Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Chopping, Washing, Cooking, and Cleaning... Repeat

My only complaint about the Mediterranean diet is the amount of time I put into meal planning, meal prepping and cooking.  You should know up front that it is my choice to cook this much.  I could save lots of time and effort if I bought all the fruits and veggies chopped and ready to use.  I could buy hummus, tzatziki and other sauces already made. I could purchase already made soups and stews.

But I don't.

Why?  Several reasons.


1.  It cost much more to purchase the ready to use ingredients and premade meals.  Cost is a factor for us and eating cleaner and fresher does not come cheap, which is sad.  I'm trying to be as cost efficient as possible.

2.  The ready to use products generally are more quantity of each item than I can use before it goes bad.  This didn't use to be a problem when I was cooking for my herd of men, but now that it is just me and the chief of the herd, we don't need as much.

3.  When I prepare the food from scratch I know exactly what is in it.  Not only are we trying to be healthier and eat more cleanly, I have a bushel basket of food allergies.  I have to be very careful.

4. I'm one of those abnormal folks who enjoys cooking... most of the time.

5.  We like to try a range of dishes.  John especially is not much for eating the same thing for several days in a row.  I can cook a nice soup, but after about 3 times eating the same soup in a week, John is ready to move on to something else.

So the bottom line is we like variety and are cheap AND I'm a food freak with allergies.

I confess that not only am I cooking for dinner, I'm also making our lunches and snacks. So you could do this diet without it taking so much effort and time.  As usual, I choose the hard way.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Flu and Homemade Elderberry Syrup

The flu came to our house last week.  He was not invited, yet there he was.  I had all our Mediterranean meals prepped and ready to deal with and then the flu stomped me in the ground.  What started as a mild sore throat ended with a big ol' fever and lots of heavy hurling (I'll spare you the details).  As a result there was not much eating or meal preparing that went on here at the Smith.

All last week I used elderberry lozenges, gummies, and chewable tabs.  Elderberry helps your immune system, stunts a cold or flu, and gives overall health a boost.  I figure its worth a try.  I also take plenty of Vitamin C during the winter.  (For the record in my head I just gave that word the UK pronunciation of Vit-amin, instead of the US pronunciation of VI-tamin.).

Elderberry products are not cheap.  In fact they are quit expensive.  I did a bit of research and discovered that I can make elderberry syrup cost effectively.  With dried berries, honey, water, and ginger I can make a whole bunch of syrup.  Here is the link for the recipe I used.   And ordered my elderberries from here.

Be aware that a pound of berries equals about 5-6 cups.


Monday, January 20, 2020

What else for breakfast?

I feel like poo today.  I'm actually afraid its the flu.  I'll be going to the doctor in a bit to find out.  Terrible ear drum pressure woke me up TOOOOOOOO early this morning.  After a while I finally got up and cooked some breakfast.   I've been enjoying overnight oats for a few days now, so decided I needed to shake things up this morning... or at least whisk things up.

I chopped up a heap of veggies I had already prepped and stored in the fridge, added some chopped lean ham, and a dash of onion salt. After the fluffy eggs were done, I sprinkled a bit of cheese on top.  Boom Mediterranean breakfast done.

*A note about the prepped veggies-
Veggies are much easier to snack on and add to dishes when they are cleaned, prepped and ready to use.  Making things convenient is a gift to yourself. Yes, it takes a good while to do this, but its worth it the rest of the week.  Just do it.  Get the prep out of the way.

Now excuse me while I eat my eggs and drink my tea.

Do you have a go to breakfast?  What's something new you have tried for breakfast?

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Supper with Hazel

We take supper to my mother-in-law every Wednesday and Friday, but Hazel is not on our Mediterranean diet.  So that begs the question, "How can I cook for us and for her without cooking two separate meals?"

Thankfully Hazel loves veggies and they work well within the Mediterranean diet. So I decided on cabbage and onions seasoned with prosciutto, a thinly sliced cured Italian ham.  Then I roasted purple and sweet potatoes along with zucchini and yellow squash.   I seasoned them all with garlic, red peppers, onion sea salt, and pepper.  

It all turned out wonderful, very tasty and quite filling.  Seems a veggie plate pleases Hazel and us! 

Friday, January 17, 2020

Mediterranean Diet Breakfast

My go to breakfast for a long time has either been yogurt with fruit, oatmeal, or a pop-tart. John makes fun of my pop-tart love, but its a total childhood comfort food.  95% of the time I also have hot tea.  The other 5% is coffee.  Because I don't like much sweetner or milk in my tea, I've decided to stick to only tea.  I have to doctor up my coffee, making it unhealthy.

The Mediterranean Diet is about healthy choices and moderation.

