy as the clementines we had purchased recently. Disappointing.)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup crushed pineapple with the juice it came in

1/4 cup pomegranate juice

1/2 small banana, peeled and sliced

10 grams plant-based protein powder (which we had purchased when we bought the Vitamix Blend Scale last year)

Attach the blade unit to the cup, place on the Vitamix base, and blend for 45 seconds.  Any longer would warm it up.

Dear One thought this was pretty good.  I thought it was pretty much purple sludge, but would drink it in a pinch.

 For myself, when he had consumed his cup of smoothie I used the same cup to make my "green goo" that I have mentioned before.  It was what I ate for supper.  I noticed the calories on the two little packets of flavoring:  total calories 55.  Adding in a few raw almonds to the green goo (as I write this I remembered I did not put in the apple cider vinegar nor the flax seed meal. Oh, well. Next time). The almonds and the flax meal would take the calories up  higher, but not that many.  I went to bed more or less hungry, something I aspire to as often as I can.  Depending on the morning numbers (weight and blood glucose), I may make this much more regular.