It’s New Years Eve! My goodness this year has flown by for me. Has it for anyone else? I have so much to be thankful for and will continue to thank and praise God for the many blessings he’s bestowed on us.
Earlier this evening, I made this simple salad with avocado, spinach, romaine lettuce and tomatoes.
Avocado Salad
I ground up a few herbs and spices using my mortar and pestle and pronounced it, done! Simple? Yes, but so delicious and nutritious. Who needs an elaborate meal when you can fill up on something quick and delightful.
Yesterday, I made a bean soup that I pureed and my daughter has been devouring that. I should have made more since there isn’t too much left. Sighs… you’d think I’d learn, right?
While we don’t celebrate a traditional ‘Christmas’ in our family, we still do a lot together since I’m off of work.
However, this year was a bit different since most of my day was spent in bed sleeping. Naturally this meant I did not get any of the meal preparations done that I’d written about. In fact, I didn’t feel like eating anything. I mainly drank liquids.
It appears that there is some nasty virus floating about and while I wasn’t down that long it kept me sidelined for a few days. Hearing others talk about how they were affected by the virus, I know was fortunate and while I felt ‘better’ after Christmas day, I still wisely kept a low profile and did not do too much.
My daughter wasn’t her normal self either and was a bit saddened that my four days away from work was spent vegetating. She was right there with me. I told her to make up for it, we would do something this weekend to make up for our missed time bonding together.
Although I wasn’t feeling the greatest, I did get a chance to sew some flannel pajamas for her, and she really loves them a lot. There’s only one thing left to do to them and I’ll finish that today.
Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful time spending your Christmas holiday with loved ones.
Christmas is right around the corner and so I’ll be stepping away and disconnecting from most things related to technology. However, I do have advanced posts lined up, so even though I’ll be away, It’ll still look like I’m here since I have written posts and have scheduled them to be published at a later date.
The next few days I’ll be making my own home made foods to freeze and bring out at a later date, so I (or my daughter) can quickly heat and prepare meals when I’m too busy.
Recycled post – Homemade Vegan Lentil Burgers
The above burgers were made a few years ago. It was a lentil burger that I’d made. I had some leftover lentil beans and decided to make them into a burger. That was a tasty experiment. In the late 1990s, I had an amazing veggie burger that had sunflowers. It was made by a local restaurant and if I remember, the burgers were freshly made, so there was none of the prepacked fake crap. Perhaps, I’ll make some type of burger with sunflower seeds? We’ll see…
Recycled post – Homemade eggrolls
She’s also a fan of Latin/Caribbean and Asian foods so I’ll be making my own burritos, tacos and eggrolls
Recycled post – Homemade Siga Wot Ethiopian Beef Stew
and perhaps something Trinidadian or Ethiopian in nature. We love those foods also.
Although they are all homemade, I would consider these “processed foods” since I’m preparing them in advance, but they are miles ahead of the processed stuff you will find in the stores. Why? The above foods are still home made, they are just being made by me in advance. Since they are all made by me using whole foods ingredients only, they’re much different than what you would buy from the store. The ingredients are made from produce that I’ve either purchased, or have been picked from our garden, and the food is much fresher than the store bought variety.
I must say, that I’m actually looking forward to preparing my homemade quick meals in bulk. Once prepared most will be packaged and put into the freezer, to be pulled out when I’m too busy to prepare a meal. This way, even though we’ll have “quick meals,” they’ll still be a healthy option since they’re homemade and prepared (with minimal processing) by me.
When it comes to eating properly, I’m fortunate where I do have choices and because that I do have options I choose to make healthy choices. Of course, that means at times I have to make an effort to keep making smart choices, but since I’m invested in my health, I’m willing to jump through extra hoops to maintain those goals.
Back in August, I prepared my fermented sauerkraut, check out the post if you want to see the entire process I went through to create my own kraut.
