Food on Friday Carnival hosted by Ann Kroeker
- My Quest for Flavor
Psalm 22:26 “The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!”Since June 2, 2010, when doctors pronounced that there were dire heart issues to contend with I have been on a quest for Whole wellness. This quest has led to some severe dietary and lifestyle changes. As if that were not difficult and frustrating enough, I had to remove salt from my diet. That was the instruction from the first cardiologist at the first hospital.Since going to Deborah there has been a bit of improvement on the seasoning side of my diet! Dr. Ambrose, a fellow cardiologist at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, told me I could have 2,000 milligrams or 2 grams of sodium a day. Just under the RDA guidelines by 4,000 milligrams. This means about 3/4 of a teaspoon of table salt, a day, give or take a granule! S, I continue to not use the salt while cooking or added at meal times.This allows me two things, as I see them, and ALLOWED, is a great thing!1. It gives me a way to find healthier salt in natural foods, like parmesan cheese, and other cheeses to flavor my meals, (in moderation of course).
2. When I eat out or at a friend’s home, they nor I must worry about how to season a meal.
With that said, with the help of my Chef, Cook and Foodie friends, here and abroad, thanks to FaceBook, I have found some very interesting ways to take my meals from Beige to Bright!
- The Flavor Beige
Thanks to Laureen, Claudia, Dorothy, Valeen and Brenda…and all my other girls, who support and encourage me too! Ladies you are the bomb!
…ღ…Much Love to you all!
I went shopping just yesterday, buying an array of different foods than has been the norm in the past. My youngest, adult son, came out from putting away the last of the food complaining in a 16-year-old fashion, “…there’s nothing to eat!”. As much as some things stay the same, you would hope that a young adult would be a little less childish in this area, by 23! :D…”all you bought was meat, fruit and 2% milk! What happened to the whole milk?”
His complaint was really that everything had to be cooked. There was no processed foods or “microwavables” in the house! Oh well, he has a job!
I have successfully found that seasoning foods to have a salt like bite is quite easy.See what rising above the frustration can do!
Lemon is great for a salad, fish, chicken and even a new thing I found called Citrus Rice. I also, at a birthday party for a friend last weekend, got a quick recipe for Cold Corn Salad, apparently it’s great on
hot dogs? I don’t know because I no longer eat hotdogs. Didn’t really eat them before, either, but for some reason I began a new “wanting of things” that I didn’t want even when there were no restrictions. Anyway, made with
sweet corn, sweet red
bell peppers, white or vadalia onion and Hellman’s Mayonaise Lite, cold corn salad begs for a bit of salty, to it. What to do? What to do?
LIME! The juice of one small lime gives this salad just enough bite and the latin feel this salad begs for! Delicious. Thanks for that recipe from Jen’s step-mom, Maria.
Then there is my Greek Yogurt fetish! More protein than conventional American yogurt, less salt and full of flavor this treat is a filling and delicious breakfast choice. Having tried all the varieties, Oikos, Chobani and even Yoplait’s newest version. My grocer finally stocked
Fage (FA-yea) Total. This is the greek style yogurt that the Greeks stock in their fridges!
With the texture of cheese cake and a good fruit compote greek yogurt is decadence without the dietary problems! Better yet, I found quite on accident, that the plain with a table-spoon of Polaner All Fruit is even better than some of the flavors! Right there I control the fat, calories and sugar intake in my breakfast! And I actually like the sugar-free all fruit. 🙂
A small modicum of control over my diet at last! ((((Yay!!!)))) for me!
Then there is the first suggestion I received from my friend Dorothy, from Ireland, finely minced garlic! This gem of a trick (and why I didn’t know, this I don’t know) adds a nice salt like bite to eggs, sauces and soups! Having a family recipe for Spaghetti Sauce, or gravy if you prefer, I always followed the smidge here and 2 cloves there direction, which is now just a knowing. Well, about 3 finely minced cloves gives the salty bite, while the 2 sliced, added as well, provides the proper balance of garlic flavor, basil and oregano and you are good to go. Italian style!
Dorothy and Laureen also gave me the Hot Sauce suggestion, and at about the same time I was considering it. On eggs and in rice or soups just a few drops will do you! Add while cooking is the trick to avoiding the really hot sensation of using hot sause as a topical seasoning; your eggs and soup will have the flavor you desire without the excess sodium. Finding the balance, may be a bit tricky if you don’t like spicy hot. FYI: some believe that hot sauce and hot peppers kick start one’s metabolism! Good to know if you like spicy foods.
Vibrant Flavor
There it is. My diet rescue! All it took was putting an end to my pity party and some experimentation in the kitchen, which I enjoy, because I like to cook. Here I thought my Joy of Cooking was over. Not so.
Brown rice and grains are my next venture.
Wild Rice is what I am in search of. I should say, inexpensive wild rice. At my local grocer (Shop Rite) a box, for a single meal is $8.95! Out of my range, for sure. My husband’s response when I teared up at the grocery store was, “Wow! That wild rice must be really hard to catch!” Poor guy! At the time the humor didn’t work, but it’s funny now. 🙂 All of the processed rice that contain wild rice are incredibly high in sodium, too.
I really wish we had a Whole Foods store here in Central New Jersey!
A new friend, Brenda, brought me a grain called
Teff, from Ethiopia, the tiniest grain on earth. The word “teff” is derived from the *Amharic “teffa” which translates as lost. Due to its tiny size, teff can easily be lost if dropped!
*
Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia.
One of my dearest friends, Valeen, a former vegetarian who still strives for healthy eating, suggested Barley as a change-up for cereal and side dishes that were healthier. Made with sauted garden tomatoes, garlic, onions and mushrooms cooked into a rice or couscous consistency, topped with good shaved parmesan cheese, the barley was a hit. Next I am going to add it to fresh made soup tomorrow.
Whole Grain Goodness
So lunch today, I now eat 4 to six smaller meals a day, was European style. Now these Europeans are lean and healthy, at least on tv, right. 3 Wasa crackers (low cal. and low sodium), with cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, peach all fruit and a medium bunch of grapes, and a half cup of coffee. Delicioso!
You would be surprised at the satisfaction of flavor in this small meal. As well as how surprisingly good cheddar and peach preserves taste together, another wonderful accident!
So far I’ve lost 48 pounds in 4 months and still losing. I hit a plateau, at 46 pounds, about two weeks ago, so I removed another white food from my diet; white potatoes. Dorothy says they are poison! 😀 I don’t know about that, but removing them from my diet jump started my weight loss again. I lose, on average, 1.6 pound a week now and my goal is 2 pounds a week.
At this rate of loss I can lose 100 pounds or more by the start of next summer, Praise God! Really, Praise God, because obedience and the Word of God have made much of this much easier to accomplish. All of my success has come from God honoring my obedience and faith in Him to finish what He began in me!
My next venture is the health food stores! On goes my quest!
Stick with me girls (and guys) we gonna be getting healthy!
Blessings Loves!…ღ…
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August 27, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Your quest for flavor is leading to some interesting and inspiring ideas–and what joy to be losing so much weight as you deal with your dietary restrictions with so much creativity! Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your journey–and discoveries–with us via Food on Fridays!
August 28, 2010 at 4:40 am
I enjoy read this post, good resources.thx