Food Maze

The Value of Spices Anecdote

For those of you out there who are trying to cut back on salt in your diet, it might seem like a dull existence. Foods without salt just have no flavour according to your taste buds.

It is a difficult adjustment to make but I have a little anecdote that might help put things in perspective. After not being careful about how much salt we were consuming, we were both alarmed when we found out the high levels of our blood pressure. It was no longer something to be taken lightly.

By cutting out sodium as much as possible we have been able to lower our blood pressure by as many as twenty points. It has not been easy but with the help of out trusted spice rack we have overcome. Getting to know the true flavors of food by not dousing them with salt has been an eye opener and has awakened our desires to eat healthy fresh meals.

We have learnt to use fresh herbs and spices to bring out the true flavour of foods. Instead of tinned veggies and frozen vegetarian products we have started buying everything fresh and making a lot of my vegetarian fare from scratch.

It has been a learning experience but one that will probably add decades to our lives and fill those years with many more anecdotes.

An Anecdote About the Bean

As my partner and I attempt to fill our diet with more heart healthy foods, we have fallen head over heels for the bean.

Beans are high in soluble fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and iron. The soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol, thereby being excellent for your heart. They are also touted as being a good cancer prevention dietary supplement.

So here’s a quick black bean salad recipe which will power up your immune system and strengthen your heart as well: -

Ingredients: -

2 cups of cooked and chilled black beans
2 stalks of celery sliced
1/2 cup of finely chopped red or yellow onion
3 cups of roughly chopped spinach
1 avocado sliced

For dressing: -

1/4 cup of lemon juice or to taste
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of honey
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of salt free all purpose seasoning

To prepare: -

Mix the black beans, celery, chopped onions in a bowl and toss with half of the dressing. Toss the spinach with the other half of the dressing. Place the black bean mixture on top of a bed of the spinach. Place slices of the avocado on top of the lot and voila!

Enjoy!

$365 Anecdote about Food

So recently I checked out this blog, linked from the MSN home page and was intrigued by what I found.

It interests me to see how people come up with weird and different blogging ideas. This one made a bigger than normal impression because I am always trying to find new ways to save money.

Having said all that, I recently came to the realization that food and good, fresh food in particular is more important that anything else one might purchase from day to day. My health was suffering at one point because of how much prepackaged foods I was eating. Spending those extra few dollars on fresh ingredients has been more than worth it.

So as much as I admire this person’s endeavor to save money by going on this year long sabbatical from more expensive foods, I fear for their health. We all go through times where we need to cut back but I sincerely hope that they don’t sacrifice their health in the attempt to save a few bucks.

My Spinach Salad

Following on from my partner’s anecdote post on the mighty flax seed, I came up with this fabulous Spinach Salad that has loads of vitamins and will power up your heart and boost your immune system.

Here are the ingredients: -

Spinach (flat or curly leaf – whichever you prefer)
Red Bell Pepper
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Avocado
Flax Seeds
Low fat/ Low sodium Onion Vinaigrette

Basically you just wash all the veggies thoroughly, especially the spinach. Chop the bell pepper and broccoli heads (remove stalks) roughly and place all three into a salad bowl. Add the cherry tomatoes and toss to evenly distribute the ingredients.

Place a good portion on a plate. Sprinkle with a nice tablespoon of flax seeds. Slice the avocado and place on top to decorate the salad. If you want to use the dressing then you should pour it sparingly over the salad before adding the avocado.

It’s tasty and quite filling for a salad. If you want to make it more of an evening meal then add some protein. I would suggest a small portion of lightly grilled tuna for our non-vegetarians and some chick peas for our vegetarian or vegan readers.

Butty Heaven

After spending ten days back in the UK, I have to admit that I miss the food. I miss the food terribly! Stuffed full of chips, pasties and cakes, I could hardly fit into my (roomy) trousers reserved for the plane ride back.

My other half was equally impressed with the food; especially after a delicious Sunday roast at Gordon Ramsay’s Devonshire Pub Restaurant in Chiswick, London. Faced with this challenge we gingerly entered a local pub for lunch the following day – not expecting much. I was surprised to see the “lowly” chip butty on the menu.

Now for those of you not familiar with this English delicacy, have a ganders below: -

Yes that is a bread roll stuffed chockers with British chips and lashings of butter. Simply heavenly delicious.

So if you’ve got a few calories to spare, well actually several thousand calories to spare then have a go. Just remember that the more butter the better and the more chips the better. And no margarine allowed!

Winter Salad

As the weather gets a lot colder the last thing on your mind is a salad. Well here’s a very easy little recipe that my partner gave me to boost that immune system and get your cold winter juices flowing: -

Take a cup of sweet cherry tomatoes. Make sure that they are fresh and firm. Place in a medium sized bowl. Add one small (or half of a larger one) roughly chopped white or yellow onion. These onions are milder than the red onion and won’t over power the tomatoes but you can substitute red if you really prefer. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when you are using so much onion.

Next add a touch of extra virgin olive oil and about half a teaspoon of mixed Italian seasonings. You can also toss in a pinch of black pepper to give it that extra kick. If you are feeling really adventurous then try including some blue cheese or even mozzarella to wake up those taste buds even further.

Delicious!