Going on a Diet - Take 2

My diet plan kinda fell apart over the last few weeks (hanging my head in shame). I have some good excuses, I swear.

First problem, and this is a BIG problem, our fridge broke! I had to throw away a roast, chicken breast, you name it. If it was stored in the fridge, I had to throw it out. It took us a few days to get a new fridge and in those days I was eating random stuff from the pantry like popcorn, canned soup, you know all that non diet food.

Second problem. Ok so this shouldn't have been a problem really but it put me off course. I "thought" I was pregnant. I am not!

Third problem. All THREE of my kids have been sick. First Michael was sick. The poor little guy had a huge fever for more than 3 days. He was better for a couple days and then *BAM* all three of the kids came down with fevers, runny noses, and coughs. I literally had to hold Michael for 20 out of 24 hours. I was too exhausted to think about dieting.

Fourth problem. I got sick. Really sick. Fever, chills, muscle pain, migraines, runny nose, cough. I'm actually still sick. I haven't been over eating while sick, but I have been drinking a lot of juice and forcing myself to eat stuff like cereal because I'm still breastfeeding.

I only have about 2 months to look great in that brides maid dress so as soon as I kick this flu, the diet must resume!!!!

Wish me luck!

- Elisabeth

Recipe Friday - Scones

Alright, so this isn't one of those magic, packed with vitamins, low fat, veggie lovers recipe. It's actually not that healthy at all... HOWEVER, I've been asked for this recipe by several of my friends. It's quick, easy, and tastes wonderful with any of my soup recipes.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour or whole wheat 1/4 cup white sugar 2 ½ tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda) 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup butter 1 cup skim milk

METHOD: Preheat oven to 355°F. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Cut in the margarine or butter till mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs Add the milk and mix to make a smooth dough. (add more milk if necessary to ensure mix is not too dry) Spoon desired size dough onto baking sheet. Mine are usually slightly larger than a golf ball. Baking time approximately 12 minutes

Recipe Friday - Black Bean and Veggie Soup

Yesterday was one of those days where I NEEDED to go grocery shopping so bad, but didn't have time to go. Dinner time came and I had no clue what to make. I opened the fridge and noticed a few left over veggies, so I decided to make some soup. I also found a can of black beans and decided to add them to the soup for some added flavor, texture, and fibre. It turned out better than expected and both kids really enjoyed it, especially Joseph. The best part is, it was FAST.

Ingredients (this is what I had on hand, I'm sure other veggies would be great too)

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 very large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
splash Extra Virgin Olive oil

Method

In a large sauce pan heath olive oil on medium heat. Add all veggies and spices. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Add chicken stock, black beans and soy sauce. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender, maybe 20 minutes. Puree soup until smooth.

ENJOY!

Recipe Friday - Chicken Noodle Soup

If you haven't already heard, I've been pretty sick for the last TWO FREAK'N WEEKS!! I have no idea what's going on with me. My symptoms just keep on changing. I went from sneezing, to mega runny nose, to coughing so hard I was throwing up, to sinus infection, and now, I think I may have pink eye (So crapy! That's what I get for rubbing my eye while I'm at the park with my kids) and I just started sneezing AGAIN! The worst part is that I'm still nursing my little guy a few times a day, so I can't take any medicine to fix me because everything says "do not take while breastfeeding". I guess I'll just have to stick to trying all those crazy home remedies people keep on telling me about on facebook. The most hilarious one, but I think she might have been serious, was to rub Vicks on my feet and wear red sock. She said they had to be red or it wouldn't work. Haa haa, I sure hope she was joking about that suggestion.

