I always love the fantastic color a beet based vegetable juice creates. That hot pink mess on your hands looks great in your glass! Not sure where I got this festive goblet, though I guess it probably was a wine festival. As much as I love wine this juice is just as tasty! Funny thing, I had never even eaten a beet before I started using them in juicing. I was very surprised at the earthy sweetness they add to the mix. Click on "Read More' Below to continue reading this post.
What could be better than a delicious bowl of hot cereal on these bitter cold mornings? For us it has been Organic Creamy Buckwheat Cereal, made by Bob's Red Mill. This cereal really satisfies, and gives you that full feeling you need to start the day. Did you know that Buckwheat is not a grain? Buckwheat is a fruit and one of the best plant sources of protein. It has lysine and magnesium. Plus buckwheat keeps glucose levels in check better than other carbohydrates. That makes this morning cereal a good choice for diabetics and people with sugar intolerance.
Just follow the directions on the package for cooking. Add some chopped fruit such as banana or apple, and some nuts such as almonds, pecans, and walnuts. You can also add some chia seeds, flax powder, or hemp seeds. Go for it and add all three! Then generously sprinkle on some Cinnamon which is helpful for diabetics too.
Top with a tiny drizzle of Organic maple syrup, honey or agave syrup for a hint of sweetness only. Pour on the Almond Milk and dig in! Mmmwarm goodness for the soul that is so good! We love this hot cereal so much that the clear bag you see above is empty and we need to buy more!
I really like Bob Moorewho started Bob's Red Mill, because he runs a business that cares about the employees. So much so, that he decided to transfer his very successful business to them! He got offers to sell out everyday, but he did the right thing instead! Read all about that on his website along with a brief history of the grain business that he started with his wife Charlee. They have integrity and products you can trust. Hey! Now this IS food and a company that you can feel good about! It does happen! Go read about Bob Moore at the Bob's Red Mill website, but you MUST watch the video at the bottom by clicking on the link! This man brings tears to my eyes. After having to research so many greedy underhanded monopolies for my 'Rabbit Hole Page' this man gives me hope for the way it could be! He is an example to the world because he is following the real values of the spiritual soul and not money. He considers his employees family, and values them as other spirits equal to himself. Watch and smile.
This winter I have been making soup every week. Such great aromas fill the house! The magical mirepoix makes it incredibly easy to create a warm, cozy, healthy meal. Soup is a very filling, yet easy on the waistline food. Plus you will get a few days of leftovers, depending on your family size. Leftovers only get better! Day three you might just have enough for a cup of soup, along with a sandwich on sprouted or whole multi-grain bread. Don't forget to include drinking a glass of fresh made veggie juice! You will be a rainbow of goodness and warmth!
Every soup follows a basic beginning. Chop by hand, or with a food processor, the three following ingredients, onions, celery and carrots, which make up the 'mirepoix.' Tradition says you chop more onion than the other two. I now make "oil free soups" I add the mirepoix to a stockpot with a little spring or filtered water to sweat the vegetables (instead of the old way to saute in 2 tbs of olive oil), and then cook the onions till translucent. Since I am not straining the liquid to make a broth, I make my vegetable cuts large, because I want them to be my colorful chunky soup ingredients.
At that point I add spices, and mix them in during the vegetable saute phase. Once the vegetables are sweated, I add a box of organic low sodium vegetable or chicken broth, and 16 - 32oz spring or filtered water. If you have a juicing machine you can also add a couple of juiced carrots to your broth which adds sweetness! After an hour you can mash up a small portion of your cooked vegetables to add back into your broth as well. This gives an overall density to your broth in flavor and texture.
Depending on what I have around that week, I may add any number of other ingredients to set the tone of the soup. Good way to use up veggies before they go bad. Bring all your ingredients to boil, then turn down to slow simmer and cover. I also like to add some super-foods, as in dulse, chia and nutritional yeast. I simmer the soup on low for a few hours, then happily serve up this divine old fashioned comfort food. A soup can be as light or heavy as you like depending on what you add. Sometimes my soups are more like stews since they are thick, hearty, and chock full of ingredients. You can always adjust the amounts of spices and salt to taste. I never add hot pepper spices, or cilantro to any of my recipes, so if you need those tastes in your life, you can add as you like. All ingredients and vegetables are organic even if I don't say it in each of the recipes below.
