GLORIOUS EATING FOR WEIGHT WATCHERS

One wonderful cookbook I happened upon in a thrift store was one called, “GLORIOUS EATING FOR WEIGHT WATCHERS”

You can see the cover here.


For those that know me, know I am a proponent of the Weight Watchers program. Those who know me well know that I used to be an employee of the Weight Watchers Corporation.

I obtained this gem when I was working as a Weight Watchers leader for the Weight Watchers Corporation.

What is wonderful / shocking / funny is the back cover.


A VERITABLE ORGY OF WESSON OIL.

This cookbook is really a cookbook to encourage you to get MORE WESSON OIL into your diet.

This soft-cover cookbook was published in 1961, the year I was born.

The cookbook is (like me) nearly a half a century old.

To put things into focus/perspective – this book was published in 1961, but it wouldn’t be until 1963 when Jean Nidetch would start her “Weight Watchers” meetings which would be the beginnings of the Weight Watchers corporation.

When I got this cookbook, there was a coupon from some periodical inside – which was used as a bookmark.

The coupon expired on July 31, 1964.

All in all, the art direction in the cookbook is good. The recipes are well written and interesting. After I test a couple I may share them here. They are; however, not really weight-management friendly, knowing what we know today. There are however, weight management menus and suggestions that really would still hold up today.

To me the me the best part of the cookbook is that it includes that genre of mid-century
graphics. Minimal. Modern.


I love the exuberance captured here.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

VARIATION ON A THEME

Just because I haven’t posted recently doesn’t mean I am less interested in blogging. Like anyone, I have competing priorities in my life.

I’ve mentioned before that expressing what I am eating (through this blog) just makes me more mindful of what I am eating. Expressing what I am eating has sparked conversations within my own circle of friends, family, and coworkers of the food choices we all make.

Before I blogged, for vegetarian choices I basically switched between the BOILED BEANS recipe the RICE & HERBED LENTILS recipe. Not much variation. A couple weeks ago I tried substituting the rice in the RICE & HERBED LENTILS for Wild Rice (as suggested by my mother), and I found that I really liked it, especially if it was topped with sliced toasted almonds.
Well butter-my-butt-&-call-me-a-Parker-House-Roll….I actually ventured myself and thought Quinoa could be substituted for the brown rice. Today I made (based on RICE & HERBED LENTILS) QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS!

I used Red Lentils and Red Quinoa.


Each of the three have had slightly different tastes, textures, and appearances, but none drastically different that would have me never make any one of them again. I would make all of them again.

Since we add ½ cup of brown rice –or– wild rice –or– quinoa to the recipe I decided to compare nutrition information.


For overall taste and texture I still like the brown rice variation the best; however, I would easily venture over to wild rice or quinoa for slightly better nutrition value.

QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS

SOLI DEO GLORIA

SPRING

There are frost warnings for tonight in my area. The last vestiges of winter remain.

The seeds I wanted to start early indoors – were started terribly late this year once again, but everything was just fine last year, even starting late. Listen to advice, but also learn from your own experience.

Spring flowers and flowering trees push forth, they show off. For who or what specifically, I don’t always know, but human beings enjoy the show. The jonquils are already finished mostly in my neighborhood. It is interesting that some spring flowers disappear completely, foliage and all even before summer is in its full buzzing humidity, when other plants come into fruition.

Now we have delicate flowers, blue skies and singing birds.

Flowering Bradford Pear Trees on the street where I live in Chicago

The days are getting shorter in Australia and New Zealand. When one lives near the equator it is virtually impossible to perceive changes in the seasons by sunlight, rather it is perceived by changes in wind and precipitation.

TULIPS by my front door

Six months from now the Halloween decorations will be up and we will be pulling out the soup recipes and sweaters.

Nothing happens forever, but sometimes for a season

SOLI DEO GLORIA

THANKS MOM!

