Brown rice takes about an hour to cook, so I cook large pots of organic
brown rice and then portion it and freeze it. That way I always have
good brown rice in 5 minutes!
A great, healthy treat is almond butter ona rice cracker with salt.
I can't do almond butter (allergies to all nuts) do you have substitute for that?
BANANA BREAD
200GR SOFT BROWN SUGAR
175GR BUTTER, MIX TO CREAMY CONSISTENCY, ADD 3 EGGS AT ROOM TEMP AND BEAT. MASH 2 RIPE BANANAS AND BEAT AGAIN, ADD 225GR SELF RAISING FLOUR AND FOLD IN
PUT INTO A GREASED LOAF TIN AND BAKE AT 180 c FOR 50 MINS
IT LOVELY AND HEALTHY ( WELL IT DOES HAVE A FRUIT IN IT)
You could have pumpkin seed butter instead of almond butter, if you're not allergic to seeds.
I'm editing this because almonds actually are seeds, technically speaking.
Mmmmm popcorn. Mmmm now I want some. Mmmm pred pack. Mmmm munchies. Ooooohhhh I have grapes. Danny stocked up some healthy food for me today.
If you put grapes in the freezer, they come out like hard boiled candy.It was a diet tip from my slimming class
MMmmm...and you can get a hot air corn popper for under !Lisa...if you use apple sauce instead of the butter in your banana bread, it's lower in fat but no change in the taste...and very moist
Also vegetarian chili Barbara's has a great veggie chili mix and it is so easy. I put in like three different kinds of beans.
I LOVE THIS THREAD !
OH Last but not least - when tuna steaks are on sale (or any fish) - tuna steak sandwich on rye with wasabi, lots of onions, tomatoes, greens
One more - brown rice, saute mustard greens, spinach, hot spicy oil (like for pot stickers) throw in some sliced chicken and mushrooms (I just boil chicken breasts for all kinds of dishes) Serve over brown rice. ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
Kel - I love the applesauce in my banana bread
I have to go get something to eat Loved all the tips - cooking is such an issue for me.
I have a helper who comes in and cooks 2 hours a week for me but she cant cook - just doesnt read recipes so I
end up throwing everything out or give it to my dog. She is such a nice lady I really dont know what to do -
I enjoy her company and she is so nice so dont really want her replaced but I need easy healthy food She is vegetarian like me but think she just has too much to do and doesnt concentrate and always leaves things out or forgets to do something - any advice or really easy recipes would be appreciated. I do give her easy ones but I am still desperate for some nice food.
Your suggestion of cooking a lot of brown rice and freezing it Gimpy was something I hadnt thought of so that will be put into action.
A recipe I enjoy - with tofu - no truly it is yummy. I slice it around 1/2cm thick, saute in extra virgin olive oil until golden & crispy on both sides and serve with brown rice, stir fry veg & satay sauce. You can buy ready made satay sauce but my favourite is Deborah Madison's quick satay sauce - she is an American veg. cook with quite a few cook books out & is the best veg. cook in the world in my opinion.
I miss cooking like I used to in my pre RA days just about more than anything I think.
Cheers,
Hi, while we are at it we may as well talk about caffeine, in foods. Even decafe coffee has 5mg, of caffeine, chocolate sauce, chocolate drinks and other drinks not specifically labeled 'no caffeine could have it in them as there is no 'law' saying they must list caffeine or how much in foods! Please, refer to the internet sites (there are several) for more information.
My nasty cardiologist said, "no caffeine, no chocolate" after my heart thing, ......no that did it!! But, I'm not consuming any caffeine bevereges or foods, because I heard my heart skipping a beat, pounding out of my chest with my own stethoscope!!
I thought it was jsut me, but after drinking decafe, and eating chocolate cake w/choc. frosting, my husband's heart was skipping a beat today!! Beware of caffeine HIDDEN in yogurts, and other foods.
sarah
I bought a nice hand hammered high-carbon-steel Wok. I buy veggies each week at the farmer's market and whatever meat is on sale that week. I make stir-fry 3-4x each week.My nasty cardiologist said, "no caffeine, no chocolate" after my heart thing, ......no that did it!! But, I'm not consuming any caffeine bevereges or foods, because I heard my heart skipping a beat, pounding out of my chest with my own stethoscope!!