If you have not tried making home made soups before, this is the season to start! So easy! Have a food processor? You can use that machine to slice and chop your veggies in no time! Make a big pot of soup or stew, and you won't worry about what's for dinner the next day, or two! Freeze a portion to use on a day you don't have time to cook!
If you want to make your own home made soup base broth, just fill a stock pot with whatever vegetables you have around the kitchen, but not potatoes. For example add the mirepoix veggies, plus some spinach, leeks, and parsnips. You can also add fresh made carrot juice from your juicing machine. Cover the height of the veggies in the pot with the same amount of water, and simmer for an hour covered till soft. Then blend your ingredients together. You can freeze this liquid in different size containers, and your broth will be ready to add to any number of dishes you create.
The soups below are just a few possible variations based on the mirepoix beginnings:
Soup One: Zucchini, Black Bean and Vegetable Soup
This soup reminds me of a very light version of my vegetarian chili recipe. We love
the richness of taste in this soup, coming from the Indian spices used in this recipe. Flavorful without being hot! I am not a fan of having my tongue burning, and then being unable to taste my food. So the fantastic flavors of garam masala, cumin and turmeric really do the trick for us! You can add more of each spice besides what is listed here! Experiment, because soup making is a fun collage of flavors.
1 - 2 large onions chopped
3 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
2 zucchini sliced
1 TBS garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbs basil
1 tbs oregano
1 bay leaf
1 box low sodium organic vegetable broth
32 oz spring or filtered water
1 bottle of strained tomatoes (or 1 can chopped or peeled tomatoes)
1 can drained and washed organic black beans
2 tbs soaked chia
2 tbs dulse flakes
2 tbs flax powder
1/2 cup frozen organic non-GMO corn
1/2 tbs pink Himalayan salt
black pepper to taste
Soup Two: Wild Rice and Chia Vegetable Soup
This very light and satisfying soup is based mostly on the mirepoix flavors. The chia adds omega-3, protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium and iron. Plus chia seeds are great for diabetics! The organic wild rice adds a nice familiar texture, but a much healthier version than plain empty white rice. You could add chopped pasture raised chicken to this soup if you eat meat.
1 box organic low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
32 oz spring or filtered water
4 tbs soaked chia
1/2 cup wild organic rice just tossed into soup
2 tbs dulse flakes
Optional for meat eaters: 1 cooked (no antibiotic, no hormone, free range non GMO fed) chicken cutlet chopped (add small amount of liquid to cooking chicken to capture pan drippings and add the broth)
Soup Three: Lentil, Leek, and Barley Soup
This soup was the result of just purchasing a food processor, and wanting to test out the slicing blade on some vegetables I had that day! Wow! It made short order of chopping those vegetables. I used all organic vegetables and products to create this delicious thick soup. I soaked 1/2 cup lentils and 1/2 cup pearled barley for about 2 hours before I added them to the soup. I drained off the water before adding to the soup stock. I would recommend using hulled barley instead, but I still had some pearled barley that I bought before I knew the difference, and just wanted to use it up.I also now only buy tomato products that are in glass containers, because the acid of tomatoes reacts with metals. Use method at the top of this post to prepare this soup.
4 carrots chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
1-2 large onions chopped
1 zucchini sliced
3 leeks chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 box organic low sodium vegetable broth
32 oz spring or filtered water
1 bottle of strained tomatoes (or 1 can 14.5 ounce of crushed tomatoes)
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup barley
2 Tbs soaked chia seeds
2 heaping tbs nutritional yeast
1 Tbs dulse flakes
2 Tbs flax powder
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
some ground black pepper to taste.
Soup Four: Quinoa Vegetable Soup
I was curious about adding one of my new favorite foods "quinoa" to soup instead of rice.I rinsed the quinoa and then brought it to a boil, and simmered covered for 10-15 minutes. I usually buy my quinoa in the bulk section, and have to remember that it takes 1/2 cup of quinoa to 1 cup water to cook. I now had a cup of cooked quinoa. You can tell its done when you see the little rings from the seeds popped open. Follow the basic mirepoix soup method at top of this post using the following ingredients.
