What do vegetarians eat for Thanksgiving?

Vegetarians do not eat Turkey, obviously, but on "Turkey Day" we do eat lots of yummy food! Some people would say they eat "Tofurky" which is like a meat substitute made from tofu and made in the shape of a turkey. We don't eat that particular type of meat substitute, because we prefer the flavor of the Worthington Dinner Roast . You can order some here if you want to try it.  The Dinner Roast is made from wheat gluten and soy protein concentrate with several flavorings, spices, and preservatives. It is not, honestly, the most healthy food in the world, because it contains high levels of sodium, fat, and other "stuff" that is not exactly natural.  But, it is delicious and it makes a nice addition to the Thanksgiving meal. 

Q: What do vegetarians eat for Thanksgiving? 

A: There are countless options for non-meat foods that people traditionally prepare for holiday meals. Endless choices, really! So, let me just share what we had one year for Thanksgiving.

Here is what I made for our vegetarian Thanksgiving in our home in 2012. I know that was several years back, but it was the last time I was the "cook" who prepared the holiday feast, so here is our vegetarian Thanksgiving menu for what it's worth. 

1. Worthington Dinner Roast

2. Vegetarian stuffing

3. Sweet Potato Casserole

4. Mashed Potatoes

5. Green Beans

6. Corn

7. Cranberry Sauce

8. Whole Wheat Rolls

Debbie's parents serving food during our dinner on Thanksgiving Day 2012! 

Worthington Dinner Roast

Mashed Potatoes

Clock wise from 12 o'clock . . . Mashed Potatoes, Vegetarian Stuffing, Worthington Dinner Roast, Sweet Potato Casserole, Cranberry sauce, Corn, Green Beans. DELICIOUS!! 

Jason, Me, and Isaac in our home, 2012, for Thanksgiving. My parents joined us for the holiday too! It was fun being the chef of the day! I hope to do it again sometime soon! 

Low Calorie Lunch #3

Today's low calorie lunch is one of my absolute favorites --Homemade Hummus and Tabbouleh Salad! I love that they are both so fresh, flavorful, and filling! Raw veggies and olives with this meal make it so yummy and healthy! Hummus is made from chick peas, also called garbanzo beans, and they are low calorie and full of fiber and protein. Also, offering the benefit of high fiber, low calorie, and high protein is bulgar wheat, which is the main ingredient of tabbouleh salad. The other ingredients for this meal are all vegetables, spices, herbs, and lemon juice. 

Low Calorie Lunch #3

Homemade Hummus

2 15.5 oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB fresh parsely

1 lemon, juiced

10 medium black olives

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. coriander, optional

1/2 t. seasoned salt

1 cup water

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Chill for at least one hour, serve with your favorite pita bread and raw vegetables. 

Tabbouleh Salad

2 cups bulgar wheat, cooked and cooled to room temperature (follow package directions) 

1 t. salt

2 lemons, juiced

1 pt. cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 TB olive oil

Mix all ingredients well. Add more salt or lemon juice to reach desired flavor. 

This meal does take a lot more time to prepare than some of the other low calorie lunches I have posted, but it is the type of meal that tastes great a couple of days after it is made. I would recommend making several options for healthy lunches on a Sunday afternoon to be prepared for the week. After all, If you open the refrigerator in the middle of the day, you're busy and  already hungry, and find nothing =not good!  It is more likely you will go for something fast and maybe less healthy like chips, cookies, candy, cheese burger, or mac and cheese. But if you have fresh, whole-food, healthy options just waiting for you, then it is easier to make a good choice when you are busy and hunger strikes!

I'll be posting another Low Calorie Lunch next week, so check back in a few days! 

Low Calorie Lunch #2

I like finding ways to eat super delicious food for a filling, satisfying meal that also leads to weight loss and the goal of balanced wellness. I am sharing my "Low Calorie Lunches" with you, because there are so many yummy foods we can eat that taste good while promoting good health habits. Eating foods in their natural state is so much healthier than processed foods with added preservatives and added chemicals. I love this Black Bean Plate, because it is healthy, so simple, and so good!  

Low Calorie Lunch #2

Black Bean Plate

Brown rice

Black beans

Corn

Avocado

Tomatoes

Light sprinkle of salt

This is so delicious for lunch! There are very few calories in this meal, but it is so filling. You will get some great fiber from the brown rice, beans, and corn! The veggies are packed with nutrients, too. The avocado offers the body a healthy type of fat and is considered a super food because of its high-levels of folate, potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium. Enjoy this one!  I eat this for lunch as often as I can, because I love it so much!   

