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This is so easy you may wonder if it tastes good. It does!
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a 9×5 metal loaf pan with butter or margarine, bottom and sides. Sometimes I sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom of the pan, and then also dust the top of the loaf with a little more cornmeal once it is in the pan ready to bake.
Stir together in a large bowl until well mixed:
3 C. self-rising flour
1-12 Oz. can of beer (not “lite”)
1 Tbs. honey
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to fit. Bake 45 minutes or until browned. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Turn over the pan, thump on the bottom to loosen, and cool loaf on a wire rack.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
Many people don’t like peas because they have only eaten the mushy canned kind or fresh peas that have been boiled to death. But frozen Petite Peas, available year around, require only 2-4 minutes in a microwave to be fresh, hot, firm and very tasty without any seasonings. Also when thawed at room temperature or under cold running water, these little green gems are a great addition to salads, heated 1 minute in the microwave for a side dish or added to many recipes for great taste. They are a powerhouse of nutrition: Vit. A, B-1, B-6, C, Lutein and Vit. K., good source of fiber too. According to WebMD.com, a 3/4 C. serving, 100 calories, offers more protein than 1/4 C. of almonds or 1 Tbs. peanut butter.
(Note: If you are taking a blood thinner or having blood clotting problems, do not eat green vegetables or lettuces without consulting your physician first).
In a medium saucepan, lightly saute 1/2 chopped onion in 1 Tbs. olive oil until soft. Stir in 3 C. vegetable broth or water, 1/2 Tsp. salt or salt substitute, 1/4 Tsp. pepper, and 1/2 Tsp. thyme. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and stir in 2 C. thawed petite peas (find in the freezer section). Stir and cook 2 minutes. Cool. Pour half the soup into the blender, puree, then return to the saucepan with the remainder of the peas and broth to reheat. At this point, I sometimes add some thinly sliced or chopped fresh mushrooms and/or chopped leftover boiled potatoes. To make the soup thicker, if desired, stir in 4 Tbs. mashed potato flakes, and stir until smooth. Serves 4.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
Try this on grilled or baked chicken or fish – wonderful!
Combine all ingredients in a bowl (not plastic), cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving to let these wonderful flavors learn to co-mingle:
1 small can chunk pineapple, drained
1 C. chopped mango and/or papaya
1/2 small red onion, chopped fine
1 small can Mandarin oranges, drained
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 Tbs. each grated lime and lemon peel
2 Tbs. lime or lemon juice, or a combination
1/4 Tsp. ground ginger
Healthy eating,
Marianne
We always celebrate our Irishness in many ways. Here are the things the family enjoys the most:
1 – Add green food coloring to: mashed potatoes, rice, bread dough, lemonade with slices of lime, key lime pie with green meringue, ranch dressing on a green salad, any white frosting or puddings, applesauce; for those who do not eat animal meat, try adding green coloring to turkey, chicken or fish, and of course, we serve green milkshakes with pistacio ice cream (if tolerated)!
2 – From green activity paper, cut out several four-leaf clovers and scotch tape them all over the house with the names of all of us Irish relatives printed on them. We also make chains (like Christmas chains) out of green paper and add a clover leaf here and there, to hang as a decoration.
3 – And YES, we actually add green food coloring to the toilet water! A few years ago, one of my granddaughters, who was potty training, freaked out and refused to go on the grown-up potty for a long time. Her parents weren’t amused but the rest of us loved it!
Slan go foil.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
A typical olden days soup that warmed many an Irish belly I was told by a great-great Irish aunt from Londonderry, now Derry. It is nutritious, very tasty and full of ingredients the Irish and the Scottish would have already had on hand, as they stored oats, and often root vegetables, to eat all winter.
Basic Recipe:
Melt 3-4 Tbs. “safe” margarine in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add a large chopped onion and cook until soft.
Stir in 1/2 C. raw oatmeal (“Old Fashioned”, not instant) and keep stirring until slightly browned. Add 6 C. chicken or vegetable broth and bring the soup almost to a boil. Reduce heat so that it simmers a few minutes. Stir in 3/4 C. cooked Old Fashioned oatmeal, season with salt and pepper if desired, and continue cooking 5-6 more minutes.This is a soup that requires a watchful eye and plenty of stirring.
Now you can serve this soup as is, or add 1-2 additional cups of broth, along with diced leftover peeled and cooked potatoes, carrots and turnips. Continue to simmer a few minutes longer. Sometimes I add finely mashed potatoes rather than just boiled potatoes.
Serve in heated bowls with a sprinkle of parsley.
For the non-vegetarians, try adding leftover bits of meat or poultry for an even heartier meal, or a great way to use up those leftovers you are not sure what to do with.
Slan go foil.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
What is more of an American comfort food than macaroni and cheese? And I mean the real food, not the blue box. Here is a recipe most anyone can eat and really enjoy. My whole family thinks it is equal to any homemade macaroni and cheese they have ever tasted–and so much better for you!
1 – Cook and drain 12 Oz. macaroni type pasta made from either wheat, rice, soy, or corn (or any other grain you prefer).
2 – Grease an 8″ or 9″ glass or ceramic cooking dish with a little olive oil, and pour in the drained pasta.
3 – Preheat oven to 350F.
4 – In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbs. safe margarine, like Smart Balance, and stir in 4 TBs. flour of your choice until smooth. With a whisk, quickly add 3 C. Rice or Soy milk, and continue to cook until smooth and sauce begins to thicken. Stir in 4-8 Oz. vegetarian “cheddar cheese” until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and immediately mix into the pasta, stirring well. If desired, top the casserole with seasoned or unseasoned breadcrumbs.