1 large onion chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
4 carrots chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 box organic low sodium vegetable broth
32 oz spring or filtered water
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt 1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup organic non-GMO frozen corn
2 tbs soaked chia seeds
2 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tbs dulse flakes
1/2 cup chopped spinach (added last hour)
Soup Five: Chicken Noodle Soup
Hubby had a slight cold, and I thought a little old fashioned chicken noodle soup would be good for his soul. I was excited that for the first time I did not catch his cold at all! My immunities have really improved this year from my new plant strong nutrient dense food plan. Even when we both were sick over the holidays it only lasted 2 weeks, with the residual coughing. In the past it would morph into a horrible bronchitis that would last for month's and would eventually need antibiotics. This year I have been strong! Yea! Another way good nutrition free of toxins helps let your body do it's healing work! Each month I am stronger!
I still have not found a good tasting egg noodle that is gluten free, so I used the light and fluffy brand egg noodles I still had in the pantry for this soup recipe. (Manischewitz has the best of the gluten free noodles. You may have to stock up when you see them.) When cooking the chicken I added some water to the pan after it was cooked to capture the chicken broth, and added that to the soup too. On the second day I added two juiced carrots to my soup leftovers, which created a sweeter tasting broth. Excellent flavor! on the third day we just had a cup of soup left for each of us. We added a sandwich made of wild Alaska salmon. Topped with fresh avocado tomato slices on Ezekiel brand toasted sprouted seed bread. Oh yum! For the chicken noodle soup, just follow the basic mirepoix soup instructions at the top of the page and add together the following ingredients.
1 large onion chopped 4 stalks of celery chopped 4 carrots chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 1/2 tsp rosemary 1 bay leaf 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp sage 1/2 tsp ginger 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp turmeric 2 tbs basil 1 box of organic low sodium vegetable or chicken broth 32 oz spring or filtered water 2 tbs soaked chia seeds 2 tbs dulse flakes 2 tbs flax powder 2 tbs nutritional yeast sprinkle of cracked black pepper flakes 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt 1 (free range, no antibiotic, no hormone) chicken cutlet cooked and chopped
(add small amount of liquid to the cooking chicken to capture pan drippings and add to the soup broth)
2-3 hand-fulls of egg noodles added during last hour of cooking soup Optional: 2 carrots juiced fresh and then added to soup
Extra Soup Making Info: I hope you have learned how easy it is to make a large variety of soups using the mirepoix method. Here is a very detailed video that is part of a series on soup making. During the video 'The Soup Doctor' mentions not using an aluminum pot to cook in as it leaches fluoride into the food and cause Alzheimer's. Since I also know fluoride is bad for the thyroid, in the future I will use my stainless steel stockpot or enamel clad cast irondutch oven only. This is the second time this week I have read this info about aluminum based pans being bad. The pot I usually use is a Calphalon anodized aluminum pot, which is supposed to protect you from the food effects on the aluminum. You can research this subject for yourself, as there are many varied opinions. Mostly it seems that it is best not to cook tomato based things and soups in the aluminum pots.
UPDATE: I have now changed all my cookware to stainless steel and enamel covered stock pots! Everything works fantastic! No more silicone or toxic surfaces. Glass containers are used for leftovers. Bye Bye toxic plastic and leeching chemicals too! Also we are completely plantbased now as well. YAY!
Below is a nice video series on kitchen basics, and soup making. Just omit the olive oil and use the water saute method. Follow links to other episodes. Stay comfy! If you are new to The Queen's Table Blog you can become a follower on facebook, and learn about healthy eating, losing weight, and even get the scoop on some FREE product GIVEAWAYS!
I vowed to myself that when I started down the road of my new food lifestyle, that I would not be too hard on myself. I would do the best I can in all circumstances. I did not want to box myself in or create a rigid way of being. I would just go with the flow and thank God I found my way to make healthier choices. I see it as a constant give and take, where I add new things and take away others. I grow out of certain food behaviors naturally, and become inclined to choose the healthy food now. It becomes easier with no stress on me or my husband.
