Basic #1 - Veggies, Veggies, and More Veggies

Basic #1 is about veggies. Have I lost anyone yet? I have to say that the veggies we grew up on are not the same ones as today and I'm not talking about nutritive value (although that's true) but I'm talking about the variety. We have so much to choose from that there shouldn't be any boredom in our eating plans. But there is and, I understand, because I get stuck buying the same things, myself.

Are there more nutritious vegetables than others? Yes, but all kinds need to be eaten. The more variety you have, the more phytonutrients are available to you.  Since we are talking about nutrient dense food, I'll take you to the Eat for Health books by Dr. Joel Fuhrman that give a list of nutrient dense vegetables. 

Leafy Green Vegetables
romaine lettuce, leaf lettuces, kale, collards, Swiss chard, cabbage, spinach, bok choy, parsley


Solid Green Vegetables
artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cucumber, kohlrabi, okra, peas, green peppers, snow peas, string beans, zucchini


Non-Green, High-Nutrient Vegetables
beets, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, peppers, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, cauliflower, squash, carrots


The ones highlighted in blue are also classified as superfoods in his book Superfoods Rx by Dr. Steven Pratt, along with these: 


Orange bell peppers, mustard and turnip greens, pumpkin, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. (I know some are scientifically classified as fruits but for sake of ease, we'll leave them here.)


Organic? Fresh? Frozen? There are so many choices and the answer is simply...buy what you can. Yes, organic is great but it's better to buy vegetables, period. Whatever you can afford. This is what we buy from a local produce stand about every 10 days or so. 

We also shop the grocer (frozen veggies) and health food store for good buys on organic. If they are within a few dimes of what I would normally pay, I'll get it; if not, I stay with our produce stand. It's the habit of eating vegetables that is most important. That's all it is...a habit.


Okay, we have the list now, how do we cook them? Eat as many raw as you can, but you'll actually eat more if you cook some too.  Cook as short a time as possible. There is a favorite out there of roasting veggies. This is my favorite! But these long cooking times are not good for the nutrients or enzymes.


Roast your veggies (cut up), plain, in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, that's all. Then as soon as they come out, pour some extra virgin olive oil and kosher or sea salt over them while warm and it is yummy, buttery goodness. More about that here. 

Salads, Dips, and Smoothies are also great ways to get lots of raw veggies (and fruits) in our bodies. Another superb way to get veggies? Soups. This could be the easiest way to increase your intake as a family. We have 3 course meals sometimes to emphasize our veggies (don't tell my family). First, we'll have salad, second (after we taken time to eat our salads), we'll have our soup and when we are done with that, we'll have our main meal. We will have plenty of soup and salad in their tummies even before the main meal hits the table. 


Need a good soup recipe? Here you go...

Minestrone Superfoods Soup

adapted from Todd Wilbur

Serves 8

Saute together about 5 minutes

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. white onion

1/2 c. chopped zucchini

1/2 c. frozen Italian cut green beans

1/4 c. minced celery (4 cloves)

Add 

7 c. vegetable broth (easy one here)

2 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans, drained

2 (15 oz.) cans white beans (cannellini)

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1/2 c. carrots, julienned

2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Add
4 c. fresh baby spinach leaves, cut up

Cook for additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (I adjusted the spices and left out the pasta so feel free to make it your own. The good thing is soup is so flexible.)

So basically, this takes

15 minutes to prepare,
Cook 20 minutes;

Throw in the spinach
Cook 20-30 minutes longer

That's all, and you have a delicious nutrient dense soup. Did you happen to see all the superfoods?

It's really all in a mindset of eating what's best for you. I look at that meal and see 15 minutes work time; the rest is cooking time. If you're tight on time start it or even cook it the night before, or on the weekend and freeze.



Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the task at hand? I'll give you my secret...

"Share your plans with the Lord and you shall succeed."

Proverbs 16:3 (CEV)

This post is linked to:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays
Tempt My Tummy

What's in a name? Brunswick Stew

When Moses was called by God (Exodus 3) to go to the Israelites, Moses said they would ask him, "Who sent you? What is His name?" And God replied, "I AM THAT I AM; tell them I AM sent you." God also said in Ex. 3:15, "This is My name forever and this is My memorial unto all generations." That caught my eye for some reason. His name? God's name shall be a memorial to us? What exactly did that mean?


Usually when something is memorialized, it is a covenant of remembrance. All the stones the Israelites placed throughout the land, He said would be a memorial for those passing by to remember what was done in that place.


Instead of stones, something temporal, God has given us His name as His memorial to us. For the Israelites, as Clarke's commentary states, "In this name, as His eternal memorial, God would now deliver them." God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage; God also delivers us.