Its important to note that you can have any kind of a healthy meal as breakfast.  You can have chicken with rice and veggies, a bit of Naan bread with some hummus, or you can stick to the more traditional breakfast foods.  No joke- when I was a kid, I ate a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli for breakfast.  Grossed my mother out, but at least I had something in my stomach before heading out to school. I've decided to stick to breakfast type foods with this 2020 adventure into the Mediterranean.

Try non-fat, plain, Greek style yogurt topped with fruit and then a sprinkling of seeds and/or nuts.

Overnight Oats is a new food adventure for me. I generally eat my oats hot with some dried fruit and a bit of sugar and butter.  But with Overnight Oats, it can be eaten cold with the same toppings.  The biggest difference other than the temperature is the texture.  I like my oats to be rather thick and of a creamy texture.  With Overnight Oats, I can get a crazy good creamy texture.  My bowl from this morning is in the picture above. Oats are part of the good grains category.   And of course the Chia seeds are seeds.  Duh.

Here is the basic recipe for Overnight Oats:

Mix together 1/2 cup of rolled and/or steel cut oats with 1/4 cup of chia seeds. (I use a mix of the two kinds of oats) Add a pinch of salt and then pour enough milk into the mixture to cover it.  Stir well and add a bit more milk if needed.  Let sit in the fridge overnight. (hence the name)

It will last up to 3 days in the fridge.  The thing to remember is that the completed oat mixture is the base of the dish. It will taste very bland.  But that's where the fun comes in.  Top the oats with yummy fruits and even a wee tiny drizzle of honey or maple syrup.  I had mine this morning with a drizzle of some pomegranate syrup we bought in California and fresh raspberries.  I could have also added in some nuts and/or seeds, but I forgot.  I was too excited to get eating! With this breakfast, I'm getting a ton of fiber!

Most diets cut out food groups.  With the this diet, its about moderation.  While difficult sometimes, it works.




Thursday, January 16, 2020

Trip to the Mediterranean diet

First things first.  I'm a 53 year old female and overweight. Now with that out of the way.  We can get on to other things.

We found success with the Mediterranean Diet ten or so years ago.  Then I got sick and was eventually diagnosed with Dysautonomia.  My life turned on its head and I let my diet (way of eating) go slack.  Then my best friend got cancer and passed away, Everything in my life stopped for a while.  I didn't have the mental energy to focus on anything.  In other words, I had a lot of excuses and difficult circumstances.

At one point I even wrote a blog about our adventure in the Mediterranean way of eating.  Now that all seems a lifetime ago.  Much has changed in my life since then.  My children have grown up.  One is married.  I've written a novel and am writing my second.  My spiritual life is completely different.  We left a church that we helped build and attended for 25+ years.  I'm a part of a monastery as an oblate.  My father-in-law has passed away.  We've traveled extensively.  Due to my illness, medical specialist and new medicines are a big part of my life.  My body doesn't work the way it should.  I have an empty nest.  And these are just a few ways that my life has changed.

I'm not entirely sure that this adventure will result in weight loss for me.  I know it will for John.  Since my diagnosis my weight has been stagnant, remaining the same no matter what I eat or how much I eat.  But I know that food is fuel and the least I should do is fuel my body with good things.

The Mediterranean diet is consistently named as the best diet for overall health.  Read about that here.   In this way of eating, nothing is really off limits.  It's all about moderation, eating healthy fats and carbs, and filling your plate with beautiful, flavorful and colorful foods.

The only things that you should really eliminate are white things: white breads, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.  Stick to the versions of these things that are whole grain and much more brown.  I'm a Scottish/Irish/English girl.  I love me some starchy white foods.  It's in my DNA.  But my big rear end is also in my DNA.  Thanks a lot, ancestors.

Today I reorganized my spice cabinet by putting all the spices that are most used in this diet within easy reach.  I also threw out a lot of spices and were long past their prime. Learn more about the herbs and spices for this diet by linking here. A simple google search will result in many articles on this subject.

After the spice reorganization, I moved on to the pantry.  Out with the white and in with the brown. I added lots of beans and whole grains so that they are convenient and accessible. More info here.

John and I have been using Hello Fresh for a few weeks, mostly to help me learn about portion size.  I've cooked for growing boys for so long that cooking for just us is a challenge.  I've noticed there is a food service specifically for the Mediterranean diet and I might give that a shot.

I picked up a couple of books this week to inspire me with ideas and recipes.  (see photo above)  If you are on Instagram, I encourage you to search there for #mediterraneandiet.  TONS will come up.

I'll be posting daily about things I"m learning, dishes I've cooked, recipes I find and of course because it's me, lots of pictures.

I'm not writing this blog to say I know everything about this method of eating.  I know very little actually.  But I am willing and able to give this a try again.  If you want to learn along with me, I invite you to join in.