Because of my husband's music business, we are on the road during the weekends. I try to attend at least one gig a week, now that I am healthy enough to get around again. That puts us in the situation of being in a bar/restaurant to have dinner or a snack. Usually it is not a varied menu at most of these places. When Ben is on his own at a gig he has some kind of salad or chicken wings, and will drink water or seltzer water. When I am out a gig bar/restaurant I try to have a salad or veggie wrap, and perhaps some sweet potato fries. I usually bring my own bottle of spring water with me. Most of the time we try to eat at home before the gig whenever possible to avoid the unsuitable food problem.
After my doctor or lab appointments, we usually go to the local Panera for lunch. For a fast food place they have very good tasting food, and do have some sustainable practices regarding their business. I get the soup and salad combo, and get the apple instead of the french bread. Oh don't get me wrong, I do still love their bread, and Ben usually chooses the baguette with his meal. So I take few bites of his...a pretty good alternative! I also will take the apple home for a snack later, where I can peel it properly, as I do not know if it has pesticides on it. Panera only gives you blunt butter knives that do not cut through apples, sadly I have tried with no success. Also we no longer get any sweets from their bakery to take home, and I do not miss them at all. Now I look over to the the Panera bakery section and think "Oh that is way too much sweetness for me!"
Ben received a gift card from one of his students to go to the Olive Garden restaurant. When we go we probably will get their soup and salad combo, or perhaps an eggplant Parmesan dish. Anything with veggies would be good, as I have no desire to eat pasta. Kinda strange because I was a big pasta eating girl. We had it for dinner in some form every week and my hubby loved it every time. Of course he can get it if he likes. Recently I tasted my granddaughter's spaghetti. Since I have changed to mostly gluten-free I have to say that pasta is tasteless to me. Whoa! That's a good thing.
Over the holidays I tried making the old traditional 'Toll House' cookies with gluten-free flours. They were okay, and Ben did eat them, but no big whoop. Not everything comes out perfection. I have not practiced much with the vegan style desserts, so I have a learning curve there yet to master. My son loves the original recipe Toll House cookies, so I made him a special batch. I did have three of those cookies over the holiday weekend. In the past I would have eaten a ton of those cookies! Those were one of my all time favorite comfort foods just warm from the oven, all melted and gooey! Oh how things have changed! I am patting myself on the back for getting through the desserts of the holidays!
My son's most favorite dish I make is beef-stroganoff, which is always made special for him when he comes home for Christmas. This year I used grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free beef, but that was my only concession to this recipe of my new food choices. I am hoping when passover season comes around to get the limited time only gluten-free Manischewitz egg noodles. I hear they are good tasting. Most gluten-free pasta products taste like cardboard and mush. If these egg noodles are good I will stock up and then have some to use for next Christmas. Yes, I still loved my beef-stroganoff along with everyone else, although I took a much smaller portion. I did make the vegetarian chili for our lunch on Christmas, and that was loved by all. Plus I also made a wonderful healthy salad, pistachio sweet potatoes and French onion green bean casserole. Both of the later dishes were from 'Foodwishes' and were super delish! Go watch those videos because you will fall in love!
I don't know enough about all the plant based recipes to really go all out on the Holiday at this point. I suppose that my skills and knowledge will get better over the years, as I get more comfortable with all the new ingredients. It has only been six months doing this change over in eating. I give myself the room to grow in health and learning. Following food blogs and trying new recipes has been a great help and I highly recommend that strategy!
When we have time to go out to a nice restaurant we try to pick out more plant based food for our meal. Many good restaurants seem to be getting with the program, and will offer vegetarian foods with multiple choices. Many restaurants with good chefs will source their produce and meats locally, and that is good for everyone! It makes the food not only tastier, but far more healthy! We are also trying out some local vegetarian restaurants, and really enjoying the new cuisine that they prepare. That is a fun food adventure. One mostly vegan restaurant even had a breakfast brunch that was quite tasty!
Sometimes we go to a sushi restaurant, because I am craving seaweed salad which is happily also excellent for the thyroid. We have been brave and even eaten BBQ eel sushi and loved it, although we have no desire to eat raw fish sushi. At this Japanese restaurant they also have those tables where the chef chops everything fresh in front of you. If we get one of those tables next time, I might get some kind of fried rice for a treat. But really I am wary of rice because of the GMO factor.