Aside from all the witch craft jibber jabber, one thing that does help me feel better when I'm sick, is a warm bowl of home made chicken soup. I so wish someone would have just made it for me, but as we all know, when everyone is sick, Mom takes care of them. But when Mom is sick, Mom takes care of herself. So, I grabbed a pot, and made myself some yummy chicken soup. Of course, Dave was super excited because he rates my chicken soup in his top five favorite meals.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2-4 bone in, skinless chicken breast
2 cups of diced carrots
2 cups of diced celery (you're basically going to use an entire bunch of celery)
2 medium onions, diced
12 cloves of garlic peeled
2 cartons of organic chicken broth (900 mL each)
2 litres of water
1 tablespoon of each, rosemary, sage, and thyme
1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
salt and pepper
3/4 cup small shaped pasta

Method

1. In a large pot add all ingredients except pasta.
2. Cook on med to high heat for about 25 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft and easy to mush
3. Fish out all garlic cloves and mush up, then return them to the pot
4. Fish out chicken breasts and cut up the chicken in bite size pieces. Return to pot
5. Bring pot of soup to a boil and add pasta. Cook for an additional 10 minutes (add more water if needed)

Serve with home made scones! ENJOY!

pH

To be honest, I never really knew anything about this subject until recently. I knew about acid/alkaline from school, and more recently from being a pool owner. I cared about the pH of the water in my pool, but the thought never occurred to me that eating acid forming foods could be dangerous to my health. One day, while reading an article from my local health food store, they explained the relationship between acid forming foods and inflammation. Striking the right balance of acid/alkaline foods in our diet is essential to good health.

Foods are classified as acid-forming or alkalizing depending on the effect they have on the body. An acid-forming food contributes hydrogen ions to the body, making it more acidic. An alkalizing food removes hydrogen ions from the body, making it more alkaline. It is important to note that this classification is based on the effect foods have on the body after digestion, not on their own intrinsic acidity or alkalinity (or how they taste to us). A common misconception is that if a food tastes acidic, it has an acid-forming effect on the body. This is not necessarily true. Very often, an acidic-tasting food is alkalizing. Citric fruits are a good example. People say that lemons, for example, are "too acidic"; however, they are actually alkalizing because the minerals they leave behind after digestion help remove hydrogen ions, decreasing the acidity of the body. (Many people use the term "residue" or "ash" to explain the effect of a food on the body. A food with an acid ash after digestion contributes hydrogen ions, making the body more acidic; a food with an alkaline ash after digestion removes hydrogen ions, making the body more alkaline.)

In North America, we consume A LOT of acid forming foods, such as sugar, animal protein, and processed junk food. When we throw off our bodies pH, our body then leaches alkalizing minerals from our bones to restore our blood's pH to it's proper range. Also, over-acidity in the body tissues, is one of the basic causes of diseases, especially the arthritic and rheumatic diseases. Common symptoms of an unbalanced pH include heartburn (a burning sensation in the stomach and acid-tasting burps), bloating, belching, and feeling full after eating small amounts of food. Other symptoms could include insomnia, water retention, migraines, constipation with diarrhea, fatigue, and a burning sensation on the tongue and in the mouth. The solution is to eat more alkaline foods, like Veggie Power Soup, instead of acid forming foods.

Here is a list of common alkaline and acid forming foods.