I haven’t been posting in awhile. Lent is over, Eastertide/Spring is in full swing. My silence here has basically been the weight of my day job. I will be off of work both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

People have asked me, are you going to continue to post? I am, when I have those magic ingredients of time and energy. I haven’t run out of things to say.

People have asked me if I’ve gone back to eating meat. Lent on the whole for me was about being mindful – and on the whole I was flexitarian in my approach. While I am eating a little more meat, I am sticking to preparing vegetarian dishes and making vegetarian choices when I can. I promised myself I would have a peppercorn encrusted filet mignon (medium-well-thankyouverymuch) when Lent was over. I still haven’t had it, but still plan on doing so.


This is a photo of what I ate on Easter Day. HAM! (not very Kosher, but there you go)

Which brings me to the post title – Thanks Mom!

One of the earlier posts on this blog is where I share my Rice & Herbed Lentils Recipe. I noted that my mother immediately asked if she could make it with wild rice instead of brown rice. My mother immediately thinks of ingredients she can substitute in about any recipe you give her. She indeed made it with wild rice and said it was ok. Now me, on the other hand, tends to make dishes exactly as the author/chef intended. In order to challenge myself – I made Rice & Herbed Lentils – with wild rice. I made it for a couple of reasons – to try something new, but also to use up some wild rice I’ve had for awhile.

When I first made the dish – I thought it felt short of my expectations. To me, the color was a little on the ‘grey’ side and there seemed to be a bit of leftover liquid in the bottom of the casserole. I took out a portion for work – but as luck would have it – one day I got cancelled half way through the shift and left it for the next day. The next day the catering manager had an extra dish of salad and offered it to me. It wasn’t until the next day after that I tried it. Since my mother told me it was chewy and nutty, I just happened to garnish with leftover sliced toasted almonds from a previous dish. Moreover I garnished with little bits of curly parsley. I think curly parsley is often overlooked in contemporary cuisine. I finally was able to eat the dish at work. The leftover liquid seemed to have soaked in and the flavors and especially the textures were wonderful. So, a new dish – different from the Rice & Herbed Lentil is discovered (Wild Rice & Herbed Lentils). Again, I seldom venture very far past the written recipe – though this got me thinking – that I am going to try the same recipe substituting quinoa for the brown rice. I will keep you posted.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

EASTER

I know have different audiences, some come here for the food. Some come for the spirituality. Some come for both. AND I know some come for neither, they just like to be here. Some are churchman, some are not. Be that as it may I just want to say a linear temporal sense, for Christians it is still Easter. I know Walgreens has discounted and sold all the Jelly Beans and Peeps and are now trying to sell you barbeques and lawn chairs. Walgreens usually has the Easter candy on the shelf before Ash Wednesday. Some of my more churchy friends trade candy eggs and say, “Here are your ASH WEDNESDAY EGGS!” That being said, EASTER, will continue for the great fifty days until Pentecost.

PENTECOST:
The Festival Sunday that comes fifty days after Easter in which we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the twelve Disciples after Christ's Resurrection (Acts 2). Pentecost is traditionally seen as the birthday of the church, and is also the beginning of the longest season in the church - the season after Pentecost. The season after Pentecost runs from the day of Pentecost to the first Sunday in Advent. (In the Episcopal Church) Prior to the 1979 prayer book, the day of Pentecost was known as Whitsunday.

Easter & Pentecost are “moveable” feasts. Sometimes it is early – sometimes it is late.

Per the prayer book:

Easter Day is always the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21, a date which is fixed in accordance with an ancient ecclesiastical computation, and which does not always correspond to the astronomical equinox. This full moon may happen on any date between March 21 and April 18 inclusive. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday following. But Easter Day cannot be earlier than March 22 or later than April 25.

Next year Easter will be on April 24th, probably the latest in our lifetimes. In 2011 we will have the most weeks after Epiphany in our lifetimes. What will Walgreens do?


SOLI DEO GLORIA

PHOTOGRAPHING FOOD

Over the last couple days I read this article

First Camera, Then Fork

In the New York Times.

