Food for Thought~ ramblings about food, recipies, little tidbits

Since deciding to go Paleo I have learned more about myself and my eating habits.  I have realized that I really like food,  good food.  I like how I feel when I eat good food.  I enjoy the process of preparing good meals.  I like the idea that changing my diet will help my little piece of the planet.  Knowing that change starts with me and hopefully will spread as more of you become educated and want to change as well.

I can tell when I have given into the demons and eaten bad.  Eating well is a constant battle.  There are so many options out there.  Sugary, bready, sauced up food reigns superior in our society.  To choose not to eat it when it is so readily available is hard.  I understand why diet is such a problem for so many people.  I give in sometimes and instantly regret it.  I'm in touch with my body and how it feels, so when I over indulge, my body lets me know it.  This is a life long decision and learning process.  I am here to help you if you want to come on this journey with me.  We can share our ups and downs, our choices, our recipies.  Eating well should be a priority.  It is our fuel after all. 

Recipies

 

Snacks

~couple strawberries, small banana, sunflower seeds, 2 tsp almond butter: mix all together, need a chocolate fix....add a couple dark chocolate chips

~apple and almond butter

~Take 2-3 frozen bananas and toss them into a food processor. Let it process for about five minutes, stopping every so often to scrape down the sides. As each minute passes, the bananas will get light, fluffy and take on a creamy texture--sort of like soft serve! (from the blog Choosing Raw)  *add other frozen fruit as well or cinnamon or real vanilla extract or almond slivers.......possibilities are endless!!

 

Meals

~scramble 2 eggs, cut up avocado, top with salsa

~Country Captain Chicken
-----------------------
1 chicken (3 pounds) cut up
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. mace
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 cup raisins
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes, cut up, with juices
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, for garnish.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over med. heat. Add
chicken and cook, turning, until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken
and set aside. To the same pan, add onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook
until onion and peppers are tender, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder,
pepper, and mace. Stir until well blended. Add tomatoes, parsley and
raisins. Bring to a boil and return chicken to the pot. Reduce heat and
simmer, partly covered, 30-40 minutes, until chicken is tender,  Serve
garnished with almonds.
From _365 Ways to Cook Chicken_ by Cheryl Sedaker.

~

Ramblings

A diet to live by: Eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.  This will get you where you want to be.  Stick as close to this as possible.  Of course very few people can and do prescribe to this 100% of the time.  Life and food is there to be enjoyed.  Use the 80/20 rule, it's ok.  Moderation is key.  We don't have to be gluttons.  We need to be conscience of what we are putting in our bodies.  Be present when you are eating.  Give it a little effort, the preparation is just as important as the food itself.  Blind eating is getting us sicker and sicker.  Know what you are eating, where it came from, and how it was raised.  Educate yourself and I bet your attitude towards food will change.

Quotes

~Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends.  That's why I love this community.  ~Jasmine Heiler, about recipezaar.com

~We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking.  ~Steve Elbert

~High-tech tomatoes.  Mysterious milk.  Supersquash.  Are we supposed to eat this stuff?  Or is it going to eat us?  ~Annita Manning

~Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables.  They probably get jet-lagged, just like people.  ~Elizabeth Berry

~Red meat is not bad for you.  Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you!  ~Tommy Smothers

~Chemicals, n:  Noxious substances from which modern foods are made.  ~Author Unknown

~It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat.  ~Robert Fuoss

~We are all dietetic sinners; only a small percent of what we eat nourishes us; the balance goes to waste and loss of energy.  ~William Osler

~Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.  ~Fran Lebowitz

~It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.  ~Lewis Grizzard

~If organic farming is the natural way, shouldn't organic produce just be called "produce" and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective?  ~Ymber Delecto

~Eat little, sleep sound.  ~Iranian Proverb

~The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable.  I am not alone and unacknowledged.  They nod to me and I to them.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

~We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.  ~Alfred E. Newman

~If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food.  ~Sally Edwards

~The breakfast slimes, angel food cake, doughnuts and coffee, white bread and gravy cannot build an enduring nation.  ~Martin H. Fischer

~He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.  ~Henry David Thoreau

~Did you ever stop to taste a carrot?  Not just eat it, but taste it?  You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie.  ~Astrid Alauda

~Great food is like great sex.  The more you have the more you want.  ~Gael Greene

~After dinner sit a while, and after supper walk a mile.  ~English Saying

~Vegetables are the food of the earth; fruit seems more the food of the heavens.  ~Sepal Felicivant

~The story of barbecue is the story of America:  Settlers arrive on great unspoiled continent, discover wondrous riches, set them on fire and eat them.  ~Vince Staten

~Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are.  ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

~The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor.  ~Chinese Proverb

~Sugar is a type of bodily fuel, yes, but your body runs about as well on it as a car would.  ~V.L. Allineare

~As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.  ~Joan Gussow

~And, of course, the funniest food of all, kumquats.  ~George Carlin

~In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.  ~Benjamin Franklin

~He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.  ~English Proverb

~The spirit cannot endure the body when overfed, but, if underfed, the body cannot endure the spirit.  ~St Frances de Sales