Sunday, November 1, 2009

Kale-y*

*Click the title to find my pun--a "ceilidh."

Well, I don't know about kale in a smoothie. I got the curly kind and chewed a bit of it and thought, there's no way I can eat this in a salad, but maybe ground up in a smoothie. The only problem is, I don't have the vaunted Vita-Mix but just a regular blender, and my smoothie has lots of discernible chewy kale bits I chew after a mouthful of the liquid goes down. I saved half for another day, but I won't have it until I make sure it doesn't wreak havoc with my digestion! :-/

BERRY KALE SMOOTHIE

large frozen banana
a dozen frozen strawberries
optional--1/3 cup frozen elderberries (search posts for earlier note on these--don't eat raw!)
tangerine, seeds and peel removed (I figured somebody might wonder)
small handful curly kale, stems removed
tablespoon or two flax seed meal
water as needed

Blend all in a blender and serve. Makes two glasses

Verdict--Good. The taste is nice but the kale a bit tough even after blending. I looked it up a bit on the 'net and it seems that just over-blending can fix some of that. Kale has more absorbable calcium than does spinach (opposed by oxalic acid), so I should try, right?

ALL-ASIAN STIR FRY

2 teaspoons peanut oil
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 small onion
small bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small head bok choy, chopped
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teaspoon sesame oil (the dark, flavorful kind)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, sliced
2-3 oz. tofu cubes
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small handful mung bean sprouts
snow pea pods, chopped if desired
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I looked up Braggs Liquid Aminos and found it's pretty much a health-food-nut unnecessary expense, unless you prefer the flavor, of course!)
Chinese five-spice powder
A few roasted peanuts to garnish

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet, then add carrot and stir fry a bit to soften, then adding onion, peppers, and the white portions of the bok choy. Meanwhile, in a small skillet or saucepan, heat the sesame oil with ginger and garlic and add the tofu, sauteeing to brown the tofu. While that is cooking, to the large skillet add the bean sprouts and peas and stir fry until almost done. Then make a space in the center of the pan and drop in the peanut butter and soy sauce, stirring to combine, then incorporating into the whole skillet. Add the tofu to the large skillet and stir gently to combine, sprinkling on the five-spice powder (if you can find it in the stores!) and adding a few peanuts to the top of the dish when serving.

Verdict: Excellent! I actually made about twice this much of everything (except the tofu part) and after taking my portion of the vegetables out to add to my tofu skillet I added some leftover roasted pork cubes and a few leftover meatballs to the original large skillet for the rest of the family. Theirs was served with a choice of brown rice or spaghetti noodles or both, and I had sweet-and-sour and soy sauce and extra peanuts on the table. They loved it, too.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--BERRY KALE SMOOTHIE

Lunch--ALL-ASIAN STIR FRY, locally-grown apple

Snack--3 tablespoons tuna salad (made with light mayo) on two Ry Krisp crackers (I was really hungry after only about 500 calories all day so far!)

Supper--(Got surprised by a spur-of-the-moment invitation, so I did the best I could) 3/4 cup or so of mixed veggie salad (zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms) with an oil-and-vinegar dressing, tablespoon or so of winter squash that I discovered had a lot of butter and sugar in it, half a piece of Italian bread; then at home I topped off with about two ounces of fish and veggies from the POLLOCK CREOLE WITH SPINACH I made the other day over 1/3 cup brown rice and half a banana.

5 comments:

  1. No, I didn't put the fish over banana! Silly . . .

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  2. Hi Cindy - Just found your blog from your comment on Dr F's blog. I have struggled with food addiction for many years and meet with a small group of women fighting the same battle. I feel best following Dr. F's recommendations, but have trouble shaking the monkey off my back.

    I replied to this post because I make Berry Kale Smoothies on an almost daily basis. This is my smoothie recipe. It makes a very big smoothie:

    1 Tb flax seeds - grind in blender first
    1 banana
    water to desired consistency - approx 12 oz
    2 oz pomegranite juice
    1/2 to 1 ml of Dr. F's DHA Purity
    1/2 cup frozen cranberries
    1 cup frozen wild blueberries (Costco)
    1 large kale leaf - wash and remove stem

    Blend well and enjoy.

    I am used to the kale and flax bits. Just be sure to brush your teeth after! I use a Kitchen Aid blender.

    Karen

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  3. Karen, I'm so glad you stopped by. Please subscribe or visit often and let me know what you think! I'm definitely open to tweaks. My smoothie recipe today looks more like yours--blueberries, banana, and elderberries included with the kale and flax seed meal. I haven't tried pomegranate juice but perhaps I will! :-)

    I have been amazed and thankful how much eating nutritarian helps me with my own eating compulsion / addiction. In the past the only other things that worked for any length of time were intense ( OA, The Lord's Table--settingcaptivesfree.com ). It just seemed too exhausting as a way of life, though I value the spiritual component of battling a "besetting sin." Eating this way calms those things so that I can deal with the head and heart and spirit stuff in a sane way. :-)

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  4. We have a lot in common. I home schooled my son all the way through - he is now a junior in college. My husband and I still work with kids in speech and debate. The small group I attend is a part of Celebrate Recovery, which is faith based, though I have heard of The Lord's Table, and actually have the book, but have never worked my way through it. I agree, their eating pattern seemed hard to follow. I am encouraged that nutritarian eating has helped you with your compulsions. The last period of sustained recovery I had was when following Dr. F's recommendations. How do you handle the difficulty of eating this way in a world that does not? Is your whole family on board? How to you handle eating out? I sometimes feel schizophrenic because on the one hand I believe in eating organic healthy food, but on the other hand find myself bingeing on junk. I am so encouraged to find your blog!
    Karen

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  5. Interesting, Karen! I certainly understand compulsion, though mine has never been tv-movie-worthy bingeing but just too much of a good thing and then too much of the not-so-good things on top of that. I know that there are a lot of complexities with these things, considering my own history. I was reviewing my weight graph last week and was interested to see that I had lost quite a bit quickly this past winter, over a month or so, and then I had some minor surgery and kind of "went off the wagon" with nutritarian things and the weight crept back on over the next months. I had a "wakeup call" last month and humbly before the Lord came back to this, trusting Him to help me when I cannot help myself. And He did. It is certainly a work of grace in my life, but I know the nutrition is definitely helping, too.

    Since I eat almost all my meals at home, and I'm the one preparing them, and I work at home as well, it's not too difficult. But as you can see from my posts with the key word "restaurant," it can get tricky when I'm out, especially living in the boonies as I do. :-) It helps to keep nuts in my purse, as even though they're fatty and high-calorie, they can substitute for a meal in an emergency, or tide me over until I can get to some "good food." I carry fruit when it's convenient. My family is generally okay with what I cook because I'm a pretty good cook, and I am making plenty of their regular stuff for them, too. I have some details on the blog about times I've done that, though I don't discuss all the ways I do.

    Tomorrow it will have been four full weeks that I've been doing this this time, most of that time documented on this blog. I think it helps not to think of meat or dairy or vegetable oils or even alcohol or sugar in small quantities as "evil," as some vegans or health-food-nuts do. I like to think of the nutritarian foods as "better" than the low-nutrient-density ones, and I work to get as much of that kind of thing as I can. But the judicious two ounces of breaded fish I put in my wrap last night with slaw was very satisfying, moreso than another cup of slaw in that wrap! :-) I just praise God that eating this way makes moderation possible for me, and I pray you will find that full freedom, too. I don't kid myself that it will always be as easy as it has been this month, but I'm enjoying the freedom as I'm having it! :-)

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