Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Things You Learn in Kindergarten....

My husband and I visited with a friend (Adam) recently, and somehow we got on the topic of relationships. We got tickled by the idea that everything you know about the opposite gender, you learned in kindergarten. Adam said he was even going to write a blog about it -- which he did -- (see his post here).

After thinking about it some more, I came up with a couple of items of my own....

Everything I know about boys, I learned in kindergarten.....

1. For reasons that are occasionally mysterious to us, boys like to chase girls. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's exasperating.

2. Boys really like big, noisy toys. The bigger and noisier the better.

 

P.S. I will get back to posting recipes soon Laughing. I am working on a project that will considerably enhance the recipes on the Recipe Riot website....stay tuned.

Posted by QueenBe at 09:34:20 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, July 27, 2007

Black Bean Soup


Ingredients
 
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 to 4 medium onions, roughly chopped
3 medium ribs of celery, roughly diced
5 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 cans no salt added black beans, 15 ounces each, undrained
4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
28 ounces stewed tomatoes, no salt added, undrained, or 3 to 4 large fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried cilantro, crumbled
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup light sour cream, beaten til smooth
fresh cilantro to garnish, if desired
 
Instructions
 
Heat stockpot over medium high heat, then add oil. Cook onions for 2 to 3 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium. Add celery and garlic and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain beans, but reserve 1 cup liquid. Rinse beans and add to stockpot with reserved liquid. Add remaining ingredients except sour cream and increase heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and process in blender until smooth. Serve garnished with sour cream.

10 servings, 1 cup each
Calories 151
Fat 1.5 g
Sodium 42 mg
Carbohydrates 30 g
Fiber 9 g
Sugars 9 g
Protein 8 g
 
 
Notes
I can't even begin to describe how good and easy this soup is! By pureeing it at the end, you save time chopping the vegetables, AND you completely forget that you're eating black beans! It simply becomes a deep reddish brown, warmly spicy (but not fiery hot), fragrant comfort food.
 
And take a look at that sodium content! Most commercial soups have 800-1000mg of sodium PER SERVING!! You could eat the whole pot of this soup and still not eat that much sodium! (Not that we're recommending you do that--we can't guarantee what that many black beans will do to your system).  Anyway, try this out--it won't hurt you, and may even help you feel your best.
 
 
Notes 2
I used 3 cups of the leftovers I had from making the Black Beans and Garlic recipe I posted a few days ago. Since these had onion already, I cut the amount of onion I used approximately in half. I did use the same amount of garlic, though. Still turned out great, if I do say so myself :)

Posted by QueenBe at 11:34:02 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, July 26, 2007

That sounds bland and tasteless.....

A common reaction by most people when I tell tham about my attempt to stick to a low sodium eating plan, is that the food must be really bland. I will admit that I got a can of low sodium soup from the store and it was TERRIBLE -- however, most of the low-sodium recipes I have tried have been about 90% edible--not bad odds if I do say so myself. I have found Indian food in particular to be a discovery--full of flavor without relying heavily on salt. Now if only I could easily get the required spices in the smallish Midwestern town we live in Undecided....ah, well I can dream can't I?

In the next week or two, I plan to post recipes that are tasty, easy, and low in sodium. Maybe you don't want to go "whole hog" on the whole low-sodium thing, but working in a few dishes into your repertoire might save you some health care costs down the road. Who knows?

Posted by QueenBe at 10:49:26 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Black Beans and Garlic

Black Beans and Garlic

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups black beans
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 bay leaves
Instructions

Soak beans for at least 4 hours, rinsing a few times. Use 3 parts water to 1 part beans to soak. Strain, rinse, and in a pot at least 4 times the volume of the beans. Cover with 6 cups fresh water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes or until slightly tender. Reduce heat, add rest of ingredients and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

9 servings, 1/2 cup each
Calories 177
Fat 0.5 g
Protein 7 g
Carbohydrate 23 g
Dietary fiber 7 g
Sodium 3 mg

Tried this recipe last night and served some brown rice with it.....extremely delicious, even to my husband who was muttering something about 'steak' before we ate !!!! Cool

Posted by QueenBe at 16:21:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, July 20, 2007

Less Sodium at Home

I would be remiss if I didn't include some information about keeping the foods you cook at home lower in sodium....CoolThis winds up my series on lowering your sodium intake. Hopefully it was helpful!

 

  1. Replace salt with onion and garlic powder.
  2. Add freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Use low sodium bouillon or soup base
  4. Prepare homemade stocks
  5. Flavor food with herbs and spices
  6. Use wines, vinegars and citric juices to add a layer of flavor
  7. Add garlic
  8. Make hot and spicy dishes--you'll never notice the missing salt!
  9. Pour a low sodium sauce on top.
  10. Replace milk with soy milk
  11. Use saltines instead of crackers or bread crumbs
  12. Use celery seed for a salty taste
  13. Use salt substitutes

 

dapted from The Hasty Gourmet Low Salt Favorites: 300 Easy-to-Make, Great-Tasting Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle , page 20

Posted by QueenBe at 13:23:06 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |
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