I'll be posting another Low Calorie Lunch next week, so check back in a few days! 

Low Calorie Lunch #1

I like finding ways to eat super delicious food for a filling, satisfying meal that also leads to weight loss and the goal of balanced wellness. I am sharing my "Low Calorie Lunches" with you, because there are so many yummy foods we can eat that taste good while promoting good health habits. We don't need to feel hungry all the time or eat things that don't taste good in order to experience weight loss or better health. God gave us taste buds so we can enjoy the wonderful flavors of the foods He created! The first Low Calorie Lunch I'm sharing is something I'm sure you have had before. It is so simple, but so delicious! Try it this week!

Low Calorie Lunch #1 

Simple Tostadas
Corn tostadas
Fat Free refried beans
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced black olives
Corn
Sliced avocado or simple guacamole (smashed avocado, salt, lemon juice)
Salsa
Cheese (lightly sprinkled), optional
Sour Cream (light), optional

So, eating 2-3 of these will fill you up! These crunchy discs of delicious flavor include healthy fiber from the corn tostadas and beans, as well as the benefits of a variety of vegetables.

I do not like the phrase "I'm on a diet." I think it is really cliche and seems like a self-deprecating statement that basically says "hey I'm fat and I'm trying to lose this flab so I can fit back into my favorite jeans." I don't want to say that even if it is true. I do think, however, that it is important to recognize when we need to lose some weight. Instead of putting myself on a diet, I think making small changes towards an improved lifestyle is a better. We need to be doing things like eating more foods in their original condition--more whole foods, less processed foods. Exercising, getting enough sleep. Drinking water. Praying for God's help to balance and excell in all areas of our lives including our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

I can admit that I do have some extra weight, and, yes, I aim to lose some of it. But, I am not on a diet and I am not doing any specific program or anything like that to restrain and restrict myself. I believe that the ultimate goal any of us should have is to be healthy, balanced, and growing stronger every day.

Age has a way of weakening a person, but with continued effort towards wellness, a person can do a lot to combat the natural progression of fat cells that are migrating and clumping up everywhere you don't want them to clump. And, there are definitely things we can do to help generate more energy and better circulation which leads to better metabolism and a better immune system. After all when more blood is pumping through the body, there is more life-giving power spreading to each area.

But, I digress. I am not a nutritionist nor a doctor. I do have an interest in health and have learned much through the years of my life as I have lived as a vegetarian and as a member of a protestant denomination known globally for their healthful lifestyle--Seventh-day Adventists.

A side note: Seventh-day Adventists are featured in a National Geographic study headed up by Dan Buettner and the world's best longevity researchers to identify pockets around the world where people live measurably longer, which they termed Blue Zones. In Blue Zones the study found that people reach age 100 at a rate 10 times greater than anywhere else in the world. You can read more about it here: https://www.bluezones.com/2014/03/loma-linda-exploration-backgrounds/ and also at this link: https://www.bluezones.com/2014/03/loma-linda-exploration-lessons/.

I'll be posting another Low Calorie Lunch next week, so check back in a few days! 

Summer's Last Gasp . . . Let's have Pina Colada!

I have been informed by google that tomorrow is the start of Fall! Yay! . . . Except I live in the subtropics where it will not feel like fall for at least another two months, and it should also be noted that it will not look like Fall until late December or even January. We do not have very much change of color in the leaves around here. 

There are some benefits to warm weather, however, like lots and lots of flowers that bloom virtually all year. Everything stays fresh and green for most of the year, depending on how much rain we get. The wildlife enjoy less harsh conditions for their survival. We will still see the green anoles, geckos, toads, and frogs scampering and flopping around our property for another month or more. Birds and squirrels will chirp and chatter at the sight of our outdoor kitty, Midnight. We will probably get another round of figs ripening on our backyard tree, too. It will also soon be time to plant another season of vegetables in our garden. Mild temperatures are nice. 

Fall colors are nice too. But I digress.

So, to celebrate or at least commemorate the ending of summer. I am sharing a simple Pina Colada recipe with you. This amazing . . . AMAZING . . . drink has been our absolute favorite cool off and chill beverage throughout this very hot summer!!  It is so wonderful and so easy! I love easy and I love wonderful, don't you!? I must add . . . this is virgin, because we don't drink alcohol. I would recommend trying it as soon as possible!  