I realized to a certain degree, I participate in this phenomenon by photographing some (but not all) of what I prepare for food. One aspect of the article that I agree with is that by being public about what I am eating has challenged me to try new things to prepare and eat. I have discovered new things I like and I am thrilled with the broadened horizons.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Easter Vigil

HOLY SATURDAY

I was just up at church for a rehearsal for tonight's Vigil liturgy. I spied this view and took a snap.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

I made this dish once before years ago when the Dining for Two cookbook came out with Weight Watchers in 2004. The first time I tried using quinoa was with this recipe. I haven’t made it much since then, mostly because I was so overly busy in nursing school, and then being a new grad nurse.

I made this Thursday – so I could have it available for my lunches over the next several days. I also set aside a portion for a friend of mine (who follows this blog). When I made it I doubled the recipe so I could share (we all need to share more of what we prepare) and also so I could have it available for meals at work. I avoid our cafeteria. The food is mediocre, the prices are outrageously expensive, and the employees are just plain mean to customers.

I’ve listed the recipe as written below. What I ended up with isn’t exactly as written below. How often is life NOT exactly what we expected. Lesson: be flexible with your expectations. One way my dish is different is that I purposely omitted the toasted almonds because the person I share with can’t tolerate nuts. I will sprinkle toasted almonds on top when I eat a bit when I am at work tonight. Another way my dish is different is that I MADE A MISTAKE and read the garbanzo beans as one can instead of ½ can, so the dish pictured has lots of extra garbanzo beans. No problem. I’ve learned that I like ‘red’ quinoa when I can find it. I am out of red quinoa, I was thinking of buying more, but really I had a lot of plain quinoa so this was an opportunity to use up some of that.

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CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

½ cup quinoa, rinsed
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
½ cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
½ 10 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 Tablespoon sliced almonds toasted
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup golden raisins
2 scallions chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated orange zest


Combine quinoa, orange juice, water, curry powder, ½ teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and allspice in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed 12-15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and peas and carrots; cook stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Sir in the chickpeas and almonds; cook stirring about 2 minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.

Transfer the quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the raisins, scallions, cilantro, and orange zest; toss well. Stir in the chickpea mixture and serve at once or let the mixture cool to room temperature before serving.
Per serving (1 ½ cups); 422 calories, 10 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg chol, 110 mg sodium, 75 g carb, 10 g fiber, 14 g protein, 126 mg calcium. POINTS: 8


SOLI DEO GLORIA

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Maundy Thursday
Altar of Repose
The Episcopal Church of the Atonement, Chicago, IL

Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

In the 1960’s and 1970’s there were entire cookbooks devoted to cooking things using already prepared/processed foods and particular brand names from the grocery store. In this current age of the Food Network and “foodies” one doesn’t always admit to shortcuts or that former way of cooking. Often I avoid prepared/processed foods in order to avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup and sodium. Not only do I like to cook, but I also like to just read cookbooks, even if I am not going to make anything. Cookbooks I like to read are often the older ones. I especially like old church cookbooks with the flexible plastic binding.

This recipe, I do make an exception to using a processed food, mostly because it is indeed good for you. I make these periodically for breakfast. I like them because I like the taste and texture and they are good with coffee. I like them because I store them in a relatively airtight container and they keep for a couple of days. They are portable and I can grab one or two of them on the go. I also re-heat them gently sometimes in the microwave.

The recipe is found HERE on the Kashi company website.

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Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal
1 cup organic skim milk, rice or soy milk
2 free-range egg whites
¼ cup honey
½ cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1 medium organic ripe banana, mashed
Nonstick cooking spray


1. Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal and milk and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat well. Stir in honey, applesauce and banana. Add flour mixture and mix only until dry ingredients are moistened (over-mixing will produce rubbery muffins).
4. Fill sprayed muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1 muffin, Calories 100, Calories from Fat 0, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 240mg, Total Carbohydrate 22g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g, Protein 3g



SOLI DEO GLORIA