...ALKALINE FOODS...		...ACIDIC FOODS...
ALKALIZING VEGETABLES Alfalfa Barley Grass Beet Greens Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Chard Greens Chlorella Collard Greens Cucumber Dandelions Dulce Edible Flowers Eggplant Fermented Veggies Garlic Green Beans Green Peas Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard Greens Nightshade Veggies Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Pumpkin Radishes Rutabaga Sea Veggies Spinach, green Spirulina Sprouts Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Watercress Wheat Grass Wild Greens ALKALIZING ORIENTAL VEGETABLES Daikon Dandelion Root Kombu Maitake Nori Reishi Shitake Umeboshi Wakame ALKALIZING FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Berries Blackberries Cantaloupe Cherries, sour Coconut, fresh Currants Dates, dried Figs, dried Grapes Grapefruit Honeydew Melon Lemon Lime Muskmelons Nectarine Orange Peach Pear Pineapple Raisins Raspberries Rhubarb Strawberries Tangerine Tomato Tropical Fruits Umeboshi Plums Watermelon ALKALIZING PROTEIN Almonds Chestnuts Millet Tempeh (fermented) Tofu (fermented) Whey Protein Powder ALKALIZING SWEETENERS Stevia ALKALIZING SPICES & SEASONINGS Chili Pepper Cinnamon Curry Ginger Herbs (all) Miso Mustard Sea Salt Tamari ALKALIZING OTHER Alkaline Antioxidant Water Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen Fresh Fruit Juice Green Juices Lecithin Granules Mineral Water Molasses, blackstrap Probiotic Cultures Soured Dairy Products Veggie Juices ALKALIZING MINERALS Calcium: pH 12 Cesium: pH 14 Magnesium: pH 9 Potassium: pH 14 Sodium: pH 14 Although it might seem that citrus fruits would have an acidifying effect on the body, the citric acid they contain actually has an alkalinizing effect in the system. Note that a food's acid or alkaline forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself. For example, lemons are very acidic, however the end products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline so, lemons are alkaline forming in the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion, but it leaves very acidic residue in the body so, like nearly all animal products, meat is very acid forming.		ACIDIFYING VEGETABLES Corn Lentils Olives Winter Squash ACIDIFYING FRUITS Blueberries Canned or Glazed Fruits Cranberries Currants Plums** Prunes** ACIDIFYING GRAINS, GRAIN PRODUCTS Amaranth Barley Bran, oat Bran, wheat Bread Corn Cornstarch Crackers, soda Flour, wheat Flour, white Hemp Seed Flour Kamut Macaroni Noodles Oatmeal Oats (rolled) Quinoa Rice (all) Rice Cakes Rye Spaghetti Spelt Wheat Germ Wheat ACIDIFYING BEANS & LEGUMES Almond Milk Black Beans Chick Peas Green Peas Kidney Beans Lentils Pinto Beans Red Beans Rice Milk Soy Beans Soy Milk White Beans ACIDIFYING DAIRY Butter Cheese Cheese, Processed Ice Cream Ice Milk ACIDIFYING NUTS & BUTTERS Cashews Legumes Peanut Butter Peanuts Pecans Tahini Walnuts ACIDIFYING ANIMAL PROTEIN Bacon Beef Carp Clams Cod Corned Beef Fish Haddock Lamb Lobster Mussels Organ Meats Oyster Pike Pork Rabbit Salmon Sardines Sausage Scallops Shellfish Shrimp Tuna Turkey Veal Venison ACIDIFYING FATS & OILS Avacado Oil Butter Canola Oil Corn Oil Flax Oil Hemp Seed Oil Lard Olive Oil Safflower Oil Sesame Oil Sunflower Oil ACIDIFYING SWEETENERS Carob Corn Syrup Sugar ACIDIFYING ALCOHOL Beer Hard Liquor Spirits Wine ACIDIFYING OTHER FOODS Catsup Cocoa Coffee Mustard Pepper Soft Drinks Vinegar ACIDIFYING DRUGS & CHEMICALS Aspirin Chemicals Drugs, Medicinal Drugs, Psychedelic Herbicides Pesticides Tobacco ACIDIFYING JUNK FOOD Beer: pH 2.5 Coca-Cola: pH 2 Coffee: pH 4 ** These foods leave an alkaline ash but have an acidifying effect on the body.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease; research is ongoing.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Recipe Friday - Slow Cooker Beef

Hurray, another recipe with meat in it AND it's so easy you'll be making it every week! Now I have to admit that this isn't the healthiest of all my recipes (I actually debated posting it) however, it's so easy and fast that once you throw everything in the slow cooker, you'll have lots of extra time to go to the gym, have a relaxing bath, read to your kids, whatever. Here it is..

1 pkg of stewing beef
1 can tomato soup
1 cup of water
1 cup of baby carrots (or more if you're a carrot lover)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Throw everything into a slow cooker, starting with the EVOO. Turn the slow cooker to high and let it cook for 4-5 hours (or until carrots are done). Once it's done stir it up a little, breaking apart some of the beef chunks. Serve over a bed of brown or wild rice. ENJOY!!

Recipe Friday - Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

If you haven't noticed already, I love to make soups. This is one of the first soup recipes I made as a newlywed, and I was afraid Dave wouldn't like it because it's so healthy. Thankfully he loves it and anyone else who's tried it, loves it too. It's so simple to make that I've honestly made it with a baby under one arm. It doesn't matter how you cut the vegetables because the soup is pureed anyway.

Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

1 red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 large carrots, chopped (or you can throw in 2 cups of baby carrots to save time)
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tablespoon ginger
7 cups veg stock (or chicken stock if you aren't totally strict on being vegetarian - I use chicken stock)
1 cup RED lentils (MUST be red or it won't turn out very well)
splash of olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil, chopped red pepper, chopped carrots, chopped onion, chopped garlic, ginger, salt and pepper for 5 minutes on med heat.

Add stock and lentils and bring to a boil. Then cook for 25 minutes until carrots are tender.

Blend soup in a blender until smooth and ENJOY!

Recipe Friday - Veggie Power Soup

My friend's husband, Scott, is a vegetarian and gave me this delicious soup recipe (I know, another vegetarian one - I eat meat I swear). It's an excellent recipe for anyone suffering with inflammation because it contains turmeric and ginger. This soup is also alkalizing to the body. Many times, inflammation sufferers eat too much acid forming foods. The best part is that the soup is full of veggies, but it's pureed so your kids won't complain.

Veggie Power Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 cup chopped parsley
3 cups plain soy milk

Place vegetables and seasonings into large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 40 minutes). Remove from heat. Puree in a blender until smooth. Stir in soy milk. Enjoy!!

Recipe Friday Ukrainian Chervony Borscht

If you know my husband, you know that he lived in Ukraine for two years. He was there serving a mission for our church. While there he learned how to speak Russian and Ukrainian, strong work ethic, teaching skills, how to quickly adapt to changes in location and roommates, and a host of other things. Among those things he also learned how to make one of the most delicious soup I have ever tasted. I was hesitant at first when I saw the list of ingredients, but one taste and I was addicted. Today, my husband is happy to share this recipe with you. He says it's a combination of all the BEST borscht recipes made into one delicious pot of goodness.

A word of caution, this soup is a lot of work so you might want to recruit a helper or two, but it's so worth all the hard work.

Ingredients:

2.5 litres of water

2 large beets (or 3 smaller ones)

2 cups of shredded cabbage

6-8 potatoes

2 large carrots

2 onions

6 diced cloves of garlic

3 Tbsp. tomato paste or sauce

2 heaping Tbsp. of chicken stock OR 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Parsley and/or dill to taste

Directions:

1. Peel the beets and grate them into frying pan. Cook them over low to medium heat in butter and oil, add a little water, cover and let simmer for approx. 10 minutes. Careful not to let beets burn – stir them up a bit if necessary.
2. Peel and grate carrots and add to beets. Cook both together for another 10 minutes.
3. As beets and carrots are cooking, peel and dice potatoes and add to a large pot of 2.5 L boiling water. Boil for 5-10 minutes. Once the carrot-beet mixture is finished, add them to the potatoes and the 2.5 L of boiling water.
4. Add tomato sauce/paste and chicken stock.
5. Dice onion, fry until soft and add to mixture in pot.
6. Add two cups of shredded cabbage to mixture. Let all vegetables cook until tender.
7. As mixture cooks, add parsley and/or dill and garlic. If the mixture is too thick add appropriate amount of water.
8. Serve with smetana (sour cream) and rye bread and enjoy!

Note, usually borscht tastes better once it has sat for a few hours. I don’t know why. It just does!

Recipe Friday Cauliflower Casserole

The first time I had a cauliflower casserole was when my sister-in-law made it for a Mother's Day dinner. It was really, really good so I asked for the recipe. When I saw the list of ingredients I was shocked! Can it really be full of all that FAT? Suddenly I was determined to make my own version -something with all the flavor, but half the fat. Here it is.

Cauliflower Casserole

1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1 can of Campbells Healthy Request Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 tablespoon of melted butter
1/3 cup light cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons fat-free miracle whip
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place cauliflower in steamer over boiling water; cover and steam for 5 minutes only.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium sized casserole dish mix butter, cheese, can of soup, miracle whip, mustard powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.
4. Add the cauliflower to the sauce mixture and toss until the cauliflower is well coated.
5. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is golden and tender.
6. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!
-Elisabeth