I thought it was jsut me, but after drinking decafe, and eating chocolate cake w/choc. frosting, my husband's heart was skipping a beat today!! Beware of caffeine HIDDEN in yogurts, and other foods.
sarah
[/QUOTE]Here I go again ...........sorry I have not read the whole thread but Cassandra. YOU HAVE TO TALK TO YOUR CAREGIVER. Teach her to cook !!!!!!!!!!!!! You know, my caregiver was not good at housecleaning but I really loved her personality. I finally got up the guts to talk to her. I taught her housecleaning like I like it. She was hurt when I told her she was not a good housekeeper but then I told her that I wanted to talk because she had so many good things going for her, I really wanted to make it work.
Cass; You need a healthy diet. Most of us can't afford to throw things away. There are so many EASY recipes that are healthy. Cass, sit your butt down in the middle of that kitchen and teach that girl to cook. My caregiver has changed my life. She cooks, cleans and is turning out to be a dear, dear friend. She also is integral in not being a burden to my daughter or family. I wish I could give you all caregivers that you can bond with. Cass - you and I are lucky. Talk to that girl and make some veggie tacos tonight
Let us know what you will do -
Hey Anna,
I think it's okay as long as you put the rice in the freezer when it's still
slightly warm. I've been doing it for years and I've never gotten sick from
it.
Here's a super easy snack recipe:
In the food processor put:
Can of cooked chick peas, rinse and drained
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
lemon juice
olive oil
tahini
process until smooth and fluffy---it's hummus!
Or use white kidney beans and leave out the tahini for a white beaqn dip.
I often have it in my fridge and eat it with rice crackers.
roxy
How do you make your smoothies. I want to get a smoothy machine and make some. They sound yummy!
I and my boys LOVE frozen grapes, especially in the summer time. It is like eating dessert.
You are right Roxy - I need to get more assertive with her. Will do this week. I think she is just so busy her mind isnt concentrating (know the feeling well) She makes cauliflower cheese and forgets to thicken it, made some patties and added 3 tablespoons dried mustard!!!!!Cassandra I find that its not hte actual cooking that does me in but all the prep work that needs to be done. Maybe instead of your caregiver doing all the actual cooking she do all your chopping for the week, marinate the meats etc. That way all you have to do is organize everything and throw it in a pot
Buckeye - you are right - it is the food prep. that is often the hardest. I like to try and eat fresh veg. but some pre-prepared would be better than the junk food I eat instead. How long would chopped vegetables keep in a fridge in a sealed plastic container - would 3 or 4 days be realistic.On the rice issue - the risk of food poisoning is if you leave rice in the fridge then don't re-heat enough, eg if you have a rice dish from a takeaway then leave remains in the fridge 'til the next day then heat it through. If you freeze it and heat thoroughly it should be OK! By the way - my wholegrain rice only takes 15 mins to cook, maybe you could find another brand to make life easier?
I fully agree with buying veg already peeled, chopped etc. Not only is it easier for me to cope with but as I usually cook just for me the packs are smaller and I am more likely to use it all before it goes bad! On good days I make up big portions to freeze some - that way I always have a bit of this or that in the freezer for bad days...
properly stored and depending on the vegetable they would last close to a week60 protein grams is a lot for me to try to eat every day. (recommended in all my books) so, I'm eating.....beef, chic. or fish, twice a day. then, soy milk or regular low fat cows milk, egg whites (can't do the yokes!), beans/corn/rice. Soy products are not for me, like tofu. But I like the soy milk. What other proteins do you all eat?
Also, I'm going to try 2 days of veggies, only. I really like them so that's going to be easy.
Fruits are pretty much the same as always in my diet. Switching to NO Caffeine teas, cinn/apple is good tasting. Breads, are good and good for you, but I'm really watching the margerine (also I could eat the whole loaf of French bread!!. I put Cinn/non sugar sweetener instead of jam on my morning toast,right now.
Cottage cheese is really salty, and I don't need sodium. Yogurt is good, and 8 oz provides a nice amount of protein and I've found plain is great on almost everything I eat. Makes a good salad dressing instead of mayo/oil based.
Sugar isn't my weakness, usually ,but this prednisone has made me feel hungry all the time!!and crave chocolate. Trying NOT to think about food. (just typed up this list!!) oh wellllllll!!
Sarah
All these healthy recipes rocked you guys! Thanks for posting them! Cassandra...thanks for the tofu recipe. My youngest eats it and I am always looking for a new way to cook it. She is a vegetarian and we are always on the hunt for good recipes with tofu in them.
We eat a lot of brown rice also. Danny will not eat white rice AT ALL. There are times I make some brown rice...throw in some fresh veggies like broccoli...snap peas...and some grean beans. Put just a touch of seasoning salt on it and eat it. Sometimes that is a meal for Danielle and I.