In fact, He has given us an even greater name and covenant with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a name that is above all names...Jesus. Look up Phil. 2:9-11. There is no higher name, no higher covenant. Remember He still delivers us through His name.


So why are we talking about names? My bible reading happened to correlate with my curiosity of the name, Brunswick stew. Two places, called Brunswick, claim the original recipe and I'm sure it's hotly debated there, but no matter where it came from, with all the varieties of Brunswick stew, you'll surely find one you like. I wanted one healthier than the pork, beef, sugar, and butter variety. Here's what I made...


This is not a 15 minute recipe but some things are worth it. :)


2 1/2 quarts water
1 whole chicken, cut up and skinned
Put in large pot, bring to boil and simmer, partially covered, 40 minutes.


Take out chicken and add
1 large onion, diced
5 med. tomatoes, diced small
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
Bring to a boil, medium high heat and simmer, partially covered, 40 minutes.
Stir every now and then.


Skin, bone and shred chicken.


Add 
Shredded chicken
1 pkg. frozen lima beans
3 potatoes, peeled and diced (optional)
Cook over low heat, partially covered, for 1 - 2 hours.


Add
1 pkg. frozen corn
1/8 c. agave nectar
1/8 c. balsamic vinegar
1/8 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
Cook over low heat, partially covered, 30 - 60 minutes.


I adapted this from 3 different recipes: Brunswick Stew, Paula's Brunswick, and Xagave Barbecue Sauce.


I like my Brunswick stew with a little BBQ flavor. The first recipe was the base, but I wanted the BBQ flavor like the second, and the third was the BBQ recipe with agave nectar, as I wanted to eliminate the pork, beef, sugar and butter from the traditional Brunswick Stew. As you look at these recipes, you'll see what I "examined and exchanged" for more nutrient dense food.


As I worked this recipe out, I skinned the chicken before cooking, switched one can of tomatoes for fresh, and didn't want a bottled BBQ sauce. Though I still wanted the BBQ flavor, I didn't want to have to make my own sauce, then cook, and then add. So I just added the ingredients instead and let it cook right there in the stew. I accomplished what I wanted. Yum!


It definitely passed my Strongman's approval and gave us a dish that is a filling comfort food, lower in saturated fat and full of veggies. Perfect for a cold rainy day!


What do you like to fix on cold rainy days? Could it be revamped to get rid of extra fat and sugars?

Very Good Very Easy Vegetable Stock

Genesis talks about Isaac loving Esau because of the wild meat he would bring him, and Rebekah loving Jacob more. In one commentary, it stated that “the children please their parents according as they supply what is lacking in themselves. Isaac, himself so sedate, loves the wild, wandering hunter, because he supplies him with pleasures which his own quiet habits do not reach. Rebekah becomes attached to the gentle, industrious shepherd, who satisfies those social and spiritual tendencies in which she is more dependent than Isaac.”

Often we admire or like those things in people that benefit us. We also admire those things that we lack ourselves. I have friends that are absolutely gifted in the organization of their home. I certainly admire this and benefit from their example and enthusiasm of their giftings.

I hope to inspire those around me to take an inventory of the natural food we are feeding ourselves and make better choices, perhaps when we thought we didn’t have the time or ability to do so. Why should eating better be a priority? Just like we are to be good stewards of our material possessions, we need to be good stewards of the physical body God has given us. Being a good steward of my time has motivated me to find faster ways to provide healthful food for my own family.

In less than 15 minutes you can make your own vegetable stock for soups, rice, and more. Why make your own stock? It’s not so much what’s in your homemade stock as what’s NOT in it, too much sodium, hydrolyzed oils, MSG; the list goes on. We choose vegetable stock over chicken stock to lower our saturated fat intake. How do I have the time to make my own stock? By taking 15 minutes after dinner…

Basic Vegetable Stock

6 qt. crockpot

2 onions, quartered

3 carrots, cut into thirds

3 celery stalks plus any leaves

1 garlic bulb/head, cut in half

2 tsp. sea salt

10-12 peppercorns

handful parsley

Wash but leave skins on. Use as many organic vegetables as possible. Toss in crockpot and fill with filtered water. Set to “high” and let work overnight for 8-12 hours. I like “high” to keep a good simmer and evaporate some of the water. In the morning, let cool, strain and put in freezable quart containers. You now have 4 quarts of clear, deliciously rich vegetable stock that took 15 minutes of your time to fix. The health benefits of the vegetables cooking in the water and the elimination of harmful ingredients make whatever time you took to prepare it, worthwhile. I often have 2 crockpots at a time going to have enough for the week. Freeze and thaw when needed.

What talents do others have that benefit you? What gifts do you have that others can benefit?