Peppadews!

Last summer, I flew 2068 miles to Seattle to meet four girls I met on the internet.  Imagine this conversation.....

Heids:  Mr. McGhee, would you mind if I go to Seattle for a few days this summer to meet some girls from the internet?

Mr. McGhee:  Sounds good.  Where are are you going to stay?
Heids:  At the home of this girl I met on the internet.  

Mr. McGhee:  Sounds fun to me.

Now, this is how the conversation went with the other 20 people I told......

Heids:  I am going to Seattle to meet four girls I met on the internet.

other person:  You are FREAKING nuts!!!  Oh My Gawd, you are going to end up missing!!!  Where are you staying?
Heids:  At the home of this girl I met on the internet.  

other person:  You're joking, right? You can not be serious?!?!?  You are traveling 2068 miles to meet strangers from the internet and you are going to stay at their house!?!?!?  Heids, I seriously question your logic.  I mean, honest to God, who in their right mind flies across the country to meet strangers at their house?!?!

Heids:  Well, here's the thing.  Mr. McGhee and I made this New Year's Resolution to make 2011 the year of adventure, so I am thinking this sounds like a great adventure.

other person:  You and your freaking New Years Resolutions are ridiculous....

Well, the trip to Seattle ended up being ah-may-zing.  I got to spend the weekend with 4 girls that I had known for 8 years, even though we had never met.  We shopped, ate, and drank our way through Seattle.  We talked until 4 in the morning and then woke up at 7 because we had more to talk about!  And we laughed until we cried.  And then one of us started talking about something that made her cry and  then we were all dabbing tears because we're women and that's what we do.

Here is part of the group.  OMG, I am an AMAZON!!!

Shopping for that night's dinner.

The most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen.  $5 each.  Incredible.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the vegetables.  

This was the most amazing experience I have ever had.  We kayaked with the Seattle skyline in front of us and mountains behind us.  This is on my must-do-again list.

So, why am I posting about this?  Well, part of it is self-indulgent because I totally miss these girls and it was at this time last year that we began planning our trip.  But, there is another reason why I was reminded of this trip today, and it's these babies right here.....

My fabulous friend from Seattle introduced me to the peppadew.  Peppadews are a  piquante pepper from South Africa that was discovered in 1993.  How cool is that?!?!?  They were discovered around the same time that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was discovered!  You can find peppadews in grocery stores or markets that have the fancy olive and mushroom bar.  I had mine on top of my omelet today and Oh My.  Delish.  

Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Peppadew omelet

• butter, olive oil, or grapeseed oil
• handful of spinach
• salt and pepper
• cooking sherry
• 2-3 tbsp goat cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1-2 tbsp milk

1.  Melt butter, olive oil, or grapeseed oil in pan.

2.  Add spinach and a splash of cooking sherry.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

3.  Saute until spinach is wilted.

4.  Beat eggs in a separate bowl.  Add milk and stir.  Add goat cheese.

5.  Dump eggs over spinach and cook until eggs are cooked thoroughly.

I enjoyed mine with a pomegranate spritzer  in my cup that I got at the original Starbucks in Seattle.

I have to be honest....I went back twice and added more peppadews to my eggs.

I REALLY want you all to try this dish.  You could easily turn it into a quiche and serve it for lunch or dinner with a side of breakfast meat.  Or, if you really wanted to impress someone, you could invite them over for breakfast and make this dish along with broiled grapefruit.  Just to warn you, if you do that, people may think you're getting all fancy on them.  I would recommend making sure your house is nice and messy just to offset the fanciness of your meal.

Legumes

Remember the stuffed sweet mini peppers from the Super Bowl?

I have had a few leftover sitting in the fridge and this morning I decided to slice them up and toss them in some scrambled eggs.  Oh. My. Delish.  From now on, I think I will have a small stash of these in my fridge at all times.

Yesterday we started talking about heart-healthy foods.  One of the foods on the list is legumes.  Legumes is a food group that includes beans, peas, soybeans, peanuts, and lentils.  Legumes are good sources of protein and fiber.....yeah, they're like a 1-2 punch!  Also, diets rich in legumes have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes because legumes improve blood glucose control, decrease insulin secretion, and delay the return of hunger after a meal.  Basically, eating legumes can keep your blood sugar under control, which is important for all of us, but especially those on the verge of type 2 diabetes.  The high fiber of the legumes lower LDL (the "bad") cholesterol, while the folate in legumes lower homocysteine levels (high homocysteine levels are associated with cardiovascular disase).  Finally, the magnesium and potassium of legumes lower blood pressure levels. 

Too much information?  Eat your legumes, that's all you need to know.