Well look out for weevils - I just had to throw out just about everything in my kitchen - geez. They lay eggs in the processing plants and if you have an outbreak and cannot find the source, they infiltrate everything - I couldn't find the source for a week - it was in the flour and one week nothing, the next week an explosion. They can eat through plastic bags, which I didn't realize as I have everything in plastic living in Florida. And the plastic bag of flour was also in a sealed container.
So, now the uninfected grains are all in the freezer for three days to kill any larvae. And smoothies - I love my Magic Bullet - ice, aloe vera juice, organic yogurt, whey protein powder, liquid calcium, and Uda's 3-6-9 oil blend. Every morning yum yum, washing down the probiotic capsule. Fish oils really work on inflammation. Take care ~~ Cathy
Ewwwww I didn't know that about decaf. But I don't drink decaf. Defeats the purpose of coffee for me lol.
Coffee without caffeine is just not coffee!! I'm very good now and limit myself to one cup for morning tea. Just as well too cos I have it very black with (ducks her head ) three sugars!! Yummy!! Awww - it's a big cup!! Heeeheeee...I have a coffee cup that umm fits 5 cups at once in it lol. That is my morning cup of coffee lol. In it goes 2 tsps. of sugar...two packets of hot chocolate...and french vanilla creamer. Bad bad bad for me I know. But I gotta have something in life to drink that makes me all happy on the inside lol. I don't drink alcohol...I rarely drink soda...and I mainly drink ice water. Crystal Light when I need flavor with my water. Iced tea in the summer with lemon. Yummy and refreshing! For you coffee addicts (I am a reformed coffee addict - years ago used to smoke & drink strong black coffee so had to give them both up together as there was such a strong association.) Some decaf coffees have the caffeine removed by water not chemicals - think maybe Nestle may be one brand. A cafe that sold Italian coffee said when I asked for a decaf that Italian coffee is much lower in caffeine than others - that could have just been to get me to buy a coffee but it worked. May be worth looking into though. Think we may have got a little lost with the tips for healthy eating though......Grammaskittles - this tofu recipe is quick, easy and tasty. Slice tofu 1/4" thick, dip in cold water then while wet dip in a mixture of brown rice flour (wholemeal flour would work the same I guess) and flakey yeast and saute in olive oil. One brand of American flakey yeast contains vit. B12 - it is called Red ?????
Sarah,
I'm a vegetarian and always looking to find sources of protein. I do eat a lot of soy products, but like to find other sources as well. I buy Barilla Plus pasta, it's multigrain pasta fortified with vitamins, omega-3's and has 17 grams of protein per 2 oz. serving. That might help you reach your protein goals.
Hurts, I saw your post about what other ways you can get protein. I just discovered a new pasta called Barilla Plus - it has 17 grams of protein per serving. Its got flaxseed etc in it and you'd never know it's different so it's easy to sort of sneak to the kids. Also, if you can find Edemame (soy beans) in your freezer section of your supermarket. I like to just microwave them in a cup of water for about a minute or two, drain, add a little sprinkle of salt (or not) and snack on them. They are high in protein as well. They sort of look like small lima beans out of their pod. Sorry Redheadtheresa, I guess we both typed our Barilla thing at the same time! LOL. Great minds do think alike!Hahaha, that was pretty funny. But the stuff sure is good!Okay, coconut milk isn't that good for you because of it's high saturated fat content, but sometimes as a treat I make this anyway because it's tasty and easy:It breaks my heart (so to speak), but I'm off of caffeine and foods (chocolate) that have it in them. Oh,, decafe has 5 mgs, by the way and I'd drink 5 cups a day,( and add teaspoons of instant with caffeine!!) loved choc. cake! with choc frosting....etc.
a new life without caffeine, sarah
I don't make smoothies, but if I was going to, I would put some probiotic yoghurt, a banana, some berries, and maybe some juice into a blender. You can use any kind of fruit, I think, and if you don't do dairy just leave it out. They do make an organic soy yogurt that is pretty dang good. The vanilla flavor is da bomb.Hey guys, I just have to offer a word of caution about soy. Please read this article on thyroid.about.com regarding soy and thyroid disease and autoimmune disease:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/soyinfo/a/soy.htm
I forgot a totally good healthy eating tip which is to buy a rice cooker.Our dehydrator takes up a good bit of room, however, we set it up on the kitchen counter after dinner dishes are done and hubby turns it off when he gets up in the morning (around 3:30) or he will let keep going til I get up if the food needs more time.
My son loves dried strawberries in his cold cereal. I'd forgotten this as it's been a year since strawberry season. Yum!
I was reading earlier posts from roxy and cassandra and others talking