Tasty Whole Food Recipes

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90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 90 Return to the Beginning

The last day of the adventure and I find myself returning to the Juice Reboot.  Halloween with its mini-candy bars just about did me in.  I am now craving sugar and chocolate again.  So, the remedy is to Reboot.  At the end of the 90 day adventure I’m dusting off the juicer and enjoying at least one day of fasting to break the addictions and get back on track to healthy eating.

Fall fruit and vegetables make delicious juices.  The fresh kale is still growing in the garden and apples are available from the orchard.  Plus carrots have been recently harvested.  The two recipes using these seasonal ingredients are as follows:

Breakfast:  1 stick celery, 1 organic carrot, 2 Golden Delicious apples.

Lunch:  1 stick celery, 1 organic carrot, 1 Golden Delicious apple, handful fresh kale.

Enjoy!  Send me some of your favorite juices.  I welcome your comments.

 

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 49 The Benefits of Tea

One of the unexpected results of the 15 day Juice Reboot, see category below, was a change from drinking coffee to tea.  My daughter asked me about my favorite teas and if I’ve seen any benefit from the change.

Drinking tea instead of coffee has completely healed the acid reflux I was experiencing.  It doesn’t seem to matter what type of tea it is, the calcium antacids remain in the bottle.  I was taking at least 2 antacids before bed almost every night before the reboot.  I was also drinking decaffeinated coffee from Starbucks and other cafe’s along with sodas with fast food.  The sodas and coffee were associated with the acidic problem in my stomach.

The other major benefit comes from fresh mint tea which is by far my favorite.  We grow spearmint, peppermint, and for the first time Stevia  in our garden.  The mints are easy to get started and hard to kill, plus they spread over a period of time.  12 stalks of mint plus about 20 leaves of Stevia make 2 quarts of tea.  Iced or hot it is delicious without the effects of sugar and it settles all stomach issues.

Whenever, my children caught a stomach flu or other digestive tract disorder, the first thing we would do is run to the garden for some mint and make tea.  It always made them feel better.

The 90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 40 The Great Frederick Fair

Normally, I love this time of year and one of the highlights of September is attending the Great Frederick Fair.  This is a county agricultural fair with something for everyone.  In past years I have entered baked goods, canned goods, artwork and photos for competition and a prize.  It’s good to know that I can bake prize-winning bread, brownies and pickle superior green beans.

However, this year is different.  With all of the changes in my schedule, I haven’t had the time or energy to make any entries.  Also, the Vegetarian Adventure has given me a different gastronomic perspective because most of the food sold at the fair is animal-based.  So, all of the lovely ham sandwiches, crab soup, full fat ice cream and gyros don’t call my name anymore.  In fact, I’m not even tempted to go back to the meat-eating orgy that the Fair used to be for me.

So, what am I going to do at the Fair this year?  Attend the Horse Pull on Friday night and eat a delicious bag of kettle popcorn.  Browse through the Farm & Garden building that is full of beautiful fruits and vegetables grown in the county this summer and pick up a free apple.  In this same building there is delicious local honey for sale.  I always buy honey sticks for the grown 20-somethings.

If I’m upping my fat intake for the day there are fantastic apple dumplings made by the best cooks in the world, Methodist Church Ladies.  And, sweet potato fries are always tasty and filling.  But, I guess that’s about it as far as the food will take me.

I love to look at the healthy, well-cared for, livestock.  It’s fun to watch the 4-H kids show their animals and to realize that each sheep, goat, cow and pig represent a lot of hard work to get them to this event.  The auctions are bittersweet.  I’m happy for the kids who get a good price for their animals but sad that the beautiful critters will end up in the freezer.

Then, there is the Household Building, where in past years I competed with the best of them.  This year I’m not even interested because none of my stuff is there.  That’s pretty childish, but it’s how I feel.

The free yardsticks, frisbees, key chains, erasers that look like cows, pencils, pads of paper and jar openers are all there for the picking.  The kids used to love getting Fair bags full of the stuff.  Only one college kid this year has requested freebies from the Fair, so I’ll wander around with my plastic bag advertising the local newspaper and collect for him.

This whole vegetarian lifestyle change has definitely changed the source of excitement caused by the Fair.  It has made me realize that I did go mostly for the food and now that fried meat doesn’t look or taste good anymore and full-fat dairy is not on the menu what’s left?  Just a different experience that’s all.  Still fun and satisfying, with a new, healthier perspective.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure Day 10 Retro-Eating

When planning the evening meal I think about what my grandparents ate during the summer.  They raised families during the depression and lived on small farms with chickens, pigs, vegetable gardens, and a variety of fruit trees.  New potatoes cooked in their jackets, freshly picked corn on the cob and ripe tomatoes were standard fare this time of year.  This evening we had black-eyed peas, corn and collard greens from the garden.  The flavors are complementary and I feel deeply satisfied when I’m finished.  This is retro-eating at it’s finest.