Recycled photo from my August post on fermented sauerkraut
I made over 15 pounds of kraut using my super heavy 30+ pound crock. This crock is made by TSM and is a 15L Fermenting Crock. Since it’s a fermented crock system, you can’t smell the produce as it ferments.
Four months later, I’m finally getting around to eating some of that delicious food. First, this does not taste like the traditional sauerkraut that you purchase in the stores. I added a lot of different spices and herbs to this blend. Garlic, whole black peppercorns and whole cardamom were just a few of the many different herbs and spices that I added to this yummy kraut and I must say that I’m pleased with this combination.
Fermented spicy sauerkraut
In the above picture you can see me eating about 1/2 cup of the kraut and I must say that this turned out really good. My daughter even likes it a lot.
Since I’m a firm believer in cleansing, the herbs/spices that were added to this blend, were solely added because of their healing benefits. Was it effective? I would like to think so. I know that yesterday I had the ticklings of a cold, but now that’s gone thanks to eating a big bowl of fermented kraut. Normally, on the rare occasion I feel the symptoms, of a cold I’ll reach for garlic, ginger or oil of oregano, but this time I simple ate some fermented foods. For those who don’t know, fermented foods (and beverages) can be very effective at combating common ailments.
The first time I heard this song, was in the mid 1990’s. I was in my friends boutique, getting ready for a night out on the town. The version I heard was the cover by Crowded House. I’ve included the original by the Zombies below. Enjoy!
The Zombies: She’s not There
Well no one told me about her the way she lied
Well no one told me about her how many people cried
But it’s too late to say you’re sorry
How would I know why should I care
Please don’t bother tryin’ to find her
She’s not there
Well let me tell you ’bout the way she looked
The way she’d act and the colour of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool
Her eyes were clear and bright
But she’s not there
Well no one told me about her, what could I do
Well no one told me about her, though they all knew
But it’s too late to say you’re sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don’t bother tryin’ to find her
She’s not there
Well let me tell you ’bout the way she looked
The way she’d act and the colour of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool
Her eyes were clear and bright
But she’s not there
—— electric piano ——
But it’s too late to say you’re sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don’t bother tryin’ to find her
She’s not there
Well let me tell you ’bout the way she looked
The way she’d act and the colour of her hair
Her voice was soft and cool
Her eyes were clear and bright
But she’s not there
This morning I brewed a big pot of one of my favorites. Hibiscus flower, cinnamon and cloves. Nothing ground here, everything was whole and tossed into my stainless steel pot. I let simmer for about an hour before taking it off the wood stove. I have plenty of this brew to keep me happy for at least a few days.
Simmering pot of Hibiscus Spice Tea
Not only is is tasty, but it’s loaded with nutrients. Hibiscus Flowers has a large amount of vitamin C, cloves improves digestion, and cinnamon is helpful for fungal infection. I only included one benefit for each of the items listed, they are chock full of nutrients.
I do find that consuming healthful foods I am rarely sick. Imagine that, what we consume can actually help us fight off infection!
These are the burgers I mentioned yesterday. I added hard cheddar cheese to some of the burgers, since my daughter likes cheese. I made enough burgers too freeze and set aside for when I’m to busy to cook. This way, the only thing I have to do is heat up the food and serve to my daughter.
My daughter loved these burgers because they were super moist and flavorful… and they were loaded with finely chopped vegetables.
Adding the veggies, is definitely a much healthier choice than just making a burger with plain old ground meat. This would be a great alternative, for someone looking to add vegetables into their daily diet, without giving up the meat. The toppings, for this burger were more veggies; finely grated carrots, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach. Occasionally, my daughter, will add pureed avocado as a spread. It’s a much healthier alternative to mayonnaise, and since it’s lightly seasoned with freshly ground herbs and spices, it enhances its flavor.
. Since it’s a fermented crock system, you can’t smell the produce as it ferments.
has a large amount of vitamin C, cloves improves digestion, and cinnamon is helpful for fungal infection. I only included one benefit for each of the items listed, they are chock full of nutrients.