I have found that when you are on the road and you suddenly get hungry, that is when you make less than stellar decisions about food. It would be best to have some home made trail mix or fruit in the car to stall the craving to just eat immediately at what ever food place is around. This will curb your appetite till you can get to a place where you can make better choices.
Two recent examples are my picking up some nuggets from Chick-fil-a, and another was stopping at a favorite Chinese restaurant when the hunger pangs struck. Those little nuggets were my favorite fast food. So as I started eating them this time, knowing it was not a good decision (simply because I do not know anything about where this chicken meat came from). I then said to myself, "Okay self! You pay attention to what you are eating and why you are eating this box of nuggets today. How is it tasting? And why did you like these nuggets so much?" This turned out to be a great exercise for my mind. My first response to my self was that I was just hungry and wanted to eat right now. And actually they did not really taste that good to me anymore. Plus I knew they would mess up my digestive system, and they did. I am going to get some organic pasture raised chicken and make my own nuggets to freeze, so when me or my granddaughter wants nuggets we can eat something better.
At the Chinese restaurant I tried to do much better. I ordered seaweed salad, some avocado sushi, along with spring rolls, and fried rice. They were all okay, but not the deliciousness I had remembered. I just think the new foods I am eating are far more flavorsome. Probably because they are very fresh! Duh! We picked up a couple kinds of seaweed at the natural food market, so I can try to add this to my diet at home. We added some into a salad last night and we really enjoyed that it was so crunchy!
Recently we went to a wonderful party where they had a buffet of foods, and I did my best to find the interesting foods that had vegetables. I also found a container of grape tomatoes and a container of blueberries. So they both were good healthy munchies. We had planned on eating something before we left home, but that never happened, so after a forty five minute drive we were very hungry. Luckily our hosts had a good variety to choose from. I also don't eat shrimp and crab products now, because of the pollution and oil spills into the water where these crustaceans are bottom feeders. They always messed with my digestive system anyway, even when I loved them!
We juice approximately 5-6 days a week. Over the weekends while being busy and not always at home, we usually miss a day or two of juicing. Boy we really do miss it when we do not have our fresh vegetable juice! The other great thing about my juicing and plant based, mostly gluten-free eating is how much my digestion has improved! I used to pay dearly for days when we went out to a restaurant. I seemed to live in the bathroom in the past. No longer! It just does not happen like that any more! I can live my life extremely healthy, and enjoy eating out with no worries as long as I make good choices. We look forward to finding more good food restaurants that are creative with vegetables and checking them out. Perhaps I will remember to take some pics in the future and share them on the blog, with a little review of the experience.
The point of this blog post is to say every day is a new day, and if you miss a day of juicing, or eat something you wish you had not...today is the day to get back to your healthier ways. No worries... no pressures. Just get back to the good stuff most of the time. It is a continual growing and learning experience. My husband and I actually crave plant food now, and we find them much more flavorful than the old way of preparing standard foods. That is a very good thing, and we really look forward to all the new foods and recipes we will learn about! So be kind to yourself as you learn what is good for you! Eat up and enjoy!
Here is a helpful blogpost with tips on handling going to a party by Alex Ortner. UPDATE: THREE YEARS LATER - I now can say I lost the taste for beef and chicken. I eat some salmon and sardines for my bones as I have osteopenia. I am plantbased nutritarian. I cannot eat at chain eateries like Panera any longer. I choose farm to table local or organic restaurants. Even my husband rarely eats any type of meat. I finally got him off lunch meats as well as the so called organic types. Most of our food is organic with very few exceptions. We have also bought a Berkey water filter and make up our own non plastic water bottles for the road. Everything takes time and sometimes you may have life circumstance that get in the way of eating better. Just return to eating the way you know is best for your body and health as soon as possible. It is not a race... just something you need to do for yourself in the long term. All the best! You are worth it! UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: We are fully plantbased now. No fish, no meat, no dairy, no oil. YAY!
Clean, peel, and prepare these organic veggies. Place in your juicer. Clean your juicer parts. Enjoy your healthy drink! The jicama gave this fresh juice a more mocha color than the usual darker brown, and added a delicious full bodied flavor as well.