Virgin Pina Colada

6 oz. Pineapple Juice

6 oz. Coco Real Cream of Coconut (NOT coconut milk)

2-3 cups of ice

Blend in your blender until slushy. Enjoy!

This is cream of coconut, and it is so so so so so so Yummy!!

 I hope you have a fantastic Fall y'all!  I think I will welcome Fall with a Pina Colada tomorrow! After all it is supposed to be 91 degrees!

Disclaimer: This is not my original recipe. It is from the Coco Real Cream of Coconut bottle. 

I made homemade fig jam

We have a fig tree in our back yard, and it has been producing lots of figs this summer! They are huge, too, and really sweet!  We have eaten a lot of them, and given bags of them away to friends. The birds and squirrels and (??) have gotten to pick, peck, and eat their fair share of them, too!

 We just recently got a bunch of rain, so the figs that were green on the tree suddenly all got ripe at the same time. So, I decided to make a pile of them into Homemade Fig Jam!

 Aren't they pretty!?

 There are bunches of them, and more to come!  I need to look up some more fig recipes!

I have never made jam before, so I had to follow the directions on the Sure Jell Pectin package.  First I washed the jars, because they have to be sterilized. I found out after I washed these five, that I would need four more, so I boiled those additional four in a pot of water briefly. They were brand new, so I think that was enough to sterilize them.

 I measured 5 cups of Figs. I followed the directions on the Sure Jell package instructions for making Cooked Fruit Jam.

I put these in a pot and started to boil them.  I had a problem, yes, I am going to show you a picture. This was my first time to make jam of any kind, so I was kind of learning as I went. The pot started to boil over, and made a rather yucky, sticky mess. I had to pull it off the burner right away. This caused a little smoke too. Exciting !!  NOT!  I was so busy trying to deal with the boiled over pot situation, that I forgot to take a picture of the figs in the pot. So, the next step was to take the fig mixture and ladle it into into the jars. See the recipe on your Sure Jell package for specific measurements of water/sugar/lemon juice/figs.

 Next, I wiped the tops and sides of each jar off and put the lids on them and screwed them on tight. Then I put them in the big black canning pot. The jars were completely submerged in the water. Then I boiled them for 10 minutes in the canning pot.

 Here are the 9 jars of Homemade Fig Jam I made today!  I have not tasted it yet, but I can't wait to see how it turned out!

 This will taste great on a thick slice of Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread! I think I'll get started making some of that next!

Something to make your morning extra good

I love the fresh, ripe berries available during the summer months! Breakfasts where berries are the "star" are my favorite! I love blue berry muffins. I love berry smoothies. Jason loves blue berry sauce on my multigrain waffles. Isaac loves blue berries. I love every berry I have ever tasted. As we come to the end of the season for berries, we must take advantage of these beauties and their sweetness ! This breakfast bowl is a great way to do it.  Try it for yourself!! You know you want to!  

Berry Breakfast Bowl

Toasted Coconut Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Berries
Walnuts

You could put anything in this you like. I also enjoy this combo with granola sprinkled in. I just love simple combinations like this for their fresh taste and health benefits. Walnuts are great "brain food", because they contain vitamin E, folate, melatonin, omega-3 fats, and antioxidants.The cool thing is that if you turn them bottom side up they look like little brains.

My favorite flavor for this yummy breakfast treat is from Dannon Oikos,
but you could use any yogurt and even a non-dairy type of yogurt. 

How to Fry Plantain

Fried plantain is one of the absolute easiest side dishes to prepare! And these tropical banana cousins are so delicious! You can upgrade your beans and rice meal to gourmet with some beautiful, golden plantain on the side. There are many ways to make plantain, but this is our favorite! We just love it! So are you ready to try it? 

1) Pick plantain that are yellow on the outside, like a ripe banana. They will have the best flavor! For a family of 4, two plantains should be enough for one meal. You might have a few leftovers, but I doubt it . . .

2) Peel the plantains.

3) Slice them into 1/8 inch thick slices. The thinner you slice them the more crunchy they will turn out. If you want them to be tender, just make them thicker. I like them tender with crunchy edges.     

 4) Turn the heat on medium, pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan, and add the slices to form a single layer. Sprinkle salt on the slices as they are cooking.

5) Fry until golden in each side --about 1-2 minutes on each side --but watch them, sometimes they go faster as the frying pan gets hotter.