I am dying to try this lentil soup, I need Mr. McGhee to hurry home with some carrots so I can get it started.

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups dry lentils
• 8 cups water (or chicken broth)
• 1 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.               

We are having roasted beets with our soup.

• 12 beets
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
• Juice of 1 large orange 

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Remove the tops and the roots of the beets and peel each one with a vegetable peeler. Cut the beets in 1 1/2-inch chunks. (Small beets can be halved, medium ones cut in quarters, and large beets cut in eighths.)

3.  Place the cut beets on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once or twice with a spatula, until the beets are tender. Remove from the oven and immediately toss with the vinegar and orange juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve warm.  

And, I am totally kicking myself for just finding this recipe now.  I am dying to try these crockpot lentils and rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked brown long grain rice
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) low sodium diced tomatoes
• 5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped or frozen, but thaw and drain first
• 5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper or to taste
• 1 package (8 ounces) non dairy cheese (optional)

Preparation:

1. Place the rice and lentils in a large bowl, cover with water and soak overnight or at least 6 hours.
2. Drain and place in the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except the cheese if using.
3. Cover and cook on high 5-6 hours or low 8 hours depending on your specific slow cooker. It’s done when the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been cooked down.
4. If using the cheese add it individually to each serving.

I think this would be a great side dish to a hearty meat, like a sausage or something. 

 

Happy eating, enjoy your legumes!!!

 

 

Step Away From the Cereal Box

Cereal is a tough one to give up.  The thing is, cereal is so processed that the end product is practically unrecognizable when compared to the original ingredients.  How do we get from this,

To this?

Well, the answer is we process the heck out of it.  Most cereal is ENRICHED.  We read it on the boxes, the manufacturers write on the packaging, "enriched with 12 vitamins and minerals", so we think it must be good for us.  Do you know what enriched means?

When a food is excessively processed, it is stripped of all its nutrients and minerals.  Manufacturers will then add nutrients and minerals back in to compensate for the loss of the original nutrients and minerals (the ones that Mother Nature intended to be there!)  Enriched does not mean that extra nutrients have been added, it means that food product is so overprocessed it needs to be "fixed" before it can be sold!

So, you've got to throw out your cereal.  While you're at it, throw out any instant oatmeal you have too.  When it comes to breakfast, we need to come up with other options.  And, just a warning, you will probably have to turn your stove on in the mornings.  The first thing I suggest you try is incredible and edible...that's right, you guessed it....

We eat eggs nearly every morning in our house.  Do you know that egg whites have the biological value of 100, which means all the nitrogen absorbed from the egg protein is retained and incorporated into your body tissue protein?!?!  Have no clue what that means?  Eat eggs, they're good for you!  We ALWAYS have hardboiled eggs available for snacks in our house.  Throw some eggs in water, bring to a boil, turn off heat, sit covered for 12-15 minutes, rinse in cold water.  My kids love hardboiled eggs with fruit for breakfast.  We love using this to slice them:

And amazing mothers have these that they use to mold their kids' hardboiled eggs.  I strive to be amazing, I'm not there yet.  So sorry, mini McGhees...you're settling for sliced eggs!

If you don't like hardboiled, you can always scramble them.  If I scramble I always add in diced bell peppers and spinach.  Fancy people call that a fritatta.  I call it eggs with veggies.

Another good breakfast option is oatmeal.  We can't use instant, flavored oatmeal, but we can make our own...it's tastier anyway!  My kids love steel cut oats, so try those or you can stick with rolled oats too.  Make the oats following the directions on the package.  It basically is adding the oats to boiling water (I use milk) and stirring occasionally until oats are done.  Once the oats are done, the fun begins!  The possibilities of are endless, but ideas to put into your oats are:

• fruit
• nuts
• honey
• small amount of brown sugar
• small amount of 100% maple syrup

Stove top oatmeal has a different texture than instant oatmeal.  So, your kids will probably protest because kids (and men) don't like change.  I would suggest calling stovetop oatmeal "hot cereal".  That way your kids aren't expecting their typical oatmeal only to be disappointed by the healthy, good stuff.  Or, you could always make a batch of stovetop and a batch of instant oatmeal and make a 50/50 mix.  Gradually, decrease the amount of instant until it is 100% stovetop.  Or, you could make the stovetop, plop it in front of your kids, and tell them breakfast is served, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  That always goes over well too.

Other options are homemade whole wheat pancakes, waffles, or french toast, homemade whole wheat muffins, homemade granola with milk, plain greek yogurt with fruit and homemade granola, toast (homemade whole wheat bread).  Recipes for all of these will be coming soon, I will share them as we try them!