Orange Peppers, Yes, but Purple, too?

It seems that each year I'm introduced to some new food. I remember one year it was broccoflower, then purple cauliflower, and this year it's Purple Sweet Peppers. Only they taste more watery than sweet, in my opinion. Who comes up with these twists on the basic fruits and vege's, anyway?

I suspect it's all for presentation.

Either way, although the purple peppers haven't hit home with me, I certainly am enjoying the abundance of yellow, orange, and red sweet peppers. No dip required with these colourful, taste-pleasing vege's, and that's a good thing. Dips are sneaky. It's difficult to measure what you're consuming when you are just dipping into a non-measured container. Inevitably you take in way more dip than you had planned. Who can blame you? It's so rich and creamy. Right?

Well, to be safe, I say lose the dip. Enjoy the raw vege's in their simplicity, and get all the health benefits without the added calories.

Happy Munching Everyone!

Eileen

Water Reminder

Since it is after 2:00 here, and so far I haven't consumed even one glass of water, I thought I would post this reminder. (Okay, I just went and filled a cup so that I could drink it while posting. I knew I kept this blog for a reason!)

Seriously, though, I have noticed that I have much more success in losing excess weight, or with maintaining a healthy weight, if I drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Ideally, you should try consuming eight full glasses of water a day, but for some of us that would have us living in our bathrooms, so six may be more reasonable. But, remember, if you are taking in more sodium than usual, you should be drinking even more water to flush the excess salt. So keep that in mind when you reach for the salt shaker, or open a can of soup. Sodium means DRINK MORE WATER! Personally, I prefer to cut back on the sodium, and not have to run to the restroom so often.

So fill those glasses, drink, and eat healthy, and let's get our bodies ready for the great outfits we'll be wearing at the approaching Christmas parties. (Christmas 2008 is only 94 days away. Did you know that?)





I'm on my second glass of water already. Are you?

Apple Harvest

I believe we planted our two apple trees five or six years ago, and this year is the first that we've gotten a true crop from either of them. Both trees were loaded with a variety of round, dimpled, mildly deformed, to yes, seriously ruined tart, cooking apples. But I was determined not to waste any of the unscathed morsels of fruit, even if it meant cutting around squiggly little worms fighting for what they deemed as their turf.

What I wasn't prepared for, however, were leaping, squirming earwigs that unexpectedly released themselves from their chosen juicy home and decided to investigate the surface of me. More than once those ugly black creatures with their u-shaped butt and too-active tentacles caused a most girlish high-pitched squeal to escape from the usually-calm me, along with a muscle-jarring jig that thankfully sent them flying back into the sink. Each time I managed to recover my wits quick enough to depress the garborator button immediately. But, still, with perseverance and added caution, I ventured forth to create my masterpieces of Apple Crisp to be enjoyed during the approaching winter months. There's a certain satisfaction in creating a well-loved dessert from the fruit that you first enjoyed as pale-pink blossoms on your trees. Climbing a ladder months later to retrieve the ripened fruit is an added bonus to the whole experience.

Initially, I tried two low-fat recipes, hence the two pans pictured here. The family unanimously decided that the lighter version was never to be made again. Just to prove their point, over a third of it was sent to the waste bin. "Too dry, too nothing," was their take on it.

Since the initial two taste-tester pans you see here, I've stocked my freezer with seven tin pans filled with the following Low Fat Apple Crisp recipe from our apple harvest so far this year. (I need a taller ladder to get to the remaining fruit.)


Low Fat Apple Crisp (From COOKS.COM)

7 c. sliced peeled apples
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1 c. quick rolled oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. soft butter (I use cholesterol-free, low-fat margarine)

In 2 quart baking dish put apples on bottom. In small bowl combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add to fruit and toss.

Topping: Combine oats, sugar and cinnamon. With 2 knives cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or microwave at high for 15 minutes. Serves 8. Enjoy hot with 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla ice cream for a special treat!


Happy Baking Everyone!

Blessings,

Eileen

Slow Cookers

The smell of my pork roast simmering in the crock pot sent me here. It occurred to me that slow cookers are not only time-savers, but they are also economical, in a monetary and calorie sense.

One concept of the slow cooker is to tenderize meats that usually come out tough from the conventional oven method of cooking. Those meat cuts are ones with minimal fat, and can also be the cheapest cuts.

Be sure not to add broths loaded with salt, though, while cooking your cheaper roasts. Instead, rely on a little water, home seasoned with garlic, pepper, grated celery, carrots and onions, and stick to your allotted portion of protein. Bulk up on the vegetables, and drink lots of water. Enjoy!

Oh, I'm loving the smell of my roast. This cooler weather is starting to feel welcome, after all.

Blessings,

Eileen

Buttermilk, where are you?

The need for buttermilk in my kitchen is rare. How about you?

I have a favorite recipe that calls for a 1/4 cup of the thick, bitter milk, but I've never used that ingredient in it. Luckily my mom taught me a substitution for buttermilk way back, and so I thought I'd share it today.

You see, I found another recipe calling for it today and did the substitution thing again, and thought, hey, I should share this. After all, how many of you have purchased a carton of this rarely-used milk only to have the majority of it go to waste? With this substitution you can use skim milk, so even the health benefit is reason enough to try it out. If the waste factor, expense, and inconvenience of purchasing it isn't enough reason, that is.

So, to make your own buttermilk, mix a little vinegar in with skim, 1%, or 2% milk, whatever you regularly stock your refrigerator with, to equal the amount of buttermilk called for. For 1/4 cup of buttermilk, I measure my milk just to below the 1/4 mark, then add a tablespoon or so of vinegar until it reaches the 1/4 mark exactly. Stir it. See the curdling happen before your eyes, and there you have it, a no fuss, easy-to-make substitution for buttermilk. Hope this helps!

Blessings,

Eileen

Schedules are Good

After my roller-coaster summer I'm looking forward to getting back on a SCHEDULE. Are you?

It's always easier to eat properly when there is some semblence of normalcy in your day-to-day, hour-to-hour happenings. These first few weeks of getting back on a schedule is the perfect time to instill good eating and exercising habits. Don't forget to chug the water, and latest news has it that a squeeze of lemon in it helps with clearing your skin and losing weight. So you might want to grab a bag of those organic lemons from the grocery shelf next time you make a visit.

As for me, I have an extra four pounds that's accumulated over my summer break. I blame all those yummy salads we talked about earlier. Guess my portion sizes were too generous, too. So over the next few weeks I plan to be extra cautious of what I let my tongue taste, and work on ridding myself of these extra few pounds.

After all, I want to be in ship-shape for the approaching Christmas celebrations, right. Oops. Am I really pondering Christmas already? I'm bad, I know. But this is the perfect time to be thinking ahead, and benefiting from doing so. So pull out that tucked-way-back food scale, make use of those measuring cups, and start working on portion control, and log, log, log, your food and drink intake so that you can correct any bad habits you may have picked up over the summer.

Good luck to everyone, and may we all be a success in achieving our goals!

Blessings,

Eileen