 6) Put a paper towel or two on a plate and put the fried plantains on it to drain. Sprinkle with a little more salt, if desired.

 7) Serve with black beans, cilantro lime rice, and guacamole with tortilla chips. It is one of our favorite meals! I hope you enjoy it too!

Perfect Pasta Every Time

Raise your hand if you have boiled a pot of pasta and had it run over and make a huge mess all of the stove? Me me me!  They say a watched pot never boils. Well, a non-watched pot of pasta . . . boils over. Ha ha ha! I don't like watching and stirring a pot for 8-10 minutes, which is what the pasta box directions suggests for cooking it. I prefer to use the method that my parents always used.

At this point I could go on and on about my childhood memories of eating spaghetti around the kitchen table with my family, and how crunchy and delicious the garlic bread was that we ate with it. I could reminisce about macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta, or garden fusilli that combined with Italian dressing and veggies to make some really yummy pasta salad. But, since one of my number one goals right now is to simplify, I will just tell you how to make Perfect Pasta . . . Every . . . Time . . .using one simple method. Every . . . Time!

Perfect Pasta
1) Fill  a large pot 2/3 full of water, or enough to cover pasta amount you are trying to cook
2) Add 1 tsp. of salt to water
3) Add 1 TB of olive oil to water
4) Bring the water to a boil.
5) Add pasta to the water and cook for 2 minutes uncovered
6) Remove the pot from heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
7) Drain the water from the pot and enjoy your perfectly cooked pasta!

P.S. This same method (minus salt/olive oil) works to cook perfect boiled eggs, too . . . Every . . . Time!

Savoring Summer . . . and a Smoothie!

The summer went by too fast! It is only a couple of weeks until school starts, and this year will be Isaac's first year in full-time school. He will be in Kindergarten. Last year he was in a private preschool on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. It was wonderful for him  . . . and me.  He loves to be active and socialize with other people! I hope he will also develop a love for learning. It will be fun to see how everything goes for him this school year. We will be his biggest fans in whatever he does. We will also offer discipline when needed. He has already been told that if he gets in trouble at school he will get in trouble at home. I hope that we will not need to follow up on that warning. We'll see.

So, I'm savoring the last bits of summer. We are going swimming and being lazy and eating lots of fresh, sweet fruit! Summer has always been my favorite season. Yes, it is hot, too hot, but it is beautiful to see the flowers and gardens growing and enjoy swimming and playing at the beach. The strawberries, canteloupes, watermelons, and peaches are wonderful at this time of year.

Unfortunately we haven't gotten much rain the past couple of weeks, so I have had to water all our plants and flowerbeds and garden areas. Watering is not fun, but I have learned to relax and enjoy it. It helps me slow down a little and just enjoy the pretty flowers. I got up early this morning, Jason went to work, and Isaac was still sleeping. I checked on the two watermelons growing in our garden, and one might be ready to pick soon but the other is a little small and I'm not sure if it will make it. I looked at the kale, too and decided I would use some of the small, tender pieces to make a salad like the one I had a La Madeleine the other day.  Yum! It was so simple, but so yummy. Field greens, balsamic vinegrette, chopped pecans, and dried cranberries. It was so good!

Here are some of our blooming beauties right now!

These rain lilies in our courtyard really enjoy rain. When we get even a light shower, they come out in full force!  

I love hydrangea! These are in a corner near the roses in our garden area.

Gladiolus in our garden area. I love this color with the light and dark pink and white to set it all off! They are so elegant!

The first time I saw million bells flowers, I was in love! This planter is in our courtyard, so I get to see it every day when we are coming and going! They grow without too much fuss, so I love that it is easy to care for them! 

This planter is at the front of the house where we park our cars. The purple leafed plant is Oxalis, and
I'm not sure what the others are, but I love them! 

SunPatiens are pretty, but they are impatient for water . . . ha ha ha!  They need water about every other day. 

Classic mums on our back patio. 

Million bells and pitunia, and not sure what the fuzzy pink and white flowers are.

Echinacea and yellow million bells on our back patio! I am most happy about these because I can see them from my bedroom window, so every day when I open the shades they are there to say good morning! 

After I watered the plants, I came in for a simple smoothie. This one is so easy and so yummy! You have to try it!

Simple Smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups milk (soy milk, almond milk, etc.)
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Blend and enjoy!! It tastes like summer!