5 – Cover and bake 30-40 minutes until bubbling. If topped with crumbs, don’t cover while baking.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
Low sodium, lower fat, lower calorie and delicious!
Puree in a blender, store in a covered glass or ceramic container and refrigerate overnight before serving. Keeps refrigerated for 5 days.
1/4 C. olive oil
1/2 C. low sodium ketchup or chili sauce
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs. minced onion
1/2 Tsp. paprika
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
2-3 Tbs. brown sugar or brown sugar substitute
1/2 Tsp. black pepper
This is especially good with hardy vegetable salads.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
Although I am working ever harder to make my personal food plan fully vegetarian, I have not yet achieved my goal. However, PETA, whom I don’t agree with on some of their more aggressive policies, still has a lot of information to offer on how much eating meat and dairy contributes to the cruelty to animals, and the abuse it does to our own bodies. Go to www.peta-online.org to check out the research they have done on how consuming meat and dairy affects the greenhouse and global warming problems the planet currently suffers from, and how that consumption affects more than almost all other thoughtless consumer habits, particularly the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals, fowl and fish.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
“If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That’s the singlemost important thing you can do.”
– Paul McCartney
This can be a dangerous food for those of us with digestive problems, but NO is not the complete answer. Dried beans and peas are highly nutritions, fat-free, full of fiber, inexpensive and tasty. They provide protein, calcium, iron and thiamine. Cooking your own beans is preferable to canned beans because of the high sodium content in the canned varities.
BUT dried beans and peas often cause bloating and gas, and most of that is due to poor food preparation and cooking techniques. When the beans are soaked for 8 hours prior to cooking, changing the soaking water every 2 hours, the sugars in them are discarded and they are much more digestible.
However, some people are afraid to eat them no matter what. Taking BEANO according to package directions, before the offending dish is eaten, is a great over-the-counter product that works for most people, so that is another avenue to explore. If you do not regularly eat beans or have not eaten them for a long time, nutritionists advise to incorporate them in very small amounts occasionally until you see how well you tolerate them. Then you can begin to add larger portions if you wish. I love beans and I have begun to successfully add just a few at a time to various recipes, and my own version of refried beans for Mexican menus.
Preparation*:
To cook beans, I start early in the morning if I plan to seve them that evening.
Pick over the beans for any dirt or stones. Rinse with cold water. In a large cooking pot, to a 1-Lb. bag of dried beans, add 10 cups very hot water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let sit 8 hours, changing the hot soaking water every 2 hours. After 8 hours, completely drain the beans, rinse with hot water and return to the cooking pot.
Cooking the Beans:
Cover the beans with at least 6 cups of fresh hot water and 1 Tbs. Canola or Olive Oil. Cover, tilting the lid a little to let steam escape. Simmer over medium-low heat about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. As the beans cook, stir once in a while and check the water level so they do not burn. Test beans for doneness by tasting to make sure they are tender. Then season as desired.
The cooked beans will keep, covrered and refrigerated, 3-4 days. They freeze well, and I usually divide the cooked beans into 2-3 C. servings and freeze in appropriately tightly covered containers to have on hand to add to various dishes or eat as a side dish.
*For cooking different varities of dried peas and beans, be sure to check the cooking tips on individual packages.
One of my favorite ways to serve cooked beans is to add them to salads, soups and stews. We particularly like them in regular potato salad as well as German potato salad. See my potato salad recipes in the Archives. You might like to try adding beans to those recipes also.
Updated Refried Beans
Prepare and cook a package of Pinto beans as directed above. When done, drain, mash in a bowl with a little salt (if desired) and 1 Tbs. Canola or Olive Oil. Reheat in the microwave before serving.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
At least 70% of our immune system benefits come from the “good” bacteria, called flora, in the gut and bowel produced by our naturally occuring probiotics. The medical community points out that people with digestive and bowel problems often lack enough of the good bacteria we need to fight off some of the ravages of food and other types of allergies as well as food intolerances, inherited or as rogue genes, that affect the digestive area, and “bad” bacteria like ecoli, etc. Taking strong antibiotic medicines such as penicillan or its derivitives, stress, illness and disease, food allergies and/or intolerances, wounds and surgery can all deplete our probiotic count. Chldren in particular on antibiotic drugs need their prebiotics and probiotics replaced throughout the course of their medication or illness. A daily yogurt with live cultures eaten with fresh fruit, and whole grain cereals and breads is an inexpensive answer to help keep children on a healthy track while being medicated.
Replacing probiotics is one of the easiest, cheapest, most beneficial things we can do to increase the positive state of our health. And just as important, prebiotics greatly help boost the production and bioavailabilty of probiotics.
Incorporating these foods as often as possible in your daily menu takes very little extra time when grocery shoping and meal planning. I keep a list in my purse and also on the refrigerator door so that I am constantly thinking of what I can do on a regular basis to increase my health awareness. Be sure to get enough natural vitamin C in fruits and vegetables to aid the prebiotics and probiotics as they do their job.
Prebiotic foods:
artichoke (Jerusalem type preferred) – asparagus – banana – unrefined barley – garlic – green beans – honey – leeks – unrefined oats – onions – raisins – soybeans – tomato – sprouted wheat products – whole grains. Fiber can also play a major role in encouraging beneficial gut flora activity. See information on organic Acacia fiber at www.helpforibs.com
Probiotic foods:
Dairy or soy yogurt with live cultures. preferably unsweetened-(add fruit to boost the taste and your Vitamin C intake) is the best source – miso – unrefined whole grain breads and cereals – wine – and the prebiotics listed above to enhance your natural probiotics and supplemental foods.
Healthy eating,
Marianne
